# General pricing questions HGVC



## rfimp (Jan 15, 2013)

We are interested in the HGVC properties. I have compared a little to other options and keep coming back to this.  I am finding resale prices from 4k-30k. We are looking for 5k or more points/year, 2-3bdrm and I still don't understand some of the "floating", "colors weeks" and seasons.  How do I know what to look for and if it's a good deal?  I know when we went to HGVC pres about 3-4 years ago it was around 25K for gold? silver? and 7k points. But there's so much I don't remember since it's been so long. BTW  THANK YOU for this site, I didn't even know about resale until I accidentally found this site last week! I was thinking we would have to just book another trip and buy direct.  I do still feel I need help as there is SO much to learn I feel a bit overwhelmed w/all of the lingo.   Any info would be appreciated.  And to answer the specific time frame/week q's for the veterans on the site,  Do I have to have a specific week?  B/c I don't want one. Is that possible, or is that why it's a timeshare?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## buzglyd (Jan 15, 2013)

I found Seth Nock's name on this website referred by TUG members and he's a veritable dictionary of Hilton knowledge.

He steered me to a Hilton Waikoloa Beach Resort (7000 points) Platinum and I'm eagerly awaiting Hilton's release of Right of First Refusal.

Generally, buy Platinum time. The maint. fee is the same so you might as well get more points for your money.


----------



## rfimp (Jan 15, 2013)

YAY!!! Congrats, Hope rofr goes right through for you!  I do have a question for you regarding your purchase.  What made you go for hawaii? I want to def visit there, but I have seen better prices to purchase at Vegas or Orlando.  Thoughts?


----------



## buzglyd (Jan 15, 2013)

rfimp said:


> YAY!!! Congrats, Hope rofr goes right through for you!  I do have a question for you regarding your purchase.  What made you go for hawaii? I want to def visit there, but I have seen better prices to purchase at Vegas or Orlando.  Thoughts?



I live in Southern California and I love Hawaii and try to go every year. I don't really care for LV or Orlando. I travel to those two cities endlessly for business. Although I wouldn't mind some last minute drives to Vegas now.

The Hawaii buy in was lower with a higher maint fee. The LV buy in was higher with a lower maint fee. It would take 10-12 years to make a difference.

I want Hawaii as my home resort because as I understand, it's not always easy to trade into a nice resort in Hawaii.

Now if HGVC would put one on Ka'anapali beach!


----------



## rfimp (Jan 15, 2013)

ah, great info!! Thank you!  Well I personally am not a Vegas fan, but I want in HGVC so as long as I can get a great buy, I don't care if it has to be in Vegas.  However, your point of it being hard to get nice accomodations in Hawaii is one of the questions I have.  I don't want to go to the same place every time, but I don't understand the whole booking process yet either, and w/o bombarding this board w/a million q's I thought I would try to take it one step at a time and read as much as possible in b/t.  So would it suffice to say you would have to book years in advance just to get a Hawaii vacay?  Guess I need to contact Seth?


----------



## buzglyd (Jan 15, 2013)

rfimp said:


> ah, great info!! Thank you!  Well I personally am not a Vegas fan, but I want in HGVC so as long as I can get a great buy, I don't care if it has to be in Vegas.  However, your point of it being hard to get nice accomodations in Hawaii is one of the questions I have.  I don't want to go to the same place every time, but I don't understand the whole booking process yet either, and w/o bombarding this board w/a million q's I thought I would try to take it one step at a time and read as much as possible in b/t.  So would it suffice to say you would have to book years in advance just to get a Hawaii vacay?  Guess I need to contact Seth?



I'm not the guy to ask because I have no practical experience yet.

There is lots of great info on this board and I've read nearly all of it. I'm a TS industry veteran and it was even a little overwhelming for me. I can't imagine it makes any sense to someone who doesn't know the terminology.


----------



## presley (Jan 15, 2013)

You don't have to buy a specific week.  Even if you do, the points are there and can be booked for other HGVC properties.

The platinum/gold/silver thing will really show up in the purchase price.  The prices for platinum will be much higher than for gold and gold will be higher than silver.  The annual dues for all will be same if you have the same # of bedrooms, etc.

I am looking at the Parc Solei point chart.  Looking at their highest level room, a Platinum week would give 9600 points, while gold would give 7000.  That is for a 3 bedroom penthouse unit - the highest end unit.  The annual dues on those 2 contracts would be the same.  However, the buy in would be significantly different.  

Many people will say to spend more and buy the Platinum.  However, how many years do you really plan to keep the contract and how many points will you really use?  Those are things you would want to consider before you purchase.


----------



## buzglyd (Jan 15, 2013)

That's an excellent point.

I'm 48 and figured 20 years of active travel and use from now.

If I was 10 years older, I might buy something different.


----------



## PassionForTravel (Jan 15, 2013)

Buzzglyd I'm with you, we goto Hawaii every year and I am purchasing at the bay club (7000 pt platinum) in Hawaii for the same reasons as you. The MF are higher than Vegas or Orlando but I sure don't want to get stuck spending a whole week in either. Did Orlando when my son was young, Vegas is great but after 2 or 3 days I'm ready to leave.  If reservations get hard it's nice to know I have home season advantage to a location in Hawaii. 

For me the break even point is 15 years.

Rfimp there's a sticky at the top of the forum called Hilton /HGVC advice article link. Go to post #4 and there are a bunch of links including the HGVC member guide. Read through that and I think things will become much clearer.

Ian


----------



## rfimp (Jan 15, 2013)

Thank you for you comments all! Keep them coming! 
Yes- I have Been reading the sticky thread most of this evening. 
Trying to read all I can to get re-aquainted w/the process. 
I would love Hawaii to be my home base, but I didn't
Know if it would be worth paying more there
If I wouldn't be using it that much? We want
To travel all over.  Is it really hard to get reservations
Elsewhere? I agree wholeheartedly on not getting
Stuck w/a Vegas or Orlando vacay. That would
Be a real bummer! If I got stuck w/Hawaii I would
Still be very happy.


----------



## vegasVIP (Jan 16, 2013)

I decided on a 7k yearly platinum in Vegas.  I paid $10,000 all in and my home is the Karen St. location.  Seems taxes were cheaper in Vegas and I did not need the extra 3 months for Hawaii.

As said before points are points.  My 7k points will book into Hawaii the same as someone who owns there, only I have a 9 month window and they have 12.  If your going to travel to various places over the years, buy Vegas and as mentioned before buy Platinum. Hope this helps.


----------



## rfimp (Jan 16, 2013)

Thank you Vegas! Well that's along the lines that
We were originally thinking.  It seems to make sense anyway. 
But if that is the case, then why would one be
Worried to get "stuck" w/a week at home? Can't 
You just book somewhere else regardless? 
Is booking that difficult to go where you want?


----------



## presley (Jan 16, 2013)

rfimp said:


> Thank you Vegas! Well that's along the lines that
> We were originally thinking.  It seems to make sense anyway.
> But if that is the case, then why would one be
> Worried to get "stuck" w/a week at home? Can't
> ...



I'm still pretty new with mine, but I have been able to get the stays that I want with the exception of wanting Carlsbad Seapointe in August.  I took Marbrisa in its place.  ( a few miles away).

I did get the Hawaii that I need in the spring, but I think the point people are trying to emphasize is that Hawaii does fill up.  So, if you were planning on traveling there frequently, it would be a good purchase.  If you are just goign once in a while, no need to buy there.


----------



## rfimp (Jan 16, 2013)

Thank you presley! That's pretty much what I thought! Good to know though.  So when you say you didn't get Carlsbad and took Marbrisa instead, what kind of timeline before you know if you "got" your destination choice or not?  And do you put in at more than one and pick the one you want most?


----------



## presley (Jan 16, 2013)

rfimp said:


> Thank you presley! That's pretty much what I thought! Good to know though.  So when you say you didn't get Carlsbad and took Marbrisa instead, what kind of timeline before you know if you "got" your destination choice or not?  And do you put in at more than one and pick the one you want most?



I booked from their website which shows the availability in real time.  I've been checking every day for about 2 weeks, hoping someone would cancel.  When I noticed that Marbrisa was filling up, I decided to book that.  I suppose I can keep looking for a cancellation at Seapointe and switch to that.

Honestly, I am clueless as to if HGVC has their own wait list.  That is something that would be really good for me to know.  I've just been looking/booking online with the exception of Club Intrawest which isn't online.  I called to book that and they had exactly what I wanted when I called.  

Booking from the HGVC site gives a choice of looking at a particular area.  I can choose show all California resorts (it shows the 3 Carlsbad locations) and then I scroll through dates.  I did that with Hawaii as well.  I ended up with Grand Waikikian which takes the most points, but the others were already full.  I only booked it 5 months out, so I was just glad that I got my exact dates.


----------



## rfimp (Jan 16, 2013)

Oh Ok!  I thought you had to call reservations at HGVC for everything, No?  I was thinking I read that somewhere on here and that you don't rsvp direct to the hotels/resorts?  I think it would be hard to commit to a vacation a year out, 5 mnths wouldn't be as bad.  So if the one you wanted becomes available can you go w/that or once you pick one you are stuck?  I know I also read something about cancellations and how many days to do what before you had penalties, but if you have two going and you aren't to the 30 day can you switch?


----------



## Talent312 (Jan 17, 2013)

rfimp said:


> I thought you had to call reservations at HGVC for everything, No?
> I was thinking I read that somewhere on here and that you don't rsvp direct to the hotels/resorts?
> I also read something about cancellations and how many days to do what before you had penalties, but if you have two going and you aren't to the 30 day, can you switch?



The short-version:

HGVC Resorts and a few affiliates that HGVC manages (under contract) are avaiable for reservation at the HGVC member website. See: www.hgvclub.com Many "affiliates" (i.e. SW Florida) can be booked only by calling HGVC. You cannot book a resort by contacting the resort.

HOTELS are a different kettle of fish. They are run by a different division of Hilton. Although a HGVC member can book them thru HGVC, you'd do better to use the Hilton Hotels' separate website. See www.hilton.com

If you book online, reservations may be changed without penalty up to 30 days out, or if you increase your use of points, up to 1-day out. If you call, the fee for booking is higher and it may not be changed unless you pay an extra fee for a changeable reservation.
.
.


----------



## linsj (Jan 17, 2013)

presley said:


> Honestly, I am clueless as to if HGVC has their own wait list.  That is something that would be really good for me to know.  I've just been looking/booking online with the exception of Club Intrawest which isn't online.  I called to book that and they had exactly what I wanted when I called.



HGVC doesn't have a wait list like other systems. All the inventory is shown online, except for most of the affiliates for which you have to call.


----------



## Lmar206 (Feb 1, 2013)

*Bay club*

I purchased 4800 points on eBay dirt cheap, and another 7000 from Seth both last year.  Closings both went off without a hitch.  We banked last years points and spent this year in HI, 7 days in a 1br plus in lagoon tower, and 10 days in a 2br+ in the Lohala (?) suites on the big island.  Hands down, the best vacation we've had,money well spent (last year our hotel for a week was more than maintenance on both units!!)

I booked in December for a jan vacation and got the units we wanted, and both locations were fantastic.  There was plenty of open season at kings land, we spent the $15/pp for a day at their pool, and it was really nice.  The hotel pool is impressive too, the kids loved seeing the turtles on the lagoon.  I'm looking forward to going back this fall, going to try my luck with open season.

We found tug after buying after a presentation at HHV last year, and promptly rescinding, this site saved us literally thousands and thousands.  We were poised to buy 4800pts for 22k!  I spent a quarter of that on 11,800.  Love tug!


----------



## RX8 (Feb 1, 2013)

Lmar206 said:


> We were poised to buy 4800pts for 22k!  I spent a quarter of that on 11,800.  Love tug!



Are you saying that you only spent about $6000 for both the 4800 AND 7000 pt memberships?  That is VERY good if so.


----------



## SmithOp (Feb 1, 2013)

linsj said:


> HGVC doesn't have a wait list like other systems. All the inventory is shown online, except for most of the affiliates for which you have to call.



You could say the wait list is waiting for the 9 month window to open up so we can book.


----------



## jlee2070 (Feb 1, 2013)

As Hawaii availability goes for HGVC...  Big Island is generally "easy" to get a 9 months out.  However, Hilton Hawaiian on Oahu is a completely different story at 9 months, can be challenge in the high demand times.  Not saying it is not doable, just may have to play games with the reservations...

I too wish there was a HGVC Resort on Maui!!!


----------



## Talent312 (Feb 1, 2013)

rfimp said:


> So would it suffice to say you would have to book years in advance just to get a Hawaii vacay?



If you own in Hawaii, you get a 12-month "home week" booking window.
-- 1 week at the resort you own, same season and same size unit.
-- _Note:_ This is not your unit. You will not know which one it is.

If you don't own in Hawaii and want to stay there, you have two options:
-- 1. A "club" booking within the 9-month reservation window; or
-- 2. An RCI booking ('weeks' for up to 2 years; 'points' for up to 10 mos).
The third option -- "open season" (30 days out) isn't particularly viable.

It is possible to book Oahu right at the 9-month mark, but not long after.
.
.


----------



## Lmar206 (Feb 2, 2013)

RX8 said:


> Are you saying that you only spent about $6000 for both the 4800 AND 7000 pt memberships?  That is VERY good if so.



Yep, 4800 was $500 on eBay, and I bought the 7000 from Seth for 5k (found the eBay after).  Both bay club.  Very happy with both and looking forward to 2 weeks in Hawaii until I drop dead in another 40 years or so.  The biggest selling point we got hooked on during the hgvc presentation was open season, and it seems the big island almost always has availability, so were hooked.  It's an easy flight from Seattle and I rack up a lot of miles on my business card so I can get there for a whopping $5 using American miles.


----------



## GeorgeJ. (Feb 13, 2013)

Lmar206 said:


> Yep, 4800 was $500 on eBay, and I bought the 7000 from Seth for 5k (found the eBay after).  Both bay club.  Very happy with both and looking forward to 2 weeks in Hawaii until I drop dead in another 40 years or so.  The biggest selling point we got hooked on during the hgvc presentation was open season, and it seems the big island almost always has availability, so were hooked.  It's an easy flight from Seattle and I rack up a lot of miles on my business card so I can get there for a whopping $5 using American miles.



Wow, I would have thought the $500 for 4800 points would have been from the Las Vegas Flamingo rather than Bay Club...(because of no ROFR)


----------



## piyooshj (Feb 14, 2013)

How much is bay club MF for 1br and 2br. The cost to get in really cheap.


----------



## Newportbeach (Feb 14, 2013)

*ROFR*

It have bought at the Bay Club, and was told directly that Hilton manages the Bay Club, and does not have a contract right of first refusal.  Nevertheless, we submitted a ROFR form for Bay Club to decline, and they declined it.  I called the Bay Club and was told they never exercise the ROFR, and I was immediately emailed the letter confirming no exercise.

AS to MF as I recall the one bedroom is $1075 and the 2 bedroom is $1378 approx.  Here is a great advantage with HGVC, a one bedroom is 4800 points and a 2 bedrm is 7000.  Assume you own a one bedroom.  If you deposit that one bedroom into RCI and ask to stall at another hilton location or other club, the cost of a one bedroom is 3400 points and the cost of a 2 bedroom is 5000 pts.  So I receive a one bedroom this year for 3400 and now I have 1400 pts that get rolled over to 2014, and combined with my 4800 points for that year I do an RCI trade for a two bedroom.  Since I have a Hilton to Hilton priority I tend to go on the wait list for a Hilton.  There may be a 1 to 5 year restriction, but I can trade the first year to Kingsland, second Year to the Waikolao Beach Club, Third year to Bay Club(get a 2 bedroom), Fourth year to HHV Lagoons, and Fifth year HHV Grand Waikikan.  Better yet with a 7000 pt 2 bedroom, I get 2 weeks in a one bedroom with a 1,000 to roll over to 2014 where I repeat that exercise.  I can ever 12 months ahead of time borrow points from the next year, at the cost of my MF and thereby
manage 2 two bedrooms consecutively or not.  I also like that HGVC allows on line 24/7 bookings.


----------



## bevans (Feb 14, 2013)

GeorgeJ. said:


> Wow, I would have thought the $500 for 4800 points would have been from the Las Vegas Flamingo rather than Bay Club...(because of no ROFR)



Actually, the Flamingo sells for much more than Bay Club since maintenance fees are barely over half of Bay Club. The fact of no ROFR does not lessen the sales price of the Flamingo as people always bid these up knowing they always go through at the agreed upon price. Curt


----------



## PassionForTravel (Feb 14, 2013)

NewportBeach have you tried this. From a previous thread I was under the impression that HGVC resorts were blocked when going through the HGVC->RCI portal until 9 months (club season) before check in. Judging from how quickly the mini Bay Club bulk deposit last week got swallowed up I doubt it will last that long.

I also bought at the Bay Club 2 bdr 7K points. For me there were two reason. First was the payback compared to Vegas was somewhere between 10-15 years. Second if the Big Island ever gets hard to book in club season I've always got home season to fall back on. 

My deed has recorded, now I'm just waiting to get in their system.

Ian


----------



## SmithOp (Feb 14, 2013)

PassionForTravel said:


> NewportBeach have you tried this. From a previous thread I was under the impression that HGVC resorts were blocked when going through the HGVC->RCI portal until 9 months (club season) before check in. Judging from how quickly the mini Bay Club bulk deposit last week got swallowed up I doubt it will last that long.
> 
> I also bought at the Bay Club 2 bdr 7K points. For me there were two reason. First was the payback compared to Vegas was somewhere between 10-15 years. Second if the Big Island ever gets hard to book in club season I've always got home season to fall back on.
> 
> ...



I think the way to make it work with Bay Club is to have an RCI account and have BC deposit in RCI instead of points into HGVC, then you would not be restricted by the HGVC-RCI portal.


----------



## PigsDad (Feb 14, 2013)

SmithOp said:


> I think the way to make it work with Bay Club is to have an RCI account and have BC deposit in RCI instead of points into HGVC, then you would not be restricted by the HGVC-RCI portal.


That would get around the restriction, but then you don't get the advantage of getting a 1BR for only 3400 points, right?  You would have to deposit your 1BR Bay Club week (what you own, worth 4800 points if kept in the HGVC system) to your external RCI account.  No point savings advantage then.

Kurt


----------

