Points package question

[kntb Member Find all posts View Profile Close kntb]

Ok, as I learn more I want to know more(sorry, that's just me). What are the different level points packages offered and at what price? I remember a few of the points levels from the sales pitch but it is kinda hazy.



Hope this isn't taboo to ask, if it is, MODS please delete.

[shockwave7_7 Member Find all posts View Profile Close shockwave7_7]

I think you can buy points packages that are fairly small (<5,000), but I think the levels you are talking about are the premier levels. Those are bronze, silver, gold, and platinum that you attain with 15k, 20k, 35k, and 60k QUALIFIED points, respectively. As for prices, you can pick up unqualified points for next to nothing via the resale market (check ebay and others to get a sense of price). Qualified points can only be purchased from Pinnacle or Bluegreen. Pinnacle charges $1.25 (set by BG), and BG charges whatever they can get you to agree to, but I do not think it would be less than $1.25/pt. If you search the forum, there is tons of info on qual vs. non-qual.

[kntb Member Find all posts View Profile Close kntb]

Thanks. Yeah, still trying to sort out the points by reseller, auth. vs unauth.

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

Ok, as I learn more I want to know more(sorry, that's just me).

Nothing to be sorry for. That's the whole point of this forum.

What are the different level points packages offered

I think you got your question answered but there may be others who might misinterpret the question and then be misled by the answer. In short, you can purchase several packages of points to get you to any amount of points that you want in 1000 points increments such as 8,000 or 13,000 or 27,000, etc. even though there may not be a single unit that has the number of points you want.

Charles

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

Thanks. Yeah, still trying to sort out the points by reseller, auth. vs unauth.

Remember that in terms of your yearly fees, you pay more per point with the smaller packages. In other words, if you own 8000 points, then staying somewhere for 11000 points (a week in a 2 BR, say) would cost you $1053.25. Those same 11000 points would cost someone who owns 16000 points $747.31, and someone who owns 32000 points $596.41*. The big points owners pay higher yearly maintenance fees, but less per point. AND, if you're buying resale, then even if you get the points themselves for free, you'll usually be paying the transfer fees every time you buy, which are hundreds of dollars (maybe up to $600 now? I forget).

So while you don't want to buy more points than you can use, you do want a package large enough that you'd be paying less as an owner than you would as a renter. Of course, if you have a small package, there are various ways of "stretching your points" -- bonus time or getting deals through RCI or whatever can bring your cost-per-night down, so you're paying about what someone with a much larger ownership who doesn't work the system as well. But if you're going to go resale, and if you figure you'll be using 32000 points a year, you'll be a lot happier buying those points all at once than buying them in 8000 point increments.

*Actual numbers not current, but still roughly proportionate.

[kntb Member Find all posts View Profile Close kntb]

Alright Hobbitess, you have thoroughly confused me. How can we pay more AND less? That's what it sounds like from your explanation. Now, I know I probably got it all twisted so please help me understand.

Let me give you some info and we can go from there.

When it's time to buy we planned on buying a smaller package. After finding this site, I think we are going to buy as much as we can comfortably afford, then buy more points as we can afford them in the future. Does this not sound like the right plan?

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

The points "packages" are held in trusts. Each trust has it's on maintenance fee calculation. There is a base fee, plus a per point fee.

The per point fee gets lower based on how many points you own. Therefore your per point fee can be "lower", but overall you're paying more in total fees simply because you'll own more points.

Now, back to the trusts. I currently have two "packages" that earn me the points every year (annual) that total 15,000 points. Both pkgs are in trust E. Since they both are in the same trust, I pay the base fee only once. So this is something to watch for when it comes to maintenance fees. I believe everything that BG sells directly right now will be in trust E.

If you buy pkgs from the resale market and they are in different trusts, for each trust that you have you'll have to pay the base fee for each trust calculation.

Qualified points: you can only buy these direct from BG, or from Pinnacle Vacations (the only authorized reseller of BG points). If you buy from Pinnacle you must make sure you pay at least $1.25 per point to make them qualified points. Qualified points get you the perks of ownership like bonus nights and other things, and they count towards achieving the premier levels of ownership.

Any points bought anywhere else will be un-qualified. You can still use them to make reservations just like any other points but don't count towards the premier levels and you can't get any of the ownership perks with them. You can find resale points being given away so it is a very cheap way to get more points, especially if you already own some qualified points.

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

About buying into BG:

You'll hear people say "just buy resale, it will be much less expensive".

I am an advocate of buying a small points package direct from BG. These are called developer points. They will be more expensive than resale. The reason I say this is to support the development efforts of BG. If they can't sell any developer points they will stop development, eventually. That's my take on it anyway.

If you hold out during the sales pitch they will eventually, magically, come up with a less expensive package. Don't give away all your financial stats. They will start high - WAY high. Just tell them you can't afford that. Ask them what they have that's less expensive. I would think they could come up with something around $1.80 per point - no guarantee - but hold out for as low as possible. The more points you buy the less expensive they will get. Be prepared to be at this sales pitch for a minimum of 4 hours.

4000 to 6000 points would be a good start. I would suggest annual points. After your first purchase, contact Bocabum on this board to buy qualified resale points (from Pinnacle) - he can help with that.

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

Resale points

When we purchased more points...from BG, we got them down to $1.25 per point ...might have been $1.26, but hold out for as close to the $1.25 as possible. This was in Feb. 2011...I don't think the market has improved that much. When we were at an "update" in October at BG Club 36 in Las Vegas, the sales guy started at $3.25, moved to $1.80 before I said anything and then we left. So, with some pushing (and an interested buyer) I think he would have easily gone to $1.30 or less (easily being a relative term...it is a timeshare after all).

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

Alright Hobbitess, you have thoroughly confused me. How can we pay more AND less?

If you have a larger ownership, you pay less per point when you make a reservation, but your yearly fees are higher because you're paying for more points. For instance, your yearly fees (maintenance fees plus membership fees) for 8000 points would be $735.80, and your per point cost $0.091975* (obviously, I rounded those off in the earlier post).

If you had 16000 points, your yearly fees would be $1032.60, and your per point cost $0.0645375. If your per point cost were the same, you'd be paying twice what you paid for 8000 points, or around $1570; instead, you kick up your yearly fees about $300 and have twice as many points to play with. BG salespeople love that.

So you are paying higher yearly fees because you have more points, but your cost per point is lower. Since making a reservation costs the same number of points for everyone, the same week costs less for the larger point owner.

*I haven't done the math for the current rates except for my own ownership, but the relationship is similar.

[kntb Member Find all posts View Profile Close kntb]

If you have a larger ownership, you pay less per point when you make a reservation, but your yearly fees are higher because you're paying for more points. For instance, your yearly fees (maintenance fees plus membership fees) for 8000 points would be $735.80, and your per point cost $0.091975* (obviously, I rounded those off in the earlier post).

If you had 16000 points, your yearly fees would be $1032.60, and your per point cost $0.0645375. If your per point cost were the same, you'd be paying twice what you paid for 8000 points, or around $1570; instead, you kick up your yearly fees about $300 and have twice as many points to play with. BG salespeople love that.

So you are paying higher yearly fees because you have more points, but your cost per point is lower. Since making a reservation costs the same number of points for everyone, the same week costs less for the larger point owner.

*I haven't done the math for the current rates except for my own ownership, but the relationship is similar.

Thanks for that explanation. It makes more sense to me now. I looked back at your old post and it pretty much says the same thing, I was just too thick to get it. Bear with me hear please

I really think this type of TS(see how I am getting the lingo down????) would be good for my family vs the traditional "buy a week somewhere" type deal. This sounds a lot more flexible AND you can give family and friends a getaway as a gift, which would be great for her parents and my mom. I'm sure I'll have more questions for you so I am again asking upfront, BE PATIENT WITH ME