HGVC and Hilton Honors

[gamewarden44]

Can you share if HGVC membership alters HH status? I am in the process of closing on a resell.

 

[PigsDad]

If you are a non-status HGVC owner, you will get Silver Honors status.
If you are HGVC Elite or Elite Plus: Gold Honors
If you are HGVC Elite Premier: Diamond Honors

Kurt

 

[Talent312]

If your spouse or others are listed jointly on the deed, they will set up a joint HH account (so points earned by each goes to a single account). They will use a pre-existing individual account if you give them a number up front. If you don't, you can merge individual accounts with the new account later by calling HH.

However, the HH website is not set up for more than one person to control the account, so only one person will control bookings and others will need to be added as "guests" to stay without you.
.

 

[brp]

I

However, the HH website is not set up for more than one person to control the account, so only one person will control bookings and others will need to be added as "guests" to stay without you.
.

Or not. We have a joint account, I manage it and I never add mrs. brp's name (except, maybe at the hotel sometimes). Never presented a problem.

In fact, while I manage the account and all reservations go in my name, she has the Aspire card on the account.

Cheers.

 

[Talent312]

Or not...

True. But...
If you arel not staying, adding the person who checks-in as a "guest"
may help them avoid questions.
.

 

[brp]

True. But...
If you will not staying, adding the person who checks-in as a "guest"
may help them avoid questions.
.

Yikes! I totally missed that you wrote "without you" and read it as "with you." In a "without" case, definitely want to add the name. Reading Is Fundamental!

Cheers.

 

[GT75]

Yikes! I totally missed that you wrote "without you" and read it as "with you." In a "without" case, definitely want to add the name.

Is this advise for HGVC and/Hilton Hotel stay? I know that I have stayed in both without my wife but my wife has never stayed without me yet anyways.

 

[Talent312]

Is this advice for HGVC and/Hilton Hotel stays? I know that I have stayed in both without my wife but my wife has never stayed without me yet anyways.

This is just for hotel stays, for which my DW has travelled without me.
You are given the option of adding names during the reservation process.
The website says:
Your name will be associated to all rooms in the reservation.
If needed, you can associate one additional guest name per room to allow them to check-in separate from your arrival.
______________
You can book with a different name if not signed into the account. But that's a hassle as you have to enter the booking info manually and the system assumes you're not a member.
.

 

[Hobokie]

If you are a non-status HGVC owner, you will get Silver Honors status.
If you are HGVC Elite or Elite Plus: Gold Honors
If you are HGVC Elite Premier: Diamond Honors

Kurt

I thought this was for developer purchases only....??? Resale purchases get this benefit??

 

[PigsDad]

I thought this was for developer purchases only....??? Resale purchases get this benefit??

Yes, it is for everyone. However, most resale purchases don't count toward Elite so maybe that is what you are thinking of? (There are ways around that, but that is another topic...)

Kurt

 

[Hobokie]

Yes, it is for everyone. However, most resale purchases don't count toward Elite so maybe that is what you are thinking of? (There are ways around that, but that is another topic...)

Kurt

What about the joining of owners' Honors accounts like folks are bringing up above (i.e. Me + Hubby could consolidate that to get status faster...)? Is that available for resale owners also?

 

[PigsDad]

What about the joining of owners' Honors accounts like folks are bringing up above (i.e. Me + Hubby could consolidate that to get status faster...)? Is that available for resale owners also?

Yes. Our first purchase was resale and a joint Honors account was opened up for us.

Kurt

 

[gamewarden44]

Yes, it is for everyone. However, most resale purchases don't count toward Elite so maybe that is what you are thinking of? (There are ways around that, but that is another topic...)

Kurt

Confirmed! Kurt is on point.

 

[anderik1]

If your resort counts as one that qualifies for the $250 rebate you may want to consider the Hilton Aspire card which gives instant diamond status.

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[brp]

If your resort counts as one that qualifies for the $250 rebate you may want to consider the Hilton Aspire card which gives instant diamond status.

Indeed. mrs. brp has the Asipre now (I have other perks cards). Because Flamingo counts and we have two contracts, I'll likely get Aspire as well. The card if $450. I can get $250 for the resort credit and $250 for the airline credit. So I make money...and I get a free night. No brainer.

Cheers.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

If you are a non-status HGVC owner, you will get Silver Honors status.
If you are HGVC Elite or Elite Plus: Gold Honors
If you are HGVC Elite Premier: Diamond Honors

Kurt

If you are any bHC W57 owner you are gold. No need for elite. I believe it applies to resale and other bHC properties including HCNY. I will leave it to others to confirm.

 

[frank808]

Indeed. mrs. brp has the Asipre now (I have other perks cards). Because Flamingo counts and we have two contracts, I'll likely get Aspire as well. The card if $450. I can get $250 for the resort credit and $250 for the airline credit. So I make money...and I get a free night. No brainer.

Cheers.

That mirrors why wife and I both have the aspire card. It is like gatti g paid $50 each annually to carry card.

We also have two Marriott luxury amex cards. We use the $300 rebate for paying our marriott mf. The global entry gets us $25 a year credit ($100 credit every 4 years). Brings our annual fee to $125 for a Marriott room that costs up to 50k points annually. So we are paying $30 more to get an annual 50k certificate vs a 35k service with the $95 card.

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[brp]

That mirrors why wife and I both have the aspire card. It is like gatti g paid $50 each annually to carry card.

We also have two Marriott luxury amex cards. We use the $300 rebate for paying our marriott mf. The global entry gets us $25 a year credit ($100 credit every 4 years). Brings our annual fee to $125 for a Marriott room that costs up to 50k points annually. So we are paying $30 more to get an annual 50k certificate vs a 35k service with the $95 card.

I have a Marriott card. I use it for the free night, and that's it/ I consider Marriott to be considerably the worst of the big three chains and everything I read about them reinforces that.

We have Hilton Diamond through Aspire and we both have WOH cards. We combine all stays on mrs. brp's account which, along with spend, gets us mid-tier (Explorist) status.

I use my Chase Sapphire for Priority Pass and Global Entry discount. $300/year travel credit. I also have Amex Platinum, but the only teal benefit is Centurion Lounge access and that becomes more questionable as time goes on.

Cheers.

 

[frank808]

I have a Marriott card. I use it for the free night, and that's it/ I consider Marriott to be considerably the worst of the big three chains and everything I read about them reinforces that.

We have Hilton Diamond through Aspire and we both have WOH cards. We combine all stays on mrs. brp's account which, along with spend, gets us mid-tier (Explorist) status.

I use my Chase Sapphire for Priority Pass and Global Entry discount. $300/year travel credit. I also have Amex Platinum, but the only teal benefit is Centurion Lounge access and that becomes more questionable as time goes on.

Cheers.

We mainly stay at marriott timeshares namely mko and spend some time at hhv during the summer months. Because of spending time and paying mf with the respective credit cards, we tend to stay at marriott or hilton branded hotels. Primary criteria is usually price of unit in points or $$. Have no hotel preference if it is a hilton or marriott hotel.

We do not spend many nights at Hyatt properties. Will only stay at hyatt if they are the host hotel or there are no hilton or marriott hotels or rooms available. We do not own any hyatt TS so that pretty much pushes us to the other systems and credot card spend.

I wish hilton would count TS nights like marriott. When i check into a HGVC property, HH diamond status gets you nothing.

We have priority pass through aspire and marriott luxury. Though have never used most of the lounges but have gotten some nice meals at the participating restaurants. I carry the United club card because we fly United metal on our trips.

Do not have an amex charge card at all. See no benefit for us compared to the aspire and marriottt cards from amex.


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[brp]

Do not have an amex charge card at all. See no benefit for us compared to the aspire and marriottt cards from amex.

The Amex value is minimal. We happen to frequent most of the airports with Centurion Lounges but even this is getting to be less valuable. I think about this one periodically.

We have only HGVC for hotel-based TS (also DVC, but no hotel chain affiliation). So other hotel stays are based on the quality of the hotels/hotel program. I liked SPG when they existed, but found Hyatt superior to the joint program. With recent changes, I now find it vastly superior. Both Hilton (and to a lesser extent Hyatt) were big winners with the recent Marriott/Bonvoy debacle. They lost a lot of good faith and customers. No good reason for us to look there since we don't have their TS.

Cheers.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

The AMEX SPG Bonvoy may have a leg up on the Chase Marriott because of AMEX offers. We've been able to recoup the annual fees with savings from several offers. For example, we use the Rover discount offers to care for our pets while traveling, plus significant hotel discounts. The Hilton AMEX cards also have these offers which adds to the value.

Chase introduced deals but so far most are meh and have too short a time window to use before they expire.

We've been tempted to get the AMEX platinum for the medical evacuation benefit since it has a higher limit than the CSR limit of $100k. However I keep hearing about the devaluations and we get lounge access with Priority Pass and United so no need for the Centurion lounges. However it does work with Escape Lounge which is the only lounge in our local airport. Still on the fence on this one. We can buy discounted escape lounge access via Groupon and that pays for a lot of visits before we hit the $550 AF to breakeven.

 

[brp]

We've been tempted to get the AMEX platinum for the medical evacuation benefit since it has a higher limit than the CSR limit of $100k. However I keep hearing about the devaluations and we get lounge access with Priority Pass and United so no need for the Centurion lounges. However it does work with Escape Lounge which is the only lounge in our local airport. Still on the fence on this one. We can buy discounted escape lounge access via Groupon and that pays for a lot of visits before we hit the $550 AF to breakeven.

I find some Centurions better than PP alternatives. Since we are in SFO, DFW, MIA frequently, LAS, SEA periodically, it has benefit.

The Platinum is $550, but one can get back $250 in airline credit. Then, if one does user Uber (or Uber eats) enough, the $200 credit can be handy. Still iffy.

Cheers.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Thanks for the tip. Plat might be worthwhile since both of my kids don't have cars at college and use UBER extensively. (it's cheaper than keeping a car at school.)

I imagine the Centurions are nicer, but we fly out of SFO only 1- 2 x a year for international flights, plus Mr. CalGuyTraveler has the United Card which gives annual free lounge passes to the United lounge at SFO. We just used the PP benefit at the SWA terminal at LAX and it was a nice deal. First time we used it at a PP restaurant. I really like this benefit.

P.S. the personal Bonvoy SPG has poor AMEX offers now that AMEX has surrendered consumer cards to Chase. The Business Amex Bonvoy has the best offers e.g. 10% off Lowes up to $1000 in purchases. 10% off Staples, Dell, and Boxed for 6 months. This is an easy keeper because will recoup more than $125 AF in AMEX offer savings plus annual hotel room.

 

[frank808]

Thanks for the tip. Plat might be worthwhile since both of my kids don't have cars at college and use UBER extensively. (it's cheaper than keeping a car at school.)

I imagine the Centurions are nicer, but we fly out of SFO only 1- 2 x a year for international flights, plus Mr. CalGuyTraveler has the United Card which gives annual free lounge passes to the United lounge at SFO. We just used the PP benefit at the SWA terminal at LAX and it was a nice deal. First time we used it at a PP restaurant. I really like this benefit.

P.S. the personal Bonvoy SPG has poor AMEX offers now that AMEX has surrendered consumer cards to Chase. The Business Amex Bonvoy has the best offers e.g. 10% off Lowes up to $1000 in purchases. 10% off Staples, Dell, and Boxed for 6 months. This is an easy keeper because will recoup more than $125 AF in AMEX offer savings plus annual hotel room.

Check out the Giants Clubjouse restaurant in SFO as they offer take out. We stop in the united clubs, then about 30 min before boarding stops, one of us will go and order our takeout meal. It only works if you are departing out of terminal three(united)and gate 80. For us it works because we have a 5 hour flight to Honolulu or to Dulles and the food is not bad. There is also Yankee Grill but have never eaten there. Also get a large water with your order to use up the $28 each.

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[CalGalTraveler]

@frank808 Thanks for the tip. That's a great idea. With SWA and AK companion passes we are flying UAL less and less domestically. But will definitely use if we have a UAL flight in the future.