Help with picking a package

[am4619]

I posted earlier today about our rescission letter. A little background, we purchased a timeshare after attending a presentation this week. We felt like we were getting a good deal and loved what we were seeing about the program. But I was a little uneasy about the purchase because I didn’t have enough time to research it. We ended up rescinding after I viewed a few posts here & feared we had made a financial mistake. They offered us their “lowest” package to test out being TS owners since we weren’t comfortable investing in their larger packages. Here’s what they offered us:
$13,990
Anderson Ocean Club - Myrtle Beach
1600 club points every year in a studio during the gold season
7000 bonus points
$775 yearly ($597 MF, $176 club dues)

Was this, in fact, a bad deal?

Yearly we go on 2 week long vacations and take several 3 day trips. We visit Tennessee Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge & surrounding lakes for weekend trips 5-10 times a year. Sometimes more. We enjoy doing things on the lake (we have a boat) and visiting all the fun attractions & parks in this area. We also love cruises, beaches, and are wanting to start checking off our bucket list spots around the US. We would also like to vacation internationally. We have 2 kids ages 6 & 9 so fun things for them is always a vacation priority. We also need to work with the school schedule. We take our big vacations during spring break (1st week of April), summer break (June-July), fall break (1st week of October) or the week after Christmas.

At the presentation, it seemed like we would be saving a lot on hotel stays by becoming HGVC members. The RCI feature they showed us was pretty impressive. Is this the best route to go since we don’t want to vacation in the same spot every year? If so, how many points should we be purchasing?

 

[Passepartout]

I didn’t have enough time to research it. We ended up rescinding after I viewed a few posts here & feared we had made a financial mistake.

They offered us their “lowest” package to test out being TS owners since we weren’t comfortable investing in their larger packages. Here’s what they offered us:
$13,990
Anderson Ocean Club - Myrtle Beach
1600 club points every year in a studio during the gold season
7000 bonus points
$775 yearly ($597 MF, $176 club dues)

Was this, in fact, a bad deal?

At the presentation, it seemed like we would be saving a lot on hotel stays by becoming HGVC members. The RCI feature they showed us was pretty impressive. Is this the best route to go since we don’t want to vacation in the same spot every year? If so, how many points should we be purchasing?

Glad you're back. First, I'm not an HGVC owner, but those here who are like the program. A couple of things I've taken away by osmosis by reading lots of TUG posts. One, HGVC treats resale owners the same as retail buyers, and Two, they charge the same maintenance fees for all 'metal' seasons, so iirc, a bigger, prime season membership has the same ongoing cost as a smaller, lesser season.

There are a couple of well respected TUG members who are also brokers with experience in shepherding resale buyers through ROFR. Seth Nock is one whose name I recognize and a bit of reading in the HGVC Forum will uncover others that have helped with resale purchases.

Good Luck, and Welcome to TUG!

Jim

 

[topdog]

It's too much money for 1600 points. Look at the resale ads on TUG, you can buy more points resale for less money. Very bad deal in my opinion.

 

[tombanjo]

An important consideration is that Gold season MF are the same as Platinum season for the same room type, but you get more points with Platinum. For far less than the amount of money you were quoted you can get far far more value resale. Bonus points do have a value, but they are limited. You have two years to use them, and they come with a fair amount of caveats. Even if you pretend the bonus points are worth thousands of dollars, you are still ten grand over what the deal should be.

 

[dayooper]

First and foremost, 1600 points useless to you (or almost everybody). You absolutely did the right thing in rescinding. The salesman didn’t sell you something so you could test it out. They sold you something to get a commission knowing full well that a family of 4 couldn’t use a studio and you would’ve stuck with something you couldn’t use nor get rid of.

If you stick with HGVC, I suggest a 7000 point platinum 2 bedroom from either the LV Strip, Paridise (Las Vegas) or The Flamingo (also Las Vegas). For various reasons (no salty air, very low property taxes), the MF’s are low. Going by what you say, you will want the room of a two bedroom and it will need to be in platinum season. Exempting a couple Hawaii resorts, you can use those points anywhere in the regular HGVC system at 9 months out.

Before you buy, do you research and know what you are purchasing. Make sure the resorts are located where you want to go. Finally, spend the $15 and join Tug. They have some of the most unbiased reviews out there.

 

[am4619]

First and foremost, 1600 points useless to you (or almost everybody). You absolutely did the right thing in rescinding. The salesman didn’t sell you something so you could test it out. They sold you something to get a commission knowing full well that a family of 4 couldn’t use a studio and you would’ve stuck with something you couldn’t use nor get rid of.

If you stick with HGVC, I suggest a 7000 point platinum 2 bedroom from either the LV Strip, Paridise (Las Vegas) or The Flamingo (also Las Vegas). For various reasons (no salty air, very low property taxes), the MF’s are low. Going by what you say, you will want the room of a two bedroom and it will need to be in platinum season. Exempting a couple Hawaii resorts, you can use those points anywhere in the regular HGVC system at 9 months out.

Before you buy, do you research and know what you are purchasing. Make sure the resorts are located where you want to go. Finally, spend the $15 and join Tug. They have some of the most unbiased reviews out there.

What about the Sea World resort?
I am looking on Selling Timeshares (Seth Nock) and found 2 properties.
https://www.sellingtimeshares.net/hilton-seaworld-7-3/

https://www.sellingtimeshares.net/hilton-sea-world-7/

I also found this one at the same place we rescinded from. https://www.sellingtimeshares.net/hilton-anderson-beach-club-2-3/
Over 5x more points and 2BR for only $10 more than our offer. Makes me nauseous thinking about what we almost paid for so little!


Thanks everyone for your advice! I love this website & will be paying to become a member. That’s the least I can do after these posts saved us so much.

 

[GT75]

What about the Sea World resort?

My advice is to take your time and research. Ensure you research what is best for you and your family before purchasing.

 

[alwysonvac]

I posted earlier today about our rescission letter. A little background, we purchased a timeshare after attending a presentation this week. We felt like we were getting a good deal and loved what we were seeing about the program. But I was a little uneasy about the purchase because I didn’t have enough time to research it. We ended up rescinding after I viewed a few posts here & feared we had made a financial mistake. They offered us their “lowest” package to test out being TS owners since we weren’t comfortable investing in their larger packages. Here’s what they offered us:
$13,990
Anderson Ocean Club - Myrtle Beach
1600 club points every year in a studio during the gold season
7000 bonus points
$775 yearly ($597 MF, $176 club dues)

Was this, in fact, a bad deal?

First, Welcome to TUG

I’m glad you found us in time. Definitely do your research as others have suggested. Don’t make a decision based on what you heard during your timeshare presentation.

Yes, $14k for 1600 points is a bad deal.
HGVC point chart will show you how limited you are with just 1600 points (link)

Here are asking resale prices at Anderson for 1600 points

Additional resale weeks at Anderson at judikov.com (Click on thumbnail to see full image)

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At the presentation, it seemed like we would be saving a lot on hotel stays by becoming HGVC members. The RCI feature they showed us was pretty impressive. Is this the best route to go since we don’t want to vacation in the same spot every year? If so, how many points should we be purchasing?

Hilton hotels and Hilton Grand Vacation Club are separate companies.
HGVC members don’t get discount hotel rates.

JMHO..I would only buy HGVC for access to HGVC timeshare resorts. If you simply want access to RCI then there might be cheaper options than buying HGVC.

Can you provide more details regarding what you were told during your presentation? What about RCI was impressive? If your decision to buy HGVC was based on the picture below, see the quote below.

Thanks for sharing that attachment. It will helps us with others who are faced with the same decision whether to rescind or keep.

Open Season Rates for HGVC resorts (available to all owners)

Every year, HGVC publishes their OPEN SEASON Rates which are subject to change. These are cash rental rates for HGVC resorts only (not Hilton hotels).
2019 Open Season Rates - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?attachments/2019-hgv-points-open-chart-pdf.9813/

For example, here are the current HGVC point requirements and open season nightly rates for
- HGVC Elara in Las Vegas
- HGVC SeaWorld in Orlando
- HGVC South Beach in Miami
NOTE: Open Season Rates doesn’t include taxes.

View attachment 10787

View attachment 10781

View attachment 10783

Here are the increase I observed over the years of ownership. We started with a very simple flat rate based on unit size only. It has morphed into all sort of increases based on unit type (standard, plus, premium, etc), day of week (weekday vs weekend), season (platinum, etc) and now locations.

​

RCI Last Call (available to all owners)

These weeks are normally the leftovers (the lowest demand weeks). You generally won’t find a top resort or a high demand week under Last Call. For example, you’ll won’t find ski resort during ski season or beach resorts during the summer. You can find last call in overbuilt timeshare areas such as Orlando and Las Vegas.

Here’s what folks have to say about RCI’s Last Call:

• “Last Call Perk” - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/last-call-perk.225807/
• “Would you buy a TS just to have access to RCI?” - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/would-you-buy-a-ts-just-to-have-access-to-rci.267245/
• “RCI last call - prices for 2107?” - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/rci-last-call-prices-for-2107.251898/

Here’s what I currently see in Las Vegas and Orlando via RCI’s Last Call.

View attachment 10784

View attachment 10785

View attachment 10786​

 

[alwysonvac]

JMHO..I would only buy HGVC for access to HGVC timeshare resorts. If you simply want access to RCI then there might be cheaper options than buying HGVC.

Just a FYI....The two biggest timeshare exchange companies are RCI and Interval International. Most timeshare resorts have affiliations with one or both exchange companies. And both exchange companies offer cash rental options.

Here are some TUG threads..
“trader for both RCI & II” (2014) - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/trader-for-both-rci-ii.211557/
“What’s your best value timeshare and why?” (2019) - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/what’s-your-best-value-timeshare-and-why.288376/

If you’re not interested in HGVC locations, then you can start here to get some suggestions from other TUG Members - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?forums/new-to-timesharing-look-here.17/

 

[Jason245]

First: congrats on finding tug. U just saved yourself a lot of money no matter what u buy at this point.

Second: I have owned hgvc(resale) for a few years now and am in driving distance to several resorts. Quality and service is always top notch.

Third: do research, maybe fill out the questionnaire in another thread on what u should buy to get advice from the larger masses of tug. Depending on what u need, hgvc may or may not be the right option for u. I spent over 6 months contrasting and comparing hgvc with the other options and this was best for my family, but may not be for yours.

Forth: everyone has their own formula for what is the best financial purchase to make, some like paying more for lower mf others like free units upfront with higher mf. Dont let anyone tell you your resale deal was a bad deal because in the end, you probably are saving thousands if not tens of thousands as compared to a retail purchase.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[jehb2]

Other useful information. Unless you plan on pulling your kids out of school or you homeschool you will need Platinum season. Gold season is almost always when the kids are in school.

Most studio units only allow 2 people. I can’t believe he sold you a studio...well actually I can. He sold you something that you can’t use.

4,800 point will get you a 1 bdrm Platinum in most but not all HGVC resorts (kids will sleep on the sleeper sofa). Since, you’re going to take your time and do your research and find a good deal I would definitely go with a 7000 points 2 bdrm Platinum season. Your family can stay in a 2 bdrm for 7 nights (sleeps 6 so room for more friends and relatives) or you can stretch your points and have a longer vacation by staying in a 1 bdrm.

They offered us their “lowest” package to test out being TS owners since we weren’t comfortable investing in their larger packages.

You can always rent a week from someone to see how you like it. I have been a very happy Hilton owner for almost 20 years.

Finally, did he show you a beautiful glossy RCI catalogue full of resorts around the world that you can exchange into. - Take it with a grain of salt. There was a time when this was an awesome feature but not so much now.