I have spoken about various vacation packages that many timeshare developers offer in exchange for agreeing to sit through a timeshare presentation. I was recently targeted for a 3 Days / 2 Nights vacation package with Hilton Grand Vacations for a trip to New York City. This offer expires May 31, 2017.
The package being offered is for an upfront fee of $249 plus tax (total) in exchange for the following:
Interestingly, the offer indicates 5,000 bonus points but the fine print indicates that guests will receive 15,000 bonus points. Guests will receive 15,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points (valued at $100), a $100 Spend a Night on Us certificate, and a $100 Elevated Rewards card. If interested, I would definitely call and see if you can get the higher bonus points. 15,000 bonus points is not a ton for use at a Hilton but is definitely a good amount. As with all of these types of offers, there are various restrictions. This include income requirements and state of residence requirements. Additionally, if married, both spouses must attend. Additionally, you cannot participate in this offer if you have participated in a sales presentation at the New York City property within the last year or at any of the Hilton Grand Vacation properties within the last 6 months. This particular offer indicates that accommodations will be offered in a standard hotel room at a Hilton Honors portfolio hotel. The fine print does not say whether this will be a Hilton Garden Inn or a Waldorf Astoria. I am guessing that it will be at a lower quality property but two nights in New York City will almost always cost more than $249 per night. Per the details, the prices of the deeded weeks range from $8,490 to $377,300. As I argue in many other posts, timeshares are great provided that the initial purchase price is reasonable. Purchases on the secondary market will be exponentially less than purchases from the developer. In most situations, you will save thousands by buying on the secondary market and is generally the recommended strategy. Buying directly from the developer could be necessary in very limited situations such as if it is a new resort or you actually want to go to a specific resort year after year for the same week. Buying resale will generally be 70--90% off the developer prices with many timeshares being sold for $1.00. These timeshare offers are generally a fantastic deal but they do require 2 hours of your time to sit through a presentation. These can be easy going or can be very difficult. If you are thinking about taking advantage of this offer but not attending the timeshare presentation - JUST DON'T. Per the fine print: You must attend a two hour timeshare sales presentation in order to participate in this promotion. If you do not meet the qualifications of this promotion or attend presentation, the difference between the special package price and the currently published nightly rate for the applicable resort at that time, plus premium costs and taxes, may be charged to your credit card. Basically, they will charge you the going rate for the entire package which will be much more than the $249 fee. In other posts, I will discuss some general strategies for handling these timeshare presentations but I generally find that these can be very informative. Each timeshare system is complicated so these types of presentations and offers can be worthwhile to learn about the systems and get some great mini-vacations for cheap. I would never recommend buying during these offers despite their likely strategy of offering "deals only good for today" or other types of "limited perks" for purchasing today. You can buy a timeshare anytime you want - GUARANTEED, at prices for a fraction of their going rates. The offer link below seems to allow anyone to book so if you are interested, go for it. Unfortunately, the link does not provide a phone number or show the available dates. It seems as though you need to purchase the offer and then a specialist will call you to confirm everything and book your accommodations. Will you be doing this offer? Please leave comments below if you are and where they are offering to put you up. |
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