Members of the Hilton Grand Vacations Club (HGVC) have access to Hilton's network of timeshare resorts. By purchasing a fixed or floating week at an HGVC resort, owners receive a number of Club Points used towards making reservations.
The number of Club Points an owner receives is based on their home resort, residence type and season. Hilton owners are also given membership at the HHonors Club, a rewards program that allows them to accumulate HHonors Points to be used towards hotel stays, airfare and gifts. Owners can use the HHonors program to save their unused Club Points.
Hilton timeshares purchased on the resale market still have access to the benefits of both Club Points and the HHonors Program. However, owners of a resold Hilton timeshare are ineligible for Hilton Elite Status, which offers discounts and priority booking privileges.
There are two types of HGVC ownership resorts:
Hilton-built resorts are those developed by HGVC since 1994. All owners at Hilton-built resorts receive a fixed number of points each year based on their residence type and season.
HGVC-affiliated resorts were developed by other companies but are currently operating under the Hilton Vacations Club system. Some HGVC-affiliated resorts are sold on a fixed basis, in which owners purchase a specific residence type on a set week.
Seasons include Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Residence types vary by resort and range from studios to three-bedroom villas.
Hilton offers three types of points for making reservations and earning rewards:
Club Points are the standard points used for booking a reservation at HGVC Resorts. These points are replenished at the beginning of each year or every other year, depending on the owner’s contract.
Bonus Points are only given out once, at the time of purchase, as a signing bonus or for referring friends and family to HGVC. The value of these points is equivalent to Club Points. Bonus points are only available to those who purchased a timeshare directly from Hilton. Resale purchases are ineligible for bonus points.
HHonors Points are acquired by booking qualifying stays at participating hotels, making purchases with a Hilton HHonors credit card, or converting frequent flyer miles, Club Points, or Bonus Points. The conversion rate of Club Points and Bonus Points to HHonors points is 1 to 25. HHonors Points may be used for hotel stays, frequent flyer miles and car rentals. These points do not expire and are available until redeemed.
Hilton’s use year lasts from January 1 to December 31. Within it, there are three standard reservation processes and one specific to just one resort.
Bookings made at the owner’s home resort are known as home week reservations. These reservations can be made as early as 12 months before the start date of the owner’s season. Since seasons may last for multiple months, an owner may book up to 15 months in advance of their desired arrival. Priority for home week reservations ends 9 months before the owner’s desired check-in date.
Bookings made at West 57 Street by Hilton Club have a separate reservation window, different from regular home week reservations. Those who own a week at this resort may make a reservation as early as 9 months in advance of their stay. All other HGVC owners may make a reservation as early as 45 days prior to arrival.
Bookings at a non-home resort throughout Hilton’s network of affiliated resorts can be made 9 months to one day in advance of arrival.
Bookings within HGVC or at RCI Resorts can also be made in cash. Owners may book an open season reservation within a period of 30 days before arrival.
A minimum of two nights is required for open season reservations at club affiliates and a minimum of three nights is necessary for RCI exchanges.
Through the changeable reservation policy, owners may change their reservation date, location, length of stay and type of accommodation. Changes requiring the same or more points as the original reservation can be made at no additional charge. Changes requiring less points must be made 30 days in advance of arrival, or the usual cancellation policy and its associated fees apply.
Owners may deposit points from the current year for use during the next year. Deposited Club Points are known as “rescued points” and may be used towards home resort reservations, club reservations and ClubPartner Perks, which include a variety of travel opportunities such as cruises, airfare, RV trips, whitewater rafting and much more.
Owners may borrow points from the next year for use in the current year.
Deposits made towards RCI exchange at non-Hilton hotels may be used up to two years from their date of deposit. Rescued points may also be deposited in a RCI account; however, they must be used within one year of their date of deposit.
Club Points may also be converted to HHonors points at a rate of 1 Club Point to 25 HHonors Points. All conversions incur a $69 fee if made online, and $89 over the phone.
HHonors Points may be used for hotel stays, frequent flyer miles and car rentals. These points do not expire and are available until redeemed.
HGVC allows owners to use their Club Points to stay at Hilton’s network of 50+ timeshare resorts. These reservations are handled through the club reservation period and can be made up to 9 months in advance. Reservations at Hilton’s larger network of 3,750 hotels can be made with HHonors points.
RCI handles Hilton’s external exchanges. Hilton members may use their Club Points, Bonus Points, rescued points and RCI-deposited Club Points to reserve a stay at one of RCI’s 4,000 resorts. Points can be deposited with RCI and may be used for two years from the date of deposit or may be used directly without depositing them in an RCI account. Non-deposited points must be used before their indicated expiration date.
Cancelling a reservation at least 31 days prior to arrival will not result in a loss of any Club Points used towards that reservation. Canceling 30 to 15 days prior to arrival will result in a loss of 25% of the points used to confirm the reservation. Canceling 14 to 6 days prior to arrival will result in a loss of 50% of points used to make the reservation. Cancellations made 5 days prior will lose all points for that booking.
Cancellations on reservations made during the home week reservation period (12 to 9 months in advance) do not incur any additional penalties or fees. However, cancellations made in the club season (9 months in advance) or home resort season (9 months in advance at West 57 Street) incur an additional forfeit fee.
Hilton offers three tiers of Elite membership for owners of more than 14,000 points.
Elite Status members are those with over 14,000 Club Points. Elite members are given Gold Elite HHonors membership, in addition to their HGVC Elite Status. They receive discounts on reservation fees, 10% off on open season reservations, special resort access with a 12-month reservation window and a variety of other perks.
Elite Plus members own at least 24,000 Club Points. These members receive all the same benefits of Elite membership with the addition of 15% discounts on open season reservations, early and late check-in privileges, access to the Stirling Club in Las Vegas, 50% off on upgrades and much more.
Members with over 34,000 Club Points qualify for Elite Premier status. These owners receive Diamond Elite HHonors membership, as well as no transaction fees, a 30% discount on open season reservations, access to a selection of private homes and European villas, the ability to request a particular unit at a club affiliated resort and much more.
Purchasing a resale limits owners from achieving Elite membership status. Resale members still have access to the HHonors Club and hence the use of HHonors Points.
* Vacatia has compiled details about each club from multiple sources of information, such as member guides and owner manuals. Please note that details regarding any club, such as use rights, reservation policies, exchange privileges, etc., are subject to change from time to time. Please contact clubs@vacatia.com if you have suggested edits.
The authors and publishers are not engaged in rendering legal, real property brokerage or other professional advice and services. As such, you should not rely solely on the information provided on this site to make your purchase decision. Read more ...
Vacatia is not responsible for any errors or omissions in, nor for the results obtained from the use of, this information. All information set forth above is provided “as is,” with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied. In no event will Vacatia or its related companies, or the members, managers, officers, directors, agents or employees thereof be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information set forth above, or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
Our top picks at the best destinations