• 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!

Raintrees Whiski Jack , Whistler

boatnut

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2008
Messages
36
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Onboard, Southern Van Island
After two weeks of nothing but people sipestepping the question, lack of any real answers and general evasise behavior by anybody I tried to talk to at Raintree or RCI I gave up on the idea of buying a Timeshare. That was approx 4 weeks ago. Having calmed down and now armed with some "insider info" lol... (one of those Raintree Vacation Club usage calenders/matrix) provided to me by somebody that owns a week at Whiski Jack, I feel up to trying again.
How can I verify if a unit is an "A", "B", or "C" rated unit? PLEASE do not say call Raintree!! Is there a list published, does the rating apply to the building or is it somehow unit/week related? Raintree has zero interest in talking to anybody unless they are a member or want to talk to the sales dept. HELP!!!
 

Bill4728

Moderator
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
11,038
Reaction score
598
Points
899
Location
Lake Tapps, WA
First, Welcome to TUG, Most people here love their TS and find that it is agreat way to vacation. And just like you most of us have discovered that buying resale can save us huge amounts of money. If you buy whiski jack resale you'll also find you'll save huge amounts of money compared to buying from raintree.

Second, There are only a few people on the site who have any significant working knowledge of Raintree/Whiski Jack It may be awhile for you to get the info you need.

Personally, I ask for what ever info you can from the seller

Sorry
 
Last edited:

T_R_Oglodyte

TUG Lifetime Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
16,113
Reaction score
8,063
Points
1,048
Location
Belly-View, WA
try calling 800-424-6532. Explain what info you are seeking from one the Raintree Vacation Guides. They should be able to get the info from the points charts for the various resorts.
 

boatnut

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2008
Messages
36
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Onboard, Southern Van Island
obvious??

Thanks. I have found a fixed week that shows as a platinum level week on Raintree Vacation Clubs Usage Calendar. Does this mean this week/unit that is for sale is a platinum week for trading purposes within Raintree? Seems obvious, however, timeshare land seems to work differently lol.... Anybody know what (if any) the fees are to join Raintree Vacation Club? Does it come with the purchase of a week automatically? Clive.
 

geoand

TUG Review Crew: Rookie
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
1,287
Reaction score
289
Points
443
Location
Anacortes, WA
You may have to contact Whiski Jack in Whistler to get the info you seek. Purchasing a week resale may not get you a membership in Raintree. Shucks, I am not sure if purchasing a week directly from Whiski Jack gets you a membership with Raintree. We own at Tynnsdahl Hall and then paid a fee to join Raintree. We joined in 2000 or 2001 and have thoroughly enjoyed our membership.
 

T_R_Oglodyte

TUG Lifetime Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
16,113
Reaction score
8,063
Points
1,048
Location
Belly-View, WA
Thanks. I have found a fixed week that shows as a platinum level week on Raintree Vacation Clubs Usage Calendar. Does this mean this week/unit that is for sale is a platinum week for trading purposes within Raintree? Seems obvious, however, timeshare land seems to work differently lol.... Anybody know what (if any) the fees are to join Raintree Vacation Club? Does it come with the purchase of a week automatically? Clive.

If it's a platinum week and it's part of Raintree Vacation Club it will trade in Raintree as a platinum week.

There is a direct and specific correlation between gem level in Raintree and the number of points a week receives. (The gem level program preceded Raintree using points; when Points were introduced all of the gem levels became equated with specific numbers of points.) A platinum week is worth 72,000 points in Raintree (which aiso how many RCI Points it has if you trade it through RCI). Because there is a direct correlation between gem level and points, you can work out which Whiski Jack properties are A, B, or C by comparing the point levels (or gem levels) associated with a given property.
 

boatnut

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2008
Messages
36
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Onboard, Southern Van Island
Thanks

Really gratefull for all the advise. So if I understand correctly.... It IS possible to buy a deeded week in the Whiski Jack complex (in a building that is listed in Whiski Jack Resorts Annual news letter) WITHOUT it qualifying as a tradable week within the Raintree Vacation Clubs other resorts? If this is this case, would a timeshare advertised as "Raintrees Whiski Jack" be false advertising if it did NOT qualify for trading ?
 

T_R_Oglodyte

TUG Lifetime Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
16,113
Reaction score
8,063
Points
1,048
Location
Belly-View, WA
Really gratefull for all the advise. So if I understand correctly.... It IS possible to buy a deeded week in the Whiski Jack complex (in a building that is listed in Whiski Jack Resorts Annual news letter) WITHOUT it qualifying as a tradable week within the Raintree Vacation Clubs other resorts? If this is this case, would a timeshare advertised as "Raintrees Whiski Jack" be false advertising if it did NOT qualify for trading ?

I believe so. There are many units that Whiski Jack sold before Raintree appeared, and unless and until the owners have joined those units to Raintree, those units operate exactly as they did prior to Raintree appearing.

Raintree is probably the most confusing multi-resort system around. Before you assume it's false advertising, you should consider that perhaps some owners don't know exactly what they own. When all of the correspondence you see says "Raintree", your resort website it at the Raintree web site, your annual statements say "Raintree", and you've sat through owner updates that tell you all about how "Raintree" has acquired "Whiski Jack", it's not surprising that many Whiski Jack (and Club Regina owners as well) think they own a Raintree timeshare.

+++++++

A couple of other Raintree comments.

First, as regards their points system:

When Raintree was formed Raintree set up the gem levels to identify trade power and value of weeks within the system. Then they decided to offer a points system and to accomplish that they hooked up their system with RCI Points, tying RCI Points to the gem levels. At that point you could use gem levels to do week for week exchanges within Raintree, and if you wanted to trade through RCI you were in the weeks system. Or you could upgrade to "Raintree Vacation Club powered by RCI Points" which turned your gem level into points. You could use those points in RCI Points, and you could also book less than week long stays within Raintree by using points.

At some point, without telling owners, Raintree simply converted the entire Club to RCI Points at no cost to owners who hadn't paid for the upgrade to RCI Points.

Second, as regards Raintree operations:

Raintree is without doubt one of the worst operations at communicating with owners. A good example is the situation cited above in which they simply migrated the whole system to RCI Points, with nary a word to owners about what was going. I was totally confused when I talked to a phone rep and he he started talking about points in my account and doing four and five night availabilities. I had no idea what he was talking about. Eventually I was able to piece together what happened, when I realized that I had access to everything about RCI Points that had been pitched to us during an "Owner Upgrade".

Third, don't let this scare you off from Raintree.

Where confusion reigns, those who have correct information have a distinct advantage. If you are willing to invest time in understanding the system you have a distinct advantage in the Raintree resale market. You can easily identify properties that are underpriced because the owners don't really know what they own. Similarly, you will easily know properties to stay away from because the owners don't own what they think they do. You will know what questions to ask of owners.

Needless to say with all of this, you should never consider buying any Club Regina/Whiski Jack/Raintree property unless you have the opportunity to confirm ownership details (using the phone number I gave above).
 

geoand

TUG Review Crew: Rookie
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
1,287
Reaction score
289
Points
443
Location
Anacortes, WA
Steve is absolutely correct with his comments about Raintree. We were Whiski Jack owners who were given the option to join RVC thru the WJ "let us tell you about a great opportunity update pitch."

One item that Steve did not mention is that RVC owners can use both RCI Points and RCI Weeks.

The join RVC costs back in 2000 has to be considerably cheaper than what it is today. If memory serves correctly, we paid in the vicinity of $1000 to $1100 to join.
 

nyparadigm

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2006
Messages
113
Reaction score
1
Points
378
Location
Manhattan
How can I verify if a unit is an "A", "B", or "C" rated unit? PLEASE do not say call Raintree!! Is there a list published, does the rating apply to the building or is it somehow unit/week related?

Back to one of your original questions...the most recent version of the usage matrix for Whiski Jack identifies which resorts fall into A, B or C.

I don't know Whiski Jack, but it seems to me that if you have a basic description of the unit type and you know the resort it is in, along with the week #, then you have all the information you need to determine the Gem level for the unit...assuming that it actually has been converted to a Gem level...

Confused yet...?

Chris
 
Last edited by a moderator:

boatnut

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2008
Messages
36
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Onboard, Southern Van Island
Confused, kinda?

Wow, this is one painfull convoluted learning curve. That said, fairly confident I have found what I was looking for..... Platinum RVC membership included (with a $525 transfer fee), 2 bedroom/loft, sleeps 8, red week (week 20 in Whiski Jack Northstar), deeded, $682 MF, original owner paid 23k!!, I'm getting for $2,000 plus transfers etc. Phew, anything else I need? Remember my goal is to trade for Club Regina, P Vallarta WITHIN Raintree. I intend to call RVC tomorrow with owners approval and membership info to confirm trade value/membership. If that checks out, am I OK to commit?
 

aliikai2

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
2,121
Reaction score
3
Points
398
Location
Yuma Arizona
Are you sure that this week is part of Raintree ??

These resorts sold lots of weeks before they became part of Raintree, and a fixed week 20( slow season) doesn't sound like a Raintree ownership. I just don't want to to get this and the find out that you own a poor trader, that can only be used there or through RCI. Greg

Wow, this is one painfull convoluted learning curve. That said, fairly confident I have found what I was looking for..... Platinum RVC membership included (with a $525 transfer fee), 2 bedroom/loft, sleeps 8, red week (week 20 in Whiski Jack Northstar), deeded, $682 MF, original owner paid 23k!!, I'm getting for $2,000 plus transfers etc. Phew, anything else I need? Remember my goal is to trade for Club Regina, P Vallarta WITHIN Raintree. I intend to call RVC tomorrow with owners approval and membership info to confirm trade value/membership. If that checks out, am I OK to commit?
 

T_R_Oglodyte

TUG Lifetime Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
16,113
Reaction score
8,063
Points
1,048
Location
Belly-View, WA
These resorts sold lots of weeks before they became part of Raintree, and a fixed week 20( slow season) doesn't sound like a Raintree ownership.

The fact that it's a fixed week 20 doesn't really indicate much about whether it is or is not part of Raintree - it probably was sold as Whiski Jack but the issue is whether or not it was converted.

Just to make matters more confusing, even after Raintree acquired Whiski Jack they continued to sell Whiski Jack units as Whiski Jack properties not part of Raintree Vacation Club. In a sales presentation we went to about eight years ago the presentation included options to either purchase a straight Whiski Jack unit, or to buy a unit that would be part of Raintree from the outset.

Of course, everything said Raintree so an owner buying a Whiski Jack ownership could easily think they were buying a Raintree ownership.
 

aliikai2

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
2,121
Reaction score
3
Points
398
Location
Yuma Arizona
Exactly my point

Only you said it better Steve:wave:

Greg:D

The fact that it's a fixed week 20 doesn't really indicate much about whether it is or is not part of Raintree - it probably was sold as Whiski Jack but the issue is whether or not it was converted.

Just to make matters more confusing, even after Raintree acquired Whiski Jack they continued to sell Whiski Jack units as Whiski Jack properties not part of Raintree Vacation Club. In a sales presentation we went to about eight years ago the presentation included options to either purchase a straight Whiski Jack unit, or to buy a unit that would be part of Raintree from the outset.

Of course, everything said Raintree so an owner buying a Whiski Jack ownership could easily think they were buying a Raintree ownership.
 

nyparadigm

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2006
Messages
113
Reaction score
1
Points
378
Location
Manhattan
Wow, this is one painfull convoluted learning curve. That said, fairly confident I have found what I was looking for..... Platinum RVC membership included (with a $525 transfer fee), 2 bedroom/loft, sleeps 8, red week (week 20 in Whiski Jack Northstar), deeded, $682 MF, original owner paid 23k!!, I'm getting for $2,000 plus transfers etc. Phew, anything else I need? Remember my goal is to trade for Club Regina, P Vallarta WITHIN Raintree. I intend to call RVC tomorrow with owners approval and membership info to confirm trade value/membership. If that checks out, am I OK to commit?

FYI per the RVC usage matrix, Northstar is an "A" resort, but the unit you describe, for week 20, equates with an RVC Sapphire (117K pts) Gem membership. Also the MF seem on the low side for both the Platinum (72K pts) and, of course, the Sapphire levels.

Unless Whiski Jack deeded is really different from the rest of RVC, something seems not quite right...best to confirm directly with RVC as you stated you would do above.

Chris
 

boatnut

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2008
Messages
36
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Onboard, Southern Van Island
Contact!!!

Well it actually happened, I got a real person at RVC to talk to me. They were very very guarded with their answers, however, they confirmed that the unit/week I am buying does trade for what I want. I committed to buy subject to RVC membership transfering. Now what?
My experience so far tells me that the games are not over yet lol..... what can go wrong now? What should I look out for? Thanks to all who have helped out with great advise. Double thank you to Donna for talking to me on the phone and patiently explaining things. Clive.
 

geoand

TUG Review Crew: Rookie
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
1,287
Reaction score
289
Points
443
Location
Anacortes, WA
I will repeat that I think you should call Whiskijack in Whistler to get the info you need about the values of the unit, mf, and whether or not you will have to pay extra to join RVC or to maintain RVC. They do have a toll free number and it is different than the RVC number. Rvc number connects you to call center in the midwest.
 

boatnut

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2008
Messages
36
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Onboard, Southern Van Island
Thanks Geo, spoke with Whiski Jacks legal dept who are doing the transfer. Confirmed it is a RVC unit and am paying $525 to transfer. I believe that I am very happy with the outcome, hated the process. In hindsight I can understand why RVC is so loath to release any info to non owners. Privacy laws and potential involvement in disputes/ upset owners re private sales that take away from theirs? Clive
 

DMGG

TUG Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2006
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Vashon Island, Washington
Congratulations!
You got an excellent deal on your Whiski Jack/RVC ownership! And your MF is very low for a Platinum level. (FYI the RVC yearly fee may be on top of the MF...)
You should not have a problem getting in to PV, especially if you plan ahead...
Peace,
David
 
Top