Amber Vacation Club Members---Happy?

[gmcclana]

Although I have called myself searching the BBS, I haven't been able to find out much about the Amber Vacation Club.

Hence, this post...

Are those of you who belong to this club satisfied with it? Have you been able to obtain desired weeks with little to no difficulty?

Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

 

[Becky]

We bought a few years ago and love Amber Points. The mfs are reasonable. I am booked into a one bedroom Oceanfront at Casa Del Mar for one night in August before checking into Disney. The one bedroom cost me around $47 in mfs. After the first usage per week, there is a $35 cleaning charge. Even adding that to my stay, it cost only $82 for a one bedroom on the ocean for the night.

We just booked leaf season October at Sunrise Ridge for a weekend. Owners receive 50% off within 90 days for rentals. Total cost for the weekend including taxes was $134 for two nights in a one bedroom. No cleaning fee as long as you stay at least two nights. Look at the website www.vac-club.com The people are great and easy to book. I followed Tug's advice and bought where we wanted to stay and use.

Becky

 

[sfwilshire]

Pretty amazing that leaf season would be available at this late date. Usually the whole area is booked solid way in advance. What dates did you get?

Maybe it's a sign that people are assuming the drought will ruin the colors this year. Sometimes it happens. We planned an outdoor October wedding 23 years ago to take advantage of the colorful backdrops. The droughts that year caused everything to be brown. No color at all.

Sheila

 

[Becky]

I booked October 26 and 27 about two days ago. Two one bedrooms available, but only for the weekend when points are higher. So we rented at owner discount. We were there a few years ago around November 6 and 7 and the leaves were still there. Higher elevations the leaves may be gone, but from our experience visiting NC, usually in the lower elevations, leaves do not change until the third or fourth week in Oct. We try and go up each year. I remember the year you are talking about. They were all brown and then dropped the leaves. It may occur again this year, but we will be celebrating our anniversary on 10/26 so we will still enjoy it.

I looked last night at Casa Del Mar and saw availability for August 7and 8. I was looking to add to our reservation in Florida in case the shuttle goes up on August 7. My kids have never seen it.

Amber also had a two bedroom unit at Sunrise Ridge either next week or the following one last night online. Probably a cancellation.

We love it.

 

[JudyS]

I've seen several Amber Vacation Club contracts on eBay, but only every-other-year contracts. In most cases, the annual fees seemed quite high. Maybe every-year contracts are a better deal? (Or maybe the contracts have been described wrong -- maybe the fees are only paid every-other-year?)

 

[Kozman]

Amber Points

I definitely like my Amber points. I own at Sunrise Ridge in Pigeon Forge and often use the points for travel to and from Florida. I pay a maintenance fee of about $345 for a one bedroom which I consider very reasonable.

However, the fees at Casa Del Mar are quite high. Thus, I suggest Sunrise as the best choice to get into the club. There were several two bedrooms on ebay recently that were holiday weeks with maximum points attached. So, my advise would to be to purchase a high demand week since the fees are the same regardless of the demand, but come with different points values. Check out:

http://www.vac-club.com/vac-club/mainpage.htm

 

[JudyS]

.... So, my advise would to be to purchase a high demand week since the fees are the same regardless of the demand, but come with different points values. ...

Thanks, Kozman. Maybe the ones I saw on eBay were off-season units.

Would you be willing to say how many points you get for your $345 MF?

 

[Kozman]

Sunrise Points

Judy, I get 702 points with my week 44. When I purchased the week on ebay I had no idea that it was eligible for amber points or what amber points were. The previous owner had the previous years points in the bank which I was also able to use like a free week. Now if I owned a 'holiday week' (see the amber grid) I'd have 900 points for the same maintenance fee. There is a 3 bedroom Sunrise Ridge week 49 currently on ebay worth 1305 points. If it was a holiday week it would be worth 1908 at the same maintenance fee.

I think it will be increasingly difficult to use amber points in the future as more and more owners are talked into converting to RCI points thus reducing the available inventory.

PS....I notice you are Ann Arbor. You're right next door!

 

[JudyS]

Thanks for the points info!

...I think it will be increasingly difficult to use amber points in the future as more and more owners are talked into converting to RCI points thus reducing the available inventory.

I would guess this would mostly reduce peak-season weeks, since those are the best deal in RCI points.

PS....I notice you are Ann Arbor. You're right next door!

There are several TUGgers in SE MI. It would be nice to have a TUG get together sometime.

 

[Jed]

I think it will be increasingly difficult to use amber points in the future as more and more owners are talked into converting to RCI points thus reducing the available inventory.

I just recently bought a week at Sunrise Ridge with amber points. So far I am loving it. We were able to obtain a holiday week which made it a sweeter deal. We have used it for a one bedroom weekend in the summer and are going back for Labor Day to stay in one of the Pedestals. We were offered a free breakfast and Owner update at our last check-in, which we declined. I'm assuming this is where they are trying to get owners to convert to RCI points.

We have stayed at Casa Del Mar in Ormand Beach (with Bluegreen) and loved it as well. Knowing that this resort was included in the Amber Club made our decision to buy easier.

I hope that what you say in your quote will not take place. I guess we all just have to be ready to roll with the punches.

 

[Kozman]

Points Sellout

Jed, On second thought, I guess the rate of return on selling RCI points to owners of Amber points may have reached the law of diminishing returns on their part. They've probably already had at least one go round with us and if we didn't buy the first time, then why buy the second? It's like paying for your timeshare twice. I too visited Casa Del Mar and loved it.

 

[Kozman]

Michigan Tug

Thanks for the points info!

I would guess this would mostly reduce peak-season weeks, since those are the best deal in RCI points.

There are several TUGgers in SE MI. It would be nice to have a TUG get together sometime.

Judy, I think there was a MI Tug group that tried to form a couple of years ago. They planned a trip to Frankenmuth, but I don't think that got off the ground! It would indeed be fun. When I travel, I have several Tug friends that I make a point of visiting when I'm in the area.

John

 

[sfwilshire]

I checked the Tree Tops Resort website today because I have a floating week for sale and was ask for the exact weeks in the float period. I went over to the resale page and noticed a blurb that the Amber Club is no longer accepting new members or conversions. Can't recall the exact wording. It did say that existing Amber Club memberships could be transferred with a sale.

Sheila

 

[wise one]

We were at Treetops Resort last week. We own a fixed week 31 and have not traded it with RCI since 1990, but keep my RCI account because we own at Eagle Trace at Massanutten (also in the Berkeley Group) and almost always trade it (ET @ Massanutten is a great trader, at least for us). We have always been invited to the owners update and most years turned it down. In out nightly hottub discussions with those who go to the "update" for the money, we find that they always have some new twist to trying to sell something to the owners. Several years it was the newer buildings, then the Amber Club and now it is to get us "diehard weeks owners" to buy into the RCI points by either converting at a cost around $4000 or purchasing at the latest Berkeley group resort at Vacation Village at Parkway (Disney Area) at a cost of around $7000 got an every third year and using PFD for our other units. We were wondering what had become of the Amber Club, so now, thanks to those of you in this thread, I know.

If they do upgrade the Amber people to RCI points, you can bet it will not be for free.

 

[Jed]

Jed, On second thought, I guess the rate of return on selling RCI points to owners of Amber points may have reached the law of diminishing returns on their part. They've probably already had at least one go round with us and if we didn't buy the first time, then why buy the second? It's like paying for your timeshare twice. I too visited Casa Del Mar and loved it.

We were also offered two adult tickets to Dollywood while getting our parking pass. I suspected a sales pitch but I couldn't understand why due to the fact that Sunrise Ridge was a "sold out" resort. I point blank asked what they were selling and was told they were not selling anything. I still declined thinking there had to be a catch.

We will be there again next Friday and I will ask again what they are selling. If they tell me nothing again I might just ask them to put that in writing and see what happens.

I agree that converting to RCI points would be like paying twice for the timeshare. I don't understand why anyone would fall for that. Maybe some have reasons or maybe they just don't understand what they are doing.

Either way, my fixed week is perfect for our family's schedule. Having the option for points if we don't use the fixed week is just icing on the cake. For my situation, I would have no need to convert to RCI points. I guess everyone's situation is different.

 

[gjw007]

I've seen several Amber Vacation Club contracts on eBay, but only every-other-year contracts. In most cases, the annual fees seemed quite high. Maybe every-year contracts are a better deal? (Or maybe the contracts have been described wrong -- maybe the fees are only paid every-other-year?)

Judy,

I own at Alhambra Villas, even year, and I do think the annual maintenance fee is high at around $420 per year (this is every year) or roughly $840 for the use of 2-bedroom unit. The week I own is week 51, so it is a holiday week, and I get roughly 1400 Amber Points. Since it is a lockout, I can book a room 365 days in advance or 365 days after my week meaning that if I use the separate units, I can book anytime with a 1-bedroom one year and the hotel room the next year. If I choose to go during less demanding times (like I normally do), I can get a 1-bedroom every year. At $420 / 7, this comes out to $60 per night for a 1-bedroom. Better deals can be had but compared to a hotel room, this is not a bad rate per night.

Actually if somebody wants it, I would be more than willing to give the unit to them as I have other timeshares as long as they pay the transfer and title fees.

 

[Jed]

Timeshare Terrorism

Some of these TS Sales Personnel would be great to use as anti terrorist weapons. Some could strike terror in just about anyone. They should be put to good use for fighting fire with fire.

I had my sister and her children join us for a long weekend in one of the pedestal homes at Sunrise Ridge. Counting my family, there were eight of us. Upon getting our parking pass, we were offered a breakfast buffet for all eight along with $75. We were told that all they asked was that we stop by and took a look at one of the model units (why would I need to do that???). Although I already knew the answer, I asked what they were selling (since this is a sold out resort). The lady stated that she just made the offers and didn't know much past that. I asked how they could give these things away without selling something to which she replied "because were nice and we just want to darn it" (in a friendly way). We all laughed and went about our business.

The next morning we were sent to Bennett's Barbeque and enjoyed a nice breakfast without even having a rep with us. I guess they saw all the kids and decided to just wait for Auntie to take the kids after breakfast.

After breakfast we went back to the resort to view the model (which we never saw). We were told that we needed to convert to "Global" (RCI) Points like everyone else was doing. We told the man that we were happy with what we have and saw no need to convert anything. He told us that the conversion rate to bring in as many weeks as we wanted was now $4995 (and about to go up to $6995) but for TODAY ONLY we could do this for $3995 and then $2995 (btw: they were offering us 75,000 RCI Points in this super deal). I was laughing inside at this BS. They wanted my Sunrise Ridge deed and my Bluegreen points as well. We were told that since Bluegreen owns half of Casa Del Mar it was just a matter of time before we would not be able to go there using Amber Points. We were also told that he hoped we liked our deeded week at Sunrise Ridge and better get used to using it because everybody else would eventually convert leaving no inventory for us to use Amber Points (kind of like convert or die).

We told him we would be ok with the deeded week if it came down to that (deeded week 22 is not a bad week and we could also dump it if necessary). And politely told him again that we had no intentions of converting. His boss never even approached us. They just signed off on the paperwork and gave us a check (which paid for most of our groceries).

I will deal with this disaster if and when the time comes that I can't use the timeshare to my liking. I hope that many more will feel the same way I do and hold to their guns. Don't ever let anyone push you into a deal or make you feel like you have to do something right this minute. If you can't have a few days to think over a purchase of anything more than $500 it's probably not worth it. IMHO

Thanks to the information we gain here, we were able to fend off the Timeshare Terrorists this time. I really could care less about their free gifts but I think the experience of talking to them will make it easier and easier to keep saying no in the future and my time is definitely worth what I get for it (sometimes more). There might come a time or times when I may want to buy from a developer but if that time comes I will be prepared for it before hand and know what I want, why I want it, and how much I would be willing to pay (cash speaks loudly). I will never buy because of a "One Day Only" sale.

One day I would like to go into a TS sales presentation wearing a shirt that reads "Buy Resale". I'm sure that would get me out of there fast. It would also be cool to have a beach towel printed the same way to hang over a chair or rail at the pool.

This isn't Paul Harvey, but... GOOD DAY

 

[Jed]

I'm assuming that some of those going to these presentations (or any similar presentation) are not Sunrise Ridge owners. For those that are there on exchange, I'm also assuming that the sales team tries to get them to convert their home resort ownership.

If someone happens to be renting a unit, and goes to a presentation and buys into this "Global Points" system, where does the inventory come from? I could make another assumption but two per post is my limit.(please don't hold me to that)

 

[Kozman]

I'm assuming that some of those going to these presentations (or any similar presentation) are not Sunrise Ridge owners. For those that are there on exchange, I'm also assuming that the sales team tries to get them to convert their home resort ownership.

If someone happens to be renting a unit, and goes to a presentation and buys into this "Global Points" system, where does the inventory come from? I could make another assumption but two per post is my limit.(please don't hold me to that)

Jed, If you don't own at Sunrise they have new resorts being built in other locations and will gladly sell you RCI points there. Check out another thread just posted detailing the new increases in points transactions. I'm glad I've held out and not fallen for the points scam.

 

[Jed]

Check out another thread just posted detailing the new increases in points transactions. I'm glad I've held out and not fallen for the points scam.

I was told by owner services today that we shouldn't have to worry about only being able to use our deeded week and that many owners that converted to global points actually are changing back to Sunrise Ridge and Amber. I don't know the procedure for doing this but it was comforting news.

I was also told that we could in fact use our points to book time at Oakmont and TreeTops. This is contrary to what the sales guy told us. I'm pretty sure though that there is limited inventory abailable to us at these two resorts

 

[Kozman]

Amber Points Auction

There is currently a 2br Sunrise Ridge unit worth 1404 Amber Points on Ebay.

 

[TravelingT]

Ya'll stay away from that ebay auction. It's mine!!!! lol.

 

[Jed]

There is currently a 2br Sunrise Ridge unit worth 1404 Amber Points on Ebay.

I was tempted by this one but just didn't need any more. I thought it went a little high but still a good deal considering what the developer would have sold it for.

Whoever got it got a good one. This will qualify as holiday time which will come in handy when using it for the points.

 

[Lisa P]

If you (who own weeks & Amber Points) wanted to make a deposit with RCI or II, do you deposit your original week? Or could you reserve something else in the system and have that deposited with an exchange company?

 

[bccash63]

I recently purchased a 2br Tree Tops on ebay for $412.00 for a fixed week 51/holiday time that will give me 1404 amber vacation points for a yearly maint fee of $440--looking at the amber vacation points charts this should give me alot of flexibility--use starts in 2008 so will find out next year.