Amber Vacations Club??

[tcooper]

Does anyone know anything about Amber Vacations? I have been trading emails with someone who is getting rid of their weeks here? It seems like a great deal I just want to make sure? ANy info would help??

 

[DeniseM]

Here is the sniff test: If you have to pay any large fee upfront - it's a scam.

Reputable brokers take all their fees out of the proceeds.

 

[rod]

Now for a response that might answer some of your questions. I don't know much about Amber Vacation Club, but I will share what I do know with you.

Amber Vacation Club is a small points based exchange system set up in 1994 by the original developers of the affiliated resorts: Alhambra Villas, Kissimmee, FL; Casa del Mar Resort, Ormond Beach, FL; Oakmont Resort, Pigeon Forge, TN; Sunrise Ridge Resort, Pigeon Forge, TN; and Tree Tops Resort, Gatlinburg, TN. Weeks at these resorts had been sold as a mixture of fixed (high demand weeks) and floating (all others) weeks.

Amber Vacation Club allows an owner at one of these resorts to convert their home resort week usage into AVC points; these points can then be used to exchange for a vacation stay at any of the other participating Amber Vacation Club resorts.

Most of the resorts were sold out when AVC was established, and selling memberships in Amber Vacation Club to existing weeks owners provided some income for a while. Then RCI started their points system, and the AVC resorts switched from selling AVC memberships to selling RCI Points memberships. As far as I can tell, they are no longer selling new AVC memberships. I believe that at one time all AVC memberships included RCI points memberships.

A few years ago the Berkley Group purchased the interests of the original developers of these resorts, and now maintains a minor sales presence at the resorts in Tennessee. I don't know what they are selling - it might be RCI point conversions, or it might be timeshares at Sunrise Ridge, or it might be something else - although we usually get a phone call asking us to attend a sales presentation when we stay at one of our timeshare weeks there.

Although I own fixed weeks at two of the Tennessee AVC resorts, I have never been a member of AVC. Nor have I attended one of their sales presentations. However, as an owner at those resorts I received promotional literature for several years, and invitations to sales presentations when we stay there.

 

[JudyS]

I looked into Amber Vacation Club a few years ago, but I decided not to buy because I already had so many timeshares. If you want to buy into Amber Vacation Club, you should be aware that some weeks will give you a LOT more AVC points for your annual MFs than others will.

If you search for Amber Vacation Club on eBay, you can get an idea of what a reasonable MF is per AVC point.

 

[csxjohn]

I own at Alhambra at Poincianna and a few years ago was asked if I wanted to join AVC. I didn't attend a "presentation" but did speak with a rep while vacationing at Treetops.

It's a flexible system but I can't remember the details. At the time it would have cost me $1000 to get into the system.

With the few resorts available to trade into I declined. The unit I own is a float week considered "white" time, spring and fall. The points I would have gotten for the unit would have gotten me comparable time at the other resorts.

I just decided to keep using DAE to exchange and save the upfront payment.

It definitely is not a scam.