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Hilton Grand Vacations

Baggi

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My wife and I have been looking at timeshares for years. We have been to the Bonnet Creek Resort Timeshare and their sales pitch. DVC at Disneyworld about 5 times. We have been to Worldmark in seaside Oregon and most recently at Hilton in Vegas.

We know we will never care to purchase one of these at full price. They are just way too expensive. But, we are finally at a place where we are going to purchase but we don't know which we want.

It seems to me that the Worldmark, Bonnet Creek and Hilton presentations, we were lied to, in different ways, each time. This makes it even tougher to pick. Because if they are lying, well, what's wrong that they need to lie? As an example, at Hilton in Vegas they told us after we asked, right at the beginning, that the bottom, 5000 annual points, would be approximately $550 a year maintenance. We said, wow. That's cheap. By the end, they were offering us 1,100 annual points for over $800 a year maintenance. Ummm, huh?

At Bonnet Creek they told us that through RCI, we could actually get more time at a DVC resort than at a Wyndham resort through point exchange. I've never confirmed this is a lie, but I don't believe them.

One of the things they said at Hilton was, you can get a 1 bedroom for a week for $150, 2 bedroom for a week for $200, and a 3 bedroom for a week for $300 if you book through RCI with less than 30 days to go. They said HGVC is the only Timeshare that offers this.

I suspect there is a lie here and an omission of truth. The lie, I bet, is that this is unique to Hilton. Is it? The omission, I would guess, is that you can actually hope to find an opening anywhere at those prices with only 30 days or less to book.

So, my question(s) to you all.

1) Is this true? Can we actually book, and only through Hilton via RCI, for that low of cost? Are those available?

2) Were they snowing us at Bonnet Creek? Or can we get a good exchange via RCI for DVC?

3) Finally, if we just want to use RCI, or a timeshare, to take last minute, cheap, vacations, is it best to buy very little points in some Timeshare (for access to their website and RCI and pay low maintenance fees) and avoid the rest?

More questions to come based off answers to these questions. Thank you for your time and patience.
 

TUGBrian

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welcome to TUG! looks like you have a good bit of reading to do...but so thankful you found us before buying...you certainly wont regret it and will save a fortune!

fact is...one should never make a purchase based on what is said verbally in a sales presentation. If its not spelled out in black and white in your sales contract...you simply cant count on it being included in your purchase.

Im sure some owners in those systems will be along shortly to answer your detailed questions...but while you wait...you can likely do a search on many of those topics using this link http://search.tug2.net and get some much needed reading out of the way!

another option to consider...is renting!
 

Ty1on

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to #2, this can be true. Because of the structure of how Wyndham points are used to exchange in RCI, you could do well with DVC. The caveat to this is that you would need to put in an ongoing search long before the check-in date that you want, that you are unlikely to find anything but a 1 bedroom, and that any DVC in RCI except Saratoga Springs is rare nowadays.

If you just want to use RCI, you can find certain RCI Points weeks at The Grandview @ Las Vegas and Vacation Village in Orlando, that give you high RCI points for your maintenance fee dollar. Consider that the resort certificates and extra vacation deals you can get as an RCI owners are weeks that no one else wanted to exchange into, and RCI can't rent on the open market for more than you are paying.
 

presley

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1.) anyone with RCI can book those last minute weeks on the cheap. The problem is, they are for resorts that nobody wanted to stay in at full price. From where you've posted you've stayed, I doubt you'll ever find anywhere you'd actually want to stay on those cheap weeks. The exception is Las Vegas and Orlando, which are both overwhelmed with timeshares. You won't get a Hilton or a Bonnet Creek, though.

3.) Buy somewhere that you want to stay. You may do okay buying an RCI points based timeshare, but I think buying somewhere that you would actually want to stay sometimes is king.
 

Baggi

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welcome to TUG! looks like you have a good bit of reading to do...but so thankful you found us before buying...you certainly wont regret it and will save a fortune!

fact is...one should never make a purchase based on what is said verbally in a sales presentation. If its not spelled out in black and white in your sales contract...you simply cant count on it being included in your purchase.

Im sure some owners in those systems will be along shortly to answer your detailed questions...but while you wait...you can likely do a search on many of those topics using this link http://search.tug2.net and get some much needed reading out of the way!

another option to consider...is renting!

Thank you for the link. I have been doing a lot of reading lately and wow are my eyes tired!

I hope you don't mind I read and ask questions simultaneously.
 

Baggi

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to #2, this can be true. Because of the structure of how Wyndham points are used to exchange in RCI, you could do well with DVC. The caveat to this is that you would need to put in an ongoing search long before the check-in date that you want, that you are unlikely to find anything but a 1 bedroom, and that any DVC in RCI except Saratoga Springs is rare nowadays.

If you just want to use RCI, you can find certain RCI Points weeks at The Grandview @ Las Vegas and Vacation Village in Orlando, that give you high RCI points for your maintenance fee dollar. Consider that the resort certificates and extra vacation deals you can get as an RCI owners are weeks that no one else wanted to exchange into, and RCI can't rent on the open market for more than you are paying.

I appreciate the response. Some follow up questions and hopefully they don't sound too silly.

To the first part, we homeschool out children. We tend to travel to Disney during the low seasons, like January/February, because it's cheaper and less crowded. Would that make the exchange in RCI any easier? Disney is just too darn expensive.

I'm not really clear on the "buying location" thing, if you'll pardon me. All the presentations we've been too, they talk about points. They don't really say anything about buying a certain location. If we are smart about our location, you're saying we can lower our maintenance bill? Because, that sounds quite awesome. I believe I've seen people selling cheap, or giving away, Vacation Village in Orlando, but I don't think I've seen the Vegas one you've mentioned.

Is there a simple way to find out, based on the points received through a particular timeshare, what the exchange is in RCI?

For example, before purchase, could I find out what 5000 points in HGVC would get me if I wanted to trade for DVC in RCI? 6000 points at Worldmark, and what that would get me via RCI for DVC? Etc?

Thanks, I really do appreciate the answers.
 

Baggi

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1.) anyone with RCI can book those last minute weeks on the cheap. The problem is, they are for resorts that nobody wanted to stay in at full price. From where you've posted you've stayed, I doubt you'll ever find anywhere you'd actually want to stay on those cheap weeks. The exception is Las Vegas and Orlando, which are both overwhelmed with timeshares. You won't get a Hilton or a Bonnet Creek, though.

3.) Buy somewhere that you want to stay. You may do okay buying an RCI points based timeshare, but I think buying somewhere that you would actually want to stay sometimes is king.

As to #3, why? From my reading, it seems like the only difference is, you can book further out in advance. Are there other differences I'm unaware of?

As to #1, this is not how it was explained to me at HGVC (Which is why I think he lied). He said that people cancel at the last minute and when they cancel, you can pick up the rooms on the cheap. My suspicion, and based on your answer, is, "Yes, you can pick up rooms on the cheap at the last minute, but no where anyone really wants to travel to."

With the exception of Orlando and Vegas, but it won't be the best time share?

Thanks for all the answers. Now I must go and read, read, read.
 

onenotesamba

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I appreciate the response. Some follow up questions and hopefully they don't sound too silly.

To the first part, we homeschool out children. We tend to travel to Disney during the low seasons, like January/February, because it's cheaper and less crowded. Would that make the exchange in RCI any easier? Disney is just too darn expensive.

I'm not really clear on the "buying location" thing, if you'll pardon me. All the presentations we've been too, they talk about points. They don't really say anything about buying a certain location. If we are smart about our location, you're saying we can lower our maintenance bill? Because, that sounds quite awesome. I believe I've seen people selling cheap, or giving away, Vacation Village in Orlando, but I don't think I've seen the Vegas one you've mentioned.

Is there a simple way to find out, based on the points received through a particular timeshare, what the exchange is in RCI?

For example, before purchase, could I find out what 5000 points in HGVC would get me if I wanted to trade for DVC in RCI? 6000 points at Worldmark, and what that would get me via RCI for DVC? Etc?

Thanks, I really do appreciate the answers.

If you're looking to travel to Disney in the low season, HGVC might be a good option for you. Hilton has many properties in Orlando (though not on Disney property like DVC, but very nearby). And, in addition to using your HGVC points, you can often get a so-called "Open Season" reservation to get an HGVC unit for cash within 30 days of your stay. Open Season rates are going up each year, but they're often cheaper than booking the room as a hotel stay, and there's generally good availability at the Orlando and Vegas properties, year-round.

At least in HGVC, buying at a location matters mostly because it determines what your maintenance fee will be. The Vegas locations on the Strip and Paradise and Flamingo have the lowest fees in the system. The Orlando properties are on the lower end of the spectrum, as well. If you wanted to go to the same place every year, and it was a high demand property, having the advantage of owning at that location (say, Waikiki during school holidays, or South Beach during high-demand times) would give you an advantage, but those properties are going to have higher maintenance fees. Other than that, points are points in Hilton, and you might want a strategy to get the greatest number of points possible at a low maintenance fee property, and with the lowest resale purchase price that will pass "first refusal."

Hilton trades in RCI through its own portal, and (putting aside the fees with trading through RCI), you can get a week in a 2BR through an RCI trade for 4800 HGVC points. And in the HGVC system, 4800 pts would normally be a 1BR unit--so there are ways to stretch your points with an RCI trade--or to get a larger unit for fewer points. But it would require a lot of advance planning and a little bit of luck to find exactly what you wanted when you wanted it.

Hope that helps.
 

presley

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As to #3, why? From my reading, it seems like the only difference is, you can book further out in advance. Are there other differences I'm unaware of?

As to #1, this is not how it was explained to me at HGVC (Which is why I think he lied). He said that people cancel at the last minute and when they cancel, you can pick up the rooms on the cheap. My suspicion, and based on your answer, is, "Yes, you can pick up rooms on the cheap at the last minute, but no where anyone really wants to travel to."

With the exception of Orlando and Vegas, but it won't be the best time share?

Thanks for all the answers. Now I must go and read, read, read.

3.) Any resort can drop its agreement with RCI or be removed by RCI at any time. It is rare and unlikely, but I can happen. Of course, you could still use the smaller independent exchange companies.

If you buy a system like Hilton or Wyndham, you will have lots of resorts in your own system that you can exchange to. You'll know what you are getting vs. gambling with the exchange. You also don't have to pay an annual fee to an exchange company and then an exchange fee to use it.

1.) You could probably find a nice place in Vegas or Orlando anytime of year. I'm not sure of other areas. It's luck of the draw. If someone cancels, there are a few thousand people looking/waiting to grab that great deal. I've never seen anything I'd use, in 5 years of timeshare ownership. Again, it depends on what's important to you and where you want to go and when.
 

Baggi

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Other than that, points are points in Hilton, and you might want a strategy to get the greatest number of points possible at a low maintenance fee property, and with the lowest resale purchase price that will pass "first refusal."

This is exactly what we are looking for. And from what I've read, it seems like we will want a property in Orlando or Las Vegas to get those low fees?
 

Kendall in Texas

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We just used 3400 of our HGVC points to book a week at Saratoga Springs - 1br - May 29-June 5. There are almost always 1br units available there through the HGVC RCI portal.
 

littlestar

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Be sure to buy something you would not mind using because Disney (DVC) could leave RCI and go back to Interval International in the future. They have switched in the past! Have you thought about a small resale DVC points purchase? At the present time Disney offers a good discount on annual passes to its DVC members. With banking and borrowing on a small points package you could stay at some of the other DVC's besides Saratoga (which is pretty much the only thing showing up in RCI).

I don't know what part of the country you are located in, but if it is west coast you might think about Worldmark points. That would give you access to Interval International which has Marriott (Marriott Vacation Club) and Sheraton (Starwood Vacation Club). interval International offers good prices on their cash "Getaways" in the off season. We are staying at Marriott Grande Vista in Orlando in a one bedroom for less than $350 for the week in May. We also like Sheraton Vistana Villages really well and get great deals for that one in September/early October. We frequently add additional DVC days (booked with our DVC points) on to those week stays using Interval International Getaways.
 
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onenotesamba

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Other than that, points are points in Hilton, and you might want a strategy to get the greatest number of points possible at a low maintenance fee property, and with the lowest resale purchase price that will pass "first refusal."

This is exactly what we are looking for. And from what I've read, it seems like we will want a property in Orlando or Las Vegas to get those low fees?

Yes. Look for Platinum weeks, rather than Gold, because you'll get more points for the same maintenance fee.

For 1 BR 4800 point packages, the lowest maintenance fees are (from lowest to highest):

Boulevard/Strip (Las Vegas)
Paradise/Karen (LV)
Sea World Phase II (Orlando)
I-Drive (Orlando)
Flamingo (LV)
Parc Soleil (Orlando)

For 2 BR 7000 point packages, the order is a little different again, lowest to highest:

Boulevard/Strip (Las Vegas)
Paradise/Karen (LV)
Flamingo (LV)
Sea World II (Orlando)
Sea World I (Orlando)
I-Drive (Orlando)
Parc Soleil (Orlando)

Basically, Boulevard and Paradise are hands-down the lowest membership fees in the system.
 
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