# Benefits of Elite



## terces (Jan 8, 2018)

I have read through the HGVC material about "Elite" status, and it seems kind of weak.  Has anyone realized any worthwhile tangible benefits from buying resale from HGVC and paying the extra premium so they can attain Elite?


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## PigsDad (Jan 8, 2018)

Nope. 

I happen to have Elite status due to obtaining it via resale purchases before they closed some loopholes.  There are a few perks that may save me a few bucks, but no way -- *not even close* -- would it be worth spending the extra tens of thousands it cost purchasing direct from HGVC vs. resale.

Kurt


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## Mosescan (Jan 8, 2018)

I got my resale units through HGVC at the Craigendarroch lodges so it was win/win for me. Resale prices and elite status. My first trip as elite is to Hawaii this April for 1 week at kingsland and 1 week at HHV staying at the grand waikikian. We'll see if I can get  some free upgrades at least. I opted for 2 BR Plus hoping to get upgraded to 2 BR Premium. Fingers crossed.

I paid $14000 Canadian for a 9600 point unit. Actually I bought two units at that price.


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## Helios (Jan 8, 2018)

Out of curiosity, what happens if an American is not paying their maintenance fees from a foreign property (say Craigendarroch)?  Would that have a negative impact on your credit score?


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## terces (Jan 8, 2018)

Mosescan said:


> I got my resale units through HGVC at the Craigendarroch lodges so it was win/win for me. Resale prices and elite status. My first trip as elite is to Hawaii this April for 1 week at kingsland and 1 week at HHV staying at the grand waikikian. We'll see if I can get  some free upgrades at least. I opted for 2 BR Plus hoping to get upgraded to 2 BR Premium. Fingers crossed.
> 
> I paid $14000 Canadian for a 9600 point unit. Actually I bought two units at that price.



Hi Mosescan - I looked into the units you bought because of an earlier post you made.  The Scotland units are still quite a bit more to purchase than some of the resale points contracts in the US.  I read through the HGVC information for Elite status benefit, and they did not seem to have much substance to what they were offering, so just wondering if anyone has actually realized any benefits from being "Elite".


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## frank808 (Jan 8, 2018)

terces said:


> Hi Mosescan - I looked into the units you bought because of an earlier post you made.  The Scotland units are still quite a bit more to purchase than some of the resale points contracts in the US.  I read through the HGVC information for Elite status benefit, and they did not seem to have much substance to what they were offering, so just wondering if anyone has actually realized any benefits from being "Elite".


Room key that says "elite" on it.  A seperate checkin line at all properties.  

Sent from my SM-T217S using Tapatalk


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## Tamaradarann (Jan 8, 2018)

terces said:


> I have read through the HGVC material about "Elite" status, and it seems kind of weak.  Has anyone realized any worthwhile tangible benefits from buying resale from HGVC and paying the extra premium so they can attain Elite?



Tha most valuable benefit that I have found is the reduced cost of HGVC transactions.  The club seasons reservation fee, and annual fee to saving points from one year to the next.  Since we have 34,600 points and make a number of reservations a year it has saved us thousands of dollars over the last 11 years.  We bought resales through a HGVC authorized representative to get Elite so while we probably paid more than some resales for our units we didn't pay developer prices.  Paying developer prices is certainly NOT worth the benefits.


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## Mosescan (Jan 9, 2018)

terces said:


> Hi Mosescan - I looked into the units you bought because of an earlier post you made.  The Scotland units are still quite a bit more to purchase than some of the resale points contracts in the US.  I read through the HGVC information for Elite status benefit, and they did not seem to have much substance to what they were offering, so just wondering if anyone has actually realized any benefits from being "Elite".



While I agree you can find point contracts selling for less money in the US Market, they are usually units with horrible maintenance fee/point ratios. I tried to find properties that were on the top 30 list of best maintenance fees/points ratio chart. When amortized with maintenance fees over a 10 or 20 year period I think this deal was actually better than anything I could find on the US market at the time. The Elite status was just the icing on the cake. We'll see if I can manage to get some free upgrades while I'm in Hawaii and find out what the free in room welcome gift is for Elite Plus members.


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## frank808 (Jan 9, 2018)

Mosescan said:


> While I agree you can find point contracts selling for less money in the US Market, they are usually units with horrible maintenance fee/point ratios. I tried to find properties that were on the top 30 list of best maintenance fees/points ratio chart. When amortized with maintenance fees over a 10 or 20 year period I think this deal was actually better than anything I could find on the US market at the time. The Elite status was just the icing on the cake. We'll see if I can manage to get some free upgrades while I'm in Hawaii and find out what the free in room welcome gift is for Elite Plus members.


At hhv it was a couple of bottles of water from what I have seen.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## frank808 (Jan 9, 2018)

Tamaradarann said:


> Tha most valuable benefit that I have found is the reduced cost of HGVC transactions.  The club seasons reservation fee, and annual fee to saving points from one year to the next.  Since we have 34,600 points and make a number of reservations a year it has saved us thousands of dollars over the last 11 years.  We bought resales through a HGVC authorized representative to get Elite so while we probably paid more than some resales for our units we didn't pay developer prices.  Paying developer prices is certainly NOT worth the benefits.



Looked at elite for free booking and transaction fees.  We make about 12 bookings a year and save points every year so far.  Doing the math, it would take me close to 35 years buying those Scotland hgvc resale units to break even on the transaction fees that I pay yearly.

I couldn't see any scenario buying authorized resale would work for me financially.  Buying retail will never work for the perks offered.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## Mosescan (Jan 9, 2018)

frank808 said:


> At hhv it was a couple of bottles of water from what I have seen.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk



LOL! that wouldn't surprise me. I'll let you know.


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## CalGalTraveler (Jan 9, 2018)

Tamaradarann said:


> Tha most valuable benefit that I have found is the reduced cost of HGVC transactions.  The club seasons reservation fee, and annual fee to saving points from one year to the next.  Since we have 34,600 points and make a number of reservations a year it has saved us thousands of dollars over the last 11 years.  We bought resales through a HGVC authorized representative to get Elite so while we probably paid more than some resales for our units we didn't pay developer prices.  Paying developer prices is certainly NOT worth the benefits.



You can also get the free booking with New York properties without being elite. Free booking costs about $120 a year as an optional add-on but more than pays for itself.  Some W57 and HCNY units go for $9k (3250) to 15.5+k (5250) resale per Redweek and this is a benefit that extends to resale buyers.


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## Mosescan (Jan 9, 2018)

frank808 said:


> Looked at elite for free booking and transaction fees.  We make about 12 bookings a year and save points every year so far.  Doing the math, it would take me close to 35 years buying those Scotland hgvc resale units to break even on the transaction fees that I pay yearly.
> 
> I couldn't see any scenario buying authorized resale would work for me financially.  Buying retail will never work for the perks offered.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk



I agree if you were to just buy them for elite status and already had enough points. However, if you are in the market for extra points like I was then I believe it's a great option. The maintenance fees are about the same as My 5000 point vegas blvd unit for almost twice the points. 860 GBP(British pounds) for 9600 points. The purchase price of 7950 GBP for 9600 points also works out to about $1/point US, so that's pretty comparable as well. Since I wanted extra points anyways, then for me it just made sense.


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## terces (Jan 11, 2018)

It would appear that the cost of buying from HGVC resale works out to about $1.68 USD, which is at least double what you can buy for on the used market, so about $8,000 usd more for a 9600 point contract.  Thanks for all of the great advice!


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## hdins (Jan 13, 2018)

terces said:


> Hi Mosescan - I looked into the units you bought because of an earlier post you made.  The Scotland units are still quite a bit more to purchase than some of the resale points contracts in the US.  I read through the HGVC information for Elite status benefit, and they did not seem to have much substance to what they were offering, so just wondering if anyone has actually realized any benefits from being "Elite".


Are the weeks purchased for a set time until they expire ?  Are they RTU weeks ? I was told the weeks at Craigendarroch were originally for 36 years and only the balance left of those is what you are buying. I would appreciate if anyone can answer this.
Thanks


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## jehb2 (Jan 13, 2018)

I've been to way too many owner updates where they preach the advantages of obtaining elite status and one of them is the special check in line or counter for elite members.  When I check in at HHV either one or two things happen:  a) there isn't anybody in either line so they check me in at the elite counter or b) the non-elite line is empty and several people are waiting in the elite line.  I have pictures.  I text these pictures to my husband as he unloads the car for a good laugh.


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## MattnTricia (Jan 13, 2018)

I have been Elite Premier for many years now. I own all of my weeks in Scotland at this point. I find very little benefit to the program except the following:

No Club Fees for reservations including the ability to book night by night.
Reduced Open Season Rates although benefit very minimal at this point in Vegas where I have used it.
Registry Collection a mild benefit that I look at but have yet to actually book through.

As for owning in Scotland I still feel there is no better deal when you consider the low Maintenance Fees and extremely low upfront costs if purchased correctly.


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## Sky313 (Jan 13, 2018)

With regards to Elite premier do you also get fee waivers on point saving or guest fees? That could also help. According to the chart of Elite statuses it seems a little vague. What's the point and fee breakdown for reserving in the registry collection - is it just like RCI?


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## Tamaradarann (Jan 13, 2018)

frank808 said:


> Looked at elite for free booking and transaction fees.  We make about 12 bookings a year and save points every year so far.  Doing the math, it would take me close to 35 years buying those Scotland hgvc resale units to break even on the transaction fees that I pay yearly.
> 
> I couldn't see any scenario buying authorized resale would work for me financially.  Buying retail will never work for the perks offered.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk





frank808 said:


> Looked at elite for free booking and transaction fees.  We make about 12 bookings a year and save points every year so far.  Doing the math, it would take me close to 35 years buying those Scotland hgvc resale units to break even on the transaction fees that I pay yearly.
> 
> I couldn't see any scenario buying authorized resale would work for me financially.  Buying retail will never work for the perks offered.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk



I agree with you that even with a lot of bookings and saving points every year  in the past it would take a long time to break even on buying from the developer versus buying resale.  However, the continued increases in reservation and transaction fees needs to be kept in mind for the future. 

I don't think HGVC would go to the extremes that I am mentioning here, however, they could!  Many of the fee increases are not necessary to take advantage of the club so while they could go up; guest certificates, saving points, and point insurance fees provide little impetus to go to Elite levels.  However, what if HGVC raised the reservation fee to $1000.  Remember RCI reservation fee  for weeks exchanges is $239 now.  That is about 4 times the reservation fee of HGVC.  Why couldn't HGVC charge a reservation fee of 4 times the RCI fee?


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## Arimaas (Jan 13, 2018)

Tamaradarann said:


> I agree with you that even with a lot of bookings and saving points every year  in the past it would take a long time to break even on buying from the developer versus buying resale.  However, the continued increases in reservation and transaction fees needs to be kept in mind for the future.
> 
> I don't think HGVC would go to the extremes that I am mentioning here, however, they could!  Many of the fee increases are not necessary to take advantage of the club so while they could go up; guest certificates, saving points, and point insurance fees provide little impetus to go to Elite levels.  However, what if HGVC raised the reservation fee to $1000.  Remember RCI reservation fee  for weeks exchanges is $239 now.  That is about 4 times the reservation fee of HGVC.  Why couldn't HGVC charge a reservation fee of 4 times the RCI fee?



My only thought is if HGVC was to charge an exorbitant fee (honestly, even the fee they charge now is ridiculous considering we pay a $170 annual club fee), I think they would lose a lot of business. I wouldn't buy into the HGVC system if I had to pay $1000 to exchange my points within the system.


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## Tamaradarann (Jan 14, 2018)

Arimaas said:


> My only thought is if HGVC was to charge an exorbitant fee (honestly, even the fee they charge now is ridiculous considering we pay a $170 annual club fee), I think they would lose a lot of business. I wouldn't buy into the HGVC system if I had to pay $1000 to exchange my points within the system.



I agree with you that the fees they charge now are ridiculous.  As I said in my initial post on this subject, I don't think that they would go to the extreme of $1000 for reservations.  However, the reservation fee has been increasing each year.  As Elite you get a discount, as Elite Plus a bigger discount, as Elite Premier no reservation fee.  In the future they could raise the reservation fee much higher and at the same time raise the discounts and make getting Elite status more valuable.  Therefore, as a resale  owner you have to chose between using your home week, paying the ridiculously high club reservation fee, or buying/upgrading your weeks to developer purchases to become Elite, Elite Plus, or Elite Premier.  Higher Elite discounts and higher reservation fees could make developer purchases or upgrades attractive.


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## GT75 (Jan 14, 2018)

Tamaradarann said:


> I don't think HGVC would go to the extremes that I am mentioning here



It is also possible but unlikely that HGVC could also delete this Elite benefit.


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## Tamaradarann (Jan 14, 2018)

GT75 said:


> It is also possible but unlikely that HGVC could also delete this Elite benefit.



Why would HGVC delete ELITE BENEFITS?

I am not mentioning the possibility of HGVC raising fees and raising the benefit of being Elite to praise the benefit of Elite and support purchasing from the developer.   Even though we are Elite, we purchased all of our HGVC properties as resales.  4 of them were purchased through an authorized reseller to give us Elite.  Until this year we were Elite Plus until HGVC figured out that our 5th purchase was not an authorized reseller and "demoted us".  

That demotion resulted, in addition to paying a small amount extra for about 6 reservations a year, in us paying $105 for saving our points from one year to the next.  We were paying $39.  That was quite a hit.  That made me think about the huge hit we all would feel if HGVC raised the reservation fee a lot and compensated those that purchased from them by giving big discounts to Elite levels.  Why would they do that?  Because they make a great deal of money from selling timeshares and that would boost the impetus people to buy from the developer or upgrade their resale purchases to developer purchases.


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## ccwu (Jan 14, 2018)

We are elite premier.  I never have to pay a dime for any transaction other than RCI exchange fee. We bought lots of resales after being elite premier.  All the resale points are treated the same under our elite premier account.  No nightly, weekly reservation fee, no guest confirmation charge, no save points fee and 30% off open season, free transportation one way from airport to resort and many other.  We made reservation at least 15 times a year.  We cancel it all the time and re-reserve it since there is no cost for reservation.  I would think the saving for all the transaction over years would add up.  I don't even know what is the fee charges since it is irrelevant to us.  

We do have gift from staying.  Free breakfast, executive lounge access, water and snacks bottle are from Hilton hotels (being diamond member).  We always get gift from HHV, NYC, Vegas...(chocolates, wine glass, little breakfast granular jars....)  I even get a carry on TUMI suitcase (mailed to my home on top of the little elite annual gift.)  We got upgrades whenever there is availability.  I have to say we are happy with it.


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## Arimaas (Jan 14, 2018)

Tamaradarann said:


> I agree with you that the fees they charge now are ridiculous.  As I said in my initial post on this subject, I don't think that they would go to the extreme of $1000 for reservations.  However, the reservation fee has been increasing each year.  As Elite you get a discount, as Elite Plus a bigger discount, as Elite Premier no reservation fee.  In the future they could raise the reservation fee much higher and at the same time raise the discounts and make getting Elite status more valuable.  Therefore, as a resale  owner you have to chose between using your home week, paying the ridiculously high club reservation fee, or buying/upgrading your weeks to developer purchases to become Elite, Elite Plus, or Elite Premier.  Higher Elite discounts and higher reservation fees could make developer purchases or upgrades attractive.


I know you were only speaking hypotheticals. I was just keeping the conversation going. 

I don't think they would charge such an exorbitant fee, however, because it would leave out people that bought from developer, but couldn't afford to buy enough points to Be elite (I assume the majority of their market is people who buy from developer but not whatever threshold they need for elite). 

I will probably only make one reservation a year, so for me not a big deal. If I was retired and had more points and lived closer to a property, this might change.


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## CalGalTraveler (Jan 14, 2018)

Maybe I am missing something but from what I see the most valuable aspects of Elite are: 1) Free unlimited home resort and club reservations (34k) level; 2) one way transfers from the airport 3) HHonors Gold (or Plat); 4) Upgrades (24k and above)

https://club.hiltongrandvacations.com/en/club-membership/elite/benefits

#1 (opt in @ $120 per year) and #3 Gold are deeded benefits with our NY property, however we are not Elite. (but we paid a hefty premium equivalent to elite for buying NYC from the developer - sigh).  I am not sure what Elite offers beyond what we already have in our deed.  Sure, upgrades would be nice but if we had 24k+ points a year, I doubt that point stretching would be an issue!


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## Tamaradarann (Jan 14, 2018)

Arimaas said:


> I know you were only speaking hypotheticals. I was just keeping the conversation going.
> 
> I don't think they would charge such an exorbitant fee, however, because it would leave out people that bought from developer, but couldn't afford to buy enough points to Be elite (I assume the majority of their market is people who buy from developer but not whatever threshold they need for elite).
> 
> I will probably only make one reservation a year, so for me not a big deal. If I was retired and had more points and lived closer to a property, this might change.



As I mentioned I don't think HGVC would charge $1000 for reservations, at least not in my lifetime.  However, they do keep raising the fees.  They could make reservation fees say $250 which is about what RCI weeks exchanges are.  They could make the Elite benefit attractive enough to be a selling points to get people to stretch their budgets to buy another property from the developer.


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## CalGalTraveler (Jan 15, 2018)

FYI...Below are the terms from the 2018 rules for free resort and club reservations with the optional add-on fee of $120 per year for NY property owners.

"57th Street Vacation Suites, HC Suites and TD Suites can pay “Inclusive Club Dues” which allow Owners the opportunity to book Home Resort and Club Window reservations without paying the reservation fee. Inclusive Club Dues give Owners of these resorts the opportunity to book Club Reservations for free. This also allows these Owners to use Bonus Points for non-changeable Club Reservations complimentary. Once an Owner has opted in to be billed the Inclusive Club Dues, they will automatically be billed for Inclusive Club Dues in future years until they opt out."

FWIW...this is a bit of good Karma given the premium developer price we paid for NYC.  I just checked and this is baked into our W57 deed so we are grandfathered in case they change the terms to new buyers. Therefore I believe that resell buyers of NYC properties with as little as 3250 points purchase (approx. $10k - 12k resale at W57) could gain this "Elite" benefit only available to developer purchases at the 34k point level paying tens of thousands more.

Note that this benefit does not apply to transaction fees such as saving points which the 34k benefit also offers, however we only do that once per year (if at all). The booking/rebooking/changing of reservations is where it gets expensive and this makes it so we don't need to think about it.

Have they recently changed the terms to new buyers? i.e. do recent buyers of Residences and other NYC/District purchases from the developer have this baked into their deeds?  If not, such deeding of this benefit might become akin to Mandatory vs. Voluntary properties in the Vistana system for resales (but on a much smaller scale).

Would love to hear from recent Resident/NYC/DC purchasers as to what their deed says.


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## frank808 (Jan 15, 2018)

CalGalTraveler said:


> FYI...Below are the terms from the 2018 rules for free resort and club reservations with the optional add-on fee of $120 per year for NY property owners.
> 
> "57th Street Vacation Suites, HC Suites and TD Suites can pay “Inclusive Club Dues” which allow Owners the opportunity to book Home Resort and Club Window reservations without paying the reservation fee. Inclusive Club Dues give Owners of these resorts the opportunity to book Club Reservations for free. This also allows these Owners to use Bonus Points for non-changeable Club Reservations complimentary. Once an Owner has opted in to be billed the Inclusive Club Dues, they will automatically be billed for Inclusive Club Dues in future years until they opt out."
> 
> ...



If hgvc gives free club system transactions for all my points I would buy a small contract at residences.  It would make my break even point under a decade.  

Does anyone have experience of getting free club reservations for owners of West 57th and residences if pay If paying the add on fee?  Would have to get free transaction fees for all the weeks in my hgvc account or is it only for the West 57th and residence points get the free booking fees? 

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## CalGalTraveler (Jan 15, 2018)

If I understand your question correctly, it applies to an owners account.


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## PigsDad (Jan 15, 2018)

I found another Elite benefit this weekend.  We just returned from Valdoro, and Elite members receive happy hour pricing in the bar all of the time.  Not a huge benefit, but kind of nice!

Kurt


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## jehb2 (Jan 15, 2018)

GT75 said:


> It is also possible but unlikely that HGVC could also delete this Elite benefit.



Or do what they have done in the past--create more tiers. And if you want those benefits you would have to buy or upgrade to more developer points.


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## Mosescan (Jan 21, 2018)

terces said:


> It would appear that the cost of buying from HGVC resale works out to about $1.68 USD, which is at least double what you can buy for on the used market, so about $8,000 usd more for a 9600 point contract.  Thanks for all of the great advice!



Not even close. I only Paid 8000 british pounds for my 9600 point units and they were HGVC resales. At current exchange rate of $1.39 US to the pound that makes the cost $11120 or $1.158/point. A little more than my earlier estimate, but only because I used a different exchange rate. I'm not sure where you think you're going to get a 9600 point unit for much less than that on the US market without having much higher maintenance fees. My maintenance fees this year are 868 pounds or about $1200 US. Over many years that will make a big difference along with the fact that I no longer pay reservation fees. I just booked 2 separate weeks in Hawaii with no fees and will likely get a free upgrade for both weeks. I thought it was a pretty good deal. Time will tell.


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## Sky313 (Jan 21, 2018)

upgrades are pending availability. for Oahu depending on property and season, this can be the main limiting factor due to popularity


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## Mosescan (Jan 21, 2018)

for sure that will play a big factor in places like Hawaii. You have to be strategic about it. I've booked into a 2 BR plus at the grand waikikian. So far there is lots of availability there for all 2 BR units. As most people prefer to take the lower point units first I'm hoping the point heavy 2 BR Premiere at 14400 points for the week will still be available so we can get the free upgrade. Time will tell. It kind of makes sense from Hiltons perspective. By giving me the free upgrade it frees up a lower point unit which is more likely to be booked or that will be easier to rent out and lets them brag about what Elite can do for you. 

As stated earlier though, I would never have done this if I couldn't have done it through resale units. I got my two 9600 point resale units together for about the same as I paid HGVC for my original 5000 point gold unit in Vegas! LOL!


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## Mosescan (Jan 25, 2018)

hdins said:


> Are the weeks purchased for a set time until they expire ?  Are they RTU weeks ? I was told the weeks at Craigendarroch were originally for 36 years and only the balance left of those is what you are buying. I would appreciate if anyone can answer this.
> Thanks


I did not receive a deed for this property like I did for my vegas property. What you get is a holiday certificate, which is, I suspect, why the transaction is able to be completed so quickly. 15 days from contract signing you pay and within 2 or 3 days the property is added to your account and you can access the points. My holiday certificate says I have use in perpetuity as long as I pay my maintenance fees so I guess that means it's mine forever. Or until I sell it to someone else. The HGVC salesman I dealt with said they would broker it for 10% which is pretty reasonable, so I would probably go that way if I ever decided to sell it. Unlikely for the next 20 or 30 years! LOL!


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