If you are eligible to participate in the Armed Forces Vacation Club (AFVC), you can save a LOT of money on your next vacation. Eligible people include:
- Service members (United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy)
- Adult dependents of service members
- Foreign exchange service members
- Retired service members and their adult dependents
- Civilian department of defense employees and their adult dependents
- Disabled American veterans
The Armed Forces Vacation Club operates like a time share, without all the additional fees. You pay as you go, and there are beautiful condominium-style resorts all over the world.
Space Available (Space A) Vacations are offered at a flat rate of $329/week! That is $53 a night!!!! Let’s compare the savings by planning a hypothetical trip to The Bahamas in August. Using AFVC I’m going to search resorts by region:
Since I passed 5th Grade Geography, I know if I want to go to The Bahamas, I’ll need to choose Caribbean from the drop down list. I’ll choose Bahamas from the 2nd drop down list, and August for the month.
I am presented with 3 properties, each showing 4-5 weeks of availability. Two are in Freeport and 1 is in Nassau. Let’s go with the Club Land Resort in Nassau, Bahamas!
This unit has 1 bedroom with a maximum occupancy of 4, and a full kitchen. Below is a chart of the weeks available. As you can see, if you book early, you are likely to get you first pick! Price isn’t a factor, remember…they are all $369 a week!
Once you select a date, you’ll click on “Book” (booking buttons deleted) and you’ll be taken to a page to fill out the rest of your information (billing and personal info). There are no taxes or hidden fees. In fact, I was granted a $20 discount for booking online.
I signed up for AFVC years ago, and if I remember correctly I paid a $25 enrollment fee. This is a one time fee as opposed to an annual fee that will cause you to pay for something you may or may not use.
They have a fair cancellation policy granting 50-100% refund on a sliding scale. Of course, call to military duty will result in full refund.
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AFVC is a great choice for vacationers who are flexible with dates and location. For example, I’m the type of person that likes to travel to different locations. I would not find value in a timeshare because you’re going to the same location over and over. With AFVC, when I have the funds to travel, I pick a spot and go!
Even if you are not eligible to book a location. Chances are you know someone in the Armed Services who is! Be sure to tell them about this great opportunity. Oh, and the person that books the trip can bring whoever they want…so be nice to your service buddies!
What about you? Have you ever taken advantage of the AFVC or timeshare? Do you know someone who can benefit from this service?
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Update: Just got an email from the Armed Forces Vacation Club, they are offering 7 nights for $299 for the next 5 days.
that’s not a bad offer at all,
i hope you’ll have a wonderful stay in there.