I'm looking at buying a big portion of Hilton Grand Vacations points from an estate (steeply discounted). The main buy is 2 weeks, 2 bedrooms on the Strip, but the points can be used elsewhere.

I know next to nothing about timeshares, except from what I've learned the last couple of days on the internet and talking with a couple of brokers. I did some telemarketing for them, circa 1991, and I haven't considered them since then because it seemed a sleezy, sleezy business.

Anyone use this, or RCI, or any of the other point systems? A lot of the time, it will be family vacations, but some will be guys trips to Vegas.

My family had a point based timeshare. It seemed like a good deal, as long as you had points instead of a fixed partial ownership of one property. If I remember right, if you had fixed ownership you had to pay steep maintenance fees every year. But that has been a while back.

inherited RCI membership for red week resort in Hawaii.

Yearly maintenance/membership fees were $600, had to plan out vacations a year or more in advance, places I wanted to go (New Orleans during Jazz Fest, etc.) were invariably booked several years in advance.

IMO completely not worth it, especially with the advent of airbn.com and other travel sites. Would only work if you're willing/able to plan WAY ahead.

Am in process of giving membership back to RCI.

Cliff: Not recommended

My family has had a time share for years, and have generally been pretty happy with it. My first comment is that the management company is going to have a huge influence on your experience, so I'd do some searching for customer reviews of the specific timeshare company that you will be dealing with...

More generally, I think it could be a good deal, depending on how steep the discount is... Other factors to consider are how extensive the exchange network is (going to the same place year after year can get a little boring), what if any fees are associated with using the points at places other than Vegas (especially during peak season for those spots), and your own personal comfort level with having to plan your vacation schedule in advance (timeshares aren't very useful if you're the type of person who likes to travel on the "wow, I just saw this great deal on airfare for next weekend, let me get on that" system).

Thanks for comments. The buy is still in probate, and we're trying to figure out if there's any outstanding fees associated, so this is on hold.

Did want to give a big thanks for the airbn mention. Booked someone else's timeshare today using it.