newbie questions

Regarding Hilton vacation club/points,

1. Are all points are created equal and work equally well at all Hilton resorts?
2. Do all resorts have the same points scale for accomodations (eg, 7000 points for 2 bedroom during platinum season), or do they vary by location (eg, DVC)?
3. Is the only benefit to a given "home resort" how far in advance you can book there?

Thanks!

Although I don't know answers for all of your questions, I can share one little bit of advice. We looked seriously at doubling our points a few years ago. We currently own 3400 annual points at the Tuscany Resort in Orlando. The HGVC salesman we were dealing with actually suggested to us that we use the upgrade process we were considering to sell back the Tuscany points and buy into the Seaworld property instead because the Seaworld resort had cheaper annual fees. He said since it was a point system we never had to actually stay at the Seaworld resort (unless we wanted to) and could use our points at Tuscany. He pointed it out as a way to keep our yearly expenses at a minimum and it seemed to make good sense to us. If we would have bought more points I do think we would have followed his suggestion.

1. Are all points are created equal and work equally well at all Hilton resorts?

Points are points and treated alike in the HGVC system (true HGVC resorts and affiliated-resorts). With your points, you can book any resort in the system online or thru the call center (for a higher fee). However, getting the exact dates and size unit that you want sometimes takes a little perseverance and luck.

2. Do all resorts have the same points scale for accomodations (eg, 7000 points for 2 bedroom during platinum season), or do they vary by location (eg, DVC)?

A few of the "newer" resorts, like Kingsland in Hawaii, have a premium point scale. Mostly, they're the same, but each resort has its own schedule of seasons. You can find each resort's point chart in the Member Guide, which is online here: http://multimedia.hiltongrandvacations.com/mg/Book_Reader.cfm?BookId=1

3. Is the only benefit to a given "home resort" how far in advance you can book there?

Pretty much... But many folks never darken the door of the their home resort. Its only important to own where you want to stay if its a high demand area (Hawaii) and you have only a narrow range of dates in which you can travel.

vapor trail said:

Regarding Hilton vacation club/points,

1. Are all points are created equal and work equally well at all Hilton resorts?
2. Do all resorts have the same points scale for accomodations (eg, 7000 points for 2 bedroom during platinum season), or do they vary by location (eg, DVC)?
3. Is the only benefit to a given "home resort" how far in advance you can book there?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

In the Hilton system, points are points and work equally well at all Hilton properties.

Most of the resorts have the same points scale (7,000 points for a 2BR) however newer properties (Grand Waikikian and Kingsland, notably) have significantly higher points requirements, making some of the other properties (on the original points structure) in high demand.

Home resort means that you can book 9-12 months out at your home resort, which may be important/necessary for the highest demand properties (Hilton Hawaiian Village, particularly for summer travel). Importantly, if booking at your home resort requires a Saturday check-in (for 7 days) in the exact unit you own. 9 months in, anybody can book anywhere (subject to availability of course), in any size unit, on any check-in day, because they aren't making a home resort reservation (even if it is at your home resort).

I hope this helps -- other smarter HGVC owners will clarify my comments if I've made an error -- I'm only now becoming an HGVC owner, so these comments are what I've read versus what I've personally experienced.

I own in Marriott as well as two other points systems, and I am convinced that HGVC is one of the very very best in terms of owner friendliness and flexibility.

All the best,

Greg

GregT said:

... Importantly, if booking at your home resort requires a Saturday check-in (for 7 days) in the exact unit you own.

Click to expand...

Minor correction: Its not the "exact unit you own," its the same size unit in the same season that you own.

You may never see or even know which unit you own. I asked to see mine once, and they couldn't even tell me which door # matched my legal description.

In my four years of ownership, I've only stayed in my home resort once, and that was a club reservation. So I snort when in comes to home resort reservations.

Excuse me for being so obtuse.... but, I am still not sure I completely understand the points.

is 7000 points equal across the board? In other words is the distinction of Plat, Gold, Silver and bronze only apply to the USE of the home TS?

---OR----

Is it that 7000 Silver points can only be used at a HGVC resort that has a silver season?

Bukirob said:

Excuse me for being so obtuse.... but, I am still not sure I completely understand the points.

is 7000 points equal across the board? In other words is the distinction of Plat, Gold, Silver and bronze only apply to the USE of the home TS?

---OR----

Is it that 7000 Silver points can only be used at a HGVC resort that has a silver season?

Click to expand...

Points are points. If a 2 bedroom requires 7000 points during Platinum season, you must have 7000 points to use it. Lets say you have >7000 points to use (doesn't matter how it added up to 7000 pts, it can be 4800 + 4800 banked or 2500 + 2500 banked +2500 borrowed etc.) You can book the 7000 points unit up to nine months in advance (club reservation.)

Season determines what Home reservation you can make. At your home resort, even if you own more points than necessary, for example, if you own Platinum season and wants to book Gold season (you have 7000 points but only requires 5000 points), you can't book until nine months before and you book it with club reservation with all other non-owners.

Hope this helps.

Ok... so what do you suppose the deal is here?

Ebay... 2 br/ 2 Ba Cabo TS floating time (prime season) annual usage. MF of 1025 per year. Winning bid $1.00

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...2774673&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:US:1123#shId

I hope I didnt just screw myself.... lol

Bukirob said:

Ok... so what do you suppose the deal is here?

Ebay... 2 br/ 2 Ba Cabo TS floating time (prime season) annual usage. MF of 1025 per year. Winning bid $1.00

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...2774673&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:US:1123#shId

I hope I didnt just screw myself.... lol

Click to expand...

Well, that's not an HGVC timeshare or affiliate, you don't get HGVC points, do you? Most Mexican timeshares are worthless because you can rent for less than the maintenance fees.