Using unqualified points for Premier level benefits

[smithiekid Member Find all posts View Profile Close smithiekid]

Airport,

sorry to have to tell you, but you do not live in a "free" society. Your are only told what your govt whats you to know , get Smart there is a big big world outside the US and sorry but its going to bite your butt very very soon.

And its not about a smart car if you read all you will see I said if Bluegreen wants to enforce this rule then they will have to enforce all the rules.


so dont get upset and If you can it take it dont give it lol

a

[Tom in GA Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tom in GA]

Comments

This is becoming a very interesting thread. Everyone just keep it civil with some humor and everything will be 'cool'. Good points and counterpoints given in the discussion.

[Airport11 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Airport11]

Smithie, why don't they spell Smith right in UK? I know it's not as free as it should be, but at least it's more so than UK. Look, I'm just poking a little fun here. There's only one real issue in this last few postings. But it has been fun.
VA Traveler: I luv you man But remember, it's not just a car, It's a Smart Cart.

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

All I am trying to say is not everyone has the resources to buy something for 10s of thousands of dollars only to have to sell it 3 or 4 years later for less than 1 percent of what they paid.

But is it Bluegreen's responsibility to make sure people spend their money wisely? I'm not defending the salespeople who're bullies, and I recognize that most TS salespeople lie (or at least have a very peculiar perspective on reality), but the fact is we live in The Land of the Impulse Buy, where people can become millionaires selling useful and beautiful items like Pet Rocks.

A land can only be free if the people in it take responsibility for their own actions. Before our first (and only) Timeshare presentation, all hubby and I knew about Timeshares were that you got a week at a resort somewhere that you could trade through some complicated process for a week somewhere else, and that timeshare sales people were the main competition for used car dealers in the Evil Salesperson Championships. As soon as we were introduced to the idea of points systems, where you aren't limited to using weeks and you can go to lots of places with little hassle, we knew we wanted one.

But neither one of us was interested in making a long-term commitment that day. We don't sign up for that sort of long-term commitment without researching it to death, we don't usually pay full price for luxury items, and we don't buy into the whole "do it now or it'll be gone!" mentality. We did sign up for the Sampler, because it's a one-time expense that we could easily cope with if it turned out to be overpriced, and because it was a great chance to check out a bunch of BG resorts before committing to a Timeshare. So we walked out of the building, looked at each other, and both said, "What do you think those cost on the secondary market?"

Timeshare salespeople use the tactics they use because those tactics work, and those tactics work first, because a lot of people are okay with signing a contract for thousands of dollars upfront and a sizable chunk of cash every year without going home and doing their research, and second, because a lot of people are okay with being in debt for non-necessities. One study showed that, "70% of all Americans say they are carrying so much debt it is making their home lives unhappy." Bankruptcy is regularly blamed on medical crisis or losing a job, but in fact one study showed that only 40% of the people filing had dealt with a medical crisis, someone losing a job, or divorce.

Do I feel badly for people who buy a Timeshare and then lose their jobs or face some other crisis, making them desperate to sell and more desperate as they realize how impossible that is? Of course I do, and I hope and pray that they find a way to rent the TS to a friend or relative or someone and at least find a way to pay it off and not have that particular debt hanging over them (and also pray that they find other resources -- new job or whatnot). But the fact remains that they are the ones who put themselves at risk. Bluegreen does not want people buying in who can't afford it and will bail on paying it off, but it is the purchaser who has the most information on whether they can afford it, not Bluegreen. So I also counsel people to quit with the impulse buying.

My feet are definitely bigger than Smart Cars, but I still wouldn't drive one. Mostly because I couldn't cram my five kids (most of them teenagers) into one. And I gotta tell you, smithiekid, you have lose mega Cool Points with me for driving something that looks that goofy.

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

Smithie, why don't they spell Smith right in UK? I know it's not as free as it should be, but at least it's more so than UK. Look, I'm just poking a little fun here. There's only one real issue in this last few postings. But it has been fun.
VA Traveler: I luv you man But remember, it's not just a car, It's a Smart Cart.

If it was so smart, it would wash your clothes for you

[Tom in GA Member Find all posts View Profile Close Tom in GA]

Well Stated

Hobbitess, well said!

I too caution potential buyers (when I can) about the upside and downside of owning TS. Most people in the US are not well educated as to financial workings....and most don't care to learn. More people know about Snookie than about money and our own government. That is why I refer to these people as 'sheeple'.

Too many BG owners expect things to turn out the 'way they want them to turn out'. Never mind that they are violating BG rules or cause discomfort to other BG owners. I'm afraid it is the way too many people have a disregard for one another.

We are going on a cruise in October and we are on a 'meet and mingle' board. There are cruisers who have stern staterooms next to each other. They are talking about how they can dismantle the partions between their balconies so they can party. Think of it....they are going to destroy ship's equipment and put potential safety at risk when doing it. What happens when they try to put it back together? Will they be able to get it back to the condition it was in before mucking with it? Will put the next people in the stateroom at risk? These are some realy dumb people!

[smithiekid Member Find all posts View Profile Close smithiekid]

mmmm you think you are free or is that just what they tell you lol

and by the way we do spell Smith as Smith and have done for several hundreds of years, please remember you youngsters over the pond have corrupted English over the few years you have been over there lol.

my Smart car does everything else bar washing maybe thats something Mercerdes could look into it.

well yes you would never get all your kids in it may look goofy to you but ii is safe , got all the latest gadgets, super cheap to run and last but not least fun to drive.

getting back to timeshare, the same statements come through time and time again. Many owners break the rules time and time again but if we start to complain that this rule or that rule should be enforced then we would all be in a mess, just read the bylaws and see what we all signed up for and you will be surprised

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

Wait List

I've been following this thread, but I'm not 100% sure I understand what waitlisting is. Can you clarify for me?

I do not think anyone has responded to your question.

BG keeps a wait list for reservations. Owners call in at 15, 14, 13, or 12 months before the 11 month window opens and have their name put on the waitlist. (The time before the 11 months window is determined by the owners premium level.) First one to call is on top of the list and when you call you are placed at the bottom of the list. Just before the 11 month window opens, the BG reservation people look at each wait list. If there are 35 names on the wait for a Friday checkin for a 2 bedroom oceanfront at Resort X and there are only 15 units available, the first 15 on the list get a reservation. The rest get nothing. If on the other hand there are 38 units available, all 35 on the list get a reservation and 3 are available when the 11 month window opens. Sometimes someone of the 35 does not get a reservation since there request was so complicated that the reservation people do not quickly understand it so they pass over it. Note that a platinum member who can call 15 months before but waits until a day before the 11 month window to call gets put at the bottom of the list.

Hope this helps.

Charles

[Airport11 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Airport11]

I think the problem is there are too many people that want the bg program to be their business. They have their platinum level plus 1,000,000 points and then they book up all of the best dates, and the best resorts then rent them to others who don't mind paying 2k to stay for a week. If you think that is ok, ask yourself when was the last time you went to a really good concert, sat in a really good seat and didn't have to pay $500 a seat for a ticket with a $75 face value. Yes its legal, but it doesn't mean its fair. Everyone should be on the same playing field. If you have 1,000,000 point, book them at 11 months. That's what's right.

A lot of you are now going to say but I paid for mine, I should get that perk. Well most of you probable were grandfathered and you only paid pennies on the dollar to begin with. If that's you, SHUT UP.

Let's stop trying to find ways to get all of everything, and be not so greedy. There's enough for all of us.

USA USA USA

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

ii is safe , got all the latest gadgets, super cheap to run and last but not least fun to drive.

You sound like my pal who drove an AMC Pacer, which is the cover car for Automotive Atrocities. She said it was safe, cheap, and fun to ride as well. She also claimed it was "very stable" in corners -- which it sure as the world ought to have been, as wide as it was.

I do not think anyone has responded to your question.

Thank you, Charles. I meant to reply to that if no one else had, but then I got distracted by big feet and smart cars.

I would just add that you can always claim the week and resort underlying your resort twelve months out; so a peon with no premiere status who owns a prime week 3 BR cabin at Big Cedar can always get that week if they reserve before the eleventh month. Which is yet another reason why it's a wait list rather than a way to make reservations early; you're just claiming a place within a certain line, and there's at least one line that can go ahead of you (the owners).

[smithiekid Member Find all posts View Profile Close smithiekid]

First of all I did not get grandfathered in

I aggree we should all be on a level playing field but we are not and never will be, to be on a level playing field with me you will have to pay for every phone call you make to Bluegreen, you will have to pay every time they ask you to have a piece of paper notarised, and you will have to pay when you want to transfer them some of you hard earned cash (unless it is MF then you can pay by card) because they are so far behind in technology that they are unable to use electronic transfer and insist on a international bankers draft (now that takes time and money ).

So I think I should start a thread demanding that Bluegreen charge you all (big and small )owners in the same way that they charge International Owners lol

What I am saying is you "pays your money and makes your choice"
Nobody forces us to buy into the club we all do it of our own free will and as such we live with all this little things.

Let me ask another question in this perfect level playing field .... any owner can rent (that is in the rules) if all points are in trust fund E then big or small we all pay the base fee plus a certain amount per point (those are the rules)

Now lets say Bluegreen says we can only rent to cover the average MF of all owners, now my MF on say 1000 points (out of my non resale ownership) are less per point than say someone with 7000 EOY. Now I can rent, cover my MF and get a little on the side the small owner would rent and not cover their MF.

We would both be playing by the rules I would be and the smaller owner

The only fair way to get this wonderful level playing field is every owner was only able to use their points for their own use and not give/sell to anyone, is this what everbody wants ...... after all its fair to all and its a level playing field, I doubt very much it would get much support do you ?

Like I said right at the start enforce one rule you have to enforce all of them.
There is all this talk about useing resale for the waitlist but nobody has come out and admmited to cancelling a reservation and rebooking it in the same call with less point days and filling it out with Bonus time, or making a week reservation and then knocking it down to a couple of days and this is very common to all not just those that have the large ownerships (they do not need to break this rule in the first place) The rules are very clear on this you have to wait 24 hrs before you can rebook any of that original timeframe.

You can not complain about one rule and keep quite about breaking another.

PS you may not like the smart car but you cant knock it when you have never driven it and in this "green" world it comes out on top, at least I am doing my bit lol

[Airport11 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Airport11]

I know, there are a lot of you that are "doing your part" in the "go green go" world. We call you followers. I have an education background in science (Electrical Engineering). There's a little thing called the scientific process. It is the method that you use to prove or disprove your theory. For the Eco-Theorist, that doesn't apply. If the data doesn't fit their theory, they change their theory. If global warming is threatening the ecological well being of the world, we have to act immediately. If next year, the world cools off, "it's climate change". Back in the 70s, we were on the verge of another ice age. Four years ago the Polar Ice Caps were melting and we were all going to die from the floods that would surely come. 2 years ago when the polar ice caps are back to normal, they just find another "Chicken Little" scenario.

As far as the "Smart Car" goes, you keep doing your part, and I will keep driving my Suburban. The way I see it, my Large Carbon Footprint (I told you I had big feet) will well compensate for your tiny carbon footprint. Ten years from now, if we are all still here, then you were wrong, if we are not still here, well, you were probably still wrong, but the Mayan Calendar says we are all done next year anyway

Hobbittess, please stop responding, your making me laugh so hard my sides are hurting. I knew a guy with a pacer as well. I was fine, until a deer ran out in front of him. He ended up with 3 broken ribs. But it was safe.

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

It's now 13 months

I would just add that you can always claim the week and resort underlying your resort twelve months out; so a peon with no premiere status who owns a prime week 3 BR cabin at Big Cedar can always get that week if they reserve before the eleventh month.

The by-laws were changed a while back and you can now reserve your underlying unit/week 13 months out.

Charles

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

Charles, when did that change? I haven't heard about that on this or the Yahoo board. I will have to let my source know that.

The by-laws were changed a while back and you can now reserve your underlying unit/week 13 months out.

Charles

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

2006

Charles, when did that change? I haven't heard about that on this or the Yahoo board. I will have to let my source know that.

The 12 month rule was changed to a 13 month rule by the signing of the 4th amendment to the by-laws on September 26, 2006.

Message 41854 on the Yahoo Group pointed it out and I called attention to it using the subject line "13 month rule" in message 54359 (posters often post valuable information on Topic X in an email with a subject heading of Topic M and it easily is missed with the volume of messages the group has).

Charles