Buying BlueGreen unqualified resale points

[Chris B.]

Hi I am new to the Tugg forum and looking at buying BlueGreen unqualified resale points. I do not own any time shares or TS points. My plans are to retire in about 15 years. My idea is to buy unqualified resale points for my vacations when i retire and use some before I retire. I am trying to look at it as making a long term reservation for my vacations after retirement. I have stayed at some BG resorts with my uncle and have been impressed at each one. He has been with BG for about 25 years and is blue and green thru and thru. He started about 20 years before his retirement and has upgraded through the years to platinum. I would like to know from the people on the forum that have and use BG unqualified points exclusively and if they have had any problems. My uncle adamantly tells me not to buy BG unqualified resale points as they are worthless and i will not receive the service from BG or there staff if i use unqualified points. He has stated that through his stays at the resorts he likes, and getting to know some of the staff that they have said that people with unqualified points are treated differently than people with qualified points and are red flagged when making reservations. Has anyone had any of these problems that use unqualified points and are they worth not having the extra perks that go along with qualified points. Sorry for the long post and hope i can get some advice before I buy. Thanks Chris

 

[Gophesjo]

Sigh...

Your comments just go to show that Bluegreen is a sales culture organization, not a service culture organization - despite what the mission statement says.

I am not a Bluegreen owner, and so I cannot speak to the perks that come with developer points, but I can certainly opine that from what I have seen, they aren't concerned about giving you real value for your dollar. They sell people a vacation getaway package (putting people up in cheap local motels, rather than on their properties) and then try to sell you for thousands what people here are willing to pay you to take off their hands.

I have no doubt that the people your uncle has become familiar with are either sales staff, or people whose futures are controlled by the sales culture at Bluegreen, and so, of course they will denigrate the resale buyer, and sites like this one. (The resale buyers are the biggest threat to the golden goose that the developers business model is.)

Bluegreen certainly has a place in the market. My friends who own at Shorecrest love the resort, and feel like they get great value for their MF's. That said, they regret how much they paid up front.

Best wishes to you. AND, welcome to TUG!

 

[Chris B.]

Thanks for your reply. I would like to say that I value you my uncle's opinion and that I am in my mid forties and not some wet behind the ears kid, except when it comes to time shares. From my research it appears the unqualified points can still be used as qualified point except for the " perks " I spoke with him today to wish him a happy Thanks Giving. He asked me if i had made a decision yet i advised him no and once again he said not to buy unqualified point as i would not receive the same service as some one with qualified points. He stated that he has been told that if you have unqualified points that you will be "black listed " as soon as you call to make reservations.. I am not making this post to bash Blue Green, i would just like some clarification, as my uncle is pro-biased BG. He also said that all his " upgrades " went through Pinnacle Vac. and that was the only business that I could legitimately buy BG points from. So please if any one this forum can give some advice first hand about using BG unqualified point before I make a decision I would appreciate it. Thanks Chris

 

[Aussiedog]

Did not notice the difference

Hi Chris and welcome!

I was an owner of non-qualified points for a short time and then qualified all of them with the help of Pinnacle. I have not noticed any difference in how I am treated now as a gold level owner compared to the way I was treated when I owned only unqualified points. I have always found their staff to be nice and helpful.

Good luck!

Ann

 

[smithiekid]

I am a Bluegreen owner and have been since they bought Oasis Lakes (in Orlando) back in 2003, we have a mixture of points. We are gold owners some of our points came from Oasis Lakes some from Bluegreen sales and some from Pinnacle (which is owned by BG).
In addition we have 21000 unqualified bounts bought of ebay (for $53).
Your Uncle is partly right in that they do now flag up on your account which are resale points, but you do not get "blacklisted" that is salesperson talk to get you to buy from them. We have always had very good service from all the Bluegreen staff and IMHO they do look after their owners far better than some other timeshare compaines. The Mf are one of the lowest in the indusstry according to some well trusted and respected people who work in that industry.
Now for the crunch the differences between qualified and unqualified are.
Points are points and you can use both kinds at all BG resorts.
Bonus Time (ie extra vacations at a small cost) Qualified gets Bonus time at all BG Resorts, unqualified gets bonus time at your home resort ONLY.
There are several trust funds so just be careful if you buy several resale packages they are in the same trust fund (this makes no difference in how you use the points the difference is in how much MF you pay if you can not combine all the packages), different trust funds do not combine. If the points you buy originate after 2005 then you can be 99% sure that they are Trust Fund E (12000 and above in this trust fund will give you the lowest mf)
Qualified points count to premier status which does allow you extra benefits , you are able to wait list before the 11 month window (all points can be used at that 11 month window) you get extra weeks and other things which are to detailed for this post.
You will have to pay $1.25 per point from Pinnicle to ensure they are qualiified points.
The advice I would give you is to buy some qualified and some unquilfied the qualified will make you a charter member and give you bonus time etc at ALL resorts.
Once you have your charter membership you can then look into the other levels and then work out if you want to get to them.
Second piece of advice (maybe should have been the fist lol) is join the Bluegreen Group on Yahoo this is focused purely on Bluegreen ownership and how to get the most out of your points , it is a wealth of information and tips , things you would never even think about.
Thridly check out Bgexperts.com This is Jims (Bocabum) website and contact him he will advice you on all things Bluegreen without ripping you off.

Sorry this is a long post but I hope it does help

Phillip:whoopie:

just be careful that if you do buy resale that the date the mf are due are the same the traditioal mf are due each year in Nov. but in the last couple of years they introduced aniversary mf (ie you pay your mf on your aniversary date) these (even in the same trust fund ) do cause some problems.

 

[JudyS]

....My plans are to retire in about 15 years. My idea is to buy unqualified resale points for my vacations when i retire and use some before I retire...

I would suggest starting with a small package of Bluegreen points, just enough to cover your vacations now. It's a bad idea to buy lots of points now so that you'll have them when you retire in 15 years. The timeshare industry is always changing, and Bluegreen may not even be around in 15 years. (A couple years back, Bluegreen almost got bought out by another timeshare company, once that tends to charge much higher fees.)

....My uncle adamantly tells me not to buy BG unqualified resale points as they are worthless and i will not receive the service from BG or there staff if i use unqualified points....

There are some extra perks available for people who buy their points through Bluegreen or through BG's certified resellers. However, I find it VERY unlikely that Bluegreen "blacklists" people who buy through other resellers. This is just something salespeople say to make you buy directly from them--and your uncle probably chooses to believe it rather than admit he paid too much for his points.

I own two Bluegreen timeshares, both of which were purchased as resales, and not from authorized resellers. I do not own points (these are "flex' timeshares), but I have been happy with BG's customer service.

I second the suggestion to contact www.bgexperts.com That website is run by a longtime TUG member, BocaBum99, who sells BG points and is extremely knowledgeable about them.

 

[Chris B.]

Thanks everyone for the replies, this is the kind of information i was looking for. I have joined the yahoo users group but find the site hard to navigate. I have also joined BocaBum's forum and contacted his business via email and hope to give them a call on Monday to discuss my needs and the best route for me to take. I live in Central Florida and get very few weekends off from my job so most of my point usage would be during the week, Monday through Thursday. With my line of work i get 7 to 9 days off every 5 weeks so I would try to use the points a few times a year during the weekdays. Thanks everyone for the comments and information, keep it coming. Thanks Chris

 

[lindner]

Bluegreen

I own many Bluegreen, which I have used for years for myself as well as rented and sold. Bluegreen points bought resale have the same value as those bought retail as far as making reservations in any size unit in any resort for any dates. Legally, they have to be treated the same. Points are deeded and your rights to use those points is written into the contract. I can assure you that you have the same priority as those who bought retail (I have made hundreds of reservations, mostly for rental clients). However, frills such as Bonus Time do not transfer with resale. In my opinion, these frills have very little value for most people and is just a way sales people try to take your money. Note that you can always private message me if you are interested in renting some Bluegreen vacations or if you are interested in buying some Bluegreen points.

 

[Chris B.]

Thanks Lindner. I might contact you after the first of the year about maybe renting a unit from you. Like I said before we have stayed with my uncle at some of the resorts and have liked them all. I have joined the Tugg member group and will no longer be at guest status. I am not planning on buying before the first of the year as i would like to continue to do some research on forums like this one. Thanks Chris

 

[mickeyfinn]

With the economy being what it is and the fact that you have 15 years before you retire, I would advise against buying any points whether they be qualified or unqualified points. You can rent points for bluegreen resorts from many owners and many times these points rent for less than the maintenance fees. I would rent my vacations and just keep an eye on resale points. In the unlikely event that you start to see points pick up some value (more than free), you could then consider actually picking up points. Owning points right now will serve no real purchase other than obligating you to a lifetime of MF.