# Wyndham Program



## jin (Apr 26, 2009)

I own Hilton and Marriott timeshares, and am considering Wyndham due to their numerous locations and cheap resale prices.  I have multiple questions:
1) What are considered the top 5 or 10 Wyndhams, and how do they match up with the quality of Hilton and Marriott?
2) What is the best strategy (i.e. locations)  to buy a lot of Wyndham points for the lowest maintenance fees? 
3) What does a resale buyer lose vs buying direct.  At a presentation I attended,  they discussed VIP status and getting 25-50% discount on point reservations which sounds enticing, but probably not worth $30-40 K more than resale pricing.  
4) How does it work to use points for airlines, and is this a good use of points, or do you lose this privilege with resale?
5) How much do people like the Wyndham program compared to Marriott or Hilton systems if they own or know about either?
6) Do some Wyndham properties not get assigned points?  Can you still trade for these units?
7) Is Worldmark and fairfield points somehow connected with Wyndham?
8) How hard is it to trade points for the top locations during prime weeks?  What are the fees associated?
Answers to any of these questions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Pete


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## rickandcindy23 (Apr 26, 2009)

There are many top Wyndhams, including Wyndham Bali Hai on Kauai (new presidential units are awesome), Bonnet Creek, and Wyndham Waikiki Beach Walk.  All of those units rival the Marriotts and Hiltons, in my opinion.  

Almost forget--Star Island in Orlando is also beautiful.  Daytona resort, also very nice, and Santa Barbara was great, too.  We took day trips to see those.  

Haven't seen many of the others.  Love the resorts that we have seen.


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## Cathyb (Apr 26, 2009)

Re Worldmark question:  They are separate organizations even though Worldmark is under the same umbrella.  I was able to exchange my Worldmark credits to a Wyndham Las Vegas property thru RCI but had to pay $65 cleaning fees that a Wyndham owner would not have paid (plus RCI exchange fees).


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## WeLovetoTravel (Apr 26, 2009)

1. We have stayed at both Hilton and Marriot and feel that most Wyndham's compare favorably. It's tough to say where the "nicest" ones are. We really like Bonnett Creek, our "home" resort. Other really nice properties we have stayed at in Florida are Daytona Ocean Walk (which is next door to the Hilton),Palm Aire, Royal Vista (the ocean front rooms are great),and we like Star Island too. On Hawaii,Royal Sea Cliff and Kona Hawaiian are beautiful properties. Our favorite on Kauai is Shearwater. Vegas Grand Desert is a nice property, and we just stayed at the new La Belle Maison in New Oleans which was very nice. We liked the Williamsburg properties too.

2. We pay $187 a month Maintenance fees for 500k points. Maintenance fees vary from resort to resort. Keep is mind that you might buy points with a very low maintenance fee, and then get slapped with a "special assessment". MF also seem to go up a little bit each year. My husband and I have only been owners for 5 years, so someone else can andvise you better on question #2. You also have to pay property tax once a year.

3. As far as I know, the only thing a resale buyer loses is VIP status. We bought retail. I do like my VIP benefits and get as much use out of them I can, but are they worth the $50k plus that we paid for them? No way! We went to a presentation and got suckered in to buying. We signed on the dotted line before doing any research...we didn't even know these forums exisited! I wish I would have checked everything out first. It would have saved us thousands! The bottom line is I love my Wyndham ownership. I just wish we bought resale.My advice to you is BUY RESALE!!!!!!. 
4. We do not ever use our points for anything but reservations. In my opinion its a waste to try to use them for air travel. If you convert your point value to dollars for airplane tickets,Plus PArtners is WAY OVERPRICED! It costs $59 plus way too many points.

5. I only own Wyndham, but can say that I like the flexibility of booking a week or more when we want it and also to be able to book weekend getaways. I like the option of being able to exchange in to RCI also.

6. As far as I know, all Wyndham properties in the Wyndham Plus are sold as points. Your points will get you a reservation for any available unit in the system. The only thing the specific resort you own at does for you, is it gets you advance reservation priority at that resort. You could book there at 13 months in advance. The regular reservation window is 10 months. (we were just renamed, formerly FairSharePlus) Be careful with the new Club Wyndham Access-I believe if you buy into that, You are not buying at a specific resorts, but a group or "pool" of resorts...mostly older resorts.
Also, be careful and read all the fine print on EBAY. You want to make sure that your are purchasing Wyhdham points, and not a "fixed week".

7. Fairfield points have been renamed- we are now Wyndham... Worldmark is owned by the same parent company, but it's a separate sytem. Different ownership, different costs, rules etc.. However, we do have access to many Worldmark resorts as part of our reservation system. The only Worldmark I have ever stayed at was on on Worldmark Kihei,Mauai booked through our resv system.
8. We don't really trade points. We have an assigned allottment of points each year. You book what you want, when you want. You get 1 free reservation transaction for every 77k you own.(addtl tranactions cost $35), You get 1 housekeeping credit for every 1K you own. (ex. a 2br unit for a week is charged 77HK credits addtl are abou $2.50 p credit I think) VIP gold buying retail does not currently pay any of these fees, but these benfits can be changed and are not guarunteed. As far as prime time.. If ther is one specific place you like to go each year, I would look for points for sale at that resort. We have not had trouble going where we wanted to go. I am a teacher, so we are pretty much tied in to traveleing during the summer and holidays. If you plan ahead and book when the window opens, you shouldn't have a problem, but it's not a sure thing. For example. On our last trip to Hawaii, we wanted to stay at Shearwater, but had to book Bali Hai instead. The rooms were just as nice, but there was no breathtaking ocean view. It was still Hawaii though, and we had a wonderful time.

Good Luck with your purchase. I hope this helps you.
-Deb


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## jin (Apr 27, 2009)

Thankyou all for your answers, esp. Deb -- very helpful!  If you had to buy a resale property right now (mainly for trading purposes), which location would you pick and why?


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## Jya-Ning (Apr 27, 2009)

jin said:


> If you had to buy a resale property right now (mainly for trading purposes), which location would you pick and why?



If mainly for trading purpose

I will buy a system that can allow me to trade in both side (II and RCI, thus Wyndham is out, but that usually is not the most important decision factor).  That has enough flexibility to deposit different sizes (Wyndham is, as well as a lot of other company), does not tie me to a real unit (Wyndham is).  The lowest deposit is very cheap (Wyndham is on lower side, but not the lowest), ability to increase my trading power to decent (Wyndham can not).  Than I will study that system, to see what is the importance of location (For Wyndham, it is ARP - allow you to make reservation on that location from 13 month to 10 month, and MF/SA), if it does not tied to trading (Which Wyndham is not) than unless you do plan to visit there several times (Which means your first statement buying for trading is wrong), *you should buy place that can be maintain at lower cost.
*
Jya-Ning


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## Sandy VDH (Apr 27, 2009)

Jin

In the HGVC pages there is a sticky with a post I made comparing Hilton to Wyndham.  This might be helpful comparison for you to review.

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=686655&postcount=5

Hilton and Wyndham Presidentals are about par or may be just slightly better than some Hiltons.  There are some nice Wyndhams that come close to Hilton.

There is also a top 10 Wyndham listing in the review sections.  Just look at the left side down at the bottom where the top 10 are listed.  You will have to log on to access this.
http://tug2.com/RnR/ResortsGrid.aspx?TOP10=true&ResortName=Wyndham

No this list is just Wyndhams with more than 10 people summitting ratings.  You can just do a search using "Wyndham" that will hit most of the Wyndhams but I think there are a few reviews that still have to be renamed.

Wyndham is certainly a cheap purchase compared to Hilton and Marriott.  The MFs are less than those other TSs and the access to a large number of resorts is a plus.  HOWEVER, you should purchase a Wyndham to use in Wyndhams system.  If you are just wanting to trade via II or RCI, I would not purchase Wyndham.  Wyndham trades into Wyndham easily, but it is not considered a great trader at all in RCI.  From average to poor, except for internal trade priority back into Wyndham.

You may want to consider purchasing Worldmark for trading in II.  You will have much better luck as you have access online, and worldmark's trading power is better than Wyndham.


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## aham (Apr 27, 2009)

*Confusing?*

I'm a Worldmark owner.  I attended an owner's update this past weekend and I left update more confused. (I didn't ask questions since I needed to go). As always, they wanted me to buy additional points/credits.  Sales person mentioned that I needed to get "new" Wyndham credit since there is a new program for all Worldmark owners.....I don't recall new program.  

This new program lets you book bonus time 21 days in advance instead of original 14, new program will include free membership with RCI, and other misc perks.

Is anyone aware of this new program?


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## KimberlyAnn (Apr 27, 2009)

Aham, I think the program you are referring to is Travelshare.


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## jinap2 (May 5, 2009)

aham said:


> This new program lets you book bonus time 21 days in advance instead of original 14, new program will include free membership with RCI, and other misc perks.
> 
> Is anyone aware of this new program?



I am a WorldMark owner too and yes, it is called TravelShare.   If you buy additional points from the developer, they will convert your existing WorldMark points to TravelShare points.  TravelShare entitles you to FunTime, similar to Bonus time, but can booked 14-21 days or more (depends on your number of points you are called Elite, Diamond, or Platinum).  However, while the bonus time cost you .04+/1000 points, fun time cost you .06+/points.  Only good if you want to save your points or does not have enough points.

Questions to Wyndham owners:
I am thinking of buying Wyndham points because there is an Outrigger resort in the Pacific that I would like to be able to book in the future.  
1)  Will I be able to successfully book the Outrigger resort in the Pacific?
2)  If I buy Wyndham points EOY even years, during odd years, can I borrow from the upcoming even year points for the booking?  WorldMark allows you to do that.
3)  I have read from other posts in TUG that if your home base is in Hawaii, trading with Outrigger will be easier.  Is this true?  So if I buy Wyndham points, let's say Waikiki Beach Walk, will it be easier to get the Outrigger resort in the Pacific?  How much points does the Outrigger resorts take?  Will it be similar to the points in the Waikiki Beach Walk?

Hopefully, someone can answer these questions.  Thanks in avance for your assistance.


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## Lisa P (May 5, 2009)

jin said:


> I own Hilton and Marriott timeshares, and am considering Wyndham due to their numerous locations and cheap resale prices.


Your HGVC is a strong RCI trader and your Marriott, if it's a red week, is likely a strong II trader.  Buying into Wyndham is best for those who want to use their points for Wyndham stays or exchanges back into a Wyndham resort or exchanging for offseason, when you may use a minimal amount of points for those exchanges.



jin said:


> 2) What is the best strategy (i.e. locations)  to buy a lot of Wyndham points for the lowest maintenance fees?


When considering a Wyndham points purchase, do the math.  Look for something around a penny a point (including closing costs) with maint fees under (or close to) $4/thousand annual points.  If you do this, you'll get a great deal.



jin said:


> 3) What does a resale buyer lose vs buying direct.  At a presentation I attended,  they discussed VIP status and getting 25-50% discount on point reservations...


VIP has changing benefits so it should be considered worthless as it may become so, at Wyndham's whim.  The discounts are not available until fairly last minute, so rarely if ever available in high seasons.  Wyndham offers 10-25% discounts to all owners within ~45 days where reservations are slow anyway.



jin said:


> 4) How does it work to use points for airlines, and is this a good use of points, or do you lose this privilege with resale?


Part of PlusPartners which are lost with resale, another moving target and generally considered a poor deal.



jin said:


> 5) How much do people like the Wyndham program compared to Marriott or Hilton systems if they own or know about either?


I like the locations better than Hilton's and the points flexibility over Marriott's general weekly exchanging.  The newer purpose-built Wyndhams are often on par, IMO, with many of the Marriotts and Hiltons.  All three systems have some older and some newer properties.  Wyndham may have more of the older resorts but they have more resorts overall.  We sold our Marriott week and we've been _very_ pleased with our Wyndham ownership.



jin said:


> 6) Do some Wyndham properties not get assigned points?  Can you still trade for these units?


Only those that were built and sold prior to 1992 or built by another developer and sold to Wyndham.  Yes, if the owners have converted to Wyndham points, then you may use your points to reserve at them and you do get owner priority when trading into them via RCI.  All newer Wyndhams are fully in points.



jin said:


> 7) Is Worldmark and fairfield points somehow connected with Wyndham?


A handful of resorts in each of the programs have given over sections of their resorts to be used by owners in the other program.  So there's some overlap.  But WorldMark by Wyndham and Wyndham Club Access are two different programs, with different lists of resorts, different bylaws, different currencies (points vs. credits), etc.



jin said:


> 8) How hard is it to trade points for the top locations during prime weeks?  What are the fees associated?


Technically, you're not trading.  At 10 months out, points are points and you are just reserving.  If you try to reserve too many short stays within a year, you may incur some fees but if you're traveling in prime season or mostly taking longer trips, you'll probably never pay fees.  We have rarely paid any.

It's hard to get beachfront resorts in peak prime season, especially if you're not flexible and able to reserve exactly at 10 months out, in the morning.  Also, if you want 3BR and 4BR units, it's tough in prime season everywhere.  _Other than those_, it's generally _very easy_ to get prime season reservations between 8-10 months out, in our experience.



jinap2 said:


> I am thinking of buying Wyndham points because there is an Outrigger resort in the Pacific that I would like to be able to book in the future.


Do you mean, repeatedly?  If you only want to visit every few years and that's your main or only reason for buying, you may consider just renting from an owner.



jinap2 said:


> 2)  If I buy Wyndham points EOY even years, during odd years, can I borrow from the upcoming even year points for the booking?


Yes and no.  If you plan ahead, before your use year even begins and put your points into the credit pool, you may combine them from different years and borrow them forward or save them for later, to make reservations in the off years.  If you just want to make a call and borrow them forward and reserve, the policy is that you may only do this 3 months ahead of the reservation, during the Express Reservation period - tricky with desirable reservations.

Sorry I don't know more about the Outrigger group.  HTH.


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## jin (May 5, 2009)

Thanks Sandy, and Lisa.  Excellent and very helpful answers!   Pete


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## jinap2 (May 6, 2009)

Lisa P said:


> Sorry I don't know more about the Outrigger group. HTH.


 
Lisa, thank you for your response.  

My requirement for Outrigger resort is ongoing and not a one time deal.  Your suggestion about renting from the Outrigger group is a good one.  Haven't analyzed the option of owning one.


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## Caius (May 7, 2009)

jinap2 said:


> 3)  I have read from other posts in TUG that if your home base is in Hawaii, trading with Outrigger will be easier.  Is this true?  So if I buy Wyndham points, let's say Waikiki Beach Walk, will it be easier to get the Outrigger resort in the Pacific?  How much points does the Outrigger resorts take?  Will it be similar to the points in the Waikiki Beach Walk?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## bea (May 13, 2009)

*Need help with Wynham purchase*

I am looking at purchasing a Wyndham Sedona, 2 bed/2 bath, floating week. I don't know what season this floating week falls in, so that is still unknown, but my concern is that Wyndham is a points program, so will I even be able to trade it if this is one of the "throw back" deeded weeks? I would love to use it every year, but I know I will also want to trade it, any advice on this?? 
Sheila 
N.H.


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