SfX

[brucenecho]

Can someone please tell me if they are worth belonging to? Thanks.

 

[DeniseM]

Here are some good discussions on this topic: https://www.google.com/search?client=gmail&rls=gm&q="sfx"site:tugbbs.com

 

[eal]

Gold membership is free so give it a try.

 

[presley]

Since it is free to join, you may as well. When I joined under gold, they gave me a few free months as a platinum member. I have successfully used several trading companies and SFX is my favorite.

 

[Tfish]

I used them this past January and was very happy with my trade into a Grand Master Suite at the Grand Mayan, Mx.

I also used a bonus week for the following week.

Easy to deal with.

I'm a gold member and considering moving up.

Mike

 

[pacman]

Not worth it in my opinion.

pacman

 

[MaryH]

Can someone please tell me if they are worth belonging to? Thanks.

Brucenecho,

Depends on where you want to go.. SFX is good for SF, London, NYC, hawaii, California, etc. and some other areas.

 

[Carolinian]

SFX got me an exchange to a 2BR in London. Great company!

 

[Liz Wolf-Spada]

We got our studio at Sloane Garden, last minute from the sell-off list and used an exchange we had to book it. We have used them for quite a few years with good results. I had put in a request for Pacific Grove and forgotten about it and got a call with a one bedroom for last August. We have also used them for San Francisco and Hawaii.
Liz

 

[AKE]

From our experience SFX was great 10+ years ago (when they had $199 and $299 bonus weeks) but in recent years our experience with them was more miss than hit. They have some good locations but their inventory is small when compared to RCI or II and it seemed that it was more who you were dealing with there as tpo whether you got the exchange you wanted or not.

 

[LynnW]

I have had good luck with SFX. They got me 2 weeks in Palm Desert at the Marriott Desert Springs Villas including Thanksgiving week this Nov

Lynn

 

[falmouth3]

I've done well in the past, especially because I like to travel in the off season. But for this year I had quite a number of ongoing requests, but I was picky about the location and dates. I haven't gotten any matches at all. Pretty disappointing. I'm going to watch the sell-off list this year, I guess.

 

[revron]

we're new to sfx

we've been in sfx for just over a month and own several timeshares and use several exchange companies. so far this has been the top of the line exchange company for several reasons. their service, so far in all departments used, is a+. they return calls right away, send emails, listen to you and then educate and offer ways to proceed.

so far we've booked resort stays off the diamond lifetime plus quarterly specials (such as the excellent one where i write this from in atlantic city, 20th floor, ocean view, for $49 for the whole week), discount airfare to fairbanks alaska (cheaper than any online airfare search), a last minute resort in waterville valley for a week at $99.

my account manager is a gem, priceless.

this is so very different from any other exchange we've used. realls seems to be an incredible deal.

 

[AKE]

When we first joined we did get a lot of exchanges but down the road our success rate tapered off. We had great stuff at the start but then I had searches expire with no matches (including some easy ones such as Hawaii). RCI, since they switcned to TPUs, has been much better as you know exactly what a unit costs in TPUs and if you have enough TPUs then the exchanges almost always are there.

 

[JuliGee]

Great success with SFX

We have had a lot of great success with SFX over a number of years, and have actually found their availability of quality space easier to get over the years as they have grown.

One of the weeks we own is at the Donatello, and there are many owner complaints about TPU's. One of them being the cost in TPU's is higher to trade back into the Donatello than what they give you to trade out with!! In other words its so screwy you cant even trade back into your own resort if you want to!

From what we have seen and heard from friends, TPU's can work for you or against you. I understand one of the complaints is RCI changes the value of your TPU's which means inconsistent trading power. You may know what a unit will cost you in TPU's to trade in, but even with high TPU's, the space still has to be available for where and when you want to exchange. With regards to the space being almost always there, I am not quite sure I agree with that. Maybe in Orlando or Las Vegas, but not necessarily so in Hawaii in high season or places like New York.

We have tried RCI and II over the years, and while they have many happy customers, for us SFX has worked much better and for less money. One of the attractions for us is their bonus weeks that can be requested a year in advance, which is great if you can vacation several weeks a year.

One thing we have learnt in the nearly 20 years of owning timeshares, there are no perfect exchange companies, and just like banks or wirless phone services, everyone has their own preferences as to what works for them. If TPU's works well for you that is great.

Julie

 

[dmiller1]

SFX Question

We are considering purchasing a lifetime membership with SFX. We have used SFX in the past and really like them. We are also II members and our membership expires next year. Since we have always been members of II since purchasing our Marriott timeshare our weeks are always given to II when we pay our maintenance fees. If we decide to go with SFX entirely and not II will our Marriott weeks be given to SFX automatically and then we can look at Platinum Exchange or DAE if we want to use a different exchange company?

 

[paidemt]

SFX is also a great way to get around RCI's 1 in 4 rules at resorts such as at Mayan resorts in Mexico.

 

[falmouth3]

Well, I haven't gotten my 2012 requests, but I just got Feb 2013 in Aruba.

 

[klpca]

SFX works in conjunction with one of our resorts (Club Donatello) and it has been very convenient for us. We received a free bonus week at one of the Mayan resorts for 2012 for paying our Donatello maintenance fees early, and they take partial week deposits (3 or 4 days) from Donatello and combine the days to form a full week for exchange. They have been very pleasant to work with. I think that if you want to travel to the resorts where they have a significant relationship they can't be beat. We are on the west coast so their inventory works well for us.

 

[JuliGee]

We are considering purchasing a lifetime membership with SFX. We have used SFX in the past and really like them. We are also II members and our membership expires next year. Since we have always been members of II since purchasing our Marriott timeshare our weeks are always given to II when we pay our maintenance fees. If we decide to go with SFX entirely and not II will our Marriott weeks be given to SFX automatically and then we can look at Platinum Exchange or DAE if we want to use a different exchange company?

One of our properties is Marriott. If you use SFX instead of II, your week will not automatically be given to SFX. You will have to reserve a week at your resort, then deposit that week online with SFX. They take care of all the processing, then you can request a week for your exchange. We have found it to be a very easy process. It always bothered me when your resort automatically gives your week to an exchange company. If you have ownership rights, then your week should not be automatically assigned to exchange company unless you give your permission.

Julie

 

[eal]

TPU's may be good or bad but the cost to exchange with RCI is just too expensive! Any exchange company is preferable to one that charges so much.