HGVC Pros… Check My Understanding (Please!) Using a “Real Life” Example

[Hobokie]

Alright, HGVC pros check my understanding of HGVC. I call this a “real life” example, because it’s a plan that would actually occur to me and IF I were an owner, I would try to execute. Note that I went to my first timeshare presentation in July of this year (HGVC) and just got back from 2nd timeshare presentation (Marriott). I still haven’t purchased (still learning/researching), but hopefully soon (RESALE OBVIOUSLY!). Special thanks to all my new TUG friends who have invested their time to help me!

Assumptions for Example:
Today’s Date: 12/15/17 (for example purposes)
Ownership: Annual Platinum HGVC Season 2 BD at Elara in Las Vegas (8,400 points awarded every year)
Points in My Account Today 12/15/17: 8,400 for 2017, 8,400 future 2018 points, 8,400 future 2019 points --> 25,200 TOTAL
Source I used to calculate points needed for reservations: 2018 Hilton Grand Vacation Club Reference Book (which someone linked someone here on TUG and I saved as a favorite, but can no longer find the original post so can’t give credit, sorry!)

What I want to do with my timeshare in 2018 (again, note today is 12/15/17 for this example): I would like to spend a few days in Las Vegas at the Elara next year specifically because of its PIMPED out location (look it up friends, it is PRIME strip location!) for myself, husband and at least 2 of our friends. I would also like to use it for 4 nights in Oahu during whale watching season (platinum) at the Lagoon Tower in a 1 Bedroom Plus (just the hubs and I).

• Summary of Wants Vacation #1: Elara, 2 bd, sleeps at least 4; Check-In: 12/29/18 Saturday, Check-out: 1/1/19 Tuesday (Platinum Season; I have Home Week Priority Advantage but this only applies to reservations 7 nights)
• Summary of Wants Vacation #2: Lagoon Tower, 1 bd plus, sleeps at least 2; Check-In: 2/16/18 Friday, Check-out: 2/20/18 Tuesday (Platinum Season)

How I Think I Would Do This (based on the info I know today):

Since I believe New Year’s Eve at the Elara will be difficult to get due to holiday (no, I don't want TRUMP tower or the other one, it MUST be Elara!) AND I have Home Week Priority because my timeshare is deeded at Elara, then I should book as soon as I can within the Home Week Priority Window which is 365 days prior to check-in BUT I must book a full 7 days. I only want to be there 12/29-1/1, but I will book 12/25-1/1 and cancel later to rebook for the days I want only. On 12/25/17 (365 days before my check in) I will book this 12/25/18-1/1/19 reservation.

• Cost at Booking: FREE (home week priority)
• Points Used: 8,400 (full annual points used since booking during home week priority in same season and unit type that I own)
• Points Left in My Account = 16,800 (2017 = 0; 2018 = 8,400; 2019 = 8,400)

I also want to do whale watching in Oahu (vaca #2) in 2018, but since all my 2017 points are currently in a reservation, I will have to borrow points from next year to book Oahu. It is probably a little (a lot?) late to book a weekend in Oahu in February, but assuming I am lucky and this is available, I will book this as soon as possible, let’s say 12/25/17 right after I book Vegas above.

• Cost to Borrow 2018 points since I have none left: FREE (as of 2018 rules)
• Cost to Book Vacation #2 (Oahu): $65 (if online, otherwise $80 by phone)
• Points Used: 4,340 (borrowed from 2018) --> Friday (1,240), Saturday (1,240), Sunday (1,240), Monday (620)
• Points Left in My Account = 12,460 (2017 = 0; 2018 = 4,060; 2019 = 8,400)

Going back to vacation #1, since I don’t want 7 days in Vegas (who would survive this????), I will wait until I can book Elara for 3 nights which is Club Season (276 days from desired checkout 1/1/19 which is 3/31/18). So on 3/31/18 I will call HGVC and cancel my home week reservation and ask to book 12/29/18-1/1/19 instead.

• Cost at Booking: $80 since I should do this by phone to avoid the risk of my cancelled reservation being taken up immediately by another owner therefore ruining my plans.
• Points Used: 4,200 --> Saturday (1,680), Sunday (1,680), Monday (840) BUT I get points back from the original 8,400 I used to book Vegas which means I actually get back 4,200.
• Points Left in My Account = 16,660 (Need Your Help Here …is it 2017 = 4,200; 2018 = 4,060; 2019 = 8,400)? Do I lose the 4,200 2017 points since I didn’t save them in 2017 and if so is there a work around this such as me booking another reservation worth at least 4,200 points at the same time as I change up my Vegas reservation?
  

Questions for the Pros:

• Please correct any errors in my assumptions
• Would you do this differently?
• I feel like I’m getting my timeshare systems confused and can’t recall if HGVC offers OGS (on-going search for the even fresher newbies than me reading this) like some other clubs/memberships. Would I be able to set up an OGS for the Oahu vaca described above? If so, how much would this cost?

Thanks in advance!!! Last thought: I am probably going to buy Worldmark before HGVC, but that is the subject for another post... until then....

- Ligy

 

[SmithOp]

So, a lot of questions. From the rules book you have you will note that you can only use points from the calendar year of the reservation plus 1 borrow year, NOT the year of the date you are making the reservation. In your example the 2017 points would have to be “saved” for a fee to make them available for a 2018 reservation.

If you use all your points and keep borrowing forward then you will never have to pay Save fees, its best to be a borrower in the HGVC system. Use your points before you have to pay the fees on them! My 2019 points are gone already and I have a May 2019 reservation made with 2020 points.

There is another recent discussion about booking NYE in Vegas. Elara is sold out for this year. If you can book the full NYE week with your home points then a club counselor should be able to shorten it at the 9 month mark.

Booking Lagoon Tower 3 months before will be difficult, its very popular and books up quickly at 9 months because thepoints are less than the two newer towers (Waikikian/Islander). You might get lucky but dont count on it have a hotel reservation as backup. Its easy at 9 months using the book 3 days and add on trick (walking the reservation).


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[Hobokie]

Thanks @SmithOp! I almost want to edit my post now before I confuse anyone else, but I will leave it.

Assuming I had used up my 2017 and was instead using my 2018 points (8,400) to book Elara during home week priority, do you agree with my approach or would you do it differently?

Assuming I was a fool and waited until December to want to book Oahu for February, does Hilton offer OGS or would I just have to compulsively keep checking back to see if I get lucky? (Agree on backup reservation, btw).

Can you explain "walking the reservation" for me, please? I have read about this on here, but can't recall the details.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Talent312]

I don't understand why you'd use 12/15/17 as "today."
Do you own a wayback machine? (Ref: "Peabody's Improbable History")

HGVC does not have OGS or waitlists.
If you cannot book NYE when the window opens, you are likely SOL.

Walking a reservation means making a 3-day booking when the window opens.
That gives you the earliest possible window since it's based on check-out date.
Then, each night at Midnight, Eastern Time, adding 1-day until you have enuff.

.

.

 

[Hobokie]

I don't understand why you'd use 12/15/17 as "today."
Do you own a wayback machine? (Ref: "Peabody's Improbable History")
.

Haha! Maybe I'm adding complexity so you can tell me all about saving points and costs and/or things not to do? Or maybe I'm just still a newbie

 

[SmithOp]

I’ve owned since 2001. For the first 8 years I booked what I owned as soon as the 12 month home window opened, always got what I wanted. Then I found TUG and learned how to leverage my points and the 9 month club season window.

I book everything as soon as its available. Reservations are changeable if your plans change, better to book early and have something rather than keep checking every day for a cancellation because everything is booked.


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[tombanjo]

Start from today with zero points and plan 2019.

 

[dayooper]

Haha! Maybe I'm adding complexity so you can tell me all about saving points and costs and/or things not to do? Or maybe I'm just still a newbie

Yeah, I think this is a little complicated. Let’s see if we can simplify things here.

1. You can carry over any left over points for a fee ($109?) and you have to do that by Dec 31st. Any of the saved previous years points will be forfeited if not used by the end of the next year.

2. If you book your home week, you will be able to book using your full allotment of that years points. No saved or borrowed points can be used and you must have your full yearly points available.

3. As @SmithOp says, borrowing next years points is free. Just note you will not be able to make your home week reservation the following year. Not a big deal if you bought for points, but if you bought for the home week reservation window, then you would forfeit that ability for the years you borrow from.

4. Most people don’t book their home week so it’s probably not a big deal

5. There tricks to help you get what you want, but it’s really that simple.

Good luck on your quest! HGVC treats their members, including resale very well. Not sure how Worldmark does, but that’s a question for a different forum.

 

[Talent312]

Most people don’t book their home week so it’s probably not a big deal.

I've owned since 2007... I've never booked a home-week.
The best thing about HGVC is it's flexible club bookings.
.

 

[alwysonvac]

Alright, HGVC pros check my understanding of HGVC. I call this a “real life” example, because it’s a plan that would actually occur to me and IF I were an owner, I would try to execute. Note that I went to my first timeshare presentation in July of this year (HGVC) and just got back from 2nd timeshare presentation (Marriott). I still haven’t purchased (still learning/researching), but hopefully soon (RESALE OBVIOUSLY!). Special thanks to all my new TUG friends who have invested their time to help me!

Assumptions for Example:
Today’s Date: 12/15/17 (for example purposes)
Ownership: Annual Platinum HGVC Season 2 BD at Elara in Las Vegas (8,400 points awarded every year)
Points in My Account Today 12/15/17: 8,400 for 2017, 8,400 future 2018 points, 8,400 future 2019 points --> 25,200 TOTAL
Source I used to calculate points needed for reservations: 2018 Hilton Grand Vacation Club Reference Book (which someone linked someone here on TUG and I saved as a favorite, but can no longer find the original post so can’t give credit, sorry!)

It looks like you’re trying to confirm your understand of banking (aka Saving) and borrowing.

In 2017,

• For Points earned in 2017, you would have to SAVE first before making your 2018 Club Reservation. NOTE: Any remaining 2017 points will expire at the end of 2017 unless SAVED. Any remaining 2017 Saved Points will expire at end of 2018.
• For Points earned in 2018, these are the only points you can use towards your 2018 Home Week Reservation. NOTE: They can also be used for 2018 Club Reservations or Saved for 2019 Club Reservations.
• For Points earned in 2019, the online reservation system will automatically borrow for any 2018 Club Reservation once all 2017 saved and 2018 current points are gone

Also keep in mind, week 52 was sold as fixed event week in Las Vegas. Owners of those weeks paid a premium. Fixed weeks are automatically booked until released by the owner. So there may be little to no availability at the 12 month mark. You will have to keep checking periodically to see if they are released.

HGVC Documents
2018 HGVC CLUB MEMBER GUIDE (link)
2018 FEE SCHEDULE (link)
2018 RESORT SEASONS CALENDAR (link)

Additional info in green font

 

[GT75]

Hobokie, I know that you lost me also in the details of your question but I will give you a few pointers that may be helpful.

• First, NYE is an event week at Elara. So you will not be able to book that as an H-W reservation unless you owned that Event Week there. If you did, then it would automatically be booked for you. Now, it you do make a H-W reservation, then will pull from that years points (which must be in the account). In other words, it will not pull saved nor borrow points to make that reservation. Now, I will assume that you do make some H-W reservation for 2018 using all your 2018 points.
• Obviously, you must saved your 2017 points in the example to next year for cost of $104 (online) or $114 (phone). Note: Usually around October, HGVC runs a discount for this. So, do that then.
• From your example, reservation #2 will pull 4340 saved points and you will have 4060 saved points remaining. Those saved points need to be used in 2018.
• Back to reservation #1, when the H-W reservation is cancelled, the 8400 2018 return to the account. When you rebook it as club reservation, then it will pull the saved points first. So, in your example, it will pull all of the remaining saved points plus 140 of 2018 points.

I hope that helps. It is important to manage the points in your account.

 

[JohnPaul]

I'm going to say this a different way and see if I've got it right.

With regard to using 2017 points to make a 2018 reservation and then cancelling the reservation in 2018: The OP wanted to know if he would lose his points because 2017 was over and he hadn't banked them. The answer, I believe, is that in order to use the 2017 points for a 2018 reservation he would have had to save the points to 2018 first. As such, when he cancelled the 2018 reservation the points he used would go back to "Saved 2018 points".

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I'm going to say this a different way and see if I've got it right.

With regard to using 2017 points to make a 2018 reservation and then cancelling the reservation in 2018: The OP wanted to know if he would lose his points because 2017 was over and he hadn't banked them. The answer, I believe, is that in order to use the 2017 points for a 2018 reservation he would have had to save the points to 2018 first. As such, when he cancelled the 2018 reservation the points he used would go back to "Saved 2018 points".

That has been my experience. The points need to be in the year that the actual stay will take place. The only way use 2017 points would be to have paid the fee to save them into 2018. It does not mater when you make the reservation, it the date of the actual stay that counts.

 

[Talent312]

To further muddy the waters...
If you made an RCI booking for a future year, you would not need to save them first.
The points would be drawn from the current year and the next two years as needed.
If you cancel after the current year, you can deposit expired points to the RCI program.

TMI?
.

 

[GT75]

The points need to be in the year that the actual stay will take place. The only way use 2017 points would be to have paid the fee to save them into 2018. It does not mater when you make the reservation, it the date of the actual stay that counts.

Yes, you are correct. I thought that was obvious, but now that I re-read my previous post, it really isn't that obvious to a newbee. Thanks for pointing that out.