Qs Re HGVC Resale Purchase

[mountainboy]

Thinking about buying a HGVC timeshare. Trying to understand if it makes sense for me to get (or not). Also lots of changes with HGVC, DRI, BG etc. Lots of Qs. Sorry, if multiple Qs/asks.

1. As a resale owner, what is a good MF to points sweet spot to acquire? Is a 1200 MF for 8,000 points too high?
2. I may want to travel longer weekends rather than a whole week at a time (as a worker bee). Will I have to pay a reservation fee for each reservation using HGVC club points?
3. If I purchase points in a Vegas or Florida HGVC resort, any difference in fees/booking, if I were to book for Park City or Breck/CO or the 'home' resort?
4. As resale owner, do we get access to last minute open inventory (? open season) or not any more?
5. Is it still worth acquiring a HGVC timeshare as resale with increasing MFs (& other junk fees)?
6. Which HGVC timeshares would you recommend acquiring, for maximizing points & minimizing fees?
7. If buying HGVC points resale, do we get to book into the DRI (Diamond resorts) via Club Points (or only via RCI)?
8. For EOY owners, are the MFs EOY (year of use) only or EY? (I believe club dues are every year).
Any other tips/recommendations?
TIA!

 

[HuskerATL]

There is a lot to unpack here.

1. MF/pt is what you look at and refer to this table, https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/2024-hilton-grand-vacations-maintenance-fees.356662/post-2975698 , for the best. Ideally, you are at 0.10 or better. $1200/8000 = 0.15....way to high for me. A 8000 point deed it probably a 2 bed gold season...in FL so too high. I would go for a platinum season, 11,200 or more, in Vegas. Now there is a caveat though, some folks are willing to pay a higher MF/pt for a location that is hard to book in the week that they want, say summer at Ocean Oak...or ski season in Valdoro so, in those instances, it may be worth paying more to get the week that you want at that location, but, if you just want cheap points to use where ever, then 0.15 is too high.

2. yes. The only way to not have a reservation fee, each time that you book, is to be in Max, be Legacy Elite Premier, or be in Hilton Club AI.

3. No difference. It doesn't matter where you own for booking fees. I would avoid buying FL...even if it is given to you.

4. Yes, it doesn't matter if you buy retail or resale, you get all the same program benefits. The only difference between a resale and retail purchase is that a resale, theoretically, will not get you in Max...there have been system glitches where this has happened though...look in the TUG posts about it.

5. All properties have increasing each year but some more than others. You can run reports by property on this site to see the differences, http://hgvcmfs.com/default.aspx , but, again, I think FL MFs will continue to go up more than others due to the weather and insurance issues.

6. Look at the table in #2. Fees are basically the same across all so it is just the MF/pt that you need to look at for cheap points. The other option is to look at Craig Lodges for lower MFs but also access to DEX EU

7. You only get access to DRI via Max, DEX EU, and some in RCI. Max requires a retail purchase which is not worth that but DEX EU (up to 2 years) is a great way to get a much longer booking window into DRI than Max (6 months). Right now, the only way for a HGVC owner to have access to DEX EU is to buy Craig Lodges, https://www.craigendarroch.com/sales/ , enroll in DEX EU, and then deposit your week there. It gives you full access to that exchange.

8. Depends on where you own. Most are only the year of the points but some are half each year but you pay club dues every year. I am not a fan of EOY deeds.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[ljmiii]

What @HuskerATL wrote. I would add that EOY weeks are great if there is a HGVC resort you want to visit EOY that is tough to book during Club Season - Ocean Front Lagoon Tower at Hilton Hawaiian Village (which we own), Ski Weeks at ski resorts, Winter at FL Gulf Resorts, etc. That said, my standard HGVC blurb follows...

HGVC is in general (and IMHO) the best of the major timeshare systems as long as you understand its limitations and are able to plan 9 to 12 months in advance. In particular, HGVC truly excels if you want to do one of the three following things...

1) Stay at one of HGVC's major destinations - O'ahu, the Big Island, Carlsbad (CA), Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach (SC), Orlando, and maybe NYC. There is almost always plenty of availability at 276 days (~9 months) and you can just buy the least expensive deed anywhere in the system (taking into account both initial price and MFs).

2) Stay at any HGVC resort for a week at a time (usually Saturday to Saturday) in a particular unit size and season at least every other year. Because most people don't book Home Week reservations there is almost always availability at 12 months (except perhaps for the very highest of demand weeks - e.g. President's Week at a Ski Resort). For this you buy a deed for the unit, season, and resort at which you want to stay.

3) Stay in NYC or DC. Because the "by Hilton Club" (aka bHC) resorts in these locations have "Home Resort Priority" windows in addition to the "Home Week Priority" window there is a long period of time (typically 90 to 276 days in advance) during which resort owners and no one else can book short stays. In addition, only owners can make "Open Season" reservations (cash stays) and there is usually an owners lounge. You would need to buy at the resort though not necessarily the unit and season at which you want to stay.

 

[HuskerATL]

HGV also can make sense if you want to tag team with Hilton hotel stays. With the Amex cards, HH merged accounts for couples, Diamond status if you have the HGV status or get the Aspire card, earn HH points with MFs, etc...

 

[mountainboy]

There is a lot to unpack here.

1. MF/pt is what you look at and refer to this table, https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/2024-hilton-grand-vacations-maintenance-fees.356662/post-2975698 , for the best. Ideally, you are at 0.10 or better. $1200/8000 = 0.15....way to high for me. A 8000 point deed it probably a 2 bed gold season...in FL so too high. I would go for a platinum season, 11,200 or more, in Vegas. Now there is a caveat though, some folks are willing to pay a higher MF/pt for a location that is hard to book in the week that they want, say summer at Ocean Oak...or ski season in Valdoro so, in those instances, it may be worth paying more to get the week that you want at that location, but, if you just want cheap points to use where ever, then 0.15 is too high.

2. yes. The only way to not have a reservation fee, each time that you book, is to be in Max, be Legacy Elite Premier, or be in Hilton Club AI.

3. No difference. It doesn't matter where you own for booking fees. I would avoid buying FL...even if it is given to you.

4. Yes, it doesn't matter if you buy retail or resale, you get all the same program benefits. The only difference between a resale and retail purchase is that a resale, theoretically, will not get you in Max...there have been system glitches where this has happened though...look in the TUG posts about it.

5. All properties have increasing each year but some more than others. You can run reports by property on this site to see the differences, http://hgvcmfs.com/default.aspx , but, again, I think FL MFs will continue to go up more than others due to the weather and insurance issues.

6. Look at the table in #2. Fees are basically the same across all so it is just the MF/pt that you need to look at for cheap points. The other option is to look at Craig Lodges for lower MFs but also access to DEX EU

7. You only get access to DRI via Max, DEX EU, and some in RCI. Max requires a retail purchase which is not worth that but DEX EU (up to 2 years) is a great way to get a much longer booking window into DRI than Max (6 months). Right now, the only way for a HGVC owner to have access to DEX EU is to buy Craig Lodges, https://www.craigendarroch.com/sales/ , enroll in DEX EU, and then deposit your week there. It gives you full access to that exchange.

8. Depends on where you own. Most are only the year of the points but some are half each year but you pay club dues every year. I am not a fan of EOY deeds.

Hope this is helpful.

Awesome! Thx for the excellent answers! Very helpful!

So, the reserv fee would add up a lot for multiple weekend trips (vs just a week at a time).

Had read somewhere that new resale owners do not get access to the open season/last minute inventory, hence the ask..

Agree, would like to avoid EOY.

Looks too complicated for DRI, so may hold off those.

Will ask separately re the GPX resorts & Voldoro (PC).

TY!

 

[HuskerATL]

A simple way to think about it. Ignore all the retail vs resale, they are the same from a use perspective (excluding Max) so then the decision is to either buy where you want to use it or buy for low purchase price and low MF/pt to use those points everywhere. We are in the latter category and still book the hard to book places....like OF at OO in summer but you have to book at 9 months out.

Only buy location if it is hard to book for the time of year that you would want to use it...assuming that it is a higher purchase price and higher MF/pt...again you are willing to pay more because you want that location at that time of year...that is hard to book.

The only FL places that are hard to book are the Gulf properties...Orlando is easy....Miami is easy....but if you want to regularly go to Marco Island, then it is better to own there.

 

[mountainboy]

What @HuskerATL wrote. I would add that EOY weeks are great if there is a HGVC resort you want to visit EOY that is tough to book during Club Season - Ocean Front Lagoon Tower at Hilton Hawaiian Village (which we own), Ski Weeks at ski resorts, Winter at FL Gulf Resorts, etc. That said, my standard HGVC blurb follows...

HGVC is in general (and IMHO) the best of the major timeshare systems as long as you understand its limitations and are able to plan 9 to 12 months in advance. In particular, HGVC truly excels if you want to do one of the three following things...

1) Stay at one of HGVC's major destinations - O'ahu, the Big Island, Carlsbad (CA), Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach (SC), Orlando, and maybe NYC. There is almost always plenty of availability at 276 days (~9 months) and you can just buy the least expensive deed anywhere in the system (taking into account both initial price and MFs).

2) Stay at any HGVC resort for a week at a time (usually Saturday to Saturday) in a particular unit size and season at least every other year. Because most people don't book Home Week reservations there is almost always availability at 12 months (except perhaps for the very highest of demand weeks - e.g. President's Week at a Ski Resort). For this you buy a deed for the unit, season, and resort at which you want to stay.

3) Stay in NYC or DC. Because the "by Hilton Club" (aka bHC) resorts in these locations have "Home Resort Priority" windows in addition to the "Home Week Priority" window there is a long period of time (typically 90 to 276 days in advance) during which resort owners and no one else can book short stays. In addition, only owners can make "Open Season" reservations (cash stays) and there is usually an owners lounge. You would need to buy at the resort though not necessarily the unit and season at which you want to stay.

Great info, TY!

Re Carlsbad: MariBrisa or Grand Palisades (GPX) etc.

Cali, PC, CO would be likely most used as most efficient use of my vacay time/hiking etc (although I love HI too). I do not ski, so would likely be going to PC/CO in summer or spring/fall/mud season (so likely can use their cheaper pricing). Have flexibility on time of year to travel (no kids, prefer traveling off-peak/shoulder seasons), to stretch travel $/points.

If one were to change booking (to difft HGVC resort or change dates), before 60 days, are there fees or free? (Realize, cancel & rebook would be 2 separate reserv fees)...

What's the deal with the GPX ones? Saw some postings re Grand Palisades timeshares being offered with 8,000 HGVC points with low MFs. Would those be regular HGVC points or any catches there?

TY!

 

[mountainboy]

A simple way to think about it. Ignore all the retail vs resale, they are the same from a use perspective (excluding Max) so then the decision is to either buy where you want to use it or buy for low purchase price and low MF/pt to use those points everywhere. We are in the latter category and still book the hard to book places....like OF at OO in summer but you have to book at 9 months out.

Only buy location if it is hard to book for the time of year that you would want to use it...assuming that it is a higher purchase price and higher MF/pt...again you are willing to pay more because you want that location at that time of year...that is hard to book.

The only FL places that are hard to book are the Gulf properties...Orlando is easy....Miami is easy....but if you want to regularly go to Marco Island, then it is better to own there.

ditto (re points are points; get them for lowest price (initial & ongoing MF).
? OF at OO

 

[mountainboy]

HGV also can make sense if you want to tag team with Hilton hotel stays. With the Amex cards, HH merged accounts for couples, Diamond status if you have the HGV status or get the Aspire card, earn HH points with MFs, etc...

Have Aspire, so HH Diamond (although hate their raised fee & the $200 every 6 mo credit) but only at very limited resorts. Still the FNC is a great use, so worth it!

 

[GT75]

If one were to change booking (to difft HGVC resort or change dates), before 60 days, are there fees or free?

Most reservations are changeable, but a few aren't such as Fiesta Americana and Home Week reservations. You can only change a changeable reservation > 60 days. This won't require an additional fee.

 

[HuskerATL]

Have Aspire, so HH Diamond (although hate their raised fee & the $200 every 6 mo credit) but only at very limited resorts. Still the FNC is a great use, so worth it!

The $400 credit works for MFs though...this is how we use them. We pay $200 before jan 1st and then $200 after.

 

[HuskerATL]

ditto (re points are points; get them for lowest price (initial & ongoing MF).
? OF at OO

Ocean Front at Ocean Oak (Hilton Head). It is a smaller and very popular property that is basically sold out all summer...and the best units are OF....so very hard to book.

 

[HuskerATL]

Great info, TY!

Re Carlsbad: MariBrisa or Grand Palisades (GPX) etc.

Cali, PC, CO would be likely most used as most efficient use of my vacay time/hiking etc (although I love HI too). I do not ski, so would likely be going to PC/CO in summer or spring/fall/mud season (so likely can use their cheaper pricing). Have flexibility on time of year to travel (no kids, prefer traveling off-peak/shoulder seasons), to stretch travel $/points.

If one were to change booking (to difft HGVC resort or change dates), before 60 days, are there fees or free? (Realize, cancel & rebook would be 2 separate reserv fees)...

What's the deal with the GPX ones? Saw some postings re Grand Palisades timeshares being offered with 8,000 HGVC points with low MFs. Would those be regular HGVC points or any catches there?

TY!

Google TUG GPX...there are many TUG posts about GPX. I find that is the easiest way to find TUG post...by just using google and looking up "TUG" and then whatever.

I think all of the Cali and summer Valdoro are easy to book though. GPP does give you access to GPX so more options but I think it is clumsy in the HGV system...like a separate account but others can verify.

GPP would be normal points but there is clumsiness on use since they are a separate point bucket and requires customer service help to combine but GPP owners can confirm that. We do not own there.

within 61 days, you can't change a reservation. You can cancel and rebook but that comes at a cost of reservation fees unless you are in Max, are Legacy Elite Premier, or have AI in bHC. within 30 days, no cancellation without losing points. HGV isn't the most flexible but, that is one reason that we bought enough Craig Lodges to be Elite Premier...free booking, free HH conversion, free saving,...plus the other perks...like Diamond HH, upgrades, etc. Having no charges for those fees really changes the way that you use the system....we book willy nilly and then just cancel what we don't want....no fee and don't worry about left over points since we have free saving and can save any amount any time. Most others can't save current year points and have to pay for it so they play the game of being in a borrowing mode (since borrowing from the next year is free but saving costs) so that they don't have to worry about left over points...or having left over points and them not being worth the cost of saving so they lose them. EP can just save any leftovers...

 

[SmithOp]

Something to keep in mind if you want to book long weekend stays, the points and open season costs are higher for weekends so you may need more points or $$$ for several trips a year.

 

[HuskerATL]

Something to keep in mind if you want to book long weekend stays, the points and open season costs are higher for weekends so you may need more points or $$$ for several trips a year.

Good point, one strategy that folks have is to stay during the week and not the weekend since it is more points. The is what it looks like.

This page may be interesting also...I don't think that you need to log in for it.

Nov 2024 Landing Page

view.ceros.com

 

[mountainboy]

The $400 credit works for MFs though...this is how we use them. We pay $200 before jan 1st and then $200 after.

That would be awesome! (but it is 200 q6mo, so does one pay divided to maximize using the credit)

 

[HuskerATL]

That would be awesome! (but it is 200 q6mo, so does one pay divided to maximize using the credit)

yes, you can go online and pay as many times as you like. I have the Aspire, my wife has her own, I have the Surpass ($50/quarter), and our son has the surpass...we get $1,200 in credits toward MFs....by paying quarterly for the Surpass (requires more work) and then splitting the Aspire credit to $200 before Jan 1st and then pay the rest of the MF bill after Jan 1st.

 

[mountainboy]

Good point, one strategy that folks have is to stay during the week and not the weekend since it is more points. The is what it looks like.

View attachment 102690

This page may be interesting also...I don't think that you need to log in for it.

Nov 2024 Landing Page

view.ceros.com

works better for me as I usually take Mondays off (so Sundays night at off peak pricing is great) for me!

 

[mountainboy]

yes, you can go online and pay as many times as you like. I have the Aspire, my wife has her own, I have the Surpass ($50/quarter), and our son has the surpass...we get $1,200 in credits toward MFs....by paying quarterly for the Surpass (requires more work) and then splitting the Aspire credit to $200 before Jan 1st and then pay the rest of the MF bill after Jan 1st.

Very nice & a great use of the aspire credit: I have wasted both of mine for this year, with the schedule & the additional extra spend to just use the credit :-(

 

[RX8]

Saw some postings re Grand Palisades timeshares being offered with 8,000 HGVC points with low MFs. Would those be regular HGVC points or any catches there?

Not sure where you saw Grand Pacific Palisades (GPP) offered for sale with 8,000 HGVC points but that would not be valid. There was a time where one could buy GPP resale that had HGVC points/membership that transferred with the resale but that changed a few years ago. Now, if one owns GPP (or Seapointe, another related resort that has an affiliate relationship) that includes HGVC membership and wants to sell, the HGVC membership does not transfer with the resale purchase. The new owner only gets the deeded week.

Note that HGV still sells GPP direct with HGVC membership included but that would be a terrible deal. Aside from the outrageous direct pricing, the HGVC membership won’t transfer if that direct purchase owner ultimately decides to sell. That results in a resale week that may have a couple thousand dollars of value (if includes HGVC) dropping in value down to zero or close to it.

 

[HuskerATL]

Very nice & a great use of the aspire credit: I have wasted both of mine for this year, with the schedule & the additional extra spend to just use the credit :-(

If you buy a resale and close before jan 1st, which will be tight at this point, then you can use the one after jan 1st and then the second one next MF cycle. With the surpass, the $200 credits are more work but it is a cheaper card and a $15k spend for a FNC...so we have the free FNC for my Aspire, one for my wifes, the surpass, and will have one earned with the Aspire...so 4 FNCs for next year.

 

[HuskerATL]

Not sure where you saw Grand Pacific Palisades (GPP) offered for sale with 8,000 HGVC points but that would not be valid. There was a time where one could buy GPP resale that had HGVC points/membership that transferred with the resale but that changed a few years ago. Now, if one owns GPP that includes HGVC membership and wants to sell, the HGVC membership does not transfer with the resale purchase. The new owner only gets the GPP deed.

Note that HGV still sells GPP direct with HGVC membership included but that would be a terrible deal. Aside from the outrageous direct pricing, the HGVC membership won’t transfer if that direct purchase owner ultimately decides to sell. That results in a resale week that may have a couple thousand dollars of value down to zero or close to it.

good points....

 

[mountainboy]

Not sure where you saw Grand Pacific Palisades (GPP) offered for sale with 8,000 HGVC points but that would not be valid. There was a time where one could buy GPP resale that had HGVC points/membership that transferred with the resale but that changed a few years ago. Now, if one owns GPP (or Seapointe, another related resort that has an affiliate relationship) that includes HGVC membership and wants to sell, the HGVC membership does not transfer with the resale purchase. The new owner only gets the GPP deed.

Note that HGV still sells GPP direct with HGVC membership included but that would be a terrible deal. Aside from the outrageous direct pricing, the HGVC membership won’t transfer if that direct purchase owner ultimately decides to sell. That results in a resale week that may have a couple thousand dollars of value (if includes HGVC) dropping in value down to zero or close to it.

 

[alwysonvac]

@mountainboy
With any timeshare system, you may run into owners who don't completely understand what they bought and/or are aware of changes that might occur with the transfer of ownership.

Grand Pacific Palisades is part of Grand Pacific (link). Here's what has been shared on TUG (see post below). The full thread can be found here (link)

 

[mountainboy]

@mountainboy
With any timeshare system, you may run into owners who don't completely understand what they bought and/or are aware of changes that might occur with the transfer of ownership.

Grand Pacific Palisades is part of Grand Pacific (link). Here's what has been shared on TUG (see post below). The full thread can be found here (link)

View attachment 102699​

Great info! TY @alwysonvac & @RX8 !