# Need Advice - HGVC



## Hsahota1 (Apr 29, 2018)

Hi all, pretty new here in TUG. Became a member a few weeks ago as I feel there are some knowledgable people here. 

Looking to purchase 7200 platinum biennial points in Oahu (1 bedroom at GW).  The plan would be to add points a few years down the road. 

Any suggestions on what I should be paying upfront as well as MF's? 

Also, this may be a silly question and I did read articles but I was hoping for clarification as HGVC is point based- 
If 7200 points would get me a 1 bedroom at GW for a week would it get me a 2 bedroom for a week at the lagoon tower?


----------



## slip (Apr 29, 2018)

Your still under the “New to Timeshare”
Section. Maybe one of the moderators can move this over to the Hilton section.


----------



## Hsahota1 (Apr 29, 2018)

lol
Rookie mistake


----------



## slip (Apr 29, 2018)

No biggie, the Hilton owners will be more helpful with your specific Hilton questions. Your good now.


----------



## Talent312 (Apr 30, 2018)

Welcome to TUG and welcome to the HGVC Forum.
I'll leave the advice on price to others, but the chart
shows  that 7200 points are enuff for a 2BR Lagoon
(7000 Platinum Season or 5000 Gold Season).
_... likewise for 2BR's in Bay Club on the Big Island._

Adding points later means buying another TS, meaning
that you'll pay a 2nd set of MF's (but only 1-club dues).

.


----------



## ljmiii (Apr 30, 2018)

Hsahota1 said:


> If 7200 points would get me a 1 bedroom at GW for a week would it get me a 2 bedroom for a week at the lagoon tower?


HGVC is point based...but there is also a 'Home Week' booking window that opens before the points booking window. So if you actually want to stay for a full week in a 2BR Lagoon tower I'd recommend buying there - particularly if you want to stay during a high demand week like President's Day week or Marine Day week (the traditional start of Japan's Summer vacation). But yes, your GW points will allow you to book at any of the Waikiki resorts assuming there is availability.


----------



## Hsahota1 (Apr 30, 2018)

Was hoping to keep MFs low by buying 7200 pts EOY and down the road pick up something similar EEY so I can borrow or save pts and have more points incase we have more than 2 of us travelling.


----------



## Hsahota1 (Apr 30, 2018)

Thanks for the advice so far!


----------



## GT75 (May 1, 2018)

Why do you want to purchase 1 Bd at GW?


----------



## ljmiii (May 1, 2018)

Hsahota1 said:


> Was hoping to keep MFs low by buying 7200 pts EOY and down the road pick up something similar EEY so I can borrow or save pts and have more points incase we have more than 2 of us travelling.


A bunch of things going on here and I'll try to unpack them.

1) Low MFs are a great goal...but Hawaii isn't usually the place to get that. In general, platinum weeks are the right choice...at a higher initial cost.

2) EOY weeks are great if you want to vacation every other year - my HGVC weeks in the Lagoon tower are EOY. But in general, you pay a slight premium for that convenience. My other concern is that while borrowing is free HGVC charges a fee to bank your points.

3) The usual timeshare advice is 'Buy where you want to stay'. But HGVC's system is different and so my advice is more, "If you want to stay in Orlando, Las Vegas, or the Big Island buy the points that are 'cheapest' (weighing initial price vs MFs)." 

In short, if you know you want to stay in a 1BR at GW for a Sat to Sat stay every other year for the foreseeable future then it's a great choice. But if you are just looking for something that gives you 3600 points/year you could probably do better.


----------



## Hsahota1 (May 1, 2018)

GT75 said:


> Why do you want to purchase 1 Bd at GW?



We are in our mid 30's and see ourselves visiting Hawaii every other year as we live on the west coast (Oh Canada) 
One bedroom cost lower than a 2 bedroom at GW. 
One bedroom MF lower than 2 bedroom. 
With having around 7200 pts, gives us flexibility to use points at BI for a 2 bedroom if we take the kids or a 1 bedroom in Oahu. 

I looked at some resale sites and seeing a few in Las Vegas but not seeing a huge difference, maybe a big difference between list price vs actual sold price? 

I am hesitant to buy in Florida as I don't see us ever going there. 

Thoughts or suggestions?


----------



## Hsahota1 (May 1, 2018)

ljmiii said:


> A bunch of things going on here and I'll try to unpack them.
> 
> 1) Low MFs are a great goal...but Hawaii isn't usually the place to get that. In general, platinum weeks are the right choice...at a higher initial cost.
> 
> ...



Really appreciate the advice! Thanks


----------



## Sapper (May 1, 2018)

Hsahota1 said:


> We are in our mid 30's and see ourselves visiting Hawaii every other year as we live on the west coast (Oh Canada)
> One bedroom cost lower than a 2 bedroom at GW.
> One bedroom MF lower than 2 bedroom.
> With having around 7200 pts, gives us flexibility to use points at BI for a 2 bedroom if we take the kids or a 1 bedroom in Oahu.
> ...



There seems to be two camps: buy where you want to stay -OR- buy lowest maintenance fee per point. 

In the first category, if you want to stay in a two bedroom at Lagoon, then you should buy a two bedroom at Lagoon. 

In the second category, you should buy at Vegas (or possibly in Scottland, not sure if being part of the commonwealth means anything regarding ownership, but the exchange rates are currently favorable.. which may change). When you are looking for cheap points, you can go even cheaper and buy a smaller contract and just borrow the point difference every year from the following year. 

There are pluses and minuses to each. The first will cost more, both up front and every year in maintenance fees. HOWEVER, you are significantly more likely to get the unit when you want it. The second will be significantly lower cost, but you may not be able to get what you want when you want. 

We just (last week) bought at Valdoro specifically because we wanted a ski week. We paid more than I would have liked, possibly more than a Vegas unit, and our maintenance fees will be a lot more than a Vegas week. However, we have a little guy starting school next spring, and so being able to use on a specific calendar week will be important for schedules for the next decade and a half. 

There is one other reason to buy where you want to go. Look at what is going on with the mega Marriott ILG merger. We also own a Hyatt, which becomes involved in that mess through ILG. There is no way of knowing how things will shake out, and it is possible the rules will change to make things less desirable for trading our Hyatt week. However, no matter what happens, they cannot take our deed to the unit we own, so we will always be able to use our unit week. If we owned something that was just a points trader, we might be really disappointed with the outcome of the merger / possible rules change. Not saying this will ever happen to HGVC, but no one knows the future... In a decade, things will probably look different.


----------



## GT75 (May 1, 2018)

Hsahota1 said:


> Thoughts or suggestions?



When I asked the question, I wasn't able to research the current asking price for resale at GW.    I now see that they have come down to more reasonable levels.    I have purchased most of my HGVC ownership specifically because we plan to travel there every year.      I lean towards "buy where you want to go camp" for the specific reasons that @Sapper has just stated.    So, I think that you have good reasons for purchasing at GW.  It looks like GW has 3 different 1 Bd which should also have the same MFs.    The best MF/point ratio will be the 1 Bd premier with 12,600 points.   But, of course this unit will have a higher initial buy-in cost.  It also sounds like you understand MFs and HGVC booking windows for Home Week and Club Week (or how the points system works).


----------



## SmithOp (May 1, 2018)

I seem to be in both camps, own Kingsland, its my favorite HGVC resort but I never stay in my owned home week, always trade down for better value.  I can stay two weeks in a phase 2 two bedroom standard unit, which lowers my cost to about $115/night.

Sapper brings up an interesting point, non-US owners may not get the favorable exchange rate for Scotland, may not even get it for US properties, and they pay a higher club fee.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## Hsahota1 (May 2, 2018)

Ok so I have narrowed my search down based on all the great info here and advice. I am not rushing into placing any offers.  Will def be looking at the MF point ratio. 

How easy/hard is it to make reservations during club season, particularly in Hawaii?


----------



## GT75 (May 2, 2018)

If you have flexibility in your dates and book exactly when the club window opens, then it shouldn't be a issue getting something.    Now, if you need a specific week or room or resort for example, then I would suggest that you own there.     There are certain periods in HI (because of Japanese schedule, {someone will be able to tell us if that is important to you}) where it is very difficult for owners to even make a home week reservation.


----------



## GT75 (May 2, 2018)

Also refer to information which @alwysonvac has just posted (https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...aikiki-june-or-july-2019.273447/#post-2135017)


----------



## Hsahota1 (May 2, 2018)

Perfect tbanks so much! 

Another question I have is the 276 day window, is there a tracker in the website that keeps it simple to track/book/alert or do TS peeps use a traditional calendar etc.


----------



## 1Kflyerguy (May 3, 2018)

Hsahota1 said:


> Perfect tbanks so much!
> 
> Another question I have is the 276 day window, is there a tracker in the website that keeps it simple to track/book/alert or do TS peeps use a traditional calendar etc.


There might be a tracker, but I just use Excel to calculate the dates.  Just set the cell to a date format and you easily add or subtract as needed.

Sent from my SM-T807V using Tapatalk


----------



## GT75 (May 3, 2018)

Hsahota1 said:


> is there a tracker in the website that keeps it simple to track/book/alert



None via the club web site that I am aware of.     I calculate my dates beforehand (via this web site {https://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadded.html})  and then make alerts on the cell phone.


----------



## OMC (May 3, 2018)

youppi said:


> I did a spreadsheet with multiple tabs as reference/dates reminder for different systems.
> May be it could be help full.
> I published it as a web page
> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1q6Aor4xU89_QW7c6W_2Y5m0s4ektnyY3fymikyD0HBU/pubhtml#
> ...



Of course someone on TUG has done a great spreadsheet for this sort of thing. Perhaps @GT75 can link it in the advice articles once they are updated.


----------



## GT75 (May 3, 2018)

OMC said:


> link it in the advice articles once they are updated.



it is already there.    The problem with that spreadsheet is it is actually 276 days instead of 9-months.      This could be a significant different if you are trying to get a specific/competitive reservation or trying to "walk" the reservation.   Home Week reservation is actually "check-in" date.


----------



## Hsahota1 (May 3, 2018)

GT75 said:


> None via the club web site that I am aware of.     I calculate my dates beforehand (via this web site {https://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadded.html})  and then make alerts on the cell phone.



This seems pretty good, thanks!!


----------



## Hsahota1 (May 5, 2018)

Was hoping to ask fellow Tug members for a huge favour? 

If you were to search vacancy for Hawaii (BI or Oahu)  in June July 2018 what does it look like? Is there any availability for 5 days for a 1 bedroom or 2 bedrooms? What's the most consecutive days available? 

Thanks so much!!


----------



## GT75 (May 5, 2018)

For Oahu:
1 bd-DD available at GW, May 29-June 5 & June 13-18
2 bd -2BD at GW, 4 nights, July 16-20
1 bd premier-1Bx at Hokulani Waikiki July 3-7 (4 nights)
1 bd -DR Kalia Suites May 30-July 7
1 bd 1-LP at LT 4 nights- June 3-7
2 bd-2BR at LT 4 nights-Jun9-13
2 bd plus at GI for 9 nights June 9-18 (17,640 pts)
2 bd premier at GI for 7 nights June8-15. (14,400 points)


----------



## youppi (May 7, 2018)

GT75 said:


> it is already there.    The problem with that spreadsheet is it is actually 276 days instead of 9-months.      This could be a significant different if you are trying to get a specific/competitive reservation or trying to "walk" the reservation.   Home Week reservation is actually "check-in" date.


Sorry for the mistake. I fix the 276 days and 365 days.
I added a note for the Home Week Priority related to the check-in date in place of the check-out date.
Let me know if you see others mistakes
I added you to the list of contributors
Thanks


----------



## Hsahota1 (May 9, 2018)

GT75 said:


> For Oahu:
> 1 bd-DD available at GW, May 29-June 5 & June 13-18
> 2 bd -2BD at GW, 4 nights, July 16-20
> 1 bd premier-1Bx at Hokulani Waikiki July 3-7 (4 nights)
> ...


Really appreciate this! Thanks


----------



## GT75 (May 9, 2018)

youppi said:


> Sorry for the mistake



No worries.   A couple of other things especially since we are already 1/3 thru 2018:

2017 HGVC Fee Schedule
2018 HGVC Fee Schedule (https://d1m2ucn09z2f8d.cloudfront.n...-8bba-531ddbbbeea6/2018-HGV-Club-Fees-v5a.pdf)

2017 HGVC Rules
2018 HGVC Rules (https://d1m2ucn09z2f8d.cloudfront.n...c02a3a7b/2018-HGV-Club-Rules-Reference-v6.pdf)

Club Affiliated Resort Seasons
2018 Club Affiliated Resort Seasons (https://d1m2ucn09z2f8d.cloudfront.n...22ec7/2018-Club-Affiliated-Resort-Seasons.pdf)


----------



## GT75 (May 9, 2018)

Hsahota1 said:


> Really appreciate this!



You are welcome.     I was actually especially surprised at any availability with only a couple of months from now.


----------



## Hsahota1 (May 10, 2018)

Could it be due to more units at the GI? 

That building is amazing!!


----------



## GT75 (May 10, 2018)

Hsahota1 said:


> Could it be due to more units at the GI?



Yes, that and also all of the other HGVC resorts located on the same property.


----------



## Hsahota1 (May 10, 2018)

Anyone deal with Samuel Rodriguez? Feedback?


----------



## Hsahota1 (May 12, 2018)

If someone has 2 EY units, do you pay 2 separate club fees? $170 plus another $170?


----------



## SmithOp (May 12, 2018)

Hsahota1 said:


> If someone has 2 EY units, do you pay 2 separate club fees? $170 plus another $170?



No, only one club fee regardless of how many contracts (units) you have as long as they are all deeded with the same owner names.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## Hsahota1 (May 12, 2018)

SmithOp said:


> No, only one club fee regardless of how many contracts (units) you have as long as they are all deeded with the same owner names.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro


Thank you!!


----------



## Hsahota1 (May 12, 2018)

What do most ppl with kids do when it comes to title/deed? Our kids are pretty young so we don't want them having to bear any of the financials if let's say something happens to us. Advice?


----------



## NiteMaire (May 12, 2018)

Hsahota1 said:


> What do most ppl with kids do when it comes to title/deed? Our kids are pretty young so we don't want them having to bear any of the financials if let's say something happens to us. Advice?


Don't put them on it. I'm no lawyer, but from numerous posts on TUG I've gathered that heirs can decline the timeshare with no legal/credit impact.


----------



## NiteMaire (May 12, 2018)

Hsahota1 said:


> Anyone deal with Samuel Rodriguez? Feedback?


I haven't, but I've read numerous posts from tuggers who recommend him.  If you do a search (on TUG) for his name, I'm sure many posts will pop up


----------



## Hsahota1 (May 15, 2018)

Thanks everyone!


----------

