Marriott Vacation Club point system

I own a summer legacy week at the Monarch. I purchased it 20 years ago (used) with the idea that if all trading systems went away, I could enjoy what I owned.

I did sign up for conversion not really believing in it. I was getting extra DC points equal in value what I paid and thought what the heck. I tried the program and really didn't think what it offered as additional flexibility was important to me. ...Also as a sanity check, when I found out that the point I get could not get me into the resort I own for the week I own it, this didn't make sense (cents) to me. This year I did not pay for the fee for the program.

Buying weeks at 25% or less - Just go to the Red Week resale listings and you'll find them or just make an offer.

With respect to Destination Points, I use this option and find value in it. Enrolled week owners have just added flexibility and opportunity to their portfolios. For example, we just got back from Orlando where we spent less than 1,200 points (discounted within 60 days) for a 2 bedroom week. I may not buy the points but I am happy with enrollment of my weeks.

l0410z wrote:

I own a summer legacy week at the Monarch. I purchased it 20 years ago (used) with the idea that if all trading systems went away, I could enjoy what I owned.

I did sign up for conversion not really believing in it. I was getting extra DC points equal in value what I paid and thought what the heck. I tried the program and really didn't think what it offered as additional flexibility was important to me. ...Also as a sanity check, when I found out that the point I get could not get me into the resort I own for the week I own it, this didn't make sense (cents) to me. This year I did not pay for the fee for the program.

Hello everyone! We are 2 yrs young owners with Marriott Vacation Club Destinations and we are looking to purchase more points. A friend told me about purchasing points from a site like this at a discounted rate. Which brings me here! When I was speaking to a Marriott CSR today, she told me that there are broker fees associated with buying points sometimes up to $8000 and that there's no better rate out there other than the rate per point they are offering us. In put appreciated. Thx!

That is probably only true if you are buying a small number of points, as some of the Marriott fees are flat, i.e., not dependent on the number of points purchased. In case you need a fuller description, I encourage you to check this thread out: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=197346 And, by the way, the TUG BBS is a great resource. Hope that helps.

adams236 wrote:

Hello everyone! We are 2 yrs young owners with Marriott Vacation Club Destinations and we are looking to purchase more points. A friend told me about purchasing points from a site like this at a discounted rate. Which brings me here! When I was speaking to a Marriott CSR today, she told me that there are broker fees associated with buying points sometimes up to $8000 and that there's no better rate out there other than the rate per point they are offering us. In put appreciated. Thx!

adams236 - Only my input - Have you thought about buying a resale unit or two to compliment your points ownership? For example, you could buy 2 Platinum weeks at Newport Coast for well under $19,000; or, about what it would cost for 1,600 points. Put another way, you would need 8,000 to 10,000 points to reserve 2 Newport summer weeks.

I have not found any significant advantage to buying points over deeded weeks and I have done both. Certainly, points are much more expensive.

I mention Newport only because I know it so well and have bought there in the aftermarket. Certainly, there are other great aftermarket properties at great prices. However, I suggest that you buy only "Platinum weeks at prime locations." The worst case, you rent out your owned weeks and rent the week you want - that's kind of like a point conversion but using $$$. It works!

Good points, ESPECIALLY if one plans to go to that resort regularly, want the full week with weekend checkin, always the same size unit and view. I have a few weeks purchased resale, both from Marriott and third parties. I bought a "package deal" from Marriott Resales that enabled me to enroll a couple of the weeks. The benefit was a reduced price per point (if elected), and the great flexibility of points. I think I have the best of both worlds (at a cost!), and of course, can rent points in or out as desired. Ymmv.

dennish144 wrote:

adams236 - Only my input - Have you thought about buying a resale unit or two to compliment your points ownership? For example, you could buy 2 Platinum weeks at Newport Coast for well under $19,000; or, about what it would cost for 1,600 points. Put another way, you would need 8,000 to 10,000 points to reserve 2 Newport summer weeks.

I have not found any significant advantage to buying points over deeded weeks and I have done both. Certainly, points are much more expensive.

I mention Newport only because I know it so well and have bought there in the aftermarket. Certainly, there are other great aftermarket properties at great prices. However, I suggest that you buy only "Platinum weeks at prime locations." The worst case, you rent out your owned weeks and rent the week you want - that's kind of like a point conversion but using $$$. It works!

Thx Sharon! I put my Legacy Week at the Marriott Custom House in Boston for sale and once that is gone I want to sell my DC Points ...even at a loss. I absolutely love my Legacy Week but the DC points program's intricacies/doubletalk ruined the whole Marriott ownership experience for me.

There's some conversation here about Newport Coast. I traded my Custom House week for a week there. (My 1 bedroom always trades for 2 bedrooms and I always get my 1st choice when I trade my Custom House. I was told it's because there are only 84 units which increases its value. ) We had a great week at Newport. The following year, I used my DC points for Newport Coast and could only afford Sun-Thurs, (I booked the same timeframe. I paid the same amount of $ for my Legacy Week some years ago and the DC points 3 years ago.) I feel I get more bang for my buck with my week. I was told that the Custom House Resales Dept. sells weeks at @ $25,000. The secondary market is obviously where the deals are! The foreclosures sell for $3000-$8000., a totally different dept. I wish I was more informed as I wouldn't have bought the DC points! I appreciate all your imput! Thx so much!

I just went through the presentation at Marriott's Frenchman's Cove (St. Thomas), where I am a legacy owner. I wanted to laugh at the salesman and finance guy. They wanted me to drop $18,000 to convert to DC points and add another 1,500 to the 2,775 I would get for my existing week. I could go on this site right now, spend $4,000 for another week, and have all the flexibility I could ever want from the DC.

can you buy and sell points (one time) on the open market. I'm looking to do a family vacation and need about 500 points to complete the European pkg. I just don't want to buy them from Marriott (1,500) every year.

Yes. Check out vacationpointexchange.com.

stevew320 wrote:

can you buy and sell points (one time) on the open market. I'm looking to do a family vacation and need about 500 points to complete the European pkg. I just don't want to buy them from Marriott (1,500) every year.

Now, did it make any sense to you that Marriott was going to sell the points to you for $9 and then at the end of the year buy them back from you for $13? Given the claim that this was done in 2010, and knowing that the first points announcements were mid year, we are talking about an increase of $4 "guaranteed buy back" on an original investment of $9, over no more than a 6 month period. So that is 4 / 9 * 2 = an 88.8% return on investment. Had it occurred to you that as a multi-billion dollar company, Marriott's cost of funds would probably be a little less than 88% in the capital marketplace, so why would the essentially borrow this money from you at an annual cost to them of 88%, when the cost of money out there in the world for large companies who want to borrow money would be around what, 2%? 1%? And you are claiming that a Marriott sales rep told you this, and apparently are also claiming that you believed it and accepted it unquestioningly? Not quite sure that I can swallow this fish story. Either we are talking about the world's best salesperson, or we are talking about the world's most gullible customer. Oh, and the fact that a salesperson left the company means that their offer is no longer valid because apparently Marriott's commitment to you only had to be kept while that salesperson still worked there, and if the sales person left then they could tear up all of the paper on money that they borrowed from their customer at 88% interest rate. Huh?

jeffreys95 wrote:

I was down in singer island and many of the owners at ocean pointe have switched to destinations points. It seems that the majority who benefit are of retirement age. They can do 3-4 weeks per year away. As I said previously, we were misrepresented back in 2010 when they told us the points were are $9 and change and by end of the year they would be "worth" $13.00 and Marriott would by them back from us at that rate!! I still have the name of the salesperson who of course left Marriott 6 months later. His Sales manager confirmed his information and then they actually wanted us to tell other couples there about our idea to buy a lot of points and resell back to Marriott for a profit. And Charles yes, the points came to approx $184,000 and the maintenance fees on that amount of points is $8k per year. I didn't make the financial decisions in my family but now divorced, I'm still trying to figure out how to sell some of these points.

After a lot of back and forth communication between us and Marriott Sales team they offered us a resale week (able to convert to points) plus MVC points at an amazing rate. It came out to $8.35 per point! It was a huge savings from the initial $10 to $12 something per point initially offered.

I would love to join the class action suit. Before the points program I exchanged Ocean Pointe each year for Aruba. After the points program I couldn't get Aruba through Interval even though I requested 17 months in advance; couldn't get Myrtle Beach; couldn't get one destination in Orlando.....not one from their entire inventory of resorts. One interval employee actually told me that my chances of getting ANYTHING through Interval were slim to none......even though I deposited two (2) ocean front two (2) bedroom units during the Gold season at Ocean Pointe. Now I am going to lose the two units I deposited with Interval because I can't get anything during the time I can travel. It will definitely be the last time I deposit with Interval. The best I can do is reserve the best weeks I can get during my season and rent them on Redweek. Then I will rent what I want from other renters on Redweek. Rented one of my units in just three days in July on Redweek. Additionally the points system has devalued my property. Before the points program I could exchange my Ocean Pointe for Aruba with no problem. Now I must buy additional points if I want to go to Aruba.. In other words like units cost more in Aruba than I get for my unit at Ocean Pointe. Points system is a ripoff in my book.

Has anyone purchase Marriott Destination points on the secondary market? Do they work exactly the same as if you purchased them through Marriott or are there additional restrictions?

I just called owner services and was advised that there would be no difference in use between points acquired thru Marriott or acquired privately.

I also inquired recently about an offer to buy points thru an ad on Redweek for $4.50 per point which price included all costs. However, as I thought about it, it occurred to me that the better deal was still to buy a good aftermarket week to use, rent out, or trade thru Interval. The math - I would have had to acquire at least 4,700 points for about $21,000 (at $4.50 per point) to acquire the annual use of the week using points or I could buy the deeded week for $8,500. Maintenance fees on the points would also be nearly 2 times what it would cost in maintenance fees for the week.

I totally agree - the points system is a rip-off, I'm trying to manage as best I can. I own 2 deeded weeks in Aruba Surf Club plus 1000 MCV points. For 2015 I've rented out one week and converted the other week into points - long story short, I'm only 75 POINTS short to get the vacation week I want for 2015! The only way for me to get more points on my own is to convert one of my 2016 units into points and pull what I need to 2015. GRRRRR! so aggravating as I do NOT want to do this.

Little known to most is that you can transfer points to other MVC points owners for NO FEE!! We've lost several hundred points in the past simply because we couldn't bank them - I wish I'd know somebody who needed them and I could transfer them to as this is just money wasted and frustration.

Good luck to us all dealing with MCV.

Sandy

I found a timeshare broker who sold me 75 points for $100. Yeah! Well worth it since I can now get the vacation I want booked 13 months in advance with my premiere status. Hooray for small victories when dealing with the MVC points program!

The decision to purchase vacation club points can be difficult. The only way to determine if vacation club ownership represents a good value is to perform a financial analysis. This requires comparing costs associated with vacation club ownership with the costs of the alternative - paying retail costs for lodging fees. Before I purchased vacation club points, I created a spreadsheet to determine if there was a financial benefit associated with vacation club ownership. The spreadsheet was so helpful that I decided to create an application so that I could analyze future vacation club purchases. This application is called PointsCruncher and is located here: http://pointscruncher.com. I hope it helps make vacation club ownership decisions a bit easier.

I am confused. I just realized that I am a legacy owner. This is news to me and I am thankful that this has been explained in one of the posts. I have a Marriott week that I can convert to destination points. Can I sell the points for the year? When the points are listed on the website for sale, is this for the timeshare itself or the use of the points similar to the use of renting a week?

I am in need of help!

nancyd410 wrote:

I am confused. I just realized that I am a legacy owner. This is news to me and I am thankful that this has been explained in one of the posts. I have a Marriott week that I can convert to destination points. Can I sell the points for the year? When the points are listed on the website for sale, is this for the timeshare itself or the use of the points similar to the use of renting a week?

I am in need of help!

You may be a legacy owner but did you enroll your week(s)? If not, you do not have the points option yet. Assuming you have enrolled weeks which means your weeks can be converted to points by September 30th, you can rent out the annual allotment of points coming from the annual conversion. You could do this conversion each year.

If you did not enroll your weeks, you should check to see if they can be enrolled but it would be expensive. Weeks acquired privately after a date in 2010 can not be enrolled.

If I missed anything, someone please add an additional comment.