MEMBER KNOWLEDGE BASE
Are there any hidden fees?
The only cost to Grand Vacations members is their selected $59, $79 or $99 monthly savings plan fee. Access to all the membership discount benefits, enrollment bonuses, and redemption of their resort week is all included within the annualized monthly savings plan fee. Of course, as members travel, they are responsible for incidental costs associated with their vacation, such as airline tickets, food, activities, telephone calls, gratuities, etc.
What is the employer’s cost of administration?
There are no employer administration fees or costs associated with the Grand Vacations program. As a payroll deduction program, employers are merely responsible for facilitating the deduction and payment for their participating employees. We do the rest.
Does the employer have any financial liability?
There is no financial liability for employers, and our program agreements are specifically written to insure that. All program agreements are between Grand Vacations and the member, with funds escrowed and guaranteed by Chicago Title. Employers are merely program facilitators. Employers may choose to directly fund all or a portion of their participating employees’ contributions, but this is entirely voluntary and does not reflect an ongoing financial liability. Most employers choose to simply be a program facilitator, meaning they make the payroll deductions according to the plans selected by their employees, then remit those monthly payments on their employees behalf. All funds received are directly deposited into an escrow account with Chicago Title for added security and peace of mind for all program participants.
What’s the experience/credibility of the program providers?
The partners who have created Grand Vacations: Grand Incentives, Loyalty Solutions, and Chicago Title Company, represent nearly two hundred years of combined organizational experience serving members and clients, including numerous Fortune 500 companies. Grand Incentives has sold millions of incentive travel programs. Loyalty Solutions has sold millions of consumer membership and reward programs. Chicago Title has escrowed trillions of dollars of consumer funds, handling more than 40% of residential loan closings in the United States. Further Grand Vacation’s resort inventory and benefits programs are supported by the largest providers in the world: Interval International, Entertainment, RCI, Hertz, etc.
Is the membership fee extra?
The membership fee is already built into the monthly saving plan fee, and there’s no additional membership cost. So, a member who saves for twelve consecutive months will receive their resort week vacation, their benefits package, bonus enrollment incentives, and membership, all packaged into the monthly saving plan selected…$59 per month for Silver, $79 for Gold, and $99 for Platinum
Are the resorts of good quality/clean?
Grand Vacations offers access to over 3500 participating resorts in our network currently, managed by the world’s largest providers that set careful quality standards for participating resorts. Our resorts provide high quality vacation options for members and their families to enjoy. We encourage all those considering the program to visit our website to view photos of featured resorts and review all of the amenities provided for your vacation pleasure. We even provide a direct link from our site to a third party travel review site where members can do their own objective research. Grand Vacations also constantly solicits feedback from our members pertaining to resort quality and service in an effort to maintain a high quality standards within our resort network. Ultimately it is the quality standards of the network, the unlimited opportunity of our members to review and research our resorts for themselves, and our relentless commitment to service and quality that insure the member has the best possible vacation experience.
Is a member’s vacation destination choice guaranteed?
The Grand Vacations Savings Program is designed to get members to the destination of their choice for a quality family vacation. Grand Vacations will make every effort to fulfill the member request for both destinations and requested resort. The members destination choice will be guaranteed, however the specific choice of resort may not be, due to availability for a particular timeframe. To get a specific resort that may be unavailable during a desired timeframe, a member simply may have to consider other travel dates. We do our very best to accommodate every request.
Is a member’s vacation time (meaning when they want to go) guaranteed?
If a member wants to travel during a particular week, we guarantee that we can find them a quality destination to go to. Obviously specific resorts get full, so availability depends on how much notice we have for a particular location. It is highly recommended that all members book their resort stay a minimum of 120 -150 days out from travel date to insure that their travel selection is guaranteed. Grand Vacations reservation specialists will provide best efforts to meet each member request to the fullest.
What’s the catch?
There is no catch whatsoever. No hidden fees. No bait and switch. This program represents a real value to members to increase the quality of their family vacation. As a leader in the travel benefits industry, Grand Vacations has secured contracts with the world’s leading resort condo inventory providers, representing thousands of locations around the world. Because of these special relationships, Grand Vacations is able to offer deeply discounted rates on resorts worldwide.
What is the typical travel experience like for a member?
Every experience is different of course. We work hard to insure all are the best they can be. Many members have shared their wonderful experiences with their families at destinations throughout the United States and abroad. We have posted those testimonials on our website.
Isn’t this a timeshare?
It’s much better than a timeshare! Traditional timeshare programs force members to spend $15,000, $20,000, $40,000 all at once to buy into their systems, then they have to go through complex points systems, trading protocols, and pay taxes, use fees, trading fees, and worry about capital expenses too. Our program is like a no-risk buy-in into the world’s best timeshare programs, with no restrictions, no worries, and no hidden costs. Grand Vacations members get the same access as timeshare owners, at a fraction of the cost, with no long-term commitments and countless destination choices
How are my funds managed and protected?
All member funds are managed by Chicago Title. Founded in 1847, Chicago Title Company is owned by the world’s largest title insurer, Fidelity National Financial, a Fortune 500 diversified global provider of title and escrow closing services. Chicago Title offers its customers comprehensive and accurate escrow trust accounting services, and is the nation’s leading full-service escrow provider. Chicago Title takes great pride in the fact that we have been helping consumers through detailed and complex financial transaction processes for more than 160 years, and that the name Chicago Title is synonymous with funds management experience, knowledge, protection, service, and cutting edge technology. Chicago Title’s role with the Grand Vacations Savings Program is to provide security, reliability, and guaranteed accessibility to Grand Vacations for its members’ travel savings accounts, along with dependable monthly reporting and account status. Grand Vacations members and clients, large and small, can have confidence in knowing that their best interests will be well served in both the near and longer term, and can have peace of mind knowing that the only way escrowed funds can be used is in accordance with members’ written instructions and authorizations contained in the Member Participation Agreement that each member signs when becoming a Grand Vacations Savings Program member. As funds administrator and escrow services provider, Chicago Title holds all deposits into the Grand Vacations Savings Program in a trust account for Grand Vacations members. Escrowed program funds are deposited into an FDIC insured bank, and Chicago Title’s Treasury Division regularly monitors the performance of the few select banks holding its trust portfolios to secure maximum funds protection.
What happens if I can’t pay in a particular month?
That’s no problem. Just call customer service and one of our agents can place your account on hold, which will pause the billing and savings process until you’re ready to continue. There is no penalty to you.
Since Grand Vacations has 3 plans, are the resorts for the more expensive plans better?
There’s no quality difference between the three plans. The only difference is that, with the Silver Plan you get a 1 bedroom Resort Week anywhere inside the continental United States. With the Gold Plan, you get a 2 bedroom Resort Week inside the continental United States. And with the Platinum Plan (the highest level) you get one 2 bedroom or two 1 bedroom Resort Weeks at any of our resorts around the world. So the difference is in the number of bedrooms and in geography, not in quality.
Is it worth it to withhold at the top level if you aren't sure you'll actually go outside of the U.S. for your travel?
If you aren’t sure where you’d like to travel, you can always start with the lower plan (Silver) and then upgrade when and if you find a resort that you’d like better outside the U.S. You can upgrade your membership at any time, including right at the moment of redemption. Or, when you’re ready to redeem, you can just pay the difference between the plans and go to a Platinum level resort.
Can we change levels in the middle of the year and be adjusted to the appropriate level at that time?
Yes. You can upgrade your plan level or downgrade your plan level at any time.
Are these plans available to anyone or are they typically set up though a company?
We offer the programs through companies, organizations, payroll deduction, and direct to consumers. The best way to access GVSP is most often through a sponsor, like the one who referred you though, as they often get preferred pricing for members.
