Owner with questions about BG points

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

Hello everyone,

I'm a BG owner at Pono Kai, HI for 8 years now. The wife and I have always been happy to spend our vacations in Kauai, but now would like to expand our choices a bit. We own a deeded floating week there in one of the presidential units (3 bd, 2 bath), oceanfront. Pono Kai is listed as an associate resort and I'm not sure if that changes my status. MF's are currently running around $900 per year.

I stumbled across this forum and it looked like the best place to get some straight answers. I've poured through the threads looking for answers and must confess my ignorance about BG's points/exchange system. I suppose I could call BG and ask these questions, but it seems they always have their own agenda and I'm not sure the answers I get would be in my best interest.

Anyway, any answers to my questions and help would be greatly appreciated:

Can I convert my week to points?
Is there a charge to do this?
If you convert to points, how does that affect MF's?
I've read a bit about RCI conversions...can your points be used through RCI?

Thanks for any help you can give!

[stevec Member Find all posts View Profile Close stevec]

Yes you can convert your week to points but they will want you to buy more points when you convert.

MF is pro-rata more points =more MF

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

Can I convert my week to points?
Is there a charge to do this?

As stevec said, they'll convert it but you'll have to buy more points, so the initial charge is roughly the cost of those points (which run over a dollar apiece).

If you convert to points, how does that affect MF's?
I've read a bit about RCI conversions...can your points be used through RCI?

Thanks for any help you can give!

Your MFs will go up -- first off because you'd be paying for more time, but I also think points MFs tend to run a touch higher than weeks MFs in general. With BG that difference may be the yearly dues rather than the MFs per se - the dues are paying for the department that takes points reservations and otherwise manages the points system for us.

Points can be used through RCI, but they've just changed the system so they're not as effective that way as they once were. OTOH, you know exactly what you can get for those points, so there's less risk when you turn in points than there used to be with trading weeks.

[gandalf252002 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gandalf252002]

Just my thought, and not sure if you are interested in the premier statuses or not. Also curious what other's think but if you are interested in points and you know you will potentially have to pay more in maintenance fees, perhaps it might be in your interest to just get a seperate points membership? Would they even be able to do this?

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

Just my thought, and not sure if you are interested in the premier statuses or not. Also curious what other's think but if you are interested in points and you know you will potentially have to pay more in maintenance fees, perhaps it might be in your interest to just get a seperate points membership? Would they even be able to do this?

Yes, at any time anyone can buy into the points system. This might be a better way to go.

Buy into the points system from the resale market via an authorized reseller, such as bocabum on this msg board. Use the points for a vacation and while there go to an owner's update and bargain to trade the HI week for points. And yes they will require you to buy more points, but you can probably get away with buying only 3K more points.

All points will be qualified and count towards premier status.