SVC/Shell Vacations Club Points Carryover ?

[alexadeparis]

I am looking into the Shell System. It seems like the system is pretty high in Maintenance Fee. I would want to travel only every other year into the resort I am looking into. I already know that you must buy into the home club in order to try to get into a resort within that club on a consistent basis. I am looking at vino bello.

The 2 bedroom requires 9050 points in platinum season. My basic question is: Could I buy a 5000 annual point package, or some combination of packages that would allow me buy about half of the total I need, and allow me to project my points into a future year, effectively using the ownership as 10,000 points one year, and using none the next? Kind of creating my own biennial system?

I come from the Wyndham points system, so that is my point of reference.
Does SVC allow you to "buy" points at the time of the reservation? For example, if I found a 4500 point package, and carried forward for a total of 9000 points, would Shell let me somehow obtain the other 50 points needed for the ressie for a 2 bedroom for 7 days, or would I never be able to reserve a full week? Would I be stuck with 6 days as a maximum ressie then?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[slip]

Saw this in one of the Ebay auctions for a Shell points package.

About Shell Vacation Club

Shell Vacations Club is points-based program that provides members with total access to the world of SVC Resorts: vacation destinations that combine flexibility, quality and service for a lifetime of vacation experiences. Like currency, members can spend their Points on accommodations that can also be accelerated, shared with other members, banked and saved for an additional year.

 

[alexadeparis]

Thought about it last night, I wonder if I could buy a 3500 point package, and in the first year roll over points, 2nd year vacation using the first year points, second year points, and borrowing the third year points from the next use year. Has anyone ever done this with shell? Since the MF's are so high, I want to keep costs down. Once every three years should be enough for me in wine country.

 

[JohnPaul]

SVC Points

You are right that SVC MF are on the high end. However they do provide daily maid service (towel change, empty trash, make bed with existing bedding).

You can bank points for one year and also borrow from a future year. There are some complicated rules about how you use those points in the 9 to 12 months out preferred period for your home club. Withing 9 months (from reservation to stay) they all act the same.

Vino Bello is a great property. We just spent another Thanksgiving there.

 

[alexadeparis]

Can someone point me to where these rules are located? I looked through the faq for SVC but I am not sure if that is what you are referring to? My understanding is that I would not necessarily buy vino bello, I would buy the california home club. Or is there an option to specifically buy vino bello only?

 

[shellboy]

From the Shell Website (Members Area)

Banking

Points are deposited in your points account for use in a specific year. If you do not use all of your points in the use year when they are supposed to be used then you may save them for use in the next use year. This is called "banking" your points . Banking is governed by these rules:

If you want to bank some or all of your points, you must notify Shell Vacations, whether by telephone, mail or fax. Shell Vacations must receive your notice at least four months before the end of the use year to which the points relate. For example, if your use year end date is June 30, then Shell must receive your notice by March 1 at the latest.


A. Points banked from one use year must be used by the end of the very next use year or they will expire.

B. You may only use banked points to make a reservation during the club reservation period. You cannot use them during the home plan reservation period or the home club reservation period.

There is an exception. The home plan vacation interests of some founding members allow them to use their home plan only every other year. If the founding members want to use their home plan use right, they will have to bank their points every other year in order to have enough points to make that reservation. Founding members who do this may use their banked points to reserve their home plan use right during their home plan reservation period. They may only do this to reserve their home plan use right in years when they could have reserved a unit in their home plan based on the vacation interest they traded in.


C. You may bank points only once in any use year, no matter how many points you may own.If you have more than one membership, then you may bank points only once in any year for each membership you own.

D. If you bank your points, you cannot change your mind and return them to the use year to which they relate and you cannot borrow them back from the future use year.

E. You must pay a transaction fee for banking points.

 

[alexadeparis]

So basically, it sounds like if you bank your points, you may only reserve during the open time when you can book in any club, you would lose your home club priority. For something hard to get like Vino Bello, would that even be realistic to think I could get a reservation for a 2 bedroom during platinum time using the "bank first year, vacation in second year, while borrowing from third year" method?

Also it states there is a fee to bank? Any idea what that is? And is there a fee to borrow points from a future year? I assume you would have to pay the maintenance fee in advance to get the future points?

 

[shellboy]

You get 2 free/included transactions per use year (reserving, banking, etc), afterwards $17/online or $25/phone per additional transaction.

I made a short 2-day stay at Vino Bello in early August on 2 month notice. Vino Bello is expanding with additional building which will help. Not sure of demand for longer term stay in peak season. Would probably work if you reserved right at 9 month window. What time of year would you be interested in?

 

[alexadeparis]

Honestly, I would probably want September or October because that is my and my husband's birthday time, but I also understand that is harvest which would be very crowded. So probably anytime in the summer (May - August). I think all those times are considered Platinum by shell.

 

[shellboy]

I just checked online for August availability and there was plenty. It does not seem to offer 2 bedroom online but rather listed separately as 1 br (5800 points/week) and studio (3250 points/week) which together equal a 2 bedroom (9050 points/week). I'm sure if you call you could just reserve as a 2 bedroom, without having to do individually.

 

[JohnPaul]

Vino Bello Availability

I don't think you would have any problems at 9 months out. I've had very good luck booking Vino Bello. They just recently opened the third building so availability should be good. Of course, as they sell more it will lessen.

 

[alexadeparis]

So has anyone over done or tried to do the bank/use/borrow 3 year method I am suggesting? I don't want to buy into SVC until I know it can be done.

 

[geoand]

I have banked some of my points one year, then next year used banked and current year points to reserve in the next year. E.g. Banked year 1, year 2 used banked and current year points to reserve unit in 3rd year. All for Hawaii and am not a member of Hawaii Club.

 

[shellboy]

Looks like you could use banked points, current year points and borrowed points together. Maybe you should just consider renting a unit from someone. By buying fewer points (~3100), you are increasing the average maintence fee per point. Annual fees for 3100 points would be about $760/yr (including club fee), For three years, $2280 total.



Borrowing


If you want to make a reservation but do not have enough points, you can borrow points from the next use year. This is called "borrowing" points and there are several rules to keep in mind:


A. You may only borrow points from the use year following the use period which you wish to reserve using the borrowed points.


B. You may only use borrowed points to make a reservation during the club reservation period. You cannot use them during the home plan reservation period or the home club reservation period.


C. You may borrow points only once in any use year, no matter how many points you may own. If you have more than one membership, then you may borrow points only once in any use year for each membership you own.


D. If you borrow points in the current use year, then you will lose any right you have to make a reservation during the home plan reservation period in the next use year. If you own more than one membership, you can borrow using one membership without affecting your other membership.


E. You do not have to pay a separate transaction fee to borrow points. However , you must pay the assessments for the next year. If the amount of the assessment has not been set yet, then Shell Vacations will estimate it. If the estimate is too high, any excess will be refunded to you. And if it is too low, then you must pay the excess during the next billing cycle.

 

[alexadeparis]

Thanks for the info. I am going to take a hard look at contracts in the 3500 to 5000 range. Since you can only use the "club window" when using the bank/use/borrow scenario, it sounds like it doesn't matter which home club I belong to. Which one has the cheapest mf?

 

[rickandcindy23]

I believe California Club is cheapest, but not by much.

I would buy in the Hawaii club, if I had the opportunity to do it all over (we own CA club).

I wish Shell had a resort on Maui, and their resort on Oahu has only small units.

 

[Picker57]

Yes, that's pretty close to what we've just done in order to have enough points for extended family stay in Hawaii late next year. We'll be using our 2011 Use Year (our points are issued in September) and borrowing our 2012 Use Year points. We would have added the leftover points from 2010 but we had to use them before the end of the 2011 Use Year (the 1-year maximum banking window). You do need to watch your dates and deadlines.

On the matter of MF cost/point for each visit, it really would be a wash - just a matter of spreading it out over 2 vs 3 years. But remember, all points after 2000 or so (varies with the home club) are priced lower - around 16.5 cents ea for the Hawaii Club. So by purchasing more points, the additional convenience may outweigh the additional cost. Also, if/when you decide on Hawaii you're going to want to stay longer than 1 week (unless you enjoy flying a lot more than I do....).

And, yes, I also wish SVC had a Maui property. We traded into Maui Schooner a few years ago, and it's OK but it's no Beachboy.

So has anyone over done or tried to do the bank/use/borrow 3 year method I am suggesting? I don't want to buy into SVC until I know it can be done.

 

[normajean999]

So has anyone over done or tried to do the bank/use/borrow 3 year method I am suggesting? I don't want to buy into SVC until I know it can be done.

When I bought my first resale membership (5000 pts) it came with some banked points (09). Since I didn't have enough points for 2 weeks with those points + my current use year at the time (10) I was able to borrow from 11. So then I got 2 weeks in a 2 BR. You can only bank points into the next use year and then they must be used in that year or you have to deposit into II. There is no fee for borrowing. This was booked in Kauai 7 months out. Also I will mention you only get so many housekeeping based on points. Because I only had 5000 points (at that time) I got 2 housekeepings per year. I'm thinking they came 3 or 4 times during the 2 weeks though so maybe I got more than 2 because I was using points from more than 1 year. But I'm not positive on how that works.

I have 7500 points now but I am thinking of buying about 4000 more so I can have enough for 2 weeks in a 2 BR each year without having to borrow because if I borrow I am stuck with the 9 month booking window instead of 12 months. By splitting the cost with another couple I figure it costs us about $80-90 per night per couple versus $150-160 for us to just get a 1 BR for ourselves. It's not too hard to find someone to go to Hawaii with us.

Also as someone else pointed out using points from 3 years at once will significantly increase your overall cost. I don't know about the Cali club but for the Hawaii club I figure 3500 points/yr would cost $953/yr so $2859 if using 3 yrs points at once. But for 10,500 pts a year its $2104. So that is $754 more to use 3 years at a time. If Vino Bello is not too hard to book into I would think booking direct would be much cheaper. You might check the retail price to compare and maybe someone can post the breakdown for the Cali maint fees. For Hawaii it is $555 base price for the first 2000 points, .1644 per point after 2000 pts, + a $151.5 club fee. Best of luck to you!

 

[alexadeparis]

Based on the comments, I think I will look for a 5000 point contract.

 

[alexadeparis]

I have found a contract that I put a bid on for 4050 shell points. I will also try to find a 1250 or 1500 point contract to go with it if I win it. I bid on it because it has 2012 MF paid with no reimbursement expected.

Anyway, the ebay ad states the points never expire, so this would be a "Permanent" point contract rather than a "standard". Is there any real advantage to this type of contract as opposed to the ones that seem to expire in the 2049 range? I will be in my 70's in 2049, and probably wouldn't care if they expired or not, but as I said this one just so happens to be listed as not expiring. Thoughts?

 

[Picker57]

I have found a contract that I put a bid on for 4050 shell points. I will also try to find a 1250 or 1500 point contract to go with it if I win it. I bid on it because it has 2012 MF paid with no reimbursement expected.

Anyway, the ebay ad states the points never expire, so this would be a "Permanent" point contract rather than a "standard". Is there any real advantage to this type of contract as opposed to the ones that seem to expire in the 2049 range? I will be in my 70's in 2049, and probably wouldn't care if they expired or not, but as I said this one just so happens to be listed as not expiring. Thoughts?

Getting, essentially, a free year's worth of points is a very nice way to go; heckuva deal. I'm tempted myself, and I don't need any more points. And I'm an old guy.

Permanent vs (whatever else) contracts? I guess it all depends on how long you'll be traveling and whether you have an exit strategy when you quit traveling. Anyone in the wings (kids, etc) you can gift them to? All in all, we've enjoyed Shell, and moreso since TUGgers have provided great information on how to get maximum 'bang for the buck'.

------Zach

 

[alexadeparis]

I do have a daughter that would be in her 50's in 2049 - whatever is left will go to her - so I guess the permanent points are fine. I was just wondering if maybe those points were older contracts as far as the Shell program goes, and came with different perks or quirks, perhaps. Just looking for any caveats here.

 

[Picker57]

I don't know of any differences in contracts based on the age of the contract. On the other hand, stadiums could be filled with lists of the things I don't know. Any way to look at the contract itself?
Z.K.

I do have a daughter that would be in her 50's in 2049 - whatever is left will go to her - so I guess the permanent points are fine. I was just wondering if maybe those points were older contracts as far as the Shell program goes, and came with different perks or quirks, perhaps. Just looking for any caveats here.

 

[alexadeparis]

once I win the auction i will ask to see the contract - although I have to say at this price I don't really care. I have calculated the MF per point and I think the sweet spot where you get the best bank for your buck seems to be right around the 6,000 - 7.000 point range - so now I am still going to look for 2 contracts that are in that total range. Poor me, too bad I will have to now force myself to vacation in either Hawaii or Wine Country (my original plan for using shell points) even more often than I originally thought.

 

[Picker57]

Pretty good thinking, in my (never) humble opinion. FYI, 7000 points will get you 2 weeks, 1BR, at Holua (lowest point requirements for Shell Hawaii resorts) in low season, so that's a pretty nice number; it'll probably run around $1500 in mf's. Yeah, nasty break about having to spend time there....but you'll survive.

Z.K.

once I win the auction i will ask to see the contract - although I have to say at this price I don't really care. I have calculated the MF per point and I think the sweet spot where you get the best bank for your buck seems to be right around the 6,000 - 7.000 point range - so now I am still going to look for 2 contracts that are in that total range. Poor me, too bad I will have to now force myself to vacation in either Hawaii or Wine Country (my original plan for using shell points) even more often than I originally thought.