Current deposit Promo-feedback

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

I, too, prefer the cash card/bonus weeks. SFX reward points are not something I would use.

Hi Regatta - Thank you for your feedback, it is appreciated. If you travel for Bonus Weeks with less than 6 months notice, it can be a much better deal than the previous BonusWeeks with cash-card program. Instead of all weeks being around $400-$500.... they start as low as $69 for the week. The savings are greater than what the cash card was.

Do you not take extra trips where you rent hotels or perhaps go for nice brief get-a-ways? If you don't, then the Points portion of the offer would not benefit you. If you do, you will save a few hundred dollars depending on how often you travel.

The Points are not for everyone, and there are still Bonus Weeks that can be requested and up to a year. One year extensions on unused deposits, and a reinstatement of any one expired week.

Thanks,
Mark @SFX
Member Communications

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

I agree with Hurnick I'm holding my deposit(s) until I hopefully see something better. I liked the bonus weeks and vacation cash card........Really simple and straight forward. I've tried to make sense of those 10,000 SFX Rewards and and I really don't see a benefit for me. Who knows might be great for others.

Thanks

Andy - Thank you for your post. The Reward Points are good for Car rentals, hotel and resort stays, cruises... really trips that are above and beyond your exchange. Can even be used in conjunction with an exchange eg. maybe you want to stay an extra couple of days beyond your exchange at a nice hotel. If you don't travel much, then there is no real value in the Points. It will save a few hundred dollars if you travel enough to use it, otherwise it will not be of value to you.

With regards to the current Bonus Week offering... if you typically travel with less than 6 months notice, then this package is better than the previous one with the Cash-Card, because in many instances the prices are lower than what you would have received using the cash-card. As compared to other exchange companies, no other exchange company (that I am aware of) allows you to request a Bonus Week up to a year in advance for around $600-$700. They have rentals at around ($1000-$1500) +/- and typically their bonus weeks are leftovers at 60 days or less. So... it's pretty easy to figure out where the best value is for you.

Quite a number of posters feel the previous promotion with the Cash-card was their preference, and we really appreciate the feedback. However, when we see that about 83% of our Members historically booked their BonusWeeks 1-6 months in advance, and now we have slashed the prices in that time-line (compared to the previous pricing)... it means there is a greater value in the overall scheme of things for most Members.


Hope this helps.... and again, thanks for your feedback.

Thanks,
Mark @SFX
Member Communications

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

Hello Mark,

The SFX vacation store cash isn't very good and here's why:

I just spent the better part of this weekend trying to price out a 7-day alaska cruise. First, I'm a Diamond Lifetime member, so I've got like SFX bonus points as well.

Get this:

On EVERY cruise I checked, even WITH "$400 off" with SFX Vacation cash, the pricing for the cruise (before the $20 processing fee that ovs charges) was STILL HIGHER than what I can book directly with any cruise website (Princess, Celebrity, Norweigen, Royal Carribbean, Carnival, etc.) And not just like $1.00 higher, but in some cases several hundred more.

So the cash for the SFX travel store is, IMO, a joke. I'm going to use "extra cash" to pay MORE?

Personally I'd rather SFX just re-did the promos for like 3 bonus weeks and maybe $100 vacation cash or something ($50/$100 off a week) or something rather than the travel store gimmick.

I'll hold my weeks/deposits until I see something better.

Hi Hurnik - Sorry for the delay, have been swamped, as its the busiest time of the year. I have a preliminary price report and it shows our pricing is "Lower" than you stated. I want to review the numbers again tomorrow and will post the results.

Thank you for your patience...

Mark @SFX
Member Communications

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

Hi Pat - Thank you for your post. I will be happy to clarify that.

If you are doing a regular resort to resort exchange, the exchange fee for Diamond Members is only $149 domestic or international. I would like to point out, with the money this program saves on hotels, car rentals, resort stays and cruises.... is far greater than any exchange fees you pay.

If you are using your week towards a Cruise Exchange or a Tour Exchange, then there is No exchange fee.

Hope this helps...

Thanks,
Mark @SFX
Member Communications

Thanks for the clarification....chriskre, there are exchange fees for week to week exchanges.

I appreciate you addressing all our (and your) members concerns and hearing/listening to what is important to this group.
I know we are not your 'typical' customers as most of us own 5-10+ weeks that we use and trade.

Interesting that you report such a large % of your members exchange 6 months out or less - this gang is used to the 12-24 month out II/RCI model.

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

Thanks for the clarification....chriskre, there are exchange fees for week to week exchanges.

I appreciate you addressing all our (and your) members concerns and hearing/listening to what is important to this group.
I know we are not your 'typical' customers as most of us own 5-10+ weeks that we use and trade.

Interesting that you report such a large % of your members exchange 6 months out or less - this gang is used to the 12-24 month out II/RCI model.

Hi Pat - sorry for any misunderstanding, but that percentage I referred to, is not for exchanges... it's for Bonus Weeks. Exchanges are typically requested much further in advance, Bonus Weeks historically request around 1-6 months in advance. Because of the demographic of our Member base, a large percentage of our members are multiple-week Owners.... "Seasoned Timeshare Owners".

Thanks,
Mark @SFX
Member Communications

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

Sally - Thank you for your feedback, it is appreciated. However, the information is unfairly presented and very skewed. Allow me to clarify some facts.

Re: Exchanges.

1. I.I. You can only upgrade to a larger unit without an upgrade fee 59 days or less. Keep in mind this is a membership with an "annul fee" of I believe around $89? So your cost is approx. $243.

2. Keeping it apples for apples... An SFX Platinum (Paid membership) Member can request a one-size upgrade for an exchange 1-365 days in advance! for FREE. (Other than cities we do not accept studio's because nobody want them, so for the most part, there wouldn't be a 2-size upgrade. And if there was, it's only $199, but you can do that up to a year out, not just 59 days or less. Total cost around $268. So for about $25 more, you can request what you want a year out, instead of upgrading to leftovers 59 days or less.

3. If you are a Gold Member, which is a Free membership, then the fees are higher. But this is why most people upgrade to Platinum because the discounts on transactions and benefits are greater than the cost of the membership, so it's ultimately free plus more savings.

Hope this helps...

Thanks,
Mark @SFX
Member Communications

I own at least 6 weeks that trade through ii and sometimes get 2 for 1 membership deals so the membership fee breaks down to a little less $10 per trade. It is not true that you have to wait until 59 to upgrade with interval. You can almost always upgrade one size up from a one bedroom to a two bedroom. You can often upgrade a studio for a one bedroom again with no fee and no time restriction. With interval 99% of the restrictions disappear at 59 days so a studio can grab a 2 bedroom in a higher season for example if one is available for no additional fee. Yesterday I was able to exchange a Marriott studio for a 2 bedroom Memorial weekend week Hyatt in Texas 4 months in advance. Both one bedroom lock offs of my Sheraton Broadway Plantation traded for two-2 bedrooms in the Westin in Maui for August, nine months in advance with a Starwood to Starwood exchange fee of $119 for each 2 bedroom unit.

I was just suggesting that within 59 days you allow gold members to upgrade for free and take the leftovers if they are available. I really have too many weeks already so I haven't found your bonus weeks to be particularly tempting. For me bonus weeks have to cost less than an exchange or it usually isn't worth it. In terms of SFX's platinum membership, the published rate of starting from $199 is twice as high as interval's regular rate and the exchange rate is still higher than intervals online fee of $159 for regular exchanges, $119 for Starwood to Starwood exchanges, and $124 for Marriott to Marriott exchanges (free for Marriott's destination club members).

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

I own at least 6 weeks that trade through ii and sometimes get 2 for 1 membership deals so the membership fee breaks down to a little less $10 per trade. It is not true that you have to wait until 59 to upgrade with interval. You can almost always upgrade one size up from a one bedroom to a two bedroom. You can often upgrade a studio for a one bedroom again with no fee and no time restriction. With interval 99% of the restrictions disappear at 59 days so a studio can grab a 2 bedroom in a higher season for example if one is available for no additional fee. Yesterday I was able to exchange a Marriott studio for a 2 bedroom Memorial weekend week Hyatt in Texas 4 months in advance. Both one bedroom lock offs of my Sheraton Broadway Plantation traded for two-2 bedrooms in the Westin in Maui for August, nine months in advance with a Starwood to Starwood exchange fee of $119 for each 2 bedroom unit.

I was just suggesting that within 59 days you allow gold members to upgrade for free and take the leftovers if they are available. I really have too many weeks already so I haven't found your bonus weeks to be particularly tempting. For me bonus weeks have to cost less than an exchange or it usually isn't worth it. In terms of SFX's platinum membership, the published rate of starting from $199 is twice as high as interval's regular rate and the exchange rate is still higher than intervals online fee of $159 for regular exchanges, $119 for Starwood to Starwood exchanges, and $124 for Marriott to Marriott exchanges (free for Marriott's destination club members).

Hi Sally - I may have misunderstood what you were saying..... It implies that you can only upgrade to a larger unit within a 59 day window (for an exchange). Again, our Platinum Members also can upgrade unit size for an exchange at any time for Free. I was under the impression that I.I. had trading rules for unit sizes eg. like for like (more than 59 days in advance). Maybe they have changed those rules? Do they charge you a fee for upgrading to a larger unit for an exchange?

.............Also I would like to see something like II's flexchange where at 59 days or less size upgrades fees are no longer applicable on the original deposit. I can use a studio with Interval to exchange into a 2 bedroom with interval for just the normal exchange fee $154 at 59 days out. With SFX a one bedroom exchanging into a 2 bedroom one week before check in would require a $399 exchange fee.

Thank you for your suggestion about Gold Members getting free upgrades 59 days or less, however as with all other major exchange companies, those kind of benefits come with a paid subscription. If members do the math, the value of a free upgrade is far greater than the low cost of a membership! You are correct the "published" rate of a one year SFX Platinum Membership is high at $199. However.... the "reality" is that no one buys that membership. Most people buy the 5 year at $399 which averages only $79 per year, or the 3 year at $299 averaging $99 per year.... which makes much more sense than the one year.

...........intervals online fee of $159 for regular exchanges. (By phone they charge $174). Our Platinum Exchange fee is only $169 for either Domestic or International, which is an insignificant difference. Internal exchanges amongst your resort group of course are always cheaper, as they should be.

When considering the overall benefits of an exchange company, many owners are attracted to SFX because you can request a Bonus Week up to one year in advance as if it were an exchange week. Not to mention we also extend existing deposits by one year and reinstate an expired week. Other exchange companies do not offer these great benefits.

You have some great exchanges booked and will have a great time. Certainly understand that if you have so many ownership weeks already, then Bonus Weeks really aren't a big deal, as you need to use your owner time first and get your monies worth out of it.

Again, thanks for you feedback and points of view, they are appreciated! Happy vacationing...

Thanks,
Mark @SFX
Member Communications

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

Hi Pat - sorry for any misunderstanding, but that percentage I referred to, is not for exchanges... it's for Bonus Weeks. Exchanges are typically requested much further in advance, Bonus Weeks historically request around 1-6 months in advance. Because of the demographic of our Member base, a large percentage of our members are multiple-week Owners.... "Seasoned Timeshare Owners".

Thanks,
Mark @SFX
Member Communications

Oops, I was tired when I read this. My mistake. Still interesting statistics.

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

When considering the overall benefits of an exchange company, many owners are attracted to SFX because you can request a Bonus Week up to one year in advance as if it were an exchange week. Not to mention we also extend existing deposits by one year and reinstate an expired week. Other exchange companies do not offer these great benefits.

Thanks,
Mark @SFX
Member Communications

Mark, with RCI's new TPU system you can extend deposits indefinitely just so you know.
Of course there is a fee for that.

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

Mark, with RCI's new TPU system you can extend deposits indefinitely just so you know.
Of course there is a fee for that.

You can extend deposits indefinitely with SFX.

When it is all said and done, the big advantage to SFX for us is that we can get the exchanges we want. Before switching to SFX 15 years ago, I used both II and RCI. I was not able to get the resorts that I wanted with either one. We tend to request specific resorts.

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

Mark, with RCI's new TPU system you can extend deposits indefinitely just so you know.
Of course there is a fee for that.

Hi Chriskre - thanks for catching that. I should have said.... "No other exchange company offers that benefit for FREE" !

Thanks,
Mark @SFX
Member Communications

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

Hi Pat - I think the reason for a Bonus Week typically beinging booked with lesser notice is, that people have invested thousands of dollars in their timeshare purchase, and possibly take the booking of the ownership week more seriously than a Bonus Week, and accordingly consider that week more of their main vacation. Whereas Bonus Weeks are relatively cheap and people tend to use them more for extra get-a-way vacations with lesser notice. They know they only have one week of ownership usage a year, but Bonus Weeks are in abundance in comparison.

Just a thought...

Mark @SFX
Member Communications

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

I agree with Hurnick I'm holding my deposit(s) until I hopefully see something better. I liked the bonus weeks and vacation cash card........Really simple and straight forward. I've tried to make sense of those 10,000 SFX Rewards and and I really don't see a benefit for me. Who knows might be great for others.

Thanks

Andy - Thank you for your post. The Reward Points can be used for Hotels, Cars, Resorts, Cruised... other than your exchange week. However, they can be used to extend an exchange in a hotel or resort maybe for a few extra days beyond your exchange. The value is up to $1,200 in savings depending on how you use the program. Even if you only saved half of that its still a great savings. However, if you are only getting away for a week or two every year, there wouldn't be much benefit to you.

Please keep in mind, the 10,000 points are only one of several benefits in the offer. There are still the Bonus Weeks, at much less than the previous offer if you travel within 6 months notice. The points are just an added benefit. There are also week extensions and reinstatement of expired weeks.

Thanks,
Mark @SFX
Member Communications

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

I am not planning on depositing anything in the near future, but would prefer the old system myself. Having experience with ICE and not necessarly Diamond Rewards membership, the points system is giving you discounts on inflated prices so there there is no real value. They quote a before price, and an after price but the price with discount is always more. I have done numerous comparisons on cruises and resorts and their prices after taking off the points value, still leave them more expensive then retail. Anytime where there would be actual value say on prime time weeks you cannot use them.

Gandalf - Thank you for your post and sharing your thoughts with us. Why don't we put this to the "Test"?

Why don't you select 3 different quality level cruises.

1. Lower-end
2. Mid-range
3. Higher-end

We would like you to post the name of the Cruise Line, Ship, Itinerary, Cabin type, sailing date and PRICE. Then lets do a price comparison, and we will see what kind of savings we can offer.

We look forward to your participation in this Price Comparison.

Thanks,
Mark @SFX
Member Communications

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

Just updating you on how interval works.

I may have misunderstood what you were saying..... It implies that you can only upgrade to a larger unit within a 59 day window (for an exchange). Again, our Platinum Members also can upgrade unit size for an exchange at any time for Free. I was under the impression that I.I. had trading rules for unit sizes eg. like for like (more than 59 days in advance). Maybe they have changed those rules? Do they charge you a fee for upgrading to a larger unit for an exchange?

No there is never a fee to upgrade in size and as I indicated a one size upgrade (one bedroom to two bedroom or studio to one bedroom) is almost always available for instant exchanges (not ongoing request) 59 days to 1 year+ before check in as long as you are trading like for like in other aspects- resort quality and season. If you are trading down a season a 2 bedroom upgrade is possible at anytime. I realize you don't get low season deposits but you do get low season weeks from somewhere because I have seen them on the sell off list and available for exchanges online. For example as I mentioned I recently traded a studio for a 2 bedroom resort over Memorial Day 4 months prior. I could exchange a studio for a 2 bedroom Ocean front resort in Hilton Head Nov-Jan of 2014 right now. These are both 2 size upgrades. At 59 days or less you can exchange 2 sizes or more up if available and up trade your season at the same time. So an off season studio can exchange into a 2 bedroom prime season but only if it becomes available during the flextime. The like for like applies to requests. You can't request a 2 bedroom unit if you are exchanging a 1 bedroom unit but if you request a resort that only has 2 bedroom units you could get matched. If you deposit a one bedroom unit and put in a request and a two bedroom deposit is made and you are next in line to receive the unit you will be matched (usually not if you are trying to trade up size and season) in all of these cases there is no additional fee to upgrade in size. It seams like it is mainly the independent exchange companies that charge extra for upgrading in size.

.............Also I would like to see something like II's flexchange where at 59 days or less size upgrades fees are no longer applicable on the original deposit. I can use a studio with Interval to exchange into a 2 bedroom with interval for just the normal exchange fee $154 at 59 days out. With SFX a one bedroom exchanging into a 2 bedroom one week before check in would require a $399 exchange fee.

Thank you for your suggestion about Gold Members getting free upgrades 59 days or less, however as with all other major exchange companies, those kind of benefits come with a paid subscription. If members do the math, the value of a free upgrade is far greater than the low cost of a membership! You are correct the "published" rate of a one year SFX Platinum Membership is high at $199. However.... the "reality" is that no one buys that membership. Most people buy the 5 year at $399 which averages only $79 per year, or the 3 year at $299 averaging $99 per year.... which makes much more sense than the one year.

These are intervals current pricing without any specials which the periodically have.
one year- $89
two years- $178 ($89 per year)
three years-$227 ($75.70 per year)
five years-$356 ($71.20 per year)
These are the exchange fee pricing
$154 online domestic and international - this includes the up in domestic fees from several months ago but they also eliminated the extra charge for international. You are eligible for the online rates if you set up a search online even if you need to have an agent modify it in some way.
$174 by phone domestic and international.
So as it stands now both your membership fees and your exchange fees are higher and you don't offer any discount when you trade to a resort in your same system.


...........intervals online fee of $159 for regular exchanges. (By phone they charge $174). Our Platinum Exchange fee is only $169 for either Domestic or International, which is an insignificant difference. Internal exchanges amongst your resort group of course are always cheaper, as they should be.

When considering the overall benefits of an exchange company, many owners are attracted to SFX because you can request a Bonus Week up to one year in advance as if it were an exchange week. Not to mention we also extend existing deposits by one year and reinstate an expired week. Other exchange companies do not offer these great benefits.

You have some great exchanges booked and will have a great time. Certainly understand that if you have so many ownership weeks already, then Bonus Weeks really aren't a big deal, as you need to use your owner time first and get your monies worth out of it.

And these benefits might be great if you only owned one or two weeks but I guess I would like to see more benefits for people who don't want to request a bonus week a 3 months to 6 months in advance and pay $699 or 6 months to a year in advance for $999 for a 2 bedroom. I don't want to have to extend a deposit beyond 2 years - I want an exchange because by the time that one expires I could potentially have 18 deposits. So it would just be nice to have a different incentive or the pick from among the choices so members who don't need the bonus weeks can benefit.

Again, thanks for you feedback and points of view, they are appreciated! Happy vacationing...

Thanks,
Mark @SFX
Member Communications

And really I love that you (and other exchange companies) offer alternatives to RCI and interval but I did want to point out ways in which your fees do not seem competitive and how some of the extra services and bonuses you are currently offering may not the needs of all of your members. I also appreciate that you take the time to read and respond to questions and concerns here.

All the best to you and SFX
Sally