HGVC nd H Honors GOLD Status

[robmd]

Hi there,

We recently purchased a Penthouse studio at the new "The Residences" in NYC for $7.14 per point (Very expensive I have now found out).. The apparent benefit was 50:1 conversion to HHonors so 10,500 = 525,000 HH points per year.

Part of the deal was that we both got automatic GOLD HHonors status.

How does this work if you purchase resale? Would you still get GOLD status and is this worth it?

Thanks in advance

 

[NJDave]

Hi there,

Part of the deal was that we both got automatic GOLD HHonors status.

How does this work if you purchase resale? Would you still get GOLD status and is this worth it?

Thanks in advance

We used to own HGVC. I don't recall if I received Gold status for owning since I had status with my credit card. You can get gold status by getting either a Citibank or American Express Hilton credit card which requires a small annual fee each year (less than $100). We have received nice upgrades, free breakfast and access to the executive lounge due to having Gold status. For instance, in Venice we received a an upgrade to a suite with a canal view, received free breakfast and got access to the executive lounge.

 

[natarajanv]

You can get Gold status by getting Citi reserve visa card. It has a $95 annual fee. There are other cards which gives you gold status if you spent $20k in a year.

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk

 

[presley]

The only way to get HGVC Gold Elite status is to buy from the developer. The benefits are minimal and nowhere worth the cost of buying from the developer.

Anyone can get HHonors Gold status by having/using one of their credit cards. The AMEX Surpass card gives HHonors gold status by just having it. You never need to use it at all. There is an annual fee of $75 or $95, I can't remember. It also includes use of VIP lounges at 500 airports.

 

[tompalm]

I am not to crazy about Citi after my recent experience with my new Costco card. I have the Surpass card and gold membership. The surpass gives the most points compared to the other AmEx cards. However, the other AmEx card gives two free weekend nights in a hotel each year when you pay a membership fee. So it depends what you like. The service has been good with AmEx when compared to other cards. Here is more info.

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/hilton-hhonors-surpass

 

[brp]

As mentioned, no automatic Gold on a resale purchase, but very easy to get with a credit card. The lounge access with upgrade and the free breakfast even without upgrade make Gold reasonably worth it...but not worth a direct purchase by any stretch of the imagination.

We get Diamond via credit card spend, which has worked out pretty well, although we find Hyatt to be a better overall hotel program. Just can't get top status on CC spend.

Cheers.

 

[robmd]

What about CLUB LEVEL

Thanks for all the valuable info.. What about CLUB LEVEL access at the Hilton properties? How do you get access to these?

 

[1Kflyerguy]

Thanks for all the valuable info.. What about CLUB LEVEL access at the Hilton properties? How do you get access to these?

I believe your asking about the getting access to the Executive Club/Lounge at the hotels. Those are located in most but not all full service Hilton hotels around the world. They are generally not available in the other other Hilton brands, such as Embassy Suites, Hampton inn, etc.

You can gain access to these several ways. You can book these and pay with cash or HHonors points on a per trip basis.

With HHonors gold status, you gain access if your upgraded to the executive floor when you check-in. That is done on a space available basis. With HHonors Diamond status you will have access even if your not upgraded to an executive floor room.

The easiest way to get HHonors Gold is with one of credit cards as others have mentioned. You can also get it through paid stays at Hilton Hotels, or "membership" at the Grand Wailea on Maui. This is same HHonors Gold you get with the base level HGVC Elite.

The Executive Floor Clubs really vary in what the offer. The ones located outside North America are pretty good. The ones in the US are more basic, but will have a light breakfast in the AM and some sort of snacks in the evening. Some locations have hot appetizers, others its limited to chips and salsa...

 

[Shmiddy]

I travel with Hilton and have Diamond status - unless you stay at top of the line properties that have an Executive Lounge all you get is free breakfast and a few treats. If you travel a lot like me you can earn status fast with 30 stays in a year - it's nice to be able to pick my room 24 hours ahead but not so much that I would pay $$$ for it.

My Diamond status doesn't get me squat at my HGVC property. Not even a bottle of water.

Don't get me going on converting to HH points. The sales person insinuated that I could convert unused points over - I was not happy when I learned that you can only convert the next year's over and not current year points. 500K HH points would get you a lot, so if you know you won't be using your points a year in advance it could work.

 

[onenotesamba]

I can echo that last post. I used to travel frequently for work, and had Diamond Status for a few years in the Hhonors program. Then, after Hilton de-valued its program a few years back, I started mixing up my frequent stays, and got Gold status through the Amex card.

Between Diamond and Gold, I don't notice any difference. And, frankly, when I stay at a Hyatt as the lowest level basic program member, I'm treated just as well as I am at comparable Hilton properties.

So, from where I'm sitting, it's not worth it to pay tens of thousands of dollars more to buy a timeshare week, just so that you can get something that's nearly equivalent for a hundred bucks in credit card annual fees.

As far as the exchange ratio goes, I concur with the conventional wisdom on this board that buying HGVC so that you can convert to Hhonors points and stay in hotels is not the best use of your money/points. If you're desperate to go to the Maldives and stay in a hut suspended over the ocean, you're going to spend a lot to do that--even if you're using hhonors points. You'll need tens of thousands of dollars in spending on hotel stays to get there on points.

 

[brp]

I'll add on to what others have said.

First, it is possible to get Diamond status through HHonors Amex or Visa cards and $40K spend. If you're gonna spend it anyway, it's something to consider.

However, as mentioned, the differences between Gold and Diamond often are not that much. Diamond does get guaranteed lounge access, even if not upgraded to the Executive Floor. Also, some hotels give a higher level of breakfast to Diamond (only continental is guaranteed), but not many.

The lounges outside the US can be quite nice. Full morning breakfast (or one can typically go to the restaurant). Coffee/Tea and snacks throughout the day if you happen to be in the hotel. The evening appetizers can be anywhere from OK to very nice in terms of hot items and beverage (beer, wine, spirit) offerings.

Cheers.

 

[robmd]

great feeedback

Thx for the great feedback..

Apparently NYC is the head office for HGVC. They and soon Washington DC are rolling out the new program where the points are 50:1 conversion w/o penalty.

Ofcourse I would not want to convert all points all the time as i want a combo of premium club hotels and then the other branded Hampton Inn, Garden Inn etc where we stay a lot..

I was under the impression I could do this as well as a spot at NYC penthouse once every few years..

I am continuing looking at this.. The sales people are quite nice and open to looking at the other offerings and comparing but I also been in sales ..

Its a hard decision on whether to rescind or not...

 

[Talent312]

Its a hard decision on whether to rescind or not...

Orlando is the corporate headquarters for HGVC.
50:1 for Hilton Club NY has been standard.

Your hard decision in a nutshell:
(A) Rescind and buy resale for ~1/3 the price (no elite status); or
(2) Don't rescind and throw $$ away for a few bells+whistles.

Some folks are spendthrifts and others squeeze nickels.
Whatever floats your boat.
.

 

[whitewater]

Here are the benefits from hilton honors:
http://hhonors3.hilton.com/en/explore/benefits/index.html

As stated citi card reserve gets automatic gold for 95 however you also get a free stay once a year. (this more than pays for the fee).

Just booked a few nights in chicago for free. Hope this helps. not sure about conversion.

 

[presley]

Its a hard decision on whether to rescind or not...

Sounds like you paid about $75K. Hopefully, you paid cash, because with financing, that amount grows significantly. It sounds like you bought mostly to stay in the hotels. It's never a good value to buy a timeshare for use of hotels. You can often book hotels for special pricing on the Hilton.com website and you can't get the discounted specials when you are booking with points.

Imagine if you put the $75K in a money market account and took it out and paid cash for your hotel stays. You wouldn't have annual MFs, you wouldn't have HGVC annoying fees for everything and you'd be earning interest on your money. Will you spend $75K for Hilton brand hotels in your lifetime? How about adding in all the interest (if you financed), MFs every year, program fees,etc. Would you spend that much to stay in Hilton hotels?

 

[Helios]

The only way to get HGVC Gold Elite status is to buy from the developer. The benefits are minimal and nowhere worth the cost of buying from the developer.

Anyone can get HHonors Gold status by having/using one of their credit cards. The AMEX Surpass card gives HHonors gold status by just having it. You never need to use it at all. There is an annual fee of $75 or $95, I can't remember. It also includes use of VIP lounges at 500 airports.

The Amex is $75.

 

[Helios]

I travel with Hilton and have Diamond status - unless you stay at top of the line properties that have an Executive Lounge all you get is free breakfast and a few treats. If you travel a lot like me you can earn status fast with 30 stays in a year - it's nice to be able to pick my room 24 hours ahead but not so much that I would pay $$$ for it.

My Diamond status doesn't get me squat at my HGVC property. Not even a bottle of water.

Don't get me going on converting to HH points. The sales person insinuated that I could convert unused points over - I was not happy when I learned that you can only convert the next year's over and not current year points. 500K HH points would get you a lot, so if you know you won't be using your points a year in advance it could work.

I have Diamond and find the benefits to be hit or miss depending on the property. For instance, last week I stayed at the Hilton Union Square in SF and got a continental breakfast credit. This week I am staying at the Hilton in CDMX and got my family access (2 rooms) to the Executive Lounge which is very nice. No upgrades in either property. The first one was $550/night the second one is $65 + 12,000 points per night.

I find SPG (RIP) Plat to be the best in benefits. MR is nothing to brag about.

 

[HC831]

Hi there,

We recently purchased a Penthouse studio at the new "The Residences" in NYC for $7.14 per point (Very expensive I have now found out).. The apparent benefit was 50:1 conversion to HHonors so 10,500 = 525,000 HH points per year.

Part of the deal was that we both got automatic GOLD HHonors status.

How does this work if you purchase resale? Would you still get GOLD status and is this worth it?

Thanks in advance

Robmd - the value is not in converting from HGVC to HHonors, although it is a nice amenity. I also decided to buy from the developer. I paid the same, about $7.2/point as well, but after the incentives and paying for the package with my Amex Surpass (puts me over spend for diamond status) and gives me 12x HHonors points per $1 on the HCNY spend now gives me a ton of HHonors points, while still having the HGVC points.

After factoring in the HHonors points value and HGVC bonus incentives from the developer, my deal results in a net cost of $2.9/HGVC point, which I find favorable on a go forward basis. Given the deeded interest (perpetual), and HGVC has been buying back HCNY RTU at higher $/point, I feel pretty good overall. No doubt there are lower cost options for those who just want to buy into a HGVC, but cheaper does not always mean its a better deal!