II questions for potential member

[gondep Member Find all posts View Profile Close gondep]

I called II today because I think I'd like to try exchanging there instead of RCI.

Questions:

1. I own at Bluegreen (points based resort collection) and at Eagle Point in CO. BG has some resorts that are Gold Crown or whatever in II. Eagle Point is unrated in II (but is a great location for ski season). Does it matter what I choose to list as my home resort? Does home resort effect ACs or bonus weeks or getaways or trading power in any way?
2. Online I went halfway through signing up for a membership and it seems that I could select a resort in the BG collection or a generic entry called "Bluegreen Vacation Club" as my home resort. Will this selection have any impact?
3. What is the difference between a bonus week and an AC?
4. I was told that the only membership options were 3 year plans: $552 for gold and $336 for basic. Each gives you a free year to make it a 4 year plan. I was told that that was my only option. Is that true? No 1 or 2 year membership options?

Any advice or information would be appreciated.


Thanks,

jb

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

3. In II - same thing
4. Never before has there not been multiple choices for joining and I suspect there are more choices now. Call back and preface this one with "I'm trying to decide whether to join RCI, II or one of the other exchange companies".

[Bill4728 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Bill4728]

I own at Bluegreen (points based resort collection) and at Eagle Point in CO. BG has some resorts that are Gold Crown or whatever in II. Eagle Point is unrated in II (but is a great location for ski season). Does it matter what I choose to list as my home resort? Does home resort effect ACs or bonus weeks or getaways or trading power in any way?

I can't answer about BG directly but with my point based TS system ( which has many resorts),You don't get to choose what is your home resort. When II contacts the resort to varify your ownership. BG will tell them how to list you.

When you reserve a week and deposit it, that week ( the resort, size and time of year) will determine if you get an AC.

What is the difference between a bonus week and an AC?

They are the same.

I was told that the only membership options were 3 year plans: $552 for gold and $336 for basic. Each gives you a free year to make it a 4 year plan. I was told that that was my only option. Is that true? No 1 or 2 year membership options?

Gold is like adding a "entertainment book" to your membership. Most people find it not worth the money. (unless you plan to use II get-a-ways several times a year). IMHO, get the basic membership.

Good luck

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

Did you get any more info on 1 or 2 year II memberships?
Marge

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

There are two things about II that makes kicking the tires both cheap and easy. First (and most importantly) you don't have to deposit to search. So, you can get a sense for what your unit will see before you commit it. Second, if you cancel your membership with II, they will refund any wholly unused months. So, for 1/12 of $85, you can spend four weeks playing around with your unit to see whether it is worth its salt in Interval.

In my book, that's a bargain---because you are getting information you couldn't get any other way, for less than $10.

I did this with a week that I had originally purchased for other reasons, just to see how it would perform in II---and was (and am) extremely pleased with the results.

[gondep Member Find all posts View Profile Close gondep]

Did you get any more info on 1 or 2 year II memberships?
Marge

No, I haven't called back yet. I am trying to read more and soak in all the great advice I get from the pros here and on TUG.

I did see that the membership application PDF available from the II site had 1, 3, and 5 year options @ $84, $219, and $336 for regular and $138, $358, and $552 for gold.

So I think the person I talked to on the phone was ... lying to me? Or at best extremely unknowledgeable in II membership plans offered.


jb

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

I like the "kick the tires" and try it idea. Are you sure you can cancel if you find you don't care for the performance of your TS for trading?
Marge

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

So says the T&C (which anyone considering joining should read).

http://www.intervalworld.com/pdf/iw/buyers-guide.pdf

From Paragraph 1 of the Fees section:

Membership fees are refundable on a pro rata basis (based
on the number of full months remaining in the applicable membership
period) upon II’s receipt of a Member’s written request for cancellation
of his or her membership and a refund.

[gondep Member Find all posts View Profile Close gondep]

Update

I have called twice since I started this thread.

1st call: got most of the way through signing up for 1 yr membership and then the guy told me I needed the purchase date and stuff I didn't know off hand. Had to end the call - nothing accomplished. I'll take the blame for that. But this time the guy offered me the same options that I found on the PDF on the II website: 1yr = $84, 2yr = 168, and 3yr = 219 for standard memberships. No 2 for 1 offered.

2nd call: This was a dissappointing phone call - although true to form for my TS experience. 1st the person told me they could not find Bluegreen and it was not a resort that they supported. I explained for the second time that Bluegreen was not a resort, it was a points based system, and suggested that the signup process would most likely be similar to someone with a Marriott or Disney ownership. While the person went away to ask for help I got online and went half way through the online signup. I saw that the generic Bluegreen Vacation Club option had a code that looked similar to a resort code. The person came back on the phone and started to ask me some questions that were leading in the wrong direction so I asked the person to look it up by resort code and told them it was "BLG". Bingo. So now then they ask me for the week # and how many BRs. I explain again. They ignore me as I tell them that the deed is tied to week 8 at a resort that is not in their system and thet we need to enter how many points I have and if they are annual vs bi-annual. At this point they must have hit submit and the system "rejected the week?????". Yes, I explain a 4th time. I get put on hold again. They finally come back and tell me that Bluegreen has to enroll me and I should call Bluegreen. I told them that didn't sound right and it appeared as though I could do it online. I knew calling BG for an II membership was a wild goose chase. I asked to speak to a senior member or a manager.

Up to this point I am calm and understanding of the situation.

I am put on hold. I wait a little while through what seemed like the same music and prompts as my original call and I'm starting to get the feeling that instead of waiting for a manger I got shoved back in to the general call queue. When I get the next person on the phone I ask if I am speaking to a manager. I am told that I am "at the highest level" with the implication that the real answer is no. I explain what is going on, what I'd like to do, and how I think that can be accomplished. This person tells me it can't be done. I say that I have been half way through it online. "Oh, the website is different" I'm told. They tell me I can do it online but that I can't over the phone. I ask to speak to a manger and they tell me that I've been given the correct information and there was no need to let me speak to a manger because the situation has been handled appropriately. I ask again. They ask me to hold. I'm on hold for about 5-10 seconds and then the line goes dead.

Maybe sign up for me has to be done online ... maybe it doesn't. I don't know. Placing me back in the queue when I asked for a manager, refusing to allow access to a manager, and hanging up to a customer seems like a bad way to do business to me.

I went online and signed up. I need this membership to be active by July 3rd which is why I didn't just do it online initially. The options were the same as the online PDF. I took the 1yr $84 option.

I guess I learned a couple things:

1. If you are a BG owner, just sign up online
2. I'm astonished by the poor service and lack of knowledge from call center/customer service employees - and that goes for more than just II
3. Any TS owner that hasn't found this board or TUG or both is screwed

Thanks for all your help - I took the 1 year membership and didn't take the Gold membership because of info and pieces of advice from this thread and I'm pretty sure those are the right choices for me.