Thursday, February 9, 2017

Promotional Travel Packages - Fiesta Americana Vacation in Cancun Mexico

One of the best travel club memberships offering promotional travel packages is GAAB. You can click the link to find out more:  http://gaabtravelclub.com/timeshare-deals   

You can also see below what the cost is with the membership for a week at the Fiesta Americana Vacation in Cancun Mexico in December of this year, 2017. 

I am a beach person which means that anytime I have a chance to travel, I try to find a property that is not only near the beach, but on the beach where I can see the ocean.  That is a pretty tall order unless you have a lot of money saved to go on vacation for a week.  Most beachfront properties are expensive, regardless of the time of year you want to travel.  Of course, you can always go to the beach in the off season when the rates drop dramatically, but still there is the downside.  Unless you can afford to fly to some exotic, warm location, like the Fiesta Americana in Cancun, Mexico, a beach in the off season for me means the East Coast where it starts to get a bit colder and the sunny days are much shorter.

There is a solution for that though.  If I know that I am going to travel in the off season because I want to or need to, and I want to drive instead of fly, I simply go into my GAAB membership several months in advance and start searching for properties that are available in my desired locations.  It is always harder to get a beach location if you wait until the last minute because the demand is so high.  That is the way it works whether you own a timeshare, a membership club or want to book a place at the last minute.  You have to be smart and work in conjunction with what you have to get what you want.

If you can afford to fly and want a great vacation, here is a promotional travel package you won't want to miss.  This is just one example of what is available through GAAB.  This hotel has between a 4 and 4.5 star rating online.  Just do a google search and you will see the comments.  It's right on the ocean and just look at the price.  My Cancun vacation week, this year, through the Palace Resorts cost me $1900 for the all inclusive price.  This is not an all inclusive week but, when comparing against the Palace Resorts, that would mean that I could travel for $629 for the week and have over $1200 to eat out.    


One great promotional travel package for sure!  The Fiesta Americana Vacation, Cancun Mexico



If Mexico isn't your cup of tea so to speak, there are many other great properties to choose from.  I'll send you another one in my next blog post, so please watch for it.

In the meantime, you can see the price comparisons above.  They didn't compare what it would cost to actually call the resort and book a room.  Here are two other comparisons though.  Looks pretty expensive to me as these are the prices for a night!

Fiesta Americana Villas CancĂșn
Blvd. Kukulcan Km. 8.5 Lote 3, Zona Hotelera, CancĂșn, QROO, Mexico
4.5
252 reviews
AdsCheck availability
Check inSun, Feb 19Check outMon, Feb 20
Amoma.com
Amoma.com
Total: $299/night
View room rates on Amoma.com
 
KAYAK.com
KAYAK.com
Total: $283/night
View room rates on KAYAK.com
 
See you on my next blog post for more great GAAB promotional travel package properties.  
 


Monday, February 6, 2017

Are There Alternatives to Timeshare Travel with Discount Alternatives?

If you love to travel but don't want to pay the large sum of money to buy a timeshare, there are alternatives available to you.  Here I will mention two important ones. 

ALTERNATIVE #1 - Discount Travel Club Membership

The first alternative I recommend is a lifetime, will-able, no maintenance fee membership that I personally belong to.  GAAB Travel Club.  Here is the link.  http://gaabtravelclub.com/timeshare-deals  

When you click on the link, you will be taken to a website that has a video that will introduce you to this great discount alternative to timeshare travel.  The video will explain fully what the program is, how it compares to buying a timeshare, how to use it and what it costs.  Then, grab a family member, a cup of coffee or tea, click on the join link and you will not be committing.  You will be getting to watch a much more detailed video and a series of videos available to you below that, to find out what you really want to know.  You will also get the different price points.  If you watch all the way through to the end of the second video, there is a really nice surprise for you.  I didn't even get this when I joined in 2005, but I sure wish I had! 

HERE IS JUST ONE SAMPLE OF A RESORT IN MEXICO THAT YOU CAN BOOK IF YOU JOIN NOW!  (If that week is still available).  One week, two people, Studio Suite.  No airfare. You can see the link to trip advisor below and the cost, as well as more information on the resort so you can compare one week at $545.00 to two days at just about the same price or more without the membership.

Don't forget to go here to find out more about your timeshare travel discounts at GAAB. 

CLICK HERE.  to get more information on how you can travel to the Hacienda del Mar Resort in Cabo San Lucas Mexico or other similar properties.


TRIP ADVISOR LINK  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hacienda del Mar Los Cabos (Cabo San Lucas) - UPDATED 2017 ...

https://www.tripadvisor.com › ... › Cabo San Lucas › Cabo San Lucas Hotels
Rating: 4.5 - ‎1,598 reviews - ‎Price range: $217 - $454 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
All reviews vacation club toaster oven girasoles restaurant time share mexican bingo beautiful resort rent a car ocean view tomatoes restaurant three bedroom ...


In future posts, I will go into detail about some of the beautiful and interesting places you can travel with your GAAB membership, but for now, the video says much of what you will need to hear.  I guarantee that if you like to travel or want to and have the time to travel a lot, it will cost you so much less than buying a timeshare or even getting a discount vacation week in many places.

If you already have a timeshare but need more weeks, without having points or maintenance fees, then you will still want to look into this.  Don't buy more points.  Watch the videos first so you can see why you shouldn't.

ALTERNATIVE #2.  Buying Discount Timeshare Weeks on Ebay

The second alternative is one that I have also personally used, especially if I have a resort that I want to go to that is not included in the GAAB membership.  Although there are thousands of vacation spots to choose from through GAAB, my family and I have one favorite one that is not presently included in their inventory (although from time to time one of their locations are included).  We like to travel to one of the many Palace Resort locations in Mexico.  Our favorite location is Cancun.

Cancun Mexico.  View from Beach Palace Resort November 2016  VIP Membership Chairs & Tables Getting Ready for Eating Dinner on the Beach   Cost, for 2, with non-stop coach airfare for one week VIP membership:  $3500. 


I will warn you though.  Even though you can travel for less the way I am going to recommend, the cost for this one week, even discounted on Ebay, will exceed the cost of the lowest lifetime membership you can get by using the GAAB membership.  Still, if you book your vacation directly with the resort or with a travel agency, or even worse, get talked into buying a membership to Palace resorts, you will pay dearly for your vacation.  My membership to visit Palace Resorts cost me $50,000, and yes, I am still paying on it and yes, I still have to pay $2400 per week, plus airfare, every time I travel, even with the membership. 

I'm sure you are questioning my sanity, and perhaps you should.  Call it what you may, it's a done deal and I did it at my weakest moments when staring at the beautiful ocean waters, all relaxed and thinking my life would never change and that money would not be an issue.  Wrong and wrong again.  It's ok though.  We are all entitled to mistakes. . . some more costly then others.

Back to the second alternative to timeshare travel. . .

The second alternative is to search for a specific travel week on Ebay.  You can find numerous properties for rent in just about every part of the world.  Although I own a Palace Resorts membership, similar to a timeshare but extraordinarily more expensive, I booked my last vacation to Cancun Mexico through a fellow member who was offering their Diamond week for $300 less than what I could pay for my own VIP membership week.  Had their week not been available, I always had my own weeks to fall back on, but $300 is $300 more I can spend on other necessities like airfare!  It's almost the cost of one round trip plane ticket.

HOW TO FIND YOUR DISCOUNT WEEK ON EBAY?

To find a discount week on Ebay you simply go to the Ebay search bar and type in, for example, Palace Resorts Cancun Mexico VIP Week.  If there are weeks available, they will show up in the search results.  Then, before you book on Ebay, since you already know the price, you call the resort directly or look online at their website.  Then, look at the prices available on Expedia, Priceline, Travelocity, etc. and see what the price is for the same time you want to travel and the same type of accommodation.  Then compare those prices to what is available on Ebay.  What you won't be able to compare with the other travel sites is the cost for traveling under a VIP membership. Those other sites do not offer the VIP membership treatment.

The VIP membership allows you to get top of the line accommodations, all inclusive food and beverages for two during the week, a free manicure, a free pedicure, discounts in the resort stores, discounts on the resort golfing, 24 hour room service, usually an ocean view or ocean front view, one bedroom or a large suite, brand name alcohol, special seating on the beach, the ability to upgrade or change rooms if needed, and first class treatment all the way.  The average cost for one of these weeks on Ebay, WITHOUT airfare, is around $2400.  If you have already watched the video above and went to the buy / purchase section, you are probably saying "wow" about now.

There are other alternatives to timeshare travel I will discuss in future posts, ones that I have used personally and ones that I recommend.  I hope you find some of the suggestions helpful in your search for the perfect timeshare travel discount!

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Top 3 Reasons NOT To Purchase a Timeshare

I have purchased three timeshares and one travel club membership over the years.  My mom has also purchased a timeshare.  From both of our experiences, I can tell you that there are some good reasons to purchase one, but there are more bad reasons then good.

Here are my top 3 reasons Not to Purchase a Timeshare.

1.  You can't sell it or you never get the money or use out of it that you put into it.  If you get to the point in your life where you  find that you can no longer travel or that you financially cannot afford the yearly maintenance fees, you may not be able to sell your timeshare.  If you do decide that you want to sell your timeshare, chances are excellent that the only thing you may get is someone to buy it only for the yearly cost of maintenance fees.  Most timeshares are worth nothing today.  Don't buy one now thinking you can sell it later.  You will be in for a rude awakening.



2.  Timeshare purchases are very expensive.  The way they get you is to approach you when you are having the vacation of a lifetime.  The weather is beautiful.  The property is beautiful.  You are so relaxed and enjoying yourself that you think you want to stay forever.  I know.  That was me for sure.  So they get you on a good day, take you out for a drink, sit you down and show you paradise. . . until they present you with the cost.  A bit of that relaxed feeling starts to fade when you see dollar signs dancing in your head.

They don't give up.  They have you for the next two hours and they are going to make the most of it.  After all, you did respond to their call to come when they enticed you with a free drink and a free tour or a free travel bag or free something.  So for two hours, they convince you that you cannot live without the timeshare to return to your vacation of a lifetime, every year until you die and then the person you will your timeshare to dies, and then those in their wills and so on and so on.

After being worn down by confusing prices and terms, you see the sun starting to fade in the sky.  If you are a "can't say no" person because you like what you think you hear, or you know you will want to come back again and again, or you know that the person selling this to you has a tough life and needs a sale, you may just buy.  The cost doesn't seem that much at first, but costs add up over time and times and situations change.  Remember, timeshare purchases are very expensive because you will get stuck with it for the rest of your life if you can't use it or sell it.

3.  You don't need a timeshare to get a great rate on discount travel!  It's true.  You simply rent from someone else who is stuck with their timeshare and use their week for no obligation then to pay for that week.  My last vacation, even though I have a membership similar to a timeshare at the place I went on vacation to, was purchased on Ebay.  Yep!  I couldn't believe that even though I had paid.  . . I'm too embarrassed to even say the amount. . . a huge amount of money for my membership, I could travel with the same benefits for $300 less for that same week.  That made me very angry, mainly at myself for falling into the timeshare trap.

I will go into more detail about timeshares in more of my posts, but for now, please heed my warning.  My money saving travel tip for you today is to go to Ebay, type in the name of the place you want to visit and see if anyone is offering their timeshare week for a good deal.  Enjoy!



BEFORE YOU GO  If you are planning on taking a vacation in the near future, you WILL want to check out this video on A UNIQUE way to save money on airfare.   
Click Here!