Marriott Going to Point Syst

I am in the same boat, deciding if I should fold under the pressure. I own 2 deeded "platinum" weeks in Las Vegas.

We rarely stay there, our intention was just to trade most years. Considering we trade most years I am thinking of giving in and paying the $700.

My one question, if anyone knows, do you have to give up your deed for the points? In that case I will hold onto my deed.

My sentiment is similar to most on here, I feel I was robbed and lied to by Marriott. But there is no turning back so I may just have to bite the bullet, pay the $700 and make the best of it.

You never have to give up your deed. We have not joined and so far we are still able to trade with interval , for how much longer that is the question. We own 1 of our weeks in palm desert July! That the one we trade , in points that 1650 not even two days in Maui high season!

"I should fold under the pressure" that is pretty sad. Remember these sales peope are no better than car saleman. They will tell you anything to get a sale. There is no pressure here, you have the check book. I have not enrolled specifically because 1. I get different answers from different people, 2. I believe the points they are using for Sun thru Thur are starter teaser points and soon they will increase and the points you received for your week will only be worth a few mid week nights. Better to hold what you have and trade., they have no resale value. Good luck and go by your good judgment not from these sales clowns.

Thanks for the insight Robert. I do like the idea of the points system though and if I still own the deed its not as if I am buying points, I am paying to use their system rather than II. I personally find Interval very frustrating to deal with so I am enticed by the ease of the points system.

The price goes up significantly to join in June so that is the pressure they so kindly put on. I think what they are doing is absurd, we should not have to pay such a ridiculous "enrollment" fee. Unfortunately I do not think we will beat them so I might just have to join them and make the best of it.

I enrolled our weeks nearly two years ago as the Dest Pts Program was announced. I really like the increased flexibility this brings and have deposited weeks for Pts as well as used points for periods less than a week. My experience has been only positive.

After being in sales for decades, I can tell you that the high pressure sale is always a sign of a desperately bad deal. The original Marriott product sold itself. You came and left with a smile on your face. Now they dont just say buy with us and enjoy the benefiits, they say switch to our new plan or else. People act on emotions, but the emotion to act on here is not the fear of the pressure deal, its the fear of abandoning those who hold the high ground (those who invested in Mariotts former vision and made it such a successful product). Right now, the point system is a new vision that can only come true if prior vacation club owners switch in droves. Obviously, from this feedback and the high pressure sale, marriott has realized that the product is inferior. Let's not help their bad idea work for them. As legacy owners we know more about this than most people and we owe it to ourselves to stand behind each other applauding the product we purchased and if need be spreading the word about this new disaster. Twitter, Facebook, forums and blogs are already buzzing with the bad news. Join that crowd instead of those who sign a new contract revoking their right to ever vote against this new point system that they are pressured to "upgrade to"!???

As for the points, don't forget that you can still use the "flexibility" of your legacy week by converting them to rewards points as always. No need for destination points. We recently got an entire week plus airfare out of that under the "old program".

Marriott has transitioned to a points systems, DESTINATIONS. It is important to note that DESTINATIONS is a different points systems from MARRIOTT REWARDS.

The best way to obtain information is to visit a DESTINATIONS presentation at MARRIOTT.

MARRIOTT claims the corporation will no longer sell weeks; however, resales are still very stong at sites like Redweek.com.

As owners of 11 weeks, (5 are Marriott,) we have elected NOT to buy into DESTINATIONS. We see no advantages for our lifestyle, but others may.

It is easy to understand why one would not buy Dest Pts. They are expensive in relation to the alternatives.

With respect to enrollment of owned weeks, I cannot understand why one would not enroll weeks owned in Destinations. I recall that we spent $695 to enroll 5 weeks and got 800 Dest Pts as an incentive. By joining we just added flexibility to our portfolio. We can now use 1 or 2 days, we lowered our annual Interval costs, we added flexibility to our planning, etc.

I suspect most enrolled week owners are quite happy with enrollment of their weeks in Destinations. Most of those who are complaining have not enrolled their weeks - how could they know so much? We are quite happy with our enrollment.

I would see savings for someone who owns 5 weeks with Marriott. If you bought those weeks prior to that June 2010 date, I would strongly look at how you use your weeks and determine if the DC program would be profitable for you. If you exchange and lockoff rooms, you will find the DC program financially advantageous.

If you only stay in all of your units every year, your right the DC Club will not help you.

I enrolled my two weeks at the initial offering, paying $695.00. After overcomplicating this new program I referred to this site and much of its wisdom, finally realizing it's fairly straightforward and does offer some nice flexibilities. As for buying additional points, I just can't see the point, pardon the pun. And, I certainly wouldn't pay over $2300 for the privilege. Not sure where Marriott is going with that one. I wish them luck, though,

To clarify the major difference in Marriott's designed point system, they registered the unsold weeks at the various resorts into a Land Trust.

As you are aware, real estate is public knowledge and I have personally looked up the deeds that were recorded in the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando.

Each deed from the various resorts, list the amount of units that contributed to the inventory in the Trust, down to the building number, week number, and season.

You would be surprised to see how many platinum and platinum plus weeks are in there. So far there are 137,000,000 points in the Trust and something like half a million real property interests that are represented by these points.

So yes, Marriott is not selling air, nor are they arbitrary, nor can points just be created at a whim, yes Marriott can sell out of the points the way they can sell out of a resort, unless of course they add more inventory, just like they would have had to build another building at the sold out property.

And for those that are spreading your opinion that it's all Marriott junk weeks, please do a little more research before stating inaccurate information for the next person to read, believe and then repeat to others....

That's probably how the rumor on this thread got started about having to give up your deed for points....seriously guys...it's called enrollment. Not CONVERSION. Enrollment implies that you take part in what you are enrolling in, it does not imply a conversion which by definition is a change from one thing to another.

You can enroll and never elect to use destination points as your usage option, just like you never have to use Interval if you didn't feel like it.

Some of you should just enroll to enjoy the simplified fee structure. Ignore the added option of being able to use your week as Destination points all together.

I know this: if you purchased your week/weeks from Marriott Directly, and you don't use it at your home resort in your size/season....that means you are paying for Interval and exchange fees.

The $595 or $695 enrollment fee is money your going to spend just in Interval renewals. Forget any of the other fees that go away.....NEVER having to pay for Interval again is worth the enrollment fee. Those of you who have lock offs and have been using it to get two weeks into interval can continue to do that and not ever pay lock off fees or marriott to marriott exchange fees ever again.

If you really don't like Destination points, then simply don't choose that as your usage option.

Why are people confused about that? What rumor is going around that says you have to permanently change your weeks to points forever and that you have to give up your deed to do it and on top of that have to pay the company for that????

So to set things straight: Two benefits to enrollment: save money on various fees and have an added OPTION to use our week as Destination points WHEN we want.

Some may benefit from both of those because of the flexibility point usage offers that Interval doesn't, Some may never want to use points and will just enroll to save on fees. But your deed stays the same and nothing has been taken away from your ownership whether you choose to enroll or not.

Just need to clarify something about II and no more fees. If you are looking for another Marriott property, that is correct, there are no exchange fees. If, however, you want to go somewhere where there are no Marriot vacation clubs, i.e., Cancun,etc., you will be charged an exchange fee. You don't have to have a separate II membership, as we have in the past, but a fee is charged. That has been my experience.

That is correct, Meissa !!

Thanks g333s, I have read your detailed replies in other threads and really appreciate the time you take to help out.

Hello Everyone- First time ever to Redweek.com. on 5/15/2012

Interested in RESALE properties in Orlando -2 weeks in 2 or 3 bedroom. Would consider Marriott or Hilton Timeshares at this point, unless, other Timeshare places also offer good deals.

Need to learn about point system and how this all works. Never owned a timeshare before, because I can not purchase a timeshare the regular way for my family through the regular presentation.

Someone told me I can look to purchase and only take over maintenance fees. Sounds promising, Hope this site is legitimate and honest. Mark

Here's why marriott owners are furious: Marriott has removed practically all the inventory from Interval Internation, forcing us to switch to Destination point system. I cant exchange by 1 bedroom Maui Ocean Club for a studio at any of the Marriott in Palm Desert in any month in Summer. The inventory went down from several 100s to less than 5 in last 2 days. When you call their rep, their give the standard line "Oh, the owners decided to not deposit this week". Like, the marriott owner suddenly decided that they do want to start spending their summer in 105F weather!

BTW, the point system does have its merit. I just joined it. It's just that Marriottt has been very dishonest and sneaky with their loyal base. And that a big shame, considering how much my family love Marriott Vacations.

Weeks not available thru Interval - The recent post about the lack of Marriott weeks available thru Interval may be an example of how a free market works.

For example, doesn't this mean that individual Marriott timeshare week owners elected to withhold weeks from Interval because other alternatives were perceived as more desirable? The real culprit then might be the owner who decides he would rather have 10,000 Dest Pts for his premium week than a 1 week trade thru Interval.

I do not believe that Marriott (or Vacation Club) controls weeks turned over to Interval - we as week owners do that. The Dest Pts program may actually be a fairer trading vehicle in that it addresses differing values for timeshare weeks and gives us an alternative to Interval.

This is weird… I know that many say that there is less and less Marriott’s weeks available in Interval. Last week when searching for the Marriott’s Grande Vista for next March, there were many units available (studios, 1bdr and 2bdr). Not just for march but all through the year. Now just for fun I have entered dates from now all the way to may 2014 and there are NO Marriotts available not even in a studio at the Grande Vista or even a winter week at a marriott’s in South Carolina in resorts such as Oceanwatch, Surfwatch, Grande Ocean, Barony! Usually there are plenty of these units in September, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan ….. I have searched with my Ocean Pointe week and with a non Marriott week. Same result. Can anyone check and let me know if they get the same results? I am feeling nervous because I just deposited 3 weeks with II and I’m wondering what’s happened????

friendlyone wrote:

This is weird… I know that many say that there is less and less Marriott’s weeks available in Interval. Last week when searching for the Marriott’s Grande Vista for next March, there were many units available (studios, 1bdr and 2bdr). Not just for march but all through the year. Now just for fun I have entered dates from now all the way to may 2014 and there are NO Marriotts available not even in a studio at the Grande Vista or even a winter week at a marriott’s in South Carolina in resorts such as Oceanwatch, Surfwatch, Grande Ocean, Barony! Usually there are plenty of these units in September, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan ….. I have searched with my Ocean Pointe week and with a non Marriott week. Same result. Can anyone check and let me know if they get the same results? I am feeling nervous because I just deposited 3 weeks with II and I’m wondering what’s happened????

I just tried last night after reading your message and was able to get studio to 2 bedroom units at Marriott resorts in Orlando from January - May, 2013. I tried using my Marriott and non-Marriott properties and the same options were available for both. I'm not sure what happened, but I suggest trying it again. Good luck!

I called the marriott's desk and they said it was a temporary promblem and that it would be fixed shortly( I called yesterday morning). I checked last night and everything is back to normal! thanks for checking as well.