Hilton HHonors - Hilton Grand Vacation Club timeshares anyone?

Have you considered buying in on this timeshare deal? If you did, what was it that swayed you. If you didn't, what turned you off?

I collect more than enough points to earn great holidays, but the Hilton plan allows me to get significant discounts on a limited number properties which I sometimes visit for work. I'd like to hear your opinion before I delve further into the feasibility of this program.

Two things make this a great program, particularly if your traveling days are being reduced, point conversion and status. You can convert your HGVC points to Hilton points at 25 to 1. If you purchase at least 14K HGVC points, you get Gold status for as long as you are in the program. You can also get Diamond, but I don't know the required point status. You should look at resale as well as retail purchases as the benefits are about the same.

^ agree with the previous poster. I bought at Hilton NY City Club, get geat exchange privileges through RCI, great conversion pts, and perm Gold status.

The bonus points offered by buying direct are attractive but resale is the way to go to save a lot of money. Hilton just needs to work on expanding it's own HGVC properties. They are considerably behind Marriott, expecially in the Caribbean.

Have you considered buying in on this timeshare deal?


About which time share deal are you talking jezsik? Is there a link to the offer?

No link, Didi, I just got a call from Hilton Grand Vacation Club offering me a cheap weekend in Vegas or Orlando. All I had to do was listen to their sales people rattle a stick in the swill bucket for a couple of hours.

I'd HIGHLY recommend checking out this site:
http://www.tug2.net/

It offers very honest advice on the pro/con of timeshare as well as aftermarket sales of these timeshares.

I don't know if the full privledges of buying from HGV is worth the "full" payment, but I think 30% to 50% off the price charged by HGV is worth the savings. All those freebies/marketing you get for attending has to be paid somewhere

I've done about 3 of those, and each time I am blown away by how much more they are asking vs. the rate being offered on 3rd party like TUG.

I seriously considered getting one before so I did a bit of research but ultimately couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger on it. But I certainly don't think I would pay retail for a property, especially after reading that site.

Good luck.

If you buy resale, do you still get GOLD status? Or is that one of the buying direct perks?

Thanks!

If you buy resale, do you still get GOLD status? Or is that one of the buying direct perks?

Any member/owner of HGVC has permanent Silver HHonors membership status. HHonors Gold status is a benefit of being an HGVC Elite member. Elite membership status is attained with the purchase of 14K points directly through Hilton. Resale purchase is not eligible for Elite status, regardless of the number of points owned. There is also a higher level of Elite status called Elite Premier (purshase of 34K pts from developer) that includes a 10 year HHonors Diamond status membership as a benefit.

If you buy resale, do you still get GOLD status? Or is that one of the buying direct perks?

Thanks!

As mentioned above, the status with HH is from HGV retail so a resale isn't going to get you that.

However, to highlight the disparity, I recall one particular session where the asking price for 5000 HGV points (that's the currency they use to use your nights) came to around $12,000 or more. A quick look at the resale price shows you can have it for $7,000 or less. So, $5,000 instant savings vs. Gold status while owning a HGV property.

Personally, I'll take the cash and make some mattress runs to top off my status instead :p

Let me explain why I would go with a Marriott Timeshare rather than Hilton Grand Vacations--even though I am a Hilton Diamond (who has earned several million HH points) as well as Marriott Gold (once Platinum Premier).

1. Marriott has vastly more properties around the world, and it is very easy to exchange within the Marriott system. This is mainly because Marriott owners seems to get higher priority with respect to exchanges.

2. Marriott is affiliated with exchange company Interval International (II), whereas HGV affiliates with RCI. I subscribe to a newsletter called Timsharing Today, which regularly features angry RCI members who cannot get desired exchanges from an unresponsive organization. Conversely, II has generally satisfied customers.

I purchased a Marriott Timeshare for low season a few year ago direct from Marriott, and have have been consistently successful with respect to exchanges within the Marriott system. Bottom line--I would not even consider HGV ahead of Marriott.

As mentioned above, the status with HH is from HGV retail so a resale isn't going to get you that.

However, to highlight the disparity, I recall one particular session where the asking price for 5000 HGV points (that's the currency they use to use your nights) came to around $12,000 or more. A quick look at the resale price shows you can have it for $7,000 or less. So, $5,000 instant savings vs. Gold status while owning a HGV property.

Personally, I'll take the cash and make some mattress runs to top off my status instead :p

Thanks for the clarification.

I'd HIGHLY recommend checking out this site:
http://www.tug2.net/

It offers very honest advice on the pro/con of timeshare as well as aftermarket sales of these timeshares.

I don't know if the full privledges of buying from HGV is worth the "full" payment, but I think 30% to 50% off the price charged by HGV is worth the savings. All those freebies/marketing you get for attending has to be paid somewhere

I've done about 3 of those, and each time I am blown away by how much more they are asking vs. the rate being offered on 3rd party like TUG.

I seriously considered getting one before so I did a bit of research but ultimately couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger on it. But I certainly don't think I would pay retail for a property, especially after reading that site.

Good luck.

luv2ctheworld has given great advice! I'm a member of the TUG forum and it has a plethora of info regarding timeshares and how to save a ton of money on buying resale.

There have to be at least a dozen threads debating this very topic. Please search the SPG and Marriott forums, as well as Travelbuzz for very extensive commentary (as well as prior threads on HGVC Las Vegas in Hilton).

My views in a nutshell:

Timeshares are a big waste of your money unless you like to vacation for one week in the same place every year and can't afford to buy a condo there. Most timeshare presentations fail to include the time value of your money in their calculations. Here's an example:

Cost of timeshare: $30,000. Amount you could earn by investing that money in stocks @ 8%/year (historical average) = $2400. Add annual maintenance fees, exchange fees, etc. and you are looking at true cost of ownership of $3400 per year, every year. If you finance the transaction, your cost will be even higher while you are paying interest.

I don't know about you but I don't spend that much - I can get a 1BR condo for a week in Hawaii for $150/nt. I can get an apartment in Paris for $200/nt.

And many of my vacations are either long weekends or long trips where I don't stay in the same place for more than 3-4 nights. So the timeshare program doesn't work for me.

That being said, many people have figured out how to game the system and get good value from their timeshares, which you can read about here and on TUG. Just don't forget the true cost of your timeshare.

That being said, many people have figured out how to game the system and get good value from their timeshares, which you can read about here and on TUG. Just don't forget the true cost of your timeshare.

Someone just told me about his Marriott timeshare in Phuket purchased direct from Marriott at a cost of $13,600. As a bonus for purchase, he got 150K Marriott points plus 5 free nights at any Ritz Carlton. If he used his 150K for 7 nights at a property like the JW in Capri in a peak month where rates are easily $700 per night (with taxes etc even higher), plus 5 nights at a Ritz where rates in NY are easily $1,000--he almost got his timeshare for free.

You get the idea.

That being said, many people have figured out how to game the system and get good value from their timeshares, which you can read about here and on TUG. Just don't forget the true cost of your timeshare.

Someone just told me about his Marriott timeshare in Phuket purchased direct from Marriott at a cost of $13,600. As a bonus for purchase, he got 150K Marriott points plus 5 free nights at any Ritz Carlton. If he used his 150K for 7 nights at a property like the JW in Capri in a peak month where rates are easily $700 per night (with taxes etc even higher), plus 5 nights at a Ritz where rates in NY are easily $1,000--he almost got his timeshare for free.

You get the idea.

Someone just told me about his Marriott timeshare in Phuket purchased direct from Marriott at a cost of $13,600. As a bonus for purchase, he got 150K Marriott points plus 5 free nights at any Ritz Carlton. If he used his 150K for 7 nights at a property like the JW in Capri in a peak month where rates are easily $700 per night (with taxes etc even higher), plus 5 nights at a Ritz where rates in NY are easily $1,000--he almost got his timeshare for free.

You get the idea.

This kind of logic is always dependent on the person actually being willing or planning to spend that kind of money for the rooms regardless of whether he purchased the timeshare.

Spending money to save money on something that you wouldn't normally purchase, is never a good deal.

I went through the HGVC presentation and agree with the previous poster that they never include the cost of your lost capital that could be invested elsewhere. Then you are required to work through their system to plan things.

I earn enough HH points to cover a week or so in a decent resort every year. That's enough for me.

The deal breaker for me with Marriott is that they are sort of an "old school" timeshare with the trading of weeks instead of a point system. HGVC is on a points based system; points are used as a "currency" to pay for stays with a minimum of 3 nights. HGVC also has "open season" cash rate benefit (unused rooms rented out at a low rates within 30 days of use) which can be booked for as little as two nights. I love the flexibility of HGVC!

The HGVC program does have one advantage over Marriott, the points can be exchanged for HHonors points at a 25 to 1 ratio, so your 5000 HGVC points can be worth 125000 HHonors points per year. Understand that you must make the exchange the year prior, so you must make this choice about 2009 points this year. You can also have the HGVC desk make a direct Hilton reservation for you, but the exchange rate is only 20 to 1 in that case. I often do this if I have a handful of points at the end of the year to use up. I have also had no problems making RCI reservations through HGVC, the desk does it for you. Understand that like all timeshares, you must make reservations far in advance to guarantee availability.

Timeshares are a big waste of your money unless you like to vacation for one week in the same place every year and can't afford to buy a condo there.


This is not necessarily true, although still a very valid reason for buying through HGVC.

I have stayed at 11 HGVC properties in 6 years, and 2 more booked this year.
I have never had a problem getting what I want, when I want.
The scheme is very easy, and if you can plan in advance you should be OK.
You can book your "home" resort 12 months out, and any other HGVC resort 9 months out.
If you particulary want to go to the same place each year, then it's worth buying at that resort. Otherwise it doesn't matter, points are points.
I'll concede that there needs to be more HGVC's, particulary in Europe and the Far East.