Questions from potential Bluegreen owner

[JobbaTheMutt Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JobbaTheMutt]

I like the points concept and am considering joining, but wanted to ask the folks here a few questions. In general, I can't afford 20,000 points. 10,000 points every other year is more in my price range; but I want to see if I'd be able to get anything decent with it. Have 3 kids; would need at least 2 bedrooms.

1) Is there even a point to the 10,000 pts every other year option? Will I ever be able to get anything decent. I live in the Midwest and have young kids, so I'm not looking at Aruba or anything. We would probably use it mostly for Wisconsin Dells; maybe Branson, but don't really want to be stuck going in the Winter every time, or stuck with a studio.

2) With the Bonus Time, can you ever get anything of value with it. As I understand it, you can't use it until 45 days before the date. I would expect that anything good would be gone by then.

3) I don't understand how RCI works. If I book a low point week through BG to exchange through RCI, does what I get through RCI have to be of "equal value"?

4) How far in advance could I book something; does it depend on your points?

5) I see people talking about pre-paying your maintenance fees as way to use next years points. Can someone explain what this means, thanks.

Thanks.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

1) Is there even a point to the 10,000 pts every other year option? Will I ever be able to get anything decent. I live in the Midwest and have young kids, so I'm not looking at Aruba or anything. We would probably use it mostly for Wisconsin Dells; maybe Branson, but don't really want to be stuck going in the Winter every time, or stuck with a studio.

I would not purchase any points unless you planned on having at least 10000 annual per year. That's because the maintenance fees and taxes on anything less than 10000 points makes it cheaper to rent than to own.

The only time I would purchase a small package is if you were going to use bonus time 3-4 times per year. And, maybe use hot weeks for last minute RCI weeks (10-days prior to check in) for 3000 points.

2) With the Bonus Time, can you ever get anything of value with it. As I understand it, you can't use it until 45 days before the date. I would expect that anything good would be gone by then.

There are lots of cancellations that happen 2-4 weeks from check in. So yes, bonus time does work well.

3) I don't understand how RCI works. If I book a low point week through BG to exchange through RCI, does what I get through RCI have to be of "equal value"?

RCI works on trading power. The week you deposit has a trading power value that is hidden. If your week has a lot of trading power, it can exchange for something of equal or lower trading power. But, it must be available. So, in order to understand how to exchange via RCI, you need to learn from other expects what the good traders are to deposit. And, you must have an idea of what deposits will be placed into RCI at various times.

4) How far in advance could I book something; does it depend on your points?

11 months in advance of checkin for anything available.

5) I see people talking about pre-paying your maintenance fees as way to use next years points. Can someone explain what this means, thanks.

You can borrow points from next year if it's less than one year from your anniversary date and you pay the maintenance fees for those points.

Good luck. Let me know if you need help purchasing points.

[akparsa Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close akparsa]

Some thoughts:

]I like the points concept and am considering joining, but wanted to ask the folks here a few questions. In general, I can't afford 20,000 points. 10,000 points every other year is more in my price range; but I want to see if I'd be able to get anything decent with it. Have 3 kids; would need at least 2 bedrooms.

1) Is there even a point to the 10,000 pts every other year option? Will I ever be able to get anything decent. I live in the Midwest and have young kids, so I'm not looking at Aruba or anything. We would probably use it mostly for Wisconsin Dells; maybe Branson, but don't really want to be stuck going in the Winter every time, or stuck with a studio.

I have a 2 bedroom cabin at Wilderness Club at Big Cedar booked for Sun-Fri of spring break. It took 3100 points.

Last summer we stayed at Big Cedar in a 2 bedroom cabin Sun-Fri and it was something like 7100 or 7700 points.

So I don't know about 10000 EOY, but 10000 every year would certainly get you about what I got.

2) With the Bonus Time, can you ever get anything of value with it. As I understand it, you can't use it until 45 days before the date. I would expect that anything good would be gone by then.

It depends where you want to get bonus time. At Big Cedar (which I personally know the best), you are unlikely to get much using bonus time, especially in peak season.

If you want to go to the Fountains or Las Vegas, you're probably going to do fine. I recently got the Presidential Suite at the Fountains at 45 days out. Very nice!

3) I don't understand how RCI works. If I book a low point week through BG to exchange through RCI, does what I get through RCI have to be of "equal value"?

Officially they say it does have to be like for like, but that doesn't happen. I traded an off-season studio and got a 2 bedroom summer resort in Orlando. You're not going to trade an off season studio for Hawaii or Aruba, but if you aren't picky, you can make a trade.

4) How far in advance could I book something; does it depend on your points?

Everyone has the same booking window starting at 11 months out. To get what you want, you NEED to book at this time or just accept you're likely to miss out.

Even tho everyone books at 11 months, there is a wait list. If you are a Premier member, you get on the wait list sooner than anyone else.

5) I see people talking about pre-paying your maintenance fees as way to use next years points. Can someone explain what this means, thanks.

I'll try!

Let's say you get your points May 1st, 2010. You can't get anything reserved for summer 2010 because everything is already booked up. So you want to plan ahead and book for June 2011. You call at 11 months, or July 2010 to get your reservation. But the rep says, so sorry, you can't make that reservation because by then, your points will be over a year old and they will become "saved" points and are only good in red season or lower. But summer is High Red, and you have 3 kids and you want to travel in High Red, darn it.

You mutter and curse and feel tricked by Bluegreen at this point. Maybe even file a class action lawsuit if you feel up to it.

OR, you can gather up an extra year's MF and take the pain this year only of paying 2 year's MF at once. Let's say your fees are $700 since you mentioned 10,000 points. So this year, you pay your fees and you get this year's points AND next year's points in your account. The first set of points are good for all seasons through May 2011 and then if not used, they become saved points.

Your following set of points you get a full year early. They're good through May 2012 and then become saved points.

You can now book that July 2011 reservation because you have the points in your account and they'll still be good when the time of the reservation comes.

I hope that made sense. If not, someone will correct me



Thanks.[/QUOTE]

[akparsa Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close akparsa]

Obviously, I did not use the quote system correctly (:

Sorry that last was hard to read.

I need to practice a bit with that quoting system, or at least preview my post next time.

[JobbaTheMutt Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JobbaTheMutt]

Thanks to the answers so far; they make sense.

A couple follow-ups...

6) What is the difference, in terms of benefits, between purchasing a contract directly from Bluegreen versus from an authorized re-seller?

7) I read that the names of people that purchased from unauthorized resellers are flagged in some way such that the customer service, etc. people know. Can the customer service people tell the difference between someone that purchased directly from Bluegreen vs. from Pinnacle? If so, what affect, if any, does it have.


Thanks. I originally asked other questions in this post, but in reading other threads I found the answers. Very helpful forum.

[crwisconsin Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close crwisconsin]

1) Is there even a point to the 10,000 pts every other year option? Will I ever be able to get anything decent. I live in the Midwest and have young kids, so I'm not looking at Aruba or anything. We would probably use it mostly for Wisconsin Dells; maybe Branson, but don't really want to be stuck going in the Winter every time, or stuck with a studio.

Christmas Mountain at Wisconsin Dells is an older resort which means that it does not have "high red" time ever so regular and saved points work. You will have no problem getting a summer week at Christmas Mountain providing you plan ahead. Two bedroom units in summer are 9,000 or 10,000 points. Many of the other "older" resorts also do not have high red summer or spring break time. Please note that older does not mean poorer. I go to Christmas Mountain all the time because it's nice and it's close. But I also like to go to Myrtle Beach and the Keys when I can but that is more than 10,000 points when I want to go.

Jim gave you some good advice. If you can afford to purchase 10,000 points every year and can afford the maintenance fees, do it now. Once you have started vacationing in a two bedroom, two bath instead of a motel room or with the relatives, you won't want to go back. Also, each purchase has about a $475 purchase fee so the more points you can get per purchase, the cheaper the closing fee (per point) is. Regarding affordability, join the Bluegreen Yahoo Group and go to their files area. There is a spreadsheet there which will allow you to plug in different number of points and see what the annual fees are. Also, when budgeting don't forget the annual club dues.

I always tell people that they should not borrow money to buy a timeshare. We never know what the future will bring. But I regret that I didn't buy earlier when the kids were younger. But that's another story.

With the economy down, this is a good time to buy. Some people borrowed money and just can't afford it any more. Don't worry, you can't buy a BG Timeshare until the mortgage has been paid off and all fees are paid up so you won't get stuck with a hidden cost. Also, some people's life styles have changed and they don't travel anymore or the kids inherited it and don't need or want it. The last two reasons you always have which makes resales much cheaper. But the first reason has really depressed resale prices.

Work with Boca. He will make sure you get a package that meets your needs (and wants). And if your wants are bigger than your budget, he will tell you to wait. He is more concerned that you are happy than if he makes the sale. I don't know if it is integrity or a very good sales technique, but it doesn't matter. His customers are all happy.

It sounds like you are seriously considering a purchase and are doing your "due diligence". Feel free to ask more questions. People are more than willing to help as you have already seen.

Charles

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

6) What is the difference, in terms of benefits, between purchasing a contract directly from Bluegreen versus from an authorized re-seller?

They are exactly the same with the exception of some one-time sweeteners that are thrown in by the resort to help close the deal. Examples of these one time offerings:

1) 4000 points granted on your anniversary for Blue or White weeks. I rent those points for $.035/point, so that is worth about $140.

2) 6 RCI weeks for the cost of an exchange fee. These are worth about $100 each.

3) A free planning binder worth $75.

7) I read that the names of people that purchased from unauthorized resellers are flagged in some way such that the customer service, etc. people know. Can the customer service people tell the difference between someone that purchased directly from Bluegreen vs. from Pinnacle? If so, what affect, if any, does it have.

If you purchase resale points not from Pinnacle Vacations, then those accounts are marked in red. All that means is that those points don't count toward VIP/Premier benefits.

If you are interested in making a purchase from Pinnacle Vacations, let me know. I can be your agent or transaction broker. It doesn't cost you anything extra and you get free access to all my knowledge about the Bluegreen Vacation Club.

[Hobbitess Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hobbitess]

The only time I would purchase a small package is if you were going to use bonus time 3-4 times per year. And, maybe use hot weeks for last minute RCI weeks (10-days prior to check in) for 3000 points.

People with a small points package can also use RCI's "Last Call," which costs about the same as hot weeks (if you're paying around $0.09/point), plus Last Call weeks can be reserved a earlier (roughly when Bonus time is available - you can't get hot weeks until ten days out, IIRC). Renting from other owners whose points are going to expire anyhow can stretch points as well. We have a small points package because hubby found one for transfer costs, but we're paying about $0.06/point this year in terms of all our vacations.

Which is not to say small points packages are the way to go, but since hubby likes his bargains and I like having the points, a split between renting and owning is working well for us right now. If we end up paying more for our package in the long run, well, he still got his bargain buzz and I still got my vacations, y'know? Smaller Bluegreen packages may not be the deal they once were, but I would not be happy if all we could do was rent.

Plus one of the major appeals of owning for us is that the money is spent, so we're motivated to vacation, which renting doesn't accomplish. I can see where vacationing is good for us, but OTOH it's awfully easy to let other stuff get in the way. Paying the yearly fees gives us that boot we need to make space for vacations. Although you don't want those yearly fees so high they oppress you instead of just giving you a boot in the right direction.

Owning a small package may not make as much financial sense as renting, but I think for some people it can make the most sense in terms of their situation.

Even though I just argued against Boca's position, I second Charles in recommending Boca for any purchase. Maybe Boca has your best interests at heart because it's good business, but whatever his motivation, he'll do his best for you.

[Timeshare junkie Member Find all posts View Profile Close Timeshare junkie]

Hot Weeks are II inventory, are they not?

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

Hot Weeks are II inventory, are they not?

No, Hot Weeks are RCI inventory

[Timeshare junkie Member Find all posts View Profile Close Timeshare junkie]

You're right! (surrrr-prise!)

Bluegreen Traveler Plus CashSmart Resort Deals = Interval International Getaways

Bluegreen Traveler Plus CashSmart Great Escapes = RCI Extra Vacations

Bluegreen Traveler Plus PointSmart Hot Weeks = RCI Last Call

Why own any RCI exchangeable deeds? BVC is one-stop-shopping.