I checked and my contract doesn't say the "subject to change." So, that's good, eh! When we wre getting the pitch the first time, I told the guy to break it down, what did we get for how much. They went through the litany of TTR thingees, and Stacia & I looked at each other and shrugged. But, then they got to the RCI stuff, and the guy asked me if I had plans to travel elsewhere other than TTR, and if so, did I know where and how much. Tht's how I originally found out about the Hawaii thing. I had already spent that money, and he ran through the availability during when I was wanting/planning on going, and ... gee... there was an availability literally one building over from that Sheraton at $435/night (2 rooms, remember -- we've no interest in having the kids around when we want to play, eww). It would have been $399 for THE WEEK. That made my teeth hurt. So, my personal feeling is -- if you are a TTR only person, like lots of folks are, the membership as most recently described (Donald's post above) doesn't seem attractive at all. But, if you're like Stacia & I and like other places, too, (Hawaii, Caribbean, South America & Europe), then the membership gets you to the RCI/SFX programs, and those are Definitely worth it, IMO.
I got membership years ago, found out the prices they were giving me were for refearl weeks so I up grade then the prices jumped, my mistake was should have gotton free wks instead, next time not even going to sit unless they say free AI wks.
here is something to keep in mind.. we look at our membership like this... yes we paid an initial fee but got 15% dicount for not financing it.. (yes they love to get there money right away!) plus 2 free weeks at a saving of (just seached my dates) $4500.00 that it would have cost us for flights and room..this trip .. booked flights on areoplan..the 2 week trip cost us the airport taxes. With the savings if you want to look at it .. we saved over $6000.00 for this trip.. and even with the AI fees going up our room cost us under 150 dollars per day. you cant stay in a hotel in calgary for under that and it doesnt include your food and booze.. so the savings in the room prices and perks at the moment will pay for its self over time and if we use the other perks at other places its well worth it. I personaly dont want my contract forever.. but the savings in the room prices will pay out the initial investment before you use all your nights on the contract, thats when you have a good deal.. Just my 2 Cents..!! should add.. depending on what you negotiate in your contract.
PDG has an excellent concluding point - it all depends on what you negotiate. Ask for a lower price and more time for said price, obviously. Ask for more referral weeks and more free weeks. If you don't ask, you don't get.
This was our eight trip and the first time with white bands. This was also the first trip that we never had anyone ask us if we wanted a drink the ENTIRE week. Couldn't believe it and thought it was kinda funny.
They got us up their first trip with a free gift, trip to Isla Mujeres, but we didn't buy. They scribbled numbers on a yellow tablet and said if we walked away the deal was off. I said who does business like that unless there is something shady going on. Plus they wasted half of our day. We spent the rest of the week and decided we liked the place. Second trip they got us up again with $100 cash. This time we negotiated for the smallest package again after spending half a day with music so loud you can't think. You just want to sign something to get the hell out of there. Booking as a member was much more time consuming than just going on Travelocity and booking room and flight with one click. First regret, members first have to call premier and book the room then call RCI for the flight. Always was a few hour ordeal. Then there are extra fees like the $99 to maintain the RCI account and fees to book a flight. Then when they changed the number of points you get we bought a new contract with a different RCI account but still had points in the old one so there were 2 $99 fees a year. We never should have upgraded but we were the first ones to get the new contract that came with 8 free AI weeks. And if you refer someone up and they buy they gave you another free AI week. The first week in the pool we earned 6 AI weeks. We also had in our contract that we could use the AI weeks anytime where the next contracts made you pay off the membership before you could use the free weeks. So we went 10 times in 3 years with the only cost being the membership payment and RCI fees. Premier wasn't making a dime on us, probably costing them money. So they cancelled our membership using the reason that we were late on a payment. Which for years I made a double payment every other month and they had record of that but they were looking to dump us before we could use the other 4 AI weeks. They said the account was turned over to collections and gave me a number to call and fix it. It was a stateside number but they had not been given any info on us. Premier robbed us and I even offered to pay the balance of $5000 but they didn't want it. So I kept it and next time I will go without gold wristband. I will have the same amount of fun. They sold it as a money maker and I could sell extra weeks to friends. I had 6 weeks a year and usually had some left over and couldn't even give them away. They sell the membership hoping that you don't use it. That is where they make money
Well I bought in at the very start of the program...one of the first few actually. The program was great back then and was really geared towards keeping you a repeat guest. They sold just weeks and you pay an AI fee and that was it. Use your weeks all in one year or use them over 25 years. No goofy points, nights, etc etc that was brought in later. When RCI got in deep, to be blunt, it went to shit quickly. That is when some very sneaky sale shit that roped in a lot of people into what was basically a big ass scam that screwed a lot of people over started. Selling millions of points that where then capped to the point you could never use the amount you paid for. Blame game that put people in limbo for years after shelling out thousands and in some cases over $10,000+. Changing rules of the contract almost monthly it seemed. Just some very shady business practices which resulted in court cases and left a very bad taste in a lot of member's mouths. I got my monies worth out of it very quickly and did about 4 or 5 trips that where pretty much saved me about $500 to $800 on each trip compared to the what people where paying around the US to go and I got the perks. So it was good when it lasted. I haven't been back in about four years. So I'm not sure what the latest AI fees are. I've been told its high. I'm going to be calling soon to get the rate schedule or if anyone wants to post or PM the current rates that would be great. Think I'm heading back this next year as its been to long but at the same time just won't be the same with the staff changes. Which is one reason I have ventured to other places over the years and haven't been back.
Thanks Nick for your input. Good to hear from you again. For those who don't know, nmarcks has been a valuable contributor on this forum for many years.
We also bought way back when. Paid $8750 for 250 nights. They threw in 4 weeks totally free(no AI fee). There's no other fee's other than AI when we book. We also get choice of any room(except suite). As far AI fee, our last trip(Oct 2013) we paid $134/night. Our AI fee varies based business and demand. Normal fee is about $120/night for us.( we go in off season) We bought because we loved the resort. We had been to 5 other resorts(yes better food, beach, room) in Cancun before we came to TTR(BBG at that time). AT TTR, The poeple, staff and party style is awesome! OH YEAH! NO KIDS! We do not save much money by being a member. The pro's for us are better food and drinks, better service, several little things that just add up and make us feel spoiled. less hassels with reservations. Free WI-FI. We have used around 100 of our 250 nights, and yes we have heard there new sales pitch. So far it's not worth it for us. The resort has changed over the years, they gave the rooms a face lift when it changed to TTR from BBG. The staff has changed, dinning has more options now, bars are better(other than nice shoes). We go because we can get away from real life, have adult fun, cut loose, socialize, and not give a shit is the bottom line!
.......if you read through all of these posts it appears as though no two couples ever gets the same deal! We almost bought in 3-4 yrs ago........we'd brokered a hell of a deal........but thankfully we didn't as we'd feel obligated to continue to go back and not explore other resorts and vacations. Now with GOV ......... damn that place looks great.......we'll give it a look......and have enjoyed resorts in Cuba, DR, and Costa Rica.......none with the same party.......but great beaches......most clothing op.....and we can make our own party. When we don't go to Cancun we do miss Steve's Boobs Cruises.......we think that's the most fun you can possibly have in one day! GOV...........see you in July!
