# Come see our Bonnet Creek 4 BD presidential unit this week



## ronandjoan (Jan 4, 2011)

Hello to all TUGGERS in Central Florida or visitors to Orlando.

We have a 4 BD Presidential Reserve unit for Wed and Thursday nights this week and would love to have TUGGERS come by...we'll have an Open House for all!  Either or both days!

You'll need to call me to find out the room # and then I'll call the front gate to let you in. 937-626-0672

We're hoping to meet TUGGERS at the Golden Corral Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. for a late lunch/early dinner.  It worked out great last year - some of us were there until 7:30!

Golden Corrral 
8707 Vineland Ave
Orlando


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## Cdn Gal (Jan 4, 2011)

I really, really wish we were there, but we are in the middle of a snowstorm right now!  Could you post some updated pictures?  Hope you have lots of Tugers stop by for a visit!


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## ronandjoan (Jan 6, 2011)

*Photos*

Here are the photos of this unit . anyone see any differences between this Presi Reserve UNit and a regular Presidential?

http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=5780489009/a=22435551_22435551/


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## AwayWeGo (Jan 6, 2011)

*Fabulous Unit, Great Views, Wonderful Company (Ron & Joan -- Not Wyndham).*

The place is fab for sure -- ultra-big & ultra-luxurious.  Ultra-everything. 

 The Chief Of Staff & I had a great time seeing the 4BR-4BA palatial suite & visiting with Ron & Joan & friends. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Happytravels (Jan 9, 2011)

Thanks so much for the fabulous pictures..........WOW WHAT A PLACE... have to check it out sometime....are they offering tours???  What are the incentives?


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## andersonhelp (Jan 9, 2011)

*Booking Question...*

Hi,
I'm new to TUG...what a great information site Quick question.  My parents just bought into the VIP Gold Status with Wyndham and have 500,000 points.  Can we book a 4 br Presidental suite with what they have or do they need to be a part of the Club Wyndham Presidential Reserve Program???  Thanks


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## learnalot (Jan 9, 2011)

andersonhelp said:


> Hi,
> I'm new to TUG...what a great information site Quick question.  My parents just bought into the VIP Gold Status with Wyndham and have 500,000 points.  Can we book a 4 br Presidental suite with what they have or do they need to be a part of the Club Wyndham Presidential Reserve Program???  Thanks



They can book the Presidential Suites, but they're rather hard to come by as they are often booked during the Advance Reservation Period with people who own at Bonnet Creek.  (Owners can book 13 months out wherever they own.  10 months out everyone can book anywhere in the system).  Bonnet Creek has always had Presidential Suites, even before Wyndham ever started the Presidential Reserve Program.  Some of the Presidential suites are held back (in reserve) for Presidential Reserve members to book and then released for others to book if they haven't been booked by PR members.


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## andersonhelp (Jan 9, 2011)

*Thanks...*



learnalot said:


> They can book the Presidential Suites, but they're rather hard to come by as they are often booked during the Advance Reservation Period with people who own at Bonnet Creek.  (Owners can book 13 months out wherever they own.  10 months out everyone can book anywhere in the system).  Bonnet Creek has always had Presidential Suites, even before Wyndham ever started the Presidential Reserve Program.  Some of the Presidential suites are held back (in reserve) for Presidential Reserve members to book and then released for others to book if they haven't been booked by PR members.



We just got done with a stay at Star Island resort in Orlando and my parents went to the "meeting" with the Wyndham people and convinced them to upgrade to Gold VIP status for $$$...They did, but have 10 days to cancel so I am working as hard as I can to help them out.  Sure am glad I found this site and very helping people like yourself Ebay sounds like the way to go and just buy resale for $1 instead of $Thousands$


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## learnalot (Jan 9, 2011)

andersonhelp said:


> We just got done with a stay at Star Island resort in Orlando and my parents went to the "meeting" with the Wyndham people and convinced them to upgrade to Gold VIP status for $$$...They did, but have 10 days to cancel so I am working as hard as I can to help them out.  Sure am glad I found this site and very helping people like yourself Ebay sounds like the way to go and just buy resale for $1 instead of $Thousands$



I would definitely recommend they go resale.  VIP benefits are not guaranteed.  Those of us who have them try to get the best value we can from them, but still we know that we paid too much to get them.  Your parents are fortunate to have you doing some homework for them!


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## siesta (Jan 9, 2011)

andersonhelp said:


> We just got done with a stay at Star Island resort in Orlando and my parents went to the "meeting" with the Wyndham people and convinced them to upgrade to Gold VIP status for $$$...They did, but have 10 days to cancel so I am working as hard as I can to help them out.  Sure am glad I found this site and very helping people like yourself Ebay sounds like the way to go and just buy resale for $1 instead of $Thousands$


you definitely have the right idea, help them rescind and purchase as many points as they want on ebay for $1 and free closing.  Be sure to reinforce the notion that VIP benefits/upgrades are not worth the thousands they had to pay for it, and more importantly they are marketing ploys that can change at any time.


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## sjuhawk_jd (Jan 9, 2011)

andersonhelp said:


> We just got done with a stay at Star Island resort in Orlando and my parents went to the "meeting" with the Wyndham people and convinced them to upgrade to Gold VIP status for $$$...They did, but have 10 days to cancel so I am working as hard as I can to help them out.  Sure am glad I found this site and very helping people like yourself Ebay sounds like the way to go and just buy resale for $1 instead of $Thousands$



Drive or fly to meet your parents and make sure they fill out the papers properly to cancel (rescind) this deal! Follow all the directions for cancellation. Wyndham points and statuses are worthless, their resorts are not bad, I own 500K points purchased for fee.


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## andersonhelp (Jan 9, 2011)

If you buy points from ebay can you stay at any of the locations as if you are a VIP member?  (Or do you only have CLUBWYNDHAM Access status and are limited to the 28 resorts on page 385 of the Club Wyndham Plus Member's Directory 2009-2010 book)


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## learnalot (Jan 9, 2011)

andersonhelp said:


> If you buy points from ebay can you stay at any of the locations as if you are a VIP member?  (Or do you only have CLUBWYNDHAM Access status and are limited to the 28 resorts on page 385 of the Club Wyndham Plus Member's Directory 2009-2010 book)



As long as what you buy are points rather than a fixed week (rare - these were the original weeks sold.  They've been selling points for 10 or 15 years at least), points are points and you can use them anywhere.  (Club WyndhamAccess is basically the same, but instead of having ARP at one home resort, your ARP is at the ClubWyndham Access resorts.  However, the CWA inventory is somewhat limited, so it's not like there is tremendous ARP availability for CWA at those resorts).  Other than the question of whether people would have enough points to stay somewhere, VIP's can't stay anywhere that any owner couldn't stay.


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## Cheryl20772 (Jan 9, 2011)

andersonhelp said:


> We just got done with a stay at Star Island resort in Orlando and my parents went to the "meeting" with the Wyndham people and convinced them to upgrade to Gold VIP status for $$$...They did, but have 10 days to cancel so I am working as hard as I can to help them out.  Sure am glad I found this site and very helping people like yourself Ebay sounds like the way to go and just buy resale for $1 instead of $Thousands$



I would also ask them if they really want or need any more points?  It's very possible they have as many as they really want and fell victim to some "exaggerations" made by the salesperson about how they can rent out any additional points they have bought to recover their maintenance fees.

We are regular VIP and have had repeated sales "meetings" where they offered us more points for us to turn around and rent out and get back the money for the fees.  This is just a sales lie and doesn't work like they say.  We know that we have as many points now that we will ever need for our vacations.


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## Cheryl20772 (Jan 9, 2011)

andersonhelp said:


> If you buy points from ebay can you stay at any of the locations as if you are a VIP member?  (Or do you only have CLUBWYNDHAM Access status and are limited to the 28 resorts on page 385 of the Club Wyndham Plus Member's Directory 2009-2010 book)


Yes, points purchased resale on eBay or other places can be used at any of the resorts in the directory that their VIP points take them.  The only difference is those resale points can't be used for VIP privileges such as points discount, unlimited housekeeping credits or free upgrades.


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## ronandjoan (Jan 10, 2011)

andersonhelp said:


> We just got done with a stay at Star Island resort in Orlando and my parents went to the "meeting" with the Wyndham people and convinced them to upgrade to Gold VIP status for $$$...They did, but have 10 days to cancel so I am working as hard as I can to help them out.  Sure am glad I found this site and very helping people like yourself Ebay sounds like the way to go and just buy resale for $1 instead of $Thousands$



To Andersons

Yes, take everyone’s advice and get your parents to rescind immediately.  And, maybe don’t wait 10 days.  We were allowed  only 5 when we rescinded.  And be sure to send the paperwork certified mail!

That said, yes in answer to your first question:  anyone can reserve a Presidential unit, if it is available with 500,000 points – I think it takes even fewer, like about 300,000….depends on where and when you stay….points are points are points no matter where you got them,  When you (or they) buy resale, just make sure it says they are points in the Club Wyndham….and it ‘s easy. ( BTW, one eBay seller at least offers them for $1 with no closing costs.   We just added to our list of contracts with another free! one.)

And that said, you can get Presidential units at times when places are not so busy….e.g. this week!  We have never stayed in a Presidential unit before and we have visited approx 30 of the Wyndham resorts, and several many times.  We only stayed this time since it came up last minute for a couple of days midweek, (weekdays are cheaper than weekends – so stay maybe 5 days, Sunday through Thursday?)  And I wondered, also, if maybe because there are not too many Presidential Reserve members out there yet, there were not enough to fill up that Building 6 at Bonnet Creek which was supposed to be just for PR members!  

Last year, we went to the sales presentation, and they were trying to sell us the PR program, saying, You will NEVER NEVER EVER get to stay in Tower 6 unless you are PR!  They said it several times.  Sounds like a threat, doesn’t it?

And here we were in Tower 6!

But, since we are not PR and were actually just “regular” guests, we did not get the nicer creams and the robe.  Nor did we get the card to get into the PR Lounge, which again the salesperson last year RAVED about!  We met the lady across the hall and she took us there one evening and we were all disappointed, including her!  No treats, no staff person to wait on our every need --- as the salesman had said – nothing especially spectacular about the lounge itself, either…..so???

That said, (hey! I am saying this a lot, usually I don’t), we decided, and our friends too, that the extra point cost of staying in a Presidential unit was probably not worth it.  The regular Bonnet Creek rooms are nice enough for us – and that resort continues to be outstanding.  And, a friend went to Cypress Palms from there last weekend and reported back that they have upgraded with granite counters, etc.  We like Cypress Palms, too and it takes fewer points to stay in. 

But if you want to try a Presidential unit, look for a resort that lists Presidential units available, and a time that is not so busy and see what’s available.  For example, RIGHT NOW, Ocean Blvd in Myrtle Beach has a 2 BD for 189,000 for a week, a 3 BD Presidential available for 260,000 and a 4 BD for 325,000.  That’s because  it is VALUE TIME there – it’s cooler temps, but not impossible.  Some people like to go there off-season since it is not so busy – and they still have nice indoor pools.  So that is available NOW!

Oh, even better, mid-December is VALUE time – even cheaper!  You’ll have to wait 10 months out to book – and then do it first thing in the morning….to the day!  - if you are interested.

Grand Desert has 2,3, and 4 BD Presidentials available to book now for the end of October for fewer points than Ocean Bvd, 

Bonnet Creek – yes, everyone wants to talk about there!  Right now, you can book 1,2,3, and 4 BD Presidential Reserve rooms for the last week of October – and more, too, I am sure, I was just checking to see if a Presidential Reserve could actually be booked.

For those 2 days this week, it was great.  It actually felt like a vacation, like our friends said.  We are staying 5 weeks at the Townhouses at St Augustine Beach and Tennis Club, one of our favorite timeshares, ocean right here, indoor pool, quiet, nice town, so we are already totally “spoiled”.  But it was a nice break to go to Bonnet Creek for a few days  

However, we are too “cheap” or is the word “”frugal” to use all those points for a Presidential unit in the future, unless, again, it is something very special!

But, go for it!  Buy resale and use those cheap points for a luxury vacation!


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## andersonhelp (Jan 11, 2011)

*Thanks everyone!!!*

Wow, thanks for all the great replies I have some great news for everyone on this thread, I did talk my parents into recending:whoopie: They sent the letter off today and their 10 day period goes till Thursday, so they acted pretty quick once I started sending them information.  They both feel pretty bad and beat up about it and how they just hooked them.  But they have both already realized that they just dodged a huge bullet and saved a TON OF $$$...

They now revert back to their old contract which is Club Wyndham Access and have 250,000 points.  I told them they can do a lot of vacations in a years time as long as they use their points right.  Rent during non-prime weeks, don't always rent a whole week, and do stays in the middle of the week when the points are cheaper.  I'd figure they could probably go on at least 3 good vacations a year if they are smart about it.

The one reason they wanted to be Gold VIP is mainly because of the 500,000 points they would of had.  They wanted to take us kids on vacation every year for a week each time.  In order to do that we need a 4 bedroom and you need a ton of points to do this or two 2 bedroom rooms.  In order to do that at star island in Orlando it would take 126,000 x 2 just to stay for 1 week so that takes up 252,000 points.

I am very interested in the ebay resale, but I don't like the look of the MF's  They seem to add up very fast and am wondering if it would just be easier to rent a place for cash for a week rather paying MF's for years.  Plus if they did purchase resale they can not transfer those 500,000 points into their 250,000 point pool because apparently Wyndham has put a stop to this, which obviously works in their favor because resale is dirt cheap...

Let me know what you guys think about the MF's and how to get the absolute most with your points and really making this system work for you.  

Thanks for your input Joan and everybody else on this thread, I'll relay the message to my parents.  I already told them this website and encouraged my Dad to study this site for HOURS like I have in the past few days


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## kanerf (Jan 11, 2011)

There is no difference between retail and resale points.  Both can be pooled.  The only difference is the use year, which may not match.  You can look specifically for a use year that matches your current retail points, if that is important to you.  Points from retail and resale can be combined to make a single reservation as well.  As the saying goes, points are points.


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## andersonhelp (Jan 13, 2011)

So If I bought another contract on ebay for 500,000 points and I already have a contract for 250,000 points I can combine those together to make a 750,000 resorvation???  I thought you couldn't swap points between contracts?


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## learnalot (Jan 13, 2011)

andersonhelp said:


> So If I bought another contract on ebay for 500,000 points and I already have a contract for 250,000 points I can combine those together to make a 750,000 resorvation???  I thought you couldn't swap points between contracts?



The only time you will run into issues combining points are trying to make an ARP reservation (13 months - 10months,1 day in advance).  Since ARP is resort specific (or club specific in the case of Club Wyndham Access), you can only use the amount of points you own where you are trying to ARP for an ARP reservation.  Did that make sense?  For example, if I own 150K at Daytona and 150K at Bonnet Creek, I can't combine them to make a 300K ARP reservation at Bonnet Creek (or anywhere else).  The only ARP reservations I could make would be 150K or less at Daytona and the same at Bonnet Creek.  

The other potential issue would be if you have different use years and the points you were trying to use didn't overlap for the reservation you were trying to make.  (Most contracts are Jan 1 - Dec 31 so this isn't often an issue, but something to check).


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## andersonhelp (Jan 13, 2011)

learnalot said:


> The only time you will run into issues combining points are trying to make an ARP reservation (13 months - 10months,1 day in advance).  Since ARP is resort specific (or club specific in the case of Club Wyndham Access), you can only use the amount of points you own where you are trying to ARP for an ARP reservation.  Did that make sense?  For example, if I own 150K at Daytona and 150K at Bonnet Creek, I can't combine them to make a 300K ARP reservation at Bonnet Creek (or anywhere else).  The only ARP reservations I could make would be 150K or less at Daytona and the same at Bonnet Creek.
> 
> The other potential issue would be if you have different use years and the points you were trying to use didn't overlap for the reservation you were trying to make.  (Most contracts are Jan 1 - Dec 31 so this isn't often an issue, but something to check).



Ok thanks.  Makes perfect sense now. Appreciate it


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