Benefits of Elite

[CalGalTraveler]

Maybe I am missing something but from what I see the most valuable aspects of Elite are: 1) Free unlimited home resort and club reservations (34k) level; 2) one way transfers from the airport 3) HHonors Gold (or Plat); 4) Upgrades (24k and above)

https://club.hiltongrandvacations.com/en/club-membership/elite/benefits

#1 (opt in @ $120 per year) and #3 Gold are deeded benefits with our NY property, however we are not Elite. (but we paid a hefty premium equivalent to elite for buying NYC from the developer - sigh). I am not sure what Elite offers beyond what we already have in our deed. Sure, upgrades would be nice but if we had 24k+ points a year, I doubt that point stretching would be an issue!

 

[Tamaradarann]

I know you were only speaking hypotheticals. I was just keeping the conversation going.

I don't think they would charge such an exorbitant fee, however, because it would leave out people that bought from developer, but couldn't afford to buy enough points to Be elite (I assume the majority of their market is people who buy from developer but not whatever threshold they need for elite).

I will probably only make one reservation a year, so for me not a big deal. If I was retired and had more points and lived closer to a property, this might change.

As I mentioned I don't think HGVC would charge $1000 for reservations, at least not in my lifetime. However, they do keep raising the fees. They could make reservation fees say $250 which is about what RCI weeks exchanges are. They could make the Elite benefit attractive enough to be a selling points to get people to stretch their budgets to buy another property from the developer.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

FYI...Below are the terms from the 2018 rules for free resort and club reservations with the optional add-on fee of $120 per year for NY property owners.

"57th Street Vacation Suites, HC Suites and TD Suites can pay “Inclusive Club Dues” which allow Owners the opportunity to book Home Resort and Club Window reservations without paying the reservation fee. Inclusive Club Dues give Owners of these resorts the opportunity to book Club Reservations for free. This also allows these Owners to use Bonus Points for non-changeable Club Reservations complimentary. Once an Owner has opted in to be billed the Inclusive Club Dues, they will automatically be billed for Inclusive Club Dues in future years until they opt out."

FWIW...this is a bit of good Karma given the premium developer price we paid for NYC. I just checked and this is baked into our W57 deed so we are grandfathered in case they change the terms to new buyers. Therefore I believe that resell buyers of NYC properties with as little as 3250 points purchase (approx. $10k - 12k resale at W57) could gain this "Elite" benefit only available to developer purchases at the 34k point level paying tens of thousands more.

Note that this benefit does not apply to transaction fees such as saving points which the 34k benefit also offers, however we only do that once per year (if at all). The booking/rebooking/changing of reservations is where it gets expensive and this makes it so we don't need to think about it.

Have they recently changed the terms to new buyers? i.e. do recent buyers of Residences and other NYC/District purchases from the developer have this baked into their deeds? If not, such deeding of this benefit might become akin to Mandatory vs. Voluntary properties in the Vistana system for resales (but on a much smaller scale).

Would love to hear from recent Resident/NYC/DC purchasers as to what their deed says.

 

[frank808]

FYI...Below are the terms from the 2018 rules for free resort and club reservations with the optional add-on fee of $120 per year for NY property owners.

"57th Street Vacation Suites, HC Suites and TD Suites can pay “Inclusive Club Dues” which allow Owners the opportunity to book Home Resort and Club Window reservations without paying the reservation fee. Inclusive Club Dues give Owners of these resorts the opportunity to book Club Reservations for free. This also allows these Owners to use Bonus Points for non-changeable Club Reservations complimentary. Once an Owner has opted in to be billed the Inclusive Club Dues, they will automatically be billed for Inclusive Club Dues in future years until they opt out."

FWIW...this is a bit of good Karma given the premium developer price we paid for NYC. I just checked and this is baked into our W57 deed so we are grandfathered in case they change the terms to new buyers. Therefore I believe that resell buyers of NYC properties with as little as 3250 points purchase (approx. $10k - 12k resale) could gain this "Elite" benefit only available to developer purchases at the 34k point level paying tens of thousands more.

Note that this benefit does not apply to transaction fees such as saving points which the 34k benefit also offers, however we only do that once per year (if at all). The booking/rebooking/changing of reservations is where it gets expensive and this makes it so we don't need to think about it.

Have they recently changed the terms to new buyers? i.e. do recent buyers of Residences and other NYC/District purchases from the developer have this baked into their deeds? If not, such deeding of this benefit might become akin to Mandatory vs. Voluntary properties in the Vistana system for resales (but on a much smaller scale).

Would love to hear from recent Resident/NYC/DC purchasers as to what their deed says.

If hgvc gives free club system transactions for all my points I would buy a small contract at residences. It would make my break even point under a decade.

Does anyone have experience of getting free club reservations for owners of West 57th and residences if pay If paying the add on fee? Would have to get free transaction fees for all the weeks in my hgvc account or is it only for the West 57th and residence points get the free booking fees?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[CalGalTraveler]

If I understand your question correctly, it applies to an owners account.

 

[PigsDad]

I found another Elite benefit this weekend. We just returned from Valdoro, and Elite members receive happy hour pricing in the bar all of the time. Not a huge benefit, but kind of nice!

Kurt

 

[jehb2]

It is also possible but unlikely that HGVC could also delete this Elite benefit.

Or do what they have done in the past--create more tiers. And if you want those benefits you would have to buy or upgrade to more developer points.

 

[Mosescan]

It would appear that the cost of buying from HGVC resale works out to about $1.68 USD, which is at least double what you can buy for on the used market, so about $8,000 usd more for a 9600 point contract. Thanks for all of the great advice!

Not even close. I only Paid 8000 british pounds for my 9600 point units and they were HGVC resales. At current exchange rate of $1.39 US to the pound that makes the cost $11120 or $1.158/point. A little more than my earlier estimate, but only because I used a different exchange rate. I'm not sure where you think you're going to get a 9600 point unit for much less than that on the US market without having much higher maintenance fees. My maintenance fees this year are 868 pounds or about $1200 US. Over many years that will make a big difference along with the fact that I no longer pay reservation fees. I just booked 2 separate weeks in Hawaii with no fees and will likely get a free upgrade for both weeks. I thought it was a pretty good deal. Time will tell.

 

[Sky313]

upgrades are pending availability. for Oahu depending on property and season, this can be the main limiting factor due to popularity

 

[Mosescan]

for sure that will play a big factor in places like Hawaii. You have to be strategic about it. I've booked into a 2 BR plus at the grand waikikian. So far there is lots of availability there for all 2 BR units. As most people prefer to take the lower point units first I'm hoping the point heavy 2 BR Premiere at 14400 points for the week will still be available so we can get the free upgrade. Time will tell. It kind of makes sense from Hiltons perspective. By giving me the free upgrade it frees up a lower point unit which is more likely to be booked or that will be easier to rent out and lets them brag about what Elite can do for you.

As stated earlier though, I would never have done this if I couldn't have done it through resale units. I got my two 9600 point resale units together for about the same as I paid HGVC for my original 5000 point gold unit in Vegas! LOL!

 

[Mosescan]

Are the weeks purchased for a set time until they expire ? Are they RTU weeks ? I was told the weeks at Craigendarroch were originally for 36 years and only the balance left of those is what you are buying. I would appreciate if anyone can answer this.
Thanks

I did not receive a deed for this property like I did for my vegas property. What you get is a holiday certificate, which is, I suspect, why the transaction is able to be completed so quickly. 15 days from contract signing you pay and within 2 or 3 days the property is added to your account and you can access the points. My holiday certificate says I have use in perpetuity as long as I pay my maintenance fees so I guess that means it's mine forever. Or until I sell it to someone else. The HGVC salesman I dealt with said they would broker it for 10% which is pretty reasonable, so I would probably go that way if I ever decided to sell it. Unlikely for the next 20 or 30 years! LOL!