Sapphire Resorts

[bestpal38]

I know this is the Wyndham thread, but does anyone have any information on Sapphire Vacation clubs?? I could get 20,000 points for free, no MF's until next year, then it's $550 a year. Wondering what 20,000 points would get me. Any help is appreciated......

 

[55plus]

Never heard of Sapphire Vacation clubs. Do you mean Wyndham Sapphire Valley? If so, 20K points will get you nothing.

 

[ecwinch]

Hi - I am going to move this thread as it has nothing with Wyndham and might get more responses in the other forum.

I dont know anything about them - so the first question would be "what are your 20,000 points" secured by - is it deeds in a trust, deeded ownership, ?

I dont know if this is the case, but in the past few years we have seen the advent of these points based "Vacation Clubs". Some are legit - with actually ownership interests securing the points. Others are just pass-thru Clubs that are essentially just renting out RCI cash booking options - typically the Extra Holiday last minute/distressing/surplus inventory that RCI makes available to members for $239 and up. They make their money by selling points or collecting membership fees and marking up the cash bookings they make for members.

The big problems with those Clubs is availability. You only seeing the RCI inventory that has been picked over by the exchangers - so lots of Vegas, Orlando, Williamsburg, and Branson inventory especially in off-season periods. But almost never the premium resorts unless at the more expensive market rate rentals RCI has. For the most part you can get these type of deals thru one of the RCI affiliate channels if you are a military veteran/active duty/retired/DOD civilian or current/former first responder.

www.afvclub.com

Here is one thread I found on Sapphire.

https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/sapphire-resorts-jockey-club-new-purchase.248470/

 

[nuwermj]

Sapphire Resorts is the US name of GeoHoliday Vacation Club. I don't know the business model.

 

[nuwermj]

I could get 20,000 points for free, no MF's until next year, then it's $550 a year. Wondering what 20,000 points would get me. Any help is appreciated......

I looked around the internet and found a number of listing for 20,000 Sapphire points. Their annual fees are listed as $1,000, $980, $1,054, $1,045 $1,100, $1,176, $1,054. There are also a number of 20,000 biennial accounts for sale with annual fees listed as $527, $527, $650, $500, $490.

I think you are looking at every-other-year points. Some companies allocate biennial points once every two years and typically let you save some or all of them for a second year (with various rules governing saved points). Other companies allocate half the point one year and the other half in the next year. So, in effect, you have the same as a 10,000 point annual account.

I've no idea what Sapphire Resorts does, but, bestpal38, I think you should want to check this out.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Sapphire Resorts is the US name of GeoHoliday Vacation Club. I don't know the business model.

Geo Holidays has been in business for over 20 years . they are a legitimate Timeshare Developer .
I would group them with Timeshare brands like : Capital Resorts , Raintree Vacation Club . etc.
TS entities that have less visibility because they are midsize and mid-level.

Geo Holidays owns units within resorts and sells access via points ownership .
They may also have some affiliation agreements with other developers .
Geo H was started in Toronto . They developed & own a number of TS properties in Canada .

I believe they "rebranded " to Sapphire for sales purposes in the last 3-5 years .
Per TUG postings - the Sapphire brand seems to have a sales location in Las Vegas .

I have also seen exchange listed units on RCI .

********
For any future reader - if you are past the rescind deadline for Sapphire Resorts / Welcome to TUG .

TUG is Timeshare Users Group .

Work on learning how to best use what you bought . It can be done . Over 50% of TUG members bought their first timeshare from a developer and paid full retail - like you did .

Many TUG members then added to their vacation usage and ownership - by learning more and buying more - resale .

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

.. does anyone have any information on Sapphire Vacation clubs??

I could get 20,000 points for free, no MF's until next year, then it's $550 a year. Wondering what 20,000 points would get me. Any help is appreciated......

Hi bestpal38,
if you do not own Sapphire / Geo and are looking to enter timeshare ownership .
I would suggest researching Wyndham and other systems on TUG.

1) Wyndham has many more resort properties and locations than Sapphire .
THey also own RCI - which via an exchange fee - adds more options .

2) The TUG bargain forum / (free) regularly has many listings ; including Wyndham point ownerships that meet your low cost acquisition concept .

3) BEFORE you acquire anything - spend 6 +months reading TUG .

4) Free Timeshares are not hard to find / they are not as easy to get rid of - if you decide the specific acquisition is not to your vacation requirements .

5) The value in many/ most timeshares is in vacation use . Deciding what locations Could meet your vacation needs is a good start .
Drive to locations / ski locations / beach - Florida or Hawaii or somewhere else .
Then research what systems best meet your personal vacation goals.

 

[bdurstta]

Went to a Sapphire presentation about 2 years ago. Presentation was OK...but the ol' "too good to be true" bells were loud and clear!!!!!

 

[cherylu]

I went to a Sapphire presentation two weeks ago. I was stunned at the way it was described. It is a 45-year "membership," but it does involve getting points. They said, "23,000 points would be deposited in your account on January 1." They showed how much a member can travel using the "Extra" and "Last-minute" options on the RCI website. They did not point out that these vacations are usually only available at low demand and/or off-season weeks, or how some of the Extra vacations can be $1,700 or more for a week. They then bragged about how their "maintenance" fee is the lowest of all - at only $420 (or so) per year. It wasn't until AFTER the presentation when I was told that the points are only deposited every three years. Oops. So now - the low maintenance fee is up to $1,260, for one years' worth of points. I was then told, "By getting points every three years, it stretches out the payments." Didn't mention this in the presentation. They offered a free trip to Hawaii to the first people to sign up for the membership, so somebody signed up immediately. I suspect they had not been told yet about the "three year" thing.
btw - I bought my timeshare in 1988, long before the whole "points" system. I have been very happy with it. I have been following the industry ever since. I own one week, and usually travel 2-3 weeks/year. I have been shocked at the high cost of the point systems. I found the Sapphire presentation to be one of the worst I have attended. If I were to buy a timeshare now, I'd go into the aftermarket, where people are selling their weeks cheap, or almost for free. My maintenance fee is only $714/year, and I get a week every year. I own a red floating week in Sedona, AZ. My property is deeded as REAL estate, not as "points."

 

[Peter26]

I would think twice before buying any timeshare at all. Based on Sapphire Resorts customer service it is rather difficult to cancel your membership if you change your mind. What if you don;t like it? I don't know.

 

[MikeGio]

We bought into GeoPremier back in 1988 when there were many properties (St Martin Guana Bay, Imperial Lakes – Florida, Lake Tahoe, Geopremire Quebec, Jockey Club Vegas and perhaps more if I recall). Over the last 25 years we had many great trips and lovely memories. We never upgraded to the GeoHoliday point system so we are supposed to get a 2 bedroom in any week at any of the GeoPremier resorts. Our Agreement states that GeoPremier planned to grow the list of Resorts adding to our choice of inventory.

At some point Saphire took over and now our resort list has dwindled to just one ( Club Geo in Quebec). Fees have not dropped even though several resorts have disappeared.
Our dues are all up to date, but we are at a point where we can never seem to get any space when we call and exchanges to RCI do not result in enough buying power for us to get a comparable unit, so we are considering getting out and are curious about who else has dealt with Saphire and what their success rate is in giving back the unit(s).

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Hi @MikeGio ,
I think this thread covers most of the TUG
Geo / Sapphire posts since 2019.

If you bought in 1988 - you probably bought in Canada.

1) How much is your annual MF ?
2 )How many TPU's - Trading Power Units
do you get for depositing into RCI ?
3.) Are you still wanting to vacation / use timeshares ?

Maybe walking away makes sense .