posted 05-24-2001 10:47            

quote:

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Originally posted by Thanh:
If you own a FLEX week, you must contact HGVC each year, 12 months in advance to reserve your week. Depends on the week # you request and confirmed by HGVC, an equivalent Club point value will be assigned to it (7,000, 5,000 or 3,500). This is where HGVC members have priority over non members who own FLEX weeks from the same resort.

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So, you really have to make two reservations if you want to go somewhere besides your home resort. Once, to reserve the week at your home resort, no charge and the second time at the resort of your choice, $39. Right?

Why would anyone want to book a silver week at their home resort when they can book a Platinum week and use those points to book 2 silver weeks at their home resort or one of the other resorts? The monetary expense seems trivial compared to the benefit of receiving 2 weeks vacation.

posted 05-24-2001 15:26         

Case #1. A reservation at the resort where you bought your week:
You can request any available week within the "exact season and unit type" you own.
RESERVATION WINDOW: 12 months from start of season you purchased, ending 9 months prior to requested check-in date. This is the Home Priority Reservation Period.

2. Reservation at HGVC resorts, other than Home:
Reserve whatever you can qualify for with the points in your account
RESERVATION WINDOW: 9 months to one month in advance of requested check-in.

In Case #1 you are limited to the season you purchased, no buying green and getting red.
In Case #2 you are limited by the points in your account, which are based on # BRs and season you purchased. Now if you received 5000 points for a green season at your home resort and it only takes 3500 to trade to a red season at another resort you obviously can 'upgrade'.

Ref: Pg 52 in the Club Rules.

Did I miss something obvious?

posted 05-24-2001 16:13            

What if I wanted to book Bay Club or Orlando in the Summer? It would cost me 7000 points. Would I have to give up more than one week for it?

posted 05-24-2001 16:57         

quote:

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Originally posted by Marina_K:
Well, yes, how many points do I have if I have a week which has Silver, Gold & Platinum weeks in it?

The week you buy can only have one color season.
Assuming Las Vegas Hilton in Gold season you would get 5000 points for a 2BR. I'm not sure, but I assume a Sanibel Gold season 2BR would also get you 5000 points...just cost you a lot more to buy it.

You pretty much have to buy a season/BR combination that will give you enough points for where you want to go.
[/b]Buying logic: Lowest price, lowest maintenance, maximum points...and then hope for availability at target resort.

[/B]

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You only 'give up' points. Orlando Summer is Platinum and would require 4800 points for a 1BR and 7000 for a 2BR. If they had a studio it would only cost you 2200 points and you could get two weeks for a total of 4400 points...and 600 points left over to play with.

Aren't points simple. ;-)

posted 05-24-2001 17:24            

Sorry but I do not agree with this statement :

The week you buy can only have one color season.

Those flex weeks are deeded to a specific week but surely somewhere it does say that the owner can pick any week between 16 to 51, inclusive? I've talked to the resort and they have confirmed this.

Are you saying that I have to give all this up if I join the club?

posted 05-24-2001 17:34         

quote:

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Originally posted by rpm:
The week you buy can only have one color season.

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rpm: You missed Thanh's posts earlier on in this thread. There are one or more S.W. Florida HGVC-affiliated resorts that work differently. Those resorts had rules set in place long before HGVC came along -- they sold fixed weeks and floating weeks with a single big flex/float season which, when comparing with the HGVC season for the same resort, overlaps with HGVC's Platinum, Gold and Silver weeks. The reserve ahead up to 12-month ahead of check in date for those float week owners and then convert to HGVC Club points depending on the week (if the owner wants to trade with points within or outside the Club) was probably a necessary compromise to accommodate those float week owners who want to join the Club. (Thanh, do you have some legal documents that accompanied your conversion into the Club that spells these out? Those would assist Marina and those of us interested in the SW Fl. HGVC-affiliated resorts.)

As far as I know you can only buy weeks in one color season in the majority of the HGVC timeshares, including ALL of the HGVC-built timeshares.

It would be helpful if we had a list of those S.W. Florida resorts that have these "variable-points" weeks.

posted 05-25-2001 20:17            

Well, yes, how many points do I have if I have a week which has Silver, Gold & Platinum weeks in it?
__________

The points you have each year depends on the week # you requested and confirmed for that year. Most HGVC memebers who own Flex week(s) will mostly given the weeks that have the GOLD value of 5,000 points.

For those t/s owners who are points conscious and who are planing to trade the non-traditional way, you need to plan ahead. The early birds get the worms, so to speak.

As for me, I've been trading the traditional way (week-for-week), the number of HGVC Points assosiated with my requested/confirmed week each year is irrelevent to me. Yes, I could have requested week 51 then release it to the Club for 7,000 points credit. But I never did, because of two reasons: 1/ I own a fixed week 51 (to make sure that my family can have it every year) 2/ II values summer weeks better than week 51. So, if I requested and got confirmed for week 34 (which is a Silver week according to the HGVC chart), when I deposit it with II, I will get a bonus week to use for an exchange fee. I'm much better off this way.

This year, to play it safe, I requested week 33, which is a HGVC Gold week. My plan is to make a "request first" with II for a week at the Harborside at the Atlatis for year 2002. If this work out it wouls be great. If not, I will realse this week to HGCV and get a 5,000 points credits for RCI exchange.

With this kind of plan, if I were not careful with my week selection, say I requested week 34 instead, I would have ended up with a 3,500 Club point credit for my flex week. That would not be very smart!

Marina, just in case you are still not clear about the "conversion fee". There is no conversion fee besides the one time initiation fee to join the Club. After that, whenever you want to let HGVC have your week(s), you will be credited with the appropriate Club Points. These points expire at the end of each year, unless you request an ongoing search using these points before 12/31 of each year.

posted 05-25-2001 21:20            

2 Questions.....

1) Will HGVC, e.g. Flamingo Hilton, exchange with BOTH II and RCI?

2) I thought you could carry over your week/points in order to get a better (higher point) exchange the following year through HGVC. Or... do you borrow from future years?

OK, a 3rd question... What is a resonable price per point?
$2, $1.50, $1 ? (most resales seem to ask about $2, but this seems high)

posted 05-26-2001 01:16         

quote:

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Originally posted by lancer940:
1) Will HGVC, e.g. Flamingo Hilton, exchange with BOTH II and RCI?

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The resorts within the HGVClub has different exchange affiliations. The HGVC "built" resorts, e.g., Flamingo, Hilton Hawaiian Village, Sea World, Las Vegas Hilton, all currently trade via RCI. SFX is also a contracted exchange company but there is not much info on the process in the member's guide. For the other HGVC "affiliated" resorts, you need to check II or RCI's resort lists or the TUG review pages for the resorts to see if they are affiliated with RCI, II, or both. I know several of the S.W. Fl. resorts are affiliated with both II and RCI. I think Bay Club is also just RCI.

quote:

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I thought you could carry over your week/points in order to get a better (higher point) exchange the following year through HGVC. Or... do you borrow from future years?

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Yes. You can carry over current year's points by 3/31 at a cost of $69. You can borrow points from following year for this year's use at any time during the year at no cost.

quote:

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What is a resonable price per point?
$2, $1.50, $1 ? (most resales seem to ask about $2, but this seems high)

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posted 05-26-2001 06:51            

Yes, as a FLEX week ownwer, you need to make two reservations if you want to go somewhere besides your home resort:

posted 05-27-2001 07:41            

quote:

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Originally posted by Thanh:
So, you really have to make two reservations if you want to go
somewhere besides your home resort. Once, to reserve the week at
your home resort, no charge and the second time at the resort of your choice, $39. Right?
________

Yes, as a FLEX week ownwer, you need to make two reservations if you want to go somewhere besides your home resort:

Once, to reserve the week at your home resort with HGVC, at no charge. The second time, request with HGVC for the resort of your choice ($39 if you do a Club exchange, $124 if you do a domestic/Canada RCI exchange, $162 if you do an international RCI exchange).

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At the Flamingo, HHV, & Bay Club I only make one reservation whether I stay at my home resort or a different resort.

RPM explains it above, but basically, if I want to ensure that I get the season and room-size I purchased at the resort where I am an owner, I have between 9-12 months (max. 15 mos.) months from the date of check in to make a reservation. But, if I want to:
1. stay at any other resort
2. stay at my resort but in a different season or different size
room
3. stay at my resort for any period other than seven days

then I can only make reservations 1-9 months prior to check in. As Chez mentioned, reservations other than a week at the resort, season and room-size you own will cost $39.

I am guessing the reservation system is different if you were already an owner at a resort before it became a Hilton-affiliate and then brought into the Hilton system. With this in mind, there may be owners at the Bay Club who participate the double-reservation process as Thanh (& Jim & Cindy) explained because they originally owned an traditional week before the resort became a Hilton affiliate. But I’m only guessing now. I should probably only speak to what I know.

Thanh, Jim & Cindy does this sound plausible?

posted 05-27-2001 09:32            

I thought you could carry over your week/points in order
to get a better (higher point) exchange the following year
through HGVC. Or... do you borrow from future years?
______________

Lancer,

I saw that Liu have posted her reponses to most of your questions. (Thanks Liu, for your help).

I just want to clarify this "carry over" question by explaning how it works (by an example) for an owner at HGVC afiliated resorts as follow:

What you're referring to as "carry over" here is called "Clubpoint depositing" in my owner manual. This can ONLY be done during the 1st three months of each year (for a fee of $69) when you don't want to (or can not) use your own home week of that year. If you don't take this action, the Clubpoints associated with the week you have (and/or the remainder points) for the year in question will expire as of 12/31 of that year.

For example, you have 5,000 points to use for year 2001. You planned to use it at your home resort, so you didn't "deposit" it during the Jan-March window. Say, you intended to use it for the Thanksgivings week but some thing came up, you couldn't use it. If you do nothing, you will loose the 5,000 Club points after 12/31/01.

The only way you can "save" these points is to put in a request for an RCI exchange before 12/31 and request for a very difficult resort location for a year out check in dates.

The difference between this scenario and the "clubpoint depositing" is that, you will not be able to save your 2001 club points into year 2002 (as you would have got 10,000 points to use in year 2002, had you paid the $69 fee during the 1st three months of year 2001 to "deposit" your points). But, what you will have in year 2002 is your current annual 5,000 points and an ongoing search with RCI for a week at your desired exchanged resort (for a unit size and season that is corresponding to your year 2001 Clubpoints) which you have two years to search for.

P.S.

If I may, I just want to mention that as we read this board, we (the HGVC affiliated vs. developed owners) need to sort out the information posted carefully so that we may learn and understand correctly what rules apply to each of our groups to avoid being confused or misinformed when it comes to issues regarding FLEX weeks reservation/exchange/utilization procedures and associated fees...

Basically, what we are doing here is comparing notes and sharing knowledge. My understanding of the HGVC membership rules and regulations are from my experience as an owner of some fixed/flex weeks at one of the HGVC affiliated resorts on Sanibel Island, FL. What applies to owners like me could be very different from that of owners of the HGVC developed resorts. So, please keep that in mind as we learn and share ...