Buying a T/S just for Interval Getaways?

Newbie alert!

I just joined the site today but have been lurking nonstop for about a week now. (I know I still have a lot to learn.)

My good friend owns a few timeshares and she has been very generous in booking my Getaways to the Desert Springs Villas I and II in Palm Springs for several summers now. But I feel bad imposing on her every time I want a "getaway" so was considering buying a cheap timeshare on Ebay that was affiliated with Interval International just so I could get membership and have access to the Getaways. Is this crazy?
Right now, I see a 1-bedroom unit at Palm Canyon EOY is going for $1 (plus closing costs), and maintenance fees are $240.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CALIFORNIA-PALM...101123539QQcategoryZ15897QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Or there is another (that I don't quite understand) -- 133 Deeded Palm Canyon Points for $97 (looks like that would get you a 2-br unit?), EOY, $289 maintenance fee.

http://cgi.ebay.com/FIVE-STAR-Palm-...ryZ15897QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

We normally book a 2-bedroom because we have 2 small kids.
Is it crazy to buy this just for the Interval membership?
Also, I'm wondering if we'll have access to the same "getaways" my friend does, as she owns a very nice Hyatt timeshare in Key West, and the Palm Canyon would be much less luxurious. (I heard Interval has some sort of tier system?)

Any help would be very appreciated.

That's the pitch Westgate gave us in December, buy an EOY to get unlimited Getaways to Disney whenever we want.

That would have been $8000 for nothing.

You can belong to RCI without owning, to get their Bonus Vacations and Last Calls. All it takes is for an RCI member to refer you and the fee is something like $149 for years.

That also covers the Guest Certificate fee for exchanges where you go as the guest.

I would not buy a timeshare if your sole purpose was to have access to Getaways. I've gotten Getaways for friends, and personally don't feel that my friends are imposing on me; I suspect your friend is the same way. In fact, the ability to book Getaways and then get a guest certificate for friends is something (for me) that adds value to my membership.

I believe I saw someone who posted something about one's home unit determining what they can get for Getaways, but don't know that there was a final determination on that.

If you are to buy, getting one that is every other year is a good way to go, even better if it has a "lock-off" portion to it as you can then deposit two weeks, and in theory then exchange somewhere every year. I've lucked out with mine and always managed to exchange for a unit larger than the one I've deposited. It may not be as easy for you, because with kids your travel windows might not be as wide as mine are.

Can't comment on the RCI portion of JLB's post, but there is a lot of useful RCI info on this site.

Whatever you do, don't buy from the developer, eBay or some other secondary marketplace is the way to go.

Hold on - are you taking money for the get away? I don't mean for the guest certificate, thats OK, but what about the cost of the getaway itself? You can't ask for that money back as RCI/II reads their one sided agreements. You are renting according to them and only they get to do that. Shame shame.

We booked a getaway for some friends through II and they loved it so much that they are in the process now of buying a timeshare, too. It's catching. Run now.

If I were you, I would want to try to find a resort to own that you'd be happy to go to. That way you would have the best of both worlds - a II account with access to the Getaways and a resort you would like to visit.

We really enjoy our II membership. In May we are going to Orlando on an exchange and we were able to book a Getaway through II for some friends that are going with us on the trip. (These friends are also talking about purchasing a timeshare and joining II).

timeos2 said:

Hold on - are you taking money for the get away? I don't mean for the guest certificate, thats OK, but what about the cost of the getaway itself?

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I haven't taken a dime, of course I have "taken" their CC # for purposes of booking the Getaway; seems to have worked so far.

A couple more thoughts. When we were also II members there was an occasion where I was getting a Getaway for a friend. We kept going back and forth, them asking for something, me checking with II, getting back to my, then getting back to II with the changes from my friend, ad infinitim. Finally the person at II said just have them call me and they can take of it direct.

Is that not the same as what RCI has now made official, non-members dealing direct with them?

So maybe II will do that, too.

Also, if you are a fed government employee or a veteran, you can get RCI stuff through sites set up for them.

No need to join. You can book your own Getaways at www.condodirect.com

djs said:

I haven't taken a dime, of course I have "taken" their CC # for purposes of booking the Getaway; seems to have worked so far.

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I have done this too. I found a Getaway for my sister, and also two of our friends, and the system took their credit card information. I was surprised that it was against the rules to charge my cost for Getaways. I had no idea of that rule at the time, but they sure let me put in another person's CC number without a problem.

Seems that would raise a red flag, a different name on the reservation and CC information. Is this different? That is a question that Craig could have answered, if he happened to be around, lurking.

Pit said:

No need to join. You can book your own Getaways at www.condodirect.com

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I just ran a comparison for OP's preferred destination -- Palm Springs. Interval International not only has more choices but charges about a 25-30% less than condodirect for regular II members and about 33% less than condodirect for II gold members. My benchmarks were Westin Mission Hills and Palm Canyon Resort and Spa for various dates this May (same resort, same size room, same start date).

vacationtime1 said:

I just ran a comparison for OP's preferred destination -- Palm Springs. Interval International not only has more choices but charges about a 25-30% less than condodirect for regular II members and about 33% less than condodirect for II gold members. My benchmarks were Westin Mission Hills and Palm Canyon Resort and Spa for various dates this May (same resort, same size room, same start date).

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Even so, its likely cheaper for the OP to rent, considering there are no membership fees to II, no maint fees, and no risk of special assessments. Alternatively, the OP could buy (resale) where s/he wants to stay every year and forget about renting/exchanging.

For most people, it doesn't make economic sense to buy a t/s you don't intend to use + pay annual m/f's + pay annual II dues + pay Getaway prices (or II exchange fees) just to get the week you want.

There are exceptions, but in general the best advice is to either buy what you want to use or rent it.

Pit said:

Even so, its likely cheaper for the OP to rent, considering there are no membership fees to II, no maint fees, and no risk of special assessments. Alternatively, the OP could buy (resale) where s/he wants to stay every year and forget about renting/exchanging.

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You like visiting Palm Springs in the Summer, a low season there. I say continue with the friend, who probably feels very happy to provide something that is so easy to get.

You pay a good price for using a place only when you want to, without paying any maintenance, membership or exchange fee. You could offer to pay half of the II membership at the next renewal time. Alternatively, just buy or cook your friend a great meal after your next Getaway vacation.

JLB said:

That's the pitch Westgate gave us in December, buy an EOY to get unlimited Getaways to Disney whenever we want.

That would have been $8000 for nothing.

You can belong to RCI without owning, to get their Bonus Vacations and Last Calls. All it takes is for an RCI member to refer you and the fee is something like $149 for years.

That also covers the Guest Certificate fee for exchanges where you go as the guest.

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Madge swears that this is not offering an RCI membership to a non-timeshare owner. I do not understand how she can say that with a straight face. So often the official RCI line and reality have little in common.

Thanks for all the info. This is really helpful. How would I find someone to refer me to RCI? Is that something I could do on this site? Thanks so much.

Because the subject has to do with II, I suggest you start a new topic asking for the referral to RCI. A lot of RCI members didn't bother to read this thread.

Question: Does this auxilliary membersip survive if the referring RCI member quits?

I concur with the others. Don't buy a timeshare just to see the Getaways.
Offer to pay (or split) the II membership fee (approx $84) the next time she needs to renew (there are usually 2 years for the price of 1 offers available.)

That's a win/win for both you and your friend.

The official line is that the non-member does not have access to exchange pool weeks. But we all know it is not far to there from here and that we cannot rely on the crossing guard.

Duh! Where's my head? Some, probably most, weeks in Extra Vacations and Last Calls are owned weeks, weeks deposited to the Exchange pool by members expecting them to go to other members.

SBK said:

Madge swears that this is not offering an RCI membership to a non-timeshare owner. I do not understand how she can say that with a straight face. So often the official RCI line and reality have little in common.

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Definitely don't buy a timeshare for Getaways.

too late. I just bought timeshare 60000 for gateaway and RCI's last calls.

Am wondering what the final decision is on RCI and/or II allowing a non-timeshare owner to become a member IF they are referred by a current member?

How do I find out? Call RCI or II directly or have a friend do so?

I'm assuming this would only be beneficial to gain access to these great last minute deals I keep hearing about? Correct?

thx.

With regard to the RCI auxillary membership, is this the Guest Pass membership deal, 5 yrs for $149.00?

As I understand it, it allows you to use an exchange week of your refering member without needing a guest certificate, and allows you to book the Extra Vacations and Last Calls.

Am I understanding correctly?? It seems like a really good deal.

Does II have something comparable?

Thanks

II wouldn't let us open a II account until we bought our Marriott. And then we had to wait to get the II membership activated until they verified our ownership with Marriott.

We were actually DVC (Disney Vacation Club) members before we owned the Marriott and we weren't allowed to join II with an individual membership with just the DVC membership. Disney is a corporate member with II (DVC trades through II) and we weren't allowed to have an individual membership with II with just the DVC points. I tried and II said, no.