Making lemonade out of lemons

I am one of the unfortunate people who found this forum only after I purchased directly. Since I have no choice I am going to try to make the best of owning. What are some ways to get the most out of the HGVC ownership? I own 3400 Gold week at Parc Soleil. I read something about these being personal loans as opposed to mortgages. Should I look into that and getting a lower interest rate? Should I be using open season as much as possible? I assume trying to sell the timeshare is a waste of time because the loss would be significant.

Anyone else buy direct and find a way to make the best of it?

Thanks,
Good Canary

Open Season is great. Last couple of years booked 3 separate units in Vegas(over New years), at a price you can not touch booking at a strip hotel. And the strip hotels are not even comparable to HGVC timeshare, unless you pony up for suites.

I bought 5,000 EOY points from the developer long before I found TUG. It was preconstruction, so the deal was better than most developer prices. I bought to go to Hawaii and have been there every year since. You can get some nice vacations for your points. For example, a one-bedroom for a week at any of several properties in Hawaii in gold season or a studio for two weeks gold season in Oahu or almost two weeks in a studio there the rest of the year.

If you have a loan, you won't be able to sell your deed. Even if you own it outright, you'll lose a boat load of money selling it. So use your points and open season and enjoy vacations. HGVC is a great system to own. I bought a second deed resale a year after that first one.

Buying direct was not the end of the world for us nor did I feel I was "making the best of it". Our purchase was done for our family to enjoy vacations together saving money is a bonus. Some people will have enjoyed more years of less expensive vacations because they bought resale from the start but do not let that lesson your vacation enjoyment. Learn the HGVC system to get the most vacation enjoyment out of your pruchase that fits your families needs. The bottom line is my families vacations together are priceless moments of time together.

Good Canary said:

Should I look into that and getting a lower interest rate? Should I be using open season as much as possible? I assume trying to sell the timeshare is a waste of time because the loss would be significant.

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Definitely lower your interest rate! The cost over time for interest is ridiculous. There are different ways to do this, but a couple that come to mind are home equity line or credit card balance transfer options - many which are at 0%. Make sure when the grace period runs out, it won't go to an inflated rate and be ready to move it to another card that is offering a balance transfer option.

I like Open Season because I stay locally and usually last minute. When all the new fees for 2014 came out, I did the math and found that I could often find my stays in Open Season for less than what my MFs are by using club points.

Your 3400 points can be banked and borrowed so you could take a 6800 point vacation every other year or a 10,200 point vacation every 3 years. Or, you can trade in RCI for a one bedroom every year with that number of points. By using Open Season, you can still get many very good vacations with your membership.

I wouldn't sell it. There are too many ways to use it and enjoy it. It doesn't have to be a money suck. I think you just need to schedule a vacation or 2 and see how great of a product it is.

Thanks everyone. We have taken a vacation (we've owned for two years) and we had a wonderful time. The property was lovely and having the Hilton quality and the convenience of a full kitchen really adds to the vacation experience for us. I have not used points this year (we are leaving for an "open season" vacation this weekend) so I plan to bank the points and do something bigger next year. I admit finding Tugs did make me feel shame and regret since I realized that I overpaid. And certainly reading all those "Rescind! Rescind!" posts made my heart sink BUT ultimately I do love the product. I will look into the interest rate to see if improvements can be made there.

Is it more cost-effective to own more points in general? Or is it more cost effective to own platinum (I read that MFs are the same with platinum for same size unit so platinum is more cost effective but I also read that it will take many many years to recoup the MF savings after upgrading to platinum)

Thanks again.

Good Canary said:

I am one of the unfortunate people who found this forum only after I purchased directly. Since I have no choice I am going to try to make the best of owning. What are some ways to get the most out of the HGVC ownership? I own 3400 Gold week at Parc Soleil. I read something about these being personal loans as opposed to mortgages. Should I look into that and getting a lower interest rate? Should I be using open season as much as possible? I assume trying to sell the timeshare is a waste of time because the loss would be significant.

Anyone else buy direct and find a way to make the best of it?

Thanks,
Good Canary

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First, you can't sell the TS with a loan on it. Second, you would take a significant loss, since 3400 point HGVC TS's typically sell on the resale market for pennies on the dollar, actually about 25 cents per point or less, whereas 7K+ weeks are selling for just over $1/point.

A friend of my wife (her & her husband) purchased a 1-Bdrm HGVC (4800/5000 points?) in Orlando several years back from the developer, I think it may have been Parc Soleil or I-Drive. The unit was financed by/thru HGVC and they received some bonus points. About 1-1/2 years ago they came out to LV to on a HGVC special (knowing that they wanted to upgrade). They stayed at the HGVC strip property, took the tour, and attended the sales presentation (after we had a long discussion about what to ask & hold out for). They traded in their 1 Bdrm for a 3 Bdrm getting full credit for the original purchase price, they negotiated the price down this time on the 3-Bdrm, got a lower interest rate than they had before, got lower MF's here in LV, and got a ton more bonus points (unit & bonus) . They walked away happy with the new price and all of the points that they can use to take their immediate family (they have 1 young child) and other family members on vacation(s).

So, just a suggestion. Maybe you can trade your Orlando 1-Bdrm for a 2-Bdrm (7K+ points) in LV, have a payment comparable to what you now have, lower MF's, and get a bunch of bonus points Just a thought

That's how our friends made "lemonade from lemons".

Talk to your local bank/credit union about a personal loan to lower the interest rate.
Alternatively, you could do a carousel of 0% interest balance transfers on your CC's.
But transfer fees may negate the benefit. Also check www.bankrate.com for options.
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Wow! What great ideas! Thanks!!!!

vegasVIP said:

Open Season is great. Last couple of years booked 3 separate units in Vegas(over New years), at a price you can not touch booking at a strip hotel. And the strip hotels are not even comparable to HGVC timeshare, unless you pony up for suites.

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Open Season is not always THAT great of a deal....I got a one-bedroom at HGVC Strip earlier this year for LESS than the Open Season cost; PLUS I got Hilton HHonors points for my stay. So I would check rates at the HGVC timeshares in Vegas before booking Open Season...