# VIP Gold - what is the main benefit



## Ninjaneer80 (Jan 5, 2019)

Hello everyone, so I have read over and over again the benefits of VIP benefits and thinking about buying into GOLD thru PIC program.

What's the biggest benefit of going VIP ?? 

I don't have my resale gone thru yet, and don't see what the biggest benefit of VIP Is yet. 

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## Jan M. (Jan 5, 2019)

Important Information about VIP Membership

Your VIP benefits apply only when vacationing at one of our Wyndham-managed resorts.
Guests traveling without a CLUB WYNDHAM® Plus VIP Owner present are not eligible to receive VIP benefits during their stay.
VIP program benefits are offered to CLUB WYNDHAM® Plus Members allocated at least 400,000 CLUB WYNDHAM Plus points on an annual basis.
For Members with Biennial Ownership your VIP membership eligibility is based on half of your biennial allotment of eligible point’s counts toward VIP status.

VIP BOOKING BENEFITS
*Exclusive Vacation Planning Benefits
CLUB WYNDHAM Silver Owner 
400,000 - 699,999 Points
CLUB WYNDHAM Gold Owner 
700,000 - 999,999 Points
CLUB WYNDHAM Platinum Owner 
1,000,000 Points or More*

Points Discounts within 2 Months of Check-in (1) Numbers in parenthesis are the disclaimers
• Receive discounts on NEW reservations only at CLUB WYNDHAM Plus and Affiliate locations 
25% - 35% - 50%

VIP Upgrade Opt-In Feature Size Upgrades (1,3,6)
• When you confirm a reservation, you may opt in to receive an automatic upgrade to the next largest unit if it becomes available during your upgrade window.
Silver - Within 1 month of check-in date
Gold - Within 45 days of check-in date
Platinum - Within 2 months of check-in date

Guest Confirmations (8)
• Receive Guest Confirmations each calendar year to share with family and friends.
5 - 10 - 15 per 1,000,000 eligible points

Unlimited Housekeeping Credits
• No charge for Housekeeping Credits when making a reservation.
Yes - Yes - Yes

Free Reservation Transactions
• Receive unlimited Reservation Transactions at no additional charge.
No - Yes - Yes

Ability to Reserve Specific Units (1,2)
• Request a specific unit number when making reservations.
No - Yes - Yes

Worldwide External Exchange Deposit Unit Size Upgrades (1)
• Upgrade to the next largest unit on all Value and Quiet season deposits.
No - Yes - Yes

RCI® Instant Search and Book Feature
• Instantly search and book your desired vacation with the amount of points immediately available in your CLUB WYNDHAM Plus account.
No - Yes - Yes

Reciprocal Advance Reservation Priority (1,4,5)
• Confirm reservations outside your “home” resort at other CLUB WYNDHAM Plus locations up to 11 months in advance of check-in. 
None - 2 times per year - 3 times per year

Points Deposit Feature Extension
• Receive additional time after the start of your Use Year to deposit points into a future Use Year with CLUB WYNDHAM. 
Silver - Within the first 6 months of your Use Year
Gold - Within the first 9 months of your Use Year
Platinum - Anytime within your Use Year

Extended PlusPartners® Travel Booking Window (1)
• Receive an additional 15 days to book PlusPartners' travel reservations.
None - None - 10 months to 45 days in advance of travel date

Access to Margaritaville Vacation Club® by Wyndham Resort Inventory (1,7)
Silver - Beginning 6 months prior to check-in date (Value and High seasons only)
Gold - Beginning 8 months prior to check-in date
Platinum - Beginning 10 months prior to check-in date

Adventures
• Enjoy Wyndham-hosted trips during the Standard Reservation window.
Yes - Yes - Yes

Advance Reservation Priority – Select Associate Locations (1)
• Confirm reservations up to 13 months in advance of check-in at Select Associate Locations. 
2 times per year - 4 times per year - Unlimited

DISCLAIMERS:
1 Subject to availability.
2 Available only at Wyndham Vacation Resorts-managed locations.
3 Upgrades are available within the same resort only, limit of one upgrade per reservation apply.
4 The following holidays/special events are blacked out for this benefit: Easter/Spring Break, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve and June through August at Myrtle Beach locations.
5 Eligible Reciprocal resorts include non-CLUB WYNDHAM® Presidential Reserve Suites® at UDI locations.
6 Available only at CLUB WYNDHAM Plus resorts.
7 At the Standard Reservation window, a minimum of 50 percent of Margaritaville Vacation Club resort inventory will be held exclusively for VIP members. VIP members can access this inventory at different time lines based upon their VIP tier.
8 Eligible points are points associated with ownership interests purchased directly through Wyndham Vacation Resorts or its affiliates, Bonus Points and PIC enrollments.

*VIP Program Benefits are subject to change without notice.


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## Ninjaneer80 (Jan 5, 2019)

Ok, so I have read all this before and trying to ask in someone's own words , if i am going to pay to get VIP, what's the biggest benefit that makes it worth it ?



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## Cyrus24 (Jan 5, 2019)

The ones that are most important to me are:
- Discounts
- Upgrades
- No Housekeeping, which makes short stays very affordable
- Free RT's, lets you test and play with reservations and upgrade
- 9 Month Window on Deposits to Future years
- Margaritaville
Of lesser importance to me are:
- RARP
- Selecting specific units

Is it worth it?  Getting to VIP is a very personal decision.  And, only the owner can judge the value based on his or her personal rationale.  In other words, don't judge a persons decision to become VIP.

You are headed down the most efficient path toward VIP and that should help you define value in your own personal terms.


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## 55plus (Jan 5, 2019)

Ninjaneer80 said:


> Ok, so I have read all this before and trying to ask in someone's own words , if i am going to pay to get VIP, what's the biggest benefit that makes it worth it ?
> Sent from my mobile using Tapatalk


if you consider your bank account will be tens of thousands of dollars lighter a good thing, then this.


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## Ninjaneer80 (Jan 5, 2019)

Cyrus24 said:


> The ones that are most important to me are:
> - Discounts
> - Upgrades
> - No Housekeeping, which makes short stays very affordable
> ...


Thank you for that , that is the type of response I was looking for , just trying to understand what is important to each person.


I agree , each person is different of why it's important and i am trying see each person's point of view then figure out for myself what i find important

Untill i get access to my ownership, I can only ask  so many questions and just trying to educate myself as much as possible until then 



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## Ninjaneer80 (Jan 5, 2019)

55plus said:


> if you consider your bank account will be tens of thousands of dollars lighter a good thing, then this.


You mean lighter as in using PIC to go VIP ?


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## Cyrus24 (Jan 5, 2019)

Ninjaneer80 said:


> You mean lighter as in using PIC to go VIP ?
> 
> 
> Sent from my mobile using Tapatalk


Getting to VIP is not cheap, you wallet will be lighter.  That said, usng PIC and Telesales will save you a bundle over buying and upgrading at the sales office.


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## Cyrus24 (Jan 5, 2019)

This is a must read thread if you are thinking about PIC as you go toward VIP-G.  We watched Hitchhiker71 go from buyers remorse to temporary VIP-P, long term VIP-G.  It's 7 pages long, but you will grab some real like examples as to how/why people value their VIP standing.  
https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...llation-period-need-some-quick-advice.275991/


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## HitchHiker71 (Jan 5, 2019)

Cyrus24 said:


> This is a must read thread if you are thinking about PIC as you go toward VIP-G.  We watched Hitchhiker71 go from buyers remorse to temporary VIP-P, long term VIP-G.  It's 7 pages long, but you will grab some real like examples as to how/why people value their VIP standing.
> https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...llation-period-need-some-quick-advice.275991/



Well, that’s me LOL.  I’m about six months into my ownership now after obtaining VIPP thru Sept 2020 and permanent VIPG.  I spent about 25k to do this.  Feel free to PM me if you have questions after reviewing my thread linked above.

I’d say the biggest benefit so far is the 60 day discount booking window coupled with the free instant upgrades.  Most bookings I’ve made to date (most during off season to be clear), I’ve been able to book within the 60 day window and received a free instant upgrade to a larger unit.  That means I’m saving 50% on points, at least, and that doesn’t take into account free unit size upgrade.  Unlimited RTs and HKs also helps from a savings standpoint.  

That said, if you are looking to book vacations during prime seasons, chances are you won’t find availability within the 60 day window and instant upgrades are unlikely.  

For us, we are fairly flexible on when we take vacations, often choosing to take time away during the value or high seasons when availability isn’t as limited.  We don’t like huge crowds of people as a general rule so this approach works well for us.  For many of our friends though, they like to take vacations during prime seasons, so the biggest benefits for VIP wouldn’t apply for example.

Other benefits like the ability to request specific units, we will use more frequently as time moves forward and we visit more resorts and figure out what rooms we would prefer at each resort location.  We make it a point to evaluate each resort so that if we ever return, we know what rooms to request.

If we ever start renting points, I’m sure the extra GCs will come in handy as well.  


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## Ninjaneer80 (Jan 5, 2019)

What is RT ?

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## Ninjaneer80 (Jan 5, 2019)

HitchHiker71 said:


> Well, that’s me LOL.  I’m about six months into my ownership now after obtaining VIPP thru Sept 2020 and permanent VIPG.  I spent about 25k to do this.  Feel free to PM me if you have questions after reviewing my thread linked above.
> 
> I’d say the biggest benefit so far is the 60 day discount booking window coupled with the free instant upgrades.  Most bookings I’ve made to date (most during off season to be clear), I’ve been able to book within the 60 day window and received a free instant upgrade to a larger unit.  That means I’m saving 50% on points, at least, and that doesn’t take into account free unit size upgrade.  Unlimited RTs and HKs also helps from a savings standpoint.
> 
> ...


Great post and everyone a
Replying ! All great information

We have 4 kids  ( 18, 16, 10, 6)

1 kid in USA schools , 2 kids in UK school and 1 kid in UK college

So finding time we can all vacation is a challenge right now but i want to start vacationing at least once or twice a year. 

Even though it's a loss, I don't care if i deposit my Wyndham points into RCI to stay some where overseas. Casue i want this long term and want to force myself.to take the family on vacation every year.

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## HitchHiker71 (Jan 5, 2019)

Ninjaneer80 said:


> What is RT ?
> 
> Sent from my mobile using Tapatalk



Reservation Transactions.


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## Cyrus24 (Jan 5, 2019)

Ninjaneer80 said:


> What is RT ?
> 
> Sent from my mobile using Tapatalk


RT=Reservation Transaction.  You get 1/per 77K points.  After you use them all, you will pay $19 per.

Based on your travel interests, you really need to investigate an RCI points property (for your EU stays) and some Wyndham resale points (for your US stays).  I started with resale on both the RCI side and the Wyndham side.  Cheap way of learning about the 2 systems.  You're young and you are going to be using your timeshares for many years.  After doing some low cost purchases consider the benefits of VIP.  

Again, I won't judge your route.  The fact that you are asking questions, now, tells me that you are going to make the decision which is correct for you.


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## Cyrus24 (Jan 5, 2019)

Side note to NINJANEER80, join TUG, you are going to be here for a while, I suspect.  Members are doing their part to help keep the platform and forums up and running......It's a very small fee.....


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## HitchHiker71 (Jan 5, 2019)

Ninjaneer80 said:


> Great post and everyone a
> Replying ! All great information
> 
> We have 4 kids  ( 18, 16, 10, 6)
> ...



Where do you anticipate vacationing with your family?  I noticed you have two kids in school in the UK hence my question.  

Wyndham is primarily a US based company.  Almost all of the resorts are US based right now.  Worldmark has more locations outside of the US from what I understand.  Of course you can book into RCI as well.  Just curious why you are looking at Wyndham specifically?  Do you already own Wyndham resale or any other timeshare contracts?


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## Ninjaneer80 (Jan 5, 2019)

Cyrus24 said:


> Side note to NINJANEER80, join TUG, you are going to be here for a while, I suspect.  Members are doing their part to help keep the platform and forums up and running......It's a very small fee.....


Don't worry, I paid the fee and joined TUG on day one  

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## bnoble (Jan 5, 2019)

From a pure dollars-and-cents standpoint, VIP is very hard to justify, even via telesales/PIC. That doesn't mean someone won't find value in it. However, that value is likely to be intangible.


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## Jan M. (Jan 5, 2019)

Ninjaneer80 said:


> We have 4 kids ( 18, 16, 10, 6)



I noticed that you have one kid in school here in the USA. So I'm guessing you know the cost of flights. My first thought when I saw that you are a family of 6 was wow, that is going to be expensive if they are planning on vacationing in the USA regularly. That Wyndham points might not be the best option for you and owning at a resort in RCI points might be a better choice. However with a family of six you are going to find more availability in 3 bedroom units at different resorts with Wyndham than you will through RCI. When you book Wyndham resorts as an RCI owner you won't see many three bedroom units, mostly one and two bedroom units. As other people pointed out you will have to deposit your Wyndham points in RCI to book the European vacations you mentioned wanting.


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## 55plus (Jan 5, 2019)

Instead of spending all that money up front, consider renting from someone on TUG. You can spell out the size of unit, the location, timeframe, etc., in TUG. It's an option if you vacation when school is out. In the summer discounts and upgrades are almost impossible at popular and at high demand locations. If you plan to vacation off season, VIP can pay for itself over time. We spend the entire winter at half points and free upgrades.


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## vacationhopeful (Jan 5, 2019)

There are many other timeshares other than Wyndham.

I also own at a VRI Resort near the beach in Ft Lauderdale, FL. The 2 bdr room lockoff units sleep 8 with MFs of about $880 US per week owned;  the 1 bdr unit sleeps 6 but there are 2 sizes of those .. 1 with a single bath; the other with a bath & a half.

The cruise port is either the largest or 2nd largest in the USA. The Ft Lauderdale Internationla Airport is LARGE due to the cruise port. This resort .. Ft Lauderdale Beach Resort can be traded within RCI or II ... but not II that particular unit was converted to RCI Points. Great shopping as many people travel from the islands or Central America to shop. Lots of variety for dining out. Large public transportation system due to a retired & older population and the vast numbers of services provided to the tourists in dining and hotels industry (bus passes can be brought or the day or week or month).

You can find resale units .. you might decide to acquire 2 "back to back" 2/2 weeks. One in RCI Points (for single day or less than a week reservations) and the other, in RCI weeks ... so as to join Interval International as a trading platform. In both systems, you can 'split' the lockoff unit ... to have access to the 3 largest trading platforms (RCI Weeks, RCI Points and II). You can also decide to deposit the RCI Weeks' unit into International Interval to get access to II affiliated resorts.

Just remember, a unit in RCI Points can NOT be traded via II. BUT if you don't like RCI Points, you can 'drop' that RCI Pts association .. but if you do, you will lose any used RCI points and it will cost your thousands of dollars to convert back.


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## raygo123 (Jan 6, 2019)

Clarification,. I could afford, without affecting any other portions of my long term goals for the entirety of my life.  That said what I like is there are no extra fees.  I own a deed at National Harbor and CWA.  ( Buy what you want, not what they want you to buy.  Last year I used my RARP to book Clearwater Beach, at 11 months rather than 10.  His year I I booked one week ARP Sea Garden under CWA, and a second week using my RARP.  I did no use the second RARP.  I have 2 PIC with gold. I never used them.theyvare in Mexico and only pay maintenance fees when I use them.  Those are the big ones.  

This, might, don't know is a true benefit, but I deposited 130,000 points into RCI and received 230,000 points.  I do not know if this is a benefit or mistake.

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## CruiseGuy (Jan 6, 2019)

It's a lot of extra money for a handful of benefits that really don't provide much in the terms of payback.  Having unlimited housekeeping and reservation transactions are nice. I've never used a guest certificate myself, so having more of those is almost meaningless unless you rent or treat family to use of your points.  The only one that's really going to give you hope of payback is if you can get use of discounted points and upgrades, which really means having some flexibility in your travel plans. The people that I routinely hear brag about their platinum paying back (not including the mega-renters from a couple years back) are those that travel a lot throughout the year and work to get those point discounts and upgrades because the have the time and flexibility to do so. It would need to be the same with the gold. (Oh, and you better have the cash available to pay for your Wyndham purchases, because it's hard to make a case for payback if you've also had to pay interest on a loan.)


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## paxsarah (Jan 6, 2019)

raygo123 said:


> This, might, don't know is a true benefit, but I deposited 130,000 points into RCI and received 230,000 points. I do not know if this is a benefit or mistake.



Did you call or make the deposit online? If you did it by phone, it’s possible that you got an agent who not only knew and understood the VIP RCI upgrade benefit (as discussed in various threads - edit: here is the most recent https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/did-not-get-rci-upgrade-on-value-season-deposit.283407/), but who proactively implemented it on your behalf. Otherwise, I have no idea!


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## raygo123 (Jan 6, 2019)

I did it on line this spring.  Yes I read the other post.  

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## Richelle (Jan 6, 2019)

CruiseGuy said:


> It's a lot of extra money for a handful of benefits that really don't provide much in the terms of payback.  Having unlimited housekeeping and reservation transactions are nice. I've never used a guest certificate myself, so having more of those is almost meaningless unless you rent or treat family to use of your points.  The only one that's really going to give you hope of payback is if you can get use of discounted points and upgrades, which really means having some flexibility in your travel plans. The people that I routinely hear brag about their platinum paying back (not including the mega-renters from a couple years back) are those that travel a lot throughout the year and work to get those point discounts and upgrades because the have the time and flexibility to do so. It would need to be the same with the gold. (Oh, and you better have the cash available to pay for your Wyndham purchases, because it's hard to make a case for payback if you've also had to pay interest on a loan.)



It’s a common agreement with most, that VIP does not offer much payback to the average person. Yes, there are some who get to use the discount and upgrade options more, but even then, that’s a lot of money they have to make up for, and the maintenance fees eat into those savings.  VIP is strictly “perceived” value. It’s how the buyer values the other things that come with VIP in addition to the discounts and upgrades when they can get them.  I did not include discounts and upgrades in my decision to go Gold.  Atleast it wasn’t a deciding factor.  I saw it as a bonus, but not a guarantee. I love it when I can get it, but not disappointed when I don’t. I was also an owner for 10 years before going Gold, so I had a solid understanding of what I could and could not use, and if I can use the other benefits enough to justify the costs, to me. Not to anyone else (the husband doesn’t care).  I ended up going gold because I wanted the extra time to roll points forward, unlimited reservation transaction credits (so I can rebook a reservation at a discount, which I do often), Margaritaville prime season, and more. It is a personal preference.  I tell anyone who is trying to add the numbers, that they will never be able to justify VIP mathmaticly. The only value is perceived value, and not everyone puts the same value on things.  The only opinion that matters, is the opinion of the person forking over their hard earned cash.


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## Sandy VDH (Jan 6, 2019)

I am VIPP.  I track my usage in terms of number of points I spend vs the number of points I receive with 50% discounts and upgrades.  I do not track HK and RT because my are unlimited, but I do a LOT of less than 1 week bookings, I also book and cancel a lot.  Since I have HK and RT Unlimited, I don't actually cost these items, but I might have to sometime just to see what my cost would otherwise run.

Year  #Nights Points Used  Value Obtained (At full points rate)
2018    74        946,800       2,785,050
2017    77        718,750       2,624,900
2016  147      1,402,750      5,422,200   (when it was easy to cancel and rebook online)

So you can see the impact of cancel and rebook as had, which was primarily a design consideration for Wyndham I am sure.


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## cbyrne1174 (Jan 7, 2019)

I calculated it will take about *30 years* to pay off a $21,000 VIP Gold purchase with PIC plus if you only factor in maintenance fees vs resale. I assumed the resale person did it smart as well as the retail person. Here is the scenarios I used.

The* resale* person only has low maintenance fee deeds in their name. They have 718,000 points altogether and their cost per thousand points is $4.9 plus the $0.58 program fee. They pay *$3,934.64* a year in maintenance fees. 

_(I used $4.9 as my baseline because it becomes substantially more expensive to have deeds average out to much lower than that in maintenance and are harder to find)_

The *retail *person made their purchase as smart as possible. They found two 3 bedroom weeks to PIC and they only pay $700 a year in maintenance for each of those weeks. They have to pay the $89 conversion fee for each week plus the $0.58 program fee. They also made a retail purchase of 210,000 Access points. They pay *$3,252.34* per year in maintenance fees. 

The retail purchaser pays *$682.30 less* in maintenance than the resale purchaser by using enrolling PIC plus on two easy to find and usually free 3 bedroom weeks.


This also doesn't account for inflation/MF increases. The point I'm trying to make is that unless you can travel in the off season a lot, buying developer points to PIC to Gold will take a long time to become cost effective.

Take a year to look at 2 month availability for the resorts that you can visit in their off season. For me, I'm a teacher and can only travel off season for weekend getaways, so I'm personally looking at Friday/Saturday availability in Clearwater/Orlando/Daytona because those are the only resorts close to me. 

Also learn the rental market. Could you make use of your 10 guest certificates per year to break even on your purchase quicker? If you can find a way to make just $3,000 a year in profit, the VIP gold purchase will pay for itself in 7 years.


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## raygo123 (Jan 7, 2019)

Richelle said:


> It’s a common agreement with most, that VIP does not offer much payback to the average person. Yes, there are some who get to use the discount and upgrade options more, but even then, that’s a lot of money they have to make up for, and the maintenance fees eat into those savings.  VIP is strictly “perceived” value. It’s how the buyer values the other things that come with VIP in addition to the discounts and upgrades when they can get them.  I did not include discounts and upgrades in my decision to go Gold.  Atleast it wasn’t a deciding factor.  I saw it as a bonus, but not a guarantee. I love it when I can get it, but not disappointed when I don’t. I was also an owner for 10 years before going Gold, so I had a solid understanding of what I could and could not use, and if I can use the other benefits enough to justify the costs, to me. Not to anyone else (the husband doesn’t care).  I ended up going gold because I wanted the extra time to roll points forward, unlimited reservation transaction credits (so I can rebook a reservation at a discount, which I do often), Margaritaville prime season, and more. It is a personal preference.  I tell anyone who is trying to add the numbers, that they will never be able to justify VIP mathmaticly. The only value is perceived value, and not everyone puts the same value on things.  The only opinion that matters, is the opinion of the person forking over their hard earned cash.


I think you hit the nail on the head.  If it is within you means, there is nothing to make up.  If you  feels or is worried about how they are
 Going to pay it off, or are worried about life changes affecting your ability to afford it,. You should not even think about buy from Wyndham.

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## dagger1 (Jan 7, 2019)

cbyrne1174 said:


> I calculated it will take about *30 years* to pay off a $21,000 VIP Gold purchase with PIC plus if you only factor in maintenance fees vs resale. I assumed the resale person did it smart as well as the retail person. Here is the scenarios I used.
> 
> The* resale* person only has low maintenance fee deeds in their name. They have 718,000 points altogether and their cost per thousand points is $4.9 plus the $0.58 program fee. They pay *$3,934.64* a year in maintenance fees.
> 
> ...


The resale buyer also can invest the $21K-$25K he DOESN’T give to Wyndham and the PIC sellers in a solid MLP and generate annual dividends of $1800-$2500 per year.  This annual cash pays a lot of HK, RT’s and GC’s.  And the resale buyer KEEPS his $21-$25K, it’s still his when he gives away his TS’s...  So he continues to earn the cash flow after his TS’s are long gone....


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## bendadin (Jan 8, 2019)

And let's not forget that they might block you from ever making the purchase from gold to platinum.


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## 55plus (Jan 8, 2019)

dagger1 said:


> The resale buyer also can invest the $21K-$25K he DOESN’T give to Wyndham and the PIC sellers in a solid MLP and generate annual dividends of $1800-$2500 per year.  This annual cash pays a lot of HK, RT’s and GC’s.  And the resale buyer KEEPS his $21-$25K, it’s still his when he gives away his TS’s...  So he continues to earn the cash flow after his TS’s are long gone....


This is great advice. The only way to recoup the cost associated with a VIP level is to travel during winter months (snowbirds) when you can obtain discounted points and free upgrades. If you are retired and reside in cold climate this is a great way to do it. If you have a family and vacation in the summer you won't find very many discounts if any. The same goes for upgrades. It will hard to justify the expense.


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## Silverdollar (Jan 8, 2019)

Ninjaneer80 said:


> Ok, so I have read all this before and trying to ask in someone's own words , if i am going to pay to get VIP, what's the biggest benefit that makes it worth it ?
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my mobile using Tapatalk


Last year, as a VIP Platinum owner, I used some of my points for rentals to pay more than 100% of my MF's in the first 3 months of the year (worth @$6,500), and still had plenty of points left for vacations. More than half of my points were used at 50% discount and included unit upgrades. I had unlimited housekeeping credits, unlimited transactions, and plenty of free guest certificates (GS).

Last year, I utilized 28 out of my 30 guest certificates to book/cancel and/or rebook rentals. Those GS would otherwise cost me $99 each, or @$3000 for the year. Just those two VIP benefits saved me @$9500, in one year, not counting other VIP benefits.

I need to make it clear that renting is not easy. It takes a certain kind of personality and skillset to do it. I am an organized, detailed-type of person, so it is more like a hobby and challenge that I enjoy doing. Some have posted on Tug that it takes a lot time, and is therefore too much hassle. I would say there are several Tug members who spend many hours a month posting on this site (for which I am extremely grateful), but I don’t think they see it as a hassle or waste of their time. They are doing what they enjoy doing and it is benefiting others.

Can’t every owner use his or her points to rent? It is almost impossible for non-VIP owners to compete on rental prices with VIP Platinum owners. Example: Let's consider a week at a particular Wyndham resort in prime season in a 2 BR unit for 224,000 points. A VIP Platinum owner can book a 1 BR unit at that same resort (in the 60-day window) that would normally be 166,000 points at a 50% discount or 83,000 points and then upgrade it to a 2 BR unit for no additional points.

If the VIP Platinum owner has CWA, those points are worth about $6 per 1000. So, 83,000 points x $6 = $498. That 2 BR unit can be rented for $900-$1,200 (sometimes more). That same 2 BR unit would cost a non-VIP owner with CWA 224,000 points x $6 = $1,344, or almost triple what it costs VIP Platinum.

Not only can the Platinum owner rent the 2 BR unit for 83k points, they still have 141k points (difference between the 224k and 83k) left over to rent or vacation elsewhere.

A lot emphasis is given to buying timeshares with low MFs, which I wholeheartedly agree. But what if you could use a portion of your points to pay for some or all your MFs and still have points left over to vacation? I believe this should be taken into consideration when factoring the cost benefits of VIP.

When it comes to owning a timeshare, the main issue for most people other than cost is availability. Can I get what I want, when I want it, where I want it? VIP provides you with the greatest chance to get what you want, when you want it, and where you want it. Of course, there are no guarantees, and everyone’s “wants” are different, but you have opportunities that others do not have: ARP, RARP, ability to request specific units, access to Margaritaville inventory, points discounts and unit upgrades, RCI instant search and book feature, ability to wait until the last day of the year to bank points using the Points Deposit feature, etc.

If you decide to pursue VIP, I would still recommend that you go the least expensive route: Minimum package of points from Wyndham telesales, and two-3 bedroom PIC weeks.


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## 55plus (Jan 8, 2019)

I think you math is wrong when calculating maintenance fees. If you are booking at half points then you cost is at $3 per thousand instead of $6. Remember your 1 million points are 2 million points if all reservations are at half points. So 1 million points at $6 per thousand equals 2 million points at $3 per thousand. Your profit is much greater than you may realize. And that's a good thing.


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## Jan M. (Jan 8, 2019)

Silverdollar said:


> It is almost impossible for non-VIP owners to compete on rental prices with VIP Platinum owners. Example: Let's consider a week at a particular Wyndham resort in prime season in a 2 BR unit for 224,000 points. A VIP Platinum owner can book a 1 BR unit at that same resort (in the 60-day window) that would normally be 166,000 points at a 50% discount or 83,000 points and then upgrade it to a 2 BR unit for no additional points.



There is one advantage the resale owner or any owner willing to use full points for a reservation in the 13-10 month window has over the owner doing rentals booked in the 60 day or less window. Those stays 13-10 months out can command higher prices as some people want to know they are set for their vacations especially when it involves special events, buying tickets, booking flights or they are going with a group of people. In some cases the early bird does get the worm.


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## 55plus (Jan 8, 2019)

I'm spending the winter in Florida using half points and booked several reservation 13 months out reservations at full points in Daytona Beach during Daytona 500 and Bike Week. Those Daytona Beach rentals will pay my maintenance fees for 2019. My Platinum VIP cost my parents around $30K back in the early '90s when it was Fairfield. It's paid for itself many times over. Saying that, if someone buys into VIP now, it may consider to be cheap compared to what it will cost 25 years from now.


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## cbyrne1174 (Jan 8, 2019)

In the past, my husband had a hard time finding work because he was too overqualified for IT help desk enterprise level jobs that pay 45-50k in Florida, but too under qualified for systems engineering jobs at 55-70k. You never know when you're going to be out of work for no fault of your own because you're at an awkward phase in your career or the market changes. It's hard to justify spending that much on a contract when we don't know the future because you might need that money for living expenses. You can do everything correctly, but still enter financial ruin because education + job experience + good references doesn't equal employment 100% of the time.

Another one of my family members made close to 200k, then 2008 hit and they coudn't find work for YEARS and ended up bankrupt because they were too overqualified for everything they applied for since they were a CFO for a medium sized business. I personally keep my expenses down to what I make in a year as a teacher and always assume only one of us is going to have a job. I had to learn that the hard way.


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## Silverdollar (Jan 8, 2019)

55plus said:


> I think you math is wrong when calculating maintenance fees. If you are booking at half points then you cost is at $3 per thousand instead of $6. Remember your 1 million points are 2 million points if all reservations are at half points. So 1 million points at $6 per thousand equals 2 million points at $3 per thousand. Your profit is much greater than you may realize. And that's a good thing.


Thank you for the correction! I like it when my errors turn out for good. Also, your post reminded me that I have a PIC contract worth 254k points with a maintenance fee of $758 or $3/1000, so when reservations are made at half points MFs are only $1.50/1000. That's a good thing, too!


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## Silverdollar (Jan 24, 2019)

Ninjaneer80 said:


> Ok, so I have read all this before and trying to ask in someone's own words , if i am going to pay to get VIP, what's the biggest benefit that makes it worth it ?
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my mobile using Tapatalk


I thought of another benefit of going VIP. It was a year ago today (Jan. 24th, 2018), I started a thread in Tug entitled, “Short Notice – What to do?” I had previously booked a unit, but had a last-minute change of plans and couldn’t use it, so I asked Tuggers for assistance of what I could do with it. Two days later, I wrote the following post:

“Little did I know when I started this thread how it would end up. I listed my 2-BR unit on Tug Marketplace and Redweek and finally got a renter last night. But, it didn't end there. This morning, I started texting with the renter (a young man) and got to know a lot about him. I learned that he was married with three young children and was a campus pastor at a church and about to step out to pursue senior pastoring. Toward the end of our conversation, he mentioned that the budget was tight and he wanted to know if there would be any way I could take a little bit less for the rental. He said, "I understand if you can't but it would be helpful and we will do it (rent) either way". Previously, he had agreed to a price of several hundred dollars, but I had this strong impression that I needed to do something. I asked my wife to read the string of texts. I wanted to know what she thought, but I already had a strong sense of what I wanted to do. After she read it, we discussed it further and it became clear; we both felt led to offer this young man and his family a week at Bonnet Creek for $0. When we told him, he was overwhelmed. His exact words, "Wow!!! Are you serious!!!!? What a blessing. I wasn't expecting you to say that!! Thank you so much! I'm seriously speechless. What a blessing."

He was very happy, but so were we. When we were young married, we were able to take our children on many vacations through the years, and we know what it meant to us to have those special memories with our kids. And now we get the joy and blessing of helping a young couple make memories with their children. I had no idea it would end up like this, but I'm sure glad it did.”

Looking back, VIP provided me with the “extra points” to give to a family I had never met.


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