Points Systems Comparable to HICV

[skotrla]

Does anybody have any recommendations for other points systems besides HICV with the following features that make HICV a really great fit for me?

1) Good availability for partial week stays outside of owned resort and season
2) Points membership through resale purchase
3) Many resort options
4) Reasonably priced resale units (using HICV as a baseline)
5) Online booking

The only other system I have used extensively is Festiva/Escapes, which meets #2 and #4, but fails on #1, #3, and #5, which is why I am looking to get out.

-Scott
Owner, HICV Google+ Group

 

[tschwa2]

I think the 2 you missed were -reasonable priced resale units - 6. that still maintain good MF to point ratio
and
7.the system allows you to rent out reservations.
7 may or may not be important to you but if it is you have to consider it when you shop around.

Bluegreen probably doesn't have enough locations for you and also the most popular 2-3 resorts during high season are very difficult to reserve especially in the reasonably pointed 2 br units.

Hilton may not have enough resorts for you, but if you want a platinum week that has a decent mf/point ratio then they can be a little price especially with the transfer/activation fees. They also don't allow you to rent anything other than your deeded week.

The US collection with DRI can be had for nothing but MF's can be on the high side and DRI places restrictions on renting and I have no clue about availability and I am not sure if there are many resorts that I would actually want to stay at.

 

[skotrla]

I think the 2 you missed were -reasonable priced resale units - 6. that still maintain good MF to point ratio
and
7.the system allows you to rent out reservations.
7 may or may not be important to you but if it is you have to consider it when you shop around.

Good points! I've edited my list to incorporate.

1) Good availability for partial week stays outside of owned resort and season
2) Points membership through resale purchase
3) Many resort options
4) Reasonably priced low-maintenance resale units (using HICV as a baseline)
5) Online booking
6) Non-commercial rental of points reservations allowed

-Scott
Owner, HICV Google+ Group

 

[Sandy VDH]

We recently put in a collabortive effort to complete this comparison....

http://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/timeshare-system-comparison-chart.html

And Actually HICV is not a reasonable place for resale with 3 RESORTS ONLY being exceptions. At most locations upon resale the week drops out of the POINTS program and the new owner has to reup and pay to convert to points AGAIN to join the HICV CLUB.

I don't recall the 3 resorts off the top of my head where HICV is automatic EVEN upon resale, but there are listed here on tug and can be found with a search. ( I search and posted in the next post)

 

[Sandy VDH]

See this post...for a strategy for getting other resales convert with a purchase
http://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?...on-did-i-get-a-good-deal.238020/#post-1854678

And the 3 resorts that automatically get HICV Club points are Lake Geneva, WI, Smoky Mountain, TN, or South Beach (in Mrytle Beach, SC).

 

[skotrla]

We recently put in a collabortive effort to complete this comparison....

http://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/timeshare-system-comparison-chart.html

And Actually HICV is not a reasonable place for resale with 3 RESORTS ONLY being exceptions. At most locations upon resale the week drops out of the POINTS program and the new owner has to reup and pay to convert to points AGAIN to join the HICV CLUB.

I don't recall the 3 resorts off the top of my head where HICV is automatic EVEN upon resale, but there are listed here on tug and can be found with a search. ( I search and posted in the next post)

Right, but if you buy resale at those 3 resorts, then all of the above apply.

-Scott
Owner, HICV Google+ Group

 

[Sandy VDH]

Right, but if you buy resale at those 3 resorts, then all of the above apply.

-Scott
Owner, HICV Google+ Group

Yes , but not everyone notices that it ONLY applies to those 3 resorts. It will also make resales harder because it is a small fraction of all HICV locations. Resales at those 3 are high, and Resales at all other resorts become stagnant, and nearly impossible to sell, so they go into default or HICV takes them back. Eventually you likely will be limited by available resales.

 

[tschwa2]

I don't think it is any different than the mandatory resorts at Vistana. Anyone who takes the time to research resales can find the information. And just as Key West and Bella are mandatory they still don't have a lot of resale value but if you have a platinum or gold plus you can usually find an owner if you offer for free or even a couple of hundred.

 

[Sandy]

We recently put in a collabortive effort to complete this comparison....

http://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/timeshare-system-comparison-chart.html

And Actually HICV is not a reasonable place for resale with 3 RESORTS ONLY being exceptions. At most locations upon resale the week drops out of the POINTS program and the new owner has to reup and pay to convert to points AGAIN to join the HICV CLUB.

I don't recall the 3 resorts off the top of my head where HICV is automatic EVEN upon resale, but there are listed here on tug and can be found with a search. ( I search and posted in the next post)

I really like the comparison chart. Thanks to all who contributed to its completion. Now, I found it through this link, but where can I find it in general? TUG Advice? I will answer my own question and check there first. (Being an owner for so long, I neglect to go to the advice section, thinking I "know it all"

 

[Sandy VDH]

I really like the comparison chart. Thanks to all who contributed to its completion. Now, I found it through this link, but where can I find it in general? TUG Advice? I will answer my own question and check there first. (Being an owner for so long, I neglect to go to the advice section, thinking I "know it all"

Its a sticky in New to Timesharing

 

[skotrla]

Yes , but not everyone notices that it ONLY applies to those 3 resorts. It will also make resales harder because it is a small fraction of all HICV locations. Resales at those 3 are high, and Resales at all other resorts become stagnant, and nearly impossible to sell, so they go into default or HICV takes them back. Eventually you likely will be limited by available resales.

I'm not sure I would call resale high at those resorts, but I would agree that availability is limited. I actually find that complex systems like HICV are the best systems to buy resale as long as you learn how things work first. Buying at the right resort means that you can get identical benefits as someone who paid 10x or more from the developer.

That chart is a nice starting point - does the reservation window for "any" include partial weeks for all of the resorts? Also, HICV needs both the designations of * for RCI included and the ** for ROFR. Do any of the other systems rent points like HICV does? If so, the lowest rental cost ($5/1K for HICV Elite) is a good metric for comparing point costs between systems.

-Scott
Owner, HICV Google+ Group

 

[Sandy VDH]

I was guessing that resale at those 3 resorts WAS LIMITED, that mean that getting HICV via RESALES IS ALSO LIMITED. It can be done, but if you can't buy inventory at those 3 resorts, you can't buy HICV points resale, even if you purchased another HICV resale, those purchases would NOT be in HICV points.

As far as your Q goes.

Wyndham lets you rent points at $8/K, up to the amount of points you own.

The Global Choice (I think that is what is called) is a nice feature, if you have other weeks that you don't want to use in RCI anymore, but now can use in HICV without having to do anything. Wyndham has something like that call PIC, but you have to purchase more points to get the PIC registered and then you have 2 PIC weeks max. You pay a program fee whether you PIC your points in Wyndham or NOT. So I like the flexibility to HICV with Global Choice.

It is so cheap and so flexible, that I believe HICV will wake up and dismantle it at some point. End up with a model more like WYndham, where you pay big bucks to play.

 

[skotrla]

I was guessing that resale at those 3 resorts WAS LIMITED, that mean that getting HICV via RESALES IS ALSO LIMITED. It can be done, but if you can't buy inventory at those 3 resorts, you can't buy HICV points resale, even if you purchased another HICV resale, those purchases would NOT be in HICV points.

As far as your Q goes.

Wyndham lets you rent points at $8/K, up to the amount of points you own.

The Global Choice (I think that is what is called) is a nice feature, if you have other weeks that you don't want to use in RCI anymore, but now can use in HICV without having to do anything. Wyndham has something like that call PIC, but you have to purchase more points to get the PIC registered and then you have 2 PIC weeks max. You pay a program fee whether you PIC your points in Wyndham or NOT. So I like the flexibility to HICV with Global Choice.

It is so cheap and so flexible, that I believe HICV will wake up and dismantle it at some point. End up with a model more like WYndham, where you pay big bucks to play.

I've never used Global Choice - I've found that it is easier to find properties at the 3 HICV resorts than it is to find low maintenance Global Choice units that may be hard to get rid of if the program changes or the resort changes to RCI points. The max HICV maintenance I am willing to pay is $6/1K - when you include Global Choice fees, are there any RCI weeks resorts out there that are significantly cheaper than $6/1K HICV points?

-Scott
Owner, HICV Google+ Group

 

[Sandy VDH]

Well I'm working on the other premise. I ALREADY OWN weeks that I don't want any more RCI usage fees for. So since both of them are sub $500 MFs and I have not been able to give any of them away, I figured instead of just lemons, I will make lemonade, and will eventually put this years weeks in GC. But there is no rush, they are deposited on the RCI side before the 10 month cutoff date and I have until 2 weeks prior to their check in dates to MOVE them to GC.

I have NOT added anything to my portfolio of weeks in 15 year EXCEPT Tradewinds which I did by choice.

So these are legacy weeks that I have had since the 1990s.

 

[skotrla]

Well I'm working on the other premise. I ALREADY OWN weeks that I don't want any more RCI usage fees for. So since both of them are sub $500 MFs and I have not been able to give any of them away, I figured instead of just lemons, I will make lemonade, and will eventually put this years weeks in GC. But there is no rush, they are deposited on the RCI side before the 10 month cutoff date and I have until 2 weeks prior to their check in dates to MOVE them to GC.

I have NOT added anything to my portfolio of weeks in 15 year EXCEPT Tradewinds which I did by choice.

So these are legacy weeks that I have had since the 1990s.

Ah, that makes sense. My only other units are Festiva/Escapes units, which are not standard RCI weeks are are not eligible for RCI Points for Deposit (and therefore not HICV Global Choice).

-Scott
Owner, HICV Google+ Group