Hilton Honors Timeshare program

[Todd Fogelberg]

After you rescind your developer sold timeshare...take a deep breath and join the Hilton Honors program. You can join for free and get a Hilton Amex card (if you have credit) and have access to over 4,000 Hilton properties including 2,500 Hampton Inns (all of which include a free hot breakfast with your room).

* Book on a moment's notice for 1 night or a week.
* Need a full suite? Check out Embassy Suites. (Or one of Hilton's other suite offerings)
* No fees at most locations.
* Free cancellation on short notice unless you prepay to get a special deal.
* No closing costs.
* No lost sleep.

There are some things it is better not to own! And timeshares are one of those things.

It is amazing to me that intelligent people can let themselves get talked into one of these things.

When you book your accommodations through Hilton.com, you will have tremendous choice in exactly what type of accommodations you need for your vacation travel.

No charge if you decide to take a year off and stay home!

(And of course Marriott and Hyatt have great loyalty programs too!)

 

[Rolltydr]

After you rescind your developer sold timeshare...take a deep breath and join the Hilton Honors program. You can join for free and get a Hilton Amex card (if you have credit) and have access to over 4,000 Hilton properties including 2,500 Hampton Inns (all of which include a free hot breakfast with your room).

* Book on a moment's notice for 1 night or a week.
* Need a full suite? Check out Embassy Suites. (Or one of Hilton's other suite offerings)
* No fees at most locations.
* Free cancellation on short notice unless you prepay to get a special deal.
* No closing costs.
* No lost sleep.

There are some things it is better not to own! And timeshares are one of those things.

It is amazing to me that intelligent people can let themselves get talked into one of these things.

When you book your accommodations through Hilton.com, you will have tremendous choice in exactly what type of accommodations you need for your vacation travel.

No charge if you decide to take a year off and stay home!

(And of course Marriott and Hyatt have great loyalty programs too!)

“It is amazing to me that intelligent people can let themselves get talked into one of these things.“

This is your opinion based on your personal situation and experience. I am both a HH member and a timeshare owner. I much prefer staying in my timeshare to staying in any hotel room, including Embassy Suites. Why do you find it necessary to insult and belittle people who prefer different things than you do? And why are you even reading a forum dedicated to timeshare owners?

 

[SmithOp]

Todd, your advice is good for people that prefer to book short stays near term.

People that enjoy timeshares the most are planners that know how to get value out of their ownership. If we take a short trip we use Hilton hotels, if we take a vacation we prefer a timeshare resort.

I’m going to Waikoloa, Hawaii Oct 6-18th. I have a 1 bedroom at Kingsland. My cost using timeshare points (6720) is $870 in Maint Fees plus reservation fee, no resort fees. If I include the buy in fee amortized over 20 years it adds $270.

I don’t think you can match that at Hilton dot com, there isnt a 1br available, a 2br is $303 a night for those dates.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[RX8]

I don’t think it was intentional but you managed to insult every single timeshare owner. You can’t make a firm conclusion on everyone’s behalf just because it won’t work for you.

I like to think that intelligent people know how to maximize their timeshare ownership so that the value received far outweighs the cost.

 

[Free2Roam]

This part emphasized...

Why do you find it necessary to insult and belittle people who prefer different things than you do? And why are you even reading a forum dedicated to timeshare owners?

 

[Todd Fogelberg]

My message was targeted to those who buy from developers. Yes, some of you manage to navigate the system and find good value. It does amaze me that folks bite at a developer offer, take out a mortgage, agree to pay MF, agree to pay a club activation fee, agree to pay an annual club fee, agree to sign up for RCI or II (and pay another fee), agree to pay an exchange fee, agree to stay for 7 nights, etc etc. Even though many of you "tuggers" find value in your TS, you are part of a dysfunctional system that wouldn't exist without these high pressure presentations that continue to lure in unsuspecting folks who have no idea what they are in for. The whole concept is mostly like "Chinese water torture" in my view. 95% of the threads here deal with navigating the system, with little mention of the enjoyment derived at the vacation spot. Sorry, if you take offense. Newbies need to see the stark realities of this option, in my opinion. (I landed here seriously looking at this as an option, not to insult people). Sorry. I guess it goes without saying, I have decided not to buy a TS.

 

[RX8]

My message was targeted to those who buy from developers. Yes, some of you manage to navigate the system and find good value. It does amaze me that folks bite at a developer offer, take out a mortgage, agree to pay MF, agree to pay a club activation fee, agree to pay an annual club fee, agree to sign up for RCI or II (and pay another fee), agree to pay an exchange fee, agree to stay for 7 nights, etc etc. Even though many of you "tuggers" find value in your TS, you are part of a dysfunctional system that wouldn't exist without these high pressure presentations that continue to lure in unsuspecting folks who have no idea what they are in for. The whole concept is mostly like "Chinese water torture" in my view. 95% of the threads here deal with navigating the system, with little mention of the enjoyment derived at the vacation spot. Sorry, if you take offense. Newbies need to see the stark realities of this option, in my opinion. (I landed here seriously looking at this as an option, not to insult people). Sorry. I guess it goes without saying, I have decided not to buy a TS.

This sounds a little better, thanks for clarifying. Although you do say after rescinding to join HH because all timeshares are bad. You leave nothing for resale purchases, which may work for people, just not for you.

Regarding developer purchases. It is often said here that buying from developers (especially if financing) is a very poor deal so what you are saying is preaching to the choir. There are some exceptions to this but that is limited to experienced folks that are doing so with a well thought out plan to enhance their total portfolio. It has nothing to do with the guy on another thread who thinks he bought 4M Wyndham points direct for only $3600.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

@Todd Fogelberg Flyertalk is brimming with people trying to navigate the arcane rules and constant devaluations of HHonors and other travel systems. Posters don't praise the value of those programs in Flyertalk either because it is a given. TUG is no different.

The fact that you compare hotel rooms in Hampton Inn to a Hilton Grand Vacations resort speaks volumes. How many HGVC resorts have you stayed in? What is the basis for your comparison?

You like free breakfast. Below is where we eat breakfast in a 2 bedroom condo at Hilton Grand Vacations in Honolulu. You could take the money you saved paying resort fees for the Hampton or other hotel several blocks off the beach to buy takeout from the restaurant downstairs. BTW...during peak season this room rents for $1250 plus $40 resort fee or 400,000+ points per NIGHT on Hilton.com. That's about what Hilton Grand Vacation resale owners spend for a WEEK.

My problem with your thread is your tone. If you mean developer, then say so upfront. An alternative option is fine but just because you have something that works for you, please don't insult everyone else's intelligence believing that it should work for them too. Different strokes for different folks - some are happy with basic compacts and others want BMWs. I don't care to share a bedroom and bathroom with my college age son and daughter. I appreciate having a separate living room and lanai with an ocean view to spend quality time with my family. I have stayed at dirty, run-down AirBnBs (and some nice ones too) but don't wish to risk our limited vacation time on a bad rental. Compared to a second home resales TS are a bargain and truly a vacation.

 

[Rolltydr]

My message was targeted to those who buy from developers. Yes, some of you manage to navigate the system and find good value. It does amaze me that folks bite at a developer offer, take out a mortgage, agree to pay MF, agree to pay a club activation fee, agree to pay an annual club fee, agree to sign up for RCI or II (and pay another fee), agree to pay an exchange fee, agree to stay for 7 nights, etc etc. Even though many of you "tuggers" find value in your TS, you are part of a dysfunctional system that wouldn't exist without these high pressure presentations that continue to lure in unsuspecting folks who have no idea what they are in for. The whole concept is mostly like "Chinese water torture" in my view. 95% of the threads here deal with navigating the system, with little mention of the enjoyment derived at the vacation spot. Sorry, if you take offense. Newbies need to see the stark realities of this option, in my opinion. (I landed here seriously looking at this as an option, not to insult people). Sorry. I guess it goes without saying, I have decided not to buy a TS.

You're still projecting your opinion and situation on everyone. You know absolutely nothing about my personal, family or financial situation. My first 2 contracts were developer purchases (from Wyndham) and for me and my family, they were good decisions and I would make the same decisions again.

First of all, money is not the most important thing to me. In fact, it's pretty low on the list. I'm a typical, middle-class retiree. I feel that I have made good financial decisions in that we have no debt except for a home equity line of credit that we used to remodel our home a few years ago. Otherwise, mortgage is paid off, cars are paid off and we use a cash back credit card for all our bills and purchases and pay the balance every month so we pay no interest charges.

Those first 2 contracts we purchased were after taking many trips with my brother-in-law who has owned a timeshare for almost 30 years. They weren't the result of high pressure sales presentations, in fact, I never attended a sales presentation prior to my first purchase. We initiated both purchases. We bought developer on our first purchase in order to get VIP and our second to get ARP access to most all Wyndham resorts. That was important to us and we don't regret our purchases at all.

As far as the accommodations, my daughter and I are introverts. My wife is an extrovert. She likes to include others on many of our trips. After a couple of days, my daughter and I have to get away for some alone time. Separate bedrooms in a condo make that possible. In a hotel room, we would be miserable and fighting because we would be so mentally uncomfortable. Reports show that about 30% of the population are introverts so my educated guess is that means a lot of timeshare owners are also. Even if it costs more to stay in a timeshare, and SmithOp showed you above that it does not, it is totally worth it to us. Your situation is different and I respect that. We are now in a different place and are looking to purchase additional points because we want to travel more. We've been getting between 25-30 nights per year and would like to add another 20 or so to that. This time, we are looking to buy resale. We will retain our VIP level 25% discounts and potential free upgrades, although we will not be able to move up a level. We are ok with that.

We are both healthy and expect to be able to travel another 15-20 years. If so, we'll easily make our money back on our purchases. If not, que sera sera! We will have completely enjoyed the use we got out of our timeshare and will not have any regrets. And nobody will convince me otherwise.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Here is where we last ate free breakfast in NYC at HGVC W57. View from our room of Central Park and includes free lounge buffet for NYC owners.

 

[Rolltydr]

Here is where we last ate free breakfast in NYC at HGVC W57. View from our room of Central Park and includes free lounge buffet for NYC owners.

View attachment 13670 View attachment 13672 View attachment 13673 View attachment 13674 View attachment 13675

Wow! You actually got a free buffet without staying in a Hilton hotel? Nice. ;-)

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Wow! You actually got a free buffet without staying in a Hilton hotel? Nice. ;-)

LoL I wouldn't buy a timeshare just for the buffet, but it's a nice perk.

 

[dgalati]

LoL I wouldn't buy a timeshare just for the buffet, but it's a nice perk.

Many buy a timeshare with the intent of receiving a $100 Amex card. All they have to do is give up 60 minutes of their vacation time.

 

[Luanne]

Many buy a timeshare with the intent of receiving a $100 Amex card. All they have to do is give up 60 minutes of their vacation time.

You don't have to buy the timeshare, just go to the presentation. If you buy you're giving up a lot more than 60 minutes of their vacation time.

 

[dgalati]

You don't have to buy the timeshare, just go to the presentation. If you buy you're giving up a lot more than 60 minutes of their vacation time.

I personally agree with you on this but many that bought developer would disagree.