Just Purchased into HGVC...

Hello All,

First let me start by saying that this community helped me save about $23,000!!

Last weekend I was won over by the sales rep in Orlando and bought into a 2bedroom 7,000 point package at the Parc Soleil with 17,400 bonus points at a cost of $34,000! I thought i was getting a great deal!

A little nagging suspicion in the back of my mind told me to do some research and came to find out just how much money I was wasting!

Long story short, I cancelled with the 7 day time period, and am really happy that i did! So I joined up with TUG, paid the fees and found something even better! (I hope)

Now, I am the midst of closing on a deal for a 8400 platinum points package or a guaranteed week 21 for $12,500 including all transfer fees and closing costs. It is for a 3bdroom Scotland property. The maintenence fees are $825.

Does that sound like a good buy? Would you say there are better programs out there for that kind of money, maybe not with HGVC? I am concerned at some of the things I have read on the forum about the HiltonHonors points devaluation and how bad RCI is etc. When I was first sold on HGVC is was not necassarily for the Open season, or to stay at the HGVC clubs necassarily..but was more for being able to use the Going Global through Hilton Honors and for RCI to be able to go to the Carribean etc.

What do you all think?

And again, thank you all so much!!

The Wisdom Of TUG.

lve2raft said:

What do you all think?

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I think nothing the timeshare companies sell at full freight is worth the money, period -- & that goes for HGVC as well as all the other timeshare companies out there.

By timeshares resale.

Save thousands of dollars on exactly the same thing, or the equivalent, or -- as in this example -- something even better.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

Platinum points generally run about $12,000 for 7000 platinum points. You're getting 8400 platinum pts for the same $12K so you did real good.

Remember that HGVC is the only big TS company which lets resale buyers turn in their TS for hotel points. Personally, I don't think it is that good of deal but at least it is available to you as a resale buyer.

Personally, I like HGVC very much and love all the HGVC resorts I've visited. BUT, I think there are better options for getting RCI trades than HGVC. I'd buy HGVC so I could stay in the HGVC resorts.

Thanks Bill. What would you say are the best use of the HGVC points for someone like me that pretty much is only interested in Tropical type vacations for the time being. IE: I wanted to convert to HHonors and check out the Maldives, or Seychelles etc. Found out today though from Hhonors that the Going Global deal is now 225,000 points up from 175,000. That means with my current 8400 HGVC points, I am going to be 15,000 honor points shy

I've looked at the cost per point/stay using RCI points via my Summer Bay week & using the HGVC points through the RCI portal on the HGVC site.

And while I paid less for my SB week, when you compare booking fee's & maintenance fee costs, they end up costing about the same to exchange into an RCI resort using HGVC or RCI points.

As to the good & bad of RCI, it all depends on what you want to do, how flexible you are and your expectations. We've been able to work the RCI system to where we are happy with what we get using RCI points. We've been VERY happy getting HGVC resorts with HGVC & RCI points. We are not too picky however, book VERY far in advance and are fine getting medium grade places & better through RCI.

I note from above you are looking at HHonors points. You can earn HHonors through stays, travel deals/promotions with some airlines and through a couple of branded credit cards (AMEX & Visa) which help boost what you can do. You can also purchase HHonors points when you are in a deficit, although I've never done this.

Your expectations and mileage may vary.

Thanks for the info!

lve2raft said:

Thanks Bill. What would you say are the best use of the HGVC points for someone like me that pretty much is only interested in Tropical type vacations for the time being. IE: I wanted to convert to HHonors and check out the Maldives, or Seychelles etc. Found out today though from Hhonors that the Going Global deal is now 225,000 points up from 175,000. That means with my current 8400 HGVC points, I am going to be 15,000 honor points shy

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doesn't take too much activity to earn 15K Honors point on an Amex - in fact you probably get 20K for signing up

there's a free Hilton Honors Amex and the Surpass Amex ($75) per year

lve2raft said:

Hello All,

....
Long story short, I cancelled with the 7 day time period, and am really happy that i did! So I joined up with TUG, paid the fees and found something even better! (I hope)

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Shame on you for causing the financial distress to the timeshare person who sold you the timeshare.

Just kidding, you did great.

lve2raft:

Welcome to tugbbs and to HGVC. I purchased all my units direct from HGVC prior to learning about TUG. The HGVC system is still user friendly. However, in view that HHonors points have recently been devalued, I think converting HGVC points to HHonors points is even less of a deal than it was before. I have had a relatively good experience trading via RCI. Recent trades include the Grand Mayan Riviera Maya, Club Intrawest Whistler, and the Red Wolf Lakeside Lodge by Lake Tahoe. However, RCI is like a lottery and there are better traders than HGVC. We have had a good experience cruising with HGVC as well. Cruising may not be the best use of HGVC points but sometimes we would rather take a cruise than stay in a TS. I strongly suggest getting a HHonors AmEx. This is a very good way to aquire HHonors points quickly. Eventhough HHonors is about to be devalued, it is still a very good customer loyalty program. We have had some wonderful HHonors redemptions in the past by Going Global. Unfortunately, I anticipate it will now take us 2 1/2 years to 3 years to earn enough points instead of 1 1/2 to 2 years to earn enough points.

I think you have a good deal on your hands. Congratulations!

However, you do need to realize that your maintenance for the Scotland properties are priced in British pounds, not dollars, so they will be subject to currency fluctuations. If the USD falls 10% against the pound, your $825 maintenance fee suddenly becomes $908. Of course, the opposite is also true, but I don't see the USD getting stronger in the foreseeable future.

Kurt

Thanks for all the replies!

I did actually sign up yesterday for the Amex HHonors Surpass card. Has a 75 dollar price tag, but comes with the 40K points and I can use the airport VIP lounges for a small fee. Probably worth it in the long run. It comes with a year free of Gold VIP, but doubt ill be spending 20K a year on the card to maintain it.

I agree with buying private, however, in the case of Marriott I understand that I would not get the Marriott Rewards points. Would you please confirm if this is correct or if there is a way around still getting the points.

Thanks.

Queen said:

in the case of Marriott I understand that I would not get the Marriott Rewards points. Would you please confirm if this is correct or if there is a way around still getting the points.
Thanks.

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For Hilton resales, yes, you can convert your points into HHonors point for hotel stay in worldwide. If you convert your next year's HGVC points in this year, it is 25:1 (1 HGVC point = 25 HHonors points).