# Welk Resorts Buys Back Platinum Points



## mjm1

I am happy to share that I recently completed the sale of our Welk Platinum Points back to Welk Resorts.  I was pleasantly surprised that they have an organization that works with them to complete the transaction in a very easy and painless process.

A bit of background. We bought a resale Welk Resorts 2BR unit in Escondido in the early 2000's. In 2010 we decided to transition to their points program. We were required to give up our 2BR fixed week unit, which we actually liked quite a bit, but didn't provide the flexibility we wanted. We received 240k points in exchange and they charged us $10k to make the conversion and add an additional 60k points. In hind site, we probably shouldn't have done it, but we did and benefited from the flexibility (our kids are on their own and no longer travel with us). Note, this conversion/purchase was before we found TUG.

Since then, we used our ownership to our maximum benefit and over our entire ownership saved a great deal of money. However, we found TUG and started upgrading our ownership by buying Marriott and Westin on the resale market. We are very happy with those systems and units and are now transitioning to a retired/semi-retired lifestyle/budget. So, we decided we needed to reduce our ownership.

Reviewing Redweek, TUG, etc. for sales of Welk points, I realized that there weren't many sales and most of the asking prices were very unrealistic. All said, I figured we would only get $3-4k at most. So, I called Welk to confirm what transfer fees would be due if I transferred/sold it to someone other than family (our kids didn't want it). They transferred me to Premier Vacation Ownership, which is a separate company founded by the leader of Welk Resorts. They told me they would buy it from me for $2,800 with no fees. Of course, they will turn it over to Welk which will turn around and sell the points to some newbie for $30-50k. They also said they would reimburse us for our 2015 MF's if we hadn't already used our 2015 points, which we hadn't. I was very surprised on both fronts and after discussing it with my DW, decided to move forward. The paperwork was short and easy and we received a check within 30 days. I may (and I stress may) have received a bit more for it on the open market, but given the ease and likelihood that it wouldn't be much more, we are happy with the process and result.

We enjoyed our Welk ownership, but are happy we were able to adjust our portfolio and can now focus on our remaining resorts/programs.

Thanks again for all of the knowledge that fellow Tuggers have shared over the years, and helped me learn more about timesharing.

Best regards.

Mike


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## Guitarmom

Hi Mike,

I'd never seen this post before, though I regularly search for "Welk." Yours is the best story I've ever heard about divesting oneself of a Welk unit. Well done!


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## mjm1

Thanks. We were thinking of selling and based on what it seemed I may reasonably get for it selling it myself, they offered a reasonable amount. It was very easy too.

Mike


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## Kristin Housh

Mike, this is great news.  We have been trying to sell our points for the past two years.  I didn't know Welk would buy them back.  Any further tips/tricks on how to get them to buy back our points?  Or is it just as simple as calling customer service and asking if they would buy them back and reimburse us for the maintenance fees?


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## mjm1

Kristin Housh said:


> Mike, this is great news.  We have been trying to sell 240,000 platinum points for the past two years.  I didn't know Welk would buy them back.  Any further tips/tricks on how to get them to buy back our points?  Or is it just as simple as calling customer service and asking if they would buy them back and reimburse us for the maintenance fees?



Kristin, call Premier Vacation Ownership at 760-330-6108. I don't recall the young guy who was my original contact but Michelle Franklin helped with the paperwork. I don't know if they are still doing this, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are. If you haven't used or rented your points/unit for 2017 they may reimburse you for the MF's like they did for us. Good luck and please let us know how it works out.

Best regards.

Mike


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## nuwermj

mjm1 said:


> I am happy to share that I recently completed the sale of our Welk Platinum Points back to Welk Resorts.




Can anyone comment on the kind of restrictions, if any, Welk puts on resale points? If I were to acquire, say 240,000, points from another member are there restrictions on how those points can be used? Is the Welk provided II membership transferable?


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## mjm1

nuwermj said:


> Can anyone comment on the kind of restrictions, if any, Welk puts on resale points? If I were to acquire, say 240,000, points from another member are there restrictions on how those points can be used? Is the Welk provided II membership transferable?



Two things come to mind. 

One, resale owners don't get an owner's discount if you rent additional nights from the resort. We never rented additional nights, so it wouldn't have affected us. 

The second, and more important, thing is that you can't combine contracts unless they are purchased from Welk. This results in higher annual maintenance fees and an inability to use all points in a single reservation. The MF's are calculated using a base amount plus an incremental amount based on the number of points. So, each contract would be charged the base fee. This isn't as cost effective as having one contract with more points. So, seriously consider the number of points you want and can use before moving forward.

On a broader note, do as much research as possible regarding the various systems available (Welk, Wyndham, Diamond, Marriott, Vistana, Hilton, Disney, independents) before buying. There are a lot of options out there. There are pros and cons to each one.

Good luck and let us know if you have other questions, as well as what you decide to do.

Best regards.

Mike


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## Kristin Housh

mjm1 said:


> Kristin, call Premier Vacation Ownership at 760-330-6108. I don't recall the young guy who was my original contact but Michelle Franklin helped with the paperwork. I don't know if they are still doing this, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are. If you haven't used or rented your points/unit for 2017 they may reimburse you for the MF's like they did for us. Good luck and please let us know how it works out.
> 
> Best regards.
> 
> Mike



Thanks for all of your help. I contacted Welk about selling back EOY 240,000 points. They offered $1,200 plus reimbursement for the 2017 maintenance fees (total of $2558). I suspect your offer was higher since you had 300,000 points every year?

I think we'd be lucky to get $3000 on the resale market; I think we are going to go with the sell back option.


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## mjm1

Kristin Housh said:


> Thanks for all of your help. I contacted Welk about selling back EOY 240,000 points. They offered $1,200 plus reimbursement for the 2017 maintenance fees (total of $2558). I suspect your offer was higher since you had 300,000 points every year?
> 
> I think we'd be lucky to get $3000 on the resale market; I think we are going to go with the sell back option.



Kristin, that sounds like a reasonable deal. Certainly much easier than trying to sell them yourself. You actually got $200 more than we did based on the ratio of points. I agree with you- take it and move on. The process went pretty quickly for us once we submitted the paperwork, and I'm sure it will for you too.

Best regards.

Mike


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## nuwermj

I came across some recent transactions of Welk points, which might be useful to other.

  120,000    $1,200 ($0.01 per point)
  180,000    $1,800 ($0.01 per point)
  600,000    $4,000  (EOY) ($0.013 per point)
1,080,000   $16,200 ($0.015 per point)


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## Jo Alcaraz

This is ridiculous. I feel trapped and I am trying to be debt free and don't know if I should go for the Exit team? I still owe 12,000. Should I just pay it off and get the most and travel or is there a way where we can just pay 6,000 and be out of this contract, since this purchase goes against my life goals.


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## rickandcindy23

Jo Alcaraz said:


> This is ridiculous. I feel trapped and I am trying to be debt free and don't know if I should go for the Exit team? I still owe 12,000. Should I just pay it off and get the most and travel or is there a way where we can just pay 6,000 and be out of this contract, since this purchase goes against my life goals.



The best thing you can do is keep paying and enjoy your purchase.  

But if you really do want out, keep calling Welk until someone helps you.  Tell them you want out and see if they will let you out of the deal.  

I love timeshare, but most of my timeshares were free or nearly free, bought resale, used, but all timeshares are used.


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## mjm1

Jo Alcaraz said:


> This is ridiculous. I feel trapped and I am trying to be debt free and don't know if I should go for the Exit team? I still owe 12,000. Should I just pay it off and get the most and travel or is there a way where we can just pay 6,000 and be out of this contract, since this purchase goes against my life goals.





mjm1 said:


> Kristin, call Premier Vacation Ownership at 760-330-6108. I don't recall the young guy who was my original contact but Michelle Franklin helped with the paperwork. I don't know if they are still doing this, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are. If you haven't used or rented your points/unit for 2017 they may reimburse you for the MF's like they did for us. Good luck and please let us know how it works out.
> 
> Best regards.
> 
> Mike



Jo, I have quoted one of my prior posts that includes the number you should call. It is worth trying to see if they will work with you in some manner to help you get out of the contract if you absolutely don't want to use it any longer. 

If that doesn't work then I would keep using it the best you can until you have it paid off or paid down to about $3,000 (the approximate amount that they are currently paying to take 300k points back). Maybe they will work with you then.

Best regards.

Mike


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## noax

Kristin Housh said:


> Thanks for all of your help. I contacted Welk about selling back EOY 240,000 points. They offered $1,200 plus reimbursement for the 2017 maintenance fees (total of $2558). I suspect your offer was higher since you had 300,000 points every year?
> 
> I think we'd be lucky to get $3000 on the resale market; I think we are going to go with the sell back option.


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## noax

Has anyone used this Premiere Vacation Ownership in the last 3 months?  When I call the number says that the person's voice mail box hasn't been set up yet.  I am wanting to sell back our Welk Premiere Ownership.  Any help would be appreciated, please.


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## mjm1

noax said:


> Has anyone used this Premiere Vacation Ownership in the last 3 months?  When I call the number says that the person's voice mail box hasn't been set up yet.  I am wanting to sell back our Welk Premiere Ownership.  Any help would be appreciated, please.



Try calling Owner Services at 800-240-9342 and ask them if PVO is still operating and buying points back from owners. Hopefully they are. Good luck and please let us know how it works out.

Best regards.

Mike


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## lei1

mjm1 said:


> Try calling Owner Services at 800-240-9342 and ask them if PVO is still operating and buying points back from owners. Hopefully they are. Good luck and please let us know how it works out.
> 
> Best regards.
> 
> Mike


Do you know if Welk will still work with me even if my timeshare is not yet paid off? I had no idea what a mess I was getting myself into at the time I purchased it, but now I'm in over my head and just want to get rid of it.


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## mjm1

lei1 said:


> Do you know if Welk will still work with me even if my timeshare is not yet paid off? I had no idea what a mess I was getting myself into at the time I purchased it, but now I'm in over my head and just want to get rid of it.



My guess is that they won’t take it back if you still owe on the loan. They would require you to pay it off first. I don’t know if they are still offering a buy back program, but it would be worth a call. And you can’t sell it to anyone else without it being paid off either. Whatever you do, don’t pay someone anything up front to sell it for you. There are scam artists out there.

Unfortunately, you won’t get much for it either way. If you can’t sell it or give it away, learn as much as possible about using it at least until you have it paid off.

I hope it works out for you.

Best regards.

Mike


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## rhonda

Bumping an old thread ... for a _friend_.  They own a fixed week, 2BR, at Escondido from long ago.  Not sure which HOA (Villas on the Greens or Resort Villas, likely?).  Long paid off; long enjoyed; current in dues ... but now they want out.  Would Welk take back this ownership with no hassle or costs to the owner?


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## mjm1

rhonda said:


> Bumping an old thread ... for a _friend_.  They own a fixed week, 2BR, at Escondido from long ago.  Not sure which HOA (Villas on the Greens or Resort Villas, likely?).  Long paid off; long enjoyed; current in dues ... but now they want out.  Would Welk take back this ownership with no hassle or costs to the owner?



I would recommend they call Welk and ask. They could list it for sale on redweek.com and compare prices being asked by other sellers. Realize those are asking prices and may or may not be reasonable. Depending on what they own they may get $3-5k. Alternatively, there are resale agents who handle Welk although their fee is likely 20-25% of a flat fee of around $2,000, whichever is greater.

Best regards.

Mike


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## rhonda

Thanks, Mike (@mjm1 ).  Does Welk practice ROFR?  If so, do they use if often on weeks ownerships?


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## mjm1

rhonda said:


> Thanks, Mike (@mjm1 ).  Does Welk practice ROFR?  If so, do they use if often on weeks ownerships?



I am not sure if they have ROFR. Others may comment on that. However, ROFR doesn't affect the seller, only the prospective buyer. Either way, the seller gets paid the agreed upon sales price, either by the buyer or by Welk if they have ROFR and exercise it.

Best regards.

Mike


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## Vernl

I'm trying to get rid of my dad's Welks resort timeshare and don't know how to start.   He is now in a care facility and can't travel.   No one in the family wants it.  He has the platinum/rci points program.  Any suggestions would be welcome.


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## TheTimeTraveler

Vernl said:


> I'm trying to get rid of my dad's Welks resort timeshare and don't know how to start.   He is now in a care facility and can't travel.   No one in the family wants it.  He has the platinum/rci points program.  Any suggestions would be welcome.





You can give it away for free right here on TUG.   Post it under "FREE TIMESHARE GIVE AWAYS AND BARGAIN DEALS".

Once you have someone to take it then contact www.LTTransfers.com and they will take care of the title transfer for you for a very reasonable fee.




.


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## adriasnorton

Vernl said:


> I'm trying to get rid of my dad's Welks resort timeshare and don't know how to start.   He is now in a care facility and can't travel.   No one in the family wants it.  He has the platinum/rci points program.  Any suggestions would be welcome.


I’m interested in purchasing a Welk’s Resort Tahoe timeshare. Is this what your dad owns?


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## bogey21

rhonda said:


> Would Welk take back this ownership with no hassle or costs to the owner?



No one here can tell you for sure.  There is really only one way to know.   Call them and ask...

George


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## rhonda

bogey21 said:


> No one here can tell you for sure.  There is really only one way to know.   Call them and ask...
> 
> George


That was last year ... I passed along the info gleaned and we haven't spoke of it since.


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## jarnson

Vernl said:


> I'm trying to get rid of my dad's Welks resort timeshare and don't know how to start.   He is now in a care facility and can't travel.   No one in the family wants it.  He has the platinum/rci points program.  Any suggestions would be welcome.


I'm trying to get rid of my Welk Resorts ownership too, but SELLING it.  Have you gotten any info in regards to that?  I'm a Platinum owner with 240,000 pts/year


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## jarnson

rhonda said:


> That was last year ... I passed along the info gleaned and we haven't spoke of it since.


They have a "GIVE BACK" program, with a lot of restrictions.  AND they charge you to do so.  Contact OwnerRelease@welkgroup.com for more information


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## Danielle1124

[Deleted: not allowed in the discussion forums]


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