FF newbie question

[lkellyhome]

If i buy FF points what is the advantage of the home resort? Is points just points? Can nightly stays be used anywhere available? Should I get gold status is I need prime school break weeks? Are there any home resorts I should stay away from? i.e. If I own FF tamerackat Wis Dells will my points allow me to use at the New Wis dell canyon inn?

 

[Lisa P]

You may reserve vacations at your home resort 13 months ahead of travel. At the rest of the resorts, it's 10 months ahead of travel. So, if you plan to repeatedly stay at a very popular beach resort during the summer break from school, you would want to own at that resort for the early booking advantage. If not, and you plan to visit many different places, then home resort matters much, much less. Oh, and I think there is an advantage to owning (for some people) in Hawaii, if you want to be part of the Outrigger Club. But I don't know much about that since we don't travel there.

Also, your maintenance fees are based on your home resort. Some are much higher than others. Look for something around $3.00/thousand points, including FairShare Plus fee and annual taxes (which are included in most places but billed separately in Florida resorts).

Nightly stays go by a basic set of rules, which are pretty much the same, system-wide. During "prime" season, you may book 3-night, 4-night and 7-night stays, up until 3 months before check-in. Then nightly stays of any length are fine. These 3- and 4-night prime season reservations are supposed to either begin or end on a typical check-in day at the resort (usually Fri/Sat/Sun). There are exceptions to these restrictions with certain resorts.

For reservations in High, Value or Quiet seasons, you may reserve nightly stays for 2 or more nights, any check-in day, whenever you are within the booking window. At 3 months before check-in, single nights may be booked. It's all pending availability, of course.

The advantages to Gold VIP are mostly related to eliminating some added fees that most people pay if they tend to book many short stays and/or send a lot of guests in their place. There is a slight (1 month?) booking advantage on a limited number of reservations with Gold too. But to get it, you would have to purchase all of your points (500,000) from the developer. Most people save tens of thousands on that size purchase by going with resales so paying an occasional nominal fee, as needed, is not an issue worthy of seeking Gold VIP.

I think there are still a couple of resorts which are closed due to hurricane damage in Pompano Beach FL and New Orleans LA - they may not be the best buy due to assessments and lack of access, though some people may see them as a potential bargain. Other than that, you may simply prefer a particular home resort because it's where you want to travel the most during prime season, because it's got a relatively low maintenance fee, because you love the place or because it's close by and you prefer owning near home. We've owned in New Bern NC for many years and haven't yet been there. HTH.

 

[EAM]

If i buy FF points what is the advantage of the home resort?

As mentioned above, the only advantages of owning at a particular resort are

1. lower maintenance fees and
2. ability to reserve a week at 13 months before checkin (ARP=advance reservation priority), 2-3 months before other FSP owners can reserve at that resort.

Is points just points?

Except for the ARP privileges and the maintenance fees, points are points.

Can nightly stays be used anywhere available?

Are you talking about the RCI Nightly Stay program that allows you to use Fairfield points to reserve nights at RCI Points resorts? If so, you may have to either buy from Fairfield or pay a few thousand $ to Fairfield to be part of this program.

See the post above for good information on restrictions on the use of FSP points. Normally at 10 months before checkin you may use FSP points to make a reservation at any location that is available within the Fairfield system.

Officially there is a 2 night minimum stay within Fairfield. Unofficially FSP owners have gotten single night stays occasionally.

Should I get gold status is I need prime school break weeks?

Gold status gives you the right to make one reservation per year 11 months before checkin at a FSP resort other than the resort(s) where you own. It is normally easy to get good school break weeks at 10 months before checkin unless you want to go to a very high demand location such as Myrtle Beach in the summer time. Then it is best to own there and reserve at 13 months.

Are there any home resorts I should stay away from?

As mentioned above, some resorts in NOLA and Pompano Beach were damaged by hurricanes last year. The status of Fairfield Santa Barbara in Pompano Beach is uncertain.

If you buy at a FL resort, you will get a separate bill for property taxes in addition to your maintenance fees.

There are pros and cons to owning beach resorts. Pro: being able to reserve a unit near a beach at 13 months before checkin. Con: higher maintenance fees and vulnerabilty to hurricanes.

i.e. If I own FF tamerackat Wis Dells will my points allow me to use at the New Wis dell canyon inn?

Yes, unless Fairfield changes the rules. We own at Cypress Palms in Kissimmee and had no problem reserving at Bonnet Creek. There is no "blackout" provision to keep you from reserving at a newer resort close to the resort at which you own.

 

[Don]

Lisa, FF just opened (at least part of) Waikiki Beachwalk. We bought into FF over 1.5 years ago and we went to Waikiki for two weeks on bonus and borrowed points. We had to stay in hotels which were Plus Partners. The last several days of our stay was at the Ohana Waikiki Islander which is next to the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Mall. Directly behind the Islander were piles of rubble where buildings were torn down to make room for the new FF. Some other buildings were just gutted and the Outrigger Reef (?) which was right on the beach, I believe was going to be renovated.