HIVC points to IHG Points and perks lost through resale

[rgerchman]

Hello All,
My fiancé and I are looking to purchase a timeshare. We recently made the mistake of buying without doing our research with Blue Green. Luckily we were able to rescind. I am awaiting the 20 day refund window.
It's just the two of us and we have no issues staying at a nice hotel for vacation. We want the option of being able to invite family on vacations with us and use a resort or just book a room for the two of us. So we are looking for a timeshare/vacation club that we can use for both. We do many little 1-4 night jaunts and a couple week trips a year. We have been staying at the Marriott for the last few years, but IHG has some great places also. Plus Marriott maintenance fees are too much, and the higher member levels are out of reach for us. I think a HIVC/IHG seems like the perfect fit if I'm understanding my google searches right...

Any info is much appreciated!
Thanks!!!

My questions are-
Can HICV points still be used for IHG stays? What's the conversion rate if there is one?
Can we "double dip" and gain member levels with IHG using HICV points?
What perks will we not have if we buy HICV resale.
Is there a concierge service- One that helps with best priced flights and things to do at destination.

 

[tschwa2]

There really aren't any timeshares where regularly converting to hotel points is a good deal. Think starting off with 7 nights in a 2 BR condo and converting to points and getting enough points for 2-3 nights in the nicer hotels or maybe 5 nights of points savers in the lowest class of hotels/motels. Most resales in the timeshare world do not come with the "perk" of being able to convert to hotel points. HICV does allow it (see the restriction below). The conversion rate for members are 4 vacation points get you 3 hotel points plus you pay a fee to convert.

More importantly though only 3 resorts in the HICV system transfer as points to a new owner. The rest convert back to a deeded week only which cannot be used as vacation points or hotel points. Those resorts are the ones in Myrtle Beach, Gatlinburg and Lake Geneva-Wisconsin. HICV currently only sells trust points. While these remain points there are heavy restrictions on resales and these would not be eligible for conversion to hotel reward points.

In the timeshare world concierge service is paid by the sales staff and 90% plus of their job is to get you to a sales meeting so they can upsell you to some or some more retail points.

 

[rgerchman]

There really aren't any timeshares where regularly converting to hotel points is a good deal. Think starting off with 7 nights in a 2 BR condo and converting to points and getting enough points for 2-3 nights in the nicer hotels or maybe 5 nights of points savers in the lowest class of hotels/motels. Most resales in the timeshare world do not come with the "perk" of being able to convert to hotel points. HICV does allow it (see the restriction below). The conversion rate for members are 4 vacation points get you 3 hotel points plus you pay a fee to convert.

More importantly though only 3 resorts in the HICV system transfer as points to a new owner. The rest convert back to a deeded week only which cannot be used as vacation points or hotel points. Those resorts are the ones in Myrtle Beach, Gatlinburg and Lake Geneva-Wisconsin. HICV currently only sells trust points. While these remain points there are heavy restrictions on resales and these would not be eligible for conversion to hotel reward points.

In the timeshare world concierge service is paid by the sales staff and 90% plus of their job is to get you to a sales meeting so they can upsell you to some or some more retail points.

Thank you for the info! I am still thinking HIVC is the way for us to go even if we need to buy retail initially and then down the road do resale for more points as we do more resort vacations. A week a year in a resort for us is good at this point. We can then do our jaunts with Credit card points of IHG.

May I ask- Why did you decide HIVC over other's?

 

[silentg]

We own at Orange Lake we are points but have a fixed week too. We have been converting to IHG for some of our points. We usually tie in a night before a timeshare vacation and sometimes a night after. We have stayed in London, Paris, Rome on IHG points. Also use HICV points for stays at affiliated resorts. We own other timeshares and use them for trades thru RCI and TUG direct exchanges. We find the resorts very comfortable and the hotels are nice, it’s usually just the two of us that go. We never have used RCI for our Orange Lake Timeshare.

 

[Rdub79]

Thank you for the info! I am still thinking HIVC is the way for us to go even if we need to buy retail initially and then down the road do resale for more points as we do more resort vacations. A week a year in a resort for us is good at this point. We can then do our jaunts with Credit card points of IHG.

May I ask- Why did you decide HIVC over other's?

I would definitely buy resale first and then retail if you think you will ever buy retail. That way your resale deed will be converted to count towards VIP status. I would suggest looking for a resale deed at one of the 3 resorts that stay as points and get that and try out the system for a while. Then if you decide you like it and want to get some more points you can plan out your path. Depending on how many points you want to end up with maybe look for a high point value fixed week deed for cheap on the resale market and then buy a small retail package to bring it into the club.
I ended up in HICV because I saw a deed for Myrtle beach resort back in 2011 for super cheap and the resort looked nice and it was a close drive for us and the other locations they had at that time looked nice and so I figured what the heck. I think the main perks for HICV are 1. If you do it right the maintenance fees per week of vacation can be very affordable, 2. They have a lot of resorts oriented to kids with great pools and lazy rivers and water slides 3. They are actively expanding to new locations. 4. The points system is easy to use and pretty flexible. I think the downside to HICV is the lack of high end destinations and resorts. Nothing tropical. And while the resorts are nice I don’t think they are Marriott, Hyatt quality. And I guess the fact that most deeds don’t transfer as points is a downside also. Makes it hard to get in on the cheap.

 

[OLRi2010]

I was recently contacted by someone through TUG marketplace looking to sell their HICV points. I wasn't interested so didn't research further. She contacted me because of a Wish Ad I had posted on TUG looking for a larger unit at Orange Lake.

 

[rgerchman]

We own at Orange Lake we are points but have a fixed week too. We have been converting to IHG for some of our points. We usually tie in a night before a timeshare vacation and sometimes a night after. We have stayed in London, Paris, Rome on IHG points. Also use HICV points for stays at affiliated resorts. We own other timeshares and use them for trades thru RCI and TUG direct exchanges. We find the resorts very comfortable and the hotels are nice, it’s usually just the two of us that go. We never have used RCI for our Orange Lake Timeshare.

Thank you! That sounds pretty flexible!


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[rgerchman]

I would definitely buy resale first and then retail if you think you will ever buy retail. That way your resale deed will be converted to count towards VIP status. I would suggest looking for a resale deed at one of the 3 resorts that stay as points and get that and try out the system for a while. Then if you decide you like it and want to get some more points you can plan out your path. Depending on how many points you want to end up with maybe look for a high point value fixed week deed for cheap on the resale market and then buy a small retail package to bring it into the club.
I ended up in HICV because I saw a deed for Myrtle beach resort back in 2011 for super cheap and the resort looked nice and it was a close drive for us and the other locations they had at that time looked nice and so I figured what the heck. I think the main perks for HICV are 1. If you do it right the maintenance fees per week of vacation can be very affordable, 2. They have a lot of resorts oriented to kids with great pools and lazy rivers and water slides 3. They are actively expanding to new locations. 4. The points system is easy to use and pretty flexible. I think the downside to HICV is the lack of high end destinations and resorts. Nothing tropical. And while the resorts are nice I don’t think they are Marriott, Hyatt quality. And I guess the fact that most deeds don’t transfer as points is a downside also. Makes it hard to get in on the cheap.

Thanks for that information! So if we buy resell and then buy retail, the points from the retail deed will be just as good as the retail points? In the meantime if we buy resell then we can still use the points at other places outside the deeded property?


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[rgerchman]

I was recently contacted by someone through TUG marketplace looking to sell their HICV points. I wasn't interested so didn't research further. She contacted me because of a Wish Ad I had posted on TUG looking for a larger unit at Orange Lake.

I have a bit more research to do before buying. Thank you though! Also. I think I want to go through a verified timeshare resale vendor to ensure security and safety. Any recommendations?


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[OLRi2010]

I have a bit more research to do before buying. Thank you though! Also. I think I want to go through a verified timeshare resale vendor to ensure security and safety. Any recommendations?


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I've made my purchases (fixed weeks) through Redweek and use their escrow servicers. I also do my own independent check with the resort I'm buying into. But I know others here will have more suggestions for you.

 

[rgerchman]

I've made my purchases (fixed weeks) through Redweek and use their escrow servicers. I also do my own independent check with the resort I'm buying into. But I know others here will have more suggestions for you.

I’ve found it’s incredibly difficult to get information from the timeshare company. They keep telling me I need to attend the sales presentation for more info. You’re saying that You call the actual resort? I haven’t tried that yet.


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[tschwa2]

I’ve found it’s incredibly difficult to get information from the timeshare company. They keep telling me I need to attend the sales presentation for more info. You’re saying that You call the actual resort? I haven’t tried that yet.


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When resorts are in active sales (as all HICV resorts are) they won't give out full details about resales.

 

[kanerf]

I purchased two small South Beach contracts resale and than added on a small retail package that converted all of the points towards VIP status.

 

[OLRi2010]

I’ve found it’s incredibly difficult to get information from the timeshare company. They keep telling me I need to attend the sales presentation for more info. You’re saying that You call the actual resort? I haven’t tried that yet.


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I only call the resort once I've entered into an agreement to purchase a resale property. If I provide enough details they will generally confirm if the details I've been given are accurate or not. I always use an escrow agent. But, I'm not the best person to help you with this as I am only fixed weeks. I just wanted you to know that someone contacted me with a large HIVC contract to sell and that people do respond to wish list ads.

 

[Bmatrose]

I only call the resort once I've entered into an agreement to purchase a resale property. If I provide enough details they will generally confirm if the details I've been given are accurate or not. I always use an escrow agent. But, I'm not the best person to help you with this as I am only fixed weeks. I just wanted you to know that someone contacted me with a large HIVC contract to sell and that people do respond to wish list ads.

how big of a hicv contract were they selling?

 

[OLRi2010]

450,000

 

[tschwa2]

450,000

At which resort?

 

[silentg]

I have a question about HIVC points. I have 2,775 points left over from 2021. I know I can’t convert them to IHG.
But can I use them for activities at Orange Lake, before the end of the year? Golf? Dining? Water Park? Or will I lose them? Sorry to take over the subject, but if someone knows the answer it would be helpful to other members.
Silentg

 

[Rdub79]

I have a question about HIVC points. I have 2,775 points left over from 2021. I know I can’t convert them to IHG.
But can I use them for activities at Orange Lake, before the end of the year? Golf? Dining? Water Park? Or will I lose them? Sorry to take over the subject, but if someone knows the answer it would be helpful to other members.
Silentg

You have to be at least preferred membership level to be able to use points for onsite amenities. I’m not sure how much the points are worth doing this as I’ve never dug into it but I’m betting you won’t get very much for 2,775 points. That’s a very small number of points.

 

[silentg]

Yes, I’ve used all the other points so not too unhappy these are lost. I do get a lot out of my 127,000 each year.
Going to River Island for 3 nights in November. This was the balance after booking that.

 

[tschwa2]

Yes, I’ve used all the other points so not too unhappy these are lost. I do get a lot out of my 127,000 each year.
Going to River Island for 3 nights in November. This was the balance after booking that.

To use for amenities they also have to be current or future points. They can't be saved/extended points. You have to do a minimum of $50 worth which would be 25,000 points.

 

[silentg]

Thanks for the replies.

 

[mathmusic]

As someone with a lot of IHG points from work, it really is not a great deal to convert the HICV points to IHG points. I joined because I was more familiar with the deals and normal hotel points and they roped me in from targeted offers. Bought a small contract about a year ago from the developer and now have found a secondary market contract that was a fraction of the price for more than double the points.

 

[Bmatrose]

As someone with a lot of IHG points from work, it really is not a great deal to convert the HICV points to IHG points. I joined because I was more familiar with the deals and normal hotel points and they roped me in from targeted offers. Bought a small contract about a year ago from the developer and now have found a secondary market contract that was a fraction of the price for more than double the points.

make sure your buying from one of the three resorts where points transfer.

 

[mathmusic]

No worries, it's Gatlinburg. Did a lot of reading on here after getting into the program haha.