newbie advice on which to buy

[kmanster00]

hi all, i have been reading this site over the past week and i very impressed with the information available and the willingness for users to help.

i wanted an opinion as to what might be the best option. We arre 4 person family and i like to book things relatively short term in the winter or maybe in the summer and like to experience different places. i am thinking points are the best option for me but after all the reading I am still trying to get a handle on things.

any suggestions would be really apreciated. thanks

 

[applegirl]

Welcome to TUG!

It generall takes longer than a week to get a real understanding of the different timeshare systems and how they work, so my advice is just keep reading and ask specific questions. Many here would recommend spending several months here at TUG before diving into buying something.

If you want multiple short stays throughout the year, then points would certainly be a viable option. Since I don't own pionts, I can't help you there. Have you read the "stickies" at the points forum? They should be very helpful. You can also PM other TUGgers and ask specific questions about the points system they belong to.

Best of luck!

Janna

 

[Sunshine Wanted]

another newbie

hi all, i have been reading this site over the past week and i very impressed with the information available and the willingness for users to help.

i wanted an opinion as to what might be the best option. We arre 4 person family and i like to book things relatively short term in the winter or maybe in the summer and like to experience different places. i am thinking points are the best option for me but after all the reading I am still trying to get a handle on things.

any suggestions would be really apreciated. thanks

Hi. I'm a little ahead of you (not far though) in that I've been here a little over a month regularly - ok, daily (and off and on for about 8 months before that). There is a LOT to learn to be sure, and this board is full of very helpful people who are patient with us newbies.

So, keep reading, & ask lots of questions. I've pretty much settled on the Hilton point system. They seem quite flexible, the quality is great, you can trade through RCI to expand your horizons and experience different places. We seem to do a couple different vacation types - every other xmas travel (and would like to be near west coast - so most likely Hawaii will be our home resort area as we need the home resort advantage to get our dates.) Our other travel is every June (another popular time to travel) - and that vacation is usually a bit different (different location; different experience - maybe sailing), which sounds like an RCI trade.

I think what helped us figure out how many points (and we have not settled on this yet) is we spent one evening with pretend points and plotting out typical vacations for several years in advance to see if we would have enough to do what we normally do. Too many? Too few? And, we want to make sure we have enough money to still do our little obscure, out of the way places that I find to travel to! I've been quite good at finding "deals" on hotels, etc. so we want to make sure we can still take advantage of those great deals. It was a very fun evening to be sure!

Not sure if any of this has helped... but, welcome & good luck!

 

[kmanster00]

thanks to both,

are there any RCI doc that highlight how many points are required per property? i tried the website but that does not seem to have it.

 

[Sunshine Wanted]

thanks to both,

are there any RCI doc that highlight how many points are required per property? i tried the website but that does not seem to have it.

Good question. I do not know the answer - maybe someone will be able to help. Have you read the Timeshare 101?
Purchasers Checklist?
And, looked through the Advice articles in the top red bar?

 

[fso001]

Resort Points

There is no doc I know of but I would say that you can classify resorts into about 3 categories. Fantastic, above average, mediocre. It would not take very long to determine how many points for each category.

I own both points and one week. The week can be transformed to points if needed. My only regret is that I did not buy in a resort I could drive to but I was able to drive to places I traded for.

Keep in mind that I believe the most important part of the process is for you to establish goals, both short and long. for instance, I decided that we would plan our vacations 10 months ahead of time. We were able to get pretty much what we wanted in trade. You might also want to rent from this site at the last moment.

Good Luck!

 

[Ddee555]

If I had to do it over again...

Hello & Welcome to TUG!

Now, I don't own these particular timeshares, but if I had the choice to buy another timeshare, I would seriously consider these two:

Worldmark:
http://www.worldmarktheclub.com/resorts/

Vacation Internationale:
http://www.viresorts.com/resorts/resortLocations.html

(The only reason I am not considering them now, is because I already own too many weeks--more than I have vacation time--yikes!).

Both timeshares are points-based and flexible, giving a variety of places to visit each year. And depending on where you live in Canada, the resorts might be within driving range of your home.

Let me know what you think or if you have any further questions. Take care.

 

[pegah]

newbie looking to buy in kauai

I own a two bedroom every other year in Maui. I have been using the lock off option and every other year exchanging my studio using interval. I usually exchange for other places in Hawaii. My family has grown and the studio is too small for us now. Is there a way my studio in Maui can exchange to a one bedroom elsewhere? If I could buy a 2 bedroom every other year in kauai which resort is the best to buy at. Is the new Marriott there a good option?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated