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Another Newbie Points Question

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  • Another Newbie Points Question

    Just got back from a FF TS vacation offer. I never intended to buy, but came away quite interested, though I still have some questions:

    I am looking for the program that is right for me (isn't everyone?). I am a traveller who likes to do stuff--I get bored going back to the same place, so I like the fact that the point system allows for different vacation destinations. However, I prefer international travelling so my main use for FF points would be to use those points for an RCI international TS. I am a science guy so I like to crunch numbers, but of course they only give out the book of numbers to TS owners which made me question their transparency. If I remember, for all RCI international resorts, a one week, red time studio was ~77,000 FF points--does this sound correct? It struck me as a very good deal.

    1. Are these numbers roughly correct--can I expect RCI to raise the points values (in contrast, FF resort point values are locked in forever so I can plan allotment much better)? There is a $200 fee for such a booking--are there other hidden fees?

    2. How easy/hard is it for a FF owner to book a RCI international TS location? I am not all that picky regarding places to stay, but I don't want to settle for a resort that is 200 miles away from my target destination.

    3. Should I get RCI points instead/is there a better company for me to go through?

    4. Is a TS even right for me? It seemed like a good deal from the info I have, but I know there can be a lot of hidden fees. Am I better off renting or just booking hotels online?

    5. I will be buying off eBay most likely--is there any advantage to getting one large chunk of points (~180,000) versus several smaller point blocks? I don't care if I never visit my TS that I own.

    Thanks in advance!

    PS, I would also add that I am not looking to make money nor view this as an investment, rather as a way to save a significant amount of money in vacation accomodations.

  • #2
    Welcome:


    Originally posted by TXTS View Post
    I am looking for the program that is right for me (isn't everyone?). I am a traveller who likes to do stuff--I get bored going back to the same place, so I like the fact that the point system allows for different vacation destinations. However, I prefer international travelling so my main use for FF points would be to use those points for an RCI international TS. I am a science guy so I like to crunch numbers, but of course they only give out the book of numbers to TS owners which made me question their transparency. If I remember, for all RCI international resorts, a one week, red time studio was ~77,000 FF points--does this sound correct? It struck me as a very good deal.

    1. Are these numbers roughly correct--can I expect RCI to raise the points values (in contrast, FF resort point values are locked in forever so I can plan allotment much better)? There is a $200 fee for such a booking--are there other hidden fees?
    All TS will allow you to go different places. Most mini system will allow you to exchange internally with little or no extra cost as long as you paid your MF. Most point program will allow you to go less than a week.

    FF Red stdio deposit is 70K. It can be changed. One of a major mini system just get a little up. Howver, it may take longer to change.

    Originally posted by TXTS
    2. How easy/hard is it for a FF owner to book a RCI international TS location? I am not all that picky regarding places to stay, but I don't want to settle for a resort that is 200 miles away from my target destination.
    Depends on where you want to go and when you want to go. It is not an easy trade for any exchange company, usually it is much better idea to own a system that has international resort internally. For example, you can expect England on Winter, Spain on Summer, Japan close to impossible, China on time all the tour discount if you try to depend on exchange company. But if you own mini-system, it will give you more chance to get them at a desireable time. (Forget China/Japan, there is not many resort chain you can purchase here)

    Don't know the answer for your #3. You need to descripe more where and how flexible you want go. RCI points is no better than a mini system though.

    Originally posted by TXTS
    4. Is a TS even right for me? It seemed like a good deal from the info I have, but I know there can be a lot of hidden fees. Am I better off renting or just booking hotels online?
    Depends on your travel style. Hotel will give you most flexible. And if you can find some Air/Hotel combo, it sometimes is cheaper if you just travel along or only need a stdio. A lot of places TS does not exist, or only has very few room avail (usually in most of major city). So if you just interest in travel around the major city, bid on priceline or hotwire maybe better.

    TS does has Maintaince fee. Every few year, you may get hit by Special Assessment. And if you use RCI, the exchange fee usually up quicker than inflation. Ther are some FF cost, but you maybe able to avoid it. Also, with most timeshare, if you can not use it in a giving year, you only have a very limited time to save it (say 2 or 3 years), so if you expect something like you will work very hard for 3 or 4 years, then take a long time off, it is not a good way to travel.

    When you start travel with family, or when you enjoy cooking yourselves for various reason, and when you start to enjoy stay at resort more instead of hitting local bar or night club, then TS start to show its saving.

    Originally posted by TXTS

    5. I will be buying off eBay most likely--is there any advantage to getting one large chunk of points (~180,000) versus several smaller point blocks? I don't care if I never visit my TS that I own.

    Yes, most of bid will include closing cost and resort transfer fee, and that usually per bid, so it add up quickly. Plus, higher range one usually has less people compete with you. So you may get it cheaper

    But if you are talking FF 180k is not that large chunk.

    FF is better if you travel within US especially in East cost (for now). It is expand quickly.

    I have one question, what is your impression on FF's resort and its internal exchange system? How come you go through a FF sale but only get RCI exchange question?

    Jya-Ning
    Jya-Ning

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Jya-Ning View Post
      I have one question, what is your impression on FF's resort and its internal exchange system? How come you go through a FF sale but only get RCI exchange question?

      Jya-Ning

      TY for the help Jya-Ning.

      Perhaps what was most appealing to me was the [apparent] ease of the FF resort internal exchange system. As I understood it, you could spend a week (or less) at any FF resort with no additional fees/hassle. Based only on the couple scenarios I was given, it appeared like one could save 50-75% on accomodation costs. The reason I ask about RCI is that when we told the salesman that we take most of our vacations outside the US, he flopped down the RCI book in front of us that, for example, had dozens of resorts in Greece alone. It seemed just as easy to take an RCI vacation as a FF one (just pay the 200 exchange fee). It was my understanding that FF has no international destinations--is this correct?

      What exaclty do you mean by mini system--just a TS company that has 'internally-exchangable' international destinations? Thanks again.

      Comment


      • #4
        1. Are these numbers roughly correct--can I expect RCI to raise the points values (in contrast, FF resort point values are locked in forever so I can plan allotment much better)? There is a $200 fee for such a booking--are there other hidden fees? RCI STATES IN THEIR POINTS TERMS AND CONDITIONS THAT THEY CAN RAISE OR LOWER POINT VALUES - THIS DOES MAKE SENSE IF A GOOD RESORT FALLS ON HARD TIMES AND AN AVERAGE RESORT IMPROVES A LEVEL.

        2. How easy/hard is it for a FF owner to book a RCI international TS location? I am not all that picky regarding places to stay, but I don't want to settle for a resort that is 200 miles away from my target destination. THE ONLY THING I KNOW ABOUT FAIRFIELD IS THAT THEIR POINT VALUES ARE 3 TO 1 MORE THAN RCI. EXAMPLE: A 50,000 POINT RESORT IN RCI IS EQUIVALENT TO 150,000 FF POINTS.

        3. Should I get RCI points instead/is there a better company for me to go through? IF I WAS TO RECOMMEND RCI I DEFINITELY WOULD RECOMMEND POINTS OVER WEEKS. I LOOKED IN INTERNATIONAL AND FOUND, IN THE NEXT 45 DAYS, AN ABUNDANT SUPPLY OF POINTS RESORTS FOR UNDER 9000 POINTS.

        4. Is a TS even right for me? It seemed like a good deal from the info I have, but I know there can be a lot of hidden fees. Am I better off renting or just booking hotels online? A COUPLE OF CONSIDERATIONS I WOULD MAKE: RENTING IS FINE - USUALLY MORE EXPENSIVE - AND HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE QUALITY OF THE RESORT. SECONDLY, AFTER MY 1ST TIMESHARE STAY I FOUND THAT A HOTEL ROOM IS JUST NOT ADEQUATE. WHEN YOU COMPARE VALUE, TIMESHARES WIN OUT - IF YOUR INITIAL PURCHASE PRICE IS LESS THAN $.04/POINT AND YOUR MAINTENANCE FEES ARE LESS THAN $.009/POINT.

        5. I will be buying off eBay most likely--is there any advantage to getting one large chunk of points (~180,000) versus several smaller point blocks? I don't care if I never visit my TS that I own. WATCH OUT FOR EBAY IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. THERE IS A LOT OF BALONEY AND DISTORTION OF FACTS IN EBAY. ONE RESORT IN PARTICULAR HAD A LOW MAINTENANCE FEE . . . DESIRABLE FOR POINTS . . . AND THEN, IN THE 2ND YEAR RAISED THEIR MAINTENANCE FEES BY 40%. LOG ONTO THE TIMESHAREFORUMS CLASSIFIEDS (REGULAR AND THE NEW BETA VERSION) AND YOU WILL FIND SEVERAL POINTS ADS.

        REFERENCE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF POINTS YOU CHOOSE - THE QUALITY OF THE RESORT YOU EXCHANGE FOR POINTS IS OF NO VALUE - THE NUMBER OF POINTS IS THE KEY!

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by TXTS
          It was my understanding that FF has no international destinations--is this correct?

          What exaclty do you mean by mini system--just a TS company that has 'internally-exchangable' international destinations? Thanks again.

          Good, at least he is not selling RCI with a little bit cover of FF. Yes, FF does not have international destinations.

          There are too many mini systems, I only own one system - FF. I believe Hilton, WorldMark, Marriott, Westin, Royal Holiday, Disney, Bluegree, Silverleaf, VRI, Sunterra, Shell .... Usually, if you are owner of a resort belongs to one system, you may either be able to access their inventories on all their resorts through their internal exchange system or through RCI or II outside exchange system with owner perference which will allow you to access deposit from that resort system earily then other exchanger. If you have choice, internal one will be better than company use 3rd party exchange company, because you kind of have a timeline of when the inventory will open.

          I believe if you are looking at Europen, Marriott, Sunterra European branch, and Royal Holiday has several resorts in their inventory. However, Royal Holiday maybe too rich for newbie, and it is Right to Use. Sunterra European branch is in an unstable state, don't know what will happen to it. Marriott kind expensive to entry and maintain, plus it is a week program thus make it very inefficient for exchange, but if you like stay in that class, it will worth the saving.

          RCI point is created by an Exchange company. So its inventory will be controlled by all the TS companies that affliate with RCI, when it will get deposit will be a guess if the company don't use RCI to manage its exchange program. If you can not find a mini system, RCI point maybe the only choice.

          Jya-Ning
          Jya-Ning

          Comment


          • #6
            One thing to note is that it is worth while to look and see what company has more resorts where you may want to vacation. Fairfield is mainly east cost and Worldmark is mostly west cost.
            John

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by opkansas
              A COUPLE OF CONSIDERATIONS I WOULD MAKE: RENTING IS FINE - USUALLY MORE EXPENSIVE - AND HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE QUALITY OF THE RESORT. SECONDLY, AFTER MY 1ST TIMESHARE STAY I FOUND THAT A HOTEL ROOM IS JUST NOT ADEQUATE. WHEN YOU COMPARE VALUE, TIMESHARES WIN OUT - IF YOUR INITIAL PURCHASE PRICE IS LESS THAN $.04/POINT AND YOUR MAINTENANCE FEES ARE LESS THAN $.009/POINT.[/COLOR]

              So then..mathmatically this is a pretty decent deal: http://burlington.craigslist.org/for/259216793.html Maybe for $500 less though.

              I'm finding it difficult to find out the "worth" of a given week or a number of points without being an RCI member where you can see actual trades and what's available and points value. Like, is July 4th week in the Berkshire's really a good trading week to have? It seems that it would be given that they have a lot going on there at that time. Then the question is finding worth, with so many different resorts in different area's it's really hard to compare "apples" to "apples" to find what the worth is.

              I'm sure it would still be a good idea to make sure that the resort is in good condition and reviews well to make sure those points hold their value.

              I also want to travel internationally but not all the time. I want to go to England, Italy, France, Switzerald & Australia.

              Thanks in Advance for any advise.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by activia
                So then..mathmatically this is a pretty decent deal: http://burlington.craigslist.org/for/259216793.html Maybe for $500 less though.
                Try to look at this thread and decide yourself.

                Originally posted by activia

                I'm finding it difficult to find out the "worth" of a given week or a number of points without being an RCI member where you can see actual trades and what's available and points value. Like, is July 4th week in the Berkshire's really a good trading week to have? It seems that it would be given that they have a lot going on there at that time. Then the question is finding worth, with so many different resorts in different area's it's really hard to compare "apples" to "apples" to find what the worth is.
                None know, even if you are RCI member, it is pure guess. Remember, RCI will change their program that used to determine the "worth" of week, and it has done it before. Also, people's habit change, so it can only be guess. Although, the more you involved in exchange, the more accurate your guess will be, but it not a mathematic number. OW is a beautify resort, that size is O.K. but you may want to consider 105k to start with, so you will get at least 1 BR in the prime week if you want to.

                Don't buy for exchange unless you are very experince.

                FF is point system, this forum does has a special area for it. As most of point system, it will allow you to deposit a visual week based on the generic strength of the company, and it does has home resort preference when you do exchange. FF does good in exchange. However, since it is generic strength, it usually will not be the best if you are trying to compete with diffculty trade. If you like to travel in East USA, it is good enough most of the time, and very suitable for a new beginner. If you want to do your search, FF will randomly give you a real week from its deposit pool, which may or may not be the resort you own, so where you buy makes less difference if you just want to use it for RCI exchange.


                You can also look at Bluegreen system, which is maintained in this forum also, their MF maybe lower than FF.

                There are a few other systems around your area, but I have no idea how they works.

                I believe both FF and Bluegreen will not really allow you to trade international at will. So if you want to travel international a lot, you may want to check into resorts own international. But if you just want to travel say once every 3 to 4 years, you can rent from some owners, or do exchange and grab whatever chance you can get, since you don't have kids, both chain should be able to allow you do that.

                Jya-Ning
                Jya-Ning

                Comment


                • #9
                  Point Value Summary

                  [QUOTE=activia;102221]

                  I'm finding it difficult to find out the "worth" of a given week or a number of points without being an RCI member where you can see actual trades and what's available and points value. Like, is July 4th week in the Berkshire's really a good trading week to have? It seems that it would be given that they have a lot going on there at that time. Then the question is finding worth, with so many different resorts in different area's it's really hard to compare "apples" to "apples" to find what the worth is.

                  QUOTE]

                  RCI points members receive a Points Value Summery booklet, this gives us our points values of certain weeks than we want to deposit for PFD. The RCI weeks "trading power" is totally different. You can have a bad exchange week and yet get a good point value. Makes no sense to me!!! There doesnt seem to be a direct crossover of points vs weeks value.

                  Comment

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