- Joined
- Jul 19, 2007
- Messages
- 7,139
- Reaction score
- 1,909
- Location
- Carlsbad, CA
- Resorts Owned
- Marriott: Maui Ocean Club Lahaina Villas (3BRx5), Ko Olina, Shadow Ridge II, Willow Ridge, Aruba Ocean Club, DC Points HGVC: Flamingo, Sea World, I-Drive, Starwood Bella (x4), SDO, TradeWinds, Worldmark
TUGgers,
I wanted to report back that my purchase of resale Trust Points has been completed, and has been recorded by Marriott into my existing ownership. There have been a few questions along the way, and I would like to respond to them.
The points are not restricted. There is a concern that resale Trust Points will have a restriction that only permits them to book inventory within 60 days of check-in. The governing documents suggest that Trust Points will indeed be restricted if the Initiation Fee ($200 for every 250 points) and the Education fee ($300) are not paid. When I purchased my points, I was very insistent that I pay these junk fees, and accordingly, my points are able to book reservations 13 months out, and they mingle well with my existing legacy points.
I purchased through a broker (Jay Kozlowski, Judy's husband) and we used a closing company (TRCS, Inc) that had not done a points transfer before. At first this was a concern, but they handled it well and it turned out to be no different (from my view as buyer) from other purchases I have done. I told them to look for the junk fees, and it was a non-event. It took from Aug 23 - Nov 19 to complete, and was delayed by about 6 weeks as there was a seller BK filing involved.
I purchased the points for $5/point, and then paid the Initiation fee of $2,800 (which is $200 for every 250 points), an Education fee of $300, a waiver fee of $95 and closing costs of $495, so all-in for the 3,500 points was $21,190, or slightly over $6/point fully-loaded. I had been advised by multiple brokers that Marriott was ROFRing below $5/point, thus my bid, however there has been a recent report of a TUGger having success clearing ROFR at approx. $4.30/point.
I purchased Trust Points for a very very specific reason, and in most situations i believe it is preferable to simply rent points when needed versus actually owning then. However, in my situation, the Trust contains the four adjacent fixed weeks (Unit 6206, Weeks 26/27/28/29) to my fixed week 25 at MOC. I purchased Trust Points because I believe it gives me the highest probability of securing the 3BR reservation in Week 26. There have been reports (and I have seen personally) where a specific reservation was only available to someone booking with Trust Points, and I believe my beloved 6206/26 will be in that same category in May 2014 when I go to book it. I will use the purchased Trust Points as my base package, and then rent additional Trust Points when needed, as I've confirmed that a rented Trust Point does not lose it's ability to access the Trust. This is important as Marriott advises customers that all points are the same -- I believe that they are not.
Please note therefore that my purchase of Trust Points is due to a very unconventional need (a specific week in the Trust). Many TUGgers who own a pre June 2010 will likely never need to purchase Trust Points because you can rent legacy points cheaply and in abundance. Even Trust Points are available for rent, but they are much more infrequent.
I also believe someone who is seeking to get into the Marriott system for the first time may wish to consider buying the smallest points package possible, and then renting points when needed. That prospective purchaser would also want to look hard at competing point-based systems (HGVC, Starwood, etc) as those point systems can be acquired (much) less expensively than Marriott's points.
I also believe that a small purchase of Trust Points (1,000 or 1,500 points) makes sense if it moves the existing legacy week owner into Premier or Premier Plus category, which is very powerful (particularly Premier Plus).
I hope this is helpful, please ask questions or provide clarifying comments. Thank you.
Best,
Greg
I wanted to report back that my purchase of resale Trust Points has been completed, and has been recorded by Marriott into my existing ownership. There have been a few questions along the way, and I would like to respond to them.
The points are not restricted. There is a concern that resale Trust Points will have a restriction that only permits them to book inventory within 60 days of check-in. The governing documents suggest that Trust Points will indeed be restricted if the Initiation Fee ($200 for every 250 points) and the Education fee ($300) are not paid. When I purchased my points, I was very insistent that I pay these junk fees, and accordingly, my points are able to book reservations 13 months out, and they mingle well with my existing legacy points.
I purchased through a broker (Jay Kozlowski, Judy's husband) and we used a closing company (TRCS, Inc) that had not done a points transfer before. At first this was a concern, but they handled it well and it turned out to be no different (from my view as buyer) from other purchases I have done. I told them to look for the junk fees, and it was a non-event. It took from Aug 23 - Nov 19 to complete, and was delayed by about 6 weeks as there was a seller BK filing involved.
I purchased the points for $5/point, and then paid the Initiation fee of $2,800 (which is $200 for every 250 points), an Education fee of $300, a waiver fee of $95 and closing costs of $495, so all-in for the 3,500 points was $21,190, or slightly over $6/point fully-loaded. I had been advised by multiple brokers that Marriott was ROFRing below $5/point, thus my bid, however there has been a recent report of a TUGger having success clearing ROFR at approx. $4.30/point.
I purchased Trust Points for a very very specific reason, and in most situations i believe it is preferable to simply rent points when needed versus actually owning then. However, in my situation, the Trust contains the four adjacent fixed weeks (Unit 6206, Weeks 26/27/28/29) to my fixed week 25 at MOC. I purchased Trust Points because I believe it gives me the highest probability of securing the 3BR reservation in Week 26. There have been reports (and I have seen personally) where a specific reservation was only available to someone booking with Trust Points, and I believe my beloved 6206/26 will be in that same category in May 2014 when I go to book it. I will use the purchased Trust Points as my base package, and then rent additional Trust Points when needed, as I've confirmed that a rented Trust Point does not lose it's ability to access the Trust. This is important as Marriott advises customers that all points are the same -- I believe that they are not.
Please note therefore that my purchase of Trust Points is due to a very unconventional need (a specific week in the Trust). Many TUGgers who own a pre June 2010 will likely never need to purchase Trust Points because you can rent legacy points cheaply and in abundance. Even Trust Points are available for rent, but they are much more infrequent.
I also believe someone who is seeking to get into the Marriott system for the first time may wish to consider buying the smallest points package possible, and then renting points when needed. That prospective purchaser would also want to look hard at competing point-based systems (HGVC, Starwood, etc) as those point systems can be acquired (much) less expensively than Marriott's points.
I also believe that a small purchase of Trust Points (1,000 or 1,500 points) makes sense if it moves the existing legacy week owner into Premier or Premier Plus category, which is very powerful (particularly Premier Plus).
I hope this is helpful, please ask questions or provide clarifying comments. Thank you.
Best,
Greg
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