Help - New Owner and I'm so confused

[AuddieRVA]

Ok so I'll own from the jump that we probably shouldn't have bought the timeshare. We didn't do our homework, purchased the package through Hilton, just generally took the sales agent at his word. I've sat in on dozens of presentations and successfully said no. The difference this time is we were on our honeymoon and thought having built in vacation time would be a good thing with young kids and as life gets hectic.

So we bought in St. Maarten in October of 2023 and have 5500 club points plus 8000 bonus points. We want to roll them into 2025. I see that I can roll over the 5500 club points. Customer service told me the bonus points expire April 10th of 2025 and that we need to travel before then (not just book a trip but physically go on a trip using those points). Or I can put all or some portion of the total 13500 points into the Destination XChange. That gets complicated because then I need to know which tier room I'll want and convert the points into that tier...(so my head is already spinning).

So the first urgent question is what's the right move here on our current tranche of points? We can take a trip in Q1 but I'm not sure there will even be availability even if I understood how to use their terrible website.

The second more general question is how did you all learn to navigate this program? Even logging into the website I don't understand how to search for destinations and booking dates. We were shown a really sleek site during our sales pitch that let you search by points, destination or timeframe all really easily (kind of like a google flights feel) which doesn't seem to actually exist. When it does return properties, there is little to no information about the property, even understanding how much it costs. I'm just feeling like this whole thing was a scam because it's not clear to me how I'll ever actually get to the point of being able to book a trip through their site using points. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[GT75]

Looks like you own HVC, so I will move your post.

 

[ABCTravels]

I'm sorry for your frustration at using your timeshare and I will attempt to offer some suggestions that might be helpful to you, but I own in HGVC (Hilton Grand Vacation Club) and it appears that you own in HVC (Hilton Vacation Club) which are two separate systems under the Hilton timeshare umbrella so they have different rules/resorts/etc. However, we both purchased retail and got Max exchange included with our purchases which allows for using the other system at the 6 month window, so that is something we have in common and have to learn on top of the individual timeshare system. There is a whole separate conversation on whether Max exchange is useful or worthless but for those of us who are beyond the recession period and own it, that conversation is a mute point. Since you own it, learn to use it and decide if it's helpful for your purposes or needs to be ignored by your family.

Question #1- Points
- Did your purchase in 2023 come with points for that years use? If so did you save them into 2024? If you did save have you used them up? If not I would try to book absolutely anything you can between now and end of the year to use them. Even if it's just an overnight at the closest Great Wolf Lodge to use them up before they expire. Otherwise you may see if you can pay to convert them to Hilton Honors points.
- Your current 2024 points, you need to pay to save them into 2025. You can combine them with your 2025 points for a longer stay somewhere, a bigger unit, a nicer resort, or more popular season. You can even be a borrower of your 2026 points and have 3 years of points at your disposal.
- Bonus points. Mine were good for 2 years from date of purchase, but again that was HGVC. If should say in your contract when the points expire and you need to confirm this information. My bonus points could not be combined with club points for a reservation, but I could make back-to-back reservations with bonus and club points for the same resort. Another option if you feel that you will not be able to use the bonus points before they expire is to use them to pay your annual maintenance fees. To be clear, the best use of your points is always going to be on a room at a resort, however the worst use of the points is letting them expire unused, so do anything you can to avoid letting that happen.

Question #2- Booking
-You may need to spend some time watching a few Youtube videos from people who have HVC timeshares where they demonstrate on screen how to book. Timeshare Traveler (Cliff is a TUG member) was someone whose videos helped reduce a lot of confusion I had about how to use my timeshare when we bought.
-Read all the sticky notes on the HVC section of TUG and see who is making recent comments as an owner and try to learn from what they are posting.
- Some general tips: You need to book early to have a lot of choices on availability. Again this is where rules for each system will differ, but for our system, we need to book 12 months in advance for our home week or 9 months in advance for our club reservation. If I am trying to "exchange" to your system then that booking window begins at 6 months, after those in your club have had a priority to book.
- You need to spend some time playing with the website when you don't have distractions because it just is a learning curve that takes time to get figured out. I would start by choosing whatever resort is the closest drive from your home. Select just that resort from the list and then scroll through 12 months of dates to see the point allotments for the different size rooms at that resort in each season. Figure out when that resort seems to be most popular and when it is most available. See what size rooms are going first, etc. You are correct that the resort info is minimial on Hilton's site. I use Tug reviews, Google Reviews and Trip Advisor to make my assessments and I see if Cliff the Timeshare Traveler has a video review. It was his video review of the 1 bedroom at Kingsland that helped us determine that a "parking lot view" on a higher floor was actually fine for my family-- a picture was worth a thousand words.
- From there, make a list of where you want to go in the next 3-5 years, and start looking at the resorts in that area and determine the best time of year to get the most value out of your points. Put those dates on the calendar and set reminders on your phone to book the rooms when the window opens.

I would also say to stick around Tug and read and ask questions. You proably got an RCI membership free and maybe Destination Exchange... I have no idea, but these are even more options for resorts and more systems to learn. At the moment you are flooded with information and choices, so just keep it simple to start and go from there. Have one goal each year regarding your timeshare. 2024's goal is making sure my points don't expire. 2025- booking a vacation to anywhere. 2026- booking a vacation at the first available window to a place we really want to go, etc.

Good luck and keep asking questions in the thread. Eventually the HVC members (who are probably on vacations right now ) will see it and respond more specifically to your situation.

 

[kckreardon]

We recently bought on the trust/diamond side and were awarded 7500 bonus points. They were good for only one year as you describe. They did have a program where you could book an entire vacation through them for the 7500 points. Ours includes airfare, room and a 7 night Alaska cruise. We have booked it and will go next year. You may want to ask about that option. They sent us on online brochure with the trip options.

 

[pedro47]

I think you can find some of Cliff , YouTubes under the HVC forum ?