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What is your experience with Bluegreen?

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Bluegreen Vacation
Hi all, today my wife an I signed up for a 5,000 points/year contract with Bluegreen. Later in the day I found this site.

I'm on the fence about keeping it, my wife wants to keep it but ultimately trusts if I think we should rescind.

So I'm wondering what your experiences are with it and ultimately if you've found it not worth it? It started feeling more like it was just on us to actually use it for it to be worth it more than anything.

When we went in, I was dead set on not taking any offers especially because I thought it was for a single location only. I didn't take most of the presentation part seriously either, but eventually after my wife and I talked decided to go with it for a couple reasons.

Sorry this is a long one, I just want to explain what's going through our heads because it does seem good to us in some ways but I've also read a lot of people not liking it for things we specifically do like about it (like #3).

1. We barely go on vacations and both really want to go on more, especially while we are young and don't have kids. We want to travel more, and stay in more varied locations. We aren't set on any specific places or times of year, we just want to get out more because we're both workaholics and need to take more vacations. This seemed like a good way to get us to do that because we're already paying for it no matter what.

2. When we do travel on vacations together just the two of us, it's usually 1-2 nights at ~$100/night hotels a couple times a year, roughly half of those stays are just traveling to somewhere. We only do Choice hotels so we've gotten some benefits through that, but we want to try nicer places in nicer locations and paying out of pocket we only do cheap options or just don't take vacations at all. So again - already paying for it so we will have to take nicer vacations.

3. We don't care about specific times of year and are fine just booking places during their cheapest seasons/weeks, we just want to have more+better trips overall every year and try different places but are flexible on dates and locations.

4. My wife's family does a group vacation once or twice a year that ends up costing everyone quite a lot of money to rent multiple separate rooms for multiple nights, when we could do somewhere nicer with our points or even just use bonus time and everyone chip in less but to us to help with our payments.

5. The bonus time deals sound great, though I know it's not factoring in how much we have to pay to have access to them. Still, it would allow us to take more large family trips where we normally need multiple individual rooms and instead get one unit with multiple rooms for a fraction of the price at a much nicer location, with our family still chipping in to us directly to go towards our contract+membership cost.

6. When we do stay at places currently, we only do Choice hotels, so being able to redeem points between the two is nice.

7. We don't want to have to plan trips. We just want to pick a location and let it be planned and taken care of. Flights, car rental, etc. and our membership benefits does that for us.

8. They dropped us down to 5,000/year because of me not wanting to pay more than $250/mo for it, but gave us an additional 5,000 for year one and 4,000 for year two, plus 3 x 8-day/7-night trips - one a year for the next three years. We also didn't want to pay the deposit up front, so with their card gave us 9 months with 0 interest which is fine for us.

This sounds like an awesome first couple of years of exactly what we want, but we will still be paying for it for a couple years after that, and I don't know if at that point we'll regret this or if it's just on us year 4 on to make sure we're getting our money's worth out of it.

So all this is to say I feel torn at the moment. We want to travel more, we want to try new places, and we are both workaholics and need something to really push us to take nice vacations. We aren't particular on any of the specifics of our vacations, just somewhere different and somewhere nicer than a $100/night Choice hotel, so this seems like a good deal for us...right now.

But looking into it, I've read both a lot of negative stories and a lot of positive ones. Negative ones mostly being about the cost and getting out of it, positive ones mostly saying you just need to actually use it and get the full value out of it every year. And some in between - it was great for a couple years but they decided to get out of it after a few years of paying on it.

So, alllll that said, I'm wondering what your personal experiences are.

For those of you that it has worked out for/like it and have kept it, why?

And those that had it a few years and got out of it, why?

Also, did you find it worth getting a loan from somewhere else instead of through them directly? Their interest rate is pretty high, and we have one month to pay it fully with no interest if we want to take out a loan somewhere else with a lower interest rate.

If you read this far, wow! Thank you, please let me know your experiences with this.
 

geist1223

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Worldmark 97,000 Credits
DRI Cabo Azul 50,500
Royal Solaris San Jose del Cabo
First off Rescind. By the things you have laid out Timeshares DO NOT sound right for you. To get where you want to go when you want to go it takes long term planning (12 - 13 months in advance). Also week stays are most common.
 

bnoble

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Rescind. You can get something very similar on the secondary market for pennies or a dime on the dollar. It may not have all the bells and whistles, but those tend not to be as useful at first blush.

Then stick around TUG and learn. You may find that owning timeshare is right for you, at which point you can get this deal again or something very close to it…or something even much better.
 

bnoble

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However much of what you wrote sounds familiar. We rarely vacationed, and were always very price conscious. We bought a different system (on the secondary market) that has some similarities to Bluegreen, and owning timeshare turned into a way to convince ourselves to go on vacation ore often.

That turned out to be a great decision. We definitely didn’t “save money” but that’s because we actually went on vacation instead of staying home.
 

jp10558

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HGVC Seaworld
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Foxrun Lake Lure
Like everyone else says, rescind while you can. You can ALWAYS walk back in and get that same deal retail at any time, but you won't want to if you do some research.

I'd say you ought to go read

And post in that new to timesharing forum with the answers to those questions to get more specific advice.

I will say, if trying to vacation more timeshares can be a great way to do that. Especially if you are flexible and get into "playing the game" as a hobby. What I mean is, I went from a short Christmas trip to NYC every year and a longer trip every 4-5 years to multiple multi week trips a year. Some are planned well in advance via my Wyndham and HGVC ownership where I book where I want to go at 9 to 10 months out to get the availability. Some are are a cash deal in RCI or II planned ~ 6-7 months out. Some are a browse through the last minute inventory nearish to me in RCI or II at 2-3 weeks out. I spend time frequently on TUG and on RCI and II checking their availability to price on the various cash deals and seeing if any work for me. That's the "hobby" part - it's kind of like keeping up on any deal site.
 

Passepartout

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RESCIND! Timesharing (successfully) entails planning in advance. Hotels business plan involves having something like 60% occupancy. Those staying in the hotels pay for those empty rooms. Timeshare works because those staying ARE the owners, and they strive to run close to 100% occupancy. Good for lower cost, but bad for last-minute travelers.

You can buy a TS on the secondary market (look up on the TUG Marketplace in the blue stripe above here for some choices. Costs can be anywhere from free to a few hundred bucks. No financing required! Woo-Hoo!

And speaking of financing- NOBODY will loan you money on a timeshare. You might get a loan on your signature, but NOT to buy a timeshare.

So Rescind. Today. Follow the instructions in your info packet. They are required to be there, just not easy to find. Send it by USPS. DO NOT go to the sales office! They have all the answers and only want to save their commission. They are NOT your friend.

Welcome to TUG. We deal in vacations- and TRUTH.

Jim
 
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Hi all, thank you for the quick responses. We talked about it this morning and I am now typing up the rescind letter. My wife is still interested in trying it but through the second hand market instead. So we're going to rescind and spend some time looking into that.

With just a few minutes of looking on the marketplace here we found for $1 quadruple the points with priority in Chicago, the one place we'd want to have priority because that's where her family's yearly trip is. And the yearly fees would be less than half what we just signed up for financing+maintenance....So, we're going to take some time and think about doing that...a couple days at least this time.

Thank you all for your help.
 
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Bluegreen Vacation
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP Code]
[Email Address]
[Phone Number]

[Today’s Date]

Bluegreen Vacations

Attn: [Insert Relevant Department, e.g., “Customer Service”]
4960 Conference Way North, Suite 100
Boca Raton, FL 33431

Subject: Notice of Contract Rescission – Contract Number: [Insert Contract Number]

Dear Bluegreen Vacations,

I am writing to formally rescind my contract with Bluegreen Vacations for the purchase of a timeshare. The contract was signed on [date of contract], and the contract number is [contract number]. I am exercising my right to rescind within the legally allowed timeframe as specified in the agreement.

Please consider this letter as my official notice of cancellation. I request that you provide written confirmation that the contract has been canceled and that any payments made are refunded in full.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. If you require any further information, please contact me at the details provided above.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
 
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I accidentally deleted the intro to my last post and can't figure out how to edit, I ended up ChatGPT'ing a rescind letter, let me know if it missed anything :)
 

Passepartout

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@alibi-cutouts you can make the letter as simple as I/We wish to cancel the purchase of _______________(acct #) on ______________ (date) at _______________(place)
Signed__________________(Husband)_______________(Wife)

Mail it USPS Certified w return receipt so you get proof of delivery. They are under no obligation to inform you of the progress or completion of the rescission, however, they ARE obligated to process all rescissions in a timely manner. You may not know until you see a refund to your credit card, and depending on when it hits during your billing cycle, that can take up to 45 days.

I think this is the right plan for you at this time.

Jim
 

TUGBrian

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congrats on finding TUG in time to rescind and save thousands!
 

TUGBrian

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also be sure to read up on bluegreen resale, you do lose SOME developer benefits when buying so its important to know beforehand as if you need those developer benefits you can choose to buy thru pinnacle (bluegreens official resale outlet).

far more than the freebies by owner you see all over, but far less than retail and in most cases it retains all developer bought benefits to the resale buyer.
 

Jeddy

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A parallel opinion: based on your thoughts, RESCIND sounds like the correct decision in your situation. Today, anyway.

HOWEVER: I have been a happy BlueGreen owner for almost 10 years, and it is a very different (nicer, my opinion) kind of vacationing experience than hotel hopping.
There are some advantages (vs hotels) for families on vacation.

So, to get an idea whether BG (or any other timeshare system) works for you, you can look through your spam folder and find all kinds of "getaway" packages (Hilton Marriott, Wyndham, others) for about $300 for 3 days/2 nights somewhere, usually with the condition that you sit through a sales presentation.
Buy a weekend package, knowing that the sales pitch is part of the cost, and try the place out. It's like a 3 day rental of a small furnished apartment.

IF you like what you experience but want more information (i.e., more experience), ask if they have a "sampler" package. It's not a full membership-in-the-club deal, but most importantly it has (1) an end date [usually 2 years] (2) no ongoing maintenance fee expenses and (3) less-than-full-resort-list availability. Think about it as a "try before your buy" deal where you basically pay in advance for 5 to 10 vacations. Cost is $2000-$3000 for the "sampler".

It's a way to put your toe into the timeshare vacation club water.

The hot tub in the evening is a great place to hear what other people think about any particular system while you relax. Make friends, too.

Conclusion: timeshare vacation clubs are not for everyone, but it is best to make a decision with more than a single point of experience.

Good luck in whatever decision you come to.
 

dayooper

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Just my opinion, but take a look around at the different systems and their locations. Each has their own positives, negatives and hacks that need to be explored before you purchase, even resale. While some deeds/points can be had free on the resale market, they still might not be a great deal. I am not familiar with BluGreen, but they were bought out by Hilton Grand Vacations about a year ago. Changes haven't been fully impletented yet so no one knows exactly how the system might change.
 
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Thank you for your input everyone!

Quick update - we mailed it certified with return receipt on Tuesday the 15th and it was supposed to arrive on Friday, but is currently delayed with no estimate. It's been a rough month for Florida so assuming it'll be a few more days until it's delivered, but it's at least postmarked for within the 5 day period in our contract and the contract specifically says it is effective on the date sent.

We only actually paid about $40 out of pocket, so as long as it gets delivered we're good and not out much in the mean time.
 

wjpennington

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Thank you for your input everyone!

Quick update - we mailed it certified with return receipt on Tuesday the 15th and it was supposed to arrive on Friday, but is currently delayed with no estimate. It's been a rough month for Florida so assuming it'll be a few more days until it's delivered, but it's at least postmarked for within the 5 day period in our contract and the contract specifically says it is effective on the date sent.

We only actually paid about $40 out of pocket, so as long as it gets delivered we're good and not out much in the mean time.
later on, after trying resale, you can always buy the smallest amount of Charter points they sell ( 3000 yearly) if you want to get the unlimited bonus time at all BG resorts. If you own only resale, you only get bonus time at that resort. It would also give you access to Travelers plus, which grants you access to RCO bookings by the day, and not just week, and some other minor benefits like Hot weeks (think last minute weeks at various RCI resorts for a fixed 3000 points), or Great escapes --cash value for week long stays at various resorts. The unlimited bonus time is the best benefit--over a very extended period. They will always try and sell you on their Premium level benefits--don't believe them, they aren't worth it.
 
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