New to HGV Max as of Oct 2023 (1 year members). We wanted something small since we probably use our points differently than most. We have 3,840 points every other year with initial signing bonus of 7,680 points. We are Disney passholders (Florida resident weekday entry) and also cruisers. We don't stay somewhere for a full week, we do 2-3 night stays. We will take a Mon-Wed off from work and go to Disney parks and relax (Disney adults, kids are grown and gone!). When we cruise, we like to get to the port a day or two early and see the city, then cruise 7-9 days, then maybe stay another night and not have to fight 4,000 other people out of the port or to the airport. We're not in the room much so a studio suits the 2 of us nicely.
I'm also a discount shopper and most of the HGV Orlando resorts have discounted points 25%-75% off throughout the year. So 3,840 this year has got us more than expected - at Cypress Point, we could stay 18-20 days with most nights being 100-200 points. We also try to schedule monthly events and do an update for shows and attraction events, or do an update to get points, gift cards, and extra 2-3 night stays (with an update during that stay). We also seem to get those 3/2 or 4/3 offers for $99-$199 to stay (and again, do an update). We have no issues with doing the 1 hour updates because we ask questions. They do their thing and have to give us an offer to increase our points, we say no thank you - it is either pleasant or some have went down the toilet with attitude. We also seem to maintain 500k Hilton Honors points and use 35k-50k on a night here and there. Either way, we know we have what we want right now and see no need to upgrade. So much so that we stayed 9 nights using HGV points this year, 2 more stays with update 3/2 certs, 4 or 5 nights with HH points.
From mid-October on we have run into other trips (family), work projects, holidays, and I can't go anywhere in December as I put on an annual synchronized light show. So we still have 1,480 points and I've had to bank them for next year paying the $139 fee. We were trying to squeeze one more 2-3 night stay in, but just couldn't... and we'd still have 1,000 points left to bank. Now we have 1,480 + 7,680 to use by Oct of 2025. We also have another 3/2 stay coming up in Feb, and a 4/3 stay in New York for I think it was $299 for the certificate. Staying 3 nights at the Hilton Club Midtown for $299 is just an amazing deal, especially since our HGV level doesn't allow us to stay there with points.
I'm also a discount shopper and most of the HGV Orlando resorts have discounted points 25%-75% off throughout the year. So 3,840 this year has got us more than expected - at Cypress Point, we could stay 18-20 days with most nights being 100-200 points. We also try to schedule monthly events and do an update for shows and attraction events, or do an update to get points, gift cards, and extra 2-3 night stays (with an update during that stay). We also seem to get those 3/2 or 4/3 offers for $99-$199 to stay (and again, do an update). We have no issues with doing the 1 hour updates because we ask questions. They do their thing and have to give us an offer to increase our points, we say no thank you - it is either pleasant or some have went down the toilet with attitude. We also seem to maintain 500k Hilton Honors points and use 35k-50k on a night here and there. Either way, we know we have what we want right now and see no need to upgrade. So much so that we stayed 9 nights using HGV points this year, 2 more stays with update 3/2 certs, 4 or 5 nights with HH points.
From mid-October on we have run into other trips (family), work projects, holidays, and I can't go anywhere in December as I put on an annual synchronized light show. So we still have 1,480 points and I've had to bank them for next year paying the $139 fee. We were trying to squeeze one more 2-3 night stay in, but just couldn't... and we'd still have 1,000 points left to bank. Now we have 1,480 + 7,680 to use by Oct of 2025. We also have another 3/2 stay coming up in Feb, and a 4/3 stay in New York for I think it was $299 for the certificate. Staying 3 nights at the Hilton Club Midtown for $299 is just an amazing deal, especially since our HGV level doesn't allow us to stay there with points.
