Does anyone own other vacation club/timeshare brands??

[Dean]

I have one other timeshare besides DVC..at Paradise Village in Puerto Vallarta. I love the location and PV is actually quicker for me to fly to than WDW! It is also on the points system and it might trade through II, but I bought it to use.

My question is for anyone who makes it a habit of using the less than 45 days option with RCI (I think) for 9000 points for the week. Can you often find nicer resorts as those last miniute getaways?I actually prefer last minute
vacas so if you have successfully used this option, please let me know!!!

PV is a great option to trade and is with II only. For 6240 points one can get a red 2 BR deposit with II yearly (marina view, value level) or about 5 one BR deposits every 4 years. Yearly dues about $320 currently for those points and a buy in under $5000 resale in many cases. I've used it to trade to DVC a couple of times. But it is a great option to use as well as long as you don't mind being 20 minutes out of town.

 

[slimplaw]

We have a week every other year at a place in Daytona Beach and it is on the beach. It trades through II, same as our DVC. I've tried to get DH to sell it, but he still wants to keep it. I'm not a beach person, but we did use it last summer to trade for a week in Breckenridge Co. BIL has one that trades through RCI and he never seems to have much luck in trading to go someplace. We've put him up at WDW 2 times and he was amazed we could get a room as easily as we did.

 

[T.E. Yeary]

You asked about Fairfield, and my experience with them though limited, has been pleasant. We have made trades through RCI and vacationed at the following: Fairfield Plantation, Fairfield Sapphire, Fairfield Mountains, Fairfield Glade & a recent trade back into Fairfield Glade for August 27 for a week. I'm originally from Tennessee and The Glade is a great place to meet up with relatives and friends. We do not own any Fairfield properties but have thoroughly enjoyed every stay with them.

HAPPY VACATIONING,
Tom

 

[ColoradoBelle1]

Thanks Dean for your info about PV. Except it kinda confused me until I reread my own post which confused me even more. (Don't worry, it's MentalPause)

What I meant to ask is this:
RCI or II or Fairfield has this program where it offers up unbooked units in different resorts for 9000 points for the week if you wait to book until only 45 days or less out. Since most regular weeks were costing @60,000 points or more, it seemed that this option would give someone like me who loves last minute travel, 5 vacations for the points( and maintenance fees ) of one!

Can anyone explain this program? And is there a cost other than the RCI or II or whatever it is program each time you reserve that vacation?

 

[Dean]

Thanks Dean for your info about PV. Except it kinda confused me until I reread my own post which confused me even more. (Don't worry, it's MentalPause)

What I meant to ask is this:
RCI or II or Fairfield has this program where it offers up unbooked units in different resorts for 9000 points for the week if you wait to book until only 45 days or less out. Since most regular weeks were costing @60,000 points or more, it seemed that this option would give someone like me who loves last minute travel, 5 vacations for the points( and maintenance fees ) of one!

Can anyone explain this program? And is there a cost other than the RCI or II or whatever it is program each time you reserve that vacation?

Both II and RCI have a program to dispose of short term inventory. This is usually last minute deposits, last minute cancellations, or excess inventory (usually less desirable). For RCI it's now called "last call". For II, it's Getaways, which is confusing for DVC members because DVC uses that term for regular exchanges. There are many ways to access the inventory that may offer benefits. You might be able to trade a smaller unit for a larger one or a lower quality for a higher quality one. With most of the points systems, that means using less points that it would have been outside the short term window. For Bluegreen, I think it's 2K points where a 2 BR might be 12-15K. For Worldmark, the reductions are similar if I remember. Actually DVC is the only system I'm aware of where a trade in the 45 or 60 day window costs as much across the board as the same trade made a year out. But the same principle applies to any smaller or less desirable unit you want to exchange.

You are right that IF you can travel short notice and are willing to accept resorts at times or in areas others don't usually want to go, or can't go, you can do very well. But you can also get access to many of those same unit types for a reduced cash amount short notice as well, not only through RCI or II, but even without belonging to an exchange company or even owning a timeshare. Though RCI has been far more active with this than II.