Some Fairfield Questions

[spookykennedy]

I am considering Fairfield because we stayed at the FF Grand Desert in July and really enjoyed it, plus we can drive to Vegas. So, I have a few questions from my research, and yes, I have joined the Yahoo Group but find that kind of overwhelming...

1. Can points be banked or borrowed (I am used to DVC) into other years?
2. I read on another board that a 42k point deposit could exchange into nice Orlando resorts...how does this work?
3. Could I use my points at the Orlando resorts if I bought at Grand Desert and is there a cost to do that?

Thanks!

 

[EAM]

Some Fairfield answers

1. Can points be banked or borrowed (I am used to DVC) into other years?

Yes, but the procedures and policies are not the same as DVC. Fairfield is a complex system. I don't want to overwhelm you, so I am omitting references to exceptions for VIP owners who have purchased 300K or more points from Fairfield.

The Fairfield equivalent of banking is the Points Credit Pool. Before you Use Year starts, you may deposit some or all of your points for the upcoming year into the Points Credit Pool. There is a fee ($25) for this service. The points become Pool Credits which do not expire until three years after the date of deposit. Pool Credits may be used just like FSP points within the Fairfield system; they may NOT be used outside Fairfield for RCI exchanges, cruises, or anything else outside Fairfield. You also have to have enough Housekeeping Credits to cover the points you place in the Credit Pool. Each Use Year you get 1 Housekeeping Credit per 1000 points. Additional Housekeeping Credits cost $1.50 each. You are likely to run out of Housekeeping Credits if you usually stay less than a week.

You can borrow points from the following Use Year for reservations made 90 days or less before checkin but first you must use the points from the current Use Year. There is no fee for this service. You may use Borrowed Points within Fairfield and also for reservations at RCI Points resorts IF you have the PlusPartners/RCI Nightly Stay option (normally included in a purchase from Fairfield these days, possibly available as an upgrade for a $2K-$3K?)

2. I read on another board that a 42k point deposit could exchange into nice Orlando resorts...how does this work?

Sometimes a 28K deposit (blue studio) can pull a nice Orlando resort in RCI. This works because most of the year (except Christmas, Easter, and summer), the supply of Orlando resorts exceeds the demand for them. Also, I think there is an internal trade preference in effect so that it is easy to get a Cypress Palms for 28K.
The best way to do this is to call Fairfield, tell them you want to do a "Search First" for Orlando using a 28K deposit. Fairfield will make the deposit and connect you to RCI. The RCI Guide will tell you what's available for 28K. If there is something you want, you pay the exchange fee and you are done. If there is nothing you want, ask to be transferred back to Fairfield, cancel the 28K deposit and try again with 42K. Repeat with 70K, 105K,... until you get what you want or conclude it is not available. If it is not available, you may ask for an ongoing search. The Guides should be able to tell you which size deposit to use. Or you can talk to Fairfield again within 24 hours and ask that the deposit be taken out of RCI and returned to your Fairfield account.

3. Could I use my points at the Orlando resorts if I bought at Grand Desert and is there a cost to do that?

Thanks!

Yes, as long as you wait until 10 months before checkin to reserve at a Fairfield in Orlando. You would be able to reserve at Grand Desert at 13 months.

There is no exchange fee as long as you stay within the Fairshare Plus system. If you exchanged into an Orlando resort via RCI you would pay the standard RCI exchange fee.

You might have to pay a reservation transaction fee ($25). You get one free Reservation Transaction (RT) for each 77K points you own. Each year you get your annual allotment of RTs on January 1 (which may or may not be the beginning of your Use Year). They expire on Dec. 31. You use an RT every time you confirm a reservation, make an RCI deposit, transfer points to another member or convert points to maintenance fees (which few people do because you pay about $2 for every $1 you would get back).

 

[mshatty]

I am considering Fairfield because we stayed at the FF Grand Desert in July and really enjoyed it, plus we can drive to Vegas. So, I have a few questions from my research, and yes, I have joined the Yahoo Group but find that kind of overwhelming...

1. Can points be banked or borrowed (I am used to DVC) into other years?

Yes but with these restrictions:

First, with FF if you don't use your points by the end of your use year, you lose them.

Banking points for future years:

If you know you will not necessarily need to use your points for your next Use Year, you can deposit them into the Credit Pool for $25. This has to be done by the last day BEFORE your Use Year starts. VIP owners have other deadlines during their Use Year to do this. By depositing your points into the Credit Pool, you have 3 years to use the credits from the date of your deposit.

There are limits on Credit Pool credits, like no ARP, no deposit into RCI, and a couple of others.

If you didn't deposit your points into the Credit Pool before your Use Year started, then you can deposit any extra points into RCI before the end of your Use Year. You will have 2 years from the date you deposit them into RCI to use them for an exchange.


Borrowing points:

During the Standard Reservation period, 10 months to 90 days prior to date of reservation, you can borrow points from your next year points to complete the last day of points for your reservation.

During the Express Reservation period, 90 days to date of reservation, you can borrow points from next year points up to the amount of annual points you have. If you have 154k points, you can borrow up to another 154 points so long as you have not used them.

You can rent unlimited amount of points from other FF owners and have them transfer them into your account. The price for this runs from $4.50 to $5.50 per 1,000.


2. I read on another board that a 42k point deposit could exchange into nice Orlando resorts...how does this work?

There is a standard schedule of FF points that equal unit sizes for deposit into RCI. 42k is a white studio, 28k is a blue studio and the smallest deposit you can deposit into RCI. A red 2BR is 154k.

With a generic deposit into RCI you get the overall trading power of FF as a whole company which is quite strong.

The trading power of a 42k deposit will depend season, location, and availability. It would probably work well with Orlando for most of the year. It also works well to exchange into other FF resorts and bulk spacebanks. Many alert FF owners have used 28k and 42k RCI deposits to exchange into Hawaii and other highly desirable spacebanks. Your attentiveness to exchange availability will determine if you can do this.

Often, FF owners are able to get 2 BR units for the studio deposits.

3. Could I use my points at the Orlando resorts if I bought at Grand Desert and is there a cost to do that?

Yes. Assume you bought at Grand Desert, non VIP. You will an advance reservation priority (ARP) at 13 months to 10 months out to reserve a week. Only Grand Desert owners have ARP. At 10 months anyone can reserve at any other FF resort, including Orlando. Within FF, there is no cost to reserve at another FF resort, it's only subject to availability.

Depending on the number of points you own, you may have to pay a transaction fee of $25. Annually, you get 1 free transaction for every 77k points you own. The other fees you may have to pay are housekeeping fees. You get 1 housekeeping credit for every 1,000 points. Generally, if you are reserving full 1 week stays, you won't ever have to pay housekeeping fees. For example a 2BR requires 77 HK points. Normally, you will have to use at least 154k points to reserve a 2BR for a week.

If you do a lot of short stays, you can be in a situation where you are short on HK credits and may have to pay for housekeeping at the time you reserve a week. The fees are $1.50 for 1,000 points. If you are VIP, you get unlimited housekeeping fees.

Thanks!

Spooky,

I hope this helps. Please don't be intimidated to ask questions on the Yahoo group. There is a lot of good information in their files and in their members' experience. That is where I learned.

 

[spookykennedy]

Thank you both for your expert advice. I keep learning more and more pluses for Fairfield!