Let's Get Physical (Silver and Gold Owners)

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

Hello All,

I think it would be good to hear from Silver & Gold owners about their BG experiences in this thread. Specifically, please tell us about where you like to vacation during red and ultra red seasons? How difficult has it been to get your first choice at 13 and 14 months out, respectively? Any good advice?

Of course, it would be great if everyone participates in this thread.

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

Full disclosure, I am not currently a BG owner but I am thinking of becoming a Gold member soon. I am interested in hearing about the BG experience from Silver and Gold members perspective. How do you cope when you aren't quite Platinum?

Thanks for your replies!

[Ridewithme38 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ridewithme38]

When i graduated high school i purchased a a few ounces of silver to commemorate the occasion, i believe i bought at about $9 an ounce...its now around $31! I've bought my daughter an ounce of silver for every year(6 ounces at 6yrs old, 5 ounces at 5 yrs old) of her age on her birthday every year, she now has about 21 ounces...

But i'm not sure what this has to do with timeshares..

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

Full disclosure, I am not currently a BG owner but I am thinking of becoming a Gold member soon. I am interested in hearing about the BG experience from Silver and Gold members perspective. How do you cope when you aren't quite Platinum?

Thanks for your replies!

It sounds like you're wanting to know how well the "waitlist" has worked for Silver and Gold members for those that have used it.

All owners can reserve starting at 11 months out. Silver and Gold members can get on a waitlist a little further out than 11 months - which is one of the benefits of premium membership.

Just clarifying.

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

That is right but also, where do silver and gold members like to go and when. Do you have problems getting there from the waitlist? I guess this this would be a compliment to Anita's study in the HOA forum.

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

I think that with the small number of silver and gold respondents you may get, this will not yield very useful data. You wouldn't be able to extrapolate it to the larger Silver/Gold ownership.

[marshalldillon Member Find all posts View Profile Close marshalldillon]

This tells me that maybe the perks that go with premier ownership may not be as needed or useful as one may have first thought. I'm not premier and have had very little trouble getting what I want at the 11 month window, however there have been a couple of times that the selection was very short at a few resorts. I'm curious to know how beneficial those with premier ownership think those perks really are. I continually debate whether or not to buy into that category. This forum is excellent and I thank everyone for their honest feedback and replies to all BG posts!!

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

Search and read some of the posts I have made about wait list requests. If you are a sliver or gold level member and want a high demand unit. I think you are wasting you time.

You are competing against individuals at platinum status that have formed corporations with millions of points.

When BG adds the Diamond level (100,000 points rumored) those of us that are at the platinum level will also be screwed for wait list requests for high demand units.

Hello All,

I think it would be good to hear from Silver & Gold owners about their BG experiences in this thread. Specifically, please tell us about where you like to vacation during red and ultra red seasons? How difficult has it been to get your first choice at 13 and 14 months out, respectively? Any good advice?

Of course, it would be great if everyone participates in this thread.

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

I agree with Thirsty.

If you want a high demand week/resort, unless you are platinum, forget it.

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

I agree with Thirsty.

If you want a high demand week/resort, unless you are platinum, forget it.

That is my main concern when considering buying 35,000 points for a gold membership. After browsing all of the forums out there it appears that, in general, you will be able to get to the destination city that you want when you want. But you have to be flexible on timing and get lucky to book the highest demand resorts at the most sought after destination.

Hopefully we can all get a better idea if some of the Silver and Gold members show up and tell us about their experiences.

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

Well, we have been Gold since it's beginning and at first we got pretty much what we wanted but now since the next level of Platinum it has really been tough. I say tough, because most of our stays are to Big Cedar. This place is very popular. We live just a couple hrs away and try to go there as much as we can but it has gotten harder to get the premium times and units. I have a request in for B.C. and I requested right at the time that allowed me the two month advance to request a reservation ,so we'll see if I get what i wanted. I'll try to give an update if it works out pro. or con.

You know what's funny to me is when i'm at B.C. for a week stay in the cabin. I usually take notice of who's in the others cabins(from what state) and i've been noticing that a lot of them have no one staying in them even though the front dest says they are booked and online shows no availability. Hmm i just wonder whats up with that?

[marshalldillon Member Find all posts View Profile Close marshalldillon]

What are the most high in demand resorts, times, and units??? Just curious to see what I am missing out on...what resorts, etc?? Thanks for all your comments!!!

[hac Member Find all posts View Profile Close hac]

We bought enough points to get us to silver status a couple of years ago. However, we have had no luck with the waitlist. We are 0-3. We wanted to get into New Orleans for some of the peak dates - Mardi Gras, Bowl games, etc. We did not get in off the wait list for either. We also were on the wait list for a peak time in Marathon - Fantasy Fest. We did not get in. Funny thing is we ended up getting into Marathon on bonus time down the line.
There are several other perks of silver status - points for maintenance fees (don't really have enough for that), three free cancellations/modifications - this has been valuable, and the ability to have a family member stay with you in their own unit on bonus time twice a year.
Resorts we have found tough to get into - Big Cedar (spring, summer, and fall) and cabins all year round, New Orleans, Marathon (peak season), SW Florida resorts (all year long), larger units in Aruba, Savannah, Charleston, Atlantic City (peak), and certain types of units in Shenandoah (yurts, town homes, and tree house?).

[hac Member Find all posts View Profile Close hac]

Forgot to mention - the resort in AZ can be tough to find two bedrooms if you don't plan ahead. And, Surfside (Miami) also involves some planning. We haven't had trouble when we plan ahead though. So, the Silver and Gold wait list is likely not needed for these - unless it is a real peak time.

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

Well, I thought I would follow up on my Gold level wait list request. I was shooting for a week in a cabin at Big Cedar for week 23 in June. I got on the list the moment they started answering the phones. I got nothing! I can't believe it's that hard to use points to get in. I can find adds all day long on Craigs list for cabin's there. Makes me wish i hadn't went to Gold. For what i pay in maintenance fees i could just pick one out of the rent adds and that way i get what i want and for a lot less than what i pay for the Gold status. I'm really not too happy with the way this is working out.