My wife was out of town with a friend so I took my 7 yr old son to Williamsburg this past week. They offered me the $80 Amex card and lunch for listening to the "new updates" the resort has, LOL we all know what that means..... First I was shocked they offered since I told them my wife was NOT with me. Usually they dont offer you anything if both parties are not there.
Now if anyone has heard the recent pitch, they basically are trying to sell you on buying a new timeshare that you could rent to pay for all your maintenance fees and still have VIP status with.
ME: the reason I buy outside wyndham was the cost difference. I paid basically $210 for my timeshare of 126k per year but my 154k EOY was about $11,000 when I bought retail.
Him: yes but those point you bought outside wyndham will never qualify me for VIP. Wyndham is going to be making it tougher for those people who buy outside Wyndham with what benefits they get. They will even be paying more in maintenance fees. (He showed me my current MF's at about $88 per month and showed me next year my fees are estimated to raise to $117.)
Me: That is ridiculous, if my fees go up 25% in one year, which they have never done before, I will be giving away my timeshare. Wyndham doesn't dictate my MF's. Those are mainly decided by the hoa's so claiming you know what they will be is crazy.
Him: Well with VIP you could majorly reduce or even eliminate your maintenence fees with renting out the points and using the money to pay for all your MF's. You would basically be getting the timeshares you have now with all VIP benefits and none of the MF's
ME: I have seen the benefits of VIP and they are not worth it, For example How much does 154k more points cost.
Him: Well you would actually need 233k so I dont know exactly.
Me: Hypothetically it would cost at least $22,000 right?
Him: Yes at least that since you need more 233k points to get to vip
ME: So how could least $21,000 extra be worth paying for the VIP benefits. There is no way that is worth it. The discounts are nominal compared to what I could earn by investing the 20,000 in an investment with a mediocre return. I could take the profits from the investment and pay for the extra fees and still have the $20,000. If I buy the points I have a timeshare that lets face it will never resell for what I pay for it.
Him: But no other company has grown like wyndham. We were tops in growth over the last X (dont recall # he said) years, and written up in fortune magazine. That makes it a great investment. (the percentage in the article he showed me was like an increase of 1200%.)
Me: Oh!! so I should be investing that money in wyndham stock not a timeshare based on what you are saying? Then I could turn my $20,000 into quite a bit of money right?
Him: Well its at ~$50 a share right now and they only expect it to go up to ~$60 a share.
Me: So what your saying is that this amazing company growth you are claiming is basically over? Its no longer an amazing investment? Look why would I waste my money on paying retail prices for benefits that are not worth that extra cost?
With this he got up and said "well I will go ahead and get you your Gift ready if you can just read over this and sign it showing you were made aware of the Wyndham VIP points changes that are coming."
After the "lunch" which was boneless fried chicken patties and buns and macaroni salad (WOW what a spread lol). I spent no more than 20 minutes with him. 45 minutes total from the time I entered the building and I was out the door with my $80 AMEX gift card. The best $80 I ever earned.
I have attached the interesting photos I took of the "form" he wanted me to sign.
Now if anyone has heard the recent pitch, they basically are trying to sell you on buying a new timeshare that you could rent to pay for all your maintenance fees and still have VIP status with.
ME: the reason I buy outside wyndham was the cost difference. I paid basically $210 for my timeshare of 126k per year but my 154k EOY was about $11,000 when I bought retail.
Him: yes but those point you bought outside wyndham will never qualify me for VIP. Wyndham is going to be making it tougher for those people who buy outside Wyndham with what benefits they get. They will even be paying more in maintenance fees. (He showed me my current MF's at about $88 per month and showed me next year my fees are estimated to raise to $117.)
Me: That is ridiculous, if my fees go up 25% in one year, which they have never done before, I will be giving away my timeshare. Wyndham doesn't dictate my MF's. Those are mainly decided by the hoa's so claiming you know what they will be is crazy.
Him: Well with VIP you could majorly reduce or even eliminate your maintenence fees with renting out the points and using the money to pay for all your MF's. You would basically be getting the timeshares you have now with all VIP benefits and none of the MF's
ME: I have seen the benefits of VIP and they are not worth it, For example How much does 154k more points cost.
Him: Well you would actually need 233k so I dont know exactly.
Me: Hypothetically it would cost at least $22,000 right?
Him: Yes at least that since you need more 233k points to get to vip
ME: So how could least $21,000 extra be worth paying for the VIP benefits. There is no way that is worth it. The discounts are nominal compared to what I could earn by investing the 20,000 in an investment with a mediocre return. I could take the profits from the investment and pay for the extra fees and still have the $20,000. If I buy the points I have a timeshare that lets face it will never resell for what I pay for it.
Him: But no other company has grown like wyndham. We were tops in growth over the last X (dont recall # he said) years, and written up in fortune magazine. That makes it a great investment. (the percentage in the article he showed me was like an increase of 1200%.)
Me: Oh!! so I should be investing that money in wyndham stock not a timeshare based on what you are saying? Then I could turn my $20,000 into quite a bit of money right?
Him: Well its at ~$50 a share right now and they only expect it to go up to ~$60 a share.
Me: So what your saying is that this amazing company growth you are claiming is basically over? Its no longer an amazing investment? Look why would I waste my money on paying retail prices for benefits that are not worth that extra cost?
With this he got up and said "well I will go ahead and get you your Gift ready if you can just read over this and sign it showing you were made aware of the Wyndham VIP points changes that are coming."
After the "lunch" which was boneless fried chicken patties and buns and macaroni salad (WOW what a spread lol). I spent no more than 20 minutes with him. 45 minutes total from the time I entered the building and I was out the door with my $80 AMEX gift card. The best $80 I ever earned.
I have attached the interesting photos I took of the "form" he wanted me to sign.
