Ted,
You are correct that these fees are costing someone, (us). I doubt, however, that if I choose not to pay by by credit card that I will see a reduction of $10.00 on my next bill. How Hilton is allowed to recover this expense directly from us I don't know. I thought that was illegal. The least they could do is to hide it under some misc. expense.

I also own a small business and my transaction costs run approx. 4.5 %. In my business world this is called "The cost of doing business". It is also called lost profit. Do I like it? No. On the other hand, I get my money within 24 hours instead of 30 (many times more) days.

Using my credit card is an opportunity to get back at least something. The past 14 years I've paid by check and don't begrudge anyone for using a credit card. Plus, this is hardly a 50 cent pack of gum.

By the way Ted, why use the phony last name? If your last name truly is Beachcomber, I apologize.

It matters not to me whether anyone uses their credit card or not. I was simply making a point.

If it costs Hilton $30 to clear the fees for every user then it will, collectively, cost $30 more per user.

The same is true on the towels in the room. If everyone will ruin five towels per visit then it will cost $25 to replace the towels. Everyone's fees will go up by $25 per year.

I'm not saying you shouldn't wash your car with the towels or pay by credit card. Do whatever you want. I was simply clarifying that this is a cost-plus contract and the more the cost of doing business goes up the more owners will pay. Hilton is not going to eat it.

As for your business activities that's all good and fine if you are okay with the 4.5% clearing fee. But you should also acknowledge that many businesses, obviously different from yours, run on a substantially different set of economic numbers and hence margins.

Ever try paying for a car with a credit card? Won't happen. They dont' make enough profit on the car to pay the AmEx fee, so they would prefer you walk away. I have no idea what Hilton's margin is. I'm not smart enough about the industry to know. But I'm not at all convinced I believe they should be 'responsible' for taking this out of their cut. If so, then why not the towels??? Where would it end?

One last word on paying by credit card.
In the past I normally paid by credit card because it was just easier and saved me time and hassle.
This year after all the discussion on costs I decided to try and save the association the money and pay by US Money Order.
I went to my Canadian Bank,purchased U.S. dollars at 27% exchange,mailed it registered mail February 3rd [cost of $15] anticipating arrival at the Atlanta address on the billing info in lots of time to beat the February 14th deadline
I called Hilton to check they had received it on February 15th and they said they had not, so after contacting Astra at HGVC and providing all the info ,money order amount,date, number,etc they were finally able to find it and it was posted to my account February 17th [ 3 days past the deadline]
They are now charging me the late fee $25,and I am really ticked off about the whole thing
Next year it is credit card.
No hassle, no screw ups, no long distance ,no registered mail fee and no penalty of $25

Hugh, I am truly sorry for the difficulties you encountered in payment of your maintenance fees. With the mailing date and money order date to back you up, I certainly favor refunding any late fees.
The board recognizes that for our owners who live outside the United States, credit cards are a much better option for payment due to exchange rates, postage and mail delivery time.

Please don't hesitate to use your credit card in the coming years. Hope you have a great visit to Casa Ybel this year.