• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 30 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 30th anniversary: Happy 30th Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $21,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $21 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    60,000+ subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

If You Advised Me On Purchases?

RahRah

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2008
Messages
72
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Missouri
I recently purchased our first timeshare at Branson Yacht Club; it's a weeks week, 2BR/2BA and we'll have an RCI membership....it's drivable for us and we do head to Branson at least once a year. The week is within the range of dates we have available to vacation, so it's one of those resorts we'll use if we don't trade and the maintenance fees are low.

Since I have to travel to both coasts to see our families, we're thinking about buying some more timeshares to be able to keep our expenses down for lodging when I travel with our son. Right now it looks like we have some very specific needs for weeks and also need some flexibility. I actually sat down this weekend and lined up our upcoming year to be able to sort out what types of weeks/points we might use.

1. Colorado (Vail, Keystone, Beaver Creek areas) sometime between mid-January to mid-March each year.

2. October conference each year (every fourth year it's early November) that moves around the country to different locations (ie. San Diego, Orlando, etc.) Not all years in the future work out to be in locations where a TS is conveniently located (ie. in 2012 it's in Boston).....so we'd need something very flexible to be able to utilize a week for this conference each year since it's not a static location or week.

3. Vacation with the grandparents late September/early October that will probably be in Orlando for at least the next five years. With this one I'm pretty comfortable with going with a fixed week to avoid the 1-in-4/5 rules in some places - I just don't know how many Orlando TS's have such rules, so not sure if it's really an issue or not since I've read on other threads that getting into Orlando isn't really a problem....especially during a period that is historically "low" season for Orlando?

4. Family obligations on east coast a few weeks a year; so New York City, Alexandria, VA are both good locations - but maintenance fees for those TS are higher than I'd like to pay, but I'm not sure of which types of weeks trade well into those locations?

Given the above minimum requirements for our timeshare needs, what type of weeks or points would any of you advise?

Since I'm new to this (other than renting previously), do I need weeks/points for each of the above, or are odds good that I'll find something to meet needs in the last calls, extra weeks, etc.?

What locations are considered "good traders" in RCI? I keep reading Orlando isn't a good location to buy to use as a trader since the area has so many timeshares - but where is a good location with low(er) maintenance fees to consider for trading power?

Thanks for any and all input!
 

AwayWeGo

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
15,687
Reaction score
1,630
Points
699
Location
McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.
Resorts Owned
Grandview At Las Vegas

[triennial - points]
We Spent So Little On Timeshares That We Didn't Need To Overthink It.

I've read on other threads that getting into Orlando isn't really a problem....especially during a period that is historically "low" season for Orlando?
As off-season Orlando vacationers, we have found that early January & most of September are such low-demand times (relatively speaking) that we have always been able to get outstanding Last Call & Instant Exchange reservations.

One year we did a straight-weeks Orlando exchange for early September -- got an outstanding 3BR condo at HGVC Sea World using as trade bait our low cost dinky 2BR standard-grade mud & grass timeshare shack in a far-off overseas location.

As with Mutual Funds, however, past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Overbuilt with timeshares as many say Orlando is, there are high-demand vacation times when about the only way to get into an Orlando timeshare is to own 1. Your mileage may vary.
What locations are considered "good traders" in RCI?
I have it on good authority -- i.e, from someone who formerly participated extensively at TUG-BBS & who really knows his onions -- that any summertime Wisconsin Dells timeshare will pull anything that's available in the whole RCI Book.

Summertime weeks at Coastal California timeshares are also said to go great guns at snagging advantageous RCI exchanges.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

falmouth3

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
3,417
Reaction score
22
Points
38
Location
Burlington, MA
I'd suggest that, rather than buying, investigate getting a membership at II or RCI, or one of the independents, and look at extra vacations and last calls (RCI teminology). That way you aren't burdened every year with maintenance fees. You can find some real deals if you have flexibility on dates and resorts/locations. Or, you could rent from someone here on TUG or at Redweek.com.

Just some other ideas...

Sue
 

rickandcindy23

TUG Review Crew: Elite
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
31,901
Reaction score
9,003
Points
1,049
Location
The Centennial State
Resorts Owned
Wyndham Founder; Disney OKW & SSR; Marriott's Willow Ridge,Shadow Ridge,Grand Chateau;Val Chatelle; Hono Koa OF (3); SBR(LOTS), SDO a few; Grand Palms; WKORV-OF (2),Westin Desert Willow.
I have it on good authority -- i.e, from someone who formerly participated extensively at TUG-BBS & who really knows his onions -- that any summertime Wisconsin Dells timeshare will pull anything that's available in the whole RCI Book.

Summertime weeks at Coastal California timeshares are also said to go great guns at snagging advantageous RCI exchanges.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


Spence! Good ol' Spence. I miss him here, but he could be caustic, and that is what did him in. Yes, he probably does know what he is talking about, because I cannot pull very many Wisconsin summer weeks through RCI, even with my strong CO trader. Anything that is rarely seen in RCI is going to be a great trader.

I would buy Fairfield points for most of what you need. I personally dislike Fairfield right now, after they have changed their free services to add substantial cost to our purchases, a few times in ONE YEAR, since we bought resale. I am afraid they will devalue it more and more, BUT it is cheap, and it's still a good value.

If you need to go to New York City, you might have to purchase Hilton points to get there. Hilton has a resort in New York, and it is something we are considering for a purchase at some later date to travel to New York. I am fond of that city.

Manhattan Club is the only thing RCI ever has for exchange, and there is a 1-in-4 rule for the resort, which means RCI is limiting exchanges to one time every four years.

Colorado ski weeks are another rarity.
 

AwayWeGo

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
15,687
Reaction score
1,630
Points
699
Location
McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.
Resorts Owned
Grandview At Las Vegas

[triennial - points]
Caustic, Shmawstick.

Spence! Good ol' Spence. I miss him here, but he could be caustic, and that is what did him in.
Yes.

For sure he was 1 of the TUG-BBS mainstays & it's too bad he & the Grand Pro came to a parting of the ways. I miss him too.

However that may be, caustic & all, I think I got Spence's goat more than he got mine. He found my creative capitalization of SunTerra, etc., specially grating, so the more he fussed about it the more I did it. (Shame on me, eh?)

He set me straight on my complaints about SunTerra "owner updates" as "stealth" full-freight timeshare sales pitches, pointing out that from the company perspective it's a perfectly sound biz. plan.

Now that Spence is off TUG-BBS, I still do creative capitalization of T. H. E. Club in his memory. Ditto sending in hotlinked pictures of car & truck theft deterrents labeled as T. H. E. Club.

35628862.jpg

-- hotlinked --
T. H. E. Club

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

RahRah

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2008
Messages
72
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Missouri
I'm trying to find some information in the search function to no avail....so I'll ask here....

Does anyone know which resort "systems" allow day use for owners if they're not staying at the resort? For example, I found that Silverleaf allows owners to use facilities when they're not staying....but for us, the Silverleaf resorts in MO are too far away to consider this as one advantage for us to buy a Silverleaf week.....so now I'm trying to find out which others (Fairfield/Wyndham, Hilton, Marriott, etc.) also offer day use for owners since that might be a "compelling" reason for me to consider a week closeby to us.

Thanks for any help!
 

AwayWeGo

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
15,687
Reaction score
1,630
Points
699
Location
McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.
Resorts Owned
Grandview At Las Vegas

[triennial - points]
Day Use, Shmayy Yoooss.

Does anyone know which resort "systems" allow day use for owners if they're not staying at the resort?
Day use isn't all that great an idea.

Timeshare sellers love it -- "Hey, if you own here you can show up any time you want & you can use all the waterparks & golf courses & everything. All you want. Free."

By contrast, timeshare managers hate it because the fact is all the on-site facilities & features & amenities, etc., are designed to accommodate the usual number of users who are actually checked in at the timeshare -- not the full complement of people who are checked in plus some unknown number of other owners who show up to take advantage of that free "day use."

All my timeshares are located far enough from where we live so that "day use" is a non-issue for us.

However that may be, when I'm actually at my timeshare resort in person, all checked in & everything for a week of luxury resort vacationing, I don't expect to have to rub elbows with & bump into & stand in line behind my fellow owners (full freight or resale mox nix) who just happened to show up during my week for a little free "day use."

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

Mollie05

newbie
Joined
Oct 26, 2008
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
BC canada
advice

Rick and Cindy...we are in the process of doing our research to purchase a resale having been of one the lucky ones who signed on the doted line (s) then were able to get out in time. We are totally novice but went to a presentation at the Sedona Summit and really fell for it...just about paid $ 15,000 for 5,000 points with Diamond.
It's so confusing figuring out what way to go and we were narrowing it down to the Wyndham points.
Can you expand on what you said about the fees, especially for the resales?

Thanks..
 
Top