Buying Resale for Marriott Timeshares

I currently own two Marriott properties, purchased from the developer (Maui Ocean Club and Ocean Watch). I am considering purchasing other weeks if I can get a good deal on the resale market, but after talking to the Marriott guys, I am a little nervous about it. They made it seem like Marriott would black ball me, like not being able to trade for points, no 13 booking month advantage, no access to Marriott support.

I have an email from the Marriott folks that go deep into detail on each of these, but I am not sure what is true and what is trying to scare me into buying from them.

For those of you that purchased resale, how much truth is there to this? Has anyone bought from both resale and the developer? If so, how were your experiences?

Not to throw another question to the thread, but how does the 13 month booking advantage work?

The inability to exchange for points (at an additional cost) is really the only drawback. With the devaluation of MR points as of late, this is really not much of an issue.

The 13-month booking works if you own multiple weeks -- and can book concurrent or consecutive reservations with your weeks -- you can do it at 13 months as opposed to 12.

(BTW, I'd love to see you post that email.... )

FlyerBobcat said:

(BTW, I'd love to see you post that email.... )

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me too....

IF YOU WERE TO BUY ON THE RESALE MARKET, YOU WILL:



þ Be faced with a right of first refusal clause from Marriott. If someone ever finds a “great” deal on a resale and if the deal is really that good, when the title company contacts Marriott for a release, Marriott has the legal right to buy it from underneath that interested party. And we are exercising this right.



þ NEVER be able to trade your week for Marriott Reward Points. NEVER is a very long time. Many owners buy additional weeks just to have as a point generator. - these points never expire and can be used at hotels world wide for travel with NO BLACKOUT DATES or use for airline miles and the travel packages for two or take a cruise (see attached Marriott Rewards guide or link at www.Marriottrewards.com ).



þ Have to purchase your own membership to Interval International. This is the company that makes your trades possible. Marriott pays your start up fee of $200 and the $89 1st year Membership for all of our new owners.



þ No access to personalized customer service with your purchase of Ownership; that’s me! I’ve been with Marriott for 7 years; My job is to personally assist you in making your purchase of ownership informative and easy and to continue that service during your ownership. AND I'm also an Owner.



þ You will have to sell it on your own, if that time ever comes. Marriott will not assist you. You may end up selling it for less than it’s worth, since it is an incomplete product. Most people would rather buy it straight from Marriott for the incentives and access to the Point System. It’s the Marriott service and personalized attention that makes the program complete.



þ No Marriott points for that week (reminding you again of the great loss!) With two weeks of ownership or banking one week twice, you would have 220,000 Marriott Rewards Points when trading them in together. You could use it for a travel package for two with air and hotel to take you on a dream trip to Hawaii, the Caribbean or Europe. Click here to see what the value of your Dream trip would be: www.gomarriottvacations.com and I'll email you some examples to follow.



Let me know if you agree that these would be some great reasons to avoid the hassle and purchase direct with Marriott.

FlyerBobcat said:

The 13-month booking works if you own multiple weeks -- and can book concurrent or consecutive reservations with your weeks -- you can do it at 13 months as opposed to 12.)

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What do you mean by concurrent or consecutive? Does it mean that you have to do the trips back to back?

It's been two minutes now since you posted this. I can't wait to see the responses. Undoubtably there have been many keyboards in TUGland that have melted down due to rapid input.

potterew said:

What do you mean by concurrent or consecutive? Does it mean that you have to do the trips back to back?

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Yes, Back-to-back (consecutive).... OR... book your two units for the same week (concurrent) [e.g. for a family get-together]

So if your Marriott seasons do not overlap (or at least "touch"), it can't be done with this 13-month rule.

I don't see anything in that email about no 13 month rule for resale buyers. I'd be surprised to see that one in writing...

No points - true. You can buy points directly from Marriott for a couple of decades with the savings of buying retail (and still use your VOI that year)

ROFR clause - not exercised these days anyway and if it was just move on to the next seller...

"personalized" customer service? - cusomer service to book a week is pretty much all one needs. You do get that as a resale buyer... He may be on owner - but they get a big employee discount. Ask him if you can get that too

II membership - yay! $289 savings the first year!

Will have to sell at a loss and on your own - you will lose less dollars if you buy resale and later sell at a loss than if you buy from marriott and later sell through them subject to a 40% commission. 40% of $25K is $10K commission... you are much less likely to lose $10K on a resale purchase because in most cases you pay less than that to begin with...

I think he made it sound worse verbally than in the email.

potterew said:

IF YOU WERE TO BUY ON THE RESALE MARKET, YOU WILL:



þ Be faced with a right of first refusal clause from Marriott. If someone ever finds a “great” deal on a resale and if the deal is really that good, when the title company contacts Marriott for a release, Marriott has the legal right to buy it from underneath that interested party. And we are exercising this right.

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This is true, BUT, Marriott currently is not and has not been exercising ROFR right now. Thus making the statement in the end FALSE.

þ NEVER be able to trade your week for Marriott Reward Points. NEVER is a very long time. Many owners buy additional weeks just to have as a point generator. - these points never expire and can be used at hotels world wide for travel with NO BLACKOUT DATES or use for airline miles and the travel packages for two or take a cruise (see attached Marriott Rewards guide or link at www.Marriottrewards.com ).

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This is true. Though you already have two point generating week. How many times have you taken advantage of this with your current weeks? If it is never, then you overpaid for your ownership as exchanging for MR points is the only real advantage of developer purchases.

þ Have to purchase your own membership to Interval International. This is the company that makes your trades possible. Marriott pays your start up fee of $200 and the $89 1st year Membership for all of our new owners.

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Are you already a member of II? If so you wouldn't be subject to a start up fee. That is if there even was a $200 start up fee we didn't pay one after our resale purchase. Only the $89 annual fee. Marriott only pays that for the first year. So think about it, save $89 by paying thousands more from Marriott .

þ No access to personalized customer service with your purchase of Ownership; that’s me! I’ve been with Marriott for 7 years; My job is to personally assist you in making your purchase of ownership informative and easy and to continue that service during your ownership. AND I'm also an Owner.

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Is this really the salesman's role? A vacation adviser works at owner services. You actually already have one assigned to you from your prior developer purchases. You won't lose that benefit. Even resale purchasers can request a vacation adviser.

þ You will have to sell it on your own, if that time ever comes. Marriott will not assist you. You may end up selling it for less than it’s worth, since it is an incomplete product. Most people would rather buy it straight from Marriott for the incentives and access to the Point System. It’s the Marriott service and personalized attention that makes the program complete.

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In today's market, Marriott isn't helping anyone sell their weeks. Shoot, they can't sell the stuff they have. In the past Marriott has listed resale weeks for sale through their resale program, there is experiences recently that this may have changed. So there may be some truth to this.

þ No Marriott points for that week (reminding you again of the great loss!) With two weeks of ownership or banking one week twice, you would have 220,000 Marriott Rewards Points when trading them in together. You could use it for a travel package for two with air and hotel to take you on a dream trip to Hawaii, the Caribbean or Europe. Click here to see what the value of your Dream trip would be: www.gomarriottvacations.com and I'll email you some examples to follow.

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Same as the second point.

Let me know if you agree that these would be some great reasons to avoid the hassle and purchase direct with Marriott.

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That convenience of purchasing direct comes at a very high price.

potterew said:

IF YOU WERE TO BUY ON THE RESALE MARKET, YOU WILL:

Have to purchase your own membership to Interval International. This is the company that makes your trades possible. Marriott pays your start up fee of $200 and the $89 1st year Membership for all of our new owners.

You will have to sell it on your own, if that time ever comes. Marriott will not assist you. You may end up selling it for less than it’s worth, since it is an incomplete product. Most people would rather buy it straight from Marriott for the incentives and access to the Point System. It’s the Marriott service and personalized attention that makes the program complete.

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TUGers: What is this start-up fee? Hadn't heard of that before...

And it has been reported many times on TUG that -- with the backlog of people waiting for this "sales assistance" from Marriott -- this assistance is ofentimes just a long wait (years?) full of frustration.

The sad fact is Marriott or any timeshare is a ripoff

Especially when you buy at retail(Developer) prices. You can go to Expedia,Travelocity and Marriott's own website and stay at the same resorts(Yes that is right SAME resorts-- and they will actually have the weeks you want.) for essentially that years Maintenance cost if not cheaper. The sales people give you this line of $%^^& about inflation however the Maintenance and occasional "Special Assement" far exceed that(the renting) and they continually increase.
Even if Marriott or any timeshare was given to you for FREE. You would be financially ahead and equal vacations(Actually better) if you said no thanks.(When one considers paying maintenance,taxes,assements and trade fees.)
But instead believe that "friendly" salesperson(Who probably claims to be an owner. ) Oh by the way the couple of Developer Marriott Weeks you own or for that matter anyone else owns, have a value of about 15 cents on the dollar(if you are lucky.)! I do not care if the resort is selling them(timeshare) for a million dollars( and giving you 99% instead of 60%) they do not need yours or anyone elses because the re-acquire inventory every second from people who do not pay maintenance/tax fees or default on their loan. Why do you think they beg you to pay cash with all these incentives they know eventually the people will figure it out. Then sadly people feel ashamed or embarassed to share their experience. I AM NOT. REMEMBER- every re-sale week was once a developer's week.
Finally this "points system" by the time you pay the fees for them, it is much cheaper just to book travel through a travel agent or online.
I will leave you with this- RCI and Interval International Could not care less how you obtained your week when it comes to trading. Call them if you do not want to believe me but instead that friendly salesperson.

potterew said:

I currently own two Marriott properties, purchased from the developer (Maui Ocean Club and Ocean Watch). I am considering purchasing other weeks if I can get a good deal on the resale market, but after talking to the Marriott guys, I am a little nervous about it. They made it seem like Marriott would black ball me, like not being able to trade for points, no 13 booking month advantage, no access to Marriott support.

I have an email from the Marriott folks that go deep into detail on each of these, but I am not sure what is true and what is trying to scare me into buying from them.

For those of you that purchased resale, how much truth is there to this? Has anyone bought from both resale and the developer? If so, how were your experiences?

Not to throw another question to the thread, but how does the 13 month booking advantage work?

Click to expand...

The current restrictions are simply the inability to get reward points, having to pay your first year with II (no startup costs, they waive it routinely) and the limitation on resales and possible upgrades (which they also waive at times). At times for new properties the prices and options are worth it for a given person, usually not. You can get a personal advisor even if you buy resale, you likely have one already given you've bought retail previously. But even as a resale only buyer you can get one if you ask.

I do not see that the salesman "lied" at all. Of course, the value of each perk listed varies with the beholder.

Look for a resale as this market is so low you can most likely pick up a good value. Before doing so I would get my hands on a reputable closing company and then see what the offers brings. Yes, Marriott can exercise their ROFR however, they haven't been doing that lately.

Beverley

There are only 2 meaningful differences- the inability to trade for points (which, at current MF's and point values is marginal at best for most resorts) and the first year II fee of $89.

I am a resale owner and II was very happy to have my membership without any start-up fee, so I don't know where they came up with the $200. I feel that I have learned a lot here and haven't availed myself of a vacation advisor, but all I would need to do would be to call if I wanted one.

ROFR is theoretically an issue, but Marriott has not exercised it since the economic crisis; unbelievable deals have passed over the past 15 months or so.

You can book your week(s) at 13 month if they are concurrent or consecutive weeks or at 12 months at the same time and in the same way as any other owner.

They have, in the past, offered to buy back my week and sell it at their 40% commission. From others I understand this varies and depends upon their needs, but other resale buyers have reported Marriott having sold their units for them in the past.

So, even though most of what was written in the e-mail is true at face value, in reality most of it is meaningless, esp. if you are looking at a high cost property and/or one with high MF's.

Admittedly, there are those who prefer the convenience of buying directly and the assurance that a direct purchase conveys. Only you can decide if that is worth the thousands extra in cost.

But really think about whether the trading for points option- with the annual cost (MF's and the $104 or so trade in fee)- makes sense. Do you want to give up that week that you paid $$$'s for? In the past, there were many who thought the value was there. But, with the points devaluation and the increases in MF's, I think many are reconsidering whether it makes sense to trade for points. I think if you normally like to travel in First or business class (well, everyone would like to, but if you'd normally pay thousands of dollars for the flights) and if you normally pay rack rates for hotels or get better prices all need to be considered in determining whether the trading for points option makes sense for you and your family.

All the restrictions imposed by developers to differentiate themselves from resale hurt resale values. At Marriott you cannot convert to points. At Starwood you cannot trade internally (except at 5 properties) and cannot convert to points. Now there are rumors that Marriott intends to treat resale buyers differently if and when they launch internal trading (although when Starwood created "voluntary" resorts they treated resale buyers differently only at new properties, and everyone at the original "mandatory" properties gets the same internal trading benefit - I imagine there are legal issues that forced them to do that).

Developers think this increases the "value proposition" of buying from the developer. "You can only get the full benefit if you buy from us". But such an assumption is based in having a customer who is (i) unaware of the resale market or (ii) doesn't realize they lose 75% (or more) of their investment if they buy from the developer because they cannot sell what they buy. In the Internet age and with consumers having a recission right this model cannot work in the long run.

IMHO they should be looking for ways to prop up resale values so the differential between resale and developer prices is smaller, making a developer purchase more attractive to the ones who want a hassle free purchase experience. I guess their market research tells them otherwise...

When I bought my 2 Resale Marriott properties. Marriott did not exercise their First Right Of Refusal. They let it go both times. My purchase price was low.

I got a letter Welcoming me to the Marriott Vacation Club. I have called them several times with questions. They have been very nice, polite and helpful, even though they know I bought resale.

The only ones who I have sensed anything negative from is from some of my friends who have paid extreme top dollar by the developer.

All the things they told you that you would be missing, I can live without anyways.

Have purchased direct and purchased resale. Have no regrets with either method of purchasing. Without getting into another tortured discussion on whether points are worth it, some of the major advantages of either method of purchase for me are always left unsaid.

You can't quantify intangibles. Purchasing resale may also give a buyer the peace of mind that they don't have to borrow a lot of money to complete the transaction. It also reduces the fear of taking a huge loss if you choose to sell at any time in the future. As said, if you can do without the advantages of a direct purchase then a resale purchase is the way to go.

On the other hand purchasing direct allows the points conversion that generates other options. Personally, I like flying business class overseas. I enjoy staying in first class hotels in places where there are no decent timeshares and I am an honored platinum guest. Try paying for a hotel room in central London for a week and you'll see the value of points.

I also enjoy staying in large US cities close to the city center and all of the major attractions. There are not many decent timeshares in these locations. Frankly, I don't want to be restricted to the approximately 50-60 Marriott timeshares or be solely at the mercy of the Interval International trading system. You can't quanitfy flexibility or convenience. It's up to everyone to choose their own options and most of those that do are not oblivious of the math involved.

potterew said:

I currently own two Marriott properties, purchased from the developer (Maui Ocean Club and Ocean Watch). I am considering purchasing other weeks if I can get a good deal on the resale market..

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I assume that you have owned these two weeks for some time and have passed the period of time where you can cancel the deal? If not too late, you might consider rescinding and buying resale as there are terrific deals out there right now with people trying to get rid of the obligation to pay their annual maintenance fees. That also gives you time to study TUG and ask questions before buying again.

Any Marriott Rewards member (even if he doesn't own a Marriott timeshare) can 'buy' MRpoints from Marriott for $0.0125 per point. 100,000 pts would be $1250 ... that's probably less than the cost of your annual TS maintenance cost/taxes. In addition, giving up your week for points means you can't use it that year...and Marriott rents it out. You and your spouse would have to both sign up free for the MR program as the limit is 50,000 MR pts purchased per year.

I assume you got up front incentive MR points with your purchases. These days the number of incentive points is considerably less than it was over the last decade. If you can't rescind now, you can certainly use those points and buy more from Marriott rather than trading for points.

Everyone gets a so-called rep at Marriott but you will find like the rest of us that they are never there when you call...so you deal with someone else anyways. I think resale buyers get such a rep too, but even if they don't you really don't need one.

Brian

Joewingless4

While you make some valid points, as a timeshare owner I think your statements are way too broad. In certain instances you may be right, but not even close to being correct in my situation.
My upcoming stay at Shadow Ridge in March is available on Expedia for $519 per night, that is $3633 per week- way more than my maint. fees etc.

Then there are the times I lock-off and get 2 weeks that I trade on Flextime to 2 bedroom units at great resorts in prime time.

If a person knows how to use the timeshares they can be great- even better if you have bought resale.

Your broad condemnations are no more accurate than some statements made by timeshare salesman.

Mike

joewingless4 said:

Especially when you buy at retail(Developer) prices. You can go to Expedia,Travelocity and Marriott's own website and stay at the same resorts(Yes that is right SAME resorts-- and they will actually have the weeks you want.) for essentially that years Maintenance cost if not cheaper. The sales people give you this line of $%^^& about inflation however the Maintenance and occasional "Special Assement" far exceed that(the renting) and they continually increase.
Even if Marriott or any timeshare was given to you for FREE. You would be financially ahead and equal vacations(Actually better) if you said no thanks.(When one considers paying maintenance,taxes,assements and trade fees.)
But instead believe that "friendly" salesperson(Who probably claims to be an owner. ) Oh by the way the couple of Developer Marriott Weeks you own or for that matter anyone else owns, have a value of about 15 cents on the dollar(if you are lucky.)! I do not care if the resort is selling them(timeshare) for a million dollars( and giving you 99% instead of 60%) they do not need yours or anyone elses because the re-acquire inventory every second from people who do not pay maintenance/tax fees or default on their loan. Why do you think they beg you to pay cash with all these incentives they know eventually the people will figure it out. Then sadly people feel ashamed or embarassed to share their experience. I AM NOT. REMEMBER- every re-sale week was once a developer's week.
Finally this "points system" by the time you pay the fees for them, it is much cheaper just to book travel through a travel agent or online.
I will leave you with this- RCI and Interval International Could not care less how you obtained your week when it comes to trading. Call them if you do not want to believe me but instead that friendly salesperson.

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Some of what you say is true but much is over stated and over generalized. For many timeshares the value is pennies on the dollar resale to retail, the Villages and Westgate systems for example. This is not true for top timeshares including Marriott, Hilton, Disney, Hyatt, Westin, etc. Certainly there are more deals now than in the past but even then the value is more than you imply. I see all of your other posts are related to selling or renting something, could it be you have an ulterior motive for your post? I write this as I look out over the Pacific Ocean on my 2 weeks in Cabo gotten for one of those timeshare that I paid pennies on the dollar for and could not complain if the system went belly up tomorrow. Timeshares have been very good to us but I'd agree someone must take a hit for those of us in the know to get the deals we do.

Much is made of the arguement that anyone can purchase up to 100,000 points a year for the cost of $1,250 per year. First off you have to have two credit cards not one. This involves an additional yearly fee and in many cases dilutes your credit rating and credit limits.

Let's really see what you can get for 100,000 points. For 100,000 points you can stay ten days at a Bentonville Arkansas Courtyard. You can stay seven days at the Charleston WV Residence Inn. Or, how about five nights at the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott. You can stay three nights at the Chicago Marriott Magnificant Mile. Are these vacations worth $1,250? Even though some of them may be appealing I don't think so.

When it's pointed out that purchase for points concept is not a good reason to purchase resale, it is always followed by the ascertion that you have to use it in combination with other point producing strategies. The travel packages are better deals of course but usually will require a lot more points. What's that going to cost?

It is my belief that buying resale is a good idea in some situations. So is buying direct in other instances. Both have advantages. However, like a lot of things in life you can't have everything.

kjd said:

Much is made of the arguement that anyone can purchase up to 100,000 points a year for the cost of $1,250 per year. First off you have to have two credit cards not one. This involves an additional yearly fee and in many cases dilutes your credit rating and credit limits.

Let's really see what you can get for 100,000 points. For 100,000 points you can stay ten days at a Bentonville Arkansas Courtyard. You can stay seven days at the Charleston WV Residence Inn. Or, how about five nights at the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott. You can stay three nights at the Chicago Marriott Magnificant Mile. Are these vacations worth $1,250? Even though some of them may be appealing I don't think so.

When it's pointed out that purchase for points concept is not a good reason to purchase resale, it is always followed by the ascertion that you have to use it in combination with other point producing strategies. The travel packages are better deals of course but usually will require a lot more points. What's that going to cost?

It is my belief that buying resale is a good idea in some situations. So is buying direct in other instances. Both have advantages. However, like a lot of things in life you can't have everything.

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A husband and wide can each purchase 50,000 points a year using any credit card. It is not relegated to the Marriott card. The points can be combined when purchasing travel packages, which are the best use of points.

The point that people are making is that today, with up front purchase prices so high and relatively paltry up front point incentives, coupled with high annual MF's making the cost of trading in a week expensive, and in light of fixed values for point trades despite devaluation of points over time, trading for points has become less cost effective. For many resorts, especially the newer ones, the value of trading for points is highly questionable.

If you feel that resorts with MF's over a thousand dollars are still a good value to trade for points then buying direct may make sense. But, if you feel that spending over a thousand dollars (and many, if not most, MF's+ trade fee are in that range or more) and giving up the use of your unit, which you paid $$$ for, is not worth the paltry 75-125K points that it would exchange for, then saving thousands of dollars up front and giving up the right to ever trade for points (which you likely would never choose to do anyway if you feel it isn't worth it) may make a lot more financial sense.

You are right in that the easiest way to accrue enough points is to use both avenues- trading your units and direct purchase of points. But it does reach a point for many resorts where it is hard to justify trading for points because the MF's are just too high, and since point trade in values are fixed but MF's rise over time and over the next few years I venture to guess that all the MF's+trade fess will exceed the $1000 level, the cost will likely exceed the value for most people.

I respect your opinion.

I am very happy for you-- that you were able to purchase a cheap timeshare and are able to trade and stay in wonderful places. You have made my point- as long as you are in the system{Resale or same day Developer Purchase.}(RCI or Interval International) You can trade Gary, Indiana(Hope I do not offend anyone) for places such as Cabo. My only motive is to educate and save people money. I hope others will do the same. Live and learn like I did. Also, the Gentleman with his High Season Week at Shadow Ridge did great as well. Far cheaper than Expedia.

Oh and if I may add has anyone ever paid a start up fee for interval International???(That was the "friendly salesman who would waive the $200"(That was the original post I think??) It reminds me that sometimes other timeshares(Not Marriott) will feed you a line that if you convert your RCI week's timeshare to to RCI points they will pay your $3,000 conversion/set-up/BS fee if you BUY today. Guess what-- no such Fee. I am very happy for those that have done well with their timeshares. I love timeshares, I just want people to get a fair honest deal for their stay. Keep in mind whether you pay $1 or 28k for your timeshare everyone pays the same Maintenance/taxes and eventual assesment fees.

joewingless4 said:

I am very happy for you-- that you were able to purchased a cheap timeshare and are able to trade and stay in wonderful places. You have made my point- as long as you are in the system(RCI or Interval International) You can trade Gary, Indiana(Hope I do not offend anyone) for places such as Cabo. My only motive is to educate and save people money. I hope others will do the same. Live and learn like I did. Also the Gentleman with his High Season Week did great as well. Far cheaper than Expedia.

Oh and if I may add has anyone ever paid a start up fee for interval International???(That was the original post I think??) It reminds me that sometimes other timeshares(Not Marriott) will feed you a line that if you convert your RCI week's timeshare to to RCI points they will pay your $3,000 conversion/set-up/BS fee if you BUY today. Guess what-- no such Fee. I am very happy for those that have done well with their timeshares. I love timeshares, I just want people to get a fair honest deal for their stay. Keep in mind whether you pay $1 or 28k for your timeshare everyone pays the same Maintenance/taxes and eventual assesment fees.

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As I said, I think you over generalize. You may be able to trade podunk USA for Cabo as I did but that's because MX in general is eary and the Grand Mayan especially easy even though it's a great resort (as I look out at the pacific). That's why it's important to know the limitations of what you're getting and what you're not. From a value standpoint it's almost never a good idea to buy retail but there are exceptions, esp with Marriott and other top companies where you get a semblance of what you pay for.

You cannot rent top end weeks for the cost of maint fees but you can for off season weeks and often FAR cheaper than maintenance. Some have advocated foregoing the timeshares and simly using RCI or II for rentals. A risky proposition in my book but for off season or shoulder season, not a bad choice for many locations. You stated even a free timeshare was not worth it, want to give me any free Platinum Marriott HH weeks, I'll be happy to pay the yearly fees.

I will agree that how you obtained your week, or the view, etc; are not germaine to usage and trading in either RCI or II with a few exceptions of special exchange options available for certain qualified members with companies such as Wyndham or BG.

kjd said:

Much is made of the arguement that anyone can purchase up to 100,000 points a year for the cost of $1,250 per year. First off you have to have two credit cards not one. This involves an additional yearly fee and in many cases dilutes your credit rating and credit limits.

Let's really see what you can get for 100,000 points. For 100,000 points you can stay ten days at a Bentonville Arkansas Courtyard. You can stay seven days at the Charleston WV Residence Inn. Or, how about five nights at the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott. You can stay three nights at the Chicago Marriott Magnificant Mile. Are these vacations worth $1,250? Even though some of them may be appealing I don't think so.

When it's pointed out that purchase for points concept is not a good reason to purchase resale, it is always followed by the ascertion that you have to use it in combination with other point producing strategies. The travel packages are better deals of course but usually will require a lot more points. What's that going to cost?

It is my belief that buying resale is a good idea in some situations. So is buying direct in other instances. Both have advantages. However, like a lot of things in life you can't have everything.

Click to expand...

I don't think buying points or even trading a week for points is a good value. Purchasing points costs lots of money, so at best you are just paying upfront for a discount later. Trading a week in for points can cost as much if not more than buying points. Also those on these boards that have gone on great world class vacations with business class flights tend to have multiple weeks that they trade in each year for points. The average owner has one week. Two be able to trade in enough points for two decent travel packages it would take anywhere from 5 to 10 years of trading the week in for points every chance one gets. That is $5000 or more in MF and another $525 in fees. Once again you are just paying for a discount.

The best way to earn the points is just flat out stays and going to presentations. We amassed over 500K in points doing this over ten years. It is enough for two travel packages. The points cost me nothing other than loyalty to Marriott and a few hours of our time at a few timeshare presentations.

Your point about having two cc hurting your credit is not necessarily true, in many cases it can help your credit. It has also been pointed out that flat points for stays is a poor use of points. By far the best use of points is travel packages that include airline miles. You aren't providing a fair comparison across the board.