HICV "Preferred" - is the free unit upgrade worth it?

[dotnetnerd]

Hi folks. I'm an HICV member with units totaling 200,000 points.

I have a chance to bump up to "Preferred". (By linking in another family member's unit which is worth 175,000 points)

One perk is one annual free unit upgrade. Eg. bump from a 1-bdrm to a 2-bdrm.
But the fine print says it must be booked within 60 days of usage.

This seems unfair. I'm accustomed to planning and booking our vacations a year in advance to almost guarantee to get the location/room we want. If wait for the 60-day window to claim the free upgrade it might be too late to get what we want.

Have any of you had success using the free upgrade?

 

[dotnetnerd]

Yikes, no responses after a week?

I'm glad I didn't pay a membership fee for TUG.

 

[tschwa2]

There aren't a lot of HIVC members who are everyday type regulars here. I am not an HIVC owner but here are my thoughts. If you need the larger size room and travel during prime time, then I don't think you can rely on it being available at 60 days. If you are willing to travel in the smaller size room but having a larger unit would be ideal then the upgrades at 60 days might work. As I said if you don't travel during prime times, the upgrade is more likely to be available.

 

[dotnetnerd]

Thanks!........

 

[Tank]

Hello, yes its worth it if you can get the upgrade. they changed the free upgrade to if its available when you make the reservation. can save a lot of points and stretch vacations.
until this year this was pretty much useless , hats off to Orange lake for making this change. I just was able to take advantage of my 4 nights free a year. It did not cost me a nickel to make the plans, it was awesome !
He is right about not to many of us out there. You will see more and more as I am excited about the march Holiday inn has made so far and am told to look for about 12 more locations in the next five years. Scottsdale Az will be available in the fall of 2016
I'm newer on tug myself searching for any helpful advise I can get and just found your post. message me if you can get that it could be well worth it. I wish I could get some easy points

 

[Sandy]

I am a happy HIVC Owner. I tried to get a free upgrade once, but it was for high season in Myrtle beach, and no units were available.

I am interested in learning more about the change mentioned in the previous post that you can use the upgrade option when booking the unit. I did not go to the owners info update on my last visit to OLCC, so I missed this bit of info. But I usually find out my critical stuff here on TUG!

 

[silentg]

Hello, We own at OLCC and are members of HICV, we put all our points this year in IHG to book stays at hotels. This along with other timeshare resorts is helpful when staying a day or two along the way to our timeshares. We have stayed at Orange Lake, Cape Canaveral and Myrtle Beach Holiday Inn Clubs, enjoyed each one. Will eventually try to stay at all of them. We like being able to go various places with the points. We have been to Paris and London using IHG and have a trip planned to Rome, Italy this year!
TerryC

 

[andex]

I agree, HIVC made some positive additions to the membership level. on the site there is a full chart explaining the new benefits.
you would save on one membership fee 104, one free upgrade anytime that worth something, RCI discounts, 4 free night anywhere, and discounts if booking in the 10-8 months window. sound like a no brainer for me! put another way an 11 day vacation in a 2 bedroom would cost you the points of a one bedroom for one week! :whoopie:

 

[Tank]

it is in the 2015 book on our HIVC web-sight where you go to make your dreams come true When you go to book it should show you this at that time for the upgrade. Depending on your level its all in the new 2015 members guide, automatically shows up as a option at book my vacation now. I stayed in Orlando for 4 nights free 2 bedroom riverside no charge at all over the phone. Was pretty nice. But 10 months on down if you are eligible for a upgrade and it is there at the time you book you can get it right than.
Hats off to Orange Lake for this move !

 

[Sandy]

When I read here about the new changes to the HIVC system I called them. I also have a free 3 night stay to use this year, before December. Mine is 3 nights rather than 4 nights. I could not get the upgrade for my existing reservation because the new program was effective January 2015 and my reservation was before that date.

I will read through the new features.

 

[gtoc]

How much is it to join HICV?

My initial thought about the $5000-$8000 to join fee was that it is too much. After all, I bought my Orange Lake unit for $1 on ebay. But the reason that I am even considering it is because I have two timeshares both weeks. The Aruba Divi Phoenix would cost $2000 to change to points and would only offer 42500 RCI points. Yet the weeks value for it is 26 points.

In contrast, my Orange Lake is only worth 22 points but it would equate to 63500 RCI points if upgraded to points (127,000 HICV points). So I have been pondering the idea of upgrading since I would like a points timeshare and a weeks timeshare. In addition, the Aruba always pays for itself in rental on the years I'm not using. Orange Lake has never rented and doesn't even get many hits on ebay AND it's a Memorial Day week.

So I'm wondering what kind of interest these guys would charge and what monthly payments would be. I'm also wondering if I would have any luck trying to get them down on the price. BTW thanks for other responses in another thread on this topic. I checked out the IHG site for availability of Signature Suites and I don't know it just seems to defeat the purpose of having the Orange Lake week. I'm paying maintenance fee for it and then spending more money to go somewhere else. Then I'm exchanging the week for several "small" vacations where we never get to stay the full seven days. This is an excellent forum. I love it.

 

[Tank]

127,ooo points must be a 1 bedroom , Summer, Christmas / New years would be best weeks to own. Spring break also around Easter but changes regularly . Just seen a 4th of July week on Ebay. If you were looking for a time to buy that might rent better. average 2 bedroom around 166,000 . If I used RCI there are extra charges, but also some charges with points. Membership every year $126 (went up this year) $59 reserve a stay plus $35 to protect your points if you cant travel above and beyond your taxes and maintenance fees. Thats probably around $900 in fee's a year. My 166,000 points cost $900 plus membership plus reservation fee. You can split the points but every reservation will be $94 with point shield. Advantage is you can go to the other 11 , soon to be 12 HIVC (Scottsdale Az) sights with the same points & cost. Orange lake if a tough one to rent because so many TS are there.
Basic membership this is what you get
Membership (up to 299,999 points)
As a Club Member, you have access to many benefits and privileges, such as:

Gold Elite membership in IHG® Rewards Club (a $50 value)
Access to Signature Collection portfolio based on membership level (subject to availability)
Hertz #1 Club Gold® Membership with expedited rental car pickup, instant returns, special discounts, plus earn free rentals and more
Book Orange Lake Resort tee times in advance
Access to RCI® Points/RCI Weeks and/or Interval International® exchange affiliate programs
Extend your expiring Club Points six months from expiration

but 300,000 points to 499,999 points you get this
Preferred Membership
You enjoy all of the benefits of the membership level, along with these additional benefits:

Priority seating at select member resort restaurants
Free 3-night stay each year
One reservation upgrade each year
10% Rebate on one RCI Points reservation each year
10% Advanced booking window discount
Extra 4% savings for discounted MAXtime offers
Use Club Points like cash for resort amenities (available 3/31/15)
Use Club Points for up to $250 in maintenance fee credits
Rent up to 60% annual of Club Points allotment
Dedicated servicing team of counselors
Access to Signature Collection portfolio 90 days prior to check-in

more points more benefits , two more levels in all

 

[skotrla]

I had Preferred (300K points) for 2 weeks and thought it was pretty nice. Then HICV took it away because my Odd unit doesn't count at all towards status

I think the following 3 upgrades are worth buying another resell timeshare (not retail) to get:

1) 1 Reservation Upgrade 10 months out

2) Free 3-night Reservation 2 months out

3) Signature access 3 months out

In my opinion, the next bump worth shooting for is Elite at 1M points:

1) Unlimited Reservation Upgrades 10 months out (no need to save them for the longest stays and the best upgrade)

2) Free PointShield

3) Pick your unit

4) Rental points @ $5/1K (cheaper than my maintenance cost for points)

-Scott

 

[skotrla]

Biennial unit update - when I was inquiring about converting fixed weeks, I was informed that odd/even units count as half points every year, but that you cannot get Preferred status through resale purchases - you have to make a retail purchase (min $5K typically) to get status