Hi all,
Let me introduce myself, my name is Manny, I am 31 with a girlfriend and no kids from NYC.
Im sure you have seen this before, and the famous phrase, I wish I would have found this site prior to purchase.
However as far as I know I may still be saved. I was in Orlando yesterday and to get discount tickets to Disney, my friends and I agreed to the 1.5 hour presentation which turned into a 6 hour nightmare. The presentation was at Holiday Inn Orange Lake right by Disney, a huge and beautiful resort which made the Holiday Inn waterpark look like a motel.
We were presented with the standard salesman who showed us rooms, vaguely explained benefits and then tried to get us to sign on the dotted line. I was intrigued most by International travel options especially Europe and the French Polynesian which would be available through RCI and IHG. Also, I have family moving to Orlando and figure I will visit at least once a year. To be honest, the whole points system looked appealing honestly but I wanted pricing. We were first showed the common "outsider" price which was 200,000 points at .21 cents per point which amounted to a crazy amount of money. Then we were showed the offer. 12k for 103,000 points on a bi yearly basis so points would be given every two years and fees would be split up. This was still too rich for my blood. When we said no we were taken to another agent who supposedly cut the middle man out and got us a deal for $7500 for 107,000 points bi yearly at the Holiday Inn Gatlinburg Smoky Mountain. To me, the location did not matter as I just wanted the points and freedom to use them anywhere in the US and the world. They sweetened the deal when they said I could add 5 credit cards to the IHG member points system to get extra bonuses and travel deals. I am a heavy card user and figured 10-15k points a year could come in handy. To total was 9k including closing costs and first year fees. I can pay the money off easily in the next year or two by transferring the balance to an empty card with 0 interest and paying heavily on it because I hate monthly payments. Also I am usually very late to plan vacations, normally within a month or two so I took the plunge and signed adding two hours to the already 3 hour ordeal. When I got the book I realized how many points would really be needed to take advantage of the system, these resorts are pretty pricey but considering I normally do 5-6 day trips, I figured I could still get at least one local vacation a year with about 53000 points. Then I realized RCI would be half so in order to go international I would probably be able to get maybe 1 vacation every 2 years out of it. Also the other last call deals and bonuses seem appealing. I like the system, I think it will be beneficial but can I get a better deal? Does RCI or IHG have a vacation club that I can sign up for with points to get what I really desire. I was given the Pitch once at a Lifestyle VIP resort in the Dominican Republic but did not look into it further.
Besides that, I guess I can rescind the contract (any help or template for the letter will be greatly appreciated) I signed up for the TUG and plan to be an active member if I keep what I have or get something else.
If a acquire a resale unit on the aftermarket can I still get the points? or does it convert to the standard week system and then I have to "buy" into HICV again for god knows how much. Or should I just keep what I have and hold on to it for as long as it takes to pay for itself, if that is even possible considering the Yearly fees I will be paying.
Heres some more details. The unit itself is in Smoky Mountain, Peak time for a 1 bedroom. It equals to 107,000 points every other EVEN year starting 2018. Looks like ive prepaid and can borrow from next years points to use it this year. This investment looks like it will cost me $500 a year. $374 in Maintenance and Taxes ($362 Maint and $12 Tennessee Tax) Plus the yearly membership fee of $126 for HICV. Also there are booking fees when booking which I believe are $60 for HICV and $40-$200 on RCI depending on Days stayed RCI points convert at 2:1. IHG not sure what fees are but points convert at 5:4 ratio giving me about 86,000 points. Not having access to RCI and IHG websites for 6 weeks means that I wont know what I could get for the amount of points ive purchased until way after the Rescind period. Once again my main priority is International travel. I get great package deals already when I fly in the US using all the main websites. I have flown to Vegas, Orlando, and California for cheaper than the flight or close to it by booking with a hotel attached. Even on International trips I feel like the hotels are almost "given away" when purchased with a flight.
My girlfriend is a teacher and has vacation time in December, February, April, and the summer. My vacations are pretty flexible, I usually only need about 30 days to be able to take a week off and as little as 2 weeks to take 3-4 days off (wed-mon getaways).
Please help, I now have 9 days to make a choice.
Let me introduce myself, my name is Manny, I am 31 with a girlfriend and no kids from NYC.
Im sure you have seen this before, and the famous phrase, I wish I would have found this site prior to purchase.
However as far as I know I may still be saved. I was in Orlando yesterday and to get discount tickets to Disney, my friends and I agreed to the 1.5 hour presentation which turned into a 6 hour nightmare. The presentation was at Holiday Inn Orange Lake right by Disney, a huge and beautiful resort which made the Holiday Inn waterpark look like a motel.
We were presented with the standard salesman who showed us rooms, vaguely explained benefits and then tried to get us to sign on the dotted line. I was intrigued most by International travel options especially Europe and the French Polynesian which would be available through RCI and IHG. Also, I have family moving to Orlando and figure I will visit at least once a year. To be honest, the whole points system looked appealing honestly but I wanted pricing. We were first showed the common "outsider" price which was 200,000 points at .21 cents per point which amounted to a crazy amount of money. Then we were showed the offer. 12k for 103,000 points on a bi yearly basis so points would be given every two years and fees would be split up. This was still too rich for my blood. When we said no we were taken to another agent who supposedly cut the middle man out and got us a deal for $7500 for 107,000 points bi yearly at the Holiday Inn Gatlinburg Smoky Mountain. To me, the location did not matter as I just wanted the points and freedom to use them anywhere in the US and the world. They sweetened the deal when they said I could add 5 credit cards to the IHG member points system to get extra bonuses and travel deals. I am a heavy card user and figured 10-15k points a year could come in handy. To total was 9k including closing costs and first year fees. I can pay the money off easily in the next year or two by transferring the balance to an empty card with 0 interest and paying heavily on it because I hate monthly payments. Also I am usually very late to plan vacations, normally within a month or two so I took the plunge and signed adding two hours to the already 3 hour ordeal. When I got the book I realized how many points would really be needed to take advantage of the system, these resorts are pretty pricey but considering I normally do 5-6 day trips, I figured I could still get at least one local vacation a year with about 53000 points. Then I realized RCI would be half so in order to go international I would probably be able to get maybe 1 vacation every 2 years out of it. Also the other last call deals and bonuses seem appealing. I like the system, I think it will be beneficial but can I get a better deal? Does RCI or IHG have a vacation club that I can sign up for with points to get what I really desire. I was given the Pitch once at a Lifestyle VIP resort in the Dominican Republic but did not look into it further.
Besides that, I guess I can rescind the contract (any help or template for the letter will be greatly appreciated) I signed up for the TUG and plan to be an active member if I keep what I have or get something else.
If a acquire a resale unit on the aftermarket can I still get the points? or does it convert to the standard week system and then I have to "buy" into HICV again for god knows how much. Or should I just keep what I have and hold on to it for as long as it takes to pay for itself, if that is even possible considering the Yearly fees I will be paying.
Heres some more details. The unit itself is in Smoky Mountain, Peak time for a 1 bedroom. It equals to 107,000 points every other EVEN year starting 2018. Looks like ive prepaid and can borrow from next years points to use it this year. This investment looks like it will cost me $500 a year. $374 in Maintenance and Taxes ($362 Maint and $12 Tennessee Tax) Plus the yearly membership fee of $126 for HICV. Also there are booking fees when booking which I believe are $60 for HICV and $40-$200 on RCI depending on Days stayed RCI points convert at 2:1. IHG not sure what fees are but points convert at 5:4 ratio giving me about 86,000 points. Not having access to RCI and IHG websites for 6 weeks means that I wont know what I could get for the amount of points ive purchased until way after the Rescind period. Once again my main priority is International travel. I get great package deals already when I fly in the US using all the main websites. I have flown to Vegas, Orlando, and California for cheaper than the flight or close to it by booking with a hotel attached. Even on International trips I feel like the hotels are almost "given away" when purchased with a flight.
My girlfriend is a teacher and has vacation time in December, February, April, and the summer. My vacations are pretty flexible, I usually only need about 30 days to be able to take a week off and as little as 2 weeks to take 3-4 days off (wed-mon getaways).
Please help, I now have 9 days to make a choice.
