All Hilton Grand Vacations Owners have questions about using and saving their ClubPoints when they first purchase their timeshare. For the most part, it's fairly simple to find out the answers by going to the Owners only website. While the website has all the information on the different ways to save your points, it doesn't tell you which offers the best deal. So, as a Hilton Grand Vacations Elite Premier Owner, I want to review the best options for saving points. 

If you've read my other blogs, you'll know that I love to talk about saving money and getting the best bang for your buck. So it should come as no surprise that I've done a lot of research on keeping points. 

   

First, let's recap the current ClubPoints situation. Thanks to the pandemic, Hilton Grand Vacations rolled over Bonus Points and ClubPoints for all Owners last year — for free. I'm an Elite Premier Owner, so this is one of my regular perks, but it was a big deal, nonetheless.

While everyone loves a huge influx of points, using them all in one year proved to be a bit of a challenge. Like you, I noticed it was not as easy as I'd like to use two years' worth of ClubPoints and my Bonus Points. 

The bottom line: by the end of the year, we must use our points, or they will expire. Expired points? No. Way.  

Even after taking as many vacations as possible, including a few long weekends, and giving a few vacations to family and friends, I still had a large stash of points. 

Luckily, Hilton Grand Vacations offers many options to use your points, including cruises, rental cars, flights, RV rentals, motorcycle rentals and maintenance fees as examples. However, in my opinion, there are better ways to use your points.

So, what’s my recommendation, you might ask? Here's my review of the best options for saving different kinds of points.

Bonus Points

   

As a general rule, Owners can't save Bonus Points past the expiration date, but you can book a stay past the expiration date. This means that if you have bonus points expiring on Monday, you can go ahead and book a stay for next month now, and you are good. However, keep in mind that once you've booked your stay, you can't change that reservation. 

You also have an option to convert bonus points to Hilton Honors™ Points or to convert to RCI Exchange®. We'll talk about those two options later. However, using Bonus Points to book vacations past expiration dates is definitely my philosophy.

ClubPoints

There's an option to carry over your current year's points allotment to the following year, and this is the approach that I recommended. Remember, you'll pay a fee with this approach, so it depends on how many points you carry. Additionally, you have the option to convert these points to RCI Exchange points, similar to Bonus Points.

   

Finally, there's an option to convert them to Hilton Honors Points, but that option varies depending on your Owner status.          

Saved Points

Let's say you have leftover Saved Points from the previous year; this is the only true “use them or lose them scenario.” Unfortunately, Owners can't convert Saved Points to Hilton Honors Points. 

But you can keep them through RCI Exchange, and they won’t lose value.

Saving Points Through RCI Exchange®

RCI Exchange is always an option. If you've never tried this route, you may be wondering what it means to save your points through RCI Exchange.

Here's the rundown.

• You can combine all point types, meaning that Bonus Points, ClubPoints and Saved Points are combined as one type of point in RCI Exchange, simplifying things (read: great news). 
• You have two years to use these converted points no matter what type they were
• There is also an option that you can save for one more year if you don't use your points after two years. That's three years total after converting over to RCI.

Of course, all of these items have fees, but they're still great options — and most importantly, you keep your points. 

   

Convert Points to Hilton Honors™ Points

Lastly, converting to points to Hilton Honors Points is an option for saving next year's ClubPoints. This isn't my go-to, and if you decide to go this route, make sure you understand your conversion rate, as they vary.   

I've not personally saved points by converting them to Hilton Honors Points, but it is an option. The most important thing is to find whatever option works for you, so you don't lose points (ever). And luckily, the options are plentiful. Just remember you’ve got to make sure you choice before the end of the year.

Read “How to Maximize Your Hilton Honors American Express Card Rewards, According to a Seasoned Program Member” for more ways to maximize your program benefits.