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Advantages of Premier status?

jont

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Hi Tuggers

I’ve been trying to determine the advantages of having premier status in the new DC club. So far the only advantages I see is the ability to book 13 months out instead of 12 and access to some of the RC vacation club resorts. Are there any other advantages that I’m missing?
I am enrolled in the DC club and have a total of 6000 pts/year, 500 short of primer status. I’m sure there are lots of owners in a similar situation to myself. So, for the past year I have been investigating ways to achieve premier status. So far I can either:
1. Buy trust points from Marriott. Spending an additional 15k for points I may never be able to sell does not sound too appealing. I would be willing to by 500 points, but Marriott has set an initial min amount of 1000 pts and has now upped it to 1500pts. No Thanks.
2. Buy a week in Aruba from Marriott for around 21k. Better value but still a lot of money.
3. Buy a good week resale and hope at some time Marriott will let it in the DC. Doesn’t seem likely, but you never know. At least I could use or rent out the week.

Are there any other options I’m not seeing?
At this point in time I feel the advantages of premier status are not worth the additional 15-20k outlay.

Any tuggers out there have good experiences with their premier status? So far I haven’t seen any evidence on the forums.

Thanks for your help
 

tlwmkw

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One thing to remember is that the 13 month advantage is only useful if Marriott has what you want to use ("subject to availability"). We recently tried to book at 13 months out and they didn't have what we wanted and wouldn't do a wait list at 13 months (that's just their policy). The guy on the phone said "Call back at about the 7-8 month mark and then there will be lots of availability", I asked why that was and he said "The people trading for MRP's will have started to put their weeks in and Marriott will be releasing inventory from the Trust which the legacy points can't get". Remember there is a problem also with combining trust points with legacy points for reservations which you would be doing if you bought the points. Does this all sound very confusing? Well it is and I bet if you asked 10 different Marriott folks to explain it all they would give ten different answers. Bottom line don't expect to be able to use that 13 month advantage and don't put too much faith in the points.

tlwmkw
 

kjd

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As I understand it (admittedly I'm confused as much as anyone) Premeir status really doesn't give you much. Since I am a legacy owner enrolled in the DC points program, I would have to covert all of my units to points in order to be a Premeir member. Therefore, I lose the advantages of locking off and the points won't replace the lost weeks even if I have Premeir status. In other words, looking at it so far, I see no advantage in being a Premeir member. Maybe there is but Marriott has not done a good job promoting it.

As time goes by maybe Marriott will tout the Premeir status and maybe even add some more benefits to it. It's sad that the new Marriott owners are saddled with rules that are different than the legacy owners have. If I had to choose I'd rather be a legacy owner than have Premier status. The reason in my opinion is that the legacy owners are in the drivers seat with regard to these programs. When designing the new points program I believe that Marriott was afraid of legal action by legacy owners. The resulting bad publicity while they were trying to introduce a new program would have had bad consequences for them.

I believe this is the reason for some of these strange rules we now have including as the OP mentions, the inability to mix points from the two "buckets". Whether Marriott will someday allow a window for resale buyers to enter the points program again is debatable. Maybe if income can be generated for doing it Marriott might do it. Otherwise, resales become a personal use vehicle, rental property or trading through one of the other systems.
 

GregT

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I do not believe there is much value today to being Premier or Premier Plus. The inventory is very spotty 12-13 months out, so the 13 month booking advantage is muted.

As the Trust grows (over time), then there will be an advantage to owning Trust Points, and booking 13 months out. Legacy reservations at 13 months out aren't very useful.

Where there is value is that Marriott appears to be introducing more features targeted to the Premier/Premier Plus (such as Ritz Carlton, and the discounted reservations 14 days out). Ritz Carlton is a very nice perk, discounted reservations are nice in theory, but less practical due to the logistics of arranging travel -- and the discount is modest.

I don't believe it is worth $15K - $20K to be Premier or Premier Plus. I am Premier Plus, and yet continue to use my weeks in the traditional manner (as weeks).

Best,

Greg
 

SueDonJ

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... Since I am a legacy owner enrolled in the DC points program, I would have to covert all of my units to points in order to be a Premeir member. ...

I might be confused here but ...

Standard/Premier/Premier Plus Membership levels are based on the total DC Points you could have and don't fluctuate depending on whether or not you convert enough Weeks to Points. IOW, if the total number of Weeks you've enrolled in the DC can be converted to attain Premier or Premier Plus status, that's your status whether you convert one Week or all or any number in between. If you've enrolled enough Weeks to attain status but only want to convert one Week to Points, then you can still use the Premier/Premier Plus advantages when booking those Points.

But if you're saying that you don't have Premier or Premier Plus status unless you enroll enough weeks to attain the necessary DC Points total, then I agree. :)

I also agree with Greg's latest post, and think that as time goes on (and Marriott gets a better idea of DC Points usage) there will be opportunities to take better advantage of the P/PP booking windows as well as other vacation options and discounts.

The biggest advantage I see to PP status is being able to book less-than-seven-days stays so much earlier than other owners. But that's a perk that may not appeal to those who don't ever envision using their timeshares for anything less than a week's stay.
 
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jont

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I enrolled all my weeks last June. I have a couple of eoy's.
Total amount of points I got:6050
close but no cigar.
 

normab

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My understanding is that we are premier, but regarding 13 months advance reservations, it only counts toward "points" reservations. (We only joined because it significantly discounts our costs for locking off, exchanging etc.)

Since we are still only doing "weeks" reservations, we don't get the premier 13 month advantage. We need to use 2 "week" consecutively to get the 13 month advantage. I am basing this on discussions earlier this year with MVCI.

Not sure if I have added anything but that's my thoughts on the issue! :whoopie:

Norma
 

SueDonJ

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That's a good point, Norma. There is no crossover between the Weeks and Points systems as far as reservations, so you follow the rules for whichever system you're trying to book.

The Weeks and Points inventory release dates also vary slightly - the day you'd call for 13-mo reservations for Weeks may not be the same day for DC Points. To figure out which day the windows open, click on "Inventory Release Calendars" in the "Plan and Book My Vacation" dropdown list on the first page in your my-vacationclub.com account. Then click on "Enrolled Owner" - a calendar will pop up to figure out the call day if you're using DC Points, and there's a "this page" link towards the bottom if you're using Weeks.
 

kjd

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Sue: Thanks for the clarification. I have 12,302 DC points every year so I think I'm a Premier owner. The problem is that the sales person didn't really cover the benefits of Premier status and I wasn't particularly interested in them either because I enrolled for other reasons. I get the thirteen month advantage for some folks but it seems to me that there is more availability when Marriott does one of their "dumps" of inventory. That of course can come at any time and probably has nothing to do with thirteen months or even Premier status for that matter.

It will always be confusing to me when legacy owners have to deal with essentially two systems. Right now I'm working on getting rid of one of my II accounts. I know about turning in all of the units for trust points and then dealing with only one system but that seems to be not that good of a deal. At least for me and my circumstances.
 
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KathyPet

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I am Premier although I don't see any great benefits. I heard through the grapevine here on TUG that premier members can use their DC points at some of the Ritz Carlton Clubs. I say I heard it through the grapevine because evidently being premier is not sufficient to get your name on the mailing list for that "insider" newsletter that they send out monthly in sprite of my requests to add my name to the mailing list. Evidently with Marriott rank does not have its privileges.
 

rudy

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What 14-day discount?

I do not believe there is much value today to being Premier or Premier Plus. The inventory is very spotty 12-13 months out, so the 13 month booking advantage is muted.

As the Trust grows (over time), then there will be an advantage to owning Trust Points, and booking 13 months out. Legacy reservations at 13 months out aren't very useful.

Where there is value is that Marriott appears to be introducing more features targeted to the Premier/Premier Plus (such as Ritz Carlton, and the discounted reservations 14 days out). Ritz Carlton is a very nice perk, discounted reservations are nice in theory, but less practical due to the logistics of arranging travel -- and the discount is modest.

I don't believe it is worth $15K - $20K to be Premier or Premier Plus. I am Premier Plus, and yet continue to use my weeks in the traditional manner (as weeks).

Best,

Greg

Greg:

How did you find out about the 14 day discount for Premier Plus? I saw the ability to use points at the Ritz Carlton on the my-vacationclub .com website. But where did find out about the 14-day discount... is it ll the time and for all resorts or only during certain times?

Thanks for the info in advance...
 

SueDonJ

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Greg:

How did you find out about the 14 day discount for Premier Plus? I saw the ability to use points at the Ritz Carlton on the my-vacationclub .com website. But where did find out about the 14-day discount... is it ll the time and for all resorts or only during certain times?

Thanks for the info in advance...

Rudy, here's a thread with details from the late-July Marriott Vacation Club Insider newsletter. TUGger rsackett copied all the info including this:
Looking for a last minute getaway at a Marriott Vacation Club resort? Receive 20% off Vacation Club Points bookings within 7 days of check-in date for Owners with Premier status and within 14 days of check-in date for Owners with Premier Plus status.
If you're an Owner with Premier or Premier Plus status and would like to take advantage of these great discounts, simply call your Vacation Ownership Advisor Team at 888-682-4862.

There's been quite a few posts/threads from folks who are not receiving these monthly newsletters and can't seem to get on the mailing list no matter how many calls they make to Marriott. Don't know if you're in the same boat ...
 

rudy

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Thanks Susan

Thanks Susan!

Yes, I too cannot seem to get on the mailing list for the Marriott Insider and I am Premier Plus???
 

dioxide45

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I believe Premier owners also get a discount on 7 day advance point reservations.
 

jont

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Antny

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Premier Status?

:confused: Can someone please clairify how Premier status is achived?
Do you gain "Premier/Plus" status when you elect x amount of your club points or is it the total value of the unit(s) which grants you status?

Also does anyone know if it show your status on the my-vacationclub.com website?
 

m61376

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:confused: Can someone please clairify how Premier status is achived?
Do you gain "Premier/Plus" status when you elect x amount of your club points or is it the total value of the unit(s) which grants you status?

Also does anyone know if it show your status on the my-vacationclub.com website?

It is the total value of enrolled weeks plus any additional points you've purchased, whether or not you elect to trade for points in any given year. So, a legacy owner using some of his/her weeks can still opt to make reservations using their premiere status, or can even rent points from others without trading in any of their legacy weeks.
 

kjd

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This may very well be the wrong information but after looking at my documents resulting from joining the DC, it appears that it's the total amount of points that your unit(s) is/are given by Marriott. I'm not sure what you need to be Premier status but I think your weeks must add up to something like 10,000+.

I hope someone could clarify this. Once you're in the DC I don't think you can accumulate any more points except by purchasing them from Marriott. I have seen some references to a points resale market or borrowning points from other people. I think that a lot of us are afraid to do that. I know you can borrow within your own account but Marriott hasn't really addressed that much either.
 

m61376

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I think Premiere status is 6500 points.

While I understand the angst of renting points from other people, in a way I think it is safer than renting a week. With renting points, I guess you run the risk of paying for points that don't materialize, but at least you are in total control of making the reservation and it is in your account. When you rent from someone, you have to hope that when you arrive the reservation is still there, and that it is an owned week rather than a rented week from II which could be cancelled. So I think renting points is actually a safer proposition for the faint of heart. For me, that may be THE reason we ultimately join.
 

SMB1

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I believe Premier owners also get a discount on 7 day advance point reservations.

I believe premiere owners get a discount on point reservations inside 7 days and premiere plus its 14 days.
 

Jeffrey

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13 days....

Thus far I see NO advantage to being a premier member.

If there is no availability then the ability to make reservations at 13 months out is WORTHLESS.

I signed up very early last year and experienced NO AVAILABILITY when I tried to make my first reservations. All in all it took four hours of calls over two months to get wht I wanted..... This year the same at 13 months-- NO AVAILABILITY.

At 13 months they can not put you on the waiting list, so you have to call back at 12 months with all of the others and hope for the best....

For 2012 I want to reserve a total of 13 days with a combination of ocean-side and ocean-front to maximize my point utilization. The first 7 days was confirmed for ocean-side. For the six days of ocean-front, I have to call back at 10 months..... They do not consider it a 13 day reservation, but rather two seperate ones. The six day reservation falls under other rules and can not be reserved prior to 10 months; no exceptions; no waiting list....
NO PREMIER ADVANTAGE....

With the new DC dimension it has become exponentially more difficult. :( :( :(
 

potchak

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I see no benefit to Premier status and actually pay extra for it. $199/yr instead of $165/yr. I think you are considered premier whether or not you use points or not since it is a set price for the membership fee based on the # of pts you would have gotten.
 

Jeffrey

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I see no benefit to Premier status and actually pay extra for it. $199/yr instead of $165/yr.

The $199 vs. $165 p.a. is for me an incremental fee for the multiple weeks.... e.g. multiple lock-outs, multiple exchanges, etc. as opposed to just one. I do not think this has anything to do with the amount of points or (Premier) status.
 

dioxide45

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The $199 vs. $165 p.a. is for me an incremental fee for the multiple weeks.... e.g. multiple lock-outs, multiple exchanges, etc. as opposed to just one. I do not think this has anything to do with the amount of points or (Premier) status.

Since more weeks usually equals more points then you could tie it to the number of weeks/lockoffs/exchanges. However, the fee is definitely based on the number of points owned/enrolled.

I could own three gold Harbour Lake gold lock off weeks and still only be paying the $165 annual DC fee. The fee increases when one has more than 6500 points.

From the my-vacationclub.com website:
* If you enroll your weeks with a value of 6,500 Vacation Club Points or more, the total fee is $199.
 
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