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Upgrade to Max? Was this a good deal?

M

MAYITRAVEL

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Joined
Jun 19, 2023
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We own The Residences, a Hilton Club in NY 8,160 bi-yearly points with 1800 yr. maintenance. We traded this in and upgraded to yearly 8,000 in Las Vegas paradise with 1025 maintenance and Max included for $8000. Should we resind? We were originally offered 12,965 but if we agreed to skip bonus points they lowered it to $8,000. Its the best deal we have even been presented so we took it. Now I am wondering if Max was worth losing our NY property reservation window. We have not used NY recently and now there are more properties, is it still a problem to get into NY with the 60 day window?

We ended up paying a $1 per point for extra 8000 points and Max, but I know the Las Vegas property can get gotten for almost nothing, but it would be another yearly maintenance fee and this way we went from $1800 to $1025 in yearly maintenance. What do you think?
 
the vegas deed is worthless, available for free on market because you got gold season.

is your residences also gold season?
 
If you want to reliably get NYC then it's best to own there. Using Residence points anywhere but Residence locations is not a good use of your expensive maint fees. Sure, the Residences fees are high, but still a good deal when used to stay in NYC.

If you wanted more points to go other locations, you could have got the Vegas gold contract for free, as Bobby said, someone is giving gold Vegas deeds away here in TUG Free Deals forum.

The only good thing about this deal is it confirms that Max costs $7k fee as listed in the Club Rules, so your deed was about $1k but you gave up the NYC deed.

Rescind immediately!
 
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My mantra is don't pay any $ for something I could get for low cost/free--even if they're taking back an old deed. I do not see much value in MAX for my needs. So, the question is whether you could get rid of your NY property for less than $8K? Give it away for free, pay closing costs, give $2K bonus??? Others can chime in who have experience with NY HGVC.
 
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You can get a great Paradise or Boulevard 2 bedroom platinum for (11,200 points) for less than what you are paying for that gold deed. The Max membership isn’t worth the cost.

I like that platinum over the gold for many reasons, but one of the biggest is if I need to rid myself of the deed, I can do so much easier than I can the gold. I understand you are giving up the NY deed, but you can do so yourself (and maybe even make some money off of it). If you just want to get rid of the NY deed, you could just list it on the Bargain Bin here on TUG. My guess is it will go pretty quickly.
 
But I do want the Max, I liked some of the properties so how could I get it? How much could I sell NY for (its gold) 5160 bi-yearly. Will that cover the 7000 max?
 
but they come with yearly maintenance fees, I am trying to reduce that. I do regret giving up NY because I do like to go there, but truth is that since I bought it I have never stayed there due to covid and other reasons, so I was thinking paying the NY maintenace fee was a mistake. That was my thinking.
 
MAYITRAVEL said:
but they come with yearly maintenance fees, I am trying to reduce that. I do regret giving up NY because I do like to go there, but truth is that since I bought it I have never stayed there due to covid and other reasons, so I was thinking paying the NY maintenace fee was a mistake. That was my thinking.
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If you don't think you'll go regularly then, as you say, owning NY is not a good idea. if you do want to go, it's great.

As for Max, don't forget that, for those DRI properties that you want, you can only get them at 6 months,. long after DRI members have gotten to choose. So, it could determine whether it really makes sense.

Cheers.
 
MAYITRAVEL said:
but they come with yearly maintenance fees, I am trying to reduce that. I do regret giving up NY because I do like to go there, but truth is that since I bought it I have never stayed there due to covid and other reasons, so I was thinking paying the NY maintenace fee was a mistake. That was my thinking.
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You need to rescind and keep NY.

What's so great about MAX? What did they tell you about it? Give more details, and those who are in the know can respond.
 
Perhaps you might consider breaking this experience into multiple transactions.

1- Rescind and keep what you had.
2- Sell NYC independently if you don't want it/don't use it.
3- Shop around the resell market to see what you do want. Maybe a single deed on the HVC/former diamond side only? Maybe even outside the Hilton system.
4- Re-purchase a retail deed and get max if you still feel that best meets your needs, but this time with more information.

I understand your point about not wanting to own a second property in HVC (former diamond) property and pay high maintenance fees or an extra maintenance fees, as I feel the same way. I bought retail and it came with MAX and I wanted that because the properties in the HVC program accessible via max were the ones that interested us in the first place (not the HGVC ones). I will be the first to admit we were uneducated and should not have bought it, but I also would not consider owning two properties with two fees, but that's MY choice.

For the record, we didn't have an issue with our first HVC max booking at 6 months out of getting a 2 bedroom for the entire week at thanksgiving, no walking required, but I also know that is a huge resort with lots of rooms and that won't be true everywhere.

The #1 thing I have learned here is you only get one chance to rescind but you can always re-purchase. Good luck to you!
 
MAYITRAVEL said:
but they come with yearly maintenance fees, I am trying to reduce that. I do regret giving up NY because I do like to go there, but truth is that since I bought it I have never stayed there due to covid and other reasons, so I was thinking paying the NY maintenace fee was a mistake. That was my thinking.
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That 6 month booking window is a killer for me. Have you stayed at any DRI resorts? The better place will probably be booked by 6 months.

If you are happy with your purchase, then by all means keep it. Only you know what’s best for you so if it works for you, keep it. That being said, for my situation your deal would not work for my family.
 
Yes, you can always buy later. This really wasn't a one-time shot, and it sounds like you didn't get a great deal, if you can get the Vegas for little or no cost.
 
If you really want access to DRI Resorts then buy DRI Points resell. But remember DRI resell can only be used in their Home Collection. So you have to carefully identify in advance what DRI Resorts you want to use.
 
What @ABCTravels and others have mentioned is great advice.

I would only add 2 ideas:

1) Consider HGVC/DRI exchanges and extra vacations in RCI. Sure there are high resort fees, and sometimes shoulder season, but much less costs than MAX. If you do this, you should sell NYC and buy a Vegas or Craigendarroch Plat deed for efficient Maint Fees.

2) Why don't you rent or trade with DRI owners? I bet there are a number of DRI owners on TUG with too many points who would be happy to book something for you at close to MF cost and offload their MF burden. If you book within 60 days of your stay, the points cost is half and you get owner priority, without resort fees.

Which DRI resorts interest you?
 
If at some point you decide you want an expanded booking window in New York, just buy a VIP for $1695. It's less than the MF you were paying and comes with 11,500 points (more points than your gold deed). HGVC sets aside extra inventory for VIP packages. You can book more than 60 days out.
 
Interesting idea about early reservation access. Note: The VIP package limits NYC to 5 nights so the cost is not as good as it appears. Unclear whether NYC res can be split with 2 reservations to NYC.. No lounge privileges because no longer own there.
 
I have been trying to contact the person that did all the papers for me since yesterday, via email, text, phone and no reply. Is there another way to resind.
 
@MAYITRAVEL You must rescind in writing within a certain number of days to the address in your contract. Follow contract directions exactly. Usually near the back. Have all parties that signed contract sign rescision. Make a copy. Keep proof of mailing by USPS.

Do not call sales, they will try to talk you out of it or cause you to delay, losing your rescission rights.

Do it now and then relax and think about alternatives. Their pricing is standard so you can always go back and get that deal later if you don't find anything. Good luck!

cc @TUGBrian another one saved.
 
CalGalTraveler said:
@MAYITRAVEL You must rescind in writing within a certain number of days to the address in your contract. Follow contract directions exactly. Usually near the back. Have all parties that signed contract sign rescision. Make a copy. Keep proof of mailing by USPS.

Do not call sales, they will try to talk you out of it or cause you to delay, losing your rescission rights.

Do it now and then relax and think about alternatives. Their pricing is standard so you can always go back and get that deal later if you don't find anything. Good luck!

cc @TUGBrian another one saved.
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Thanks I faxed and emailed them this morning and they emailed me back, that they will refund my credit card within 20 days. I feel much better now.
I will probably keep my NY for another year and actually go there, then I will start looking as to how to get rid of it or what options I can find to get Max.

I am still interested in the Max program not so much because of the properties, but due to free booking and the ability to do 2 nights instead of 3, but I did the math and with the maintenance costs savings of $400 yearly LV vs. NY plus 4 free bookings($256 saving) a year it would take me around 12 years to break even the 8000 purchase.
 
@MAYITRAVEL You should already have free booking with your NYC deed. You need to pay about $120 extra every year to get All inclusive. We own W57 and have used it for years. Well worth it especially if you plan to make multiple stays. In NYC you can book min 1 night.

I am not sure if Max gets you 2 nights in HGVC. May be DRI properties only. I will leave this to Max owners to respond.
 
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CalGalTraveler said:
@MAYITRAVEL You should already have free booking with your NYC deed. You need to pay about $120 extra every year to get All inclusive. We own W57 and have used it for years. Well worth it especially if you plan to make multiple stays. In NYC you can book only 1 night.

I am not sure if Max gets you 2 nights in HGVC. May be DRI properties only. I will leave this to Max owners to respond.
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HGVC reservations are 3 day minimum for max members.
 
CalGalTraveler said:
@MAYITRAVEL You should already have free booking with your NYC deed. You need to pay about $120 extra every year to get All inclusive. We own W57 and have used it for years. Well worth it especially if you plan to make multiple stays. In NYC you can book min 1 night.

I am not sure if Max gets you 2 nights in HGVC. May be DRI properties only. I will leave this to Max owners to respond.
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NYC owners can reserve with points in nyc for just one night? I know w57 has the short stay fee but thought the three night minimum still applied.
 
You can reserve all NYC properties for 1 night. Only W57 has housekeeping fee for < 4 nights. They offer the Free AI option to support making multiple NYC reservations for free. Otherwise 1 - 2 night reservation fees could add up.
 
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