# Best type of Marriott Resale (e.g. eBay) Purchase for trading to Other Marriotts or to Rent out?



## NYFLTRAVELER (Jan 1, 2019)

Often you see the same types of Marriott units on eBay for sale.  Which are the units which are the best bang for the buck in terms of cost (and what should that cost be) for being able to use for II trades into other Marriotts in peak seasons - and in those instances where they are not traded, have the best value to rent to others (e.g. via redweek)?


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## TheTimeTraveler (Jan 1, 2019)

Best bang for the buck are Platinum Villas at Grande Vista, and Grande Chateau in Las Vegas (in my opinion).  You can get in for a reasonable price and most are lock-off units.   Both have excellent trading value!





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## VacationForever (Jan 1, 2019)

A timeshare that is good for trading is usually very different from one for renting.  The 2 mentioned above, Grande Vista and Grand Chateau, are gret for trading but does not command good rental value.  These 2 are inexpensive to acquire.

The ones that are good for rental are usually very expensive to acquire like ones in Maui.


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## Dean (Jan 1, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> Often you see the same types of Marriott units on eBay for sale.  Which are the units which are the best bang for the buck in terms of cost (and what should that cost be) for being able to use for II trades into other Marriotts in peak seasons - and in those instances where they are not traded, have the best value to rent to others (e.g. via redweek)?


For a 2 BR I prefer GV over GC because I think the top weeks trade slightly better and it has the Thursday checkin options, esp for those booking more than 1 week at 13 months out (or might in the future).  Ultimately it depends on how you'll use it and how flexible you are.  If the lockoff doesn't appeal to you and you always need a 2 BR that might be difficult to get some of the lower level resorts without lockoff's might be perfect.  I want to control costs, have options and always be trading up but have a real chance of success.  For a 3 BR it's likely a wash if the Thursday check in has any advantage and GC might be a little better due to the fact the 3 BR trades as a 2Br & 1 BR rather than a studio.  

My list of trading resorts with lockoff's all Platinum except as noted:
Desert Gold weeks.
Grande Vista
Grande Chateau
Harbour Lake
Willow Ridge
Manor Club Sequel

Without L/O add:
Doral
Manor Club
Legend's Edge
HHI lower resorts Platinum plus Grande Ocean Gold
? NJ (I don't know much about the resort)

I probably left out something and YMMV.  I know some like Harbour Pointe for trading but my personal experience isn't positive with week 35.  Now if you can get a great price on a different resort, say Desert Platinum, even better but I'm assuming usual market rates with a good deal but not a fire sale.  Ultimately I prefer those new to Marriott and trading to buy something they can use part of the time even if it's not the perfect trader but within reason.  LE, Branson, HL you can likely get for roughly free for Platinum if you give it some time and put some effort into it, maybe others as well including GC and desert weeks.  I bought a HL week last year (2017) where what I paid was about half the dues and required transfer fee and I got the week for 2018.  Don't get hung up on renting if you want to mostly trade it.  IMO there is not good balance resort between renting and trading or what most people would want to use routinely and trading.  There are expensive resorts with high fees that trade and rent well but none of the ones I mentioned are going to rent for high dollars but you might be able to cover fees.  LE had a big hike in fees for 2019 due to the hurricane, hopefully it's a one year deal and they'll come back down next year.  

My personal trading units are Branson and HL and I take full advantage of the lockoff's and Thursday check in options of which only GV, HL & Branson have of the resorts on this list.  But it's not one size fits all.  Personally preference and situation can make a huge difference.


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## vol_90 (Jan 1, 2019)

Don't overlook the Marriott Phuket Beach Resort which has excellent trading value for the Platinum weeks (1 - 20 & 39 - 50).  Although not a lockoff Platinum weeks can be purchased resale at ~$5,000 and likely has the lowest maintenance fees of all MVCI resorts.


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## ahdah (Jan 1, 2019)

I agree that Grande Chateau is an excellent trading unit, and the maintain fee is reasonable.  I use our week to trade for a week in FL (not Orlando).  I used to lock off the studio and trade for a two bedroom on HHI and used the one bedroom to go to a Marriott in FL.  I have decided for us, it is no longer the bargain it used to be.  First you pay to lock off the units, then to trade up on both units.  It adds up.  I now use the two bedroom to trade for another two bedroom at either Ft. Lauderdale or Singer Island, and we get the trade pretty quickly.  I go to HHI with a trade using Brewster Green.  I have a two bedroom in late August, 2019. We also buy a get away for HHI in November.  This works for us, I am sure that others find locking off is best for them.  I think you have to try and see what is best for you, then run with it.  We have only used Grande Chateau for a trade and we always gotten what we wanted.


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## m61376 (Jan 4, 2019)

The Aruba weeks trade great and command high rental rates, esp. for in demand weeks. There are some good deals for purchase.
The MF's are higher than the Grande Chateau, but you def. can recoup your MF's by renting the 1 BR portion (and many have by renting the lock-off as well). On the other hand, if you intend mostly to use for trading, you'd be better off with a unit with lower MF's.


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## l0410z (Jan 4, 2019)

A number of years ago I asked for opinions on the best trading timeshares.  The two that popped up the most were the Grand Chateau and the Grande Vista.   A number of people suggested the 3 BR Chateau because it trades as a 1 br and 2 br.  I went back and forth in my head between an EOY 2 BR and 3 BR at the GC.  I went with the two BR that I picked up for 1800 including all fees.  I own it 4 years and hence got 4 trade with 2 studios and 2 one Brs.  The studio side got me 2 BR summer Surf Club and a 1 BR Christmas Week at Desert Springs Villa 1.  The 1 BR got me the Grand Ocean in August and the Ocean Watch the end of April.  I am tied to a school schedule so I travel peak.  With the upgrade fees, I was much better off going with the 3 BR (trades 1 and 2 BR's) and the slightly higher MF over the 2 BR.


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## MOXJO7282 (Jan 4, 2019)

None of the TSs mentioned will rent very well if at all so if you're looking for the least expensive that will trade and rent very well,  I'd probably say a Newport Coast plat week that you can get for around $8k would be my recommendation.  You won't get the extra trade because it is not a LO but the trade power will get you a 2BDRM Maui and Arubas in the winter and GO and MOWs in prime summer where those mentioned most likely won't especially if you split the unit. Also if you trade the plat NCV you'll get a bonus week from II that I would say has the same trade power as the studio you will be looking to trade. And if you wanted to rent it you should get approx $1k above MFs. 

Not to mention it a fabulous resort to use.

So to me the NCV is the bigger bang for the buck because of the higher value trade targets you can capture, its own enjoyment value and it's rental income value.


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## hangloose (Jan 4, 2019)

As others have indicated, Grande Vista and Grande Chateau tend to be the consistent resorts that come up when this question is asked.  They have reasonable MFs, lock-off, and have high travel demand if the right week is reserved.  This allows great flexibility and opportunity of exchanging via II.  I would suggest Plat season on both.  I would suggest a 3BR vs 2BR at either.  The small extra cost is outweighed by the additional trade power, potential rent, and villa size flexibility.

I own at MGV, and it has traded wonderfully over the past 15+ yrs.  The plus to Grande Chateau is that the 3BR exchanges as a 2BR/1BR, whereas the 3BR at Grande Vista is only 2BR/Efficiency.   The plus to Grande Vista is that some weeks can exchange into other MVC resorts via the Florida Club without using II.  Since Orlando doesn't rent well (way too overbuild with accommodations), this can be valuable if you reserve a week at another MVC in FC on the beach (Ocean Pointe, Beachplace Towers).  

For rent, neither will rent well.  You will be lucky to make MFs back.   Only exception, would be if using MGV via FC to reserve a FL beach week...which may rent above MFs for the right week.

Aruba may be another, but likely at a slightly higher entrance price with higher MFs.  Rent will be significantly more potential but makes your II exchanges less valuable.  Aruba also has a lock-off (a huge plus in my view.)


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## Dean (Jan 4, 2019)

hangloose said:


> As others have indicated, Grande Vista and Grande Chateau tend to be the consistent resorts that come up when this question is asked.  They have reasonable MFs, lock-off, and have high travel demand if the right week is reserved.  This allows great flexibility and opportunity of exchanging via II.  I would suggest Plat season on both.  I would suggest a 3BR vs 2BR at either.  The small extra cost is outweighed by the additional trade power, potential rent, and villa size flexibility.
> 
> I own at MGV, and it has traded wonderfully over the past 15+ yrs.  The plus to Grande Chateau is that the 3BR exchanges as a 2BR/1BR, whereas the 3BR at Grande Vista is only 2BR/Efficiency.   The plus to Grande Vista is that some weeks can exchange into other MVC resorts via the Florida Club without using II.  Since Orlando doesn't rent well (way too overbuild with accommodations), this can be valuable if you reserve a week at another MVC in FC on the beach (Ocean Pointe, Beachplace Towers).
> 
> ...


HI and Aruba will rent well but the up front costs and fees will be more than the upgrade fees.  Personally I would decide whether I wanted to use and rent or use and exchange and not try to split the difference between the 2.  One of the best high end trader for a 2 BR at reasonable fees is Grande Ocean Gold but you've got to be proactive to get the best weeks.  Ocean Pointe Gold also comes to mind and is a lockoff.


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## NYFLTRAVELER (Jan 16, 2019)

Thoughts on potential a resale Aruba Surf Club 2br floating gold for $5000 (subject to rofr). Good deal? Bad deal?  Pros and cons either for usage or re talmor trading?


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## Dean (Jan 16, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> Thoughts on potential a resale Aruba Surf Club 2br floating gold for $5000 (subject to rofr). Good deal? Bad deal?  Pros and cons either for usage or re talmor trading?


My personal view is bad idea if it's for exchange and rental but could be good if you'll actually use it much of the time.


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## Theiggy (Jan 16, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> Thoughts on potential a resale Aruba Surf Club 2br floating gold for $5000 (subject to rofr). Good deal? Bad deal?  Pros and cons either for usage or re talmor trading?



What view type is the week? $5000 is ok for Ocean side or ocean front but ocean view and garden view I wouldn’t pay over 4K. Pros - it’s a great resort to stay at (I own and love it), you can lock it off and trade with either side of the lock off, you can rent it and make a few bucks too! 
Cons- the maint fees are high. If you trade it gets expensive. 


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## NYFLTRAVELER (Jan 16, 2019)

It’s a floating gold 2br/2ba “ocean side” view. Primarily would,be used for personal use here and there and otherwise a rental. Probably not for trading. 

Question, whether for personal use or rental, can it be locked off and booked 2 different weeks one as the 1 Br unit and the other as a studio or must it always be booked as the 2br?


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## Dean (Jan 17, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> It’s a floating gold 2br/2ba “ocean side” view. Primarily would,be used for personal use here and there and otherwise a rental. Probably not for trading.
> 
> Question, whether for personal use or rental, can it be locked off and booked 2 different weeks one as the 1 Br unit and the other as a studio or must it always be booked as the 2br?


If you'll use it the majority of the time it's a reasonable purchase IMO, your OP suggested renting & trading.  Of course view type has no bearing on trading but does on rental and usage.  You could book 2 completely different weeks or consecutive weeks and you could do any combination of personal usage, rental or exchanging you wanted.  What you can't do is reserve at 13 months out unless you have another week to combine to do so but I doubt you'll have much issue unless you want the 2 weeks around 7/4.


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## NYFLTRAVELER (Jan 17, 2019)

Most likely to use as a rental and personal use from time to time.  Marriott is offering same floating gold on site in Aruba for approx. $18k. Only benefit with that is it converts to I believe 2575 points. But that in itself isn’t worth $13000 more. This is a destination where a fixed (floating) week is good enough


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## Quadmaniac (Jan 18, 2019)

I think Aruba is fine IF you are going to use it yourself or rental (I'm not up with how much it rents for). Otherwise, I would personally stick with whatever is cheapest in MF and it acquire. I like WR and GC as they have the lowest fees and you can practically get them for free. I would keep an eye on eBay as there are tonnes of bargains all the time. I wouldn't pay a lot for a platinum trader when you can get it for free. I've been able to get difficult trades including spring break and Christmas time in Hawaii, so I'm not sure why all the concern about trading power as I've never had an issue. My thoughts are always how can I get this for the least amount of money and still get what I want. So far it has worked out well....but that's just my two cents.

I'm not as much of a fan of GV and the Desert resorts as the MF are higher by a couple hundred (which I know might not make that big of a difference but it does add up year after year), the cost to acquire it is more and the Desert resorts in California also charge the property tax on top separately increasing your overall cost of usage. Maybe I'm just being cheap, but I would rather not pay more than I need to, to get the same thing.....


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## NYFLTRAVELER (Jan 18, 2019)

Generally do members here feel red Week is a good indication of fair market value for rental rates?


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## stslc (Jan 19, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> Generally do members here feel red Week is a good indication of fair market value for rental rates?


I think Redweek is a very good example of a free market exchange of both sales and rentals. There is enough volume and exposure that it seems a fair indication of market values. They also provide some analytics that make getting a visual representation of pricing easy.


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## NYFLTRAVELER (Jan 19, 2019)

Thanks.

I was having this conversation with somebody the other day and did not know the answer......Has anybody ever experienced the ability (through II, ownertrades or otherwise) to trade their 2br floating gold week for a 1br platinum week (peak period) week at the same or similar property?   For example, if somebody had a 2br floating gold at Aruba Is there the possibility/ability to trade that for a 1br unit there during a platinum (peak) week?  The 1br platinum owner is now getting a 2br unit (albeit during a different time) and the 2br gold owner is getting into a property during a more premium period.


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## regatta333 (Jan 19, 2019)

How much is the lock-off fee?


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## Dean (Jan 19, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> Thanks.
> 
> I was having this conversation with somebody the other day and did not know the answer......Has anybody ever experienced the ability (through II, ownertrades or otherwise) to trade their 2br floating gold week for a 1br platinum week (peak period) week at the same or similar property?   For example, if somebody had a 2br floating gold at Aruba Is there the possibility/ability to trade that for a 1br unit there during a platinum (peak) week?  The 1br platinum owner is now getting a 2br unit (albeit during a different time) and the 2br gold owner is getting into a property during a more premium period.


I don't have specific examples for this exact situation but I have traded lessor properties and lower demand weeks for higher rated and higher demand resorts through II.  RCI is a little different in that they essentially monetize the trade power and provide ways to upgrade but often at a cost to do so.  Personally I've not been impressed with direct trade options as it seems to specialized, too difficult to find a match and that even if you find a situation where both sides are willing to consider it, the chances of both sides being happy with the terms are minimal at best.  It's far easier to trade through a formal exchange company or rent out then rent what you want rather than trying to find a needle in a haystack. Realistically I'm not thinking it'd be easy to find someone who wants to trade a 1 BR Platinum for a 2 BR gold but it's not a major stretch either.  Through II done correctly I'd say it's very possible to do so, both directions.


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## Quadmaniac (Jan 21, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> Thanks.
> 
> I was having this conversation with somebody the other day and did not know the answer......Has anybody ever experienced the ability (through II, ownertrades or otherwise) to trade their 2br floating gold week for a 1br platinum week (peak period) week at the same or similar property?   For example, if somebody had a 2br floating gold at Aruba Is there the possibility/ability to trade that for a 1br unit there during a platinum (peak) week?  The 1br platinum owner is now getting a 2br unit (albeit during a different time) and the 2br gold owner is getting into a property during a more premium period.



I've been able to trade a studio WR into Ko Olina & Maui Christmas and New Years in 1 br and 2 br units, its just being able to place an online request and doing constant manual searches on II. I'm not saying you will always get it, but I have had some good luck finding them. I don't think you need Aruba to find these trades if you are seeking to trade back into Aruba. Aruba seems to be fair accessible and I seem to see availability on a regular basis.

In terms of ownertrades, it might be possible but definitely on II.


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## Quadmaniac (Jan 21, 2019)

regatta333 said:


> How much is the lock-off fee?



$80


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## Quadmaniac (Jan 21, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> Generally do members here feel red Week is a good indication of fair market value for rental rates?



Just remember that the values on Redweek are ASKING and not always an indication of the actual value of what it may sell or rent for. If you watch the values for about 6 months you can gain a better range of what something MAY go for. I know the ones I watch normally are priced way higher than what I bought for but people continue to advertise at much higher values. Not sure how much the sell for but I know I've bought for less. Sometimes people have no idea what things are worth and will pull a number out of the air and it will be in left field compared to what others may sell for. 

In terms of rentals, I would watch to see what the rental trends are, keeping note of the lows particularly. That will give you an idea of what they are really renting for as some ask really crazy high rentals and the never get it.


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## cp73 (Jan 21, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> I Primarily would,be used for personal use here and there and otherwise a rental. Probably not for trading.



If your thinking of buying to use occasionally and rent the rest of the time (lets say 50/50) your probably better off just renting one. I am not sure its worth the hassle to buy if your only intending to use half the time and not trade it. 

The most common opinion here at one time was to first buy somewhere you would be happy going to every year and preferably somewhere within driving distance.


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## NYFLTRAVELER (Jan 21, 2019)

cp73 said:


> If your thinking of buying to use occasionally and rent the rest of the time (lets say 50/50) your probably better off just renting one. I am not sure its worth the hassle to buy if your only intending to use half the time and not trade it.
> 
> The most common opinion here at one time was to first buy somewhere you would be happy going to every year and preferably somewhere within driving distance.



I feel that if I can get in for $5000 or less and then either use here & there or rent (for thengoing rate of 1.5-2x MV) at worst in 4 years it’s a wash.


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## Dean (Jan 22, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> I feel that if I can get in for $5000 or less and then either use here & there or rent (for thengoing rate of 1.5-2x MV) at worst in 4 years it’s a wash.


I'm not sure those assumptions are accurate.  I think about the best you can count on renting is at or just over the MV and even then there's no guarantee on rental or your maintenance fee risk.  I'm confused, you started this thread with a title about rent/trade, then you said you'd use mostly and rent some with no trading and now it seems you're back to rent mostly and use some.  What am I missing.  Then answers of reasonableness are different for each of those options as I see it.  IMO Aruba Surf Club Gold is a poor choice for rent/trade about 50/50 and it's a poor choice to rent mostly and use occasionally but it's a good choice to use mostly and either rent or trade rarely say 80/20.  You can buy something that'll trade as well or better with lower fees and a similar or lower buy in.  I would not buy mostly to rent out.  Maybe you have a clear picture of where you're going that I'm not getting but I wonder if you would be better off with other choices, maybe something closer to home that's cheaper and you will use part of the time then trade in to Surf Club if you want to go.


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## NYFLTRAVELER (Jan 22, 2019)

Dean said:


> I'm not sure those assumptions are accurate.  I think about the best you can count on renting is at or just over the MV and even then there's no guarantee on rental or your maintenance fee risk.  I'm confused, you started this thread with a title about rent/trade, then you said you'd use mostly and rent some with no trading and now it seems you're back to rent mostly and use some.  What am I missing.  Then answers of reasonableness are different for each of those options as I see it.  IMO Aruba Surf Club Gold is a poor choice for rent/trade about 50/50 and it's a poor choice to rent mostly and use occasionally but it's a good choice to use mostly and either rent or trade rarely say 80/20.  You can buy something that'll trade as well or better with lower fees and a similar or lower buy in.  I would not buy mostly to rent out.  Maybe you have a clear picture of where you're going that I'm not getting but I wonder if you would be better off with other choices, maybe something closer to home that's cheaper and you will use part of the time then trade in to Surf Club if you want to go.



Yes I think my comments veered off from the subject of the original subject line

Circling back I guess the question really is 


1.  whether a $5000 purchase price for a Aruba Surf 2/2 Oceanside Floating Gold third party resale($1870 MF) is a decent/good deal 

2. Assuming so for the moment, if it will be self used some of the time and otherwise rented out (likely never used for trading) what is the real downside .... according to redweek, rentals for this type of 2/2 unit range from $2800-$3400 depending on the actual week during “gold period”.  So with a rental MF would be covered and a few bucks in the pocket. 

Thanks 






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## Quadmaniac (Jan 22, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> Yes I think my comments veered off from the subject of the original subject line
> 
> Circling back I guess the question really is
> 
> ...



I would suggest buying a cheap trader which you can get for next to nothing and save your $5000. It's not a difficult trade and since you're only wanting to go sometimes, I think you'll get everything you need without getting into a more complicated situation and committing $5000. I highly doubt you'll even need to rent. Try the system for awhile and see how it goes trading in. You're in for next to nothing with very little commitment and money with limited downside.


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## Dean (Jan 22, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> Yes I think my comments veered off from the subject of the original subject line
> 
> Circling back I guess the question really is
> 
> ...


That's just it, my view of where it's a good deal falls along the lines of the choices I laid out above.  IMO it's a terrible deal for exchanging or renting and a good deal for usage only.  The further you get away from personal usage, the worse the deal becomes.  I still think even assuming 50% above MF for rental is optimistic long term and I wouldn't be surprised if you were lucky to cover fees on some years depending on other factors.  Just my opinion, you'll have to decide how it fits for you but you asked.  I would never buy a timeshare with rental as the main goal and if I were going to buy one to rent, I'd want more in terms of % than I think you'll get for a Gold week.  Also remember that for a single week, getting the best gold weeks might be difficult.  Personally I'd take a different approach.  I'd step back and think how would I use it in terms of personal usage, rental and exchanging.  From a rental standpoint I think there are better deals with less risk.  From an exchange standpoint I think there are better deals with less risk and lower fees.  From a usage standpoint for that resort, owning there is best as it controls view type, access and gives you an assignment priority.  Just decide what is more important to you then flow from there.


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## brianfox (Jan 22, 2019)

This is just my $.02, but I tried the "buy a cheap Marriott trader" game and did not like it.  I ended up buying where I wanted to stay.
We did all the recommended tricks for trading through II and rarely got anything good.  We usually ended up getting last minute exchanges in the Flexchange period, which only resulted in stress for us, as we had booked our airfare long in advance.  We ended up unloading our "cheap trader" by giving it away and paying the closing costs.  So that cheap trader was not that cheap in the end...  Who did we give it to?  Someone like the OP who was specifically looking for a "cheap trader".  It sat on the free TS ads for many months.

Before we purchased where we wanted to stay, we simply rented.  That gave us power over our choice of location, removing stress.
Back when we purchased our "cheap trader", resale weeks at the place we wanted to stay were selling for upwards of $20K.  At this point in time - when resale weeks are 1/4 that price or less, I don't see the lure of getting a cheap trader vs simply renting.  

I'm certain there are many out there that have gotten consistent fabulous exchanges.  I congratulate them for doing so.  The wait was just too stressful for us.


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## Steve Fatula (Jan 22, 2019)

brianfox said:


> This is just my $.02, but I tried the "buy a cheap Marriott trader" game and did not like it.  I ended up buying where I wanted to stay.
> We did all the recommended tricks for trading through II and rarely got anything good.  We usually ended up getting last minute exchanges in the Flexchange period, which only resulted in stress for us, as we had booked our airfare long in advance.  We ended up unloading our "cheap trader" by giving it away and paying the closing costs.  So that cheap trader was not that cheap in the end...  Who did we give it to?  Someone like the OP who was specifically looking for a "cheap trader".  It sat on the free TS ads for many months.
> 
> Before we purchased where we wanted to stay, we simply rented.  That gave us power over our choice of location, removing stress.
> ...



I would tend to agree with this, there are a lot of fees for that "cheap trader" too in order to maximize it's use. Between II, lockoff, exchange fees, etc., the cheap trader isn't quite as cheap, but could still work out. I have always gotten good exchanges, so I am one of those, however, it does take some work. Definitely not as easy as it may first appear. So, it can work, but it does take some work and for many is far from stress free. 

Buying where you want to stay is useless for us, we don't want to stay in the same place. This year alone, we are visiting for the first time: Phuket Beach Club, Newport Coast, Marco Island, and while it's technically not MVCI, Marriott Momi Bay is more like a timeshare than a hotel. Also a few non Marriotts. In the next two years we want to do Frenchmans Cove, Ritz St Thomas, St Kitts, MOC, France MVCI (forgot the name), Breckenridge. 

Buy where you want to stay is great if you have a fixed place you want to stay, perhaps it's driving distance, whatever. But our goal is to try and visit every MVCI at least once. As well as other places around the world.


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## brianfox (Jan 22, 2019)

Steve Fatula said:


> Buy where you want to stay is great if you have a fixed place you want to stay, perhaps it's driving distance, whatever. But our goal is to try and visit every MVCI at least once. As well as other places around the world.



Yup.  What he said.


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## chemteach (Jan 22, 2019)

brianfox said:


> This is just my $.02, but I tried the "buy a cheap Marriott trader" game and did not like it.
> 
> Before we purchased where we wanted to stay, we simply rented.  That gave us power over our choice of location, removing stress.
> Back when we purchased our "cheap trader", resale weeks at the place we wanted to stay were selling for upwards of $20K.  At this point in time - when resale weeks are 1/4 that price or less, I don't see the lure of getting a cheap trader vs simply renting.
> ...



What was the trader you purchased?  With my Grand Chateau and Timber Lodge, so far I can see anything in II.  I'm going to Waiohai in a 2 bedroom lockout this summer.  I could see the March and April 2 bedroom lockout Aruba deposits, summer Boston deposits, etc.  These were all months in advance of the checkin date.  Perhaps your trader wasn't strong enough?  My traders were purchased for around $3000 each.


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## Fairwinds (Jan 22, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> Thanks.
> 
> I was having this conversation with somebody the other day and did not know the answer......Has anybody ever experienced the ability (through II, ownertrades or otherwise) to trade their 2br floating gold week for a 1br platinum week (peak period) week at the same or similar property?   For example, if somebody had a 2br floating gold at Aruba Is there the possibility/ability to trade that for a 1br unit there during a platinum (peak) week?  The 1br platinum owner is now getting a 2br unit (albeit during a different time) and the 2br gold owner is getting into a property during a more premium period.



I purchased a gold Frenchmans Cove more than 10 years ago. I have traded back into FC Platinum through II at least 6 times and St. Kitts Platinum once. All trades were 2Bdr to  2Bdr. One year I even specified a specific week and check in day to link back to back weeks successfully.


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## Dean (Jan 22, 2019)

brianfox said:


> This is just my $.02, but I tried the "buy a cheap Marriott trader" game and did not like it.  I ended up buying where I wanted to stay.
> We did all the recommended tricks for trading through II and rarely got anything good.  We usually ended up getting last minute exchanges in the Flexchange period, which only resulted in stress for us, as we had booked our airfare long in advance.  We ended up unloading our "cheap trader" by giving it away and paying the closing costs.  So that cheap trader was not that cheap in the end...  Who did we give it to?  Someone like the OP who was specifically looking for a "cheap trader".  It sat on the free TS ads for many months.
> 
> Before we purchased where we wanted to stay, we simply rented.  That gave us power over our choice of location, removing stress.
> ...


I do both buy to use/stay and to exchange.  I've done very well exchanging to HI and Aruba particularly.  However, for most people the best buy to use and buy to exchange are different resorts.  That's why I tend to recommend one buy something they can use even for a trader, esp if they're new to the game.  My first Marriott was mainly for trade and it did not do well, week 35 at HP.  The nuances of II's trade power and resort quality grid just made it not workable.  I did like the 18 month deposit option though.  But we are more flexible now as empty nesters though most of our best trades have been during school holidays or high end options like Aruba week 52 or HI week 26-28.  That's why I tend to think the differences between some traders are a bigger deal than some do and I am concerned about relatively minor differences there.


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## brianfox (Jan 23, 2019)

chemteach said:


> What was the trader you purchased?  With my Grand Chateau and Timber Lodge, so far I can see anything in II.  I'm going to Waiohai in a 2 bedroom lockout this summer.  I could see the March and April 2 bedroom lockout Aruba deposits, summer Boston deposits, etc.  These were all months in advance of the checkin date.  Perhaps your trader wasn't strong enough?  My traders were purchased for around $3000 each.


It was a Platinum Desert Springs Villas II.  Bought it way back when for $6000+$400 closing.  Spent at least $1000 on split/exchange fees over the years.  Sold it for $4200.  Paid about $3000 MF over 4 years ownership.  Only got a couple of good exchanges (to HI, but not great resorts).  With that property we were also able to see everything in II.  Best exchanges happened during last 30 days, when I checked every single morning.  That defeated the purpose, as any property can see everything during Flexchange.


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## tschwa2 (Jan 23, 2019)

brianfox said:


> Best exchanges happened during last 30 days, when I checked every single morning.  That defeated the purpose, as any property can see everything during Flexchange.


That really isn't true these days.  First of all some marriott LM still have 1-3 day priority and even without priority II doesn't completely lift the blanket during flex change especially at 60 days.  The closer to check in the more smaller/off season weeks can see but even the day before check in there are reports that some can't see everything.


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## Quadmaniac (Jan 23, 2019)

brianfox said:


> This is just my $.02, but I tried the "buy a cheap Marriott trader" game and did not like it.  I ended up buying where I wanted to stay.
> We did all the recommended tricks for trading through II and rarely got anything good.  We usually ended up getting last minute exchanges in the Flexchange period, which only resulted in stress for us, as we had booked our airfare long in advance.  We ended up unloading our "cheap trader" by giving it away and paying the closing costs.  So that cheap trader was not that cheap in the end...  Who did we give it to?  Someone like the OP who was specifically looking for a "cheap trader".  It sat on the free TS ads for many months.
> 
> Before we purchased where we wanted to stay, we simply rented.  That gave us power over our choice of location, removing stress.
> ...



You indicate that you did all the recommended tricks on II, specifically :

1. Did you pick the highest demand week a year in advance and deposit it into II immediately to have the maximum amount of time to find your desired trade ?
2. Did you put an ongoing request for what it is that you are seeking ?
3. Did you do DAILY searches multiple times per day ? (say min 3-4 ?)
4. What cheap trader did you buy ? Did you get a platinum lock off week to maximize your trading ability.
5. Did you start searching a year or more in advance of your travel dates ?

Trading is not for everyone, it depends if you are willing to put in the time to get a better deal. Of course the more you pay the more convenience you would have - as in buying what you want at a higher cost if you aren't prepared to put the time in to search multiple times.

From what you have posted, if you had trouble getting rid of your week, that would tend to suggest you might have purchased a less than desirable week if you had difficulty getting it off your hands. The suggestion has been to always have an exit plan and keep that in mind when purchasing a trader. Since the cost of traders are relatively low (I've never paid more than $1800, which was a mistake as it was my first and I was all hot to get one, overbidding on eBay), it pays to buy the best so you have the highest trading power giving you the best bang for your buck. Most of the subsequent ones were all purchased for less than $500 and sometimes free. In addition when it comes time to get rid of it (which that day will come for all of us), it is so much more attractive as it is a desirable week. Even with that said, I know of many who have silver weeks that still report of their success in finding what the trades they want.

I don't think it is much different from numerous people buying timeshares, getting frustrated as they say they can't "use it" and get rid of it. It's all about knowing what you are buying and learning how to use it. If your lifestyle does not allow you to follow the requirements, then maybe timeshares are not for you. There are some that can't plan ahead or locked into certain time periods. Some aren't prepared to put in the time for searches as they don't have the patience to log in a couple times per day. Whatever the case may be, success is possible in many cases IF you fall into the parameters.

There is nothing wrong with renting either. If it gives you the convenience you want without having to do searches and you are paying pretty close to what the MF is anyways, there is no real advantage of owning when you can rent with no commitment and no huge cash outlay to get the same. Sometimes renting does work better depending on your lifestyle. For others, it might be owning where they call in and book the time they desire (*we know this doesn't always work in high demand weeks in high demand areas, and you have to book right when it opens, so not always easier either as it is a fight to get prime time). Same for points owners, you can have points, call in and book what you want if there is availability. There is a range for everyone, but by far the most work goes into exchanging and on average the cost is still about $800-900 for a trade depending on where, what size and what you are using to trade with.


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## Quadmaniac (Jan 23, 2019)

brianfox said:


> It was a Platinum Desert Springs Villas II.  Bought it way back when for $6000+$400 closing.  Spent at least $1000 on split/exchange fees over the years.  Sold it for $4200.  Paid about $3000 MF over 4 years ownership.  Only got a couple of good exchanges (to HI, but not great resorts).  With that property we were also able to see everything in II.  Best exchanges happened during last 30 days, when I checked every single morning.  That defeated the purpose, as any property can see everything during Flexchange.



I used to own Shadow Ridge and I found it expensive for the MF compared to other resorts available, they billed you for the property tax separately which was pain to pay and it didn't trade any better than any other resorts I had, so I got rid of it. I'm not sure why you would not see Marriott resorts, but I've been on every Marriott resort on the Maui, Oahu and Kauai. One year I got Christmas week filled a year in advance in Maui on an ongoing search. I would have to honestly say I rarely ever traded during flex period, all of my trades were either ongoing search fills or I found them on average about 8-10 months in advance. I did occasionally find a good last minute upgrade though.

From what you paid and the resort, I wouldn't necessarily say you bought a cheap trader, I would say you bought a midrange trader (its not as expensive as the high end popular destinations, but it is certainly higher than the cheapest available that would get you the same, like Willow Ridge or GC platinum weeks)

In terms of searching, I would search in the morning, I would search when I am in the bathroom, I would search when I had a break between clients, I would search in the vehicle at a stop light, I would search while I'm watching TV, I would sometimes search in the middle of the night if I got up to go to the bathroom. Most times I was searching for a prime time like Christmas or NY in Hawaii Marriotts and surprisingly I was able to get those fills for the past 8 years every year except 1 thus far. So I guess the question is, how is my searches different from yours ? What is happening differently where I get fills and you don't ? There has to be some differential if we're getting different results from the same search on the same site.


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## VacationForever (Jan 23, 2019)

brianfox said:


> It was a Platinum Desert Springs Villas II.  Bought it way back when for $6000+$400 closing.  Spent at least $1000 on split/exchange fees over the years.  Sold it for $4200.  Paid about $3000 MF over 4 years ownership.  Only got a couple of good exchanges (to HI, but not great resorts).  With that property we were also able to see everything in II.  Best exchanges happened during last 30 days, when I checked every single morning.  That defeated the purpose, as any property can see everything during Flexchange.


We own 2 Platinum weeks at Desert Springs I and lock it off whenever I deposit into II and can see everything deposited by Marriott.  At 6 to 9 months out, I exchanged into 2 weeks of 3BR at MKO in March.  It is by far the best trader.  You must not have been doing it correctly.


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## brianfox (Jan 23, 2019)

@Quadmaniac & @VacationForever,
I was able to see all deposits.  But 99% of my searches showed only non Marriott available.  This was 7+ years ago.  Maybe things have gotten better; we let our II member ship lapse long ago. Best Marriott trade we ever got was into MOC (1 BR) but the old building.  Also got KBC one time.  Never got offered Waiohai or Ko Olina.  Our request was for any Marriott on the Islands.  We almost always reserved President's week at DSV II, deposited it immediately and made the request as far out as possible.  If we did something wrong, I don't know what it was, nor do I really care, since we unloaded it.  I will suggest that the most likely thing that made it difficult for us is that we needed to stay consecutive weeks - requiring a find of needles in adjacent haystacks.  We sometimes settled for overlapping or gapping reservations because time was running out.

I think that is something that people really do need to take into consideration when they are thinking of buying traders.  It's not just having an inflexible calendar that makes trading more difficult, but trading for consecutive weeks is potentially unreasonable.  I read a miracle post here recently where someone was able to get three consecutive Waiohai weeks through an II trade.  That's one for the ages in my book.  But again, maybe things have changed in the past 7 years.


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## VacationForever (Jan 23, 2019)

brianfox said:


> @Quadmaniac & @VacationForever,
> I was able to see all deposits.  But 99% of my searches showed only non Marriott available.  This was 7+ years ago.  Maybe things have gotten better; we let our II member ship lapse long ago. Best Marriott trade we ever got was into MOC (1 BR) but the old building.  Also got KBC one time.  Never got offered Waiohai or Ko Olina.  Our request was for any Marriott on the Islands.  We almost always reserved President's week at DSV II, deposited it immediately and made the request as far out as possible.  If we did something wrong, I don't know what it was, nor do I really care, since we unloaded it.  I will suggest that the most likely thing that made it difficult for us is that we needed to stay consecutive weeks - requiring a find of needles in adjacent haystacks.  We sometimes settled for overlapping or gapping reservations because time was running out.
> 
> I think that is something that people really do need to take into consideration when they are thinking of buying traders.  It's not just having an inflexible calendar that makes trading more difficult, but trading for consecutive weeks is potentially unreasonable.  I read a miracle post here recently where someone was able to get three consecutive Waiohai weeks through an II trade.  That's one for the ages in my book.  But again, maybe things have changed in the past 7 years.


Agree with you that using exchange company to reserve specific weeks, concurrent or consecutive is always challenging.  Our 2 weeks of 3BR MKO were consecutive weeks with no overlap.


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## Quadmaniac (Jan 23, 2019)

brianfox said:


> @Quadmaniac & @VacationForever,
> I was able to see all deposits.  But 99% of my searches showed only non Marriott available.  This was 7+ years ago.  Maybe things have gotten better; we let our II member ship lapse long ago. Best Marriott trade we ever got was into MOC (1 BR) but the old building.  Also got KBC one time.  Never got offered Waiohai or Ko Olina.  Our request was for any Marriott on the Islands.  We almost always reserved President's week at DSV II, deposited it immediately and made the request as far out as possible.  If we did something wrong, I don't know what it was, nor do I really care, since we unloaded it.  I will suggest that the most likely thing that made it difficult for us is that we needed to stay consecutive weeks - requiring a find of needles in adjacent haystacks.  We sometimes settled for overlapping or gapping reservations because time was running out.
> 
> I think that is something that people really do need to take into consideration when they are thinking of buying traders.  It's not just having an inflexible calendar that makes trading more difficult, but trading for consecutive weeks is potentially unreasonable.  I read a miracle post here recently where someone was able to get three consecutive Waiohai weeks through an II trade.  That's one for the ages in my book.  But again, maybe things have changed in the past 7 years.



I started in 2011 and initially I did not own Marriotts but I liked trading into them. After spending hours on end here on TUG, I switched over to Marriott traders completely. Rarely did I traded outside of them except for Westin which I traded into wth SDO. When I was using a non-Marriott it was a bit harder but was still able to find some good trades. Sometimes it was isolated weeks, sometimes it was a dump which was more common and plentiful back then. 

There still seems to be dumps of Hawaii weeks but I have noticed it is not as frequent as before. I agree consecutive is more difficult but it is possible. Last year I lined up 7 consecutive weeks at Westin Nanea.


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## hangloose (Jan 23, 2019)

Quadmaniac said:


> Last year I lined up 7 consecutive weeks at Westin Nanea.



Wow. Impressive.  Only happens with hard work!  To timeshare properly and obtain the best value, it does require a bit of elbow grease.

I've seen Westin Nanea a few times in II via manual searches.  Still tend to look for Marriott, as it save the outside Marriott resort exchange fee.  Although, for Nanea and a few other resorts in II...the extra exchange fee is likely worth it!


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## Quadmaniac (Jan 23, 2019)

hangloose said:


> Wow. Impressive.  Only happens with hard work!  To timeshare properly and obtain the best value, it does require a bit of elbow grease.
> 
> I've seen Westin Nanea a few times in II via manual searches.  Still tend to look for Marriott, as it save the outside Marriott resort exchange fee.  Although, for Nanea and a few other resorts in II...the extra exchange fee is likely worth it!


Thanks. There just happened to be a huge dump of weeks so I stocked up for possible family wanting to go. It does take time, but it’s all worth it when you score some awesome weeks for $800-900 per week in a 2 br unit most times.

Funny thing is that it was the first time there and I would rather stay at the South towers than Nanea. Did not like the layout of the resort or the rooms vs South or North towers ‍. I think someone was drunk when they designed it


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## Quadmaniac (Jan 23, 2019)

I was going to note that there is a member here that lives in Hawaii and trades into Ko Olina for the majority of the year in consecutive weeks (as he has that many weeks ). I would say he is a Super Mega exchanger! From what I understand there are occasional weeks he can’t find a week but he seems to do pretty well year after year!


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## DannyTS (Jan 23, 2019)

everything i read points to the same, Grand Chateau is a great trader, low fees, it can be locked out. I want to say though that the merger may change the top spots at one point since some Vistana resorts are great traders already (even lower MF, no lockout fee, lower upfront cost, Vistana priority) and all they are lacking is Marriott priority. This may change though since some (including me, wishful thinking?) are expecting  at one point an extended priority Vistana-Marriott - possibly Hyatt.


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## chemteach (Jan 23, 2019)

DannyTS said:


> since some Vistana resorts are great traders already (even lower MF, no lockout fee, lower upfront cost, Vistana priority) and all they are lacking is Marriott priority. This may change though since some (including me, wishful thinking?) are expecting  at one point an extended priority Vistana-Marriott - possibly Hyatt.


 
I was one of the hopefuls for extended priority, but gave up, sold one of my Vistana traders and bought a Marriott unit.  For now, nothing can beat a Marriott trader for II weeks because of the Marriott priority.  When (really if) II ever extends priority between Marriott and Vistana, I may purchase a Vistana for trading and sell my Marriott trader.  But I'm not holding my breadth on Vistana priority for Marriott.  Having been a Vistana owner for over a decade, I now wish I had purchased a Marriott earlier...  I just couldn't see paying over $5000 for a trader.  Marriott prices have come down enough that it became affordable to buy one.  It's pretty amazing getting to see all the Marriott units that show up.  Keeps me dreaming about where I'll go next!


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## DannyTS (Jan 23, 2019)

chemteach said:


> I was one of the hopefuls for extended priority, but gave up, sold one of my Vistana traders and bought a Marriott unit.  For now, nothing can beat a Marriott trader for II weeks because of the Marriott priority.  When (really if) II ever extends priority between Marriott and Vistana, I may purchase a Vistana for trading and sell my Marriott trader.  But I'm not holding my breadth on Vistana priority for Marriott.  Having been a Vistana owner for over a decade, I now wish I had purchased a Marriott earlier...  I just couldn't see paying over $5000 for a trader.  Marriott prices have come down enough that it became affordable to buy one.  It's pretty amazing getting to see all the Marriott units that show up.  Keeps me dreaming about where I'll go next!



Right, just that i doubt that there are going to be NO changes in the next few months. I see your point, you waited enough but we are almost there: it is either going to happen and we will know soon or the chances will go down significantly IMO. Buying and selling comes with a cost (and time) and i do not see  myself flipping it like this if i know in advance i may have news in the near future. Besides, if Marriott does announce extended priority you can expect the price of the Vistana traders to marginally go up since they do have lower MF than the MVC traders.

I also have to point out, Vistana resorts do trade pretty well already, at least Lagunamar, not only within Vistana but i have seen enough Marriotts including Hawaii 1 and 2 bedrooms, enought not too miss the Marriott priority much. Our "problem" is lack of vacation time and not the lack of places to exchange into


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## NYFLTRAVELER (Jan 23, 2019)

Circling back, is $5000 for a Aruba Surf 2/2 floating gold Oceanside a good value (putting aside whether it will be used for rental, personal use or both)......

Apparently on tour in Aruba,,Marriott is selling these same floating gold weeks at Aruba Surf 2/2 [view unknown] (with option to convert to DC points (I believe 2525)) for approx $18000.


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## Quadmaniac (Jan 23, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> Circling back, is $5000 for a Aruba Surf 2/2 floating gold Oceanside a good value (putting aside whether it will be used for rental, personal use or both)......
> 
> Apparently on tour in Aruba,,Marriott is selling these same floating gold weeks at Aruba Surf 2/2 [view unknown] (with option to convert to DC points (I believe 2525)) for approx $18000.



Turn around and run fast, cover your ears so you can’t hear any of their empty promises. Don’t open the cheque book!


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## Dean (Jan 23, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> Circling back, is $5000 for a Aruba Surf 2/2 floating gold Oceanside a good value (putting aside whether it will be used for rental, personal use or both)......
> 
> Apparently on tour in Aruba,,Marriott is selling these same floating gold weeks at Aruba Surf 2/2 [view unknown] (with option to convert to DC points (I believe 2525)) for approx $18000.


IMO no, unless you're going to use it fairly routinely.  But you really can't make a good decision without considering how you'll use it.


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## NYFLTRAVELER (Jan 23, 2019)

Quadmaniac said:


> Turn around and run fast, cover your ears so you can’t hear any of their empty promises. Don’t open the cheque book!



Run fast from Marriott?  That I agree.  Or run fast from a prospective $5000 resale purchase for the same thing? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Quadmaniac (Jan 24, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> Run fast from Marriott?  That I agree.  Or run fast from a prospective $5000 resale purchase for the same thing?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I would not buy resale unless you know that’s where you want to go there all the time. Even then I still think you can easily achieve going there by exchanging rather than buying the week.


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## Pathways (Jan 24, 2019)

NYFLTRAVELER said:


> Circling back, is $5000 for a Aruba Surf 2/2 floating gold Oceanside a good value (putting aside whether it will be used for rental, personal use or both)......



To answer your question directly as asked - That price is right in the middle.  I have seen them as low as 3K and as high as 8K.  Just verify it is 'oceanside' view as other views will be a different price point.

Whether or not it is a good purchase, YMMV


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## NYFLTRAVELER (Jan 25, 2019)

Pathways said:


> To answer your question directly as asked - That price is right in the middle.  I have seen them as low as 3K and as high as 8K.  Just verify it is 'oceanside' view as other views will be a different price point.
> 
> Whether or not it is a good purchase, YMMV



Yes it is Oceanside.


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## NiteMaire (Feb 28, 2019)

brianfox said:


> @Quadmaniac & @VacationForever,
> It's not just having an inflexible calendar that makes trading more difficult, but trading for consecutive weeks is potentially unreasonable.  I read a miracle post here recently where someone was able to get three consecutive Waiohai weeks through an II trade.  That's one for the ages in my book.  But again, maybe things have changed in the past 7 years.


It takes a little work (or sometimes luck with a mini-bulk that has consecutive weeks), but it's very possible.  Whether we're looking to travel or not, we check II many times a day between 6am - 10pm Eastern.  I'm no @Quadmaniac, but I did get consecutive weeks at Ko Olina and Waiohai with my MGC trader. 



VacationForever said:


> Agree with you that using exchange company to reserve specific weeks, concurrent or consecutive is always challenging.  Our 2 weeks of 3BR MKO were consecutive weeks with no overlap.


Sometimes overlap works out financially. We had the opportunity to have no overlap with the MKO and MAW exchanges mentioned above, but the price in airfare (front end) was far more expensive so we took the Sunday checkin instead of the Saturday.  We'll spend 13 days instead of 14, but I'll take it with the savings in airfare.  I could have traded for 2 weeks with no overlap to Waiohai or Oahu only, but between the airfare difference and our desire to visit both islands, we decided on overlapping weeks at different resorts.



DannyTS said:


> everything i read points to the same, Grand Chateau is a great trader, low fees, it can be locked out. I want to say though that the merger may change the top spots at one point since some Vistana resorts are great traders already (even lower MF, no lockout fee, lower upfront cost, Vistana priority) and all they are lacking is Marriott priority. This may change though since some (including me, wishful thinking?) are expecting  at one point an extended priority Vistana-Marriott - possibly Hyatt.


I can vouch for MGC being a great trader.  We've been able to trade for Hawaii each year (MKO multiple times and MAW -- opportunities at other Marriotts, but timing didn't work), Newport Coast in September, and Marriott's Frenchman's Cove in December.  We've yet to do an OGS since we've been able to get what we desire with instant exchanges.

Reference your comment about priority, it'll also go the other way if/when priority is extended.  I've seen many great sightings in the TUG sightings area for Hawaii Vistana resorts, but couldn't get them because I don't have a Vistana unit.  I was lucky enough to get a WKORV unit in Sep with my Colonies (Vacation Village) unit thanks to one of my 6am searches.  Enough studios show up, but it's nice to get a 1BR or 2BR unit.


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## DannyTS (Feb 28, 2019)

NiteMaire said:


> I can vouch for MGC being a great trader.  We've been able to trade for Hawaii each year (MKO multiple times and MAW -- opportunities at other Marriotts, but timing didn't work), Newport Coast in September, and Marriott's Frenchman's Cove in December.  We've yet to do an OGS since we've been able to get what we desire with instant exchanges.
> 
> Reference your comment about priority, it'll also go the other way if/when priority is extended.  I've seen many great sightings in the TUG sightings area for Hawaii Vistana resorts, but couldn't get them because I don't have a Vistana unit.  I was lucky enough to get a WKORV unit in Sep with my Colonies (Vacation Village) unit thanks to one of my 6am searches.  Enough studios show up, but it's nice to get a 1BR or 2BR unit.



All I am saying is that if priority is extended to all MVC brands, there might be some changes at the top of the best traders list. I just bought a Sheraton Vistana Resort 1 bdr, MF are 480/year (no lockoff fee to pay of course) and i can see everything i can see with the more expensive  Vistana contracts i have.
Of course MGC will always be one of the top on that list.


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## NiteMaire (Feb 28, 2019)

DannyTS said:


> All I am saying is that if priority is extended to all MVC brands, there might be some changes at the top of the best traders list. I just bought a Sheraton Vistana Resort 1 bdr, MF are 480/year (no lockoff fee to pay of course) and i can see everything i can see with the more expensive  Vistana contracts i have.
> Of course MGC will always be one of the top on that list.


I misread your previous statement.  If the SVR 1BR with $480 MF (or any other inexpensive Vistana unit) gets Marriott priority and provides the equivalent trade opportunity of more expensive Marriott units, then it could very well shake up the best trader discussion...or lead to a riot.


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## DannyTS (Feb 28, 2019)

NiteMaire said:


> I misread your previous statement.  If the SVR 1BR with $480 MF (or any other inexpensive Vistana unit) gets Marriott priority and provides the equivalent trade opportunity of more expensive Marriott units, then it could very well shake up the best trader discussion...or lead to a riot.


We will see. My nightmare is that MVC will redesign everything and make the priority a thing of the past. These agreements II- Marriott and II- Vistana made sense for all three at one point but they can be changed anytime if the rules no longer suits them .


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## NiteMaire (Feb 28, 2019)

DannyTS said:


> We will see. My nightmare is that MVC will redesign everything and make the priority a thing of the past. These agreements II- Marriott and II- Vistana made sense for all three at one point but they can be changed anytime if the rules no longer suits them .


I would be shocked to see priority disappear.  I also think the priority helps the business case...get legacy weeks owners to convert to DP and/or purchase trust points. As legacy weeks owners, we're already part of the system and show a bias to the product.

If priority went away, I'd have to seriously consider staying since it's the primary reason I own a Marriott TS.  I'm also Lifetime Titanium due to my hotel stays, so I've displayed loyalty to them; however, the points program is too expensive for me. MFs are much better for legacy weeks compared to points. Granted, points provide more flexibility, but at a greater cost.


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## DannyTS (Feb 28, 2019)

NiteMaire said:


> I would be shocked to see priority disappear.  I also think the priority helps the business case...get legacy weeks owners to convert to DP and/or purchase trust points. As legacy weeks owners, we're already part of the system and show a bias to the product.
> 
> If priority went away, I'd have to seriously consider staying since it's the primary reason I own a Marriott TS.  I'm also Lifetime Titanium due to my hotel stays, so I've displayed loyalty to them; however, the points program is too expensive for me. MFs are much better for legacy weeks compared to points. Granted, points provide more flexibility, but at a greater cost.


i certainly hope you are right


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