I need advice

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

I am a teacher in Alabama and I recently stayed in TN and went to the presentation. The guy that did the presentation was great. Very nice and tried to explain as well as he could. We bought the package where you got 9000 points for one year to see if we would like it. We haven't used it yet and I need someone honest to give me advice. The deal sounds great, butI am seeing a lot of negative stuff on the web about blue green, class action suites and things of this nature. We were presented with several different packages and have not decided which one to consider. I like the bonus night feature. It seems to good to be true, and often things aren't as they seem. Could someone please give a true run down .We plan to travel about 3 weeks a year and several 2 or three overnighters. We are young and have 2 small children. I need honesty not a sales pitch. Thanks ahead of time.

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

We bought the package where you got 9000 points for one year to see if we would like it.

The Sampler package is a terrific deal, IMHO. You can give Bluegreen a try without making a long-term commitment and have time to research your options if it turns out you like it.

I don't have much respect for Bluegreen's sales techniques, but the system itself is pretty solid, best I can tell. The class action suits are generally about sales techniques, and are more about the violations of individual sales people than about Bluegreen policies per se. You'll also run across people whining that it's a scam because you can find Bluegreen points on the 'net for less than developer prices. That's because if you buy direct from Bluegreen, you're paying for development and you're paying for the sales budget - you're paying full price, in other words, and it's pretty pricey. Let's face it, buy just about anything second hand and it's cheaper. That's how most things work, and it doesn't make Bluegreen a scam.

Mind you, if you buy second hand off of E-bay or whatever, you get JUST POINTS (and RCI, usually) - you don't get bonus time or any of that. The neat thing is that, as of right now, you can also buy from an authorized reseller, pay less than what the Bluegreen developer charges, and get authorized points, which will include bonus time and any other benefits. You can't do that with a lot of vacation club resort thingies, and it may not be the case with Bluegreen forever, but right now that's how it works.

So I'd recommend making use of your Sampler while you look into your various options. If you like the Bluegreen resorts, if the Bluegreen system fits your lifestyle, then go for it! If you decide Bluegreen doesn't fit your vacation style, then you get a couple of good vacations on points and no long-term commitment. The Sampler seems like a win-win kinda deal all the way around, I think. We started with a Sampler and now we're buying in.

Good luck!

Sheryl

[jmc Member Find all posts View Profile Close jmc]

We purchased about 4 years ago after drilling down to what we beleived were facts and learning as much as we could during a sales presentation. After about 4-6 hours of asking questions and looking at where we wanted to travel and how many points it would take to get there ....after all that, we learned about the preferred owner status that would allow us to get on the waiting list 30 days sooner.... we joined in at 20,000 points (the priced dropped the more points we inquired about).
Our first use of time was Bonus Time where we called BG and looked for a few days days stay at Christmas Mountain- 39.00 a night (now 49.00) for a cabin. We have used Bonus Time for Marathon in the Keys; Mountain Loft,TN; Shenadoah, VA. Reservations can be made 45-48(on-line) days in advance(90 days for Hawaiiand Aruba). We plan out a yr in advance and have always gotten what we wanted ....at times 4-6 months and usually got what we wanted. We have never used RCI but others have with success but I read some others frustrations with their program. We have used Select Connections to go to Door County(second time coming this fall) and so far we have been satisfied with the ease of that option.
I have really enjoyed reading and participating on this site. Some of the members have the timesharing down to a science, though I hope to reach that level in the future, my family and I have thoroughly enjoyed the Bluegreen system by simply working hard at understanding how to be best be self satisfied and enjoying using the options within the club.
There is a lot of advice here. Enjoy looking around and learning about what most think is a good system.
I am sure others will chime in with more great advice.
What our mistake was, was not learning more about buying from a reseller. Lessoned learned but we have had some great vacations, great memories, and more to come- no regrets.
Good luck! read on.........

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

More questions

I was looking last night on the BG site and alot of the places to vacation require a full week commitment. Did I read this correctly? Can you not go 2 days here and three days there? Also what do you guys think about buying 9,000 points and getting them every other year. Can you not just go on short vacations by using the bonus time or your points.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

I was looking last night on the BG site and alot of the places to vacation require a full week commitment. Did I read this correctly? Can you not go 2 days here and three days there? Also what do you guys think about buying 9,000 points and getting them every other year. Can you not just go on short vacations by using the bonus time or your points.

Yes, many of Bluegreen's resorts are Club Associate resorts where the Bluegreen Vacation Club does not have much inventory. They tend to have full week requirements.

Every other year points are a personal preference. Some people like the idea of getting all of the points every two years. The only issue with them is managing them when you want to add points. It takes some work to keep track of when points turn into saved points and when you get them when you have many of them.

Jim

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

I was looking last night on the BG site and alot of the places to vacation require a full week commitment. Did I read this correctly? Can you not go 2 days here and three days there?

One of the advantages of the Sampler program, to my mind, is that you have a list of all (well, most - mine doesn't have a couple) of the "wholly owned" Bluegreen resorts in your Sampler book. If Bluegreen owns the resort, then you can do two days here and three days there. But if Bluegreen only owns a few units, then you may have to go a full week.

I've heard the quality at the partially owned ones can vary considerable, too, but haven't checked that out for myself. Most of the ones that require a full week are pretty close to ones that don't - there are bunches in Florida that require the full week, but also plenty that are wholly owned. The ones in North Carolina are a few hours drive from the ones in Tennessee anyhow, etc. The one in Montana is the only one I know of where you have to reserve a week that's a good day's drive away from any other Bluegreen options.

Also what do you guys think about buying 9,000 points and getting them every other year,

The only problem I can see is that half your points drop to "red or lower" after the first year. So if you decide to blow all your points on one vacation, best to be doing it the first year. If you plan to be using mostly bonus time, then that won't matter. Keep in mind, though, that bonus time (and reserving with points) is on an "as available" basis, and you can reserve eleven months out with points but only 48 days out with bonus time. The people who seem happiest with bonus time from my perspective are flexible about where and when they go and keep calling.

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

More questions

The agent that was trying to sell us the deed also said that with the perks of the bonus thing(i am not sure what they called it) you could get better deals on cruises and flights. He said all we had to do is call the toll free number and they would get you a killer deal. Is this true? Also 48 days out for bonus nights seems like it is not such a good thing. I really appreciate all of you responding, I am just trying to make the right decision. Also I have looked on the web and saw some really good deals on BG for sale. How can you tell if it is a certified dealer and will you get the benefits if you by"used" deeds?

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

He said all we had to do is call the toll free number and they would get you a killer deal. Is this true?

I haven't looked into that much, but from the comments I've seen, sometimes it's a killer deal and sometimes you could do better on the 'net. Apparently it was a better deal some years back.

Bonus time can be a good deal if you live somewhere close to a Bluegreen Resort - or, better, a cluster of them, like in South Carolina or Florida. If you just want a weekend and a day and can get the time off in the 48 day window and aren't too hung up on which weekend you get, they're often a better deal than paying with points - and they're always a better deal than hotels, at least in my experience.

Also I have looked on the web and saw some really good deals on BG for sale. How can you tell if it is a certified dealer and will you get the benefits if you by"used" deeds?

The deals you are seeing will most likely get you points and maybe RCI and nothing more. No bonus time (except at your home resort), no Traveler's Plus, none of that. The only authorized dealers work through Pinnacle, which is a Bluegreen affiliate. I don't recommend you rush into anything until you've seen how your Sampler goes and think about it a bit, but Boca Bum, who has posted to this thread, is an authorized Bluegreen reseller with many satisfied customers.

Sheryl

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

Sorry, I am confused

I still am confused. This is how I understand it. I buy a deed and get a certain number of points each year or every other year. If I do not use my points they role over. I understand how to use the point guide. I am hearing things like home resort, banked points, what does this mean. Bonus nights-if you get the unlimited bonus nights you can use them at participating BG places. What am I shooting for. I would like to get annual points and unlimited bonus nights. What is travelers plus? I remember a little bit but not much Would it be better to buy from boca or bluegreen? What do you get with silver or platnium level? I am brand new so please bare with me. I have no where else to get advice. Thanks

[jmc Member Find all posts View Profile Close jmc]

I am hearing things like home resort, banked points, what does this mean. Bonus nights-if you get the unlimited bonus nights you can use them at participating BG places. What am I shooting for. I would like to get annual points and unlimited bonus nights. What is travelers plus? I remember a little bit but not much Would it be better to buy from boca or bluegreen? What do you get with silver or platnium level? I am brand new so please bare with me. I have no where else to get advice. Thanks

Home Resort is where the deed states you own at. The number of points and the week you own will have a location and size of unit, thus point value, attached to it. Example we have a cabin week 21 at Big Cedar. It is worth 13,000 points. This was important for us at first for knowing if BG failed overall, we had a desirable place we would want to have forever. Also, we can request our week we own by calling in during the 12th month ahead of time and tell them we will use our prioity week(the week we are deeded) next year. We do not have to use our current points to reserve it, when our anniversary comes around we get 13,000 points less out of our total. If that was all we owned our balance would be zero after our next Anniversary date.

Banked points I think would refer to carry over points from prior year or when you place a weeks reservation into RCI, that is considered banking as well- I think. If BG points carried over from one yr to the next, those points are good for only red, white and blue seasons.
Owners who have more that 15,000 points, you belong to the Premier Owner standings. Bronze-over 15,000, Silver- over 20,000 points, Gold-over 35,000 and Platinum- over 60,000 points. Each level can acccess the wait list one month sooner(Platinum 4 months sooner), fees for use of Select Connections are reduced, discounts for Bonus time in presidential units are reduced, extended stays and upgrade options are available if space at resort allows it- are some of the features for premier owner status. This has changed recently when they added Platinum level and all of these benefits can change at anytime when BG feels it needs to increase or decrease these benefits.

Travelers Plus is a program that gives you access to reduced pricing for travel services- though it is hit or miss. Also, resturaunt discounts that you can look up by zip code for while at home or traveling locations. This is where we access Select Connections information and the Yacht Club info. Also there is a last minute exchange where 3,000 points or $300-400.00 will get you a week on short travel notice. I have not used this but looks pretty straight forward as you can look up by regional locations and the resorts are outside of the BG and Select Connection locations.
If you have any other questions keep them coming.

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

Just thought I'd expand on a few of jmc's points.

Banked points I think would refer to carry over points from prior year or when you place a weeks reservation into RCI,

I've only seen banked points used to refer to an RCI reservation. The points are "banked" with RCI. I think. Points from the past year are points that have rolled over (good only for red, white, or blue seasons). They roll over after one year, and if still unused at the end of the second year they expire (however you can bank them with RCI and stretch that another two years or so). The main downside with RCI, IMHO, is that you have to pay a fee if you make use of your banked week. With Bluegreen you either pay points or cash for bonus time and you're done, pretty much (a couple of resorts have minor fees for parking or the like).

Travelers Plus .... Select Connections ... a last minute exchange where 3,000 points or $300-400.00 will get you a week on short travel notice.

Traveler's Plus is an extra fee every year (about fifty bucks for regular members I think). Select Connections, which is part of Traveler's Plus, is access to some of the Shell Vacation Club Resorts ("selected" resorts from within their system). You can't reserve as early as with Bluegreen Resorts but other than that it's much the same - you use your points to make your reservation. Shell has more resorts on the western half of the US, although the Bluegreen people I've heard make use of it tend to go to the one in Door County, Wisconsin or the two in Ontario.

The one week for 3000 points deal you can use points to reserve a last-minute (ten days out, I think it is) RCI week. That's through Traveler's Plus and it's called "hot weeks". Can be a terrific deal and some people love it but it's awfully short notice for most of us. I don't know if you pay the usual RCI fee with hot weeks or not, never thought to ask.

If you want bonus time you must get authorized points, which means going through either Bluegreen or Boca (or some other Pinnacle reseller). Personally I'd go through Boca, both because it's cheaper and because I see him as more honest than most (not all) Bluegreen salespeople, but some people who know about resellers still go through Bluegreen, for various reasons. That's a decision you'll have to make for yourself.

Since we were most intested in the points, using the Sampler gave us a really good idea about whether Bluegreen was a good deal for us or not - since you're most interested in Bonus time it may be the Sampler won't be as helpful for you. We tried to see as many resorts as possible within our schedule to get an idea of how the quality and style varies from place to place and that you could do.

I keep forgetting to mention and I can't recall if anyone else has, either - there's a Bluegreen Yahoo group, where if you join you can search the archives and get lots of info on people's experience with Bonus time. The last conversation on it I remember, however, indicated that past experience isn't holding when it comes to making reservations at the Fountains, so be aware that things can change a bit there!

Still, lots of info there worth checking out, IMHO. Best of luck!

Sheryl

[BerryQueen Member Find all posts View Profile Close BerryQueen]

we bought in sept 08 at club 36 vegas

we bought into 8000points every other year with a bonus of 4000 points on the 2nd year so that we can save this years points and roll them to next year and have 12000 then I'm confused with if we get to roll 1 more time to get us and addtional 8000 making it 20000 anyway we don't have a set resort that is deeded to us we can use any BG resort we want as primary.
We also go 2 bonus weeks with RCI for the next 3 years we haven't used any of our points and have booked our 1st vacation with the bonus RCI week going to myrtle beach may 10-17th to get this I new my week and roughly where I wanted to go they searched and called me when something came up within 45days.

I'm hoping we can all help each other figure this out

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

When your points are awarded, they are valid for two years. The first year there are no restrictions on using them. Any leftover points after the first year become 'saved' points and there are a few restrictions on them - such as not being able to use them for time that is 'higher' than red season.

If you don't use the 'saved' points in the 2nd year, you lose them.

One option to extend the use is to call BG and reserve a week that you are going to exchange with RCI. Then you have to call RCI and 'bank' the reserved week. Once it is banked, it'll be in your RCI account for two years for you to exchange. The requirement here is that it has to be a full week - 7 nights.

Traveler's Plus gives additional discount opportunites for buying vacation time somewhere - plus other types of travel. Bonus nights are the same within the BG resort network. The key to these is having the vacation time to use them. If you can get them 'thrown in' with the deal that's great, but Traveler's Plus does have a yearly fee of about $60.

[Ediesbeads Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ediesbeads]

We used a hot weeks reservation once. We were ending our trip to FL. I checked the hot weeks list and was able to get us another week for 3000 points, so we did it! It was just a standard accomodation... not quite as nice as Blue Green. But it was just the 3000 points, no exchange fee or anythinig. We had fun!

Edie

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

When your points are awarded, they are valid for two years. The first year there are no restrictions on using them. Any leftover points after the first year become 'saved' points and there are a few restrictions on them - such as not being able to use them for time that is 'higher' than red season.

If you don't use the 'saved' points in the 2nd year, you lose them.

One option to extend the use is to call BG and reserve a week that you are going to exchange with RCI. Then you have to call RCI and 'bank' the reserved week. Once it is banked, it'll be in your RCI account for two years for you to exchange. The requirement here is that it has to be a full week - 7 nights.

Traveler's Plus gives additional discount opportunites for buying vacation time somewhere - plus other types of travel. Bonus nights are the same within the BG resort network. The key to these is having the vacation time to use them. If you can get them 'thrown in' with the deal that's great, but Traveler's Plus does have a yearly fee of about $60.

This is close. Only 1/2 of your bi-annual points turn into saved points after 1 year. For example, if you own 8000 bi-annual points and use 2000 points in the first year, you will have 4000 normal points and 2000 saved points.