# Overwhelmed Wyndham Premier Points Newbie



## rebparish (Dec 30, 2013)

We've been timeshare owners for ~14 years, but just one week a year (Vacation Village in Ft. Lauderdale, 2 bedroom lockout), paid for long ago and have always exchanged through RCI and it was all simple and fine.

NOW, we are new Wyndham points owners with a purchase in Hawaii (Wyndham Kona Hawaiian Resort) thanks to a trip to Hawaii in Sept., a presentation and really smooth sales guy and some stock options that made the purchase possible.  It was the whole 'Premiere' thing that sucked us in and boy, do I have regrets. But it's done and now I just need to make the most of it.... but I feel so lost as to what to do that I honestly don't even know where to start.

We are VIP for a year (or whatever) due to the bonus points and they will take our Ft. Lauderdale week(s)? for points if we don't deposit to RCI, but not sure if I should do that or not? But we only have 10 months and that means a decision soon since our Ft. Lauderdale week is 42 I think.

Does anyone have experience with Wyndham, Hawaii, Premiere and RCI that can offer some advice as to how to start figuring out what to do?

Thanks, Rebecca


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## Rent_Share (Dec 30, 2013)

Welcome, many of the posters here found tug after one or more developer purchases

 If you have managed to exchange for 14 years on your own, you should have no problem learning the Wyndham system.  Unfortunately the threads are not linear here and often get reset with new arrivals asking basic questions, restarting the chain.

 Your rescission rights are long gone, the best approach is to get use, even though Wyndham and RCI share common ownership, one of the worst usages of your Wyndham points is an RCI exchange


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## rebparish (Dec 30, 2013)

*oops Premier not Premiere*

Thanks for the reply, David. When all I had was RCI Weeks, it was simple. It wasn't always great, but it was simple, LOL. And I think if all I had was regular Wyndham points, it would be fairly straightforward as well except for when I logged in to do some searching for what to do with our points, I didn't get a lot of results that seemed great, at all, so that made me nervous. It's this whole Premier thing that has me feeling very overwhelmed. I got a postcard in the mail from Trading Places that says deposit your Premier Access week today and receive 2 bonus weeks. But the fine print says bonus weeks have $189 service fee and are valid for reservations made within 45 days of travel which sounds like RCI's 'last minute getaways' and which usually don't amount to great locations. So someone with experience with Premier would be so helpful for me.

Also, someone that could explain the pros & cons of depositing our week (which we can deposit as either 2 one-bedrooms or a two-bedroom but it has always worked to our advantage to deposit them separately with RCI in the past) into Wyndham Points, or not, that would be so helpful as well. It's all so confusing.


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## Rent_Share (Dec 30, 2013)

Edit your title (limited to 48 hours from posting) to Wyndham Premiere - How do I use It ? or something to that effect.

Click on the "report problem post" lower left corner red triangle with the ! in it, and ask a moderator to move this to the Wyndham thread

You will get more attention to your question from WVO owners

IMHO


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## Conan (Dec 30, 2013)

Since Hawaii maintenance costs are high, the best way to realize the value you bought is either to 
(1) plan a trip back to Hawaii and use your ARP (advance reservation preference) to make the reservation 13-months ahead of the week you want to check in, or 
(2) do the same thing as above but reserve a super-prime week and rent it for cash via redweek.com or another website (unlike RCI exchanges, there's no prohibition on renting your week).

If the two above don't appeal to you, then go to www.wyndhamvacationresorts.com and see what's available to you starting 10 months in advance of the target reservation.

Most people will agree that the best use of Wyndham points is simply to book within the Wyndham system.


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## ronparise (Jan 2, 2014)

I thought I knew and understood the Wyndham system pretty well.. But I dont know what premier points are

Worldmark uses that term "premier" but its credits not points

I know there is something extra that comes with a Wyndham Hawaii purchase but I thought that was called "Outrigger"

So whats Premier Access??

Google to the rescue

Premier Access is a term used by Trading Places; an exchange company like RCI and II.  but smaller. It has nothing to do with your Wyndham points purchase but it seems you can reserve a week and deposit it to this exchange company and exchange it for a week at one of a small list of resorts
http://www.tradingplaces.com/pa/family-of-resorts

This is not an important feature of your purchase I dont think. As has already been said; most of us would agree that the best use of Wyndham points is within the Wyndham system itself, 

Can anyone else expand on Trading Places and their list of Premier Access Resorts?


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## lcml11 (Jan 2, 2014)

ronparise said:


> I thought I knew and understood the Wyndham system pretty well.. But I dont know what premier points are
> 
> Worldmark uses that term "premier" but its credits not points
> 
> ...



Closest I came to it.

http://www.tradingplaces.com/pa/family-of-resorts

The Wyndham Points you are citing are no doubt the points associated with purchases at the Wyndham Resorts that are part of this system.  I do not know if a RCI membership comes with this type of Wyndham point.

To help with the confusion over what a Wyndham point is, I think a master listing of Wyndham Points would be in order, here are the ones that come to mind:

RCI Points
RCI Weeks Points using Wyndham points as the exchange currency
RCI Weeks using TPUs as the exchange currency
Wyndham Premier Points
Wyndham Points associated with II
Wyndham Club Pass Points

Wyndham Club Plus points
Wyndham Club Access points
Worldmark by Wyndham points
Wyndham Asia Pacific points
Shell points
Outrigger points
Presidential Reserve points
Wyndham Rewards points
Wyndham Plus Partners (may have the name wrong)

I guess I do not have the Wyndham Universal Points that have been made reference to.  Still do not know what this critter is.

Any and all additions to the list would be useful.

Thanks.


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## vacationhopeful (Jan 2, 2014)

Can you sign into the online Wyndham Vacation resorts web site? I wonder if you are really a member of WVO or the much smaller internal trading platform involved with Trading Places and the Hawaiian Resorts -- didn't one of the smaller Hawaiian HOA take back the management onsite contract Wyndham?

But it might be your terms:
Do you have 1 year of VIP status because they "gave" you some Bonus points?
Did they PIC (program interval choice) your Vacation Villages Week into Wyndham points -- where every YEAR you could decide to place your F/W over to Wyndham and get more Wyndham points?

Bonus Points is pretty standard FLUFF in a direct purchase from Wyndham.
PIC was a GOOD thing - it is a minor added onto your yearly costs, but gets you another option within Wyndham (more or less free after your $$$ gone on the retail points).

Please look your that big stack of paperwork your brought back with and update us.


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## learnalot (Jan 2, 2014)

vacationhopeful said:


> Can you sign into the online Wyndham Vacation resorts web site? I wonder if you are really a member of WVO or the much smaller internal trading platform involved with Trading Places and the Hawaiian Resorts -- didn't one of the smaller Hawaiian HOA take back the management onsite contract Wyndham?
> 
> But it might be your terms:
> Do you have 1 year of VIP status because they "gave" you some Bonus points?
> ...



Without having seen the OP's paperwork, I can say fairly confidently that they do belong to WVO (Wyndham Vacation Ownership: either Club Wyndham Plus or Club Wyndham Access). The developer's Hawaii incentives - access to Outrigger and Trading Places - are in addition to the standard WVO program, not in lieu of it.  Premier Access is a Trading Places program they have made available as an additional piece of Wyndham's sales pitch in Hawaii.  It is a fairly tightly controlled relationship in that deposits to TPI must be processed through Wyndham and the only allowable deposits (per Wyndham's restrictions) are from the Hawaii resorts.  (If you see Wyndham inventory other than Hawaii in TPI, it comes from fixed week deposits, which owners retain complete discretion over).  Wyndham pays the TPI membership fee for the first 2 or 3 years.  To continue beyond that, one must pay a membership fee to TPI on their own (although the Hawaii only deposit restrictions still apply).


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## ilenekm (Jan 2, 2014)

ronparise said:


> I thought I knew and understood the Wyndham system pretty well.. But I dont know what premier points are
> 
> Worldmark uses that term "premier" but its credits not points
> 
> ...



In addition to Outrigger, our purchase at Kona came with membership in Trading Places with Premier Access. I haven't paid much attention to it but I recall that they always offer 2 for 1 weeks for Wyndham Haawii weeks. I will look for more info later and post.


Sent from my SCH-I925 using Tapatalk 4


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## learnalot (Jan 2, 2014)

ronparise said:


> I thought I knew and understood the Wyndham system pretty well.. But I dont know what premier points are
> 
> Worldmark uses that term "premier" but its credits not points
> 
> ...



Ron,

See my post #9 above for some explanation of the TPI-Wyndham interface.  But here is a link where you can read more specifics about the Premier Access resorts. http://tradingplaces.com/pa. 

You will see a reference to a new premier access site, which requires an account in order to access.  But on the right side of the page I sent you to, there are some links to Family of Resorts, etc.


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## rebparish (Jan 2, 2014)

*Thanks...*

I tell you, I find it all so confusing... that salesman was slick, I tell you. Nice, but slick. <Sigh, I'm done crying in my soup about it, though, and just need to figure out how to utilize what we've purchased.>  Anyway, yes, can log into the Wyndham Club and they pay for my RCI membership. The whole Outrigger thing was part of it: the sales pitch was that by buying into Hawaii you could gain access to resorts that you just couldn't otherwise gain access to. I thought somehow that Outrigger was part of Premier but maybe it isn't?


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## rebparish (Jan 2, 2014)

*PIC vs. bonus*

Yes, they did the PIC thing with our Vacation Village week in Ft. Lauderdale and, as I understand it, I can choose to keep it with RCI for exchange or 'deposit' to WVO for points each year, but I don't know whether I should or not?? Pros? Cons?

I think we also were just given bonus points for this year to make us VIP so that we would experience the perks and want to buy more points to stay at VIP status.


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## Bigrob (Jan 3, 2014)

rebparish said:


> I tell you, I find it all so confusing... that salesman was slick, I tell you. Nice, but slick. <Sigh, I'm done crying in my soup about it, though, and just need to figure out how to utilize what we've purchased.>  Anyway, yes, can log into the Wyndham Club and they pay for my RCI membership. The whole Outrigger thing was part of it: the sales pitch was that by buying into Hawaii you could gain access to resorts that you just couldn't otherwise gain access to. I thought somehow that Outrigger was part of Premier but maybe it isn't?



As is often the case, there is a grain of truth to what the salesman was saying. The "Outrigger Collection" of resorts can only be traded into (inside of Wyndham) by owners in Hawaii. The Outrigger collection is listed in the Wyndham online directory here:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/wyndham/2013657298WMD/#/346

Right after that is the section on PIC. I believe that is what the salesman was referring to in terms of your week than you can deposit for additional VIP-eligible points... as Linda says, that's usually a good use of your week and you probably want to take advantage of it while you can (usually you can only enroll weeks in the PIC program within 90 days of your retail purchase).


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## Bigrob (Jan 3, 2014)

rebparish said:


> Yes, they did the PIC thing with our Vacation Village week in Ft. Lauderdale and, as I understand it, I can choose to keep it with RCI for exchange or 'deposit' to WVO for points each year, but I don't know whether I should or not?? Pros? Cons?
> 
> I think we also were just given bonus points for this year to make us VIP so that we would experience the perks and want to buy more points to stay at VIP status.



Usually the bonus points are "good" for 2 or 2 1/2 years and will count toward your VIP membership even if you've used them during that interval. 

When you say they did the "PIC" thing, that should also get you additional points toward VIP (whether or not you actually deposit the week for points). If it's a 2BR red week, it would be counted as 154K points. If you are still within the "PIC window" and you only deposited 1 week, you may want to see if you can quickly get another (preferably) 3BR week to PIC. A 3BR red week is credited as 254K points. My guess is that between those 2 PICs you would not need any additional purchases to remain VIP (if you see value in your VIP membership). The same restrictions would apply - would need to be a non-Wyndham, RCI weeks (not points) week, and it can't be an affiliated property.

Whether to deposit your week in any given year depends upon whether the points would be more valuable to you than the use of the week (plus the additional PIC charge). If you have been depositing your week in RCI to exchange, it's probably better to PIC and use the points within Wyndham.


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## rebparish (Jan 3, 2014)

*Becoming more clear*

It has been 90 days since our purchase so finding another unit to 'PIC' in is not going to happen. But our current F/W is enrolled and we've just paid the maintenance fees on it in mid-December and I've been unsure as to whether to use it/them for points instead of into RCI. I guess I need to call Wyndham and get some help. I'm not sure if I have to convert the F/W into points as a 2BR only or if I can convert two weeks as 1BR each which would come to more points.

In comparison, usually I can deposit two 1BR units into RCI and usually (depending on location) trade up to a 2BR in the greater supply destinations and get 2 weeks instead of one. In the past, though, I've had to pay RCI's $99 fee to combine my weeks to get enough trading power to get a high demand location (which is what we did to get Hawaii). Of course, now RCI's fees are going up again.

It all makes my head just hurt. I get that it's good to have options, I just haven't had time to figure them out. LOL  Thanks to everyone that's replied. I'm gleaning that Premier is not that important (???), Outrigger is only important if Hawaii is your destination, and so really it's just about figuring out this whole new world of points and how to get reservations where you want them. And it seems like really popular places are still going to be very hard to get... New York, etc. I have a big learning curve.

Cheers & Happy New Year, Rebecca


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## vacationhopeful (Jan 3, 2014)

PIC points are good from the day you convert each year (I do believe). As the VV unit is a lockout, you could ONLY have PIC the total deed, not separate portions of the L/O. I have 2 2bdr L/O PIC'ed .... helps with my VIP status.

I believe you have 1 year from the date you convert the weeks into Wyndham to use them ... but you would need to play around with that. I know the USE YEAR MFs for your PIC week must be PAID before you PIC the week.


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## Bigrob (Jan 3, 2014)

vacationhopeful said:


> PIC points are good from the day you convert each year (I do believe). As the VV unit is a lockout, you could ONLY have PIC the total deed, not separate portions of the L/O. I have 2 2bdr L/O PIC'ed .... helps with my VIP status.
> 
> I believe you have 1 year from the date you convert the weeks into Wyndham to use them ... but you would need to play around with that. I know the USE YEAR MFs for your PIC week must be PAID before you PIC the week.



Your PIC points are only good in the use year you designate when you get them. You can choose either the current or the next use year... you can't credit pool PIC points or deposit them to RCI at the end of the year, so you do want to make sure you are going to use all the points you get from your PIC in the use year you designate.


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## lcml11 (Jan 3, 2014)

Bigrob said:


> Your PIC points are only good in the use year you designate when you get them. You can choose either the current or the next use year... you can't credit pool PIC points or deposit them to RCI at the end of the year, so you do want to make sure you are going to use all the points you get from your PIC in the use year you designate.



Bigrob is right.


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## jebloomquist (Jan 4, 2014)

*Using Trading Places (TPI)*

In the past, I have deposited an Hawaiian resort week with Trading Places and received two TPI weeks from them in exchange, of course depending upon availability. 

One of the weeks is the regular TPI one which must be used within two years. The second week is a bonus week that must be used within one year. 

I gave the bonus week away to a friend, and I think in total it cost the guest about $258, the $189 plus a guest fee. I have yet to use the regular TPI week. I have until the end of 2014 to use it.

Jim


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## lcml11 (Jan 4, 2014)

*Update to Wyndham Points Systems*



lcml11 said:


> ... RCI Points, RCI Weeks Points using Wyndham points as the exchange currency, RCI Weeks using TPUs as the exchange currency, Wyndham Premier Points, Wyndham Points associated with II, Wyndham Club Pass Points, Wyndham Club Plus points, Wyndham Club Access points, Worldmark by Wyndham points, Wyndham Asia Pacific points, Shell points, Outrigger points, Presidential Reserve points, Wyndham Rewards points, Wyndham Plus Partners ...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## learnalot (Jan 4, 2014)

> Update to Wyndham Points Systems
> 
> 
> lcml11 said:
> ...


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## lcml11 (Jan 4, 2014)

learnalot said:


> > Update to Wyndham Points Systems
> >
> >
> > lcml11 said:
> > ...


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## ronparise (Jan 4, 2014)

lcml11 said:


> lcml11 said:
> 
> 
> > ... RCI Points, RCI Weeks Points using Wyndham points as the exchange currency, RCI Weeks using TPUs as the exchange currency, Wyndham Premier Points, Wyndham Points associated with II, Wyndham Club Pass Points, Wyndham Club Plus points, Wyndham Club Access points, Worldmark by Wyndham points, Wyndham Asia Pacific points, Shell points, Outrigger points, Presidential Reserve points, Wyndham Rewards points, Wyndham Plus Partners ...
> ...


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## lcml11 (Jan 4, 2014)

ronparise said:


> lcml11 said:
> 
> 
> > lcml11 said:
> ...


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## vacationhopeful (Jan 4, 2014)

ronparise said:


> .....you are wrong. And confusing the issue here doesnt make it right



In the above quote, Ron is referring to the multiple re-quotes by leml11....

Rebecca,
The Hawaii Home Resort points are Wyndham Points with the "Added" feature of being able to use them for available Hawaii trades within Trading Places (an external independent exchange company for timeshares).

You can use those Wyndham (Hawaiian) points either way each year. 

The PIC points are Wyndham points (and I personally believe) are not part of the Trading Places "Hawaii" trading ... but might be useable in non-Hawaii trades which TP might have .... you can explore THAT issue directly with Trading Places staff. When you learn more, you could consider discussing that info on a NEW thread -- most of us Wyndham owners love to learn new options that are available thru Wyndham (if the MOON or points are in alieghment).


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