Trading into Wyndham or other Resorts

[borisaurus]

Hello all,

In the process of buying HGVC points (through resale, fingers crossed it passes ROFR).

However, we have young kids (5 and 1) and besides the occasional water slide or splash pad in Orlando (Hawaii not an option for us right now) I've noticed HGVC doesn't really cater to children as much as some resorts in the HICV or Club Wyndham systems do. So I wanted to know if any HGVC owners on here have traded into some of these other systems using RCI?

We're thinking of doing a Dollywood trip in early November and if we get our points by then, I was thinking about seeing availability for either the HICV Smoky Mountain resort or the Club Wyndham great smokies lodge. Also we usually do Disney in early January (week 2 or 3) and I was thinking of forgoing Parc Soleil for Orange Lake or Sheraton Vistana. Just because there's more robust water slides and activities.

Does anyone have experience with this? I know it's not the most efficient use of points, but it doesn't seem to be totally inefficient either for the added value for us personally.

Thanks in advance

 

[rickandcindy23]

I am not a pool person. Have you looked at the pool at Hilton SeaWorld? Our grandkids loved that pool. Lots of fun. Not sure about Parc Soleil, but Tuscany also has a great pool.

I wouldn't pay $299 trade fee to stay at a Wyndham, Orange Lake or Sheraton Vistana, PLUS the trading power required. I don't own Hilton but pretty sure Hilton pays the $299 exchange fee as well.

Maybe you should consider taking on a free Wyndham contract for Smoky Mountains. We gave away 3 big ones about a year ago with over 600,000 points, plenty to get Bonnet Creek and anything by Dollywood you would want. The free contracts are out there. Just take your pick.

My favorite resort for pools and lazy river is Bonnet Creek, or even Marriott's Lakeshore Reserve.

 

[HuskerATL]

When you say points, do you mean a deed with associated points? Or DRI/HVC trust points?

If you have a HGVC deed, then you can use RCI to expand your options and if you own in some affiliates, you can exchange in II, GPX, SFX, or DEX.

 

[borisaurus]

I am not a pool person. Have you looked at the pool at Hilton SeaWorld? Our grandkids loved that pool. Lots of fun. Not sure about Parc Soleil, but Tuscany also has a great pool.

I wouldn't pay $299 trade fee to stay at a Wyndham, Orange Lake or Sheraton Vistana, PLUS the trading power required. I don't own Hilton but pretty sure Hilton pays the $299 exchange fee as well.

Maybe you should consider taking on a free Wyndham contract for Smoky Mountains. We gave away 3 big ones about a year ago with over 600,000 points, plenty to get Bonnet Creek and anything by Dollywood you would want. The free contracts are out there. Just take your pick.

My favorite resort for pools and lazy river is Bonnet Creek, or even Marriott's Lakeshore Reserve.

From the research I've done on these forums and the interwebs the amount of HGVC points for a 7 night stay in a 2 bedroom through RCI is approx 4800, which even with the $299 fee is worth it (less than the annual MF, leaves us w points to use for another trip and we don't need a full 7 nights either so might come further ahead). The hilton pools look very nice and I believe a few of them even have a water slide but the resorts I mentioned--bonnet creek wyndham is another one--have several water features among other activities for little ones. Saving a day on Disney by staying on resort property would be huge

When you say points, do you mean a deed with associated points? Or DRI/HVC trust points?

If you have a HGVC deed, then you can use RCI to expand your options and if you own in some affiliates, you can exchange in II, GPX, SFX, or DEX.

If the resale goes through we will have a deed with 8000 associated points

 

[Janann]

I don't own Hilton but pretty sure Hilton pays the $299 exchange fee as well.

I'm not sure what you mean, but Hilton owners pay the $299 RCI exchange fee out of their own pocket.

 

[Janann]

From the research I've done on these forums and the interwebs the amount of HGVC points for a 7 night stay in a 2 bedroom through RCI is approx 4800, which even with the $299 fee is worth it (less than the annual MF, leaves us w points to use for another trip and we don't need a full 7 nights either so might come further ahead). The hilton pools look very nice and I believe a few of them even have a water slide but the resorts I mentioned--bonnet creek wyndham is another one--have several water features among other activities for little ones. Saving a day on Disney by staying on resort property would be huge


If the resale goes through we will have a deed with 8000 associated points

I don't think that your figure of 4,800 points is correct. Before the Diamond merger, most HGVC two bedrooms in RCI were 4,800. After the merger, the points increased by 1.6X. So 4,800 is now 7,680. The points requirement for a reservation and the number of points owned all increased by 1.6X As an example, I looked up HGVC Tuscany in Orlando, shown below. Your point accounting seems to be off somewhere.

 

[borisaurus]

I don't think that your figure of 4,800 points is correct. Before the Diamond merger, most HGVC two bedrooms in RCI were 4,800. After the merger, the points increased by 1.6X. So 4,800 is now 7,680. The points requirement for a reservation and the number of points owned all increased by 1.6X As an example, I looked up HGVC Tuscany in Orlando, shown below. Your point accounting seems to be off somewhere.

View attachment 93565

You're right I was looking at an older table. Anyway even with 7680 that would use up most of my points but I'd still come out ahead of my MF for the year. And thats for a full 7 night stay which I likely wouldn't need (we'd probably do a Sun-Thurs or Sun-Fri) if it was available.

Are you able to see availability and points requirements for something like HICV Smoky Mountains or Sheraton Vistana? I imagine they should be the same points requirements right?

Also I was just asking to see if anybody had used HGVC points to transfer into any of these (or any other nom HGVC/Hilton club) resorts through rci and what their experience was.

Thanks for all the help

 

[rickandcindy23]

I'm not sure what you mean, but Hilton owners pay the $299 RCI exchange fee out of their own pocket.

Yeah, that's what I meant. Wyndham account we pay $299, fixed weeks we pay $299, and now even RCI Points is $299. I think Shell portal, we are still paying $189 for RCI exchanges. I have no idea why our fee is lower with Shell.

 

[Janann]

You're right I was looking at an older table. Anyway even with 7680 that would use up most of my points but I'd still come out ahead of my MF for the year. And thats for a full 7 night stay which I likely wouldn't need (we'd probably do a Sun-Thurs or Sun-Fri) if it was available.

Are you able to see availability and points requirements for something like HICV Smoky Mountains or Sheraton Vistana? I imagine they should be the same points requirements right?

Also I was just asking to see if anybody had used HGVC points to transfer into any of these (or any other nom HGVC/Hilton club) resorts through rci and what their experience was.

Thanks for all the help

Vistana Orlando has tons of two bedroom availability starting July 2024, and it runs through December 2025. Fri, Sat or Sun check-in. This resort is generally considered an easy trade.

HICV has no availability.

I've been trading HGVC into RCI about twice a year for over 20 years. It works great! Its very rare that we book directly with HGVC.

 

[borisaurus]

Vistana Orlando has tons of two bedroom availability starting July 2024, and it runs through December 2025. Fri, Sat or Sun check-in. This resort is generally considered an easy trade.

HICV has no availability.

View attachment 93571

I've been trading HGVC into RCI about twice a year for over 20 years. It works great! Its very rare that we book directly with HGVC.

Thank you! Nice to hear that perspective too... most of what I see on these forums and other web sources are people dissuading using the points for anything other than HGVC bookings directly (or ironically booking hgvc locations through rci). Of course we do plan on using HGVC properties (especially if we make it to Hawaii) but for the time being I also plan on using RCI more often than not.

Hopefully HGVC will expand into more locations too as time goes on

 

[borisaurus]

Vistana Orlando has tons of two bedroom availability starting July 2024, and it runs through December 2025. Fri, Sat or Sun check-in. This resort is generally considered an easy trade.

HICV has no availability.

View attachment 93571

I've been trading HGVC into RCI about twice a year for over 20 years. It works great! Its very rare that we book directly with HGVC.

Another thing is that at a sales presentation the lady told us Bonnet Creek was a hard but not impossible get. Truth to that? It just seems that Orlando is so oversaturated with time shares and resorts that going outside of the summer or holidays should have availability

 

[Janann]

Another thing is that at a sales presentation the lady told us Bonnet Creek was a hard but not impossible get. Truth to that? It just seems that Orlando is so oversaturated with time shares and resorts that going outside of the summer or holidays should have availability

I've never tried to trade in, but maybe someone else can provide some information. Also search "Bonnet Creek" on these message boards, because its a popular topic.

 

[HuskerATL]

I don't know Bonnet Creek but if a sales person talked about it, then it is probably DRI/HVC which you would have access to via Max but resale deed don't get you into Max. It could be in RCI though.

8000 pts is usually a 2 bed gold season deed and may not be the best MF/pt so be aware of that. You are better off getting a 1 bed plat, 7680 pt. It will have a lower MF/pt. We try to stay at 0.10 or less.

A 11,200 point deed would be better.

 

[free2travel]

Hello all

Almost everything you wrote makes me wonder why you want to buy hgvc points since you seem to want to go anywhere but hgvc resorts and that 1 year old who doesn't fit in at hgvc resorts will be around for quite a while. Looks like you're in process, but this screams out "cheap RCI trader" to me.

 

[borisaurus]

I don't know Bonnet Creek but if a sales person talked about it, then it is probably DRI/HVC which you would have access to via Max but resale deed don't get you into Max. It could be in RCI though.

8000 pts is usually a 2 bed gold season deed and may not be the best MF/pt so be aware of that. You are better off getting a 1 bed plat, 7680 pt. It will have a lower MF/pt. We try to stay at 0.10 or less.

A 11,200 point deed would be better.

Bonnet Creek is a Club Wyndham resort. Sales lady mentioned it as an example of exchanging outside of Hilton

I'm already in the process of purchasing the 8000 annual pts deed, it is more than enough points for my family's current travel needs and if I need more in the future I can buy some more. The 11200 listings I saw were EOY and asking prices were substantially higher so this gives us slightly more points. As far as MF go I didn't really see any with MF that low...mine wind up being .14/pt (.16/pt if club dues included)

 

[HuskerATL]

Bonnet Creek is a Club Wyndham resort. Sales lady mentioned it as an example of exchanging outside of Hilton

I'm already in the process of purchasing the 8000 annual pts deed, it is more than enough points for my family's current travel needs and if I need more in the future I can buy some more. The 11200 listings I saw were EOY and asking prices were substantially higher so this gives us slightly more points. As far as MF go I didn't really see any with MF that low...mine wind up being .14/pt (.16/pt if club dues included)

There are several in Vegas and Scotland with 0.10 or less. Our last Scotland were $2k for 1 bed plat (7680 pts) and those can be exchanged in DEX, II, and SFX plus you have HGV and RCI. Unless something changes, we won't buy US deeds any longer.. To expensive to buy and high closing fees plus less options for use.

 

[HuskerATL]

The are 9 weeks at Bonnet Creek available in DEX that can be exchanged for with Craig Lodges

 

[HuskerATL]

Bonnet Creek is a Club Wyndham resort. Sales lady mentioned it as an example of exchanging outside of Hilton

I'm already in the process of purchasing the 8000 annual pts deed, it is more than enough points for my family's current travel needs and if I need more in the future I can buy some more. The 11200 listings I saw were EOY and asking prices were substantially higher so this gives us slightly more points. As far as MF go I didn't really see any with MF that low...mine wind up being .14/pt (.16/pt if club dues included)

Also, when you calculate MF/pt, you don't include the club fee. For math purposes, your 8000 pt deed would cost me $800 (0.10) compared to your $1,120 (0.14).... So you will pay $320/year more each year... For the same point usage and depending on the location of your deed, then you can expect increases or significant increases in the FL deeds.

 

[borisaurus]

Almost everything you wrote makes me wonder why you want to buy hgvc points since you seem to want to go anywhere but hgvc resorts and that 1 year old who doesn't fit in at hgvc resorts will be around for quite a while. Looks like you're in process, but this screams out "cheap RCI trader" to me.

The deed is lifetime; once the kids are older and at say, universal age vs disney age, the HGVC resorts in Orlando will be great. Once we can spend entire days on the beach many HGVC properties become more attractive too.

We chose HGVC because buying resale vs retail has most of the same benefits and it seems other systems are more strict/cost prohibitive to enter. Also we went to an HGVC presentation so I understand the system more or less (in addition to lurking on these boards).

Why comment on the post with nothing to offer except judgement for someone else's choices? Everybody else on the thread is contributing to the conversation

 

[borisaurus]

Also, when you calculate MF/pt, you don't include the club fee. For math purposes, your 8000 pt deed would cost me $800 (0.10) compared to your $1,120 (0.14).... So you will pay $320/year more each year... For the same point usage and depending on the location of your deed, then you can expect increases or significant increases in the FL deeds.

Ok so say (0.14/pt). It's a Vegas deed. None of the listings for annual pts I saw on redweek, fidelity or ebay offered MF as low as (0.10/pt). Cheapest I saw was like (0.12/pt) and it was for substantially less points.

It's okay. I was fine with the MF that's why I bought it haha. It was still lower MF than they offered me at the presentation and obviously not to mention the cost of entry

 

[borisaurus]

I actually did see a good listing for Scotland but it's my first time dipping my toes into timesharing so I was a little nervous going international

 

[HuskerATL]

Ok so say (0.14/pt). It's a Vegas deed. None of the listings for annual pts I saw on redweek, fidelity or ebay offered MF as low as (0.10/pt). Cheapest I saw was like (0.12/pt) and it was for substantially less points.

It's okay. I was fine with the MF that's why I bought it haha. It was still lower MF than they offered me at the presentation and obviously not to mention the cost of entry

Probably due to the season. You have a gold season. Good that you are getting a Vegas deed though, they don't increase as much. We gave away a 8,000 pt Tuscany Village deed last fall and bought more Craig Lodges. The MFs in FL are going up too much.

 

[HuskerATL]

I actually did see a good listing for Scotland but it's my first time dipping my toes into timesharing so I was a little nervous going international

They are easy. Actually much easier than deeds. Only buy through the HGV resale office though (Craig Lodges not Craig Suites). They are Elite qualifying and almost the only way to get Elite any longer. I can share the sales page when I get back to my PC.

 

[GT75]

As far as MF go I didn't really see any with MF that low...mine wind up being .14/pt (.16/pt if club dues included)

I don’t know what you are looking at but I would wait until you found one with better MF/pt ratio. There isn’t a rush. Remember, MFs will be for as long as you own the deed.

 

[rickandcindy23]

There are some posts in Sightings/ Distressed, a forum you cannot see until you join TUG. It's worthy of the $15 you will pay. I have posted dozens of Wyndham Bonnet Creek in recent weeks that I see via RCI. I just don't know what it would cost you in Hilton points because I posted in RCI Points. Those weeks are being given away. Also, I think the Extra Vacations has a bunch of Bonnet Creek as well, and you can book that without exchange fees. I will post that info over on Sightings, so you can see it, but again, you need to join TUG to see that part of the BBS. It's not even a forum you can view without a membership.

Hilton is a great system, and one of the few we have never owned but have been thinking about it for Maui.