Wyndham vs. Bluegreen

For those who own both, or for those that know anything about both, what advantages does Bluegreen have over Wyndham? Which system do you like better? Which seems to have the cheaper fees?

TIA

ace2000 said:

For those who own both, or for those that know anything about both, what advantages does Bluegreen have over Wyndham? Which system do you like better? Which seems to have the cheaper fees?

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This is something like comparing apples to oranges, no?

Isn't BlueGreen only a "points based" system, in several different "trusts"? I know that BlueGreen also manages some timeshare properties as well. We used to own a fixed week at one such BlueGreen-managed place in FL, but we never had (...and never wanted) any actual involvement or association with the BlueGreen points system.

Wyndham has both deeded fixed unit / week ownerships and points contracts in their system, as well as a "hybrid" between the two (i.e., converted fixed weeks).
We owned just such a "hybrid" Wyndham week, but dumped it. We used both the underlying deeded week itself or the associated 183k points at one time or another.

There is of course no correlation whatsoever between the two systems' entirely different points "currencies".

In either instance, maintenance fees are determined by the underlying individual property and not by the overarching "system", no? Accordingly, I'm inclined to believe that the very broad question of 'which system has cheaper fees?' cannot be easily or accurately answered without actual identification of specific properties.

Like any other currency of the world -- it depends on WHERE you want to vacation and the level of cost to stay. In my opinion.

Only own within the Wyndham & Shell & VRI resort families ... Yee, own DVC, too --- forgot that one (small points package). Those systems are different - fixed deeded weeks, points, and converted fixed weeks (VRI and Wyndham).

And I definitely use them in very different ways and locations, for different reasons. Now, if I relocate from East Coast to West Coast, I will be altering my ownerships GREATLY. If I stop travelling to the lower east coast of Florida, I would dump a good bit of my ownership. If my status level changed with Wyndham or Wyndham increased its MF structure, I would change a good bit of that ownership structure (not totally leaving it).

Very personal and tailored to my interests ...

I own Wyndham and Worldmark and like them both. I dont know anything about Bluegreen except that I own a fixed week at a Bluegreen resort, and its a really nice, well managed property

Folks that I know that own Bluegreen like it a lot

I think the differenc would come down to the resorts. I wanted Washington so there was really only one choice, Wyndham. Take a look at the resorts and then decide.

I own both. All Bluegreen points are in a trust. I own a small points contract and 2 fixed weeks.

Bluegreen points MFs are calculated similar to Wyndham's CWA... based on the trust fund... and there are a few trust funds. Mixing trust funds is not a good idea because some have a base fee. And if you have multiple contracts in the same trust, there's only one base fee. There is also an annual fee (currently $129) that's paid separately.

Where Wyndham's program fee is calculated based on number of points owned, Bluegreen's fee is fixed per trust fund (base fee). I pay way too much in program fees with Wyndham.... too many points.

Bluegreen doesn't have as many locations as Wyndham... at least not where I tend to travel. One key difference is bonus time. Bluegreen allows you to pay cash for nightly stays within (I think) 45 days. If you buy resale, which I did, bonus time is only allowed where your points are deeded, so if you're interested in bonus time, buy points for that resort. I don't think Bluegreen discounts points at any time.

Also in order to borrow future years you need to pay MFs for that future year... Oh and Bluegreen MFs are paid yearly, not monthly.

Personally I like Wyndham better... Possibly because I've owned Wyndham over 15 years, so I'm more familiar and I have lots more points.

Also Bluegreen has recently made a few changes that have many owners enraged. One change is a limit to how many reservations you can have at one time per region. This was implemented before owners were notified. Some owners received letters to get under 10 reservations by October or they will start cancelling some.

My understanding is if you buy bluegreen resale there are a lot of restrictions. You really need to know about these before you even think of buying bluegreen.

Wyndham is more straight forward but since I own a deed based Shell by Wyndham I can't say anymore about Wyn

Good Luck

Bill4728 said:

My understanding is if you buy bluegreen resale there are a lot of restrictions. You really need to know about these before you even think of buying bluegreen.

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The research I've done so far has not shown this to be true. The only restriction I've seen so far is that the resale buyers can only get bonus time in the resort where they own and not system wide.

If there are others please enlighten me so I can stop looking for points now.

There are other advantages to buying retail from BG, to gain some of the status levels, but nothing I've seen worth that kind of serious money.

I think it comes down to resort location. Where I'd like to vaca more, Michigan, W doesn't have a presence and BG does. There are also a couple more BG resorts in driving distance. Short stays w/o paying HK fees is also nice. And did I mention no transaction fees with BG.

I own both point systems and both have their pluses and minuses. Note: the comparison below are based off resale points.

What differs are the following:

Reservations: Wyndham gives you 1 reservation transaction per 77,000 points, but you can make as many reservations in that same day. Bluegreen - unlimited. (right now - max of 10 due to new policies just release - cannot have more than 10 reservations at one time)

Housekeeping: Wyndham gives you the same amount of housekeeping credits for the amount of points you own. If you own 210,000 points, you would get 210 housekeeping credits. Bluegreen - unlimited - no housekeeping fees. Wyndham housekeeping credits would matter if you book multiple smaller vacations in a year - using your housekeeping credits you can run out of housekeeping credits before you run out of points.

Guest Certificate fees: Wyndham gives you 1 per year. Any additional is $99. Bluegreen is no charge when added on to reservation. To change it later on is $50.

Cancellation Policy: Wyndham is free if reservation is at least 15 days out. Bluegreen is $50 if you cancel online. Period. You can get your points back if at least 10 days out. The good about Bluegreen is that you can book at a reduced rate cash cost 45 days (Bonus Time) out based off size of units at your home resort if you buy resale if available. $79 per night plus taxes for a two bedroom. $69 per night plus taxes for a one bedroom. $89 per night plus for a three bedroom.

RCI Account: Both are included in your club fee. Wyndham you need to deposit your points and use a reservation transaction credit. Bluegreen - you reserve the week that you want through RCI or have an OGS and once confirmed, the points are then deducted from your account.

Maintenance Fees: Wyndham depends on the home resort and their fees. Bluegreen depends on Trust Fund. Trust Fund E is less expensive if you own more than 12,000 points per year.

Points at End of Year: Wyndham points - you would have to deposit into RCI and use a reservation transaction. You can avoid this if you pool your points before your next year for a fee. Bluegreen you can save your points until end of next year for a fee (but cannot use during High Red time) or convert to Choice Privileges points for a fee and use at Choice Hotels - which you have to use in 3 years. If you saved your points and cannot use them you can still used them for RCI exchanges 6 months out.

Overall for shorter stays, I prefer Bluegreen. For example I have confirmed week at a Marriott Vacation Club property and due to airfare I will need a room the night before. I booked a Bluegreen property for two nights and overlapped 1 night. My cost for a two bedroom in maintenance fees is $95 for both nights.

I have owned Bluegreen Points, but not Wyndham. I have stayed at numerous resorts from both systems, and have just purchased an EOY Fixed week unit (i.e. non points) at a Bluegreen managed resort (very cheap mf's for this unit which I will use for trading with one of the independents).

I have chosen not to buy into the Wyndham system for all of the reasons mentioned - primarily non-stop nickel and dime fees, and the fact that I have been able to rent from mega point owners at cheaper than maintenance fees. I could not, however, do so for a high season reservation, so if I wanted a recurring prime season reservation at a particular Wyndham resort, I would have little choice but to buy..

I liked the Bluegreen bonus time availability, and generally the resorts were pretty good, though they did not measure up to Wyndham quality. That all said, I no longer own Bluegreen points primarily because the resorts are not where I want to vacation.

My BFF and I exchange usage of resorts (she owns Bluegreen) and I own Wyndham, we both agree that we prefer the Wyndham properties 'look and feel' over Blue Green.

Although, BlueGreen is differen the Wyndhams we've stayed at seem upperscale?

There are three main locations that we travel to almost every year. There is at least one Wyndham and a Bluegreen resort at each location. I was mostly concerned about fees such as guest fees, housekeeping fees, etc.

There's a lot of good information here. Thanks for the replies everyone!

I've been watching some Bluegreen ebay timeshares lately and I'm wondering if someone can compare these two items. They are both for Big Cedar.

I see that the 5K has an underlying summer week and the 25K is in spring, but why would anyone want a 5K contract for that price and those fees?

25K points (MFs are $1587) sold for $622

http://www.ebay.com/itm/191337027122?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT


5K points (MFs are $581) sold for $455

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181523979312?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

ace2000 said:

I've been watching some Bluegreen ebay timeshares lately and I'm wondering if someone can compare these two items. They are both for Big Cedar.

I see that the 5K has an underlying summer week and the 25K is in spring, but why would anyone want a 5K contract for that price and those fees?

25K points (MFs are $1587) sold for $622

http://www.ebay.com/itm/191337027122?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT


5K points (MFs are $581) sold for $455

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181523979312?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

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Perhaps for the peace of mind of being guaranteed a summer week without having to fight it out with all of the other BG owners?

scootr5 said:

Perhaps for the peace of mind of being guaranteed a summer week without having to fight it out with all of the other BG owners?

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Thanks. I thought about that. 5K is just a few days. Also, I've seen other 5K contracts go for similar pricing in the past few months. I thought maybe it was a cheap way to get bonus time included as extra value?

This summer 5K went for $732 recently.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluegreen-B...81502560201?pt=Timeshares&hash=item2a426547c9

Lots of good info in several of the replies...they'd make for good "stickies"!

ace2000 said:

Thanks. I thought about that. 5K is just a few days. Also, I've seen other 5K contracts go for similar pricing in the past few months. I thought maybe it was a cheap way to get bonus time included as extra value?

This summer 5K went for $732 recently.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluegreen-B...81502560201?pt=Timeshares&hash=item2a426547c9

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5K would actually be a full week in a studio, but more importantly you get to book that underlying week and unit without competition from other owners.

scootr5 said:

5K would actually be a full week in a studio, but more importantly you get to book that underlying week and unit without competition from other owners.

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Ok, I see. So, being able to book that underlying studio week is probably the main selling point then. The MFs per point for the 25K contract are substantially less, but wouldn't have the guaranteed booking for that week. Interesting.

I didn't consider using a studio since we would need at least a 2BR. The studios at Big Cedar are pretty nice though.

Edit: Being from the Wyndham side, I also didn't consider that it would be that difficult to book a Big Cedar summer week. I realize it's hard to get, but I figured if I tried early enough I'd get something in the summer. Maybe not. I've seen some posts on TUG expressing how difficult the summer timeframe, but I have always been successful when I've tried to exchange there in the past - including summer.

Would a Bluegreen owner (that does not own a Big Cedar) be willing to do us (non-owners) a huge favor and give us a report on the current availability for June or July at Big Cedar? I'm very curious about that.

Nothing at Big Cedar.. Only Falls Village availability.

FreeIn2010 said:

Nothing at Big Cedar.. Only Falls Village availability.

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Thank you! Is that for all of June and July?

Yes. I even checked for just 2 days