Bluegreen Atlantic Palace Atlantic City, NJ

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

I have been somewhat active on TUG as a guest but this community seems to be more focused on Bluegreen. I am unable to get into Yahoo (the CAPTCHA does not work for me) and I dislike Facebook (very hard to read). After reviewing Atlantic City timeshares I believe Atlantic Palace may be the best bet.

Wyndham does not differentiate that much between low and high season plus it does not have direct boardwalk access. Has a network.
FantaSea is not on the boardwalk or in Brigantine so too far from the action. No network.
La Renaissance is worn down (high risk of assessments). No network.
Park Lane is probably even more worn down than La Renaissance. No network.

Requirements: 2BR, 3X a year. We stay in hotels now (discounted casino rates: typically $60 per room per night).

http://www.bluegreenonline.com/points.pdf
2 BEDROOM (sleeps 6)
ULTRARED SEASON 26-33 2640 2640 2640 2640 4400 4400 2640 22000
HIGH RED SEASON 21-25, 34-39 2400 2400 2400 2400 4000 4000 2400 20000
RED SEASON 13-20, 40-44, 51-52 1800 1800 1800 1800 4500 4500 1800 18000
WHITE SEASON 7-12, 45-47 1200 1200 1200 1200 3000 3000 1200 12000
BLUE SEASON 1-6, 48-50 600 600 600 600 1500 1500 600 6000

Based on the above I would look for 24K (6K+12K+6K) or 30K (18K+6K+6K) points annually. Obviously (full) retail is not an option because that would make the cost per night insane.

I have been reading up on Bluegreen on TUG and here and I would like some advice on my assumptions:
1: I should probably stay @ Atlantic Palace sometime to try it out? Rhetorical question probably.
2: Trust fund E, sale type Y would be the best choice for expandability?
3: Would a tiny Pinnacle (Kahuna appears to be MIA) purchase stacked with resale make sense to get owner benefits (e.g. bonus time / discount days)?
4: What are the best channels to buy resale points?
5: When buying resale are there any benefits to owning @ Atlantic Palace?

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

For 30K points I would calculate the nightly cost as follows:
$3K MF & membership:

18K+6K+6K = 3 weeks * 7 nights * 2 rooms = 42 nights.
$3K / 42 = $71 a night. Not a bad deal because hotel rooms are unaffordable Fridays and Saturdays in AC.

For 24K points points I would calculate the nightly cost as follows:
$2.1K MF & membership:

12K+6K+6K = 3 weeks * 7 nights * 2 rooms = 42 nights.
$2.1K / 42 = $50 a night. Not a bad deal because hotel rooms are unaffordable Fridays and Saturdays in AC.

Additional question:
6: Does BG allow you to stay a few days at a time instead of a full week?
7: Buying one large contract would be best I guess given the $450 transfer fee?

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

Additional question (one cannot edit my posts unfortunately):
8: How far in advance is Atlantic Palace usually booked? Could an existing member check their DB just to get a sense?

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

I can answer a few of these for you.
1. you should!
2. Trust fund E for sure, I have mixed sale types, and have never had an issue, but others have said they do.
3. Perhaps. Depends on your value of the benefits.
4. Here, ebay, other sites like this.
5. Yes. If you happen to get resale @ AP, you also have access to bonus time at AP. Its a way to use cash to rent access inventory at pretty good rates.
6. Yes. You could go from sunday - friday and only use that point amount, greatly stretching you points, and lowering your cost per day.

Hope this help!

Greg

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

Thanks Greg!

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

8. for a one week stay.

Jan - 1 check in date available
Feb - 15 check in dates available
March- 2 check in dates available
April - Dec, pertty much open

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

Excellent! AC is not what it used to be. I a way it is really sad (especially for all the casino workers and their suppliers who were laid off) but it also makes for a less cramped experience.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

For 30K points I would calculate the nightly cost as follows:
$3K MF & membership:

18K+6K+6K = 3 weeks * 7 nights * 2 rooms = 42 nights.
$3K / 42 = $71 a night. Not a bad deal because hotel rooms are unaffordable Fridays and Saturdays in AC.

For 24K points points I would calculate the nightly cost as follows:
$2.1K MF & membership:

12K+6K+6K = 3 weeks * 7 nights * 2 rooms = 42 nights.
$2.1K / 42 = $50 a night. Not a bad deal because hotel rooms are unaffordable Fridays and Saturdays in AC.

Additional question:
6: Does BG allow you to stay a few days at a time instead of a full week?
7: Buying one large contract would be best I guess given the $450 transfer fee?

Maint fees are $0.0504 (2014, can't access 2015 right now) per point plus $330 base fee plus $129 club fee (includes RCI membership fee)
15,000 = 756 + 330 + 129 = $1215
20,000 = 1,008 + 330 + 129 = $1467
30,000 = 1,512,+ 330 + 129 = $1971
35,000 = 1,764 + 330 + 129 = $2223

There is something to be said about having points in several locations….resale contracts allow bonus time at that resort only so you should definitely pick up points at Atlantic Palace but if you have any interest in using bonus time elsewhere, think about a contract there as well.

You can book point stays from 2 to 14 days at 11 months from check in.

As far as one large contract goes, it can be more difficult to find them for free or $1…on the other hand if you get 2 or 3 contracts for under $100 each including the transfer, it can be your exit strategy to give them away for free and pay the $450 for the new owner.

edit - just for ease of use, I would avoid EOY contracts….just seems to take a bit more work to use/keep track of those ownerships.

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

Thanks Pat! Excellent feedback and suggestions.

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

After discussing time sharing with the Mrs. and my MIL it turns out I was way ahead of them. They do not like the idea of having to walk from AP to the casinos in the evening. We also need 3 BRs. Plus they dropped the news on me that they want a Caribbean vacation during Thanksgiving week.

That more or less kills TS' in AC for now.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

After discussing time sharing with the Mrs. and my MIL it turns out I was way ahead of them. They do not like the idea of having to walk from AP to the casinos in the evening. We also need 3 BRs. Plus they dropped the news on me that they want a Caribbean vacation during Thanksgiving week.

That more or less kills TS' in AC for now.

It is still good to do your homework.

Bluegreen has a nice resort in Aruba called La Cabana
They do not have 3BRs per say and 2BRs are very hard to get (not many in the Bluegreen point program) but you can book a 1 BR for you and a studio for your MIL at the 11 month mark....

Bluegreen does have 3BR units in Nassua but the property is currently being renovated so has mixed reviews. It also costs a lot of points.

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

Thanks for the insights! It is very difficult for me to plan things out long term. My MIL is a heart patient so there is too a lot of cancellation risk with most plans. At least with most hotel reservations there is a 100% refund up to a few days beforehand and insurance on flight cancellation is pretty cheap.

I will still keep Bluegreen in mind for 2016 in case things are more stable then.