WE DID IT! We bought Fairshare Plus Points and are reading all the literature!

[I-DE-HO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close I-DE-HO]

The Fairfield Yahoo Group Digest for yesterday had a post about trade power into Manhattan Club and 154,000 points did not pull even a studio, but Worldmark at only 8,000 points pulled it. RCI told this person that nothing is withheld from Worldmark members. So what do you think we are thinking?

I want strong trade power. I want to be able to come to Hawaii when we want and pull Shearwater that way. The idea of Worldmark is a good one.

There were also some people that posted in the Yahoo Group that they had a problem with the Fairshare Plus people saying something was not available for an upgrade. That concerned me too.

Many people are complaining OY, on the Sightings forum, about the low trading power of FF deposits. I don't own FF so I can't help you directly but thought you might want this type of info. You might search the posts there for FF info. WM owners seem to pull everything.

Phil

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

I'm thinking that the way RCI figures trade power can change week to week. I would't make a purchase based on a comment like this without a clear exit strategy.

Yep, especially since that has been made known, RCI could go in there and change the trading power of Worldmark.

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

There were also some people that posted in the Yahoo Group that they had a problem with the Fairshare Plus people saying something was not available for an upgrade. That concerned me too.

I'm not a FF FSP owner but have read the comments you are referring to. I believe what they are concerned/complaining about is that you cannot use your VIP status/ARPing to get an upgrade for a week that you plan on intending on using with RCI to trade with. This is a new "policy" within Fairfield/Wyndham.

I may be mistaken, in which case Mike S or Jya will probably chime in.

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

Many people are complaining OY, on the Sightings forum, about the low trading power of FF deposits. I don't own FF so I can't help you directly but thought you might want this type of info. You might search the posts there for FF info. WM owners seem to pull everything.
Phil

And again, I think this has to do with FSP acquired deposits and not necessarily with all FF/Wyndham weeks. Also I believe it is a matter of perspective given that many using FF/Wyndham points have had some WONDERFULLY GREAT trades through RCI especially when bulk space banks have occurred for places like Hawaii. Perhaps that has been tightened up so that they can no longer get those with a mere 28K blue studio unit??

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

As for the comment from the OP "I want strong trade power. I want to be able to come to Hawaii when we want and pull Shearwater that way. The idea of Worldmark is a good one." I personally believe you'll be better off with what you own and not being dependant on trades to get to Hawaii when you want to go. I wouldn't count on anything staying the way it is "today" . . . forever . . . particularly with FF. Just my bias, but they change their rules and policies too often to suit their own needs at the expense of owners who have bought into their pyramid scheme to escalate the perceived need for MORE POINTS . . . and higher VIP levels. Again . . . I have a bias so you may want to take my viewpoint with a grain of salt.

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

I agree here...one thing I'm sure of is that things change in the timeshare world. If there was one place that I wanted to make sure that I could go every year, or every other year, I'd make sure that I kept a fixed or floating week there.

I know very little about FSP, but you all know as well as I do, if it's not in the written agreement it can change. Whatever is important to you, I'd make sure that I had it in writing.

Shopgirl, I've learned a lot from your posts here...whatever you do, I'm sure that it will be the right decision for you and your family.

As for the comment from the OP "I want strong trade power. I want to be able to come to Hawaii when we want and pull Shearwater that way. The idea of Worldmark is a good one." I personally believe you'll be better off with what you own and not being dependant on trades to get to Hawaii when you want to go. I wouldn't count on anything staying the way it is "today" . . . forever . . . particularly with FF. Just my bias, but they change their rules and policies too often to suit their own needs at the expense of owners who have bought into their pyramid scheme to escalate the perceived need for MORE POINTS . . . and higher VIP levels. Again . . . I have a bias so you may want to take my viewpoint with a grain of salt.

[cmb Member Find all posts View Profile Close cmb]

I'm thinking that the way RCI figures trade power can change week to week. I would't make a purchase based on a comment like this without a clear exit strategy.

I agree. RCI can change any time

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

I agree. RCI can change any time

so buy where you want to own. Cindy, you already own where you love to go. Your maintenance fees are paid for many years if you figure out how much your new purchase is going to cost you.

This is the most interesting thread I have ever read about deciding what to do with a purchase someone just made and it is an eye opener for newbies too.

Cindy has the time to rescind her contract if she wants to. Are you planning to get another update at the Waikiki resort so you hear more for or against keeping this purchase or not?

I believe that I know what you will do at the end but will read it here later. Everyone has lived in your shoes and that is what is so nice about these timeshare forums.

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

Emmy, they won't let us take another tour here. I think that stinks. Also, we did not get any kind of VIP treatment today upon check-in, even though they knew we just bought on Friday. The guy was very nice, don't get me wrong, but our original unit was 107, the closest to the lobby! It was on the other side of the bathrooms for the pool and not in the secured area by credit card key, either.

You are all so great! On TUG people are asking why in the world we would do this, but you all here are giving me some concrete information to help choose our direction. I appreciate that so much! So does Rick. We are here in the living room at Waikiki Beach Walk, watching a Travel Channel show on Hawaii. Anyway, we have been talking about this purchase for a few days and probably are going to rescind. BocaBum is going to talk to us too. We ought to call him, since we have his phone number. We will call in the morning, when we are fresh and alert. I am dragging now!

You should all know that it is very easy to get a Shearwater unit with a one bedroom Bali Hai for much less in MF's through RCI. I don't see us owning Shearwater for that reason. I already have an exchange for next March for Shearwater, using that one bedroom. I think we should just keep doing that!

[VacationPro Member Find all posts View Profile Close VacationPro]

...Anyway, we have been talking about this purchase for a few days and probably are going to rescind. BocaBum is going to talk to us too. We ought to call him, since we have his phone number. We will call in the morning, when we are fresh and alert. I am dragging now!

Cindy,

I've read the responses OY, and am pretty surprised. I'm certainly in no position to give you any advice on what is right for you (and I think most others fall in this camp, too!). You are in a league of your own in terms of owning, using and optimizing the timeshares you have. If you feel in your heart this transaction is right for you, then go for it and don't look back. If it doesn't feel right, rescind and think some more--as they say, the deal will be there again.

Best of luck in your decision.

[jlfernandez5 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jlfernandez5]

Hi Guys,
I think you did great on your purchase. 18,000 for 1,500,000 points is great as that puts your cost in EBAY territory. Your only down side is that you would lose you ability to deposit your weeks directly into RCI. On the plus side you will be able to trade directly through Fairfield into some great resorts including the one that you own at in Hawaii. Additionally right now the you would be able to sell any additional points that you had on a yearly basis to another Fairfield owner for $7 per 1000 points. I like this feature so once I'm done with my reservations for the year I just sell off the remaining points and this covers my maintenance fees for those points plus a little extra.
It would make sense to rescind only if you wanted to purchase two 3 bedroom units and then pick them instead for the additional points.
Hind sight is 20/20 and if you have any doubts rescind take a deep breath decide what works best for you and then follow your chosen path.
One last thought for $18,000 you could purchase a 24,000 annual Worldmark fully loaded account resale with an additional 48,000 points in the bank which would give you the ability to also trade not only through RCI but through II into Marriotts and Disney wich you would not have with a conversion to Fairfield.
Best of Luck,
Joe:

[vincenton Member Find all posts View Profile Close vincenton]

Hi Guys,
I think you did great on your purchase. 18,000 for 1,500,000 points is great as that puts your cost in EBAY territory. Your only down side is that you would lose you ability to deposit your weeks directly into RCI.

This is not so, The week she has at Bali Hai are converted weeks. She is still deeded for those weeks.

She can each year if she choose at 13 months ARP the week she originally purchase as fixed week (no other week). She can choose to stay there herself, rent it out, or deposit it with RCI or keep the points given to her from Fairfield. She has this right each year. This cannot be taken away from her.

Vincent.

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

Joe,
We also paid for the weeks we own, though we bought them on ebay, so this is a conversion of the weeks we already paid for, so you have to consider that as well, so we are not really in ebay territory.

We paid a lot for our weeks, when you add that in. We paid $9K for our two bedroom Bali Hai (with closing costs and maintenance fees for that first year included), we paid $7,500 for the three bedroom and small amounts for the Bali Hai one bedrooms (less than $1,800), so we do have those costs involved in this purchase.

I didn't know the weeks would still be available to us as weeks. That is news to me. I thought we would drop our Platinum status by using the weeks for rentals. I guess you can always grab your own weeks and rent them out.

Too many questions and I have no ideas what others there are to ask.

[Jya-Ning Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Jya-Ning]

Damn, it happens when my internet access was down (Comcast is broken).

The deal itself is fair. It is kind like you spend 1800 to get a Plantimum VIP, and get over 1M points. Except PIC all other method may or may not stay.

Since you have RCI points account, it is close to 500k RCI points (use 1 to 3 ratio). Although the MF is high, you can use these on the RCI points inventory, it should not be an issue to use it. And use your RCI points on Air, park ticket.

It will help you if you are in renting business. It will help you if you plan to use FF and stay in TS for whole year.

RCI week trading changes from time to time. WM just got their point readjust recently. You will not get to use your 9000 RCI point exchange, but you can use FF 28k 2 year on-going search exchange.

Since you got converted week and UDI, I will guess you can sell them seperately, and if I read correctly, somehow HI week usually fetch more than all other resorts. So your total package should worth more than your cost at this moment.

As to the immediately family member, as long as you can prove, it should all enjoy the benefit as you are. Although it is better to have the TS on a trust, it is not really necessary unless you already has trust in your estate planning. Just make sure when you past away, it goes to a trust in your will or all pass to one person.

Make sure
1) the Plantimun VIP is on your contract
2) you have no issue with the purchase money.
3) you do want to get to Plantimum. A lot of time, a fancy level name means nothing what so ever in considering the value. Although Plantimun gives you some benefits, you have to be the one that can use it. But if I read right, I believe you can.

Jya-Ning

[vincenton Member Find all posts View Profile Close vincenton]

Joe,
I didn't know the weeks would still be available to us as weeks. That is news to me. I thought we would drop our Platinum status by using the weeks for rentals. I guess you can always grab your own weeks and rent them out.

Too many questions and I have no ideas what others there are to ask.

Yes, your weeks are still available to you at 13 months of check-in. Your platinum status will not change whether or not you choose to use your Fairfield fixed (converted) weeks or your PIC weeks for that matter or turn in your weeks for Fairfield points.

Think of your Bali Hai weeks as a PIC weeks. They are similar PIC weeks but are of Fairfield resort. PIC/converted week are the same thing, you pay Fairfield certain amount of fee each year to be able to turn the week into Fairfield points.

Vincent.