hgvc points question

hi there -
hope this isn't an especially stupid question...

we are newish owners of 2400 pts, odd year, silver, at HGVC that we were suckered into buying after a presentation... it's totally paid off, except for the yearly M/T, and we are looking into options to add to our points.

if we were to buy another TC, resale HGVC this time, eventually would all our points be combined into one account? so we'd have 2400 PLUS whatever we buy at our disposal? Or would they be two separate accounts, and the points cannot be combined?

i guess the big question is, would it be better to buy a modest addition to supplement our points or sell this one and buy one bigger one?

thanks in advance for your input.

To my knowledge, all points owned at developer built HGVCs go in the same bucket for reservations, as long as the resale purchase is not an affiliate. - Affiliate points (developer or resale - doesn't matter which) don't go in the same account automatically, but all you have to do is call and they will transfer affiliate accounts to the main account so you can use them together. A once a year minor hassle. Also affiliates must have the Maintenance fees paid before you can use/reserve/deposit the points, and I think that is not the case with developer built units.

Have you read the HGVC sticky? It has good info, I am not an HGVC owner, but I hope to be someday, so I have read that and it gives a good overview of the program. Now for the bad news: your 2400 point silver EOY is not going to be worth very much and you will probably have to sell at close to a giveaway price - the problem with Hilton is the MF is by size of the unit, but points are by season, I don't know where you own, but you are paying the same amount of MF that someone with double the points also has - although they did pay more for their points package if that's any consolation.

Now that you have found TUG - I think you should seriously think about how and where and how frequently you really want to travel within Hilton or by depositing in RCI and buying the amount of points that will really fit with that level of travel. The going resale rate is still around $1/point - so you can get a good deal. I am not sure what developer perks would come with such a small points package as yours - others may chime in on that - but if you don't lose any developer status by losing that points package - I would dump it and call "do-over" - a person like me that owns multiple timeshare interests may want your small points package just to get their foot in the door with Hilton - but if this is your one and only timeshare - I don't think this is enough points to rely on for the only source of vacationing.

For someone who is not yet a HGVC-owner, alexadeparis has it cold.

Notes:
None of the resorts built or bought* by Hilton require prepayment of MF's.
Only some affiliates require prepayment of MF's.

*HGVC recently bought an interest in a few resorts to expand its base.

alexadeparis said:

To my knowledge, all points owned at developer built HGVCs go in the same bucket for reservations, as long as the resale purchase is not an affiliate. - Affiliate points (developer or resale - doesn't matter which) don't go in the same account automatically, but all you have to do is call and they will transfer affiliate accounts to the main account so you can use them together. A once a year minor hassle. Also affiliates must have the Maintenance fees paid before you can use/reserve/deposit the points, and I think that is not the case with developer built units.

Click to expand...

This may apply to some affiliates, but not all affiliates, and it doesn't apply to my 3 SW Florida affiliates. All points from both my 3 affiliates and 2 HGVC resorts are in the same account, and I don't have to prepay mf's on the affiliates before I can reserve. The only difference is that I have a pre-reserved week at my affiliates, and if I'd rather use the points instead, I just cancel that reservation and use the points wherever.

I own an affiliate and an HGVC built.

I have different rules about point access, based on prepayment of my MF for my affiliate. HGVC built does not have that restriciton.

So I have 2 HGVC accounts. However, I pay my MFs on my affiliate and then with a phone call they transfer my points into my HGVC account. From there points are points and there is no difference.

So buy what is a good deal. Even if you end up with 2 + accounts, the points are the same and can be transfered between your ownerships.

I have Elite status (bought resale when it was allowed) on my HGVC built resort. So I move my affiliate points over as soon as I pay the MFs on the points.

I often pay the MF earlier than when they are billed, I just pay last years estimate and they then bill me the difference at the end of the year. It does help spread out MF payment over the year, instead of having a huge bill at the end of the year.

I have MF payment on 13 different timeshares (only 2 HGVC). I pay 2 in april/may , 3 in Aug/sept, 4 as equal monthly payment through the year, and the balance of 4 at the end of the year.

Not to kidnap this thread ... but am curious ... is there a FEE charged to convert an affiliate points to HGVC? Do you have convert every year or can you do a permanent coversion?

thinkoflaura said:

hi there -
hope this isn't an especially stupid question...

we are newish owners of 2400 pts, odd year, silver, at HGVC that we were suckered into buying after a presentation... it's totally paid off, except for the yearly M/T, and we are looking into options to add to our points.

if we were to buy another TC, resale HGVC this time, eventually would all our points be combined into one account? so we'd have 2400 PLUS whatever we buy at our disposal? Or would they be two separate accounts, and the points cannot be combined?

i guess the big question is, would it be better to buy a modest addition to supplement our points or sell this one and buy one bigger one?

thanks in advance for your input.

Click to expand...

If you purchase another HGVC points package, you will be paying two seperate MF's - one for each property. However, the points will be combined (I asked that question a while back).

It may be less expensive to sell the 2400 points and purchase a larger points package and then pay only one Maintenance Fees.

icul8rg8r said:

Not to kidnap this thread ... but am curious ... is there a FEE charged to convert an affiliate points to HGVC? Do you have convert every year or can you do a permanent coversion?

Click to expand...

If you purchase an affiliate and don't already have an HGVC membership, you will most likely have to pay a fee to join.
If you are already an HGVC member, you may or may not have to pay a fee to add the affiliate to your HGVC account.
If you have to pay this fee, it is a one-time fee.
For example, I own several resorts, both HGVC and affiliate, and I already have an HGVC membership. I bought an additional week resale at a sold-out affiliate thru the on-site resale office managed by Hilton, and did not have to pay a fee to add that week to my HGVC acccount.
Once a member, there is an annual club fee. (Everyone pays this - both HGVC and affiliates. It is one fee no matter how many weeks you own.)
There is no fee to convert your week to points. And every year you can use your week at the affiliate, or convert to points and use the points wherever.

From our experience of last 7 or 8 years with one 5,000 point HGVC, you need more points. Question is... which of many approaches? And do you vacation within Hilton, or are you using mostly as RCI?
If within Hilton, Later Gater has great point, is all about the points and MFs. You want most points per MF $. You could buy resale Platinum 4,800 or 6,200 or 7,000... 1bdrm, 1bdrm + or 2 berk. But except for Flamingo, you'll run into pesky ROFR. I lost 7,000 point LV Strip because of too low eBay auction... Hilton exercised.
One thing to consider, as many have pointed out on Tug... buy an affiliate. You can pick up 4,800 or 6,200 for less than $5,000.
And as noted above... there may be value in having a true HGVC property if you add affiliate points to it. And here the advantage of your EOY property. Is lower MFs.