Tweet
Hi there..
I've been thoroughly enjoying reading all the threads in this forum regarding the Sunterra points system. Lots of information to digest.
A little history ...
Last year our TS home resort went bankrupt. The TS in question was RTU (60yrs). No deed so we were out of luck with our TS as far as that resort went. It was a 1 BR Fixed WK3 Red that traded in RCI. We actually got some good trades with it (6 weeks in total) and in every case were able to trade up to a 2 bedroom.
Our vacation pattern has been to go off season Feb - May or Sept - Nov. We like to avoid prime time seasons for vacations. We also liked to book vacations about 3 - 4 weeks out because there seemed to be better options for resorts that came available during that time. We were also flexible as far as the place. Generally we just wanted to go to an "area" and the specific resort wasn't the main thing but it needed to have a kitchen. We usually do one week of vacation/yr but snuck out for a two weeker one time.
This time around we want to purchase a 2BR unit and may take more 2 week vacations.
I mention the above information because it may be relevant to my questions. Since we're now timeshareless we're in the market for a new one. Having been to a couple of Sunterra presentations and staying at their resorts twice we have decided that we really like the Sunterra system and the resorts. We like this system and I've been reading (and re-reading) all the posts here and over at TUG to learn as much as I can. I think I have a basic grasp of what I need to do.
1. I need to purchase a new week (float, deeded) somewhere in the Sunterra resort family or puchase SunOptions.
2. I need to go to Sunterra and negotiate a buy into CSV and insist they include a conversion of my week at the resort and/or convert my previously purchased SunOptions.
3. I’m watching prices on Ebay, Holiday Group, Redweek etc to get a feel for how much $/pt I should expect to pay. Yes I’m including closing costs etc.
So my questions would be.
Q1. Would it be better to go to Sunterra with TS/Points in hand or just negotiate my purchase into CSV first.
Q2. Are say October weeks fairly easy to come by in Florida or San Diego when booking under 59 days? Based on our vacation patterns mentioned above I think we could do OK with 10,000 SunOptions although 15,000 would probably give us a little more elbow room. I would plan on booking under the 59 days like we already do. If not then 10,000 points might be pretty minimal I would guess.
Q3. Does it matter if I purchase SunOptions or a week? I’ve read some of the pros and cons of deeded vs just having trust points but all we really want to do is go on a vacation every year.
Q4. There has been a few posts that have said that you need to go to a Sunterra sales office to negotiate a purchase into CSV. Has anyone done this over the phone? Would this really be a good idea? My problem would be getting to a Sunterra office. We live in Calgary AB Canada.
I may have more questions in a while but for now I need a little direction. There’s so many places to buy these weeks and I’ve never bought anything off of Ebay in my life. For the moment I'm just watching and reading. Not rushing into buying anything right now. Maybe there’s something else I haven’t thought of … please let me know.
Thanks
Barry
I've been thoroughly enjoying reading all the threads in this forum regarding the Sunterra points system. Lots of information to digest.
A little history ...
Last year our TS home resort went bankrupt. The TS in question was RTU (60yrs). No deed so we were out of luck with our TS as far as that resort went. It was a 1 BR Fixed WK3 Red that traded in RCI. We actually got some good trades with it (6 weeks in total) and in every case were able to trade up to a 2 bedroom.
Our vacation pattern has been to go off season Feb - May or Sept - Nov. We like to avoid prime time seasons for vacations. We also liked to book vacations about 3 - 4 weeks out because there seemed to be better options for resorts that came available during that time. We were also flexible as far as the place. Generally we just wanted to go to an "area" and the specific resort wasn't the main thing but it needed to have a kitchen. We usually do one week of vacation/yr but snuck out for a two weeker one time.
This time around we want to purchase a 2BR unit and may take more 2 week vacations.
I mention the above information because it may be relevant to my questions. Since we're now timeshareless we're in the market for a new one. Having been to a couple of Sunterra presentations and staying at their resorts twice we have decided that we really like the Sunterra system and the resorts. We like this system and I've been reading (and re-reading) all the posts here and over at TUG to learn as much as I can. I think I have a basic grasp of what I need to do.
1. I need to purchase a new week (float, deeded) somewhere in the Sunterra resort family or puchase SunOptions.
2. I need to go to Sunterra and negotiate a buy into CSV and insist they include a conversion of my week at the resort and/or convert my previously purchased SunOptions.
3. I’m watching prices on Ebay, Holiday Group, Redweek etc to get a feel for how much $/pt I should expect to pay. Yes I’m including closing costs etc.
So my questions would be.
Q1. Would it be better to go to Sunterra with TS/Points in hand or just negotiate my purchase into CSV first.
Q2. Are say October weeks fairly easy to come by in Florida or San Diego when booking under 59 days? Based on our vacation patterns mentioned above I think we could do OK with 10,000 SunOptions although 15,000 would probably give us a little more elbow room. I would plan on booking under the 59 days like we already do. If not then 10,000 points might be pretty minimal I would guess.
Q3. Does it matter if I purchase SunOptions or a week? I’ve read some of the pros and cons of deeded vs just having trust points but all we really want to do is go on a vacation every year.
Q4. There has been a few posts that have said that you need to go to a Sunterra sales office to negotiate a purchase into CSV. Has anyone done this over the phone? Would this really be a good idea? My problem would be getting to a Sunterra office. We live in Calgary AB Canada.
I may have more questions in a while but for now I need a little direction. There’s so many places to buy these weeks and I’ve never bought anything off of Ebay in my life. For the moment I'm just watching and reading. Not rushing into buying anything right now. Maybe there’s something else I haven’t thought of … please let me know.
Thanks
Barry
Comment