Current offer from HGVC to "upgrade" my secondary offer property

[tourproto]

So I own a Las Vegas Flamingo Hilton timeshare (11,200 pt, $1300 MFs). It was purchased on the secondary market spefically to allow my wife to visit Vegas to visit her brother and niece without having to actually "stay" with either of them.

It's been great so far because we have been able to stay at the Trump for MINIMAL points (they always seem to be running a discount), which is close to I-15 and valet parking is free. Very easy to get to coming and going from visiting family.

So had to sit through an owner presentation in DC due to a VIP trip we were offered. The salesperson knows what I bought the Flamingo for ($4500) and he also knows what the original purchase paid ($40,010!!!! Holy cow!!!). The salesperson was trying to get me to "upgrade" to the Quin in NY and trade in my Flamingo unit. I would go from 11,200 points to 8,400 points annually and pay them $13K for the privilege.

The upside was that I was supposed to get a 32:1 conversion rate into Hilton Honors points and never have to pay a reservation fee when using Club Points (which is the only way we use the Flamingo points, we never book the home week).

We passed. But am I missing something? was this a good offer from them? Just curious. I am not that familiar with HGVC. Is the ability to convert 32:1 instead of 10:1 worth getting "brought back into the fold? Is there every a reason to buy something from Hilton direct to be considered a "proper owner"? I honestly don't know, so looking for advice from the expert TUGgers.

TIA

 

[vacationtime1]

If it's not broken, don't fix it.

You purchased your unit so your wife could visit family in Las Vegas. You report that it's working out fine. Why spend $13K?

 

[BingoBangoBongo]

Good decision to pass on that offer. What do you figure your average cost per night is, including the annual Club Dues and Res Fees? Depending on that math, if Vegas is the only place you’re using points you might want to look at selling what you have renting out other timeshares.

 

[montygz]

So I own a Las Vegas Flamingo Hilton timeshare (11,200 pt, $1300 MFs). It was purchased on the secondary market spefically to allow my wife to visit Vegas to visit her brother and niece without having to actually "stay" with either of them.

It's been great so far because we have been able to stay at the Trump for MINIMAL points (they always seem to be running a discount), which is close to I-15 and valet parking is free. Very easy to get to coming and going from visiting family.

So had to sit through an owner presentation in DC due to a VIP trip we were offered. The salesperson knows what I bought the Flamingo for ($4500) and he also knows what the original purchase paid ($40,010!!!! Holy cow!!!). The salesperson was trying to get me to "upgrade" to the Quin in NY and trade in my Flamingo unit. I would go from 11,200 points to 8,400 points annually and pay them $13K for the privilege.

The upside was that I was supposed to get a 32:1 conversion rate into Hilton Honors points and never have to pay a reservation fee when using Club Points (which is the only way we use the Flamingo points, we never book the home week).

We passed. But am I missing something? was this a good offer from them? Just curious. I am not that familiar with HGVC. Is the ability to convert 32:1 instead of 10:1 worth getting "brought back into the fold? Is there every a reason to buy something from Hilton direct to be considered a "proper owner"? I honestly don't know, so looking for advice from the expert TUGgers.

TIA

How many reservation fees can you pay with $13K? If you invest the $13K in bank and earn 5%, you would make $650 a year. How many reservation fees could you pay with $650?

 

[tourproto]

If it's not broken, don't fix it.

You purchased your unit so your wife could visit family in Las Vegas. You report that it's working out fine. Why spend $13K?

It is working great for that purpose.

There is another in-law that lives in San Diego. There are no Hilton or Vistana timeshares in that area so we have been using my hotel points accrued from business travel to stay down there. Was thinking that being able to use the HGVC points for Las Vegas, but also use some converting at 32:1 to book hotels in San Diego.

I guess thinking about it now, $13K can pay for a lot of hotel rooms in San Diego for many years in the future, and I keep all 11,200 HGVC points for Vegas...

Glad I passed. I guess there really isn't anything that is worth buying directly from the developer...

 

[tourproto]

Good decision to pass on that offer. What do you figure your average cost per night is, including the annual Club Dues and Res Fees? Depending on that math, if Vegas is the only place you’re using points you might want to look at selling what you have renting out other timeshares.

So my MFs plus Club Dues are $1473 annually for 11,200 points ($0.13 per point)

My two most recent stays were:

Trump: 1 bedroom plus (1LP) for 4 nights for 5,788pts and a $65 reservation fee. So cost per night was $204
Trump: Studio for 3 nights for 3,000 points and the $65 reservation fee. Cost per night was $152

Short of a Ritz or Four Seasons, the Trump 1BR+ is the nicest hotel room I have stayed in, and the best view (we had a corner room with a view of the Encore/Wynn/Sphere.
I just looked on the HGVC site and with the right dates, I can get the Trump 1BP or 1LP for as little as 3872 points or $142/night

The Studio was just a nice room with great towels and bedding.

Just for comparison, Studio at the Boulevard in Vegas is 1310 points for 4 nights or $59/night, and my home resort (Flamingo) is 2112 points or $84/night

We have been staying at the Trump because right now we can barely use the annual 11,200 points as it is. Once we retire and want to maximize nights, we will probably start staying at the "lower" end properties when staying in Vegas.