My Timeshare / Vacation club is a SCAM!

My first post on FB this morning

"I've only been a member since early 2025, but a member of a 1/2 dozen UVC groups. I.ve spent a stupid amt of time reading posts to understand all aspects, this being one of them. Biggest thing(s) I've learned is .... use the Premier nights and VIP weeks correctly at rule best value locations to get true benefit. Understand the sites we use for price matches and check them often. Finally, check UVC site often for rollbacks on current reservations. I've literally saved upwards of $5k since joining less than 12 mos ago. I could go on and on!"

Okay .. back to the heading of this post.   SCAM!!!!  Well, usually not.   Problem is ... most people should have not bought what they can't afford and/or understand.  Simple as that.  Hell, some are not a good deal.  I'm betting that the vast majority of folks that sit through presentations and end up signing the dotted line are the same folks that buy a new vehicle that they can't really afford and have buyers remorse the following morning?

For most of my entire adult life, I've been aware of timeshares.  They have a bad name / rap from where I sit.  Lots and lots of articles out there that say they are a horrible 'investment' / buy.  Yet, I know people that friggn' LOVE theirs.  Some actually use them, some don't.  If you do use them ...  I bet you're Pro Time Share?  Personally, I've never been to a time share presentation / sales pitch.  Being in the world of sales, they've always piqued my curiousity ( the angle, the pitch, the closing) but I rarely put myself in situations like this unless I'm actually willing to buy.  Expample: I will NOT waste a car dealers time or test drive a car(s), unless I'm actually willing to buy if I like what I see.   About 10 or 15 years ago, I became aware that Iberostar, UVC, Hilton and Marriott had "vacation clubs".  I steered away from these for multiple reasons.  I didn't see the value of owning one.  Simple as that.  Seeing how I enjoy writing in the blog, I've written about these several times and not always favorably in the past.  

But ... things change.  I've been writing about UVC as of late , since  we joined early in 2025.  Last night I was on a FB UVC group ( there are LOTS!) and found myself in a discussion with a young lady whom I believe is a newer member.  That is what .. is prompting this post. We went back and forth (in a postiive way) on specifics of the contract, PNs .. VIP weeks .. the subject of "Grandfathered" ..  which got me to thinking.  Funny part is ... I woke up this morning thinking about the whole conversation ... and .. here I am.

UVC (Unlimited Vacation Club) is an interesting one.  I'm convinced I missed a true opportunity here, in retrospect.  Had I joined when it first began, I'd have saved a LOT of money over the years.  Had I bought in back in Aug 2020 when I had a golden opporuntity and my first true glimpse into it, I'd have saved a LOT of money and been in a perfect spot within the UVC.  Instead I blogged about it all.  I researched it all.  And , I intentionally stayed away from it.   One could make an arguement that if they took the funds they spend on something like UVC, they could invest it and leveraged the dividends and gains to pay for all their vacations. Maybe even be ahead of the power curve.  In a perfect world, they are 100% correct.  But ...  here I am a member.   Thousands of others are as well (read over 100,000 now).  So... what now?  Ahhh.. back to the point of this post.

There are multiple levels within the UVC  ... from the low end that sucks to the High End where you get max benefits.  Problem is, I believe most never utilize a fraction of their benefits so it feeds the beast and it's a huge money maker for UVC which explains their aggressive sales posturing during presentations.  I believe most people sign that document (contract) without understanding what's in it.  Understanding the true costs.  Understanding WTF they are actually buying.  Now in all fairness, their sales tactics sometimes cause this.  One thing I do have a real problem with (UVC and others) is .. tends to be a buy now thing.  Not tomorrow .. Not next week .. NOW .. or the offer goes away.  That sent flags up for me, for years.  The don't hand you a hard copy of the contract you sign that day.  Why not?  I know why ... it feeds buyers remorse while folks are on their vaca.  I could go on and on and on.  I really dislike that part of the whole process.  But .. lets assume.... one is now a member.  That .. is the gist / meat of this post.

READ the CONTRACT!!!!   I can't say this enough. Folks that are hard core UVC members that love the program will tell you this over and over.  Now, it's over 50 pages.  There is a lot of superilious fluff / lawyer crap in there.. but ... about 5-10 pages of it have the meat that we need to understand.  I saw a recommendation and ran with it.  I fed my contract into an AI engine (ChatGPT) and asked it to strip the lealize crap and give me all the specific highlights/benefits etc.  I did redact my name and account number first (edited the PDF) and uploaded that so it wouldn't bite me in the ass.  But what I got back was a 2 page overview of what I'd signed.  PERFECT!!!!!  Now, one can actually review it .. often .. and not get nauseated!  I actually found it intersting and devoured it over and over.  I now 'know' my contract intimately.  Did I mention .. READ the CONTRACT?

Savings.  The ENTIRE value / point of UVC is the 25% discount.  That's the bottom line.  You get your resort vacation 25% cheaper than most (this is a muddy one) advertised prices.  Why muddy?  Has to be an apples to apples comparison.  Not against other discounted options ( example: Hotels offer member prices, AAA discounts, Military discounts, etc, etc)  Has to be a publicly available price.  Good news is UVC is lower than all others by double digits usually.  But every once in awhile you see a non refundable cost on an obscure site that makes you think .. "WTF?"  ...because they have a crazy low cost and you 're not able to leverage that to get your 25% discount.  but.. it's rare.  So, back to the 25%.  If you go on one vaca per year, you shouldn't (or shouldn't have) join something like UVC.  There's no real value.  But.. what if you vacation multiple weeks a year?  Maybe 3-5 seperate trips throughout the year?  Well, this is where the potential value comes in.  There are people that trave within UVC properties montly, all year.  THEY ... are smiling, all the way to the bank.  That 25% can add up!  And, there are other perks of course but that's for a differrent topic discussion.

Price Match:  Here's one of the biggies of the contract.  They give you a list of say twenty specific sites out there you can leverage to compare prices to (problem is ... ONLY the ones in your contract).  Lets take an example: Expedia.  If I book a basic swimout room and Expedia lists the same room (with a refundable rate), I do the math real quick.  If it's less than 125% more than mine (think about it)... I send that info to UVC and they ensure my rate is 25% less than theirs.  I've gotten 1/2 dozen different refunds in 2025.  This is .... VALUE.  But, one has to check.  Most don't.  One has to stay vigilant. Most don't.  So, this is in UVC's favor since most folks either never read their contract, don't know what to do, or are just too lazy.  But ... if you do search around once in a while to verify you have the best value....   you save money. Sometimes, LOTS of money.

Roll Back.  Similar but not the same. We book on the UVC site.  What if you have a vaca 6 months out and notice their UVC price has gone down?  That is a Roll Back.  You email and/or call them, and they will match the price.  Simple as that (refundable options).  This is .... VALUE.  But, one has to check.  Most don't.  One has to stay vigilant. Most don't.  So, this is in UVC's favor since most folks either never read their contract, don't know what to do, or are just too lazy.  But ... if you do search around once in a while to verify you have the best value....   you save money. Sometimes, LOTS of money. Yes, I copy / pasted that from the previous paragraph! 

Buddy of mine (Donnie) when traveling to Hiltons and Marriotts does this all the time. We'd be headed out on a motorcycle trip and he'd tell me that prevously, he might have changed his reservation 2 or 3 times, getting price reductions along the way.  He was checking the site for discounts.  I was like WTF?  Really?  Sounded like too much work. I NEVER did that.  I do now.  Most UVC folks NEVER do it either .. .and they miss the value of the membership.

Premier Nights (PNs):   These are 'free' nights one usually gets when they sign up.  How much you paid for that membership and what level determines usually how many they give you.  But, they are 'free.'  You paid for them up front. It's all buried in the value of the contract cost.  Simple as that.  Some got a dozen.  Some have hundreds.  But ...  all them nights stated in one's contract are not of equal value and THAT is the twist of PNs.  Why?  Lets take an example.  One is traveling to Resort A for a week and one uses PNs instead of cash.  If the room type the PN allows you to book would have cost $1400 for the week, then their value is $200 each.  Simple as that.  If Resort B is $2100 a week, then their value is $300 each.  Obvoiusly, Resort B is where you should have used it, and paid cash at Resort A.  It's honestly that simple. The lists of all of them (1:1, 2:1, etc are in one's contract since it can change)  But wait, there is more .. it's not that simple. That's what is referred to as a 1:1, One PN per night.  But most of the better resorts are actually 2:1   Two PNs get you one night.  So, if you have 14 PNs available per the contract, they equate to half the value.  So, Lets say Resort C is $2400 a week. If you have to use 14 nights, that equates to a value of each PN at $171.42.   You should have used them at Resort B instead!   But if Resort D is $5000 for a week, and a 2:1 then their value is $357.14 each.  Resort D is the most expensive but the best value to use Premier Nights.   Simple right?  Well, obviously not since MOST don't actually grasp this simple fact.   And that .. is part of understanding "The Contract".   In a perfect world, all Resorts would be 1:1, but ... that's the issue, frustration, etc that screws with people.  And because most don't truly grasp this concept, it's in UVCs favor.   BTW, as I write this there are two resorts that are actually 3:1 ...  Do that math.

VIP weeks:  I'm not a fan of these.  They are similar to PNs but .. not.   Lets say someone signs a contract tomorrow and gets TWO VIP weeks in their contract with a value of $2400 per week.  Folks years ago got them at $1500 .. $1600.. $1900.. then they jumped to $2400 today.  Okay .. back to the math.  You have 2 VIP weeks in your contract.  You go to Resort A and use your VIP week.  The cash price is $1400.  You use your VIP week for $2400; your cost for that room is .. $2400 that you now pay.  Yes, you're an idiot because you just overpaid by $1000.  Resort B is $2400, so you waste a VIP week to get the exact same price.  Get it?  VIP weeks basically lock in the cost of a 7 day vaca at the resort.  Now, lets say you look six monts later and the cost of the room at Resort B for that week doubled to $4800 ...   You'd save $2400 buy using a VIP week.  That is when you use them.  Also, the 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 concept also applies to VIP weeks.  Go to Resort C which is a 2:1, you use 2 VIP weeks ($4800 out of pocket) for one week at the resort. Or ... hold off 5-7 years and when ALL costs due to inflation go up, you use it then.  That .. is what I plan to do.  Easy right?  Nope....  I read every day that people don't grasp ths concept.  Hell, I didn't when I signed the dotted line that day.

Grandfathered:  This .. was the final discussion last night, that got me here this morning.  Grandfathered is a concept, not a clause in the contract.  If one joined 15 years ago, the 1:1 and 2:1s in their contract is different than mine.  Things change.  New resorts open.  Some close. Some upgrade and become 2:1s from a 1:1.     If somone joined 10 years ago and a resort that was 1:1 is now a 2:1 for me, they can still use their PNs and VIPs at the 1:1 rate.  They are Grandfathered in per their contract at that level.  Simple as that.  READ the CONTRACT!

One final note on this post.  UVC doesn't always show a block of rooms to reserve that are identical to what the resort actually has.  They get a block of rooms and sometimes 'run out' of rooms to offer, when they are actually available to other sites or the resort.  It sucks.  Not pointed out when we sign that contract.  Trick is...   book earlier to get what you really want.  Why I bring this up.  PNs and VIP weeks usually get one an entry level room, not a top of the line Ocean Front Suite.  Just a fact.  Again, in UVC's favor.   So as an example, Resort A may have five room types that range from $1400 - $7000.. but when you go to use your PN or VIP week, guess which room is being offered to you to use?  Yep.. the $1400 ... or maybe another room type that goes for $1600.  You get the picture.  It's just a fact and in their favor.

Upgrades:  I wasn't going to mention this but due to the previous para' sort of need to.  Most Contracts have an Upgrade clause.  If an Upgrade is avail, it will be offered.    "IF" and this is what irks many.  In the early days, upgrades came often and sometimes to incredible rooms/levels.  My advice and that of many UVC pros .. book the room you want and if you get an upgrade ... good for you.  Do not book a POS shit and assume one will get upgraded out of it automatically when checking in.  This point of contention is a hot one on social media.  Comes up everyday.  Example:  Few weeks ago, we checked into Secrts Playa Blanco Costa Mujeres in a Jr Suite that I paid for.  No upgrades.   But in early Decmember I booked an entry level room at Secrets The Vine and was upgraded to a Governor's Suite (huge!!) on the top floor.  I didn't see that one coming.  But, I'd have been content in that basic room since that's what I'd booked. Sometimes one gets a lil lucky!

I could write another dozen pages on the things I've seen and learned over the years on this subject.  Maybe I eventually will.  For now,  clairifying PNs and VIP weeks. Hope this helps for a few folks out there attemtping to crack the UVC code!