Timeshare Points vs. Weeks

charlest66 wrote:

Sunterra Sun Options have more value and are much more flexible. A week at a Sunterra Resort in prime time any time full week is only 5,500 - 6,000 points. You get your exchange more readily with II (not through RCI - we always had bad luck with RCI and switched to II - they are more quality Resorts. No exchange fee through Sunterra and your free II Membership gives you the same choice to swap a week or a few days at a minimal amount of points. You always have too many points to use. It is the greatest way to go economically more sound for your money to stay in First Class Resorts$ You pay for what you get!

I am new at this stuff - what is "II" and how do I find out more about this? Thanks. Deb :)

deborahb4 wrote:

charlest66 wrote:

Sunterra Sun Options have more value and are much more flexible. A week at a Sunterra Resort in prime time any time full week is only 5,500 - 6,000 points. You get your exchange more readily with II (not through RCI - we always had bad luck with RCI and switched to II - they are more quality Resorts. No exchange fee through Sunterra and your free II Membership gives you the same choice to swap a week or a few days at a minimal amount of points. You always have too many points to use. It is the greatest way to go economically more sound for your money to stay in First Class Resorts$ You pay for what you get!

I am new at this stuff - what is "II" and how do I find out more about this? Thanks. Deb :)

II is Interval International - a Smaller Elite Exchange Club. RCI is a Cendant Corp. and very, very large - you get lost in their shuffle. We put in for 2 years to Big Sky MT and when we arrived there and rented through Hotels.com, guess who owned the unit we were booked in? Right, RCI - they stockpile them and then rent them and don't always use our swap for exchange, rather rent them out for profit!

unit we were booked in? Right, RCI - they stockpile them and then rent them and don't always use our swap for exchange, rather rent them out for profit!

Question about this last comment: "rather rent them out for profit". I am familiar with the lawsuit against Fairfield properties because of the points system decreasing availability of fee-simple week timeshares but I would like to see more information substantiating that Cendant has been renting out their properties for a profit to non-timeshare people.

Thanks, Henry

Kyle asked, in pertinent part "... which is better - points or weeks? <<

I don't want to answer that question as posed. I do, however, want to offer a personal opinion that the apparent increase in the popularity of "points" seems (to me, anyhow) to have made it increasingly more difficult for "weeks" users to get certain exchanges. The reason seems clear and obvious to me. If ANY part of a week is utilized by a "points" user at any given resort, whatever and wherever it may be, then that ENTIRE week immediately becomes unavailable for reservation by any "weeks" user, even though the "points" user may actually only be there for a few days out of that particular week being sought by the "weeks" user. One can't have it for a partial week at the same time another has it for a whole week.

This is not to take a side on "which is better", although I will openly acknowledge that I am a "weeks" owner and I fully intend to remain so. I merely want to point out the obvious fact that there is only so much space and so many weeks available in the timeshare universe and these two very different time utilization schemes may (and they do) occasionally "collide", since each one has entirely different increments of time usage.

That's my opinion, certainly worth what you paid for it ;-)

ken1193 Kyle asked, in pertinent part "... which is better - points or weeks? <<

I prefer the points system because of the flexibillity. I may not want to stay at my Fairfield Grand Desert (Las Vegas) timeshare for an entire week. I personally prefer to break up my points over multiple days (more visits over the course of a year).

If I decide to bring along guests or other family members, I can use more points for a larger unit ... or I can purchase additional points to accomodate my guests/family needs.

With enough points one can have it both ways ... individual days or weeks.

Archie 14 said, in pertinent part(s): >> I personally prefer to break up my points over multiple days (more visits over the course of a year) <<

......sure ---- and fewer full weeks are available to "weeks" owners as a direct result of exactly these sorts of multiple "broken" up short visits by points users. I'm not criticizing you, just reinforcing my own prior point that fewer whole weeks are available to weeks users with the rise of "points" use breaking up so many "whole" weeks.

Re:>>With enough points one can have it both ways ... individual days or weeks. <<

......and weeks owners will continue to be able to have it only ONE way --- with fewer and fewer whole weeks available to them.

ken1193 wrote:

Archie 14 said, in pertinent part(s): >> I personally prefer to break up my points over multiple days (more visits over the course of a year) <<

......sure ---- and fewer full weeks are available to "weeks" owners as a direct result of exactly these sorts of multiple "broken" up short visits by points users. I'm not criticizing you, just reinforcing my own prior point that fewer whole weeks are available to weeks users with the rise of "points" use breaking up so many "whole" weeks.

Re:>>With enough points one can have it both ways ... individual days or weeks. <<

......and weeks owners will continue to be able to have it only ONE way --- with fewer and fewer whole weeks available to them.

Your points (excuse the pun) are well taken Ken. However, with everything else in life, we buy things that please or benefit US ... not the other fellow (or gal). That's why some folks buy Hondas, Fords and Chevy's and others buy Lincolns, Hummers and Cadillacs.

I've also rented from Fairfield owners for a week at a time on a few occassions, while preserving my own multiple-day owner points options (which is why I purchased my deeded timeshare from a former Fairfield owner) ... and have been very pleased with some of the deals I've gotten.

When I asked about points a few years ago I was told it costs 2,000 two thousand dollars to convert to points. Is this what others have paid to convert from weeks to points. I own two weeks in New England and have had pne weeks for 10 years and 0ne week for 5 years.

When we converted a few years ago we were given the points value for what we owned. We then had to pay £1500 I think it was and we got 10,000 'free' points. We couldn't just do a straight swap without paying something. The more you paid, the more 'free' points you got but of course nothing is free.

The cost to convert weeks to points is a major turn-off for weeks owners. Millions of timeshare owners would be glad to convert their week(s) to points, but they are not willing to pay a ridiculous fee to do so.

ednab2 wrote:

When we converted a few years ago we were given the points value for what we owned. We then had to pay £1500 I think it was and we got 10,000 'free' points. We couldn't just do a straight swap without paying something. The more you paid, the more 'free' points you got but of course nothing is free.

Deb has asked : >> what is "II" and how do I find out more about this? <<

An important point not made at all clear to you in previous replies is that in order to join II, you must first already OWN timeshare **at an II affiliated resort**. The II affiliated resort(s) and week(s) must be specified right on your II application --- and they WILL check.

It might also be helpful to understand in advance that not all resorts are affiliated with II. Understand also that a resort being RCI affiliated does NOT necessarily mean that the resort is also II affiliated. Some resorts are affiliated with RCI, some are affiliated with II, some are affiliated with BOTH.

RCI will sell you (or anyone else) a membership even if you don't own timeshare anywhere. Not so with II. I'm not sure that I agree with the description of II as necessarily being "elite", but I must agree with the characterization of RCI as being huge and cumbersome---- and often difficult to successfully work with as a result.

Archie replied, in pertinent part; >> However, with everything else in life, we buy things that please or benefit US ... not the other fellow (or gal). That's why some folks buy Hondas, Fords and Chevy's and others buy Lincolns, Hummers and Cadillacs.<<

I'm all for free choice. However, unlike in your car analogy where one's selection has absolutely NO impact whatsoever on others making their own choice, in the timeshare world "points" use does indeed directly (and negatively) impact "weeks" users. I'm not seeking to argue with you (or anyone else). My point (no pun intended here from me either) was and remains simply that these very different "currencies" of time usage can and do conflict and collide, since they are so different and very often incompatible with one another.

No agrument from me Ken ... my "point" is that if I don't wish to stay for an entire week at any specific property ... then points is the way to go.

If I want to upgrade to a two bedroom suite to accomodate additional guests or family members ... I can simply use more of my points. Points simply offers more flexibility and other attractive alternatives.

Personally speaking, I would not want my hands tied to a weeks-only option... but if that's what some time share owners are stuck with ... we all have to play the hand with the cards that have been dealt to us depending upon the game we bought into. Points was the better choice for me.

Just this humble man's opinion.

archie14 wrote:

No agrument from me Ken ... my "point" is that if I don't wish to stay for an entire week at any specific property ... then points is the way to go.

If I want to upgrade to a two bedroom suite to accomodate additional guests or family members ... I can simply use more of my points. Points simply offers more flexibility and other attractive alternatives.

Personally speaking, I would not want my hands tied to a weeks-only option... but if that's what some time share owners are stuck with ... we all have to play the hand with the cards that have been dealt to us depending upon the game we bought into. Points was the better choice for me.

Just this humble man's opinion.

I agree. As we are OAP's we are flexible. We can go off peak which is less points which means we can have more holidays.

palmtre2 wrote:

I have a problem converting over to weeks - when I sat down at my resort to talk about it, I realized that the conversion would have left me with the inability to get back into my own resort!!! Besides not getting my monies worth in the conversion there are too many rules and hidden fees. This was Sunterra and there are exchange fees plus not every prime time unit is 5000 points - my units would go for 18000. They were only willing to give me 15000 for them and sell me another 5000 (at a discounted price of course!!!).

I just attended the Sunterra pitch at my resort, Royal Palm in St. Maarten. They offered that my Weeks 9-12 are worth 7000 points each, but I must buy 3000 points at $6000 for each week---for the lowest Club membership. (They claimed new customers would pay $31,000 for my ownership---which seems it would be worth the top membership at that cost!) Then a jump to $1000 in each maintenance fee, and I would not be guaranteed a return to my resort on my weeks, because I was giving up the leasehold. Who's to say I would find other vacations where/when I wanted? And then lots of confusing fees & rules---guess its's not for me, but I worry Sunterra won't have my interests at heart in my home resort now because I am not a Club participant....It's mind boggling, but making money for them!

I'm not familiar with how Sunterra works, but this sounds like out and out blackmail to get you to upgrade to points with a lot of money involved.

One major question, do you OWN deeded fixed weeks 9-12 at this resort?

You can access:

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?

and scroll down to Points System Discussion. There's lots of Sunterra disccussions there. You can also ask your question in that forum.

debs3 wrote:

palmtre2 wrote:

I have a problem converting over to weeks - when I sat down at my resort to talk about it, I realized that the conversion would have left me with the inability to get back into my own resort!!! Besides not getting my monies worth in the conversion there are too many rules and hidden fees. This was Sunterra and there are exchange fees plus not every prime time unit is 5000 points - my units would go for 18000. They were only willing to give me 15000 for them and sell me another 5000 (at a discounted price of course!!!).

I just attended the Sunterra pitch at my resort, Royal Palm in St. Maarten. They offered that my Weeks 9-12 are worth 7000 points each, but I must buy 3000 points at $6000 for each week---for the lowest Club membership. (They claimed new customers would pay $31,000 for my ownership---which seems it would be worth the top membership at that cost!) Then a jump to $1000 in each maintenance fee, and I would not be guaranteed a return to my resort on my weeks, because I was giving up the leasehold. Who's to say I would find other vacations where/when I wanted? And then lots of confusing fees & rules---guess its's not for me, but I worry Sunterra won't have my interests at heart in my home resort now because I am not a Club participant....It's mind boggling, but making money for them!

It seems to me that you would be much better off (econmically speaking) buying a points package outright from an owner on ebay... or simply renting from an owner and use your exisiting package under the present terms. You will be amazed what is available today simply by doing a timeshare search on ebay.

To see a points system that doesn't have most of the issues you talk about check worldmarktheclub.com and wmowners.com

Quoting Jennie (in pertinent part) from a posting back in October, 2006, in order to ask my question........

Re: >>.....must wait until the 10 month opening reservation date, and by then the week you want may be unavailable. (This is the basis of a class action lawsuit now pending against Cendant and Fairfield). <<

Let me state clearly and up front that I don't know anything whatsoever about this alleged class action suit. Let me further clarify that in initiating this posting I'm NOT looking to start a reservation procedure discussion or opinion poll.

That intro stated, it's now six months after Jennie's quoted posting and it would be nice to learn a bit more about the class action suit from someone / anyone who knows actual further details. My own questions, for example, specifically include: .... who initiated this alleged lawsuit in the first place? .... what exactly is the "relief" sought by the plaintiffs? .... status / resolution (if any yet and if known) of suit? .... recommend written source to read up on the suit?

Very curious but admittedly uninformed, I'd like to know (or learn of a written source to research further) more facts (not mere speculation or personal opinion) from a knowledgeable source regarding this reported lawsuit.

Got knowledge???

Thanks. Ken ======================================= Edited once, deleting extraneous material from quote... =======================================