# Curious about encore package offer



## Safti (Mar 19, 2015)

At presentation just received an encore offer of 4 nights plus 75K MR points for $1195 during low season booking or $1895 during high season booking ( taxes in) . You have to travel within 18 months. You must attend another 90 minute presentation at your encore. Is this encore package really worth it?


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## dioxide45 (Mar 19, 2015)

Safti said:


> At presentation just received an encore offer of 4 nights plus 75K MR points for $1195 during low season booking or $1895 during high season booking ( taxes in) . You have to travel within 18 months. You must attend another 90 minute presentation at your encore. Is this encore package really worth it?



I have found them to be a rather poor deal. We always turn them down. Except the first one where we paid $700 for four or five nights at Grande Vista. It was expensive for 4 nights, but saved us bundles in the end.

I guess it all depends on if you will actually be able to use it or are you just going to end up planning an additional vacation and in the end it costs you more than you had ever planned?


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## puckmanfl (Mar 19, 2015)

good evening

remember, the reservation is subject to availability.  It is a separate inventory pool from Marriott.com with a separate phone number to book.  I did a trial run right in front of my sales rep and nothing good was open!!!

just saying...


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## dioxide45 (Mar 19, 2015)

Also remember, you won't get Elite night credit for those four nights either.


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## TEA CIE (Mar 20, 2015)

*Encore*

I did purchase an encore package last year that will expire in 2016. I bought it for the 100,000 MRP and guaranteed DC price freeze at last year's price.  I'm still undecided whether to buy matching points so my resale weeks can be enrolled. The encore buys me the time to think and also save up.


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## curbysplace (Mar 20, 2015)

TEA CIE said:


> I'm still undecided whether to buy matching points so my resale weeks can be enrolled.



Are you being offered the opportunity to enroll resale weeks that were deeded to you after June 20, 2010 if you buy DC points?


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## n777lt (Mar 20, 2015)

In our case, the encore package proved to be a cheap price for family peace - my husband was drinking the Kool-Aid, with the new pitch to us to "top up" our ownership so that when we pass on, all of our kids would be able to be Premium Plus, as it was called then...and I thought (knew) it was crazy!  So we compromised and bought time to decide with the encore package.  Three months later, DH conceded buying more points made no sense.
So we got an extra vacation, at slightly below market price, and because DH came to his senses, we saved a bundle, without any blood being shed!! :whoopie:
Not quite what Marriott intended, but it worked for us...:rofl:


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## Safti (Mar 20, 2015)

Any thoughts on the price of this travel package? How much would 75K MRP cost if I wanted to purchase them? I did buy an encore package 3 years ago but only with the stipulation that they book it for me in advance to add three nights to my previously booked week. They did that for me because I was worried about being able to get the week I wanted.


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## NYFLTRAVELER (Mar 20, 2015)

I would say don't do it unless you know in advance (a) your travel dates are available and (b) you do not intend on buying into the program and just want an extra trip.


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## puckmanfl (Mar 20, 2015)

good morning...

general rule

each MRP = $0.01

$750 for 75K MRP's...


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## michigander (Mar 20, 2015)

We were offered an encore package at BeachPlace Towers for 4 nights stay in a one bedroom, a 7 night cruise for 2 in an inside cabin (not including taxes and port charges), and 100,00 Marriott Reward points for $2100 or a 2 bedroom villa and same deal for $2300.

Does anyone have experience with booking a cruise in this way?  It requires going to a particular (non-Marriott) website and entering a certificate number that is issued by Marriott.


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## JIMinNC (Mar 20, 2015)

michigander said:


> We were offered an encore package at BeachPlace Towers for 4 nights stay in a one bedroom, a 7 night cruise for 2 in an inside cabin (not including taxes and port charges), and 100,00 Marriott Reward points for $2100 or a 2 bedroom villa and same deal for $2300.
> 
> Does anyone have experience with booking a cruise in this way?  It requires going to a particular (non-Marriott) website and entering a certificate number that is issued by Marriott.



We got the cruise certifcate as part of an encore we did last summer. 

We haven't booked the cruise yet - we have until Oct 2015 to do a booking (can travel after that; that's just the deadline to book) - but have shopped the site extensively. The port charges/taxes on the promotion website appear to be a bit higher than what you pay for online cash cruise bookings, but there is still a savings. The biggest savings appear to be on Carnival cruises.

The "free" cabins are generally the lowest category inside cabins and are not available on every cruise. If you want an outside, balcony, or suite, or a cruise without "free" cabins available, you can also book those and the discount is applied to that higher price. I've seen shorter 3-5 day cruises where two people can get a balcony stateroom or mini-suite for almost "free" (plus taxes/port charges). The savings seem to vary considerably with date, cruise line, cruise type, etc. I did do a few experiments where I priced the cruise on the Marriott certificate website and then priced it again on an online cruise booking site to compare the price. As I recall, the savings using the Marriott certificate were generally around $1500 or so (searching mainly non-Carnival cruises). I may have seen one or two where the savings were higher ($2000 or so as I recall, and those may have been Carnival), but these were just spot checks and your mileage may vary.


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## Safti (Mar 20, 2015)

Doesn't it cost $1200 to purchase 50K points per year?


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## Fasttr (Mar 20, 2015)

Safti said:


> Doesn't it cost $1200 to purchase 50K points per year?



Are you referring to purchasing MR points from Marriott?  I believe its $0.0125 per point ($12.50 per 1000 points) so it would be $625.


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## Safti (Mar 20, 2015)

Fasttr said:


> Are you referring to purchasing MR points from Marriott?  I believe its $0.0125 per point ($12.50 per 1000 points) so it would be $625.



Yes. That's what I thought so in terms of point purchase only, it's a poor deal. They keep telling me that it's easy to book a vacation but I disagree.


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## BocaBoy (Mar 21, 2015)

Whether your encore package is a good deal depends a lot on which resort it is.  Did I miss it or did you not say the name of the resort?  It of course is the best deal if you are seriously considering a points purchase, because the cost of the encore package will be deducted from what you owe for the points.  We decline most encore packages, but we have taken at least one (a few years ago when they were still selling weeks) and were very happy with its value.


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## Luvtoride (Mar 21, 2015)

We purchased an encore package for 7 nights in Hilton Head.  We also selected the option with 100,000 MRP. At $2400, charged in monthly installments on our MR Visa card, we thought it was a good deal.  We have booked the week for early October at Barony Beach.  We viewed it as getting an extra week in HH without using our DC points or an II week. After deducting the value of the 100,000 pts, worth about $1,000, we look at the cost of $1,400 for a week as a bit more than our MF for one of our owned weeks.  When we go back for the tour/ presentation we will view the cost of buying add'l points less the $2,400 we paid for the encore package. If we feel it's a reasonable deal we might consider buying some more points.  We are/ were Premier already but now with the new levels might consider adding points.  Either way, it's another trip to one of our favorite places plus adding 100k poits to our rewards account.


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## jimf41 (Mar 21, 2015)

Luvtoride said:


> We are/ were Premier already but now with the new levels might consider adding points.  Either way, it's another trip to one of our favorite places plus adding 100k poits to our rewards account.



I wonder if they would let you apply the Encore cost to a Combo purchase. When you add up all of the incentives and cost it could well be a very good price per point. If you are already an owner you should get another 80k in MRPs and if you go with no incentives the DC points to match the Combo should go around $9.50 or so.


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## JIMinNC (Mar 21, 2015)

jimf41 said:


> I wonder if they would let you apply the Encore cost to a Combo purchase. When you add up all of the incentives and cost it could well be a very good price per point. If you are already an owner you should get another 80k in MRPs and if you go with no incentives the DC points to match the Combo should go around $9.50 or so.



Last summer they did apply the Encore cost against our combo week/points purchase. Resulted in a net cost/point of just under $7/pt. We did not get any MRP in the Encore, but did get a stay at Barony and a "Free" cruise certificate (basically a $1500 - $2000 discount on a cruise purchase which winds up making lower priced cruises/cabins "free').


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## jimf41 (Mar 21, 2015)

JIMinNC said:


> Last summer they did apply the Encore cost against our combo week/points purchase. Resulted in a net cost/point of just under $7/pt. We did not get any MRP in the Encore, but did get a stay at Barony and a "Free" cruise certificate (basically a $1500 - $2000 discount on a cruise purchase which winds up making lower priced cruises/cabins "free').



I would think you would have received the 40k self referral MRP bonus for each part of the combo purchase. They don't really let you know about that but it has been my experience that when you ask for it they give it.


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## JIMinNC (Mar 21, 2015)

jimf41 said:


> I would think you would have received the 40k self referral MRP bonus for each part of the combo purchase. They don't really let you know about that but it has been my experience that when you ask for it they give it.



This was our first Marriott purchase, so my assumption is self-referral doesn't apply.


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## tompk (Mar 21, 2015)

We recently bot the encore package at aurba surf for $2300, get 6 nights in a 1 bedroom villa(going back in mid Nov) and 100K MRP and we're paying the $200 installments on a Marriott VISA to get a few more points.  We're spending the first 2 nights at the Radisson to make it an 8 night trip as we hold the Club Carlson VISA so the first night is 50K points and the second night is free.  Our offer does include that the money paid for the encore package would go toward any points or combo package purchase when we return and do the presentation.  We thought it was an OK deal as 100K MRP can get you a Business Class ticket to Europe or pretty close to it anyway if you redeem for a travel package.  It also saves us an exchange this year so we may have an extra week that to use next year or we can redeem for another 100K MRP.


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## michigander (Mar 21, 2015)

Thanks so much JIMinNC, for the details on the cruise certificate use.  We are frequent cruisers and thought this sounded like a good deal.  Since we are retired, and flexible on travel dates, it sounds like we should be able to work something out.  We have not received the certificate in the mail yet, so are at the "dreaming" stage.  It is good to know it just has to be booked within a year, not completed.  We avoid Carnival, but are considering either a fall New England cruise or a winter Caribbean one.   Our $2100 purchase including the cruise "credit", 100,000 points and 4 nights at BeachPlace sounds pretty good at this point.


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## TEA CIE (Mar 21, 2015)

*Nope*



curbysplace said:


> Are you being offered the opportunity to enroll resale weeks that were deeded to you after June 20, 2010 if you buy DC points?



I bought those weeks from Marriott Resales recently.


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## JIMinNC (Mar 21, 2015)

michigander said:


> Thanks so much JIMinNC, for the details on the cruise certificate use.  We are frequent cruisers and thought this sounded like a good deal.  Since we are retired, and flexible on travel dates, it sounds like we should be able to work something out.  We have not received the certificate in the mail yet, so are at the "dreaming" stage.  It is good to know it just has to be booked within a year, not completed.  We avoid Carnival, but are considering either a fall New England cruise or a winter Caribbean one.   Our $2100 purchase including the cruise "credit", 100,000 points and 4 nights at BeachPlace sounds pretty good at this point.



You're welcome. One additional data point...I did a quick search this AM for a Disney Alaska cruise using the discount certificate site in response to another question on this topic and found the savings on that cruise was only about $500 vs cruise.com - so the discounts do vary greatly by cruise line/itinerary.


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## Davey54321 (Mar 22, 2015)

*Thanks for checking and posting about Disney cruise, Jim!*

I know there were other TUGers interested as to whether Disney cruises were available via the Encore package cruise certificates and now we know that they are. Even if we only get a $500 discount, at least we know its an option....
Vicki


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## michigander (Apr 2, 2015)

*New England Fall Cruise*



JIMinNC said:


> You're welcome. One additional data point...I did a quick search this AM for a Disney Alaska cruise using the discount certificate site in response to another question on this topic and found the savings on that cruise was only about $500 vs cruise.com - so the discounts do vary greatly by cruise line/itinerary.



Thanks for the added detail.  We have not gotten our certificate to browse with yet, but I am thinking perhaps Regal Princess New England cruise in the fall or March on the Emerald Princess western Carribean.  If you get a chance to look at those, I'd appreciate your input.   Can you tell I'm excited??

You are very kind!


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## hangloose (Apr 2, 2015)

We toured at Beachplace Towers last month.   Presentation lasted about 45 mins.  While we didn't purchase, the encore packages presented seemed decent.

One was:
- 4 night / 5 day stay in 2 Brd at BeachPlace
- 2 Cruise Certificates
 - 100k in MRP

Price was around $1800-1900 if I recall and the cost would be credited towards a purchase with a repeat presentation at BeachPlace.   There was also a cheaper package around $1300-1400 without the cruises.  The stay and cruise were to be used within 18 months.

For those who know they will purchase DC pts from Marriott, isn't this a way to get some freebies in advance of a repeat, given the price paid is used as down payment for a future purchase?


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## michigander (Apr 2, 2015)

hangloose said:


> We toured at Beachplace Towers last month.   Presentation lasted about 45 mins.  While we didn't purchase, the encore packages presented seemed decent.
> 
> One was:
> - 4 night / 5 day stay in 2 Brd at BeachPlace
> ...



We were offered this package for $2300 at BPT last month.  I thought that was a good deal, because we will use the cruise, and I like visiting at BPT.  We opted for the 1 BR package at $2100.   Interesting, if the price has dropped!


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## JIMinNC (Apr 2, 2015)

michigander said:


> Thanks for the added detail.  We have not gotten our certificate to browse with yet, but I am thinking perhaps Regal Princess New England cruise in the fall or March on the Emerald Princess western Carribean.  If you get a chance to look at those, I'd appreciate your input.   Can you tell I'm excited??
> 
> You are very kind!



The Regal Princess New England is available for several dates in October and September. There are none on that ship being offered "free", the cheapest I saw is an inside stateroom that prices out for about $1300 for two people. The cheapest balcony stateroom prices out about $2200.

There are two sailings that show up for the Emerald Princess Western Caribbean in March 2016. A 7 day on March 19 offers "free" Oceanview cabins on that cruise that with taxes and port charges prices out at $625. A balcony cabin prices at $1900.

A 4 day cruise that just goes to Grand Cayman is free all the way up to a mini suite and taxes and port charges result in a cost of only $375.

For each cruise there are other sailing dates and many other cabin options at varying prices, but that should give you a basic idea of what can be had at what prices.


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## michigander (Apr 2, 2015)

jiminnc said:


> the regal princess new england is available for several dates in october and september. There are none on that ship being offered "free", the cheapest i saw is an inside stateroom that prices out for about $1300 for two people. The cheapest balcony stateroom prices out about $2200.
> 
> There are two sailings that show up for the emerald princess western caribbean in march 2016. A 7 day on march 19 offers "free" oceanview cabins on that cruise that with taxes and port charges prices out at $625. A balcony cabin prices at $1900.
> 
> ...



thank you!


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## tiel (Apr 2, 2015)

Regarding the cruise certificates, we found the prices you find vary over time for a particular cruise.  Up to a point, prices across the categories tend to drop as the departure date approaches.  I can't say this is true across the board, but this is what I found when I was trying to use our certificate last year.


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## mgoldid (Apr 5, 2015)

We got the offer at the "update" we attended in Las Vegas this past week.  I believe they broke it down to 5 payments; $199 plus $125 times 4 or 5.  I did not write it down, though it included 50k MR points as well.  To me it was not worth it and we said no.


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## michigander (Apr 23, 2015)

*when did you get the cruise certificate*



tiel said:


> Regarding the cruise certificates, we found the prices you find vary over time for a particular cruise.  Up to a point, prices across the categories tend to drop as the departure date approaches.  I can't say this is true across the board, but this is what I found when I was trying to use our certificate last year.



Did you get the cruise certificate after you purchased the package (and started paying for it), or after you completed the second presentation visit?  Thanks.


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## Davey54321 (Apr 23, 2015)

*We got our cruise certificate today...*

Three weeks or so after attending the Encore presentation (15 months after purchase)...


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## jewls (Apr 23, 2015)

We just returned from Frenchman's Cove in St. Thomas.  I'm not sure what the "encore package is" but we were offered to come back if we attended a presentation.  5 days, 4 nights for $99...traveling End of Aug to end of Oct.  Yes hurricane season.  Seems like a great deal, but DH says no, airfare is too high.

We own Custom House and as far as we are concerned the new points system is not a good deal for us. We are not putting any more money into this.  Maintenance fees are killing us.  I might be missing something, but I have not been able to make sense out of it.  I keep reading TUG to keep informed.  But there are some things I have missed.

Encore?  Point system?  Destination Club?


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