Marriott Vacation Club point system

As a legacy weeks owner with Marriott, we've been on a several previews now for the Marriott Vacation Club point system. In all of these presentations, they make several misrepresentations and omissions. First, they say for one annual fee (which includes your Interval membership), all of your other costs go away. However, this is only if you stay within Marriott; if you use Interval you still have to pay all the Interval exchange fees. They also said that the fee was $169 but then we have found out that the fee has already been raised to $175 for 2013. Second, they say that your costs for your resort accommodations are now fixed at the current level forever. This is FALSE!! They can raise the per point maintenance fee any time they want. The MVCI website still says points are $.40 per point per year; whew, that's $1600 if you own 4000 points. But it has already been raised to $.43 for 2013. Plus, Marriott can change the number of points required for any given accommodation any time they want. I also think the cost of purchasing these points is outrageous. You would be a fool to buy them given what's on the market these days. We might still elect to convert, but we have already sold one week back to Marriott (for less than a third of what we paid) this year and will sell the other if we get the chance. It used to be a great deal; the Marriott properties and the staff are always wonderful, but the maintenance fees and exchange fees have ballooned to the point where we think its not a good value anymore. It's also getting more and more difficult to exchange thru Interval into another Marriott property since most of their excess inventory is now being reserved for point owners. All Marriott sells now is the point system because it's a win, win, win for them, and a lose, lose, lose for you.

I see that some people refer to the system as Destination Club. Whatever! I also feel betrayed by Marriott. I think this is nothing more than a cheap play to get more money out of existing inventory. I can see the value of the increased flexibility, but Marriott doesn't have resort property in many of destinations where I want to go. I also think that they are already way undervaluing our property; based on my current maintenance fee for my remaining week, the number of points they offer in exchange works out to over $.50 per point per year. That's very expensive.

Terryl246, just don't join. I find it interesting that you are still going to join the DC system despite being quite negative about it. Marriott offered you as a legacy a choice. Many legacy owners do like that flexibility. Yours is a personal choice.

I'm leaning now toward not joining. What they offer is nowhere close to the actual value. Also, they control everything so everything they do will be to their benefit.

terryl246 wrote:

I'm leaning now toward not joining. What they offer is nowhere close to the actual value. Also, they control everything so everything they do will be to their benefit.

If you just want to visit your resort every year then the DC is not for you. There would be little advantage for you in joining it. I will suggest you go to tug2.net and see what other legacy owners like yourself have to say. See how they use it. In fact, there is a thread on there right now about the top 5 reasons to join the DC and the top 5 not to join. You may find it interesting. In the long run, it is about how you use your timeshare.

I am a member of the DC program, and I have converted one of my weeks to points. I used some of the points to book a destination, and have some left over. I see some people are selling current year points, but I'm not sure how the process works. I'd like to purchase the extra points I need to use at another destination this year.

I wish I had seen your article before I bought Marriott points. It took me 3 presentations before I succombed to the "sell". The first two sales persons were fired according to the third salesman. Thanks for a well written article. I would be interested in how you managed to sell back a marriott property. Nick

terryl246 wrote:

As a legacy weeks owner with Marriott, we've been on a several previews now for the Marriott Vacation Club point system. In all of these presentations, they make several misrepresentations and omissions. First, they say for one annual fee (which includes your Interval membership), all of your other costs go away. However, this is only if you stay within Marriott; if you use Interval you still have to pay all the Interval exchange fees. They also said that the fee was $169 but then we have found out that the fee has already been raised to $175 for 2013. Second, they say that your costs for your resort accommodations are now fixed at the current level forever. This is FALSE!! They can raise the per point maintenance fee any time they want. The MVCI website still says points are $.40 per point per year; whew, that's $1600 if you own 4000 points. But it has already been raised to $.43 for 2013. Plus, Marriott can change the number of points required for any given accommodation any time they want. I also think the cost of purchasing these points is outrageous. You would be a fool to buy them given what's on the market these days. We might still elect to convert, but we have already sold one week back to Marriott (for less than a third of what we paid) this year and will sell the other if we get the chance. It used to be a great deal; the Marriott properties and the staff are always wonderful, but the maintenance fees and exchange fees have ballooned to the point where we think its not a good value anymore. It's also getting more and more difficult to exchange thru Interval into another Marriott property since most of their excess inventory is now being reserved for point owners. All Marriott sells now is the point system because it's a win, win, win for them, and a lose, lose, lose for you.

What are Marriott points worth? Can you sell just the points or should you attach them to a resale? I am trying to sell for my aunt-who didn't really pay attention to the details. She has over 150k points-but I'm unsure how to handle them. Help! Thank you

jerris5 wrote:

What are Marriott points worth? Can you sell just the points or should you attach them to a resale? I am trying to sell for my aunt-who didn't really pay attention to the details. She has over 150k points-but I'm unsure how to handle them. Help! Thank you

You are referring to Marriott Rewards Points not Marriott Destination Club points. Marriott Rewards Points cannot be sold. Those points are loyalty points like frequent flyer points given out by airlines. Marriott Destination Club points are points that are tied to timeshares. They are purchased for a price from Marriott for the purpose of staying in timeshare units. They sell for about $11.00 per point, so if your aunt had 150k of these points she would have had paid about $1.6 million for them.

Points are currently being sold for $9.70. However, you can get your price per point for much lower...in the $6.70 range if you purchase a bundle.

A bundle (or hybrid) is a the purchase of points in conjunction with a tradition week. The week can be converted to points or used on an annual basis.

That being said...as always..there is a price increase coming...may be true or may be not!

Terry, Can't agree more!! We were suckered into 20,000 points!!!! that's $8k in maintenance fees alone! Its a long story. I "try" to get space with points and rent out the weeks just to cover my maintenance fees. Recently I went to Florida and went to a presentation. The salesperson lied right to my face and I called him on it. Since we were rooked in 2010 buying these points I am very cautious now. In 2010 they said our points value will increase within the next 4 months and we can sell them back to Marriott. It was presented like a stock. We planned with the salesman how we would make money on the points, he then had his manager come over and confirm everything we were told then wanted us to talk to other couples about our idea!! Of course he is no longer with Marriott. I want to get rid of these points now..any advice? Debbie

So Debbie, are you saying you paid over $180,0000? That's what they would have cost in 2010 at $9.20 per point. If you did not purchase at that amount then you're in error that you bought that many points.

I just got told by a Marriott rep in Aruba thay 77% of Marriott owners have gone to Points. True or False.

terryl246 wrote:

As a legacy weeks owner with Marriott, we've been on a several previews now for the Marriott Vacation Club point system. In all of these presentations, they make several misrepresentations and omissions. First, they say for one annual fee (which includes your Interval membership), all of your other costs go away. However, this is only if you stay within Marriott; if you use Interval you still have to pay all the Interval exchange fees. They also said that the fee was $169 but then we have found out that the fee has already been raised to $175 for 2013. Second, they say that your costs for your resort accommodations are now fixed at the current level forever. This is FALSE!! They can raise the per point maintenance fee any time they want. The MVCI website still says points are $.40 per point per year; whew, that's $1600 if you own 4000 points. But it has already been raised to $.43 for 2013. Plus, Marriott can change the number of points required for any given accommodation any time they want. I also think the cost of purchasing these points is outrageous. You would be a fool to buy them given what's on the market these days. We might still elect to convert, but we have already sold one week back to Marriott (for less than a third of what we paid) this year and will sell the other if we get the chance. It used to be a great deal; the Marriott properties and the staff are always wonderful, but the maintenance fees and exchange fees have ballooned to the point where we think its not a good value anymore. It's also getting more and more difficult to exchange thru Interval into another Marriott property since most of their excess inventory is now being reserved for point owners. All Marriott sells now is the point system because it's a win, win, win for them, and a lose, lose, lose for you.

That sounds high. Also, there are many people like myself who joined the points program but have not utilized it and some plan not use it.

miked79 wrote:

I just got told by a Marriott rep in Aruba thay 77% of Marriott owners have gone to Points. True or False.

terryl246 wrote:

As a legacy weeks owner with Marriott, we've been on a several previews now for the Marriott Vacation Club point system. In all of these presentations, they make several misrepresentations and omissions. First, they say for one annual fee (which includes your Interval membership), all of your other costs go away. However, this is only if you stay within Marriott; if you use Interval you still have to pay all the Interval exchange fees. They also said that the fee was $169 but then we have found out that the fee has already been raised to $175 for 2013. Second, they say that your costs for your resort accommodations are now fixed at the current level forever. This is FALSE!! They can raise the per point maintenance fee any time they want. The MVCI website still says points are $.40 per point per year; whew, that's $1600 if you own 4000 points. But it has already been raised to $.43 for 2013. Plus, Marriott can change the number of points required for any given accommodation any time they want. I also think the cost of purchasing these points is outrageous. You would be a fool to buy them given what's on the market these days. We might still elect to convert, but we have already sold one week back to Marriott (for less than a third of what we paid) this year and will sell the other if we get the chance. It used to be a great deal; the Marriott properties and the staff are always wonderful, but the maintenance fees and exchange fees have ballooned to the point where we think its not a good value anymore. It's also getting more and more difficult to exchange thru Interval into another Marriott property since most of their excess inventory is now being reserved for point owners. All Marriott sells now is the point system because it's a win, win, win for them, and a lose, lose, lose for you.

What is a legacy owner?

A legacy owner is an owner of a Marriott week(s) prior to the beginning of the points program, called the Destination Club. You had to have bought your Marriott timeshare prior to June 20, 2010. If you are a legacy owner, you are able to keep your deed but still join the Destination Club. You then as a legacy owner have the choice of staying a week at your own property as you did before the points program came into being, or you can turn your week into Destination Club points which allows you to use the points for other Marriott timeshares, air faire, cruises, etc.

Thank you. I've never heard it called that. We brought 1 unit ocean club pre-construction, another unit after that and 2 surf club pre-construction. We opted into points system and so far have had very little ability to use it. It seems there are not many places to trade to. And, when you trade for hotels it uses a lot of points. Much better using rewards points for hotel stays. Also, they expire! I did just find out that unused points that can't rollover anymore can be changed into an interval week. Overall, not happy with the program. Hopeful it will get better.

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.

Terry, When I was at Ocean Pointe one of the DC owners told me to go to Singer Island resort and talk to this woman to explain the points system better. I went over there and of course she wasn't there and met with some guy. He talked out both sides his mouth. I was thinking of splitting my points with my ex so 10k each, he actually tried to talk me into buying 3k more points for 30k more. He said 13k is the right amount so you can cruise etc. I still have an owners week and I asked about maybe converting that over ( figuring I can get the extra points w/o paying more. He said normally there is a conversion fee of $2500 but he would waive it "today" I asked him if he made any money if I was to convert (I knew I wasn't buying and I actually felt bad and thought he could get a couple bucks out of it). He said he wouldn't make commission on conversion of points. Then he spoke about using the points for cruises etc...then I asked him how many points I would get for my owners week, he gave me the amount and said I would have to buy and additional 3k points in order to convert to points. I said " you didn't say that 10min ago" he said "yes I did". That was it! I had it with the "used car sales people"!!! Then as we concluded, he walked me to another office and said someone was coming in to give me survey on him. While sitting at this desk, he makes conversation with some guy sitting across the hall in his office. The guy comes out of his office and of course they are talking about owning points and traveling lalalalall...and this joker is trying to sell me... What the hell! Then this woman comes in and asks if I want to come down next year free to Singer Island and stay any week I want on her inventory, I said "sure". She starts writing numbers on a piece of paper and proceeds to try and tell me if I make payments each month of 1500 x 12 mos or some crap like that, now I have until aug 2014 to decide on if I want the deal this joker tried to sell me, they would put the 18k towards my purchase price and then I would get a free stay next year. Helllllllooooooo!!! Despicable!

jeffreys95 wrote:

Terry, When I was at Ocean Pointe one of the DC owners told me to go to Singer Island resort and talk to this woman to explain the points system better. I went over there and of course she wasn't there and met with some guy. He talked out both sides his mouth. I was thinking of splitting my points with my ex so 10k each, he actually tried to talk me into buying 3k more points for 30k more. He said 13k is the right amount so you can cruise etc. I still have an owners week and I asked about maybe converting that over ( figuring I can get the extra points w/o paying more. He said normally there is a conversion fee of $2500 but he would waive it "today" I asked him if he made any money if I was to convert (I knew I wasn't buying and I actually felt bad and thought he could get a couple bucks out of it). He said he wouldn't make commission on conversion of points. Then he spoke about using the points for cruises etc...then I asked him how many points I would get for my owners week, he gave me the amount and said I would have to buy and additional 3k points in order to convert to points. I said " you didn't say that 10min ago" he said "yes I did". That was it! I had it with the "used car sales people"!!! Then as we concluded, he walked me to another office and said someone was coming in to give me survey on him. While sitting at this desk, he makes conversation with some guy sitting across the hall in his office. The guy comes out of his office and of course they are talking about owning points and traveling lalalalall...and this joker is trying to sell me... What the hell! Then this woman comes in and asks if I want to come down next year free to Singer Island and stay any week I want on her inventory, I said "sure". She starts writing numbers on a piece of paper and proceeds to try and tell me if I make payments each month of 1500 x 12 mos or some crap like that, now I have until aug 2014 to decide on if I want the deal this joker tried to sell me, they would put the 18k towards my purchase price and then I would get a free stay next year. Helllllllooooooo!!! Despicable!

Jeffrey95, I am so sorry that you have endured this. I cannot believe they would sell you that many points at one time. WOW!!! And then to try to sell you more is even more crazy.

That being said, I will suggest that you rent your points that you cannot use. There is a website that allows you to rent your Marriott Destination points anywhere from $.40 to $.60 per point. Go the the forums on Timeshare Users Group tug2.net you can get more information about it. There is also a lot of information from other Marriott owners about the points system. I would advise you to go to that site and you will a great deal.