Exclusive Resorts, Ultimate Escapes and Quintess together account for over 80% of the members of all destination clubs. They also have by far the largest selections of residences for their members. These two articles compare the clubs and are a really useful template for comparing any clubs (Note this article was written in 2010, and Ultimate Escapes filed for bankruptcy in late 2010).

If you're comparing the three clubs one of the first places to start is to look at the locations in which the clubs have homes. You can see how these lists of locations compare to your family's current favorite locations and how they compare to your family wish list of places you would love to visit.

We've summarised the locations below for the three largest clubs. Use the tables to see which clubs have homes in each location. Some destinations such as Hawaii, Los Cabos, New York and Tuscany have homes for all three of the clubs. Others such as San Francisco, St Martin or Breckenridge are unique locations for only one of the three.

From all the member surveys I've seen over the years and also from the clubs reports of usage patterns, the homes at beach destinations are the most popular type. You'll see this below, where the clubs have more beach locations than any other type.

In addition to the clubs own homes, which is all we've included above, all three clubs also offer a range of other travel locations and options for their members. These include:

Quintess offers its members Q Leading Experiences, a collection of special global travel experiences, arranged through their partnership with the Leading Hotels of the World. The current experiences include Tokyo, Japan, Gstaad, Switzerland and Marbella, Spain. Charges for these vary, in some cases there may be additional fees or members may use base plan nights.

The "Once in a Lifetime" program at Exclusive Resorts includes trips to Peru, Australia, Fiji and South Africa. There may be additional fees above the plan nights, depending on the trip.

Ultimate Escapes has a partnership with To Escape To, which provides customised trips to Africa’s finest private homes, boutique hotels and safari camps. Choose from luxury safari camps, stunning beach villas and spacious holiday homes in destinations throughout Africa and the Indian Ocean. Additional fees apply to each trip.

Quintess has a reciprocity partnership with European destination club The Oyster Circle, providing members with access to their 10 properties. Quintess members may use up to 10 nights per reservation with one reservation per member per year in the advance reservations window.

Ultimate Escapes operates three clubs, Elite, Signature and Premiere, with homes valued at $3m, $2m and $1m respectively. The tables above show homes for all three of the clubs. Members in each club can reserve up to 7 nights each year at the sister clubs. If the reservation is an upgrade into a higher club there is an additional fee, lower club reservations are covered by regular annual dues.

Ultimate Escapes offers the Ultimate Collection of 130 four- and five-star luxury hotels around the world. Members can exchange up to 7 club membership days per year for stays at any of these hotels, with no extra costs incurred.

Quintess has a partnership with The Leading Hotels of the World, through which all members are enrolled in "Leaders Club Access". This gives special travel privileges including room upgrades, early check-ins / late check-outs, and access to special Leaders Club experiences.

There are a lot of things to consider when choosing the best club for you and your family. Part 2 of this article compares some of the other items across these three clubs.