# (Point) Fair Share Plus Program?????



## txfirewife (Mar 17, 2009)

Well we fell for the RCI update meeting to find out what Wyndham can do.   It never ceases to amaze me at the things these guys tell you to get a sell.  

While vacationing Spring Break at Pagosa Springs, we were informed that we had an option of converting our deeded week with Silverleaf into Wyndham Fair Share points.  Due to Wyndham "helping" Silverleaf through a financial situation several years ago, they were extending this Fair Share program to the Silverleaf owners who owned during the time of the "bail out".  *What is the catch???? *You *have to purchase Wyndham points* for your deeded week to convert to Wyndham points.  Like fools (but hopefully not) we fell.   For our three bedroom condo with Silverleaf, we receive 254,000 Wyndham points a year and had to purchase 77,000 Wyhdham points, and also we would be classified as VIP owners.  We would rescind our purchase and buy resale points, but have been informed the *Fair Share program is not available on resale points*.  We see the benefit of being Wyndham point owners due to the quality of units that are only available to Wyndham owners.  (We stayed in Eagles Loft units, nice but not as luxurious as the Teal Landing units reserved only for Wyndham point owners)  However, the point value they gave for our unit cheats us out of 5,000 points in the RCI system.   Our unit divides into a 1 bedroom red unit and a 2 bedroom red unit in the RCI system.  Under Wyndham's point system depositing into RCI, 105,000 points equal a 1 bed room red unit and 154,000 points equal a 2 bedroom red unit.  Total Wyndham points in RCI for what we have with Silverleaf is 259,000.  *We value our trading in the RCI system for the availability of units in the world vs. trading in our resort family and limited travel ability.* (The main reason all of us TS owners become RCI members)  The other benefit we see with being Wyndham owners is the waiver of annual fees with RCI, instead of paying the $89 a year for RCI membership.

Has anyone else had this experience?   Are they truthful when they say the Fair Share program is not available on resale points???  We were shown in the Fare Share book where it states *" PIC  Plus program is offered by WVR to persons making a NEW Fair Share  Plus purchase and who own a qualified vacation ownership interval at a resort that is not affiliated with the Fair Share Plus System."*  

Any advise on how this program works or with personal experience on this program would be great!!!


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## craftemp (Mar 17, 2009)

*Fairshare Plus*

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but they were not being truthful.  Anyone with points can use the system.  We pay an annual fee for the access.
What resale points are not good for is VIP privileges - which are not guaranteed and are being taken away bit by bit.  Every year less and less is offered to VIP owners.
If you are still in the "rescind" window, I would do it and buy resale.


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## txfirewife (Mar 17, 2009)

Thanks for the information.  I had a "gut feeling" about it all.  Fortunately we are still within our rescind period.  Of course when I called to speak with our representative or his supervisor regarding questions, they are not available.  Imagine that.  And when I left a message, the guy was like, oh this is about a purchase you made about a month ago.  Ummm no, take another guess, we are still within the rescind period and will drop a letter in the mail box before that date if we don't get a call back.  Words I am sure every sales person HATES to hear.  

Thanks again.  It is nice knowing that resale points will put us in the same place we are with this purchase, minus the VIP status.  VIP is something we can probably live without.

Thanks again!!!


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## vacationhopeful (Mar 17, 2009)

RCI Points does NOT equal Wyndham Points.  Yes, there is a table for the Plus Partners reservations, but my 2bdr/2ba RCI Points unit is NOT 154,000 RCI points (about 1/3 of those points in the RCI system).

Additional, go purchase those Wyndham RESALE Points, get your Wyndham Member number, get your paid-by-Wyndham RCI account and ADD your other resorts and cancel for a refund of your unused old RCI account.

OR buy Wyndham points at an II Resort (Royal Vista, Star Island, Governor's Green -there are other resorts, these are the first that jump to mind) and get an II account instead of RCI -- might have to be more insistant as they will actualy have to pay cash out of the Wyndham Family for that membership.

I would be be careful to buy a UDI resale deed and NOT a converted fixed week to points deed - ARP is only the underlying fixed week.


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## shorts (Mar 17, 2009)

First off, there is no special bail out deal made with Silverleaf. Anyone who purchases directly from Wyndham can *PIC* a week of timeshare they own as long as it is not a points resort and can be deposited into RCI weeks.  It is true that to do so you have to buy from Wyndham.

It is NOT true that resale points cannot be used in Fairshare Plus (now called Club Wyndham Plus). Points are points no matter where you buy them and will work for booking at any of the Wyndham resorts.

Your RCI fee is included in your FSP fees no mattter how you buy your points (or II fee depending on the resort affiliation of the first Wyndham contract you purchase).

What you do not get when purchasing resale is VIP status nor the ability to PIC weeks.  Does this make a developer purchase worthwhile? Not at the price difference between developer and resale.  We are VIP Gold and have 2 weeks PICed because our first purchase was thru Wyndham (unfortuanetly). Would I do it again? *NO WAY!* I could have gotten MANY, MANY, MANY more points buying resale. I will never be able to make up the price difference in VIP benefits.

Please RESCIND immediately and take your time to learn more about the Wyndham program. It's a great system when purchased resale and you learn how to make the most of your points.


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## bnoble (Mar 17, 2009)

Actually this *could* be a decent deal---the PIC conversion plus a minimum purchase might make the very minimal VIP benefits attractive.  The Silverleaf week presumably has very low MFs, and that in turn will give you a very attractive MF/point ratio.

You *can't* convert your silverleaf unit to FSP points without a new purchase, as far as I know.

My advice: rescind, and research it.  You definitely should not keep it right now, because you are confusing Wyndham points with RCI points.  The two are not at all the same.  But, after learning about the program you _might_ decide that going the PIC+purchase route is worth doing.


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## Bill4728 (Mar 17, 2009)

Look, At this time, I can see no reason to buy wyndham direct for any reason at all!!

You have your silverleaf, and thru them you have RCI points, RIGHT?

If you want Wyndham points too, then buy resale wyndham ( Fairshare plus CAN be bought resale!!) and save yourself $10,000 or more. 

The only two things you lose buying Wyndham resale is:
- no VIP for you no matter how many points you have
- resale Wyndham owners get access to RCI weeks only, they don't get access to RCI points. 

Again : RESELL BUYERS OF WYNDHAM DO GET FSP IF THE SELLER HAS FSP!
( beware that many long time wyndham owners bought before FSP and they don't have FSP. So they can't sell you FSP if they aren't FSP owners) 

Hope that helps

PS  FSP IS NOW CALLED  * Club Wyndham Plus*


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## EAM (Mar 17, 2009)

I think that for a hefty fee (over $2K) resale owners may be able to get PlusPartners and access to RCI points.  The fee is waived with a points purchase from Wyndham, and Wyndham could now require a points purchase although they have not done so in the past.  The only thing you lose by buying resale is the potential for VIP benefits or membership in special clubs such as Club Access, Presidential Reserve, etc.

It is also true that you would have to buy from Wyndham to be able to use your Silverleaf as Wyndham points by depositing the Silverleaf week in the PIC system.  There is a small ongoing fee to have the right to deposit it as  PIC week and another fee when you actually exchange the week for points.  If it is enrolled in PIC, you don't have to use it every year for points.  You can still deposit it in RCI.


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## txfirewife (Mar 17, 2009)

vacationhopeful said:


> RCI Points does NOT equal Wyndham Points.  Yes, there is a table for the Plus Partners reservations, but my 2bdr/2ba RCI Points unit is NOT 154,000 RCI points (about 1/3 of those points in the RCI system).



I understand that Wyndham Points are separate from RCI Points and actually *when you deposit Wyndham Points with RCI it turns into weeks not points*. (This is from a conversation I had earlier with an RCI/Wyndham rep telling me how many points I would have to deposit from my Wyndham points into RCI and what it would be equivalent to.) I was referring to the conversion between the Wyndham Points to RCI time.  Confusing to some extent, but I DO understand!!!!  You could potentially use more/less Wyndham points traveling within Wyndham than you could converting to RCI time.  It just depends on the season/availability.  With RCI I have been able to trade a red 1 bd/1ba for a 3bd/2ba due to the availability/season.  From looking at Wyndham points, I could not do the same thing within the Wyndham point family.

My concern is,  was it worth buying what I bought or did I get cheated???  Can I get the same thing I have now buying resale or can I only get it going direct.  I KNOW that the VIP status is the only thing I can get through buying direct!!!  From the way MOST of you make VIP sound, it is not worth the additional $$$ you pay going direct.


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## txfirewife (Mar 17, 2009)

EAM said:


> The only thing you lose by buying resale is the potential for VIP benefits or membership in special clubs such as Club Access, Presidential Reserve, etc.
> 
> It is also true that you would have to buy from Wyndham to be able to use your Silverleaf as Wyndham points by depositing the Silverleaf week in the PIC system.  There is a small ongoing fee to have the right to deposit it as  PIC week and another fee when you actually exchange the week for points.  If it is enrolled in PIC, you don't have to use it every year for points.  You can still deposit it in RCI.




Thanks!!! The special "Presidential Reserve" is one of our biggest concerns.  That would be equivalent to the higher class units, right??  Only thing is do I have too few points to get those units, or does my VIP status automatically get me there??  As far as Club Access, I am still learning what that is.  Does being VIP waive certain fees??? I know within Silverleaf my ownership status does waive certain fees, etc.

I understand that it is my CHOICE to deposit my Silverleaf week into the PIC each year.  Not a REQUIREMENT!!!!


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## donnaval (Mar 17, 2009)

If I understand correctly, you would gain only "regular" VIP status by making this purchase directly from Wyndham, and at that level the VIP benefits are really minimal--unless you do indeed PIC your Silverleaf week and break up your points into short stays at Wyndham resorts.  If you do that, then the free transaction and free housekeeping credits would be important.  BUT, if you tend to travel a week at a time, you would really not get much benefit at all from that level of VIP.

Also, your Silverleaf unit locked-off and deposited into RCI most likely will have better trading power than the generic weeks you can get from Wyndham.  Wyndham trading power has really tanked over the past two years since we are no longer allowed to deposit actual, desirable weeks--Wyndham bulk spacebanks weeks 9 months out, and our trade power is based on that.

So, if you keep your Silverleaf to deposit or use, and plan only to use your 77k Wyndham points with Wyndham, you really aren't getting a lot out of that purchase.  77k won't get you much through Wyndham.  Presidential Reserve--ha ha!  The point levels required for those units might let you reserve one weeknight in an off-season (maybe, I haven't looked into it).  

With 77k you could get two small RCI generic deposits (which they keep saying they will make available to use online but still has not happened), or maybe three 28k deposits if you rent extra points directly from Wyndham (can't rent them from other owners anymore).  But those generic deposits won't trade very well except for last-minute stuff, or big bulk spacebank deposits.  We used to be able to enjoy a Wyndham preference with the small 28k deposits, but in my experience over the past 12 to 18 months, that preference only occurs when you get in on the first day or two of a big Wyndham space bank.

I'd rescind.


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## vacationhopeful (Mar 17, 2009)

Regular VIPs do NOT have free reservation transactions.  That perk starts with being a Gold or higher VIP.

All members get 1 reservation transaction for each 77,000 points for their account at the beginning of their use year.


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## donnaval (Mar 17, 2009)

Ah--that's even worse then!  I am all resale, no VIP.  Any thoughts I had of ever attempting to gain VIP by buying through Wyndham have been wiped away along with the benefits they keep taking away from the VIPs!


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## EAM (Mar 17, 2009)

txfirewife said:


> I understand that Wyndham Points are separate from RCI Points and actually *when you deposit Wyndham Points with RCI it turns into weeks not points*. (This is from a conversation I had earlier with an RCI/Wyndham rep telling me how many points I would have to deposit from my Wyndham points into RCI and what it would be equivalent to.) I was referring to the conversion between the Wyndham Points to RCI time.  Confusing to some extent, but I DO understand!!!!  You could potentially use more/less Wyndham points traveling within Wyndham than you could converting to RCI time.  It just depends on the season/availability.  With RCI I have been able to trade a red 1 bd/1ba for a 3bd/2ba due to the availability/season.  From looking at Wyndham points, I could not do the same thing within the Wyndham point family.
> 
> My concern is,  was it worth buying what I bought or did I get cheated???  Can I get the same thing I have now buying resale or can I only get it going direct.  I KNOW that the VIP status is the only thing I can get through buying direct!!!  From the way MOST of you make VIP sound, it is not worth the additional $$$ you pay going direct.


Normally when you deposit FSP/CWP points into RCI, you deposit a specific amount of points e.g. 28K, 70K, 105K, 154K into the RCI Weeks system and you get a week in exchange for the price of an RCI exchange fee.   If you have paid for PlusPartners (over $2K which is usually waived if you purchase from Wyndham), then you can use FSP/CWP points (indirectly) in the RCI Points system and can use your FSP points to reserve nights at RCI Points resort on a nightly basis.

Unless you have VIP status, you can't get a size upgrade within Wyndham.  Sometimes Wyndham offers points discounts to all members for out of season units.  You can deposit Wyndham points into RCI weeks and trade up to larger size units, particularly during off seasons or when it is less than 45 days before checkin or when there's been a bulk spacebank.  Under these circumstances, Wyndham owners have been able to reserve some very nice, large units for 28K points.

Please note that VIP benefits are subject to change or elimination.   Regular VIP benefits include such things as a 25% points discount at 60 days before checkin, a one level upgrade at 30 days before checkin (if available), early checkin, and unlimited housekeeping credits (useful if you have a lot of short stays, but housekeeping credits aren't terribly expensive anyway).   Are these worth thousands of dollars to you?   You would have to be VIP Gold to get free reservation transactions, a free newspaper while at the resort,  a size upgrade for blue and white weeks deposited into RCI,  and a 35 % points discount at 60 days and a possible unit level upgrade at 45 days.

People who have paid for the VIP benefits usually enjoy them and make use of them, but the cost/benefit ratio is VERY high.


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## EAM (Mar 17, 2009)

txfirewife said:


> Thanks!!! The special "Presidential Reserve" is one of our biggest concerns.  That would be equivalent to the higher class units, right??  Only thing is do I have too few points to get those units, or does my VIP status automatically get me there??  As far as Club Access, I am still learning what that is.  Does being VIP waive certain fees??? I know within Silverleaf my ownership status does waive certain fees, etc.
> 
> I understand that it is my CHOICE to deposit my Silverleaf week into the PIC each year.  Not a REQUIREMENT!!!!



The Presidential Reserve is a separate Club within Club Wyndham Plus.  I think you have to own at least a million points to be in it.  There are also other higher class Presidential units open to all FSP/Wyndham members if you have enough points to reserve them.
With 300K points you could reserve some Presidential units, but maybe not in prime season.


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## txfirewife (Mar 18, 2009)

Well after a little time researching and learning a little more about what purchase we have made, I realize how stupid my first newbie post was.    

Just to let ya'll know, I have realized the difference between Fair Share and PIC program.    Our main reason for purchasing DIRECT was for the PIC option to convert our previous week ownership into points in the Wyndham system.  Also our PIC points put us in the 
VIP status with only having to purchase 77k points.  We understand that VIP is an ever changing/diminishing program. As stupid as most may think it was, it made/makes sense to my husband and I.  With our young age (34 & 32), my husband and I don't travel the 4 weeks a year we have with our deeded week TS.  We end up giving weeks to family and not getting anything in return. This gives us the option to use the converted week/points within Wyndham and travel more weekends (which we do often especially in the summer months when our deeded week TS is packed solid and bonus time is not an option because there is no availability).  We usually book weekends less than 30 days out so the VIP 25% discount on points is a nice feature when considering Wyndham will sell you additional usage points at $5-10 per 1k.  Also the wasteful (to many) use of points to purchase airfare tickets, disney tickets, etc gives us another option. (one we dont have with a deeded week) With the low MF (as someone earlier mentioned) (aprox $1.25 per 1k) and the PIC points we have, it makes the use of points in this way in some instances cheaper than buying with $$.

Here are the benefits that I see we have:
25% point discount on reservations made 60 days out (VIP  & Direct purchase only)
Possible unit upgrade (another point saving method) on reservations 30 days out (VIP & Direct purchase only)
Unlimited housekeeping credits (for what its worth VIP & Direct purchase only)
254,000 points every year w/o Wyndham maint fee (I realize we already pay maint fee with our deeded week, but they are minimum) (PIC points,  direct purchase only)
Ability to convert deeded week and use points for maint fee on Wyndham account (looks like VIP only)
Ability to convert deeded week and use points to purchase airfare, disney tickets, etc (all owners, but I get to also use PIC points as well as deeded points)
77k bonus points the next 2 years (only direct purchase)
Waiver of RCI fees (all owners, but consider I paid aprox $89 per year with deeded weeks that I no longer have to pay with them now)

If there is anything anyone sees that needs correction, please let me know as I am still learning.

Anyways, thanks to those who offered help and advise.  

_PS- I realize that anything in the 60-30 day window is based on availablity and is not a guarantee.  Almost like a gamble, but after going online and looking at the booking options, I feel comfortable on the point discounts that we may be able to obtain._


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## txfirewife (Mar 19, 2009)

donnaval said:


> Also, your Silverleaf unit locked-off and deposited into RCI most likely will have better trading power than the generic weeks you can get from Wyndham.  Wyndham trading power has really tanked over the past two years since we are no longer allowed to deposit actual, desirable weeks--Wyndham bulk spacebanks weeks 9 months out, and our trade power is based on that.



Silverleaf is no longer allowing users to bank their "deeded" week into RCI. You have to space bank it within Silverleaf as an RCI trade and then they go on the bulk spacebank weeks.  Our trading power on Silverleaf weeks with RCI has just tanked as well.  As a Red 3bd/3b lockout owner, it hurts me in the long run on trading power.


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