Now up to 80K points + $25 Amex Gift Card w/ Bluegreen Vacations timeshare offer

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Update 1/31/23: Troy in the comments notes that there are several versions of this offer when you call. As per his comment, I called and booked a 3-night stay for $279 that comes with 80,000 Choice Privileges points and a $25 bonus Amex Gift Card for booking within 30 days. I’ve included more detail about my experience with it under “Quick Thoughts” below.

Choice Privileges is offering several different timeshare presentation deals that may be intriguing: get up to 80,000 Choice Privileges points and a $25 American Express gift card (or one of several other versions of the deal) when you “explore vacation ownership” (i.e. attend a timeshare presentation). That can be a solid deal, but beware of the cancellation policy (see more in the post below).

a pool with palm trees and buildings in the background

The Deal

  • Choice Privileges is currently offering several different deals for attending a 2hr Bluegreen Vacations timeshare presentation. Troy in the comments notes receiving the following offers:
    • For $299, Choice Privileges is offering a 3-night Bluegreen Vacations resort stay, 40,000 Choice Privileges points, and a $100 American Express Gift Card. Plus get an extra $25 Amex Gift Card if you book within 30 days of purchasing the package. You need to call to book at (855) 240-6573.
    • Pay $279, get 80,000 Choice Privileges points + $25 Amex Gift Card if you book within 30 days
      Pay $279, get 30,000 Choice Privileges points + $25 Amex Gift Card if you book within 30 days
    • Pay $279, get a $300 American Express Gift Card+ $25 Amex Gift Card if you book within 30 days

Key Terms

  • Must attend a two-hour Bluegreen Vacations timeshare sales presentation and tour
  • Must have a household income of at least $50K (may be waived if one of a cohabiting couple is 62 years old or older) and creditworthy (minimum score of 600)
  • Late cancellation / no-show fee of $125 if check-in date is modified less than 14 days prior to check-in date
  • $200 no-show fee charged to your debit or credit card if you fail to show up for your reservation (on top of forfeiting whatever you’ve already paid)
  • See full terms here

Quick Thoughts

Update 1/31/23: As noted at the top, I personally called and booked this deal last night. A few takeaways from my experience:

  • The agent led with the fact that I would receive Choice points just for agreeing to be transferred to her. I assume most people must get transferred after calling customer service. I didn’t ask how many points to expect. She said it takes a few days for them to reflect in the account and I don’t see them yet, but I’ll be happy with any little bonus that appears.
  • The agent led with the 40K + $100 offer. I asked whether there were any other offers (hoping to hear about the ones that Troy noted). She asked whether I was looking for a longer stay or something else. I said I’d be interested in something including more points. She immediately told me about the 80K offer, but she said that in the location where I was looking this would be a hotel stay rather than staying at the Bluegreen property (the $299 deal for 40K + $100 would have been in a 1bdrm unit at the property). I was fine with the hotel stay in part because I wanted to see if I could get booked into a Marriott property and earn double elite night credits (I don’t expect this to work, but you hit 0% of the balls at which you do not swing). She did not proactively mention the $25 bonus for booking within 30 days and I didn’t ask about it. Note that the hotel stay vs resort stay is location-dependent. Troy in the comments notes having booked the 80K offer with the stay at a Bluegreen property still rather than a hotel.
  • The phone agent was able to confirm availability for the check-in dates I had in mind but couldn’t tell me which hotel — she said I would need to contact the reservation team after buying the package and they would have different options. She was able to name a bunch of the hotels, which included brands from Choice, Hilton, and Marriott.
  • I would have had 12 months to book, but I already had a trip planned where I needed a few nights, so I was happy to lock in a check-in day on the call. After I paid the $279 over the phone, I received an email from Bluegreen Vacations. I had to register for an account with them to see my stay information. I was automatically booked into a Marriott property but expect that I can call and change it based on what the agent told me.
  • After paying, the agent noted that because I booked within 30 days I’d get the additional $25 bonus. Good to know it’s automatic!
  • The confirmation information says that I’ll still owe about $40 in taxes directly at the (hotel) property when I arrive.

By our Reasonable Redemption Values, 80,000 Choice Privileges points should be easy to redeem for $544 or more. In my experience, I rarely redeem Choice points for a value of less than 1c per point compared to the cash rate, so I expect to get quite a bit more than $544 in value by cherry-picking good redemptions. This feels like a solid trade even if you don’t value the hotel / Bluegreen stay. If you do, this is a great deal in my opinion.

All that said, keep in mind that you need to be good at saying “no” if you’re going to attend a timeshare presentation. Whatever the first offer may be, there is always a better offer or two or six. Some people love their timeshares, but don’t get cornered into buying something that isn’t a fit for you. If you are easily convinced, I’d recommend avoiding timeshare presentations. Personally, I’ll be curious to hear the pitch.

I have noted some discomfort with the cancellation policy that is buried in the offer terms in the past and I’ll include it here again:

Late Cancellation/No-Show Policy: Because Bluegreen Vacations subsidizes the cost of this vacation package in order to offer it to you at a discounted price, Bluegreen Vacations has instituted this Late Cancellation/No-Show Policy. Your scheduled check-in day may be modified at no charge only if the request is made AT LEAST FOURTEEN (14) DAYS PRIOR TO THE SCHEDULED CHECK-IN DATE. If your check-in date is modified less than fourteen (14) days prior to this check-in date, a $125.00 Late Cancellation Fee will be required. Participants with reservations who fail to show up on their scheduled check-in date, will have a $200.00 No-Show Fee charged to their debit card or credit card (dependent upon the method of payment used to purchase the vacation package), and will forfeit any prepaid fees or deposits. By making a reservation in response to this promotion, you are agreeing to this policy.

I find that cancellation policy pretty ridiculous in the current environment. On the one hand, many hotels have cancellation deadlines and with the nature of vacation rentals maybe they face reduced prospects of selling the room if you can’t make it. However, it would cost you $125 to cancel within 14 days, so keep that in mind.

Note also that I highlighted in the post about the previous promotion that there is a requirement to have a minimum FICO score of 600 to qualify and the phone agent did reiterate that twice. As I noted last time, I don’t know how they verify that as the terms go on to state that they only verify your precise credit score through a hard inquiry upon “consent and decision to purchase a timeshare interest or Sampler product from Bluegreen Vacations”. Be careful to closely read any paperwork you fill out to be sure that you don’t consent to a pull that you don’t want. I assume the hard pull is not required to attend the presentation or receive the promised award, but I am always vigilant about what I sign at these types of things.

If interested, it looks like you’ll have to call to book. You might try your hand at negotiating an even better deal over the phone. While I don’t know for sure that Choice negotiates these (and I think the 80K offer is a pretty hot deal on its own), I know that timeshare offers are often negotiable, so it might be worth a shot.

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31 Comments
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Troy

I recently finished my presentation in Savannah, I stayed at a Hilton property, which I called and gave Hilton check in date and name etc to link to my Diamond status. Got diamond benefits and earned points (BG paid $104/nt rate which was far below market). The initial group presentation was half the time of yours, and I was up front about being a points and miles enthusiast, explained my current bankroll of points and travel style, and was out in under 2 hours (including arriving early). I was first person out, and they didn’t even bother naming a price (they asked if they should and I said not to bother). Property there looked outstanding and great location, but pleased with my option nearby plus points. Would strongly recommend this process for friends. Not pushy sales people there, honestly impressed with their process. Points and gift card only activated after presentation for me.

Troy

https://www.bluegreenvacations.com/resorts/#gref
44 properties in ~34 cities in 19 states – do not know which deals apply to which.
**80K appears strictly with hotels, as when I called back they stated I was indeed put in a hotel (Hampton Inn & Suites) not the BG property.

TomZook

Just did the Bluegreen presentation in Tampa. Lovely timeshare property, but the presentation was three hours. The first two hours was a group presentation that was very well done. The last hour was with a representative who was new and unhelpful. When I mentioned a desire to go to Panama, she didn’t know where the country was located. We got a total of $175 in MCGCs and 40K points. Overall, it was not a hard-sell experience.

Johnny

Does anyone know what are the (9?) locations that are available to choose from?

John Doe

If anyone knows what all the locations are, please post.

Harrychu

Not sure if all their locations are available, but here’s a list.

https://www.bluegreenvacations.com/destinations

Mary

so where did you end up booking Nick?

Troy

Was offered 4 choices when inquiring on the 4day/3night offer:
1) Pay $299, get 40k choice points + $100 amex + $25 additional if book within 30days
2) Pay $279, get 80k choice points + $25 additional if book within 30days
3) Pay $279, get 30k points & $150 + $25 additional if book within 30days
4) Pay $279, get $300 back + $25 additional if book within 30days
I chose option 2, as the points are worth about $480 in my book

Troy

I have booked a BlueGreen property with the offer in Savannah and it’s showing the 80K points on the reservation screen, so your agent may be wrong (or it may be location-dependent).

Troy

EDIT – After your comment I called back, and sure enough they didn’t actually book me at a BlueGreen property…I won’t know which property I’m at for up to 72 hours. They did inform me I can get a full refund within 30 days of purchase if I’m not happy with the choice.

Gotta love booking a timeshare to stay at a Marriott to earn Choice points. We are weird people, always remember that!

Last edited 1 year ago by Troy
moktar abdoukerime

Hi Nick. In your article, you mentioned the agent will deposit the 80K points in your account, just by you calling and making a reservation for a future stay? Can you confirm that? Thank you!

moktar abdoukerime

Also thank you for your post, I did get the 80K package !

moktar abdoukerime

Thanks for the clarification!

YoniPDX

Some of the direct deals can be superior to this deal YMMV.

https://www.bluegreenvacations.com/deals/global#

We did 7D/6N in February 2020 (arrived home three days before the first COVID deaths in US (WA/OR) and the great Toilet paper shortage) it was $1,299 but included Disney Park tickets for 4 days/4 Adults one day at Disney waterpark plus $125 MCGC.

2 bedroom condo (sleeps 10) Kitchen, with dishwasher, full sized fridge, microwave, pots/pans/dishes/silver/utilensils, coffee maker, W&D – unlimted coffee and Microwave popcorn. 2 Bedrooms/2Baths 1,200 SF. A Publix was a mile or two down the street. We flew my MIL in from Vah Beach, SIL/BIL and Niece drove in from Va Beach for part of our stay. My parents drove down from Atlanta for a few days opposite my in-laws.

It was a great deal for the 2-2.5 hour TS presentation – .

They aren’t offering Disney at the moment on the website only Universal tickets for $1697 ( but thats part of a SUB – not sure how much Universal tickets are but we could have done the same priced deal but it was 7 days of tickets to Universal parks vs 4 days for Disney.

The main BlueGreen location (Orlando) has three pools and things to do on site.

If you have a Bass Pro shop near you – stop in sometime they have even better deals than the website (but they will match on the phone – the Bass pro deals) IIRC that is what we did to get Disney tix’s.

A B

I feel like these timeshare offers shouldn’t be [promoted? mentioned?] on the FM blog. Stories abound with people saddled with timeshare debt they can’t get out of. True, most readers here are adroit enough to escape the sales pitches. But for every 10 that do, maybe 2 or 3 don’t. And at least one of those is making a big mistake.

[…] Update 4/26/22: You now get 40,000 points (previously 30,000 points) and a $100 gift card (previously $25) for $229 (previously $199). Hat tip to FM […]

Katie

I called to see the destinations and they ended up giving me a $199 for 3 nights + 60k Choice points + $25 gift card offer.

E C

Not so great a deal. At least you should be able to get your money back without worrying about converting Choice points into value–considering you have to sit through a sales presentation.

Aloha808

I thought Greg determined Choice points were worth about 0.68 cents each? That would make the 40k points worth about $272, instead of $324. For reference: https://frequentmiler.com/what-are-choice-points-worth-and-should-we-buy-points/

Aloha808

Just paid for the package! I was also informed that I’ll get an extra $25 mastercard gift card if I book the stay within the next 30 days after the $229 package purchase. So 40k choice points + $125 in gift cards.

Last edited 2 years ago by Aloha808
Aloha808

I sat on the offer, and just got an email letting me know that if I book in the next three days for travel by August 31, I’ll receive a bonus $250 Amex gift card. Looks like this is in addition to the 40k points and the $100 Amex gc.

Dave Hanson

Nice offer! Did you end up biting?

Dr. Jay

Nick, Do you have a link for the offer? I’m curious what the 9 locations are. Does anyone have experience with booking one of these for those outside of the listed properties?