# SVC/Shell Vacations Club Points Carryover ?



## alexadeparis (Dec 13, 2011)

I am looking into the Shell System. It seems like the system is pretty high in Maintenance Fee. I would want to travel only every other year into the resort I am looking into. I already know that you must buy into the home club in order to try to get into a resort within that club on a consistent basis. I am looking at vino bello. 

The 2 bedroom requires 9050 points in platinum season. My basic question is: Could I buy a 5000 annual point package, or some combination of packages that would allow me buy about half of the total I need, and allow me to project my points into a future year, effectively using the ownership as 10,000 points one year, and using none the next? Kind of creating my own biennial system? 

I come from the Wyndham points system, so that is my point of reference. 
Does SVC allow you to "buy" points at the time of the reservation? For example, if I found a 4500 point package, and carried forward for a total of 9000 points, would Shell let me somehow obtain the other 50 points needed for the ressie for a 2 bedroom for 7 days, or would I never be able to reserve a full week? Would I be stuck with 6 days as a maximum ressie then? 

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.


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## slip (Dec 13, 2011)

Saw this in one of the Ebay auctions for a Shell points package.

About Shell Vacation Club

Shell Vacations Club is points-based program that provides members with total access to the world of SVC Resorts: vacation destinations that combine flexibility, quality and service for a lifetime of vacation experiences. Like currency, members can spend their Points on accommodations that can also be accelerated, shared with other members, banked and saved for an additional year.


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## alexadeparis (Dec 14, 2011)

Thought about it last night, I wonder if I could buy a 3500 point package, and in the first year roll over points, 2nd year vacation using the first year points, second year points, and borrowing the third year points from the next use year. Has anyone ever done this with shell? Since the MF's are so high, I want to keep costs down. Once every three years should be enough for me in wine country.


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## JohnPaul (Dec 15, 2011)

*SVC Points*

You are right that SVC MF are on the high end.  However they do provide daily maid service (towel change, empty trash, make bed with existing bedding).

You can bank points for one year and also borrow from a future year.  There are some complicated rules about how you use those points in the 9 to 12 months out preferred period for your home club.  Withing 9 months (from reservation to stay) they all act the same.

Vino Bello is a great property.  We just spent another Thanksgiving there.


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## alexadeparis (Dec 15, 2011)

Can someone point me to where these rules are located? I looked through the faq for SVC but I am not sure if that is what you are referring to? My understanding is that I would not necessarily buy vino bello, I would buy the california home club. Or is there an option to specifically buy vino bello only?


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## shellboy (Dec 19, 2011)

From the Shell Website (Members Area)

Banking

Points are deposited in your points account for use in a specific year. If you do not use all of your points in the use year when they are supposed to be used then you may save them for use in the next use year. This is called "banking" your points . Banking is governed by these rules:

If you want to bank some or all of your points, you must notify Shell Vacations, whether by telephone, mail or fax. Shell Vacations must receive your notice at least four months before the end of the use year to which the points relate. For example, if your use year end date is June 30, then Shell must receive your notice by March 1 at the latest.


A. Points banked from one use year must be used by the end of the very next use year or they will expire.

B.  You may only use banked points to make a reservation during the club reservation period. You cannot use them during the home plan reservation period or the home club reservation period.

There is an exception. The home plan vacation interests of some founding members allow them to use their home plan only every other year. If the founding members want to use their home plan use right, they will have to bank their points every other year in order to have enough points to make that reservation. Founding members who do this may use their banked points to reserve their home plan use right during their home plan reservation period. They may only do this to reserve their home plan use right in years when they could have reserved a unit in their home plan based on the vacation interest they traded in.


C.  You may bank points only once in any use year, no matter how many points you may own.If you have more than one membership, then you may bank points only once in any year for each membership you own.

D.  If you bank your points, you cannot change your mind and return them to the use year to which they relate and you cannot borrow them back from the future use year.

E.  You must pay a transaction fee for banking points.


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## alexadeparis (Dec 19, 2011)

So basically, it sounds like if you bank your points, you may only reserve during the open time when you can book in any club, you would lose your home club priority. For something hard to get like Vino Bello, would that even be realistic to think I could get a reservation for a 2 bedroom during platinum time using the "bank first year, vacation in second year, while borrowing from third year" method?

Also it states there is a fee to bank? Any idea what that is? And is there a fee to borrow points from a future year? I assume you would have to pay the maintenance fee in advance to get the future points?


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## shellboy (Dec 20, 2011)

You get 2 free/included transactions per use year (reserving, banking, etc), afterwards $17/online or $25/phone per additional transaction.

I made a short 2-day stay at Vino Bello in early August on 2 month notice. Vino Bello is expanding with additional building which will help. Not sure of demand for longer term stay in peak season. Would probably work if you reserved right at 9 month window. What time of year would you be interested in?


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## alexadeparis (Dec 20, 2011)

Honestly, I would probably want September or October because that is my and my husband's birthday time, but I also understand that is harvest which would be very crowded. So probably anytime in the summer (May - August). I think all those times are considered Platinum by shell.


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## shellboy (Dec 20, 2011)

I just checked online for August availability and there was plenty. It does not seem to offer 2 bedroom online but rather listed separately as 1 br (5800 points/week) and studio (3250 points/week) which together equal a 2 bedroom (9050 points/week). I'm sure if you call you could just reserve as a 2 bedroom, without having to do individually.


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## JohnPaul (Dec 20, 2011)

*Vino Bello Availability*

I don't think you would have any problems at 9 months out.  I've had very good luck booking Vino Bello.  They just recently opened the third building so availability should be good.  Of course, as they sell more it will lessen.


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## alexadeparis (Dec 21, 2011)

So has anyone over done or tried to do the bank/use/borrow 3 year method I am suggesting? I don't want to buy into SVC until I know it can be done.


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## geoand (Dec 21, 2011)

I have banked some of my points one year, then next year used banked and current year points to reserve in the next year.  E.g.  Banked year 1, year 2 used banked and current year points to reserve unit in 3rd year.  All for Hawaii and am not a member of Hawaii Club.


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## shellboy (Dec 21, 2011)

Looks like you could use banked points, current year points and borrowed points together. Maybe you should just consider renting a unit from someone. By buying fewer points (~3100), you are increasing the average maintence fee per point. Annual fees for 3100 points would be about $760/yr (including club fee), For three years, $2280 total.



Borrowing


If you want to make a reservation but do not have enough points, you can borrow points from the next use year. This is called "borrowing" points and there are several rules to keep in mind:


A. You may only borrow points from the use year following the use period which you wish to reserve using the borrowed points.


B. You may only use borrowed points to make a reservation during the club reservation period. You cannot use them during the home plan reservation period or the home club reservation period.


C. You may borrow points only once in any use year, no matter how many points you may own. If you have more than one membership, then you may borrow points only once in any use year for each membership you own.


D. If you borrow points in the current use year, then you will lose any right you have to make a reservation during the home plan reservation period in the next use year. If you own more than one membership, you can borrow using one membership without affecting your other membership.


E. You do not have to pay a separate transaction fee to borrow points. However , you must pay the assessments for the next year. If the amount of the assessment has not been set yet, then Shell Vacations will estimate it. If the estimate is too high, any excess will be refunded to you. And if it is too low, then you must pay the excess during the next billing cycle.


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## alexadeparis (Dec 22, 2011)

Thanks for the info. I am going to take a hard look at contracts in the 3500 to 5000 range. Since you can only use the "club window" when using the bank/use/borrow scenario, it sounds like it doesn't matter which home club I belong to. Which one has the cheapest mf?


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## rickandcindy23 (Dec 22, 2011)

I believe California Club is cheapest, but not by much.  

I would buy in the Hawaii club, if I had the opportunity to do it all over (we own CA club).  

I wish Shell had a resort on Maui, and their resort on Oahu has only small units.


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## Picker57 (Dec 23, 2011)

Yes, that's pretty close to what we've just done in order to have enough points for extended family stay in Hawaii late next year. We'll be using our 2011 Use Year (our points are issued in September) and borrowing our 2012 Use Year points.  We would have added the leftover points from 2010 but we had to use them before the end of the 2011 Use Year (the 1-year maximum banking window).  You do need to watch your dates and deadlines. 

On the matter of MF cost/point for each visit, it really would be a wash - just a matter of spreading it out over 2 vs 3 years.  But remember, all points after 2000 or so (varies with the home club) are priced lower - around 16.5 cents ea for the Hawaii Club. So by purchasing more points, the additional convenience may outweigh the additional cost.  Also, if/when you decide on Hawaii you're going to want to stay longer than 1 week (unless you enjoy flying a lot more than I do....). 

And, yes, I also wish SVC had a Maui property.  We  traded into Maui Schooner a few years ago, and it's OK but it's no Beachboy.  


alexadeparis said:


> So has anyone over done or tried to do the bank/use/borrow 3 year method I am suggesting? I don't want to buy into SVC until I know it can be done.


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## normajean999 (Jan 1, 2012)

alexadeparis said:


> So has anyone over done or tried to do the bank/use/borrow 3 year method I am suggesting? I don't want to buy into SVC until I know it can be done.



When I bought my first resale membership (5000 pts) it came with some banked points (09). Since I didn't have enough points for 2 weeks with those points + my current use year at the time (10) I was able to borrow from 11. So then I got 2 weeks in a 2 BR. You can only bank points into the next use year and then they must be used in that year or you have to deposit into II.  There is no fee for borrowing. This was booked in Kauai 7 months out. Also I will mention you only get so many housekeeping based on points. Because I only had 5000 points (at that time) I got 2 housekeepings per year. I'm thinking they came 3 or 4 times during the 2 weeks though so maybe I got more than 2 because I was using points from more than 1 year. But I'm not positive on how that works. 

I have 7500 points now but I am thinking of buying about 4000 more so I can have enough for 2 weeks in a 2 BR each year without having to borrow because if I borrow I am stuck with the 9 month booking window instead of 12 months. By splitting the cost with another couple I figure it costs us about $80-90 per night per couple versus $150-160 for us to just get a 1 BR for ourselves. It's not too hard to find someone to go to Hawaii with us. 

Also as someone else pointed out using points from 3 years at once will significantly increase your overall cost. I don't know about the Cali club but for the Hawaii club I figure 3500 points/yr would cost $953/yr so $2859 if using 3 yrs points at once. But for 10,500 pts a year its $2104. So that is $754 more to use 3 years at a time. If Vino Bello is not too hard to book into I would think booking direct would be much cheaper. You might check the retail price to compare and maybe someone can post the breakdown for the Cali maint fees.  For Hawaii it is $555 base price for the first 2000 points, .1644 per point after 2000 pts, + a $151.5 club fee. Best of luck to you!


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## alexadeparis (Jan 1, 2012)

Based on the comments, I think I will look for a 5000 point contract.


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## alexadeparis (Jan 5, 2012)

I have found a contract that I put a bid on for 4050 shell points. I will also try to find a 1250 or 1500 point contract to go with it if I win it. I bid on it because it has 2012 MF paid with no reimbursement expected.  

Anyway, the ebay ad states the points never expire, so this would be a "Permanent" point contract rather than a "standard". Is there any real advantage to this type of contract as opposed to the ones that seem to expire in the 2049 range? I will be in my 70's in 2049, and probably wouldn't care if they expired or not, but as I said this one just so happens to be listed as not expiring. Thoughts?


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## Picker57 (Jan 5, 2012)

alexadeparis said:


> I have found a contract that I put a bid on for 4050 shell points. I will also try to find a 1250 or 1500 point contract to go with it if I win it. I bid on it because it has 2012 MF paid with no reimbursement expected.
> 
> Anyway, the ebay ad states the points never expire, so this would be a "Permanent" point contract rather than a "standard". Is there any real advantage to this type of contract as opposed to the ones that seem to expire in the 2049 range? I will be in my 70's in 2049, and probably wouldn't care if they expired or not, but as I said this one just so happens to be listed as not expiring. Thoughts?



Getting, essentially, a free year's worth of points is a very nice way to go; heckuva deal. I'm tempted myself, and I don't need any more points. And I'm an old guy. 

Permanent vs (whatever else) contracts?  I guess it all depends on how long you'll be traveling and whether you have an exit strategy when you quit traveling.  Anyone in the wings (kids, etc) you can gift them to? All in all, we've enjoyed Shell, and moreso since TUGgers have provided great information on how to get maximum 'bang for the buck'.

                ------Zach


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## alexadeparis (Jan 5, 2012)

I do have a daughter that would be in her 50's in 2049 - whatever is left will go to her - so I guess the permanent points are fine. I was just wondering if maybe those points were older contracts as far as the Shell program goes, and came with different perks or quirks, perhaps. Just looking for any caveats here.


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## Picker57 (Jan 5, 2012)

I don't know of any differences in contracts based on the age of the contract. On the other hand, stadiums could be filled with lists of the things I don't know. Any way to look at the contract itself? 
            Z.K. 


alexadeparis said:


> I do have a daughter that would be in her 50's in 2049 - whatever is left will go to her - so I guess the permanent points are fine. I was just wondering if maybe those points were older contracts as far as the Shell program goes, and came with different perks or quirks, perhaps. Just looking for any caveats here.


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## alexadeparis (Jan 5, 2012)

once I win the auction i will ask to see the contract - although I have to say at this price I don't really care. I have calculated the MF per point and I think the sweet spot where you get the best bank for your buck seems to be right around the 6,000 - 7.000 point range - so now I am still going to look for 2 contracts that are in that total range. Poor me, too bad I will have to now *force myself *to vacation in either Hawaii or Wine Country (my original plan for using shell points) even more often than I originally thought.


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## Picker57 (Jan 5, 2012)

Pretty good thinking, in my (never) humble opinion.  FYI, 7000 points will get you 2 weeks, 1BR, at Holua (lowest point requirements for Shell Hawaii resorts) in low season, so that's a pretty nice number; it'll probably run around $1500 in mf's.  Yeah, nasty break about having to spend time there....but you'll survive.  

      Z.K.  


alexadeparis said:


> once I win the auction i will ask to see the contract - although I have to say at this price I don't really care. I have calculated the MF per point and I think the sweet spot where you get the best bank for your buck seems to be right around the 6,000 - 7.000 point range - so now I am still going to look for 2 contracts that are in that total range. Poor me, too bad I will have to now *force myself *to vacation in either Hawaii or Wine Country (my original plan for using shell points) even more often than I originally thought.


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## Picker57 (Jan 6, 2012)

alexadeparis said:


> Poor me, too bad I will have to now *force myself *to vacation in either Hawaii or Wine Country (my original plan for using shell points) even more often than I originally thought.


Keep in mind that 'wine country' (I assume California) and Hawaii are two different home clubs, and the booking windows are different; 12 months in your home club and 9 months from outside your home club. Prolly no big deal.....

       ZK


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## alexadeparis (Jan 6, 2012)

Yes, I read through all the Shell threads in recent times on this board and found some had difficulty getting into Hawaii if they owned in another club, so I have been looking at Hawaii points for that reason. 

Now that the third buliding has opened in Vino Bello, it should be a little easier to get space there even if I don't own in the West club - the other CA locations really don't intrigue me that much, but the Hawaii locations look very nice. 

So I am ok with only being able to book at 9 months out for Vino Bello if I buy the Hawaii club - I briefly toyed with the idea of getting one contract of each, but thought better of it, because that would then get me 9 months booking for both Hawaii and California if I didn't have enough points for either with 12 month ARP - so I decided to go Hawaii even though the MF's are higher.


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## Picker57 (Jan 6, 2012)

alexadeparis said:


> Yes, I read through all the Shell threads in recent times on this board and found some had difficulty getting into Hawaii if they owned in another club, so I have been looking at Hawaii points for that reason. *
> Good thinking!*
> 
> - the other CA locations really don't intrigue me that much, *Their San Francisco spots are nice - our new fave is The Suites At Fisherman's Wharf* but the Hawaii locations look very nice. *They are, indeed, VERY nice. *
> ...


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## normajean999 (Jan 7, 2012)

I agree with Picker57. Stick with one club or you'll be duplicating club fees. Best of luck in your purchases! We'll be staying at the KCR Beachboy in March. We went last year for our first time in Hawaii and first time using Shell. We had a 2 BR unit for 2 weeks and it was awesome! When we checked in they said they would take our bags to our room. So we said sure.  By the time we walked out and drove our car over and got to our room ALL our bags were already there!  They lugged them up to the second floor before we could even park the car!  I'm just sad we can only go for 10 days this year but my husband started a new job so only has 1 week right now so we have to suck it up for one year.  Actually he only gets 9 days cuz he gets in after us.  The one and only downside at KCR is the beach at the resort is not swimable.  Lots of coral and crashing waves. But there is a lovely beach and park just a few mins down the road. We had a garden view room but they gave us an end unit (ask for that preference when you reserve your room and call the day before to chit chat about check-in time and remind about the end unit) so we still had a wonderful view of the ocean.  Oh boy I am getting excited to go again... can you tell?


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## normajean999 (Jan 7, 2012)

Oh I forgot to mention, but you said you read all the threads so you probably know, that when you combine contracts they move the earlier contract to the month of the later renewal. My first one was may so I always try to buy ones that are may or earlier so I don't get pushed back farther. There are lots of good deals out there now with 2012 maint paid and they do not ask for the "convenience fee" either so don't be afraid to be picky! And never bid on ones that want you to pay the transfer fee. But most all pay closing and transfer anymore. You just have to read carefully.  I save a lot to my watch list and see what they go for or if they even get any bids to see what kind of deals can be had.


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## Picker57 (Jan 7, 2012)

normajean999 said:


> Oh I forgot to mention, but you said you read all the threads so you probably know, that when you combine contracts they move the earlier contract to the month of the later renewal. My first one was may so I always try to buy ones that are may or earlier so I don't get pushed back farther. *
> This was a bit complicated to my simple mind, and there's a good explanation of the formula in the (generally poor) SVC website. It's in the "Pointing The Way" section in the FAQ area.  *There are lots of good deals out there now with 2012 maint paid and they do not ask for the "convenience fee" either so don't be afraid to be picky! And never bid on ones that want you to pay the transfer fee. But most all pay closing and transfer anymore. You just have to read carefully.  I save a lot to my watch list and see what they go for or if they even get any bids to see what kind of deals can be had.


*Wow, it looks like there was a flurry of activity on a couple of eBay SVC auctions last evening. But that's good buying advice - keep trolling to see what's available and how it's selling.  I suspect the larger packages are more reluctant to not ask for some 'fee'. There was a 9700 point package that sold for $1 recently, but was asking a 'convenience fee' of approx. $600.  Still not bad in the big picture.   And if this is a first entry into SVC, one may want to look at larger packages, unless one has other properties to exchange.  I agree, KCR / Beachboy is a great place, but takes a lot of points. But there are ways to stretch the SVC points, and SFX seems to have good trade availability in there. 
One thing we had trouble with in Kauai was good swimming beaches, at least on the east (Kapaa) side of the island. Where was the nearby beach park you mentioned?

                -------Zach *


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## normajean999 (Jan 7, 2012)

Lydgate State Park & Kamalani Playground are 1.5 miles from KCR.

http://www.hawaiiweb.com/kauai/html/beaches/lydgate_beach.html
http://www.kamalani.org/playground.htm


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## alexadeparis (Jan 10, 2012)

Well I won a 3500 point contract on Ebay for $1.02. First use 2013 - Hawaii club, never expires. I will now look for a 2500 point contract. I am excited.


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## Picker57 (Jan 10, 2012)

alexadeparis said:


> Well I won a 3500 point contract on Ebay for $1.02. First use 2013 - Hawaii club, never expires. I will now look for a 2500 point contract. I am excited.


*Congratulations...Shell is well-represented in Hawaii (except Maui..damn!) and I'm sure they'll be well used.  Also, since you have some other "points properties", don't overlook the benefits of booking a week through one of them, then banking with someone like SFX.  This gets you some extras like bonus weeks or "lifestyle weeks".  An advantage of SFX's - though it's not a freebie -  is that you can then start a search 12 (or more, depending on your membership type) months out.

            -------------Zach

PS   There's currently a helluva deal on 2500 points on eBay - 2 yrs paid up - ends today.  *


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## mblosser (Jan 20, 2012)

*Getting caught streaking in the quad notwithstanding*

[Comment deleted at request of original poster]


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## Picker57 (Jan 21, 2012)

mblosser said:


> Buying into Shell will probably be the biggest mistake of your life.  Good luck dealing with them, their unwieldy and unnavigable club offerings, high maintenance fees, and horrible customer service. There are many EXCELLENT reasons the points sell for nothing on eBay.


Ooh....that seems a wee bit harsh. Granted, some properties can be pricey points-wise, but there are ways to game that system. We've not experienced other systems to compare , but we've enjoyed their properties, haven't experienced any awful service (though their website has sucked for a long time). We do find outselves enjoying the points system - works for us - but it would be nice to see an "oranges to oranges" cost/benefit comparison with other systems. 

            ---------Zach


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## alexadeparis (Jan 21, 2012)

I do own in other systems, so this will be an every other use year for me - I want about 5,000 points yearly so I can book Vino Bello every 2 years. 

Shell is no different than any other developer - they charge ridiculous amounts for their product that can be bought resale for pennies on the dollar. The same is true of my other ownerships and I have been happy with those also. 

If I wasn't prepared to pay the maintenance fee, I wouldn't have bought it.

If you don't like your Shell ownership, dump it here on TUG - you will find a taker. Then you don't have to be bothered anymore. But don't rain on my parade because I am a new Shell owner. That isn't fair. I know full well what I am getting into. I am the one that started this thread looking for honest feedback, not complaints.


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## Picker57 (Jan 21, 2012)

alexadeparis said:


> I do own in other systems, so this will be an every other use year for me - I want about 5,000 points yearly so I can book Vino Bello every 2 years.
> 
> Shell is no different than any other developer - they charge ridiculous amounts for their product that can be bought resale for pennies on the dollar. The same is true of my other ownerships and I have been happy with those also.
> 
> ...



That's my general feeling as well, and we've been generally happy with Shell.   Given your experience with other systems (I know there are cases to be made for fixed deeded weeks as well, but that's something else), would you say that Shell is comparable to the others? 

        ZK


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## alexadeparis (Jan 22, 2012)

While I have not yet stayed at a Shell, the resorts for the most part seem upscale, with a few exceptions based on the pictures on the Shell website(Peacock Suites seems dumpy). They seem to be a pretty good points system considering the amount of resorts, they have some really good locations. I mainly wanted it for wine country. I used to own at the Riverpointe, but I would rather not sleep in a trailer if possible. The little Sweden resort in WI is excellently located also. Definitely glad to add Shell to my portfolio.

I think the product is good, but of course, if you overpay,i.e. retail purchase, it will leave a bitter taste in your mouth. That's true of anything. 

If I buy a bottle of olive oil at a boutique for $20, and next week see the same exact bottle in the ethnic market for $4, I am going to be pissed. But that doesn't automatically mean that the olive oil isn't good. The person that bought the bottle at $4 got a relative bargain, I got hosed. But that's life sometimes.


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## alexadeparis (Jan 22, 2012)

Just won another contract on ebay. 2600 Hawaii points expiring in 2050 with a December use date. So that means that both my contracts will be adjusted to begin on December 1, is that correct? The other one I bought was a permanent point contract with a September use date. 

I spent a total of $33 for two contracts totaling 6100 points, so I am happy.


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## Picker57 (Jan 22, 2012)

alexadeparis said:


> Just won another contract on ebay. 2600 Hawaii points expiring in 2050 with a December use date. So that means that both my contracts will be adjusted to begin on December 1, is that correct? The other one I bought was a permanent point contract with a September use date.
> 
> I spent a total of $33 for two contracts totaling 6100 points, so I am happy.



Nicely done.  Here is the section from the SVC website outlining how resale points are handled. I get vertigo trying to understand it, but I think you're right. Enjoy !


What happens if I buy Points from someone else?

You may buy some or all of the Points of another member of your home club (the "seller"). If the seller has the same Use Year, then your Use Year will not change . If the seller has a different Use Year then your Use Year will change only if, on the date when the transfer takes effect, the seller's Use Year end date is after your Use Year end date. In that case, you will start using the seller's Use Year.
For example, suppose that your Use Year begins on June 1 and ends the following May 31, and that the seller's Use Year begins on January 1 and ends on December 31.
(1) If you buy the seller's Points on March 1, then your current Use Year will be extended until December 31. From then on, your future Use Years will begin on January 1 and end on December 31. If you have Points in your Points account on the day when the transfer takes effect, you may use those Points until the end of the seller's Use Year on December 31 (instead of on May 31 of the current year).
(2) If you buy the seller's Points on August 1, then your Use Year will stay the same. You may use Points you bought from the seller until the end of your Use Year on the following May 31 (instead of on December 31 of the current year).


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## shellboy (Jan 22, 2012)

A few years ago, I was able to request to use the earlier date for combining use years and was allowed to do so. Not sure if that is still allowed. No harm in asking.


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## chellej (Jan 23, 2012)

I have been very happy with Shells customer service.  I purchased 3 contracts and they did all revert to the use date latest in the year.  They made a mistake and the previous owner had used 2500 points that were initially transferred into my account and while trying to sort out the combining of the 3 accounts it was discovered.  I had already used the points so Shell basically wrote them off since it was their mistake.  I truly expected for them to take them out of my future points but they did not.

I have an oceanfront room booked at kbc in May and couldn't be happier....of course I bought them for next to nothing on ebay.

Last time we went which was also in May we were upgraded from a one bedroom to a 2 bedroom - this was for 2 days and 3 days on the front and back of another week also on Kauai.   I thought they treated owners very well.


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## Picker57 (Jan 23, 2012)

chellej said:


> Last time we went which was also in May we were upgraded from a one bedroom to a 2 bedroom - this was for 2 days and 3 days on the front and back of another week also on Kauai.   I thought they treated owners very well.


I've read posts about being upgraded.How, exactly, does that come about?  Do you make the request upon checking in?  Did you inquire a few days ahead? Were additional points charged? Assuming it's based on availability I'd guess that it's not highly predictable, but nice when it happens.  Thanks for any tips.

           -----------------ZK


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## chellej (Jan 23, 2012)

We did not request the upgrade.....were just asked at checkin if we would like a 2 bedtoom instead.  We were not charged any additional points.


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## Picker57 (Jan 23, 2012)

chellej said:


> We did not request the upgrade.....were just asked at checkin if we would like a 2 bedtoom instead.  We were not charged any additional points.



Sweet !   Thanks. 

             ZK


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## rickandcindy23 (Jan 23, 2012)

Our son and daughter-in-law were upgraded at Vino Bello from the studio I reserved for them to a one bedroom.  They were pleased with the unit quality, and they were impressed with the entire experience.  The only negative was the noise from the people above, and our son said the noise was late at night, and it sounded like people above them were stomping around.  Requesting a top floor would solve that problem.


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## alexadeparis (Feb 1, 2012)

Ok, I am officially impatient. Does anyone know how long it takes for Shell to transfer ownership and to send you a letter so you can register for the website, etc? I know it's a points contract with no need for a deed, so hopefully this shortens the process a little?


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## Picker57 (Feb 1, 2012)

It might be worth asking the eBay seller - they've probably got more experience dealing with SVC so might have an idea.  Also, you might just call Shell (1-877-Shell10) just in case they have it in their system but haven't yet sent out the papers. 

             ZK


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## Picker57 (Feb 6, 2012)

*Is it just me?*

Is it just the curmudgeon in me or does anyone else find SVC's web services consistently annoying?  I've emailed back to their "Confirmations" and their "Chat" email addresses and received zippo/nada/bupkus in return (I do get eventual responses from their "contact us" page).  In addition I find the website architecture to be really obtuse - difficult to find  the desired information (even when Point 'n Play isn't "temporarily" out of service).  Their presenters, at one time, claimed they were "working on it". Yeah, right.  

My latest episode their claim on P 'n P that I don't have sufficient points for a certain booking, when my Account screen shows I have plenty.  So probably will have to call Shell10 and go through their opening quiz ....again. 

I have no problem with their property 'product', and accept their maintenance fees. But in this age of really GOOD websites, why does SVC maintain this website dog? 

At any rate, had to vent a bit.  But the SVC 'mechanics' may be one reason that receiving paperwork is a bit slow.  

                 --------Zach


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## normajean999 (Feb 25, 2012)

alexadeparis said:


> Ok, I am officially impatient. Does anyone know how long it takes for Shell to transfer ownership and to send you a letter so you can register for the website, etc? I know it's a points contract with no need for a deed, so hopefully this shortens the process a little?



Unfortunately it can take several months. I have bought 3 on ebay and I don't remember exactly but seems like at least 3 months. I'm still waiting for the most recent to close. A lot of it has to do with how fast the closing company processes it. But I figure another month or 2 for Shell to process the name transfer. You'll get a copy of the title document from the title company probably first, indicating it's done.


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