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Points systems for Hawaiian islands

L

linsj

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
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Location
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Resorts Owned
HGVC
What points systems--with trading within that system without needing RCI or II--have properties on all three of these islands: Kauai, Big Island, and Maui?
 
Fairfield/ Wyndham has resorts on Kauai and Big Island, also Oahu, but none on Maui. Worldmark has Maui but not all the others. Shell has Oahu and Kauai. RCI points has all of them because points takes weeks. Hilton has Big Island and Oahu. There are others, but I have no idea what they are.
 
Starwood has Maui & Kauai ( when they open the new priceville resort next month).
 
Last edited:
rickandcindy23 said:
Fairfield/ Wyndham has resorts on Kauai and Big Island, also Oahu, but none on Maui. Worldmark has Maui but not all the others. Shell has Oahu and Kauai. RCI points has all of them because points takes weeks. Hilton has Big Island and Oahu. There are others, but I have no idea what they are.
Click to expand...

Shell also has resort on the Big Island.
 
Just checked my book and online, and Wyndam has right to use on WorldMark Kihei in Maui. Its in my book and I can book it with my FSP points. So there is a Wyndam on Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island. ... Now if they can just get something on Aruba/St. Martin/St. John I would be estatic!
 
Wyndham Fairshare Plus has been improving for years

lprstn said:
Just checked my book and online, and Wyndam has right to use on WorldMark Kihei in Maui. Its in my book and I can book it with my FSP points. So there is a Wyndam on Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island. ... Now if they can just get something on Aruba/St. Martin/St. John I would be estatic!
Click to expand...

FSP has just continued to get better and better in the 12 years we've owned. And the resale price for points is so low as to make the system one of the true bargain values in all of timesharing.

On the flip side buying retail FSP has to be one of the biggest consumer ripoffs in timesharing - Wastegate excluded as it long ago retired the mantle of greatest timeshare ripoff. It's not a fair fight. But Wyndham, at a guaranteed 90% or higher loss of value on the day after the rescind rights end can give them a run for a solid second place.

But all that aside Wyndham resorts and locations are outstanding and have been getting better. Purchased right Fairshare Plus is a great points based system.
 
DRI (Diamond Resorts International, formally Sunterra) has the following resorts in their Club Sunterra:

Oahu: Fairway Villa; Royal Kuhio
Maui: Ka`anapali Beach Club; Papakea Resort; Valley Isle
Kauai: Kapaa Shore; The Point at Poipu; Pono Kai
Big Island: Sea Mountain; Sea Village​
 
rickandcindi: I think Worldmark has timeshares in Kauai, not positive but think so.
 
John: In your opinion, what is a good price to pay for Wyndham points resale? How many points is recommended for one bedroom in highest season for hard to get places? How much are the maintenance fees?
 
Cathyb said:
John: In your opinion, what is a good price to pay for Wyndham points resale? How many points is recommended for one bedroom in highest season for hard to get places? How much are the maintenance fees?
Click to expand...

I'm not John but I'll add my "2 cents" worth. I have found that if you want to be assured of availability in a high demand area and season, it is best to buy Points based at a resort in that area, and preferably at the resort you would most like to stay. This way you will be be able to use your "home resort advantage" to book what you want 13 months in advance. The hordes of FF Points owners from other resorts will not be able to begin booking the highly desirable weeks until 9 months before the check-in date. So it will give you a big advantage in getting what you want.

The trade-off is that you will probably be paying higher maintenance fees for the privilege.

I know the current trend here at TUG is to buy the Points based at resorts with the lowest maintenance fees--"a point is a point." It is working well for many people. However, having been in the timeshare "game" since the early '90s, I have seen over and over again that ts products that are bargains in the beginning often times wind up costing far more down the road and/or can lead to disappointment and frustration. For example, the resorts with the lowest maintenance fees are often times older and may have costly Special Assessments that will increase the MF in the future. And if somwhow the Points program deteriorates and does not yield the exchanges you want, what you wind up with is "ownership" at an inferior resort with poor intrinsic trading power. RCI is also notorious for raising their fees.

For years I was reluctant to buy into any Points programs. I preferred to own prime fixed/deeded weeks at resorts that:
(a) I would be happy to visit each year
(b) would rent easily for more than the maintenance fees if we chose not to go.
(c) were dual affiliated with RCI and I.I. and accepted by the San Francisco Exchange
(d)would have excellent trading power.
Management by VRI would be a good bonus too.
Most of what we own meets the above criteria.

But after seeing the positive results many of my friends have had with FF Points, I finally decided to venture into the system. However, still being leery of the potential pitfalls, I have "hedged my bets" by buying Points (on Ebay at less than a penny a point) based at a resort I love, even though the maint. fees are higher than what I could obtain elsewhere. AND I do not buy UDI points but rather Points that have been converted from a specific prime unit and week. This way I will have the option to reserve that exact unit and week in any year instead of receiving FF Points (notice must be given 13 months ahead of the check-in date). So if the Points program deteriorates, or I am unable to get the reservations I want (which may become a problem as more people flood into the system, and want the same prime weeks), I should always be able to get into my prime week unit in a high demand season.

We TUGgers are experts at getting far more bang for our bucks than the average ts owner. But I have seen too often where changes occur over time that can turn a bargain into an albatross. If one counts on getting far more than the intrinsic value, it can back fire. Look at all the people who bought very cheap off-season weeks with the expectation of using them to trade for prime weeks. It worked well for several years. But now they get virtually no acceptable trades and cannot get rid of the week. Even charitable organizations will not accept it as a donation.

I'm happy to pay a little more in maintenance fees each year to ensure that I will be able to get what I want. The difference in purchase price on Ebay is usually not very significant, and it is a one time cost.
 
Last edited:
Jennie said:
I'm not John but I'll add my "2 cents" worth. I have found that if you want to be assured of availability in a high demand area and season, it is best to buy Points based at a resort in that area, and preferably at the resort you would most like to stay. This way you will be be able to use your "home resort advantage" to book what you want 13 months in advance. The hordes of FF Points owners from other resorts will not be able to begin booking the highly desirable weeks until 9 months before the check-in date. So it will give you a big advantage in getting what you want.

The trade-off is that you will probably be paying higher maintenance fees for the privilege.

I know the current trend here at TUG is to buy the Points based at resorts with the lowest maintenance fees--"a point is a point." It is working well for many people. However, having been in the timeshare "game" since the early '90s, I have seen over and over again that ts products that are bargains in the beginning often times wind up costing far more down the road and/or can lead to disappointment and frustration. For example, the resorts with the lowest maintenance fees are often times older and may have costly Special Assessments that will increase the MF in the future. And if somwhow the Points program deteriorates and does not yield the exchanges you want, what you wind up with is "ownership" at an inferior resort with poor intrinsic trading power. RCI is also notorious for raising their fees.

For years I was reluctant to buy into any Points programs. I preferred to own prime fixed/deeded weeks at resorts that:
(a) I would be happy to visit each year
(b) would rent easily for more than the maintenance fees if we chose not to go.
(c) were dual affiliated with RCI and I.I. and accepted by the San Francisco Exchange
(d)would have excellent trading power.
Management by VRI would be a good bonus too.
Most of what we own meets the above criteria.

But after seeing the positive results many of my friends have had with FF Points, I finally decided to venture into the system. However, still being leery of the potential pitfalls, I have "hedged my bets" by buying Points (on Ebay at less than a penny a point) based at a resort I love, even though the maint. fees are higher than what I could obtain elsewhere. AND I do not buy UDI points but rather Points that have been converted from a specific prime unit and week. This way I will have the option to reserve that exact unit and week in any year instead of receiving FF Points (notice must be given 13 months ahead of the check-in date). So if the Points program deteriorates, or I am unable to get the reservations I want (which may become a problem as more people flood into the system, and want the same prime weeks), I should always be able to get into my prime week unit in a high demand season.

We TUGgers are experts at getting far more bang for our bucks than the average ts owner. But I have seen too often where changes occur over time that can turn a bargain into an albatross. If one counts on getting far more than the intrinsic value, it can back fire. Look at all the people who bought very cheap off-season weeks with the expectation of using them to trade for prime weeks. It worked well for several years. But now they get virtually no acceptable trades and cannot get rid of the week. Even charitable organizations will not accept it as a donation.

I'm happy to pay a little more in maintenance fees each year to ensure that I will be able to get what I want. The difference in purchase price on Ebay is usually not very significant, and it is a one time cost.
Click to expand...

Jennie,

The nice thing about your FF purchase is that if you only want to use part of your converted week, FSP will allow you to reserve 3 or 4 nights instead of 7 nights. You would still have points left over to use elsewhere and get to visit your home resort. Nice flexibility.
 
Dollie said:
DRI (Diamond Resorts International, formally Sunterra) has the following resorts in their Club Sunterra:

Oahu: Fairway Villa; Royal Kuhio
Maui: Ka`anapali Beach Club; Papakea Resort; Valley Isle
Kauai: Kapaa Shore; The Point at Poipu; Pono Kai
Big Island: Sea Mountain; Sea Village​
Click to expand...

I stayed at the Point at Poipu which is a great location and great resort, got it through an RCI trade of FSP points though.
 
The original

Vacation Internationale.

http://www.viresorts.com/resorts/resortlocations.html

Has 4 on Maui, 2 on Kauai, 2 on the Big Island and 2 on Oahu.

This is a points system, that allows you to borrow, or save your points from year to year.

The annual fees are a little higher than some systems, since so many of the properties are in Hawaii and the west coast.

They also allow you to deposit with them any red or white week for additional points through their DOE ( direct owner exchange) program. It is a very flexible system.

fwiw, Greg


linsj said:
What points systems--with trading within that system without needing RCI or II--have properties on all three of these islands: Kauai, Big Island, and Maui?
Click to expand...
 
I think Vacation Internationale is the only points system that has true inventory on each of the three islands mentioned by the OP.

For most of the other systems, some of the resorts listed are only for show purposes - actual availability is quite low. The Diamond resorts, listed for example, are Vacation Internationale properties for which Diamond has very limited availability.

It's become common for developers to secure a limited bit of inventory in popular locales, so that when they do sales presentation they can impress prospects with lots of potential locations, wheres true inventory is quite small.

To really count for practical purposes, the mini-system needs to actually own or control entire units or projects. I think that only VI passes that test for the combination of Maui, Kaua'i, and the Big Island.
 
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