HGVC 201 for new resale owner

[ski_sierra]

Hello All,

Thanks so much for all the information you share here on HGVC. Based on a lot of reading here and help from @GT75, I puchased a 7k points platinum week at Craigendarroch Lodges. It was about $6300 all-in with legal, club, activation and current year MF. The MF is ~$800. I'm very happy.

I plan on booking following locations in next few years:

• Lagoon Tower Oahu
• Sunrise Park City
• Marbrisa
• Carlsbad Seapointe
• King's Land
• Vilamoura Portugal
• Tuscany Italy

Most of these locations were not available for bookings for rest of 2019, so I redeemed my points this year for my sister's family to go to Craigendarroch in October during the English school holiday break. I was surprised that a school holiday week was available. So Scotland will always be a backup option for us as it is driving distance for my sister's family.


I have read the HGVC TUG article a few times now. So I do have a grasp of the basics. I have read about a few tips like:

• moving a reservation 30 days out and then cancelling so no need to pay points protection unless the reservation is in December.
  
• try to use points from next year this year so you have low risk of points expiring and avoid fees to save points
• make club bookings at 9 months 9 PM PDT for high demand locations
• use reservation walking to secure reservations for high demand locations

I see that HGVC uses a unbundled pricing approach and there are fees for most things. Any tips to avoid those fees would be really helpful. I don't know what I don't know so if you can point me to particular tricks, I'll read about it and try it out.

A couple of other questions:

• Is HGVC a good option for Mexico bookings?
  
• The Japanese options seem to be very high cost in points. I assume they are just for sales & marketing purposes.
• Can I still do the 5 night package timeshare presentations? They pitch me those every time I make a booking with Hilton. My wife is not listed as an owner.
• Are there any old and tired properties that should be avoided? We don't plan on visiting the east coast properties except for an occasional Orlando trip.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Congrats @ski_sierra on your purchase! You researched this hard and it will pay off.

• Is HGVC a good option for Mexico bookings?

>>>>> Yes. We love FA Cabo and have gone twice. Unlike other systems such as MVC or trading RCI you can book a long weekend instead of a full week. Cabo is an easy long weekend from the Bay Area.

HGVC also has relationships with other large chains such as Grand Mayan in PV via the website for internal trade but I haven't used them. These require a week.

There are also many good Cabo/Mexico options in RCI via HGVC portal without mandatory AI.

• Can I still do the 5 night package timeshare presentations? They pitch me those every time I make a booking with Hilton. My wife is not listed as an owner.

>>>>> Yes we continue to be offered these and these provide a great way to stretch your points if you can say "No." You will be offered every time you stay at an HGVC site. Some Tuggers who purchased resale are not offered. Not sure why. We also have stayed on promo at Marriott and now have a bounceback to Maui/Kauai with Westin. They are called "owner updates."

 

[dayooper]

So glad you got what you wanted! It’s a great system and HGVC seems to keep up with updating their rooms.

Not from personal experience, but most people who go to Marbrisa seem to like the newer side closer to Legoland than the original GPR side.

I agree @GT75 is an awesome resource on this board, always willing to help. I believe this is the best place to get information on the HGVC system and navigating the resale purchase market.

 

[ski_sierra]

• Is HGVC a good option for Mexico bookings?

>>>>> Yes. We love FA Cabo and have gone twice. Unlike other systems such as MVC or trading RCI you can book a long weekend instead of a full week. Cabo is an easy long weekend from the Bay Area.

I just looked this up. It's 7k points for one week in 2 BR. From Jan 2020 there are $100 pp AI fees on top. It might have been good if AI was not mandatory.

Can I still do the 5 night package timeshare presentations? They pitch me those every time I make a booking with Hilton. My wife is not listed as an owner.
>>>>> Yes we continue to be offered these and these provide a great way to stretch your points if you can say "No." You will be offered every time you stay at an HGVC site. Some Tuggers who purchased resale are not offered. Not sure why. We also have stayed on promo at Marriott and now have a bounceback to Maui/Kauai with Westin. They are called "owner updates."

Good. Hope to sign up for the 5 nights for $799 offer for Big Island or Oahu.

 

[ski_sierra]

So glad you got what you wanted! It’s a great system and HGVC seems to keep up with updating their rooms.

Not from personal experience, but most people who go to Marbrisa seem to like the newer side closer to Legoland than the original GPR side.

I agree @GT75 is an awesome resource on this board, always willing to help. I believe this is the best place to get information on the HGVC system and navigating the resale purchase market.

I'm happy that a nice deal at Craigendarroch showed up. I was looking at the Vegas options but most things I looked at were higher total $ spent in 10 years than Craigendarroch. Many of the options for low MF/point in the spreadsheet from @GT75 were not available when I was looking to buy. I didn't want to keep looking for months.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I just looked this up. It's 7k points for one week in 2 BR. From Jan 2020 there are $100 pp AI fees on top. It might have been good if AI was not mandatory.

Whoa...that's new. AI was historically not mandatory. That's a significant devaluation. Why have a kitchen if you need to get all of your meals from the hotel? Plus that's a long walk to the hotel for meals.

It appears that if you book in 2019, that AI is still not mandatory.

Will now consider RCI and II non-mandatory AI alternatives going forward. Many nice Cabo, PV and Cancun resorts. It was good while it lasted...

 

[hurnik]

Whoa...that's new. AI was historically not mandatory. That's a significant devaluation. Why have a kitchen if you need to get all of your meals from the hotel? Plus that's a long walk to the hotel for meals.

It appears that if you book in 2019, that AI is still not mandatory.

Will now consider RCI and II non-mandatory AI alternatives going forward. Many nice Cabo, PV and Cancun resorts. It was good while it lasted...

Completely agree. Right next door is the Hacienda del Mar (bookable via RCI) with *optional* AI. Although their AI is quite expensive (well IMO). I believe "prepay" was $139/adult/day there.

I have a feeling this was either done by Hilton or FA since it seemed to coincide with the points increase and Hilton doing their own timeshare near there.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Good point @hurnik i have had my eye on several Cabo resorts in RCI; there is a search button for "optional AI"

Perhaps this devaluation coincides with the new HGVC Cabo opening in 2020 and FA doesn't like the competition.

According to HGVC website the new resort will start taking reservations later this year for 2020.

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

Just a note, shoulder seasons usually take fewer points.

 

[buzglyd]

Good point @hurnik i have had my eye on several Cabo resorts in RCI; there is a search button for "optional AI"

Perhaps this devaluation coincides with the new HGVC Cabo opening in 2020 and FA doesn't like the competition.

According to HGVC website the new resort will start taking reservations later this year for 2020.

My guess is it's the new HGV in Cabo that didn't want the competition from FA. Hence higher point values and mandatory AI. From now on, I'll just book the hotel unit at FA which has always been mandatory AI and forget about a kitchen and space. Very low points and we can get enough value out of the AI between breakfast and lunch to skip the mediocre dinners offered.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

That's an interesting strategy though the ocean views and space in the outer buildings make walking for meals worthwhile. My pet peeve is the long wait to get a table and be served at the dinner spots. Glad we did not have hungry little kids with us. The dinner buffets were better.

I am now curious about the points charts at HGVC Cabo and whether that will be mandatory AI. I heard it was going to be bHC but the news article I read did not state that.

Good news is that RCI has a great selection and availability of nice Cabo resorts including Hacienda Del Mar. IMHO better resorts than II for this location although I would also consider the Westin Cabo if it was offered as a cash getaway.

 

[ontilt]

Whoa...that's new. AI was historically not mandatory. That's a significant devaluation. Why have a kitchen if you need to get all of your meals from the hotel? Plus that's a long walk to the hotel for meals.

It appears that if you book in 2019, that AI is still not mandatory.

Will now consider RCI and II non-mandatory AI alternatives going forward. Many nice Cabo, PV and Cancun resorts. It was good while it lasted...

Wow, that's a bummer. I just don't think the AI is worth it. You can cook and there are some amazing places in San Jose del Cabo and Cabo. A lot of emerging farm to table stuff too. Guess our next trip at end of July will be our last one to FA, unless that changes, which is really too bad.

 

[hurnik]

Wow, that's a bummer. I just don't think the AI is worth it. You can cook and there are some amazing places in San Jose del Cabo and Cabo. A lot of emerging farm to table stuff too. Guess our next trip at end of July will be our last one to FA, unless that changes, which is really too bad.

The only gotcha though is that the FA is right next to Hacienda del Mar, and neither one is "close" to San Jose del Cabo or Cabo. In the sense that you could walk or take a *reasonably* price cab, LOL.

You'd probably have to rent a car to make it worth while. Although it depends on how many people are in your group. I wanna say the shuttle from Hacienda del Mar took about 15 minutes to get to the "edge" of Cabo and cost $10 or $12 USD roundtrip/pp, so not bad. But it has a schedule.

I think a cab cost a lot more but was obviously more flexible on return.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Sadly, with mandatory AI, our stay last year was probably our last for this resort.

I am looking forward to learning more about the new HGVC resort. Does this offer a free shuttle? IMO the resort looks very nice although it is further from town than FA (but closer than the Westin). It states the beach is swimmable. FAs beach is not. Lastly, they mention "a timeshare wing" and adding an adult pool on their renovations list in Aug/Sept so we should hear more soon.

https://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/b...-and-golf-resort-SJDLCHH/about/amenities.html

I also have my eye on some of the RCI and II resorts that are walkable in town and a few just outside of town that have free shuttles with optional AI. Lots of great choices in Cabo for HGVC owners.

 

[ontilt]

The only gotcha though is that the FA is right next to Hacienda del Mar, and neither one is "close" to San Jose del Cabo or Cabo. In the sense that you could walk or take a *reasonably* price cab, LOL.

You'd probably have to rent a car to make it worth while. Although it depends on how many people are in your group. I wanna say the shuttle from Hacienda del Mar took about 15 minutes to get to the "edge" of Cabo and cost $10 or $12 USD roundtrip/pp, so not bad. But it has a schedule.

I think a cab cost a lot more but was obviously more flexible on return.

We're a renting a car. Was able to get a full size for less than $100 for the week which isn't too bad. Parking is also free at FA. Last time we just took Uber which was cheaper than the cabs and was easy enough to get around as well. Weighing that against ~$250/day for a family of four for AI, it's easy to justify that imo.

 

[GT75]

Was able to get a full size for less than $100 for the week

That price doesn't sound like it includes the mandatory Mx insurance.

 

[geist1223]

We're a renting a car. Was able to get a full size for less than $100 for the week which isn't too bad. Parking is also free at FA. Last time we just took Uber which was cheaper than the cabs and was easy enough to get around as well. Weighing that against ~$250/day for a family of four for AI, it's easy to justify that imo.

From whom did you rent the car? Many of the discount rental companies that advertise low rates will insist you buy additional car insurance from them. This will cost 2X to 4X the car rental and they will not let you have the car unless you buy the additional insurance. There is already liability insurance on the car to cover whatever or whomever you hit. It is required by Mexican Law for the Car Rental Company to have this liability insurance. We always rent from Hertz online before we leave the USA. They allow you to refuse the additional insurance and put a 10,000 pesos hold on yourmcard.

 

[buzglyd]

That's an interesting strategy though the ocean views and space in the outer buildings make walking for meals worthwhile. My pet peeve is the long wait to get a table and be served at the dinner spots. Glad we did not have hungry little kids with us. The dinner buffets were better.

I am now curious about the points charts at HGVC Cabo and whether that will be mandatory AI. I heard it was going to be bHC but the news article I read did not state that.

Good news is that RCI has a great selection and availability of nice Cabo resorts including Hacienda Del Mar. IMHO better resorts than II for this location although I would also consider the Westin Cabo if it was offered as a cash getaway.

II has the Casa Doradas and Cabo Azul so they have some pretty nice Los Cabos resorts.

 

[hurnik]

Cabo Azul looked nice.
If you can use an SFX exchange, Vidanta Cabo (Grand Mayan only right now, no Grand Bliss/Grand Luxxe) is probably the way to go, but their availability has been very tight (via SFX) every time I've checked.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Lots to choose from. I have been looking at the Pueblo Bonitos in Cabo in RCI (our limo driver in Cabo recommended these resorts when I asked him, "What are the best resorts in Cabo?"), and the Villa del Palmar in II (especially Nuevo Vallarta which has had good reviews)

 

[ski_sierra]

Cabo Azul looked nice.
If you can use an SFX exchange, Vidanta Cabo (Grand Mayan only right now, no Grand Bliss/Grand Luxxe) is probably the way to go, but their availability has been very tight (via SFX) every time I've checked.

I see that some of the Vidanta resorts are available directly thorugh HGVC. I didn't see the prices on the points chart. Anybody know if it is good value?

I'm also confused about the whole Grand Mayan/Bliss/Luxxe terminology. Might have to spend sometime reading about it.

 

[hurnik]

I see that some of the Vidanta resorts are available directly thorugh HGVC. I didn't see the prices on the points chart. Anybody know if it is good value?

I'm also confused about the whole Grand Mayan/Bliss/Luxxe terminology. Might have to spend sometime reading about it.

the Vidanta resorts via HGV are actually via SFX.
The points chart is listed on the website, but they are (IMO) extremely prohibitive. I think a 2 BR Grand Luxxe is like 12,000 points.

You're better off signing up for the free SFX membership/account and depositing a low point Hilton week (ie, if you deposited a 4800 point 2 BR week), and then use THAT to exchange via SFX directly for Vidanta.

Note though that ANY exchange (SFX/HGV/RCI/II) into Riviera Maya location for Grand Bliss or Grand Luxxe, Vidanta will likely restrict you from certain amenities unless you attend the horrible 4-5 hour "sales" presentation.

If you're OK with other locations (Nuevo Vallarta) they don't have the restrictions (currently). Supposedly sometimes for "off season" the RM will let you have access, but right now, every SFX exchange I've done even during the summer/low season (october and first week of Nov. even) they have restricted access.

Grand Mayan and "lower" at RM don't have restrictions period, AFAIK.

If you go to the Vidanta website you can see the differences between the various units (Mayan Palace, Bliss, Grand mayan, Grand Bliss, Grand Luxxe, Deluxxe/Jungle).

IF you do a Grand Luxxe exchange, make sure you're not getting into the Deluxxe/Jungle units. They aren't as nice (IMO) as the regular Grand Luxxe units.

 

[ontilt]

That price doesn't sound like it includes the mandatory Mx insurance.

Thanks for raising this. As such, I've done quite a bit of looking into this. There is basically a minimal liability policy that's included in the rental price. There's additional liability insurance for ~$14 a day, so an extra $100 for the week. Collision insurance is covered by our credit card and you need to verify that you are covered in Mexico and carry a Declaration of Eligibility letter. So, not quite as good as we'd hoped price-wise, but we want to explore a little bit.

Here's an article on coverage that's a bit dated, but outlines some of the basics more or less: https://www.sfgate.com/mexico/mexic...r-in-Mexico-What-you-need-to-know-3787891.php

 

[ontilt]

From whom did you rent the car? Many of the discount rental companies that advertise low rates will insist you buy additional car insurance from them. This will cost 2X to 4X the car rental and they will not let you have the car unless you buy the additional insurance. There is already liability insurance on the car to cover whatever or whomever you hit. It is required by Mexican Law for the Car Rental Company to have this liability insurance. We always rent from Hertz online before we leave the USA. They allow you to refuse the additional insurance and put a 10,000 pesos hold on yourmcard.

I rented from Avis and we have a corporate rate, so there is a slightly lower cost on this. We also didn't rent from the airport to avoid a 20% tack-on charge. I did some more research on the insurance side of things and posted in this thread as well. LDW or CDW are likely not needed if your credit card covers you in Mexico. Mine does and I have an eligibility declaration letter from them. That is more than 2X the cost of the car rental. Liability is about $15/day, but that's still worth it imo as we won't just be squatting at the resort.

Good to know about Hertz and the ability to refuse it. In many ways, it all resembles another high pressure bait and switch sales model that I'm sure a lot of folks here are familiar with. At the end of the day, if it becomes that much of an issue, we'll just walk out and take an Uber.

 

[Kim Him]

Congrats. I'm looking into it, and looks like exactly what I am looking for.