HGVC resale buy " last call" access

[tkoden]

We just went on a tour and sales pitch in Myrtle Beach, SC and one of the options that caught our attention was "last call" thru RCI for $339/week. We home school and I work remote so quick vacations for a week for that cheap would be awesome.

If I buy a HGVC timeshare resale, would I still have access to this feature? Also, are people that buy resale timeshares looked at as "less than" people that buy at a presentation?

 

[HuskerATL]

Yes. You have all the same programs benefits except resale will not get you into the Max program. You are an owner the same as a retail buyer. Resale do not help the sales folks so they always talk down about it but it is the only financial way that TS make sense

 

[Tamaradarann]

Yes. You have all the same programs benefits except resale will not get you into the Max program. You are an owner the same as a retail buyer. Resale do not help the sales folks so they always talk down about it but it is the only financial way that TS make sense

I agree with the sentiment that is expressed here by Husker. The sales folks ONLY make money if you buy from the presentation. If you buy resale you are getting the benefits of ownership and paying considerable less than buying from the presentation sales folks. If I was a sales person trying to sell a timeshare from a presentation I would totally talk down resale also. Knowing that buying resale is so miuch less expensive than buying from me at a presentation, I don't know how I would express to a perspective buyer why they should buy from me. Perhaps that is why I was never a salesperson.

About 50 years ago I thought about changing careers and going into sales. However, I always said that I would only want to sell what the buyer actually NEEDED TO DO THEIR WORK OR LIVE THEIR LIVES. Not luxuries or frills like timeshares that are great for fun and enjoyment of life buy certainly not a necessity.

 

[heitmullerj02]

I have 3 timeshares, all purchased resale. HGVC is where I am concentrating my points, since they do not treat me any differently. Not so for Vistana (Marriott) which will not even let me use their website. I use II for those trades. You will get a free RCI membership with HGVC, but not access to MAX, which is a waste and has only very old resorts.

 

[HuskerATL]

We have 12 weeks via resale and are treated no different than retail buyers but saved a HUGE amount of money and have access to the same properties/perks.

 

[tkoden]

Thanks everyone for the input. Glad I researched this a little. I would hate myself if I paid $40k+ for 8500 pts when I could get the same thing for $6-8k. Is there a cheat sheet with do's and don'ts for buying a HGVC timeshare? I have seen some for sale on ebay and other sites.

 

[HuskerATL]

Look on the TUG resources page about buying TS's. Great 101 there

There are two things to think about when buying; buying in a specific place because you will use it often and it is hard to book, i.e. Ocean Oak summer, Valdoro during ski season, Hawaii at Christmas or buying for cheap points to use anywhere. We belong to the latter group.

You can buy through eBay, TUG marketplace, Redweek, directly through a broker. You want to look at total cost/pt and MF/pt. Our last purchase was 0.24/pt and the MF/pt is 0.09. Ideally, you are less than 0.10/pt but up to 0.12 isn't bad.... If you are buying for cheap points to use anywhere. If you are buying at a high demand location that you will use often, then it will cost you more and the MF/pt will probably be higher

 

[jmann]

Don’t forget there are other higher fees with RCI such as the booking fee and the housekeeping fee.

 

[tkoden]

Don’t forget there are other higher fees with RCI such as the booking fee and the housekeeping fee.

The way it was explained to me was that the $339 / wk was inclusive of fees and taxes. Is this not accurate?

 

[HuskerATL]

The way it was explained to me was that the $339 / wk was inclusive of fees and taxes. Is this not accurate?

No. There is a $249 booking fee and then whatever fees there are for specific properties. Some have no other fees, others have a resort fee, and others have house cleaning fees. Also, some have all inclusive fees. Whenever you use RCI, you need to check the fees section.

 

[buzglyd]

No. There is a $249 booking fee and then whatever fees there are for specific properties. Some have no other fees, others have a resort fee, and others have house cleaning fees. Also, some have all inclusive fees. Whenever you use RCI, you need to check the fees section.

I think the OP is talking about Last Call not exchange. That being said, check the fees for sure as you click through.

 

[Eric B]

If OP is interested predominantly in RCI Extra Vacations and Last Calls, I believe @AwayWeGo and his Chief of Staff are the TUG resident experts. If it were me, I'd look to them for advice.

RCI - Extra Vacation, Last Call availability

While looking around in RCi in recent times, I wondered if there was any connection between what showed up in Extra Vacation (EV) and what in Last Call (LC). I had thought that EV probably fed LC for 'Last Minute' vacations. In other words, unbooked resorts in EV were moved to LC when the...

tugbbs.com

 

[4TimeAway]

Thanks everyone for the input. Glad I researched this a little. I would hate myself if I paid $40k+ for 8500 pts when I could get the same thing for $6-8k. Is there a cheat sheet with do's and don'ts for buying a HGVC timeshare? I have seen some for sale on ebay and other sites.

The deal you get will probably be even better than this. There may even be a location you'd like to go to once year that you can buy resale and have extra points to stay at other places.

For example buy 12,000-20,000 points and stay in a 1 bedroom off season for a week or two, then another week somewhere else.

 

[alwysonvac]

The way it was explained to me was that the $339 / wk was inclusive of fees and taxes. Is this not accurate?

You have to take what they tell you with a grain of salt. They will say whatever it takes to make a sale.

Last Call is a subset of leftover inventory that is made available 45 days before check-in at a discount. The number of rooms will vary based on availability.
I won't expect to find a high demand week at a high demand resort (such as high demand weeks at ski resorts or high demand weeks at beachfront resorts).
NOTE: Only a subset of RCI resorts are available via Last Call.

For example, here's the number of resorts currently available Extra Vacation vs Last Call over similar timeframes.

​

Here's an example: This resort in Massanutten, VA has 20 weeks available in various size via Last Call. Here's an example of the 3-bedroom week.

​