Creating a Bluegreen Vacation Club knowledge thread

[BocaBum99]

I was inspired by the Shell Vacation Club knowledge thread and decided it was time to create one for the Bluegreen Vacation Club. Bill asked me to create a Bluegreen Vacation Club overview update since the last one was created when Bluegreen was still RDI. But, after seeing the Shell Vacation Club knowledge thread, I think that this format would be much more useful.

To help me compile it, I'd like your input for what should be included. Please post your questions here and I'll do my best to answer them on this thread and add the question to a general FAQ/Knowledge thread. I'll create the knowledge thread once I get a critical mass of information together.

This should be fun.

 

[rickandcindy23]

This is a good idea, Boca!

My question:

How do you get to preferred status with a resale purchase?

 

[BocaBum99]

This is a good idea, Boca!

My question:

How do you get to preferred status with a resale purchase?

You have to make a purchase from an authorized reseller. Today, the only one is Pinnacle Vacations. I happen to be a referral agent for them. So, send me a private message and I'll show you how to get the best deal.

 

[Cathyb]

Jim: Great idea. Question: What is the procedure to request Shell properties like San Francisco or Hawaii, using Bluegreen? Is it very limited to number of units like Worldmark units open to Wyndham?

 

[BocaBum99]

Jim: Great idea. Question: What is the procedure to request Shell properties like San Francisco or Hawaii, using Bluegreen? Is it very limited to number of units like Worldmark units open to Wyndham?

Select Connections is a joint venture between the Shell Vacation Club and the Bluegreen Vacation Club. Members in both clubs have access to certain resorts and unit types in each Club according to a set of reservation rules. Points can be used for partial week and full week stays using points.

To qualify for Select Connections, a Bluegreen owner must be a member of Traveler Plus after July 1, 2006. You can only become a member of Traveler Plus by making a purchase directly from Bluegreen or a Bluegreen authorized reseller (send me a private message for more details).

Once you are a member of Traveler Plus and you qualify for Select Connections, you contact the Traveler Plus hotline and book any available Shell Vacation Club resort in the program. There are 18 of them (send me a private message if you want to know the 18 resorts).

The reservation rules are as follows:

Full week stays: 8 months or less from check in
Partial week stays: 3 months or less from check in (2-day min, 3-day for Hi).

Only annual or borrowed points can be used for Select Connections reservations. Saved or bonus points cannot.

The standard reservation fee is $49 for standard owners.
Silver owners pay $29
Gold owners pay $19

(The new preferred program will be launched very soon. Rumor has it that platinums will not be charged a booking fee).

 

[Bill4728]

Is anything in the Resort Devlopement article worth keeping or should TUG just delete it?

 

[Aussiedog]

another preferred status question

Hi Jim -

great idea.

If you are already at preferred status and want to move up a notch, can you do it using regular resale purchases?

Ann

 

[Aussiedog]

Another question

Another question Jim -

When making a reservation, how do you go about requesting a specific unit or building?

Ann

 

[OnMedic]

I cannot register (I used to be but inactivity prob. cancelled it out)... how can I access the charts?

Thanks

Steve

 

[lprstn]

What is the minimum amount of BG points you need to deposit with RCI? Does it allow you low amount deposits for bulk location deposits? What are the fees for RCI? MFs at specific resorts? Is there priority booking?

 

[icydog]

Hi Jim,

Since you have gone over this with me, perhaps you can explain it to others (I could use a refresher too). How does the AIM program work? What do you get from being a member of AIM? Which are the best resorts to buy if you want to AIM?

Also, onto other topics...

Which resorts trade the best in RCI? When can you reserve these resorts for trading?

Can you exchange BG in II or only in RCI?

Thanks for starting this thread.

 

[Bill4728]

How do you generate points in Bluegreen?

Do you buy a week ( with a set size and season) at a resort and that week generates XX number of points?

Or do you just buy points at a specific resort or buy points in BG in general?

 

[Hoc]

I think that maybe you are talking about a points-based vacation club, but this is as good a thread as any to ask my question.

How is Bluegreen about being responsive/favorable to the owners? Are its annual fees usually OK, or do they tend to be high?

My resort, Club La Pension, has just had Bluegreen acquire a management interest. Prior management has been good, responsive and flexible to the owners, and maintenance fees have been extremely reasonable to date (around $350-$400 a year). I don't believe that my resort has an HOA, nor a board of owners, so Bluegreen might have Carte Blanche to do what it wants here, with the only limitation being its equitable responsibility to the owners.

So, for you Bluegreen owners, what is the experience like?

 

[BocaBum99]

Is anything in the Resort Devlopement article worth keeping or should TUG just delete it?

Sorry, until Hoc's message, I didn't know that there were posts to this thread. I'll go through and answer as many questions as I can.

I would keep the RDI article in the archives. I remember when I first read it, I found it very intriguing to see how the Bluegreen Vacation Club got its start. It's kind of like reading the first Dikhololo article. That was fascinating reading.

 

[BocaBum99]

Hi Jim -

great idea.

If you are already at preferred status and want to move up a notch, can you do it using regular resale purchases?

Ann

You are referring to Bluegreen Premier Program. Prior to July 1, 2008, it was called the Preferred Program. On July 1, 2008, Bluegreen announced the new Premier Program that superceded the old preferred program. It has a bunch more features in it.

The Premier program has 4 levels in it. Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. If anyone wants a copy of the feature set, send me a PM and I'll email you a copy.

To get to one of these levels, you need to make a purchase directly from a Bluegreen Resort or sales center or an authorized reseller. So, in Bluegreen, you can get these Premier benefits resale as long as you purchase it from an authorized reseller.

 

[BocaBum99]

Another question Jim -

When making a reservation, how do you go about requesting a specific unit or building?

Ann

The way the Bluegreen reservation system works is that a specific unit is assigned to you at time of reservation. Bluegreen will not guarantee that you will get that unit as the resort has the right to move people around. HOwever, it rarely changes. So, all you need to do is ask the reservationist for the available units and book one at time of reservation.

 

[BocaBum99]

I cannot register (I used to be but inactivity prob. cancelled it out)... how can I access the charts?

Thanks

Steve

Send me an email and I'll email you a copy.

 

[BocaBum99]

What is the minimum amount of BG points you need to deposit with RCI? Does it allow you low amount deposits for bulk location deposits? What are the fees for RCI? MFs at specific resorts? Is there priority booking?

In Bluegreen, you book a reservation and deposit it with RCI or any other exchange company. So, you can book prime weeks and deposit them.

The smallest deposit is 2000 or 3000 points in a studio in white or red season.

Exchange fees are the same. $164 for domestic and $199 for international exchanges.

MFs vary by the trust they are deeded in. There are 5 trusts and the formula are very confusing. If you have a specific question about a specific resort, let me know and I'll be more specific. In general, Bluegreen has pretty low maintenance fees especially if you own a lot of points.

Yes, there are two types of priority. One is for the underlying fixed week you own. All Bluegreen points as based on the underlying fixed week of your ownership. You can book that week exclusively from 12 months to 11 months in advance of check in. Other than that, Premier owners get waitlist privileges. Bronze can get on at 12 months, Silver and 13 months, Gold at 14 months and Platinum at 15 months in advance of check in.

 

[BocaBum99]

Hi Jim,

Since you have gone over this with me, perhaps you can explain it to others (I could use a refresher too). How does the AIM program work? What do you get from being a member of AIM? Which are the best resorts to buy if you want to AIM?

Also, onto other topics...

Which resorts trade the best in RCI? When can you reserve these resorts for trading?

Can you exchange BG in II or only in RCI?

Thanks for starting this thread.

Marylyn,

The AIM program is Bluegreen's Points for Deposit program. Up to the limit of how many qualifying points you own, you can AIM in weeks and convert them into Bluegreen Points. You can only deposit red weeks 12 months or more from check in. The cost is $49. See me for a table of how many points you get for AIM.

The best resorts to AIM are 3 br units, redweeks and how low maintenanc fees. I've done it and it works great. The AIM points are good for one year from when they are granted.

I have had really good luck trading Christmas Mountain Village and Big Cedar with RCI. Others can give you more info as I don't use RCI much myself.

In Bluegreen, if the individual resort has an affiliation with Bluegreen, you can book a week there and deposit it as always. There are some limitiations that Bluegreen places on resorts that you can bank. For instance, Bluegreen will not allow you to book a Fox Run unit and deposit it with II. You can however deposit Lodge Alley Inn or Christmas Mountain Village.

 

[BocaBum99]

How do you generate points in Bluegreen?

Do you buy a week ( with a set size and season) at a resort and that week generates XX number of points?

Or do you just buy points at a specific resort or buy points in BG in general?

All Bluegreen Vacation Club points (outside of specific programs like AIM and customer service or anniversary points) are based on a deeded week and unit number at one of the Bluegreen Resorts. This is to ensure that there is always a unit to book for every owner if owners decide to use all points in a given year.

So, all you've got to do is figure out the underlying deeded week and unit number for a resort week and you can tell how many points the package is worth. It's identical.

To get points, you buy a points package that is deeded at a resort and worth X number of points annually or biannually.

 

[BocaBum99]

I think that maybe you are talking about a points-based vacation club, but this is as good a thread as any to ask my question.

How is Bluegreen about being responsive/favorable to the owners? Are its annual fees usually OK, or do they tend to be high?

My resort, Club La Pension, has just had Bluegreen acquire a management interest. Prior management has been good, responsive and flexible to the owners, and maintenance fees have been extremely reasonable to date (around $350-$400 a year). I don't believe that my resort has an HOA, nor a board of owners, so Bluegreen might have Carte Blanche to do what it wants here, with the only limitation being its equitable responsibility to the owners.

So, for you Bluegreen owners, what is the experience like?

I can state unequivocally that Bluegreen is one of the most owner friendly timeshare companies that I know. I say that based on the experience of calling them almost every day for 3 years. Whenever Bluegreen releases a new policy, they really do a good job at balancing the needs of the owners with the needs of the developer. Sometimes they take things away. Other times they give things back.

Bluegreen is fantastic at renovating resorts. I was very impressed at the several hotel conversion that they did.

You should talk to Pono Kai owners who have told me that Bluegreen has done an excellent job at taking over management of the resort.

Maintenance fees of $350-400/year seems to be extraordinarily low. I doubt that anything other than a mom and pop shop could keep them that low. I would expect them to rise from that level.

 

[Hoc]

Maintenance fees of $350-400/year seems to be extraordinarily low. I doubt that anything other than a mom and pop shop could keep them that low. I would expect them to rise from that level.

That kind of sucks. I own 4 timeshares in New Orleans, and they are all around that level for annual fees. Also, with my Club La Pension, my annual fees for my 2-br. are the same as my fees for my 1-br. In general, I like owning in NOLA because you get some of the best bang for your buck in maintenance fees there. I guess that, now that Bluegreen has taken over, that will no longer be true for my 2 Club La Pension timeshares. Oh, well. At least I am glad that they are owner friendly.

 

[Htoo0]

Just returned from a B/G presentation in Aruba. M/F's were quoted at $950.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Just returned from a B/G presentation in Aruba. M/F's were quoted at $950.

For how many points? What resort does Bluegreen have in Aruba, and is it really nice?

Boca, so does Bluegreen do management of resorts, or do they just buy resorts and then sell points to current owners (like Festiva)? In other words, are they available as a management company only? Is that how they started, or did they start some other way.

I have been thinking about Bluegreen for such a long time. I need to just jump in.

 

[Htoo0]

I'm sure Boca knows more than I do. However, it was 20K points for 26K. (or as was mentioned in another thread, $1.30 per point)There were many 'extras' included for the first year but seems after that you would be paying even more for a club membership and other fees depending upon how you used those points. It was the "La Cabana Beach and Racquet Club" and seemed very nice. We were told they purchased and are refurbishing it. However, it was not oceanfront and even oceanview would be a stretch IMHO. (No other resorts in the way but you're on the other side of a road, a courtyard, and some one story buildings on the property.) Don't think they claim anything different but we've become spoiled and like being closer. We didn't 'push' for their best deal either. I'm not making any judgments here, just sharing what we learned at the presentation.