New to BG and I have a few questions. reservations, member levels etc.

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

This seems like a good deal
Trust E also.

http://bit.ly/1k4nddD

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

I went to pinnacles website just to get some pricing and I saw that they have points with charter and points without. When they say charter do they mean qualified and non qualified?

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

I went to pinnacles website just to get some pricing and I saw that they have points with charter and points without. When they say charter do they mean qualified and non qualified?

Yes charter is qualified points with all the bells and whistles that BG sells them with.
They also have non qualified points.

And not sure I'd want to own in Manhattan Club.
Others can tell you better. I'm not sure how the BG/MC arrangement will affect BG owners.
MC has lots of unhappy owners with the original system.
And the resort needs a total remodeling so guess who will be paying for it?

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

Makes sense about the remodel. I just did some quick calc and I am in it for $2 a Yearly point. They have me the charter, the iPad and the rci membership. If have to buy all that if I bought at 1.25 a point. Plus they let me finance it. I would save around 3k, but I would have to pay all that right now.

I was thinking that I could just keep what I have and pick up some non qualified points in the same trust I have to fit my points needs. Is this somthing people do?

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

Most will say that the Charter Membership isn't really worth the extra money.
The RCI account is being paid by your club dues, it's not free.
Club dues are $129. An RCI Membership if you pay it yourself is $89.

How much is an ipad? $300 to $600?

And even points members regardless of how they purchased can get stuck paying
for a special assessment to upgrade a unit. I got a free BG unit from the HOA
and am paying $3K for the assessment to remodel the units. But I knew this
going in as I wanted to own at this particular resort because of the number
of weeks I could book there.

And the people who purchased directly had to pay their share of the special
assessment too. It doesn't insulate you from paying. The trust points share
was less but they still paid it because of where the points were deeded.

So did you purchase your points from BG at Manhattan Club?
If so and you go to NYC alot and if and only if the bonus time was readily
available, then maybe it might not be so bad of an investment to keep it.
Everyone's situation is different.

The general consensus is that buying direct from a developer is overpaying
but there are exceptions. This may be one. I've purchased direct from a
developer before because I wanted no hassles with the purchase but I only
did it once and I own 8 timeshares.

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

Yes alot to learn but there is no hurry, take your time.

This, times ten.

The cheapest Manhattan Club Studio for the cheapest week is 31000 BG points. Hack Hack I'll bet those points are for half a week in an Ultra Red week 1 BR (51000 points/week). Points owners are less likely to be hit with home resort special assessments than weeks owners, but I would still rather own in a resort BG manages than the Manhattan Club.

One thing about points systems is how much they can vary from old to new resorts. We own 8000 annual points and can get a week in a 2 BR at a number of BG resorts with them, but those 8000 points would only get us two days in an off season studio at the Manhattan Club. There are a lot of different ways to stretch points if that's the route you want to go; some of the resorts are super cheap during the week, and super expensive on the weekend, for instance, meaning a Sunday through Thursday stay won't set you back much.

Remember, though, that nearly all BG ownerships, qualified or unqualified, come with the RCI membership. RCI membership has nothing to do with whether the points are qualified or not; it's connected to all of the ownerships sold after a certain date, so only some of the very oldest don't have it. The big benefits of owning qualified points tend to be short term, meaning they can be trickier to get than points reservations. People with qualified points can make Bonus Time reservations at all the resorts that offer it, while people with unqualified points can only make Bonus Time reservations at their home resort, however Bonus Time by definition isn't available until 48 (or whatever) days out, meaning there often isn't much available, especially weekends and other times when it makes the most sense. If you live somewhere close to a lot of BG resorts, Bonus Time can be a huge benefit because if something opens up last minute at one of those resorts, you can grab it and go. If you live close to only one BG resort, not such a big benefit.

I was thinking that I could just keep what I have and pick up some non qualified points in the same trust I have to fit my points needs. Is this somthing people do?

It is something people do, and it's the main reason to worry about Trust Funds -- yearly Maintenance Fees are calculated differently for each Trust Fund, meaning that if you buy points belonging to two different Trust Funds that don't combine well, you could end up paying much higher yearly fees than you would if the points combined in the same Trust Fund.

Unless you're going to add on, points are points and they work the same way whatever your trust fund. And if you are going to add on, don't trust the seller to know what Trust Fund they're in. I was convinced we owned Trust Fund E points for the longest time, based on what I was told during the sale, until I happened to look at the bill about the same time I was crunching numbers on something and actually noticed that the numbers didn't match. But I admittedly have troubles keeping track of numbers even when they're sitting right in front of me.

And remember that every purchase carries a transfer fee of four or five hundred dollars (last I knew). Most resold points cost next to nothing; the transfer fee is the primary cost, meaning that 6000 points bought from one person, along with 6000 points bought from another person (two transfer fees) costs about TWICE what 12000 points from one individual (one transfer fee) costs. Figuring out how many points you need and then buying them all at once will save you money.

You shouldn't just be comparing qualified points; if it turns out that non-qualified points would work fine for you, then it's a much bigger difference than a few thousand dollars! It's whatever you paid for essentially 4000 points a year, versus a few hundred dollars for up to or over 32000 points a year (theoretically, going on what I've seen offered in the past).

That's why you should rescind and give yourself time to think about it. If unqualified points will work for you, then you're overspending something fierce. But even if you eventually decide to buy authorized points, getting them from Pinnacle will save you enough you can buy yourself multiple I-Pads.

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

This, times ten.

The cheapest Manhattan Club Studio for the cheapest week is 31000 BG points. Hack Hack I'll bet those points are for half a week in an Ultra Red week 1 BR (51000 points/week). Points owners are less likely to be hit with home resort special assessments than weeks owners, but I would still rather own in a resort BG manages than the Manhattan Club.

One thing about points systems is how much they can vary from old to new resorts. We own 8000 annual points and can get a week in a 2 BR at a number of BG resorts with them, but those 8000 points would only get us two days in an off season studio at the Manhattan Club. There are a lot of different ways to stretch points if that's the route you want to go; some of the resorts are super cheap during the week, and super expensive on the weekend, for instance, meaning a Sunday through Thursday stay won't set you back much.


Remember, though, that nearly all BG ownerships, qualified or unqualified, come with the RCI membership. RCI membership has nothing to do with whether the points are qualified or not; it's connected to all of the ownerships sold after a certain date, so only some of the very oldest don't have it. The big benefits of owning qualified points tend to be short term, meaning they can be trickier to get than points reservations. People with qualified points can make Bonus Time reservations at all the resorts that offer it, while people with unqualified points can only make Bonus Time reservations at their home resort, however Bonus Time by definition isn't available until 48 (or whatever) days out, meaning there often isn't much available, especially weekends and other times when it makes the most sense. If you live somewhere close to a lot of BG resorts, Bonus Time can be a huge benefit because if something opens up last minute at one of those resorts, you can grab it and go. If you live close to only one BG resort, not such a big benefit.



It is something people do, and it's the main reason to worry about Trust Funds -- yearly Maintenance Fees are calculated differently for each Trust Fund, meaning that if you buy points belonging to two different Trust Funds that don't combine well, you could end up paying much higher yearly fees than you would if the points combined in the same Trust Fund.

Unless you're going to add on, points are points and they work the same way whatever your trust fund. And if you are going to add on, don't trust the seller to know what Trust Fund they're in. I was convinced we owned Trust Fund E points for the longest time, based on what I was told during the sale, until I happened to look at the bill about the same time I was crunching numbers on something and actually noticed that the numbers didn't match. But I admittedly have troubles keeping track of numbers even when they're sitting right in front of me.

And remember that every purchase carries a transfer fee of four or five hundred dollars (last I knew). Most resold points cost next to nothing; the transfer fee is the primary cost, meaning that 6000 points bought from one person, along with 6000 points bought from another person (two transfer fees) costs about TWICE what 12000 points from one individual (one transfer fee) costs. Figuring out how many points you need and then buying them all at once will save you money.

You shouldn't just be comparing qualified points; if it turns out that non-qualified points would work fine for you, then it's a much bigger difference than a few thousand dollars! It's whatever you paid for essentially 4000 points a year, versus a few hundred dollars for up to or over 32000 points a year (theoretically, going on what I've seen offered in the past).

That's why you should rescind and give yourself time to think about it. If unqualified points will work for you, then you're overspending something fierce. But even if you eventually decide to buy authorized points, getting them from Pinnacle will save you enough you can buy yourself multiple I-Pads.

I have about 3 or 4 bf resorts that are within a 3 hour drive and 1 45 minutes away. It looks like the bonus time really does not work as advertised because the rooms are always booked, right?

The more I keep thinking about it the more it sounds like I should just buy 30,000 unqualified points and worry about the rest later. I keep looking at the places I want to go and they are all 7000-9000 a week. If I could gurantee the use of bonus nights I would be good to go, but it sounds like it doesn't happen like that.

The main deal is that unless you buy enough qualified points to get to silver or gold just get a boat load of unqualified in the same trust?

What about the 3000 dollar charge that was mentioned? How so you know if that's around the corner?

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

Most will say that the Charter Membership isn't really worth the extra money.
The RCI account is being paid by your club dues, it's not free.
Club dues are $129. An RCI Membership if you pay it yourself is $89.

How much is an ipad? $300 to $600?

And even points members regardless of how they purchased can get stuck paying
for a special assessment to upgrade a unit. I got a free BG unit from the HOA
and am paying $3K for the assessment to remodel the units. But I knew this
going in as I wanted to own at this particular resort because of the number
of weeks I could book there.

And the people who purchased directly had to pay their share of the special
assessment too. It doesn't insulate you from paying. The trust points share
was less but they still paid it because of where the points were deeded.

So did you purchase your points from BG at Manhattan Club?
If so and you go to NYC alot and if and only if the bonus time was readily
available, then maybe it might not be so bad of an investment to keep it.
Everyone's situation is different.

The general consensus is that buying direct from a developer is overpaying
but there are exceptions. This may be one. I've purchased direct from a
developer before because I wanted no hassles with the purchase but I only
did it once and I own 8 timeshares.

Hmmmm, they made the charter out to be like it was awesome. Lol
My deed is not at the manhattan club it's in harbor lights at myrtle beach.
They made it sound like you could also book any hotel out there for 59 a night because of the charter.

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

What about the 3000 dollar charge that was mentioned? How so you know if that's around the corner?

The 3K is because this resort was not managed by BG but was under another developer.
BG took it over and is bringing the resort up to their standards.
It was a dump before they took over but people liked their dumpy cabin in the woods.
BG didn't like the dumpy reputation so although the $3K may seem high, that is because it's a multiweeks ownership.
I can book upwards of 20 weeks a year with this ownership granted that the space is available.
That is not a guarantee but I have booked 18 in the past year so I got my 3K worth.

Hmmmm, they made the charter out to be like it was awesome. Lol
My deed is not at the manhattan club it's in harbor lights at myrtle beach.
They made it sound like you could also book any hotel out there for 59 a night because of the charter.

BG has some affiliation with hotels but I'm not sure how it works.
I believe it's with Choice hotels. Honestly not my first choice for hotels.
I wouldn't buy a timeshare based on their promises of hotel rooms.
Go to flyertalk for more info on getting cheap hotel rooms instead.
RCI does have some hotel options in their Platinum membership but
I don't believe a regular BG owner can upgrade to Platinum.
You have to use the RCI/BG portal and book using a fixed number of points.
That can be a positive or a negative depending on where you want to go.

Llsten, there is a saying about timeshare sales people.......
If their lips are moving they must be lying.
They will pretty much say anything to get a sale.
The BG sales staff are better than some of the other sleazy developers
but they are still hungry for a sale.
Do your own due diligence and if you still feel good about your developer
purchase you can always go back and buy direct.
Trust me, the offer will still be available to you.

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

The 3K is because this resort was not managed by BG but was under another developer.
BG took it over and is bringing the resort up to their standards.
It was a dump before they took over but people liked their dumpy cabin in the woods.
BG didn't like the dumpy reputation so although the $3K may seem high, that is because it's a multiweeks ownership.
I can book upwards of 20 weeks a year with this ownership granted that the space is available.
That is not a guarantee but I have booked 18 in the past year so I got my 3K worth.




BG has some affiliation with hotels but I'm not sure how it works.
I believe it's with Choice hotels. Honestly not my first choice for hotels.
I wouldn't buy a timeshare based on their promises of hotel rooms.
Go to flyertalk for more info on getting cheap hotel rooms instead.
RCI does have some hotel options in their Platinum membership but
I don't believe a regular BG owner can upgrade to Platinum.
You have to use the RCI/BG portal and book using a fixed number of points.
That can be a positive or a negative depending on where you want to go.

Llsten, there is a saying about timeshare sales people.......
If their lips are moving they must be lying.
They will pretty much say anything to get a sale.
The BG sales staff are better than some of the other sleazy developers
but they are still hungry for a sale.
Do your own due diligence and if you still feel good about your developer
purchase you can always go back and buy direct.
Trust me, the offer will still be available to you.

Thanks for the insight. From doing some research and the help from you guys and gals I am probably gonna rescend and then score some non qualified points at bg resorts I would like to schedule bonus time at. By doing that I won't need the bonus time that the charter offers and if I keep them all in the same trust my expenses will be all in line. I think by getting 30,000 to 40,000 non qualified points I should be able to go where ever I need. I am self employed so planning 11 months in advanced is a non issue. Could you all critique my plan?

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

I have about 3 or 4 bf resorts that are within a 3 hour drive and 1 45 minutes away. It looks like the bonus time really does not work as advertised because the rooms are always booked, right?

Well, they almost always are the resorts closest to us when I look, at least when it's anywhere remotely near the summer, but so far I've only checked out of curiosity so haven't been very dedicated. And sometimes off season there'll be bonus time, but it's like every Friday for four weeks in a row, but only Friday nights are available all month. Go figure. But it varies considerable according to resort. In Myrtle Beach, the ocean front resorts will be snapped up a lot faster than Harbour Lights, for instance; even using points, we've been able to get into Harbour Lights for five days in a row early September on fairly short notice. Don't count on that happening with ShoreCrest if it's warm! Same with the Branson area -- The Falls Village will be a lot easier to get into than most of the other resorts there. If you're close to Myrtle Beach, Branson, or Florida, your odds of getting something somewhere 48 days out aren't too bad most of the year I would guess, although summer weekends might be a challenge.

There's a guy on the BG Yahoo group with a smallish ownership who lives an easy drive from the South Carolina resorts, and he makes good use of Bonus Time. If you're that close to that many resorts, and you are flexible when you want a weekend ("I want to go somewhere some weekend this spring" not "I want to go this particular resort on this particular weekend"), you could probably make Bonus Time work for you as well. But as Chris says, that still doesn't mean you need to take what they're offering right now if you're not sure. They say it's a one-time-offer, but you can almost always get that same offer again -- or get a better one -- if you wait.

And don't forget that most of the places easy to get in last minute with BG's bonus time (Myrtle Beach, Branson, Florida), are the same places you can pretty regularly get "Last Call" weeks from RCI at about the same time, which cost $250-$300 for an entire week. You do have to do more research with RCI weeks -- Bluegreen offers a more consistent experience -- but if you're watching particular locations for a bit you can often get a feel for what's likely to be available and research them ahead of time, then grab them the next time they come up when you're interested.

BG has some affiliation with hotels but I'm not sure how it works.

I don't have that perk but of the people I know whose points qualify, very few use it. The hotel deal is not a great deal unless your points are going to expire anyhow. Too many other -- cheaper and better -- options out there.

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

Thanks for the insight. From doing some research and the help from you guys and gals I am probably gonna rescend and then score some non qualified points at bg resorts I would like to schedule bonus time at. By doing that I won't need the bonus time that the charter offers and if I keep them all in the same trust my expenses will be all in line. I think by getting 30,000 to 40,000 non qualified points I should be able to go where ever I need. I am self employed so planning 11 months in advanced is a non issue. Could you all critique my plan?

Our resident BG expert could sell you exactly what you wanted.
Meaning he could assemble 10K points at the resorts you wanted bonus time at and make sure it was all in the same trust fund so you only paid one trust fee.
This is very important to keep your fees lower. If you pay the base trust fee then it dilutes the price of the other points.
So base fee plus 10K + 10K + 10K + 10K is cheaper than base fee for trust E and then for another Trust fund plus the same 10K divided up.
I hope that makes sense.

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

Our resident BG expert could sell you exactly what you wanted.
Meaning he could assemble 10K points at the resorts you wanted bonus time at and make sure it was all in the same trust fund so you only paid one trust fee.
This is very important to keep your fees lower. If you pay the base trust fee then it dilutes the price of the other points.
So base fee plus 10K + 10K + 10K + 10K is cheaper than base fee for trust E and then for another Trust fund plus the same 10K divided up.
I hope that makes sense.

That's makes sense and was along my lines of thinking. Once I get confirmation that they recended my deal I'll PM BB and see what he has to say.

Seems like I really don't need the qualified points at this time.

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

I'm glad to hear it. You're definitely on the right track.

One more thing: if you're needing to finance a timeshare purchase (whether resale or developer), please wait a bit. Free / cheap resales will be here for quite a while, possibly forever.

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

I'm glad to hear it. You're definitely on the right track.

One more thing: if you're needing to finance a timeshare purchase (whether resale or developer), please wait a bit. Free / cheap resales will be here for quite a while, possibly forever.

I am new to this. Could you elaborate on free/cheap?