Fairfield timeshare vs. DVC. Difference?????

[cokegal19]

I just purchased a Fairfield timeshare and am wondering if it was really worth the 10,000 I paid for it. I'm not really sure how the whole thing works, and I've read so many negative things about timeshares in general, but I think this fairfield works differently than regular ones, since you can go to ANY fairfield or RCI resort, and you can go on any week and stay in any room you want. Could someone please explain to me how this whole thing works, and if the DVC is like this????

 

[Chuck S]

Yes, DVC is also a points based system with no minimum "weekly" stay requirements. I believe Marriott is also point based. Did you pay too much? Probably, most timeshares, except DVC, are much, much cheaper resale than buying from the developer. DVC maintains it's value because of "artificial" price supports via Disney's Right of First Refusal on Resale offers...not a bad thing, but without it DVC resales would also likely be much more reasonable.

Timeshares, at least the newer upscale ones like Marriott, DVC, and Fairfield are not the "lemons" timeshares have historically been, but I would certainly research resale values, perks, etc prior to purchasing direct from the developer.

DVC used to trade through RCI, but now uses II as its trading partnership. Of course private trades are always available owner to owner.

 

[goudaman40]

You purchased what is known as Fairshare Plus. It is a point based system, which most timeshares are like currently.

You own a certain number of points and will have to relinquish points to stay at any of the Fairfield or RCI resorts. Now here is your difference in the Fairfield that you have and the RCI trade in.

Since you own at Fairfield and I take it you are trading through RCI, you will NOT be able to trade into DVC. The only way you can trade into DVC is if you trade through II. The difference between RCI and II is that II has a higher standard for the trades, which means you are more likely to own a 5 star resort and be able to trade into a 5 star (RCI is this way too, but you won't be able to trade into the higher end timeshares).

To be able to trade into RCI you will have to give up points, depending on what size unit you want, along with a trade fee. I don't know the fee for RCI, but the fee for II is $121 per trade.

Next, your timeshare with Fairfield is deeded for life and can be left in a Will if you pass away. DVC is a set amount of years for it's use life.

The silver lining for you, is that you can trade into Bonnett Creek and be the closest timeshare to Disney Property that is non DVC. Bonnett Creek is currently taking reservations for arrival's in June of this year. We have a four night stay booked for August of this year at Bonnett Creek. I didn't have any problems trying to book this resort, but I can expect that it will become difficult to get into during peak vacation times.

You will love the flexibility of points instead of a fixed week. You should also be able to use your points to book cruises and buy theme park tickets also. . . . Word of caution on doing this, check the price to buy outright, then check to see what the cost would equal to when you use your points. Alot of times, it will not be cost effective to use your points for cruises, etc.

Hope this helps!

Tifany

 

[cokegal19]

thanks for the replys. So, this sounds like a pretty ok thing, then? I know that when I signed up they told me that once it's paid off, I can continue to use this for life. I thought that was an excellent investment, to pay on something like this for 10 years or so, and then have free vacations for the rest of my life! I hope I didn't get scammed. I know that fairfield has a new resort in Disneyworld, and I think that one that you mentioned must be it. The salesmen told me that it just opened 2 weeks ago. I'm not sure about all of this RCI stuff, but I do know that on the book we have it says RCI II on it. And I know that if I want to stay at one of these resorts, I pay 19/night, or if it's 5 or more nights, I just pay a 79.00 fee. So that's pretty cool. I dont know if that's what you use or not. And to stay in one of the RCI resorts I have to use a portion of my points too. overall, I think this is a pretty cool program!!!! And yes, I bought all the perks and stuff, so I can book car rentals, flights, disney tickets, and other things all with my points, and I get lots of discounts too.

I'm pretty excited!!!

 

[Mush]

There's a Yahoo Group out there with over 2000 members that are more than willing to help you out with your FF purchase and usage.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fairfield_timeshare/

I'm also a FF owner and was fortunate enough to find this group. I'd highly recommend joining that one...we've got a ton of info in files and a lot of folks that can explain some of the intricacies to you.

I'm not a DVC owner (yet), but I've learned a TON from disboards on ownership with that program. Trust me, you'll feel the same way with the Yahoo group on FF. When you join, tell the moderator Mush sent ya (I'm one of the moderators, but not the one doing membership requests)




Chris

 

[cokegal19]

Thanks Chris.

I acutally did apply for a membership at the site!!! I stumbled across it while doing a google search. I didn't know I had to be "accepted" into the forum!!! how long does that take??? I can't wait to take a look at it. I think that and this DVC forum will be the best information on them. I like to get first person advice and opinions, instead of the salesmen.

One question, if you don't use all your points for 1 year, can you roll them over into your next year? do they autimatically roll over, or do you have to call them? do you have all the "perks", like those extra clubs and what-not?

 

[Chuck S]

"have free vacations for the rest of my life!"

Ahh, a common misconception, those vacations are NOT free, you must pay your property taxes, management and maintenance dues as long as you (or your heirs) own the property. And they will add up, though generally be much cheaper than paying cash for an identical vacation. This is true of ALL timeshares (DVC included), but do not enter into this commitment thinking you are getting "Free" vacations, they are simply a vacation where the majority of your lodging costs were pre-paid through your inititial timeshare purchase. They can be a substantial money saver if used properly within the companies trading system (Like DVC to DVC or Fairfield to Fairfield), but please, no owner should think of it as "free".

Don't get me wrong, I love my DVC timeshare, just as I hope you'll love your Fairfield, but don't enter into it thinking it won't cost you money.

 

[JLS]

I would highly recommend that you join the Timeshare Users Group (known as TUG) at www.tug2.net You will find a ton of information about all aspects of timesharing there, and often there are specific threads about Fairfield. I own Fairfield points and DVC points. We use Fairfield as a "supplement" to our DVC ownership. Fairfield's resorts are generally very high quality. The customer service you will receive can vary. Their website is interactive and far superior to DVC's website. And soon you will be able to book at the Bonnet Creek resort which is just about on the WDW property. I think it will have as close to an "on site" feel as you could get without actually being in a Disney resort.

With that said, you asked if you got "scammed" - well, I take it you bought from the developer (Fairfield), and if that is the case, you didn't get "scammed" but you paid SIGNIFICANTLY above what you could have paid for the same points resale through any number of sources. DVC points sell on the resale market, but only at a little bit lower than buying through DVC because DVC exercises the Right of First Refusal on contracts, which prevents them from selling at too low of a price. By contrast, Fairfield points are abuntantly available on the resale market for a FRACTION of what you probably paid (you said you paid $10,000 for your points, but you did not say how many points you bought). To give you an idea, Fairfield points on the resale market can go for as little as 2 or 3 cents per point. It should be no problem to find an "average" points package of 154,000 points for around less than $5,000. So, in my opinion, it is a very bad deal to buy points from Fairfield, unless your objective is to get into their VIP program by buying 300,000 points or more (which comes with some special perks).

If you just purchased these points very very recently, you might still be able to rescind your purchase and then buy the same exact points resale for a fraction of what you paid. Check your contract and if you can still get out of this purchase, I would really recommend it just because you probably overpaid and could get the exact same thing for a lot less money. If you are too late to rescind, then just enjoy your purchase, because Fairfield is a great product. If you find you need more points in the future, buy resale!

 

[cokegal19]

Well, I paid $10,000 for 154,000 points every other year.... plus I have the leisure plan and the plus points, or whatever that is... I probably can't buy anywhere else anyway because I have bad credit and won't be able to get a loan for them. but in the furure, how do i buy more points? is that the same thing that they offered me with the $5/1000 points? but I can just buy them for 5 or 10 cents???? i dont know.. this is all pretty confusing.

how much in advance do you have to reserve your rooms, or disney tickets through fairfiedl??

 

[JLS]

cokegal -

Just to put your purchase in perspective in terms of value, last year I purchased 128,000 points every other year and I paid $1,600. Your purchase for $10,000 got you only slightly more points (30,000, or the equivalent of about 1 night in a 1 bedroom every other year) so you can see what I mean in terms of value. As I said, you really overpaid for your points and I encourage you to rescind if you can. You can definitely find something better, bad credit or not. If you buy points on Ebay (which are almost always available), you could possibly pay for some, if not all, of the purchase using paypal, where it can be charged to your credit card. If you have NO credit, then I would just save the money until you can buy a small package - you could get an EOY 154,000 point contract for probably around $2,000 on the resale market. Do not forget to factor in the probably outrageous finance charges you are paying to finance through Fairfield. Most developers charge at least 10%, and sometimes more, in interest. That's just a bad financial deal any way you cut it (especially when you are overpaying for the points in the first place).

If you joined the Yahoo group, there is another Yahoo Fairfield group that is specifically for Fairfield resales - its Jeff Fudge's group. You can join that group and he will send you an email everytime there is a new Fairfield resale deal. I track those just to keep abrest of the current market. That, or Ebay, is your best bet for resale points.

Fairfield allows members to "rent" points for a particular stay for $5 per 1,000 points IF you don't have enough points in your account for the booking you want. That price is ONLY available 60 days out from booking (at which time the booking you want may not be available). You can rent points further in advance of that for $9 per 1,000 points from Fairfield. But - don'd do that, because on the Fairfield Yahoo group there are plenty of people willing to rent their points for $5 per 1,000 points for any reservation.

When I said "buying more points" I was referring to if you wanted to own additional points. You can always purchase additional points as a separate contract. Fairfield should be able to then combine your contracts to reflect your total points available at any given time.

 

[Chuck S]

JLS, since you own Fairfield & DVC, how would someone that owns DVC go about comparing the two for a rough estimate.

I mean, would a 154000 FF points every other year be approximately equal to a 154 point DVC annual contract in terms of use? If so, there doesn't seem to be a big difference in initial purchase price (from the developer), but I understand FF dues are lower.

 

[JLS]

If you want to get an idea of what 154,000 Fairfield points will get you, go to www.efairfield.com click on resorts, and then each individual resort has its own points chart. 154,000 points will get a 1 or 2 bedroom for a week at SOME resorts (lower end), but the higher end resorts would require more points for a week. All Fairfield resorts have pretty different point charts (unlike DVC where the charts are pretty close, give or take a few points). There is another thread on page 2 of this board right now dealing with the Fairfield Bonnet Creek resort that gives the exact point totals for that resort. In regular to high season there, cokegals 154,000 points won't even get her one week EVERY OTHER YEAR.

Basically, what I was trying to emphasize in my prior posts is that Fairfield's developer price is so heavily inflated compared to the rock bottom resale price of points that it is insane to buy Fairfield from the developer. Cokegal paid $10,000 (only a bit less than a DVC 150 point package) for 154,000 points that she will only get every OTHER year. in other words, her $10,000 will enable her to spend a week in a lesser Fairfield resort (or a few days here and there) every other year. By contrast, my EOY contract of 128,000 points cost me $1600. The different between my contract and cokegals is the equivalent of about 1 night in a resort every other year, and she paid $8400 more. Contracts for the equivalent of what I paid are readily available on the resale market through numerous sources. The point is, if DVC points could be purchased for $20 per point (let's say) on the resale market, it would not be a good move to buy points from DVC for $84 per point. That's about what we are talking about here. If Cokegal wants to spend $10,000, she should be able to get many many more Fairfield points (enough to vacation a couple of weeks per year with her family) for that sum.

In terms of flexibility, DVC and Fairfield have similar qualities - you can book any size unit for any number of days. Weekend days require more points and larger units require more points. One perk of Fairfield is that you can deposit small numbers of points (equivalent, let's say, to a week in a studio during off season) and if you get lucky through RCI you can get a "trade up" so you maximize the value of your points. This is the equivalent to being able to deposit a DVC studio week and get a 1 or 2 bedroom week as a trade in another resort (something DVC does not allow). So there are ways to maximize your FF points and make them stretch longer. But with these trades, a $139 RCI fee is required.

Maintenance fees of FF resorts are lower than DVC. For some resorts, the maintenance fees are significantly lower.

Lisa P and other FF owners - please chime in any time!

 

[NCRedding]

We bought a discovery package with Fairfield, and stayed at Williamsburg-Kingsgate, and at Orlando at Cypress Palms. At Cypress Palms, we were upgraded to a 2 bedroom h/c unit that was huge. Looking at efairfield, it would take 175,000 points to stay one week at CP. The maintenance costs for CP for 175000 would run about $787. I would compare CP with OKW because of the large rooms, and the general feel of the resort. It would take 296 points for one week stay in a 2 bedroom at OKW. Those points would require approximately $953 in yearly maintenance fees (although my amount may be incorrect-don't have the fees memorized).

Having stayed at both, I would prefer OKW for the $166 per year difference (I understand that the upfront cost will be different) I did not enjoy my FF ownership because our sales agent was not truthful with us regarding what we were buying. Our one bedroom stay at Kingsgate was very small, although I am told that was the type unit we were in. We also had an extremely difficult time booking the stays we wanted. We were never able to book partial weeks--although I understand from the Yahoo groups that that can be done. I also understand that if you are flexible with travel dates, FF will reduce the points to stay, if you travel within 60 days of making your reservation.

 

[Chuck S]

So, in cokegirl's case, her initial purchase was actually much more than a roughly equivalent DVC contract...but dues would be much (possibly substantially) cheaper.

 

[JLS]

I see two big problems with cokegals's contract (normally I would never just volunteer my opinion about someone's contract, but she did originally asked if she had been "scammed" so....)

1. Her contract could be considered very roughly equivalent to a 150 point DVC package in terms of price, but she only gets the points EVERY OTHER YEAR rather than every year.

2. She could have bought the exact same thing for about 75% less on the resale market.

On her EOY package, yes, maintenance fees will undoubtedly be far less, as she is only getting the points every other year. Even if it were every year, the maintenance fees would be somewhat less.

 

[betslinc]

Cokegal, you didn't say which resort you are deeded to. The main disadvantage to the Fairfield points compared to DVC is the drastic amount they depreciate by. If you need to sell your points you would be lucky to get 20% their value, DVC you could probably get around 75%. In the Fairfield system, the resales from resort to resort don't vary too much. It is POSSIBLE that Bonnet Creek resale may retain their values a bit better. If it turns out to be a very high demand resort the ability to reserve early might make them a bit more marketable. If you can rescind it's probably a good idea, but Fairfield IS a good product if you take the time to learn the system. Their other big disadvantage is poor customer service. If you get a rep that tells you something that seems wrong it is always a good idea to call back and get another rep and see if they give you the same answer. Often they won't! It sounds like you are doing your homework. I have small resales for both DVC and Fairfield and have awesome vacations now for minmal cost. Even if you can't get out of the developer package, you will still probably save over what you would have paid without a timeshare, but going resale would save you a LOT more!

 

[betslinc]

PS I don't know if you read the recent thread entitled "Fairfield Onsite Sales Center at Bonnet Creek" (it's about a page back), but you might find it interesting.

 

[cokegal19]

Thanks for all the replys! I appreciate the debates And I don't mind your opinions. I have one question, though. With this 128,000 points that you bought for 1,600 or whatever it was, is that 128,000/year for the rest of your life? If I was to buy points at resale value, at wherever you are talking about on the web, will i be getting the same deal as i am already? all the same memberships and stuff? or is this like i buy the points and i have them until i use them and then they are gone... and plus, like i said before, i dont have good credit and yes, even though they are charging me high interest, and an extremly high payment, i can still make payments on it, where as the stuff you were talking about i would need to just buy outright, and i dont have the money for that. plus, having this on my credit will help it out alot too. cause it's real estate, i guess. oh, and my maintenance fees are $25.00 a month.

 

[Chuck S]

Cokegal, at which Fairfield resort did you purchase?

 

[Lisa P.]

JLS, Tifany and betslinc have offered lots of good info here.

I do disagree with this statement: The difference between RCI and II is that II has a higher standard for the trades, which means you ... won't be able to trade into the higher end timeshares).

RCI's Gold Crown designation = II's 5 Star designation. RCI has more GC's and more bottom level properties than II - just more of everything. Some people prefer II, others prefer RCI (like me). For a FF owner, RCI is better, hands down, as they offer a boost in trade power when trading to other sister FF properties. Also, nearly all Fairfield resorts are GC, so they enjoy a fairly good trade power to other Gold Crown resorts as well.

Cokegal19, will look forward to see you on the Yahoo Group. Acceptance only takes a day or two. Keith tries hard to keep up, though with 2000+ members, it can be a challenge! Like Chris, I'm a moderator there (but don't approve new members).

...if you don't use all your points for 1 year, can you roll them over into your next year? do they autimatically roll over, or do you have to call them?

You need to plan ahead. If you don't expect to use all of your points in a use year, you need to "pool" (bank) them by the day prior to the start of the use year. There are ways to work around this - you'll learn on the Yahoo Group.

...do you have all the "perks", like those extra clubs and what-not?

No and I don't miss them. But that's an individual thing.

Chuck S asked: ...would a 154000 FF points every other year be approximately equal to a 154 point DVC annual contract in terms of use?

No, I don't believe so. 154,000 points would get you a 2BR prime season week at some resorts, a 1BR prime season week at others. However, 154K EOY points would only average to 77,000 per year, which would, in FF, get the OP:
--- a 2BR week in lowest offseason at older resorts
--- a 1BR week in off- or midseason at older resorts
--- a studio week in prime season at most resorts.

I would compare this to buying ~160-220 annual DVC points, which would cost ~$14,000-$20,000 from the developer with maint fees tripling those mentioned by the OP.

If I was to buy points at resale value, at wherever you are talking about on the web, will i be getting the same deal as i am already? all the same memberships and stuff?

Not usually. Most resale points are not in the PlusPartners program (hotel rooms, nightly stays in RCI, airline tix, car rentals, theme park tix, etc.). However, for using the points to trade full weeks with RCI and to book nightly reservations within the FF system, they are exactly the same as what you bought. Since I don't consider the PlusPartners options to be that great a value, I would not be likely to take advantage of them anyway. So I'm very happy with my resale points.

...or is this like i buy the points and i have them until i use them and then they are gone...

No, they're deeded with an annual allotment.

...and plus, like i said before, i dont have good credit...

If you are able to rescind, I'd still seriously consider doing so. The savings is that large. There are even people out there who are looking for someone to take over their contract payments with no money down, just to get out of the ongoing payments after a job loss or other change. That may be an option for you too. We love our FF points but we only pay cash, no credit. If you do end up keeping it, you'll learn more about stretching your ownership on Yahoo - see you there!