# Celebrity Resorts changing to points system. Need Help!!!!



## skpr77 (Jan 11, 2006)

****UPDATE*** Celebrity Resorts changing to points system. Need Help!!!!*

I just went to an owners meeting in Massachusetts. Well it wasn't at all an owners meeting. A marketing company tells me that my resort at Celebrity Resorts - Lake Buena Vista, is no longer associated with Interval International, and is now affilliated with RCI. So at this point I'm a little surprised but not really upset. I know a few people with timeshares that are quite happy with RCI. So at the end of this "owners meeting", they tell me that I have to pay a fee to convert my week over to the points system. The fee they wanted from me is $4,759. I almost choked and started laughing at the same time. And if I didn't purchase now, it is going to increase to over $7,000. I have never heard of anything like this. Last year we had to pay a special assessment, because the previous management didn't know what they were doing. Now I have to pay this amount if money just because the management would rather be affilliated with RCI. Do the owners have any say as to this decision. I know most owners aren't able to attend owner's meeting at the individual resort, but this seems like it should have been presented to the members to see if it is something that everyone is in favor of doing. 

I'm looking for any input from people that may have dealt with this issue. 
Thanks for your help.


*I found out today from a Sales Mgr. that works in the corporate office at Celebrity Resorts. For people that already own at week at a Celebrity Resort, and that currently use Interval International for their exchanges, are able to continue using II for as long as they want. They will not be asked or forced to switch or convert to RCI Points. All new owners are being set up with the RCI Points system. I told him how his sales staff is telling people that we are no longer members of Interval. He said he will take care of it, and he called it a lack of communication. Hope this info helps.

If you are a Celebrity Resort owner and are requested to attend an "owners meeting" just be aware that there will be approx. 5 mins. talking about your resort and filling out a couple of questionnaires. The rest of the time you will be told that you can no longer use Interval International and that if you wish to do any further exchanges to other locations, your only option is to join RCI Points. All of this is false. I'm fairly certain that you don't have to even attend the meeting to update your resort information. They are also supposed to take your picture for a Celebrity Resort ID. I was told by the manager that this is something that the marketing company has been doing. It supposedly doesn't have anything to do with Celebrity. 

I'm only spreading the word of my experience so people will not be coerced into buying something that they don't need or want. Other people I have spoken to have paid a fraction of the fee that is required through Celebrity, to convert to the points system. Between 200 and $2,000 seems to be the average. Send me a message if you have any questions.*
*
Thanks to all who responded and provided me assistance with this matter!!*


----------



## Spence (Jan 11, 2006)

I went to the presentation in DC area "Owners Update," right!  All it was was a sales presentation for conversion to RCI points.  My Celebrity resort doesn't have an II affiliation only RCI and I can pay nothing and just keep doing the traditional weeks thing.  

Whether your resort actually ended affiliation with II, I don't know, call II and ask them if you can continue trading through them as before, I expect the answer is yes.

see,
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13135


----------



## Mel (Jan 11, 2006)

Ultimately, it doesn't matter what management decides in terms of affiliation, unless you own a club.  Many resorts in the past have moved between the 2 major exchange companies - The original Marriotts in Orlando were originally RCI resorts, and those owners can still exchange through RCI, though not very many do.

First of all, you DO NOT have to pay their fee - they might hope you think you have to, but you don't.  That fee is an option available to you if you want to join RCI points.  If you don't want to exchange your week at all, you don't have to join ANY exchange company.  If you still want to exchange through II, call them and ask if they will still accept your weeks for deposit; I'm sure they will - they don't want to lose your membership just because your management company saw some profits heading their way.

As for owners who don't attend the meeting - they are the lucky ones, because the conversion isn't mandatory.  If they don't attend, they won't know about the possible mistake they might make.  If you are happy with what you have, don't convert.  If you are excited about RCI points, then go ahead, but their price is awfully high.


----------



## skpr77 (Jan 11, 2006)

Thanks Spence & Mel,

I was told that if I didn't join RCI points then I would only be able to go to my home resort or possibly do an internal exchange. But the fact that I'm told the price is going to jump over $2,000 if I decide to join later. I told them that I was currently unemployed (which I am), and they dropped the price by $500. I felt as if they were trying to sell me a car. 

I did call II before I posted this thread, and I told them what was happening. They checked with their management and they said they have heard nothing about Celebrity switching from II to RCI. They said this will affect them a great deal because they have a lot of customers through Celebrity. 

I still have a year left on my II membership, and I have unused weeks still in the system. And the sales crew I dealt with, kept telling me that my membership with II is no longer valid. And that if I want to exchange, the only way to do that is to join. 

Thanks for your help and info.


----------



## Judy (Jan 11, 2006)

I own at Resort World aka Celebity Resorts Orlando.  They called to "invite" me to an owners' update several months ago.  It was a sales pitch for RCI Points and I didn't go.  At that time I called RCI.  They didn't even have my resort affiliated (yet?)  Management seems to be able to do anything they want without consulting owners.  I haven't been able to figure out how; maybe somehow they own a majority of the weeks. But I don't know how they could possibly force us into Points; we have deeds. 
As of today, my Resort World weeks are still showing availablity for exchange on II.  I don't think II will stop accepting our deposits/exchanges.  Even if they did, there are other options.  I've exchanged my Resort World week through Dial an Exchange several times with very good results.
Don't let those Points salespeople scare you into doing anything you don't want to do.  If you think they might be telling the truth, ask them to put it in writing 
Maybe we'll end of dual affiliated with II and RCI weeks.


----------



## Texasbelle (Jan 11, 2006)

I think Mel has explained it correctly.  That is the highest price I have seen for a conversion into RCI points.  When RCI turned points conversion over to Wroman [maybe others] it was not with their members' best interests in mind.  These people are salesmen, at best, and liars who use scare tactics to make a buck at worst.  They are a plague on the timeshare industry.  There has to have been a kinder, gentler way to introduce points.


----------



## Spence (Jan 11, 2006)

The hokiest part of this 'owner's update' was that they wanted a picture to produce a resort ID, I refused.  Also refused to bring my wife, she ended up having to come anyway because I had had an endoscopy that day and wasn't supposed to drive.  But they were ready and were going to 'let' me attend w/o spouse.  I enjoyed the endoscopy more than the owner's update.  They were glad when I left quietly.


----------



## caribbean (Jan 11, 2006)

The other thing to keep in mind is that you can exchange with any of the independant exchange companies like DAE and SFX. I suspect that you will be able to continue using II and maybe, since they now have affiiation with RCI, you will be able to deposit with RCI weeks. So it may work out to be a benefit to you without costing anything by having both II and RCI available to you.

Don't get me wrong, I am a very happy RCI Points member as well as RCI weeks. But I bought my points in Australia and paid less than $300 to convert, including my first year of membership fee. I would never have paid one of those high fees. RCI only charges $199 and the rest is pure profit back to the developer. So see this for what it is, a rip off by Celebrity.


----------



## caribbean (Jan 11, 2006)

I find this very interesting and have posted a question to Madge. Stay tuned for her answer.


----------



## Judy (Jan 12, 2006)

caribbean said:
			
		

> The other thing to keep in mind is that you can exchange with any of the independant exchange companies like ..... SFX.


 Celebrity Orlando accepted by SFX  





This was meant to be a joke.  SFX does *not* accept deposits from Celebrity Resorts Orlando.


----------



## Mel (Jan 12, 2006)

Generally there are two situations where your choice of exchange company can be changed by the resort, without your consent -

1 - you own a club, not a deeded property, and your exchanges are done through that club (Disney is a prime example of this.  They were originally affiliated with RCI, and moved to II several years ago).  This could include clubs like Hilton, or many of the points based systems (Fairfield - as if that's going to happen - Sunterra...) because you don't own what is being deposited.

2 - your resort is disaffiliated by the exchange company (in other words, the exchange company chooses not to accept any inventory from your resort, usually because of bad ratings).

In some cases, different phases of a resort will be affiliated with different exchange companies, in which case the individual unit trades through the company that was affiliated when that unit was built.  

In all the cases I know of where a company changed affiliation, deeded week owners have had the option of staying with the old company.


----------



## agedurkin (Jan 13, 2006)

*celebrity*

I am wondering at this point if I should deposit now with II?  I do not know how to access the others mentioned sfx and dae???


----------



## Judy (Jan 13, 2006)

agedurkin, Do you mean should you deposit now with II to avoid possibly losing your exchange privileges there or to get the best possible trading power?

Find Dial An Exchange online.

SFX will not accept deposits from Celebrity Resorts Orlando.


----------



## agedurkin (Jan 13, 2006)

*reply*

I do not want to lose my exchange privelages with II


----------



## Judy (Jan 14, 2006)

Either do I.  I called Celebrity and was told that current owners will be able to keep their II memberships and continue exchanging through II.  Another TUG Celebrity owner emailed me that he spoke to a manager at Celebrity and was told the same thing.
I have never heard of owners being denied exchange privileges with II when their resorts switched to RCI.  Two of my other resorts switched primary exchange companies and I can now exchange my weeks there through either RCI or II.  I don't think we'll lose our exchange privileges with II, but who can predict the future?  And if we did, how would depositing your week prevent it?  Maybe you should ask II.  If you do, I'd like to hear what they say.


----------



## EileenSRN (Jan 14, 2006)

If you buy a resale, will you be put in points or keep whatever the previous owner had?
Eileen


----------



## Spence (Jan 14, 2006)

EileenSRN said:
			
		

> If you buy a resale, will you be put in points or keep whatever the previous owner had?
> Eileen


If it's been converted to points you'd be in points, if not, you wouldn't unless you cough up the money for the conversion.


----------



## EileenSRN (Jan 14, 2006)

Hi Spence,
We seem to have similar holdings! I was afraid they'd put you into points just like they're doing with new purchasers. Watch for email!


----------



## Judy (Jan 15, 2006)

This is the second time I've heard that Celebrity Resorts Orlando is putting new purchasers into Points.  What are they selling these new purchasers?  This resort was built in the mid 1980's.  It has to have been sold out many years ago.  There might be a some weeks that were taken back, but surely not enough to mount a new sales promotion


----------



## EileenSRN (Jan 15, 2006)

When we were there in July they were actively selling units. Had units for display. We passed a few couples with salespeople in tow. They were selling the 3 bedroom for 19-24 depending on season.


----------



## esc (Jan 16, 2006)

*Should I be Worried about Celebrity Resorts?*

When I was called to attend the owner's meeting, I was pretty suspicious.  So I asked them whether this was really just for information or whether they were going try to get me to spend money in some way.  They said ABSOLUTELY NOT, that this meeting was only for information.  I didn't believe them so I told them I just couldn't attend and that they could send me the information by mail.  They said they weren't doing that, which absolutely convinced me that it was a scam.  They tried everything they could do to get me to come; even put a supervisor on the phone.  After I read the postings here, I'm glad I didn't.

I own some weeks at Cape Cod Holiday Estates, where almost all the weeks are sold, most to local owners, and there's a real independent owner's orgainzation, which is excellent.

Brigantine Inn seems the opposite situation.  The fact that Celebrity Resorts hired this marketing group really makes me wonder how safe Brigantine Inn is in their hands. Is Celebrity Resorts a decent company that did something stupid, or are they greedy sleazeballs who will just run the resort down costing the owners even more money?


----------



## Spence (Jan 16, 2006)

esc said:
			
		

> or are they greedy sleazeballs who will just run the resort down costing the owners even more money?



I wrote several emails to Celebrity through their _contact us_ page on their website after the _Owner's Update_ complaining.  They have not answered at all.  You may have hit on an excellent descriptor.


----------



## Judy (Jan 17, 2006)

All of my experiences with Celebrity since they took over Resort World of Orlando, under suspicious circumstances, have been negative.


----------



## skpr77 (Jan 17, 2006)

*Celebrity Corporate Office phone #'s*

Hopefully everyone saw my update to the original post above. Thanks to all who provided me with info.

Here are a few of the contact #'s I was able to find and use when I was given the answers to my questions.

Main # for Celebrity - (407) 996-3000

I was given the name of Ron Leventhal from the marketing company that I dealt with (Strata Force). There are 5 others that were hired by Celebrity.

Ron's extension # 3036. I didn't speak to him, I spoke with the secretary because he was out of town. He is supposed to be the Chief Strategic Officer, so I don't know if I would have ended up speaking to him even if he
was there.

A person by the name of Sean called me back the next day. He stated he is head of the Sales Department. He gave me all the info I have put in my update above. He is the person that is responsible for the ongoing marketing campaign to get us to part with our money. (sorry I couldn't resist) He was very helpful and did answer all of my questions, and of course said the things I was hoping he would say regarding this situation. I still think they are a bunch of snakes. Sean's extension # as given to me by him is X 55515. 

I'm hoping all info given to me by Celebrity was accurate.


----------



## loans4homes (Jun 10, 2006)

could you email me regarding how you were able to convert to points for a fee far less than the ostensible "owners meeting ' we were tricked into attending last night  
No meeting just a  sales pitch for the points Celebrity Resorts via Strata Force realtor?
For that we drove an hour and a half one way!  grumble
thanks in advance


----------



## bogey21 (Jun 10, 2006)

Judy said:
			
		

> I called Celebrity and was told that current owners will be able to keep their II memberships and continue exchanging through II....I don't think we'll lose our exchange privileges with II, but who can predict the future?



Years ago I owned a Week at Marriott Monarch.  When Marriott entered into their exclusivity deal with II they kept the RCI affiliation for Monarch (and maybe some of the other older Marriotts) in addition to the new II affiliation.  Interestingly Monarch was, and still is,  listed with RCI as Monarch (they dropped the Marriott from the name). 

GEORGE


----------



## JanK (Jul 9, 2006)

I am so glad I belong to TUG. This thread has been very informative.   We are to attend the "owners meeting" next week.  I was wondering if it might be worth my time to attend and have mine converted to points.  I might try to bargain and see what I can get.  What would be a fair fee or what amount of points?

JanK


----------



## RenoJim (Nov 29, 2006)

I have a Celebrity Orlando , 2bd/2bath, that has an excellant prime week (13).  But unfortunately, it is not a Lock-Off.  I presently trade with II.

That means that when I trade the 2 Bd unit I get a selection of studio, or 1 bdrm and/or two bedrm units to choose from.  But I can only take one.

I believe that if I convert to points, I would  be able to get more bang for my money, just as I get with am getting with another property I have that is a lock-off.  

For example, I traded the 2 bdrm Lockout and got two weeks in 2007. One is a Week 22  one bedroom in Kaui, Hi;  and the other is a week 32 1 bedroom in Napa Valley, CA.  Both are in Prime Season and would cost in the range of $1,200 to $1500 if I paid cash, and niether one is likeley to be available at discounted Getaway priced deals, so I am very satisfied with that trade, as my Maintenance and trading fees combined come to just $800. That adequately illustrates what the term Trade Value really means.

The 2 bedroom Celebrity unit would have an RCI points value of 53,000 and I would like to trade it for weeks at Tahoe Beach and Ski Club during weeks 27 to 31, and 53,000 points would give me enough value to get at least two weeks ( a studio and a 1 bedrm), and that resort is only available through RCI.

So that illustrates clearly why I would like to convert my unit to RCI points...but the economics of such a conversion also have to be considered. 

So, if I gave in to the developers sales staff and converted through them, the cost would be between $5,000 and $7,000, as previously disclosed on this forum. But I could just buy two timeshares at Tahoe Beach and Ski Club, and get two of their very best 2bdrm/ 2bath prime season units for less than $7,000 total, by carefully shopping on ebay.

The converted Celebrity unit would still get me those same weeks with the advantage of a lower Maintenance fee... but direct ownership of TB&S would still always have the advantage of priority reservations.

So... what it boils down to is that If I can convert the 2brm/2 bath week 13 to 53,000 annual RCI points, for a cost of $300-$500, I would do that in a heart beat.

If anyone knows who can handle this conversion, for that kind of a price, please contact me at renojimduggan@hotmail.com.


Thanks, RenoJim


----------



## Judy (Nov 29, 2006)

RenoJim
Don't forget to consider the RCI Points membership and exchange fees.  And take into consideration that the points value of resorts can and does change, not always for the better.


----------



## 2manyTS (Jan 29, 2007)

*Celebrity conversion to points nightmare*

My mom and I are co-owners of a week at Celebrity. In May of last year, Celebrity sent a salesperson to my mothers house to get her to sign-up for points. I thought this odd right away. Has anyone else had this happen?

She ended up paying $2500 plus the $249 RCI Points fee to convert the week. She said she got a "good deal" since she had already paid Celebrity $999 the previous August to upgrade to a Celebrity Plus membership (ultimately a waste) and the points conversion was pitched as an upgrade of sorts.

On top of all this, it took Celebrity 16 weeks to get the documentation to to RCI. She paid the salesman on 5-15-06 and the account wasn't activated with RCI Points until 10-18-06 (RCI takes 6 weeks to activate account once they receive the paperwork).

She is also under the impression this conversion fee applies to all the time share weeks she owns with RCI (5). Is this true? RCI Points won't tell me since my name isn't on the account.

Now she wants to get her money back. Does she have a leg to stand on? She hasn't used any points yet. She's got a backlog of unused deposited weeks as it is...


----------



## Bill4728 (Jan 29, 2007)

2manyTS said:


> My mom and I are co-owners of a week at Celebrity. In May of last year, Celebrity sent a salesperson to my mothers house to get her to sign-up for points. I thought this odd right away. Has anyone else had this happen?
> 
> She is also under the impression this conversion fee applies to all the time share weeks she owns with RCI (5). Is this true? RCI Points won't tell me since my name isn't on the account.
> 
> Now she wants to get her money back. Does she have a leg to stand on? She hasn't used any points yet. She's got a backlog of unused deposited weeks as it is...




She has converted and will not be able to get her money back.

RE the other TS she owns. If they are at resorts which *don't *belong to RCI points, she can do something called "points for deposit" PFD which means she can deposit the weeks for those resorts and instead of a getting a week in RCI, she'll get points into her RCI points account. This only works if the resort *isn't a RCI point resort*. It will not work if she has a non converted week at a RCI points resort. 

Good Luck

PS if you're co-owners, why isn't your name on the account?


----------



## Spence (Jan 29, 2007)

JanK said:


> I am so glad I belong to TUG. This thread has been very informative.   We are to attend the "owners meeting" next week.  I was wondering if it might be worth my time to attend and have mine converted to points.  I might try to bargain and see what I can get.  What would be a fair fee or what amount of points?  JanK


I went and documented the adventure here on TUG a year or two ago, no owner update, just a hard-sell for points.  They will want $6995 or $7995, I can't remember exactly, and they will 'buy it now' you for half that, what a deal!


----------



## 2manyTS (Jan 29, 2007)

Bill4728 said:


> She has converted and will not be able to get her money back.


I figured as much.



> RE the other TS she owns. If they are at resorts which *don't *belong to RCI points, she can do something called "points for deposit" PFD which means she can deposit the weeks for those resorts and instead of a getting a week in RCI, she'll get points into her RCI points account. This only works if the resort *isn't a RCI point resort*. It will not work if she has a non converted week at a RCI points resort.


Don't know about this. She has 2 weeks at Sherton Vistana. I'm trying to look into the others but the RCI site is very slow to load for me today. I have her login info for the weeks membership. Sounds like the net of it is if she owns at a resort that is with RCI weeks, she has to pay that (and each) resort to convert to Points. Am I missing something?



> PS if you're co-owners, why isn't your name on the account?


Good question. I think she thought she was converting ALL her weeks to Points. My name is only on the one week at Celebrity. I've asked her add me so I can see what is going (and help her manage the mess she's in).


----------



## EileenSRN (Jan 29, 2007)

2manyTS said:


> Good question. I think she thought she was converting ALL her weeks to Points. My name is only on the one week at Celebrity. I've asked her add me so I can see what is going (and help her manage the mess she's in).



If your name is on the account that was converted, then you may be able to get the transaction cancelled. Everything we've ever done required both signatures. Celebrity Plus for $999! WOW! When we looked at it they wanted $3K. Then I found out that the resorts I would want the "advantage" for rarely have weeks available in the Internal Exchange Program. We did get our contract cancelled, but for a completely unrelated reason.
Eileen


----------



## 2manyTS (Jan 29, 2007)

EileenSRN said:


> If your name is on the account that was converted, then you may be able to get the transaction cancelled. Everything we've ever done required both signatures.


This is something I will definitely look into. Thank you.



> Celebrity Plus for $999! WOW! When we looked at it they wanted $3K.


I think they gave her this "low" price an incentive to convert to points at another "low" price. On the Celebrity Plus contract is states that she had 1yr. to upgrade to RCI Points for $2500. What a bargain! In reality she paid $3499 to convert to Points.


----------



## Bill4728 (Jan 29, 2007)

2manyTS said:


> Don't know about this. She has 2 weeks at Sherton Vistana. I'm trying to look into the others but the RCI site is very slow to load for me today.  Sounds like the net of it is if she owns at a resort that is with RCI weeks, she has to pay that (and each) resort to convert to Points. Am I missing something?


The Sheraton Vistana resort is a RCI points resort. It is almost the cheapest resort of any to convert to points. Only ~$200-$300 to convert! This is because RCI does the convertion, so they don't pay a big fee to the salesmen. So, it may be possible that these units were also converted but unlikely. 

So if your mom really wants to own a RCI pionts TS, she could convert the Sheraton for 1/10th what is cost to convert the Celebrity TS. 



			
				eileenRN said:
			
		

> If your name is on the account that was converted, then you may be able to get the transaction cancelled. Everything we've ever done required both signatures


This is likely true, You should check it out.


----------



## 2manyTS (Jan 29, 2007)

Bill4728 said:


> So if your mom really wants to own a RCI pionts TS, she could convert the Sheraton for 1/10th what is cost to convert the Celebrity TS.
> 
> This is likely true, You should check it out.


Well, in my conversations with Celebrity over the past 2 days, I'm not getting much help. I did get someone to state that I would be required to sign any documents to convert to Points on a taped line. I think I may need legal help ultimatley. Any advice? Are there legal resources here to contact?

Thanks for all your help.


----------



## EileenSRN (Jan 29, 2007)

While we worked with the Customer service rep for months (3), to no avail, (KEPT GETTING PUT OFF), once we started calling the CEO, Jared Meyer, every few days, for about a week, we had a speedy resolution to our problem. His Executive Assistant was directed to resolve the issue. We got back all the $ we were looking for. Quite frankly, your situation has a lot more legal merit than ours did. Whoever accepted one sig on a 2 name deed did wrong. I believe if you stress that you never approved this transaction and they took advantage of an older person (now, I'm 59, so what's "older"?), you won't need private legal representation. But if you can get someone to call on your behalf, it can't hurt!
Don't give up!
Eileen


----------



## dougp26364 (Jan 29, 2007)

Mel said:


> Generally there are two situations where your choice of exchange company can be changed by the resort, without your consent -
> 
> 1 - you own a club, not a deeded property, and your exchanges are done through that club (Disney is a prime example of this.  They were originally affiliated with RCI, and moved to II several years ago).  This could include clubs like Hilton, or many of the points based systems (Fairfield - as if that's going to happen - Sunterra...) because you don't own what is being deposited.
> 
> ...



Hilton Grand Vacation Club is a deeded property. But, your point is well taken as Hilton bulk deposits weeks rather than you choosing a week and then depositing that particular week.


----------



## 2manyTS (Feb 1, 2007)

EileenSRN said:


> While we worked with the Customer service rep for months (3), to no avail, (KEPT GETTING PUT OFF), once we started calling the CEO, Jared Meyer, every few days, for about a week, we had a speedy resolution to our problem. His Executive Assistant was directed to resolve the issue. We got back all the $ we were looking for. Quite frankly, your situation has a lot more legal merit than ours did. Whoever accepted one sig on a 2 name deed did wrong. I believe if you stress that you never approved this transaction and they took advantage of an older person (now, I'm 59, so what's "older"?), you won't need private legal representation. But if you can get someone to call on your behalf, it can't hurt!
> Don't give up!
> Eileen



UPDATE: I looks like my mother was never charged for the Points membership! We conference called RCI Points to confirm they knew nothing about it. Her existing Points membership was from another resort she converted elsewhere (she bought another week and converted to Points at the same time - ugh). When Celebrity said they knew nothing about it I was worried the sales guy who came to her house was a scam artist who took her money. Most people would be looking for a $2700 charge to their card don't you think? Not my mom I guess. I'm still pursuing getting the $999 back for the Celebrity Plus membership. I've been referred to Anne Thompson corporate legal. I'll post with a follow-up. I suppose I should start my own topic for this?


----------



## 2manyTS (Mar 7, 2007)

2manyTS said:


> UPDATE: I looks like my mother was never charged for the Points membership! We conference called RCI Points to confirm they knew nothing about it. Her existing Points membership was from another resort she converted elsewhere (she bought another week and converted to Points at the same time - ugh). When Celebrity said they knew nothing about it I was worried the sales guy who came to her house was a scam artist who took her money. Most people would be looking for a $2700 charge to their card don't you think? Not my mom I guess. I'm still pursuing getting the $999 back for the Celebrity Plus membership. I've been referred to Anne Thompson corporate legal. I'll post with a follow-up. I suppose I should start my own topic for this?



Update #2: My mother was indeed charged the $2700 in May of 2005 (she foudn the credit card receipt) and the week was never converted to Points. This is a real mess. I have faxed info to Anne Thompson in their legal department on 2/2/2007. I also sent her an email prior to the fax. I have also placed two follow-up calls since the fax - I have yet to hear back from her or anybody at their corporate offices. Although Rob Worthen was of some initial help, he has also stopped returning my calls or emails. Do any of you have suggestions as to who at Celebrity I should go to next? I know at some people here have escalated issues to upper management. Any advise would be much appreciated.


----------



## Civil (Mar 14, 2007)

Check this out...

Was called today by Celebrity stating they were in my area (Chicago) and wanted to invite me to an owners meeting they are having.  

I proceeded to ask what exactly would be covered at the meeting, and the woman (obviously reading from a script as she stumbled a few times) told me it was a discussion to inform me about recent changes at Celebrity, cover any questions I have as an owner, and also discuss the new benefits I will be receiving with the resort switching to RCI Points. Ding! ding! ding! That last comment made me immediately think of this thread

I informed the woman that I am not interested in switching to RCI Points, at which point she proceeded to tell me that I *have* to switch since the resort is switching it's main affiliation. I then told her I do not *have* to and that I *won't* be switching since I am already a member of Interval International and enjoy my membership there.

Seeing as how she wasn't going to get anywhere with me, she hurried me off the phone stating someone would contact me in the future about it. 

Just thought I'd share, thanks everyone for all of the useful information here!


----------



## guitarlars (Mar 15, 2007)

*Sounds like a rip-off*

It's been widely reported that RCI only charges $200 to convert to points. 

Anything above that is pure profit for the marketing company or management.

They are attempting to scare you into converting to points to steal your money. 

This is exactly why timeshares have such a bad (and well deserved) reputation.

Lars


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 15, 2007)

Mel said:


> Generally there are two situations where your choice of exchange company can be changed by the resort, without your consent -
> 
> 1 - you own a club, not a deeded property, and your exchanges are done through that club (Disney is a prime example of this.  They were originally affiliated with RCI, and moved to II several years ago).  This could include clubs like Hilton, or many of the points based systems (Fairfield - as if that's going to happen - Sunterra...) because you don't own what is being deposited.



With clubs, commonly membership in the exchange company is included the club membership.  So when the club switches membership, your membership goes with it.

Or, more precisely, your club is the member, and since you are a member of the club your exchanging options follow the club.

***

I find myself in the interesting situation right now where I can access II (through Club Sunterra), RCI Points (through Raintree Vacation Club), and RCI Weeks (through my original RCI membership.


----------



## 2manyTS (Mar 19, 2007)

Civil said:


> Check this out...
> 
> Was called today by Celebrity stating they were in my area (Chicago) and wanted to invite me to an owners meeting they are having.
> 
> ...



Well isn't this just par for the course. Way-to-go in setting them straight. I wish someone from Tug would play dumb, go to one of these meetings and then stand up and rebuke them publicly.


----------

