considering buying some blugreen points

[lopertc]

Id like to stay at wilderness club at big cedar two weeks a year. Im looking at an offering on eBay for 39,000 blue green points deeded at somewhere in Tennessee. if I buy these how hard is it to use them at wilderness club? is it pretty simple to just choose weeks and submit for the points I get? Id rather buy ones deed at wilderness club but they always sell at a premium and it seems theres no benefit to buying those if any points will let me book at wilderness club. basically looks like I can buy for less than 1000$ after all fees and just pay the 3000$ a year in maintenance fees and be good to go??!! someone please help me find any holes in my plan before I do something stupid??

Casey

 

[DRIless]

My understanding is that the deed only keeps the points balances in check so that BG doesn't sell too many points. It matters not where your deed is, you have points. Your maintenance fees are based on points, not on the deed. There's no priority reservations for having a deed somewhere.

 

[lopertc]

My understanding is that the deed only keeps the points balances in check so that BG doesn't sell too many points. It matters not where your deed is, you have points. Your maintenance fees are based on points, not on the deed. There's no priority reservations for having a deed somewhere.

what about the bonus time thing? does anyone get "bonus time" to rent rooms at like 69$ if they buy on the resell market??

 

[lopertc]

My understanding is that the deed only keeps the points balances in check so that BG doesn't sell too many points. It matters not where your deed is, you have points. Your maintenance fees are based on points, not on the deed. There's no priority reservations for having a deed somewhere.

also thank you so much. so hard to get honest info in this realm of the world..

 

[tschwa2]

what about the bonus time thing? does anyone get "bonus time" to rent rooms at like 69$ if they buy on the resell market??

You get bonus time at your home resort only if you buy resale. My understanding is summer weeks are difficult to get especially 2 BR lodge units unless you own that deeded week or can waitlist using status which you do not get with resale. If you are open to less than prime you might be able to get 2 weeks.

 

[lopertc]

You get bonus time at your home resort only if you buy resale. My understanding is summer weeks are difficult to get especially 2 BR lodge units unless you own that deeded week or can waitlist using status which you do not get with resale. If you are open to less than prime you might be able to get 2 weeks.

awesome information. thank you. so are the "bonus time" basically just dates and times that no one wanted ? basically lowest time of the year ?

 

[tschwa2]

awesome information. thank you. so are the "bonus time" basically just dates and times that no one wanted ? basically lowest time of the year ?

At 60 days out you have the option to book with points or bonus time. Off off season, midweek it might "cost" less to use points. There is always a possibility that you can catch a cancellation.

 

[lopertc]

you seem to know a lot about these; I know they aren't worth the outrageous upfront money but they seem to be a decent deal with just paying maintenance fees each year.. have you found you've saved money or is it worth it? is it hard to get the times you want and worth it when you could just rent cabin at big cedar for 200-300/night and be done with it??

 

[GrayFal]

What so,e people do is buy a small contract 2K with benefits from Pinnacle (less then $3000) and then add all resale points

Big Cedar summer time has to be booked at exactly 11 months out at midnight. Metal owners can wait list at 15,14,13,12 months. People who have PUP a “priority use period” often reserve those units at 12 months out.

There is a lot of competition.

 

[GrayFal]

you seem to know a lot about these; I know they aren't worth the outrageous upfront money but they seem to be a decent deal with just paying maintenance fees each year.. have you found you've saved money or is it worth it? is it hard to get the times you want and worth it when you could just rent cabin at big cedar for 200-300/night and be done with it??

A very good point.....or look at a cheap off season unit at big cedar and then have unlimited bonus time and rent the summer cabins for $1800-2400

Bonus time is available all year round and can be booked online at 45 days out for $59,69,79 per night based on unit size. So not necessarily off season.

 

[tschwa2]

What so,e people do is buy a small contract 2K with benefits from Pinnacle (less then $3000) and then add all resale points

Pinnacle changed more than 4 years ago. They now have a price structure closer to BG's. If you buy a small amount of points the price per point is quite high if you want charter benefits. The least expensive charter eligible package is 6000 biennial points for $7000 at sea glass. Anything lower that they are offering does not include charter benefits.

 

[lopertc]

Pinnacle changed more than 4 years ago. They now have a price structure closer to BG's. If you buy a small amount of points the price per point is quite high if you want charter benefits. The least expensive charter eligible package is 6000 biennial points for $7000 at sea glass. Anything lower that they are offering does not include charter benefits.

wow. gotta pay those commissions!

 

[TimeshareTraveller]

There is a Big Cedar summer studio in Pinnacle listed for $2750 (listing 72113). Pinnacle does say that it will present all offers. Just remember that if the price is too low, then Bluegreen will step in and take it with the Right of First Refusal. Now, that's only a studio unit, and you likely want a 2 BR. But once you have a toe-hold in the Big Cedar ecosystem in the summer from Pinnacle, you are able to get certain perks that aren't available with other resales. (Most of Pinnacle's offerings are the things that Bluegreen didn't want to pick up for themselves --remember that when making an offer.) So, pick up something and become a Big Cedar owner, then add points from other areas.

I would not mess around with buying something in a resort that you don't want to stay at but are using as a trader. I tried that myself in the Marriott system and was increasingly unhappy with results. Buy the timeshare that you would want to stay at every year if you had to.

That price may not have charter benefits. It might be worth a call to Pinnacle and just ask them.

 

[AndySamuels]

Having to book 12 months in advance is kind of silly IMO.

Especially when peak weeks with points are mostly close at high hotel rates anyway.

 

[tschwa2]

Having to book 12 months in advance is kind of silly IMO.

Especially when peak weeks with points are mostly close at high hotel rates anyway.

Not really. A 2BR with kitchen in a prime time/prime location is usually $200-300 on hotel sites.

 

[AndySamuels]

Las Vegas:
Club 36: Ultra Red: 1BR: 11K points: $1200 MF give or take: $171 per night: that is very expensive. Plus it is off strip (pro or con: depending on preference: but off strip hotel prices are pretty low).

Atlantic City
AP: Ultra Red: same.

Orlando is not much cheaper.

Does not appear very competitive to me personally.

Plus you need to lock in.

 

[GrayFal]

Las Vegas:
Club 36: Ultra Red: 1BR: 11K points: $1200 MF give or take: $171 per night: that is very expensive. Plus it is off strip (pro or con: depending on preference: but off strip hotel prices are pretty low).

Atlantic City
AP: Ultra Red: same.

Orlando is not much cheaper.

Does not appear very competitive to me personally.

Plus you need to lock in.

My maint fee on 11K points is $770. It all depends on how many points you own.

 

[AndySamuels]

Interesting. Based on what I see on eBay 11K points is pretty expensive MF-wise.

What are the best classes for affordable BlueGreen points?

 

[GrayFal]

Bluegreen points and fee information

The Bluegreen Vacation Club is a points system based on trust funds. Points are generated from five trust funds, which are designated "A" through "E". Over ninety-five percent of all points are in Trust Fund E. Maintenance fees for Trust Fund E are composed of two parts: a fixed base fee and a...

tugbbs.com

 

[AndySamuels]

Thank you!

 

[lopertc]

There is a Big Cedar summer studio in Pinnacle listed for $2750 (listing 72113). Pinnacle does say that it will present all offers. Just remember that if the price is too low, then Bluegreen will step in and take it with the Right of First Refusal. Now, that's only a studio unit, and you likely want a 2 BR. But once you have a toe-hold in the Big Cedar ecosystem in the summer from Pinnacle, you are able to get certain perks that aren't available with other resales. (Most of Pinnacle's offerings are the things that Bluegreen didn't want to pick up for themselves --remember that when making an offer.) So, pick up something and become a Big Cedar owner, then add points from other areas.

I would not mess around with buying something in a resort that you don't want to stay at but are using as a trader. I tried that myself in the Marriott system and was increasingly unhappy with results. Buy the timeshare that you would want to stay at every year if you had to.

That price may not have charter benefits. It might be worth a call to Pinnacle and just ask them.

bought 38,000 annual points deeded at big cedar for 1500$ off pinacle. two deed weeks are two bedroom units in JUNE!! thats ultra red for this location. I did really well.
can you tell me more about when you said " So, pick up something and become a Big Cedar owner, then add points from other areas" did you mean other resorts or did you mean ebay etc? Id really like to get a deeded cabin in July or christmas time.

 

[MrockStar]

My understanding is that the deed only keeps the points balances in check so that BG doesn't sell too many points. It matters not where your deed is, you have points. Your maintenance fees are based on points, not on the deed. There's no priority reservations for having a deed somewhere.

There is priority booking at 12 months for your underlying deed/unit. So owning a points deed at Big Cedar 2 bedroom cabin is very important especially summmer months.

 

[Fatbaby52]

Hey I'm sorry if these are incredibly dumb questions, but I'm hoping you all can help.

As some background:

I'm not currently a timeshare owner. I've done a bunch of presentations and I've lurked on this board for years, so I'm not a total newbie. Last year, I was about a day away from pulling the trigger on a 2BR Sheraton Desert Oasis resale in Scottsdale (we travel there for Spring Training every year), but I wussed out when I couldn't get a real grasp of how difficult it would be to book.

My family likes to visit big bear in the summer. Last time we were there, I noticed the BlueGreen Timeshare, it looks like it's in a pretty convenient spot and pics look beautiful.

Based on the chart someone linked, a 2BR condo would cost 26k points (it's the ultra-red season). 3BR is 56k, and 4BR is 62k. Based on the description of the point structure ($360 base + $139 club dues + ~$.07 per point), the total annual fees would be ~$2300, ~$4400, and ~$4800, respectively. Obviously these are subject to increase, which I understand.

Based on the conversation above, it looks like you get a 12 month booking window (vs. 11 month) at your home property. It looks like there's also access to reduced cost cash nights

My questions are:
1. Does my math above look correct?
2. Historically, is the Big Bear resort tough to get at 10 or so months out?
3. Do you know if Big Bear has a lot of availability for the cheaper cash-only nights?
4. Are the base fees, club dues, and early booking rights per owner, per site, or per contract? So for example, if I pick up a 10k contract at resort A, another 10k contract at resort A, and a 6K contract at resort B, do I have 3x the base fees and club dues, 2x the base fees and club dues, or 1x base fees and club dues? Also, do I have the 12 month window and A and B for the total pool of points? Or is it 20k early at A and 6k early at B?
5. Is there anything else that I'm missing?

Also, I know that this is a big ask, but would anyone be willing to maybe screenshare (or at least send screenshots with account info blurred out) the bluegreen booking process?

Thank you in advance.

 

[tschwa2]

Its 11 months not 10.

The cash only nights has the same availability as points so if it isn't available to book for points then it isn't available for bonus stays with cash.

As long as you are in the same trust the two combine. You do have to worry about use year but not in terms of MF's more just in terms of when points are available. Not all trust funds have that fee structure. That is the fee structure for the largest (most commonly available) trust; I believe it is E.

You only have the 13-12 month window on the actual week or nights not on the deed not on the resort in general. So two deeds would not work together unless the unit type and nights own correspond exactly.

This is older but it describes some of the basics about the different trust types. https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/bluegreen-points-trust-fund-d-e-etc-whats-the-difference.184360/ Any actual numbers for the MF"s would be out of date.

If you buy resale you can only book bonus nights at a resort where you own.

 

[lopertc]

Hey I'm sorry if these are incredibly dumb questions, but I'm hoping you all can help.

As some background:

I'm not currently a timeshare owner. I've done a bunch of presentations and I've lurked on this board for years, so I'm not a total newbie. Last year, I was about a day away from pulling the trigger on a 2BR Sheraton Desert Oasis resale in Scottsdale (we travel there for Spring Training every year), but I wussed out when I couldn't get a real grasp of how difficult it would be to book.

My family likes to visit big bear in the summer. Last time we were there, I noticed the BlueGreen Timeshare, it looks like it's in a pretty convenient spot and pics look beautiful.

Based on the chart someone linked, a 2BR condo would cost 26k points (it's the ultra-red season). 3BR is 56k, and 4BR is 62k. Based on the description of the point structure ($360 base + $139 club dues + ~$.07 per point), the total annual fees would be ~$2300, ~$4400, and ~$4800, respectively. Obviously these are subject to increase, which I understand.

Based on the conversation above, it looks like you get a 12 month booking window (vs. 11 month) at your home property. It looks like there's also access to reduced cost cash nights

My questions are:
1. Does my math above look correct?
2. Historically, is the Big Bear resort tough to get at 10 or so months out?
3. Do you know if Big Bear has a lot of availability for the cheaper cash-only nights?
4. Are the base fees, club dues, and early booking rights per owner, per site, or per contract? So for example, if I pick up a 10k contract at resort A, another 10k contract at resort A, and a 6K contract at resort B, do I have 3x the base fees and club dues, 2x the base fees and club dues, or 1x base fees and club dues? Also, do I have the 12 month window and A and B for the total pool of points? Or is it 20k early at A and 6k early at B?
5. Is there anything else that I'm missing?

Also, I know that this is a big ask, but would anyone be willing to maybe screenshare (or at least send screenshots with account info blurred out) the bluegreen booking process?

Thank you in advance.

The only question she didn’t answer was availability...I just pulled it up and searched for 4 nights.
every single day in sep and oct was available.