(2007 thread) Shell Vacation Club (SVC) Points Knowledge thread

[JohnPaul]

Hello Tuggers! I am considering a purchase of some SVC points for a stay in SF in 2012. I have been reading posts from several years back to the present(including this thread) and my questions are;
1) I have read that I could combine points for 2 years, 2011 & 2012 in my case to use in 2012. If I don't have enough, how much would I have to pay per point to reserve a place?
2)Does SVC have a 45-60 day Instant Exchange Feature? I have not seen it mentioned in my readings.
3)Depending on how many people come on this trip, it may be 2 or 3 people. Suites at Fisherman's Wharf is the only resort on SVC that offers a 2BR condo. Does anyone know what kind of condition it is in?

Thanks for any help you can give.

Gordon

We've stayed in the 2 bedroom and the 1 bedroom at Suites at Fisherman's Wharf. There are only 3 two bedrooms and their views are limited. Still only one bath and the tiny kitchen. The 2 bedrooms all face Hyde so if you are bothered by the cable cars it isn't good.

The one bedroom at least give you a chance for an amazing view.

 

[alanmc_21]

So we have 2500 SVC points at Vino Bello. It is an amazing resort and I know why SVC uses it for it's sales location. In 4 years we have used this system only twice. We went to Florida on vacation, stayed at a great resort, but it was not our first choice. It seems Shell cannot guarantee a booking at it's more premium resorts even with 6 month lead time. The second use was sending my in-laws to Hawaii to an RCI resort. They enjoyed it but by all accounts was nothing like an SVC place.

I have never had an unpleasant experience with Shell, they always offer prompt service and when I call to bank get it done immediately with a follow up email.

 

[slbowen]

SVC Offer

It appears that this tread might still be active and I hope that someone can help with this decision.

We have owned at Paniolo since 1998, and have recently bought a week at Peacock Suites. Now SVC has contacted us about converting these to points. They are offering 4050 pts for Paniolo and 3700 pts for Peacock at a cost of $3k each. They have given us until July 24th to think about it, but I would like some input from others if this sounds like a good deal?

Thanks for any help,
Steve

 

[rickandcindy23]

I can help. Don't pay Shell a thing. There are listings on eBay for free Shell points, even some that have free use for 2011. I would not convert and would buy Shell points on the resale market. I actually did just that.

 

[Picker57]

Hmm...so that will give you 7750 points. Assuming that Shell will move all the points into one club, you'll be paying around .21/pt. (ie. around $1630) in maintenance fees (a lot more if they DON'T move you into the same club). In general we've liked the point system pretty well, but the $6K seems a bit pricey just for the convenience. Good to figure out just what those points will buy you on the Shell Points Chart (probably 2-3 weeks depending on the nature of the lodging). How does this compare to your current costs and travel styles?

One thing to consider is that flights to Hawaii are LOTS less costly midweek, so that could be a compensating factor. On the other hand, you could just BUY a ton of points for a lot less than $6K.

Cheers,
Zach

 

[slbowen]

Thanks for the responses, that was quick.

Here is a little history. We bought Paniolo in 1998. The next year they went to points.
The Peacock we just got for $300 transfer fee. We bought this be cause Disney is driving distance and we have several Grand kids. So if this did not get converted we would probably still use it every year.

My problem with the Hawaii property is that it seems like exchanging the weeks is getting much more difficult, and finding something you want is very frustrating. I am also not happy about the new RCI setup with psuedo points and Platinum membership.

In recent years we have discovered cruising and we would much rather spend our money there. So purchasing more timeshare at this time is not appealing.

I am just trying to find a way to make my current investments more useable, because we are not going to go to Hawaii every year, and if we did it would be different islands.

I know that I could walk away from it, but my personality is to honor commiments and find the best use of it.

So if anyone else has input on this it would really help.

Thanks.

 

[Picker57]

My first thought is to keep the Paniolo points (actually gives you a bit more than one week there - aren't all the suites at 3700 points?), book a prime week as early as possible, then bank it with SFX (or the like). I think SFX gives you two years to use your banked week and provides some bonuses for prime places like Hawaii. I agree with you about RCI, and the mandatory membership thru SVC is a constant bone in my throat.

Zach

 

[slbowen]

My first thought is to keep the Paniolo points (actually gives you a bit more than one week there - aren't all the suites at 3700 points?), book a prime week as early as possible, then bank it with SFX (or the like). I think SFX gives you two years to use your banked week and provides some bonuses for prime places like Hawaii. I agree with you about RCI, and the mandatory membership thru SVC is a constant bone in my throat.

Zach

Zach,
I am a little confused. Both of my properties are weeks, none of them are points yet.

Steve

 

[slbowen]

Does anyone have current exchange charts for SVC?

Thanks.

 

[Picker57]

Oops....my misunderstanding - I thought Paniolo had already converted you to points. But the same point holds - book a prime week at Paniolo, then bank it with SFX (TPI, TP Hawaii, etc) to provide more flexibility and time.

The advantages of points (unless I'm missing something) are:
(a) You can book for midweek occupancy & departure (therefore cheaper flights).
(b) You're not strapped to 7-day blocks.

Whether those are worth $6K......up to you.

Zach

 

[talez]

I know that I could walk away from it, but my personality is to honor commiments and find the best use of it.

I don't think you can simply walk away because don't you have to pay maintenance fees? If you don't pay it, they will send you to collection agency. It will ruin your credit.

I am with the opinion of not paying anything. There are many timeshare owners happy to give away their timeshares for free.

Like yourself have experienced, it's such a pain to book a stay and you are stuck with an annual maintenance fee.

 

[Picker57]

Steve - Just out of curiosity, as an owner of weeks at a Shell property, do you automatically belong to the Shell Vacations Club (with mandatory RCI membership), or is that just for points people? If you're an SVC member you should be able to simply book a week through the website; if not, you would book it through the resort itself.

Zach

 

[gandalf252002]

That I am aware of SVC does not post a PDF file like others, however I have a spreadsheet I put together just copying stuff from the Point & Play site.

Not sure if I can post that here?

Does anyone have current exchange charts for SVC?

Thanks.

 

[slbowen]

Steve - Just out of curiosity, as an owner of weeks at a Shell property, do you automatically belong to the Shell Vacations Club (with mandatory RCI membership), or is that just for points people? If you're an SVC member you should be able to simply book a week through the website; if not, you would book it through the resort itself.

Zach

No, I have an account at RCI which is separate from Shell. So I think it is only points members that are part of SVC.

 

[slbowen]

Thanks to everyone for your inputs.

I think that we will wait for a great deal from Shell, like free. Lol
In the mean time we will just deal with the weeks situation.

Thanks again,
Steve

 

[TexasHyattGirl]

We stayed at a great resort on the water in Fort Lauderdale. Very nicely maintained but also run as a motel

 

[Picker57]

Thanks to everyone for your inputs.

In the mean time we will just deal with the weeks situation.

That certainly seems the most prudent. In the meantime, consider doing the "book it, then bank it" (with the exchange company of your choice) for any week you're not going to use. Hawaii always seems to be a highly desirable item. This will provide a lot of the flexibility attractive in timesharing.

---Zach

 

[slbowen]

We turned down the offer and will stick with the weeks. Of course they told us that we could always convert at the resort, but it would cost us much more.

The sales guy did say something that I wanted to get clarification on. I mentioned that I could get resale points in SVC for far less cost that he was asking and he said that it was because the people selling were probably years behind in MF and need to dump it.

So if anyone out there can clarify when they bought points on the open market, did you have to catch up on MF? I think this was more BS, but would like to know for sure.

Thanks.

 

[Picker57]

So if anyone out there can clarify when they bought points on the open market, did you have to catch up on MF? I think this was more BS, but would like to know for sure.

That strikes me as BS in it's purest form. Certainly people selling are desiring not to pay any MORE MF's, but I think they have to be current or they're in deep doo-doo, and that would probably show up in the title process itself. Sadly, we bought ours before discovering TUG, thus paying "full list". But I doubt anyone ever paid for MF's in arrears.

---Zach

 

[slbowen]

That strikes me as BS in it's purest form. Certainly people selling are desiring not to pay any MORE MF's, but I think they have to be current or they're in deep doo-doo, and that would probably show up in the title process itself. Sadly, we bought ours before discovering TUG, thus paying "full list". But I doubt anyone ever paid for MF's in arrears.

---Zach

Sounded like BS to me also. More of the standard pressure sales. Think they will say anything to get more money.

 

[Murse]

Day use privileges

Wondering if SVC membership offers any day use privilege at the home resort, or any discounted use at home resort?
If so, is it for resale(which is what I'm thinking about getting) or only for developer bought accounts?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Picker57]

By 'day use', I assume you're referring to use of the facilities but not the lodging (eg. golf course)? I've never heard of that. To my knowledge the only discounts are on the points reserved at 14 days or less for stays of 6 days or less.

--Zach

 

[frog4ever]

day use

I have day use of my home club- peacock suites. I can use the pool and go there for the day. I have a SVC card with my member number on it. I've never done it because I don't want to pay the parking fee.


Kristy

 

[chellej]

We turned down the offer and will stick with the weeks. Of course they told us that we could always convert at the resort, but it would cost us much more.

The sales guy did say something that I wanted to get clarification on. I mentioned that I could get resale points in SVC for far less cost that he was asking and he said that it was because the people selling were probably years behind in MF and need to dump it.

So if anyone out there can clarify when they bought points on the open market, did you have to catch up on MF? I think this was more BS, but would like to know for sure.

Thanks.

Just look at ebay.... search for shell points. I bought 6750 points for a total of ~$300 AND it included the use of the first year points so that was $1400 of maintenance fees that were prepaid ( Basically they paid me $1100 to take the weeks). Just make sure to buy at the same club as each club will charge you a separate fee and RCI dues. If you stay in one club (ie Hawaii, Western,etc) you will only pay one club fee. I would also buy at the club you are most likely to use so you can book earlier. Keep in mind at 12 months you have to book at least 7 nights then at 9 months you can book less.

What you lose buying resale is the club select and the elite options.......I haven't missed that at all as the best value for your shell points is shell resorts. If you use the points for anything else you are losing 40-50% of the value of your maintenance fee (you will pay far less by just paying cash for the airline, cruise, etc)

 

[Rumpled]

Wondering if SVC membership offers any day use privilege at the home resort, or any discounted use at home resort?
If so, is it for resale(which is what I'm thinking about getting) or only for developer bought accounts?
Thanks in advance.

With a SVC card you get day use at any resort, not just home resort. We just did this at two Arizona SVC resorts. I am not aware of any discounts.
The cards are not needed for checkin or anything else as far as I'm aware.

I don't think they distinguish resale or developer for giving out a card. If you don't have one, just call to ask to get a new one.