Cincinnati, OH. Got a postcard in the mail which offered $100 restaurant voucher and a free 3 to 7…read moreday cruise including air fare. Obviously to good to be true, but every now and then (three times in the past 40 years) we give into temptation and go hear about what they are selling. I was highly skeptical (and rightly so) when they wouldn't provide much information on the company itself except at the presentation. The presenter was very engaging and polished and had us giving it serious consideration. It really did sound great, who wouldn't want the option of staying at world class hotels, cruise lines or entire travel packages at 50% of retail. There were about six couples (you and your spouse are required to attend) and at the conclusion of the presentation (about 90 minutes long) each couple got their own salesman to answer questions and complete the complete the sale. We sat through the presentation, asked reasonable questions about the service and then declined the sales offer. The starting price was $10,699 plus $249 annual maintenance fee along with a $499 credit card processing fee, which the salesman assured us was only a one time fee if we purchased the travel package with a credit card (not sure why the do that, why not just roll it into the price?). Everything was very pleasant up to that point, once we declined the pressure started (slowly at first), the price started dropping (along with some of the benifits, such as how many "premium" travel packages per year, less family members, remove golf packages, etc.. They got the price all the way down to $3500. Once it became obvious we were not going to buy Mat (the salesman) started to get downright rude. Accused us of wasting his time, not being serious. I tried to tell him I "Never" buy anything the first day, need to sleep on it and do some research. Mat wasn't buying that, had to be today, no need to do research, even brought up their BBB listing (which we all know can be bought now, that rating is worthless). When I stood up to leave he finally gave up and asked us to wait while he closed out the paperwork. He returned 5 minutes later with a form indicating we understood there were fees associated with the gifts, etc., that they are provided by a third party and that we understood they were not responsible for availability of there use. The "free cruise" certificate never showed up, but they did email the $100 meal certificate which cost $10 to register, plus 18% to use and they only give you $25 per month which you must spend within 30 day or lose the next months allotment. No real critisum there, you get what you pay for and I expect if the free cruise ever shows up it will be of similiar quality. It is a good marketing technique. While I don't think it is a scam, I also (after reading all the other reviews) don't think this is a good investment. If it really was, why not simply charge $250 to use their service each time, that would let me try and see if I really saved any money and if they are really saving me 50% then I'd use them every time. No thanks on something I can't verify is going to save me money. I don't recommend this service, it just sounds to good to be true.
Also, it should be noted that Member Services Group doesn't do the marketing/sales, this was done by a separate company, J&T Solutions, LLC (Travel), so I have to believe they are taking a commission (or the whole thing) on the package sales prices. So the folks promising you the moon are not the ones that have to meet your expectations.