I'm letting everything I have just die on the vine and shifting over to Armed Forces Vacation Club.

[bshanebowl]

I sold my Grandview Las Vegas and that cancelled my RCI. I still have a timeshare in Maine which I'll keep to use unless someone wants me to give it to them. I let my II membership expire with them. I joined a vacation club (Club Newport) which has good cruise rates and appears to be a good aggregator of other travel resources at competitive prices but it was pretty pricey unless you traveled a lot so I may elect to stop paying my renewal fee. I am looking at Armed Forces Vacation Club as my go to now. Seems to have everything everyone else has with no maintenance fees and it's very affordable. Just booked a resort in Orlando for about $400 for a week. And that's over spring break. Magic Tree I think it's called. Anyhow, I did a lot of research before starting with timeshares and things worked out great with them but maybe if I did a deep dive I might have just decided to deal exclusively with AFVC had I been aware, at least for land travel. Highly recommend so far.

 

[pedro47]

Good choice and no yearly m/f.

 

[bshanebowl]

No assessments either. Costs just a tad more but I think even if you don't upgrade your membership it's only like $20 extra a stay.

 

[AwayWeGo]

For unexplained reasons, Armed Forces Vacation Club never offers reservations for Vacation Village At Parkway (Kissimmee FL). That is, I've never seen any Vacation Village At Parkway availability through Armed Forces Vacation Club even though I check semi-frequently.

Plus, in the fine print that comes with RCI reservations for Vacation Village At Parkway, it says that any & all Vacation Village At Parkway reservations from Armed Forces Club are null & void & will not be honored. That's mox nix since Armed Forces Vacation Club doesn't even offer Vacation Village At Parkway reservations in the 1st place.

It's not a major matter, but it is curious.

Anybody here know what's up with the bad blood between Armed Forces Vacation Club & Vacation Village At Parkway ?

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

 

[chapjim]

Curious that AFVC's street address, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, is the same as Travel & Leisure and Wyndham Destinations. It's a big building so it doesn't have to mean anything.

 

[clifffaith]

Curious that AFVC's street address, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, is the same as Travel & Leisure and Wyndham Destinations. It's a big building so it doesn't have to mean anything.

“Armed Forces Vacation Club is a part of Wyndham Worldwide, one the world's largest hospitality companies. This makes it possible to offer a vast collection of condominium-style timeshare resorts.”

 

[chapjim]

“Armed Forces Vacation Club is a part of Wyndham Worldwide, one the world's largest hospitality companies. This makes it possible to offer a vast collection of condominium-style timeshare resorts.”

So, it DID mean something!

 

[bizaro86]

For unexplained reasons, Armed Forces Vacation Club never offers reservations for Vacation Village At Parkway (Kissimmee FL). That is, I've never seen any Vacation Village At Parkway availability through Armed Forces Vacation Club even though I check semi-frequently.

Plus, in the fine print that comes with RCI reservations for Vacation Village At Parkway, it says that any & all Vacation Village At Parkway reservations from Armed Forces Club are null & void & will not be honored. That's mox nix since Armed Forces Vacation Club doesn't even offer Vacation Village At Parkway reservations in the 1st place.

It's not a major matter, but it is curious.

Anybody here know what's up with the bad blood between Armed Forces Vacation Club & Vacation Village At Parkway ?

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

I think it's very likely that enough AFVC types went to presentations at Vacation Village and said something like "we aren't buying because we can always get an AFVC deal". Since buyers are the purpose of timeshares from a developer point of view, if AFVC guests aren't buying then they won't want them.

In my experience AFVC inventory overlaps quite a bit with RCI extra vacations.

 

[susieq]

I want to thank bshanebowl for pointing me in this direction. I've bookmarked this site and will definitely check into it. Thanks again!!

​

 

[montygz]

So, it DID mean something!

Also means you likely won't seeing any properties that only trade in Interval International, like DVC or Marriott, but perhaps I am wrong.

 

[dioxide45]

By the looks of the outside, Magic Tree isn't so Magic. It is an old resort with low low maintenance fees. I don't know what the units are like. Most people buy it to trade cheap through II or RCI.

 

[TheHolleys87]

By the looks of the outside, Magic Tree isn't so Magic. It is an old resort with low low maintenance fees. I don't know what the units are like. Most people buy it to trade cheap through II or RCI.

We stayed there once. It was comfortable enough, but the ceilings were low. That was the trip where we learned we really, really don’t like having to use a laundry room instead of having washer/dryer in our room.

 

[GoodTimes]

I sold my Grandview Las Vegas and that cancelled my RCI. I still have a timeshare in Maine which I'll keep to use unless someone wants me to give it to them. I let my II membership expire with them. I joined a vacation club (Club Newport) which has good cruise rates and appears to be a good aggregator of other travel resources at competitive prices but it was pretty pricey unless you traveled a lot so I may elect to stop paying my renewal fee. I am looking at Armed Forces Vacation Club as my go to now. Seems to have everything everyone else has with no maintenance fees and it's very affordable. Just booked a resort in Orlando for about $400 for a week. And that's over spring break. Magic Tree I think it's called. Anyhow, I did a lot of research before starting with timeshares and things worked out great with them but maybe if I did a deep dive I might have just decided to deal exclusively with AFVC had I been aware, at least for land travel. Highly recommend so far.

This is exactly what we do (AFVC). We also rent on redweek/ebay/go-koala/skyauction/tugbbs and it works great for us.

Cash is King - we don't have to worry about points expiring, renting out units, trying to use weeks when we don't want to go, staying in an obscure location and disposing of the timeshare one day. Also we usually don't plan vacations a year in advance. These alternatives are great for under 3 months and last minute vacations. I am trying to figure out a good way to access to Interval International Getaways...especially as the kids get older and our schedules are more flexible.

 

[bshanebowl]

I think the speculation about not having Marriot properties is correct due to corporate ownership by Wyndham. Not sure if dvc ever shows up. The only solution to the Marriot question, if any, would be to deep dive into what companies the owners of II own and see if one of them is the AFVC of that corporate tree. It may not even involve vets. But maybe... I, like everyone else, would like to stay at a Four Seasons every time but we have been doing this for several years now and never been disappointed, maybe just occasionally a little underwhelmed. Mostly we check a few review sites before booking. Anyhow my whole point originally was that I, who does weeks of research before "buying" things like timeshares was pleasantly surprised to find a site that appears to offer a lot of the benefits without the commitment.

 

[wmgjr]

“Armed Forces Vacation Club is a part of Wyndham Worldwide, one the world's largest hospitality companies. This makes it possible to offer a vast collection of condominium-style timeshare resorts.”

When you think you've left RCI and deep dived timeshare research only to find out....
Nevermind

 

[Hindsite]

I am trying to figure out a good way to access to Interval International Getaways...especially as the kids get older and our schedules are more flexible.

The answer is to obtain an ownership that is being given away on TUG for free that exchanges via II, and then get your account set up and then give the timeshare away so you aren't hooked on the maint fees for eternity.

I have read that there are some Mexican vacation clubs that have no maint fees and it works as pay for use and they are affiliated with II, but do a lot of research before going that route to avoid a large transfer fee or an ongoing commitment of some kind. These can (apparently) be picked up for next to nothing resale.

 

[pedro47]

To the OP suggestion only., I would research the resorts that you are interesting into exchanging into in future.
You have as an example the TUG Reviews Section.

 

[bnoble]

When you think you've left RCI and deep dived timeshare research only to find out....
Nevermind

This.

AFVC is generally a subset of the RCI extra vacations—usually those on the cheaper end of things. In other words, mostly the leftovers in RCI. Some are possibly at a slightly deeper discount, but the few I looked at were identically priced. That’s great and can work for some people, but it is not some totally new outlet. It’s just another way to move relatively low-demand RCI inventory.

 

[bshanebowl]

I have written a few of those tug reviews along with some brief videos and posted them for Facebook user groups. The more data you collect the more satisfied your stay will be. I can't think of a bad stay yet but some are better than others. And they're all better than some of the Motel 6's I stayed at previously.

 

[bshanebowl]

This.

AFVC is generally a subset of the RCI extra vacations—usually those on the cheaper end of things. In other words, mostly the leftovers in RCI. Some are possibly at a slightly deeper discount, but the few I looked at were identically priced. That’s great and can work for some people, but it is not some totally new outlet. It’s just another way to move relatively low-demand RCI inventory.

 

[bshanebowl]

True. But you do get to do it without having to get a time share given to you, join an exchange program, and possibly be on the hook for a random $6000 assessment or whatever. So I think the reward is worth the risk with AFVC.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

I have written a few of those tug reviews along with some brief videos and posted them for Facebook user groups. The more data you collect the more satisfied your stay will be. I can't think of a bad stay yet but some are better than others. And they're all better than some of the Motel 6's I stayed at previously.

Anything would be better than a Motel 6.........








.

 

[4TimeAway]

There's also a Realtor industry group like this and other independent exchanged like SFX. For Europe Hapimag that almost like a TS but can pause after a couple of years.

I can see both sides of this coin. Some people like TS, but it can be capital intensive. The last minute deals on RCI can be compelling and work for many people.

We own 2 TS for access to higher demand locations and then fill in with RCI/AFVC, SFX, Redweek, etc. I'm calling this the "AND" approach. So far it seems to be working well and has delayed my "need" to buy another week.

We've use GPX last minute deals and was blown away by the value, next month we will use RCI exchange that streched our points abit (not a huge savings, but better selection lower than retail rental) and in Spring we will use an SFX week in Hawaii. The savings is somthing like 60%+for GPX/RCI last minute, 40% for RCI and maube 25% for SFX.

Overall we have optimized for flexiblity and lower fixed costs, while still having the ability to take trips as desired. YMMV.

PS- Pass on Motel 6, we'd just camp.

 

[jp10558]

Anything would be better than a Motel 6.........








.

I'm going to do it ... I don't think Villa Roma was better than a Motel 6.

 

[jp10558]

There's also a Realtor industry group like this and other independent exchanged like SFX. For Europe Hapimag that almost like a TS but can pause after a couple of years.

I can see both sides of this coin. Some people like TS, but it can be capital intensive. The last minute deals on RCI can be compelling and work for many people.

We own 2 TS for access to higher demand locations and then fill in with RCI/AFVC, SFX, Redweek, etc. I'm calling this the "AND" approach. So far it seems to be working well and has delayed my "need" to buy another week.

We've use GPX last minute deals and was blown away by the value, next month we will use RCI exchange that streched our points abit (not a huge savings, but better selection lower than retail rental) and in Spring we will use an SFX week in Hawaii. The savings is somthing like 60%+for GPX/RCI last minute, 40% for RCI and maube 25% for SFX.

Overall we have optimized for flexiblity and lower fixed costs, while still having the ability to take trips as desired. YMMV.

PS- Pass on Motel 6, we'd just camp.

So, I'm not a Veteran so I assume I couldn't use AFVC anyway, but TBH, yea, I like the owned TSs for "the fancy / location / date specific" stuff, and I then try and fill in with RCI Extra Vacations and Last Calls and II Getaways.