# Want to buy HGVC at Elara resale but I'm failing to see how this saves any money?



## JohnRig (Jun 15, 2016)

Hey all,

I've been reading this board for a while looking for a resale timeshare to buy. I've been trying to figure out the best brand to buy in to and I've decided that Hilton is the way to go because they don't place restrictions on resale like the other brands and they have luxury resorts. What I don't understand is how this actually saves any money. Here is a $1 HGVC Elara resale in Vegas:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3500-HGVC-P...106398?hash=item2ef06c041e:g:zf0AAOSwl8NVZ0OQ

One week every year. With a maintenance fee of $837 per year, that comes to $119 per night. Here is Elara on Expedia

https://www.expedia.com/Las-Vegas-H...32041&c=c0fb3556-512f-4133-9a32-b91df549103c&

I can get a Studio on Expedia for $136 per night. So the timeshare saves me whopping $115 over 7 days?  That's not even including closing costs and all those extra fees. With closing costs and saving only $115 per year it would take me about 5 years just to break even. Do people really go through all of this trouble to save $115 per year? I'll spend that on dinner in one night... I just don't get it. If I'm buying a life-long contract shouldn't I receive a bigger discount? What am I missing here? Do you not have to pay the $16.37 per night in taxes and fees with the timeshare like you do with Expedia?

Thanks all!


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## capjak (Jun 15, 2016)

Buying a 3500 point contract will not be economical you are correct.  However if you bought an 7000 point contract (as it would have the same maintenance fee) than you would cut your per night costs in half for vegas and other HGVC locations with the same point requirements.


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## JohnRig (Jun 15, 2016)

Hmm, so 7000 points is really only needed if I want a more bedrooms, right?


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## SmithOp (Jun 15, 2016)

JohnRig said:


> Hmm, so 7000 points is really only needed if I want a more bedrooms, right?





Correct, studios are not a good buy compared to cash rates.  Check out the cash rate on a 2 bedroom, which would give you enough points for two weeks in a studio.


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## JohnRig (Jun 15, 2016)

grr. Well, I don't need a 2 bed. I don't even really care for a 1 bed. Just me and the girlfriend. Why can't I buy a 30+ year contract that lets me save money on a studio lol. Guess I just need to get me some kids and/or friends ha.


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## holdaer (Jun 15, 2016)

JohnRig said:


> grr. Well, I don't need a 2 bed. I don't even really care for a 1 bed. Just me and the girlfriend. Why can't I buy a 30+ year contract that lets me save money on a studio lol. Guess I just need to get me some kids and/or friends ha.



In my humble opinion, if you enjoy taking extended vacations in a hotel room (studio) then don't buy a timeshare.

I own 2 timeshares with HGVC and love taking extended vacations with my wife in a 1BR.  I travel enough for work that staying in a hotel room is not an option for us when we are on vacation.

For me, the benefits of owning a timeshare is taking 7 days or more in a highly desirable resort in a premium room.

For example, I'm talking my family and in-laws to Park City, UT and staying at Sunrise Lodge in a 3BR Premium.  The same room costs $6,020.89 on Hilton's website for 7days.  

Everyone vacations differently, so it's really depends on what you like.


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## jestme (Jun 15, 2016)

As capjak suggested, the problem you have is the 3500 points. If you get 7000 points, and want to stay in the same studio you are comparing on Expedia, then for 7000 points, you would get about 3.5 weeks of studio. One week in a studio is 2200 points, platinum season. Even the 3500 points would get you one and a half weeks, unless you want a studio plus which costs, which isn't what Expedia is offering.
The points are good at other locations as well that have  higher per night costs than Vegas.


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## JohnRig (Jun 15, 2016)

Ah, for some reason I thought I could only use the thing for one week a year? But you're saying I could use the 7000 points towards a studio for 2-3 weeks in one year? That's starting to sound a lot better. I'd probably only use 2 weeks, and could rent out or give away the third week to family member very easily. 

Hmm. Maybe a good deal after all.


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## Ralph Sir Edward (Jun 15, 2016)

JohnRig said:


> Ah, for some reason I thought I could only use the thing for one week a year? But you're saying I could use the 7000 points towards a studio for 2-3 weeks in one year? That's starting to sound a lot better. I'd probably only use 2 weeks, and could rent out or give away the third week to family member very easily.
> 
> Hmm. Maybe a good deal after all.



That is correct. the Hilton system allows you to convert your timeshare in their system into points, usable at the same place or elsewhere in the system. So if you had a 2 bedroom week worth 7000 points and there was a place with Hilton that let you book a studio for 3500 points, you could book two weeks (assuming availability) there in a year.

There are lots of ins and outs to this system, far too many for me to list on this post. The main trick is to get as many points as you can for the least amount of upfront money <and> ongoing maintenance fees. 

Balancing the upfront cost versus the maintenance fees is a personal decision, and I can't advise on it.


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## capjak (Jun 15, 2016)

Yes you can use the points for more than a one week stay in a studio and if you do not use all your points you can "bank" them to the next year so that you will have more in the following year.

Also be sure the Elara comes with HGVC conversion to points as I believe I have seen some ads where they state "no conversion to points" not sure if this is true or not.


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## sjuhawk_jd (Jun 15, 2016)

JohnRig said:


> Hey all,
> 
> I've been reading this board for a while looking for a resale timeshare to buy. I've been trying to figure out the best brand to buy in to and I've decided that Hilton is the way to go because they don't place restrictions on resale like the other brands and they have luxury resorts. What I don't understand is how this actually saves any money. Here is a $1 HGVC Elara resale in Vegas:
> 
> ...



In my opinion, you are not missing anything. That is why these contracts are being dumped in resale markets for pennies on the dollar. 

These contracts make sense for 2 or 3 bedroom condo seekers. 2 bedroom condo at Elara is mostly available through Hilton site for $600 to $2500 per night. Now you can do the math. A 7 night reservation in a 4 bedroom condo at Elara from Dec 30 to January 6th is $25,000 (just one time use of 7 nights) if booked  through expedia or Hilton.com.


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## Cyberc (Jun 15, 2016)

JohnRig said:


> Ah, for some reason I thought I could only use the thing for one week a year? But you're saying I could use the 7000 points towards a studio for 2-3 weeks in one year? That's starting to sound a lot better. I'd probably only use 2 weeks, and could rent out or give away the third week to family member very easily.
> 
> Hmm. Maybe a good deal after all.



You can also use your points with rci and still stay at a HGVC resort. IE. I just went to NYC and stayed at the very nice Hilton club. That's a 2400 HGVC points for a studio + booking fee. In total with booking fee it's less than 450$ for 7 nights when calculating the cost or points used. 

I have planned a vacation for my youngest daughter and I. We are going to HGVC in Orlando in September and staying in a studio, that's 1600 HGVC points. That's a total with booking fee for 203$ for 7 nights. 

In my book that is cheap. 

Regards.


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## Jason245 (Jun 15, 2016)

What people here are not mentioning is that 7000 points costs about $7k... so it could take years to see the true benefit. .. 



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## brp (Jun 15, 2016)

Ralph Sir Edward said:


> That is correct. the Hilton system allows you to convert your timeshare in their system into points, usable at the same place or elsewhere in the system.



Let's be a little careful with terminology here. HGVC does offer a Conversion option to HHonors points to be used within the hotel part of the Hilton family. This is generally not a good deal.

The use of the HGVC points at a resort other than the home resort does not involve any "conversion" at all. They're just points that can be used elsewhere in the system, as long as it's not during the Home period.

Cheers.


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## Seagila (Jun 15, 2016)

capjak said:


> Also be sure the Elara comes with HGVC conversion to points as I believe I have seen some ads where they state "no conversion to points" not sure if this is true or not.



Elara has some Westgate deeds that are not part of HGVC.  Those do not come with HGVC points.  Briefly discussed here.


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## phil1ben (Jun 16, 2016)

I understand your analysis if you only intend to go to Las Vegas. However, if you intend to go to other destinations I think you will find the benefits improve. We have a 7000 point package in South Beach that we bought resale. It costs all in about $1,500/year. We paid $7,200 for the unit in 2010 and you can deal with amortization of the purchase price as you see fit. 

For $1,500/year we get 7 nights in a 2 bedroom or 10-12 nights in a 1 bedroom at South Beach (on Ocean Avenue) depending what days of the week we stay. Weekends are more points. We are paying about $215/night for the 2 bedroom and about $136/night for the 1 bedroom. Cannot approach that in South Beach in the same location.

Last year we stayed at the Tuscany facility in Italy just outside Pisa. We stayed 7 nights for $1,500 for the same $215/night. The place was beautiful. In our minds good value. We have also stayed at 57th Street in New York and provided you stay 2-3 days to reduce the fixed $85.00 cleaning fee also fair value. 

Because you are buying in Las Vegas you are paying much lower annual fees so the price per night improves at other locations. We wanted the Home Week benefit for South Beach so we bought there understanding the higher annual payments. We also enjoy the flexibility of the points program so we are not fixed to any particular week.

Timeshares are not for everyone. They require more planning, are not always located in the epicenter of activity and provide for a increasing cost FOREVER (our increases have been about 2-3% annually). For us a single timeshare serves the purpose while for many on this site multiple timeshares are needed. However, for a portion of our annual vacation budget we think a resale HGVC is good value.


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## MikeinSoCal (Jun 16, 2016)

I would never use my points to stay in Vegas.


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