I became a membership in March'15 and so far I have really good experiences with Sears Vacations. I just used my first free 7-day resort certificate going to Cancun. I chose to stay at the Westin Resort and Spa hotel which is a really good one in Cancun Hotel Zone (it seems like Sears Vacations has a deal with Westin hotel chains). When I was checking in, my wife playfully asked if we get room if ocean view. We didn't expect to get such room because this was a free stay. The hotel staff said we got a regular room but he was going to upgrade it and he did give us beachfront room which was really beautiful.
I didn't have any problem at all using free certificate. I paid only a resort fee around $70 (and, of course, air tickets from California). No hidden fee. Sears Vacations concierges were very helpful every time I called for help. In fact, each of them eagerly gave me their individual extension numbers, so next time I call I can talk to them directly. Not sure if they get any commissions by being a personal concierge to a member.
Anyway, so far so good for Sears Vacations. I have booked another trip using another free resort certificate without any problems. I'm looking forward to my next trip!!!