# Please Post the Positive things You See with The New Points Program



## saturn28 (Jun 21, 2010)

I know most people are upset with the new points chart that requires more points to stay at similar resorts than we are being given by Marriott to turn our weeks into points, but there are some positive things to the new system. I thought it may be easier for those who are looking for the positive things about the new Points Option to have a thread where people can read and post positive things about it. That way we will have all the information when making a decission on whether to join.

A few positive things for me are

1) As a resale owner, I will be able to convert my week into Marriott Reward Points.

2) I will be to use the points to break up my week and stay at different resorts for shorter stays


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## WelcomeHome (Jun 21, 2010)

*Only ONE Positive!*

I think it's very positive that Marriott's new program will most likely return "Dead on Arrival" and produce a collosal loss of market share and ruined reputation as a result of Marriott's greed!  

Best wishes,
David


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## ArtsieAng (Jun 21, 2010)

saturn28 said:


> I know most people are upset with the new points chart that requires more points to stay at similar resorts than we are being given by Marriott to turn our weeks into points, but there are some positive things to the new system. I thought it may be easier for those who are looking for the positive things about the new Points Option to have a thread where people can read and post positive things about it. That way we will have all the information when making a decission on whether to join.
> 
> A few positive things for me are
> 
> ...



I just read this post by Dave.....




> Dave M
> 
> I don't think resale owners who join the points program will be able to trade the use of their week for Marriott Rewards points. I think you missed the definition of "Eligible Member":
> 
> Only (i) certain designated Exchange Members who acquired their Interest from Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc. (“MORI”), (ii) certain designated Exchange Members who acquired their Interest in a resale transaction brokered by MORI, or a subsidiary or affiliated company of MORI, or a MORI approved broker, (iii) certain designated transferees who acquired their Interest via will or intestate succession from an owner described in (i) or (ii) above, (iv) certain designated present or future children of an owner described in (i), (ii) or (iii) above, or (v) certain designated owners of an Interest in an Affiliate Program (“Eligible Members”) are eligible to participate in the Program.


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## saturn28 (Jun 21, 2010)

ArtsieAng said:


> I just read this post by Dave.....




I talked to Marriott Owner Service yesterday and I was told I would be eligble for Marriott Reward Program. So, if anyone wants to know if they would be eligble, just call in and they will tell you. I bought all my weeks on Ebay, so I expect most people should be in the same situation as me.


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## ArtsieAng (Jun 21, 2010)

saturn28 said:


> I talked to Marriott Owner Service yesterday and I was told I would be eligble for Marriott Reward Program.



OK, it's probably one of those things that really needs to be thoroughly checked out, to be certain. Seems that there's some question to whether or not that's true.


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## dima (Jun 21, 2010)

I think resale weeks will be eligible for MRP.
When I started enrollment my resale week was counted and assigned point value. Plus they charge more to convert resale week to point programm.
So, resale week get points too.


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## kedler (Jun 21, 2010)

ArtsieAng said:


> I just read this post by Dave.....


There is an interesting caveat on the webpage telling us how wonderful the program is:

"Access to the Marriott Collection is provided via membership in the Marriott Rewards® program, and is subject to the Marriott Rewards Terms & Conditions and the terms and conditions as outlined in the applicable Marriott Vacation Club Destinations Exchange Program documents. Actual participating resorts and hotels are subject to change. The Marriott Rewards program may be discontinued at any time. *Some Marriott Vacation Club Destinations Exchange Program members will be unable to trade their usage for Marriott Rewards points.*"

I have a developer purchased EOY week that has never been eligible to trade for MR and I assume it will remain ineligible though I will call and ask.  I don't know if my resale weeks' owners had the right to exchange for points but if they did then I believe that I will get that right for those weeks which will be a positive for me as we tend to use them for airline tickets or hotel rooms from time to time.

Other positives:

2. More options on a yearly basis and I think the Explorer option for cruising is better than II's current monetary credits towards a cruise, especially as it is currently "per couple". We like to cruise ever few years and if I could do it with my Marriott ownership without shelling out lots of extra cash that would be a positive for me.

3. I like flexibility and more choices and I think that this program will provide both. This flexibility comes at a fee of course which is not so positive but I trade alot and pay II fees on a per week basis not a flat fee per year basis. I haven't done the cost analysis yet but I know I'm spent at least $300 in II exchange fees plus the cost of membership in their program.

4. For better or worse, I think that without joining if I go to sell one or more of my weeks the pool of prospective buyers is greatly reduced if I'm not a member. I don't intend on selling but I don't think I want to take an action that will reduce the resale purchaser's pool. 

We are going to be at Grande Vista week starting this Sunday and we've decided to go to one of those darn sales presentations to see what we can learn. I'll also be calling Marriott to ask lots of questions. I'll let you know if I find any more positives or if IMO the positives I'm listed don't exist.


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## marksue (Jun 21, 2010)

Only positive thing I see is that there are no positive things so Marriott will have to rethink this program.

I can picture Marriott execs coming up with this program thinking, how much can we continue to take from our owners.


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## larue (Jun 21, 2010)

I am not sure I will join, but so far, here are the positives I have come up with:


As a resale owner I will be able to exchange for reward points (confirmed with two separate calls to owner services yesterday, including speaking to a supervisor).  This was the only difference between my resale weeks and developer weeks and I will be able to erase that difference for my two weeks for $1,995.
With the way that I use my two weeks, including lock off fees, reservation date change fees (because I reserve a good early week, lock off and deposit and then change my master unit reservations later to the week I actually intend to use), Interval membership, exchange fees of $109 each for the lock off, etc., I will save approximately $288 per year, meaning that I break even after 7 years in the program.
I will be able to use only the days I need.  I try to link my trips up with frequent flier miles availability and I often end up leaving a day or two of my unit on the table because my low miles seats were only available on a Wednesday or Thursday return.  Example is going to Hawaii at Thanksgiving for the week before and week of last year, when the only low cost miles seats involved a return on Thursday night even though I had the unit until Saturday.  I can now pay points for 12 instead of 14 days in such an instance, which pretty much wipes out the points differential (the difference between the points they are granting me and what it would hypothetically cost to get back into the same unit using points) that I don't like anymore than anyone else.

What I don't like:


Point differential of what they give me and what they charge others to use the same unit, though this does not really bother me too much as I will just stay at my home resort without points when I want to.  It will mean that I will come up short in many cases to stay in a comparable unit (e.g. Waiohai, Kuaui Lagoons, etc.), which bothers me.  At the same time, I recognize that Marriott is trying to make a profit like every other business, and I can see why they "buy low and sell high" which is the business motto.
The lack of something similar to flexchange in the points system.  I have used my studio efficiency to trade for a two bedroom many times during flexchange and have gotten some great trades that way that won't work with points.  Example is that I have used the studio efficiency to get Newport Coast Villas at 4th of July and Easter both. This has been one of the best things about having a lockoff and I will miss it.  I tend to think this is gone whether I join the points system or not given the analysis on these posts of how Marriott will be buying up all the inventory.  
The way that Marriott seeks to control my vote as an owner at Ko Olina.  The enrollment document says that I cannot vote contrary to Marriott's interest, in their discretion, including voting to take Ko Olina out of the Points program.  This seems very heavy handed.
The variable nature of the program, which can change down the road like Marriott has already done with the Rewards program.  I am not sure this will change much, as it has more to do with Marriott's approach to the whole way of doing business.

Again, I am not sure I will join, but if, as a result of their program, nothing is left in Interval from the Marriott units into which I almost always exchange, I might as well.  I will be thinking about it and studying further until August when the 800 point bonus expires.


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## thinze3 (Jun 21, 2010)

*32 MR rewards points per Vacation Club point*

Marriott Rewards Points
Vacation Club Points may be traded for Marriott Rewards points. Any trades must be made no later than nine months before the end of the Use Year. For example, if your Anniversary occurs on May 1st of 2012, you must trade for Marriott Rewards points by July 31st of 2012. You will receive the Marriott Rewards points in your Marriott Rewards account within 48 hours.

Currently, a minimum of at least 250 Vacation Club Points may be traded for Marriott Rewards points. 

Currently, 250 Vacation Club Points will be equivalent to 8,000 Marriott Rewards points. 

For example, a Marriott Vacation Club Destinations™ Owner who trades 3,000 Vacation Club Points will receive 96,000 Marriott Rewards points. 

Remember, each year, 
Marriott Vacation Club Destinations™ Owners may trade up to 50% of their annual allotment of Vacation Club Points for Marriott Rewards points. 

Marriott Vacation Club Destinations™ Owners with Premier status may trade up to 65%. 

Marriott Vacation Club Destinations™ Owners with Premier-Plus status may trade up to 75%.


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## TheTimeTraveler (Jun 21, 2010)

thinze3 said:


> Marriott Rewards Points
> Vacation Club Points may be traded for Marriott Rewards points. Any trades must be made no later than nine months before the end of the Use Year. For example, if your Anniversary occurs on May 1st of 2012, you must trade for Marriott Rewards points by July 31st of 2012. You will receive the Marriott Rewards points in your Marriott Rewards account within 48 hours.
> 
> Currently, a minimum of at least 250 Vacation Club Points may be traded for Marriott Rewards points.
> ...





.



I see that your allowed to trade a limited number of Marriott Vacation Club Points for Marriott Reward Points.   However is it allowed somewhere in the fine print to exchange MRP for MVCP ?

If so, how many Marriott Reward Points would you need to obtain each Marriott Vacation Club Points ?




.


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## marksue (Jun 21, 2010)

larue said:


> I
> Again, I am not sure I will join, but if, as a result of their program, nothing is left in Interval from the Marriott units into which I almost always exchange, I might as well.  I will be thinking about it and studying further until August when the 800 point bonus expires.



You can still turn your units into II.  Marriott is keping thier original plan in place with II.  Based on what I ahve read so far, many people will still be using the original II plan.  

I just spoke to Marriott and asked about the benefits to owners and all they could tell me is that they are trying to be competive with the competition and know this would not work for many owners.  I asked a couple of times to the benefits and could not get an answer.


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## smokies (Jun 21, 2010)

thinze3 said:


> Marriott Rewards Points
> Vacation Club Points may be traded for Marriott Rewards points. Any trades must be made no later than nine months before the end of the Use Year. For example, if your Anniversary occurs on May 1st of 2012, you must trade for Marriott Rewards points by July 31st of 2012. You will receive the Marriott Rewards points in your Marriott Rewards account within 48 hours.
> 
> Currently, a minimum of at least 250 Vacation Club Points may be traded for Marriott Rewards points.
> ...



Where did you find this? That is pretty significant.


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## thinze3 (Jun 21, 2010)

smokies said:


> Where did you find this? That is pretty significant.



https://www.my-vacationclub.com/en-us/owners/1_tradingPoints.jsp


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## Asia2000 (Jun 21, 2010)

smokies said:


> Where did you find this? That is pretty significant.



It is actually less MR points than you would get if you were a "purchased from Marriott" deeded week owner.  A 3,000 club point equivalent deeded week would net you 125,000 MR points under the original system "if you bought from Marriott".

Before you get excited, see what 96,000 MR points will give you.  Then compare the retail value of your "destinations club point" 5 night stay or in some rare cases, a full week using your club points.  Or 8-9 days only staying on a Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed or Thursday night.


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## ArtsieAng (Jun 21, 2010)

Asia2000 said:


> It is actually less MR points than you would get if you were a "purchased from Marriott" deeded week owner.  A 3,000 club point equivalent deeded week would net you 125,000 MR points under the original system "if you bought from Marriott".
> 
> Before you get excited, see what 96,000 MR points will give you.  Then compare the retail value of your "destinations club point" 5 night stay or in some rare cases, a full week using your club points.  Or 8-9 days only staying on a Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed or Thursday night.



 I have an allocated 2075 point week (MFV) that gives me 100,000 points.


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## marksue (Jun 21, 2010)

You can only trade in 50% of the vacation club points.  Not much you can do with 45k points.

If you need the points right away just trade in your unit (in most cases).


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## bogey21 (Jun 21, 2010)

saturn28 said:


> but there are some positive things to the new system.



Like great for Marriott stockholders!!

George


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## Dave M (Jun 21, 2010)

I still think it's not a sure bet to exchange resale week usage for MR points. The footnote to Terry's quoted language makes it clear that the ability to trade is subject to the rules in the language quoted for me in the third post in this thread and also includes: 





> Some Marriott Vacation Club Destinations Exchange Program Enrolled Owners will be unable to trade their usage for Marriott Rewards points.


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## Janette (Jun 21, 2010)

I just talked with a very polite person on the telephone. He agreed that there is a problem with the value of a week not being the same as what is required to trade into the week. He also agreed that the inventory in sold-out resorts will not be as good as those that are not sold-out. He did not push the point system and indicated that Marriott and owners need to do more research. Maybe he was polite because I didn't bite off his head. We are Disney members and their points work great for us. The difference is that we bought points and were aware of exactly what we would get for them. I'm a positive person who enjoys Marriott vacations so I'm not in a panic mood. I'm heading to Barony and GO in a couple of weeks and nothing will ruin my vacation.


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## 1965 (Jun 21, 2010)

i just called MVC owner servies. I can get Marriott Reward points for my Marriott Resales when I pay the $1995 fee but I  must do it by June 22,2010 800 PM?
anyone told different?

I was offered 125,000 Marriott Reward points for my 2900 marriott Disney Vacation club points
that are the allocaton
for Marriott Desert Springs phase #2/Platinmum

Pls anyone, anything different to you??


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## dougp26364 (Jun 21, 2010)

saturn28 said:


> I talked to Marriott Owner Service yesterday and I was told I would be eligble for Marriott Reward Program. So, if anyone wants to know if they would be eligble, just call in and they will tell you. I bought all my weeks on Ebay, so I expect most people should be in the same situation as me.



Just one word of advice. Get it in writing. From some of the posts I've read it does not appear Marriott did an excellent job of training their telephone reps. There have been variences in what's been told. DaveM posted what is in writing. If you're willing to take a reps word over what's in writing, go for it.


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## dougp26364 (Jun 21, 2010)

kedler said:


> 4. For better or worse, I think that without joining if I go to sell one or more of my weeks the pool of prospective buyers is greatly reduced if I'm not a member. I don't intend on selling but I don't think I want to take an action that will reduce the resale purchaser's pool.



Are you under the impression that, if you join your club membership will transfer to another buyer if you sell? You'd better read the fine print. It's my understanding that, after 6/20/2010 NO resale purchases are eligable to join. It's also my understanding that, those who want to buy Marriott Trust points on the resale market will have to pay a fee of $2,000 to be eligable to participate in the program. That's not deeded weeks but trust points purchased after the 6/20.

If you're thinking that joining this program will somehow protect your future resale value I fear you may be wrong. I'm pretty sure the membership is yours and yours alone and will not transfer upon the sale of your ownership.


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## dougp26364 (Jun 21, 2010)

1965 said:


> i just called MVC owner servies. I can get Marriott Reward points for my Marriott Resales when I pay the $1995 fee but I  must do it by June 22,2010 800 PM?
> anyone told different?
> 
> I was offered 125,000 Marriott Reward points for my 2900 marriott Disney Vacation club points
> ...



When you compare this to the cost of buying MR points direct from Marriott, aren't you coming out on the short end of the stick? You have to pay your MF's, the joiner fee and the yearly membership fee for 125,000 Marriott Rewards points. That doesn't seem like a deal to me.


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## dougp26364 (Jun 21, 2010)

Janette said:


> I just talked with a very polite person on the telephone. He agreed that there is a problem with the value of a week not being the same as what is required to trade into the week. He also agreed that the inventory in sold-out resorts will not be as good as those that are not sold-out. He did not push the point system and indicated that Marriott and owners need to do more research. Maybe he was polite because I didn't bite off his head. We are Disney members and their points work great for us. The difference is that we bought points and were aware of exactly what we would get for them. I'm a positive person who enjoys Marriott vacations so I'm not in a panic mood. I'm heading to Barony and GO in a couple of weeks and nothing will ruin my vacation.



I belong to two points based reservations systems. The points given to me for my weeks are the exact number of points required to reserve those weeks. I can reserve them for that number of points and anyone else in the program can reserve them for that number of points. They are balanced systems. Marriott's system should be balanced as well but, it's not.


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## ral (Jun 21, 2010)

*Remember, MR points can also be purchased without any ownership.*

Let's also remember that any Marriott Rewards member (doesn't have to own either points or weeks) may purchase or receive as a gift a combined maximum of 50,000 points per calendar year. Points may be purchased at the rate of $12.50 per 1,000 points ($625 for 50,000 points or $1250 for 100,000 points accumulated over two years). This charge can be placed on the Marriott credit card, obtaining additional Marriott Reward points. If one were willing to pay $169 or $199 Club Fee solely to exchange for points, subtract that amount from the $1250 and you've got a bargain obtaining Marriott Reward points and still have your week to use!


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## dougp26364 (Jun 21, 2010)

dougp26364 said:


> When you compare this to the cost of buying MR points direct from Marriott, aren't you coming out on the short end of the stick? You have to pay your MF's, the joiner fee and the yearly membership fee for 125,000 Marriott Rewards points. That doesn't seem like a deal to me.



I found the information:

_• A member may purchase or receive as a gift a combined maximum of 50,000 points per calendar year. 
• Points may be purchased in increments of 1,000.
• Purchase rate is 12.50 (USD) per 1,000 points.
• Please allow 24-48 hours for transaction to be completed and points awarded to recipient.
• You must be a Marriott Rewards member in good standing to both purchase and receive points.
• Once points have been purchased or gifted, no refunds will be permitted.
• Purchasing points with the Marriott Rewards Visa® card will result in earning one point per dollar spent on these transactions. 
_

The cost to purchase 50,000 points would be $625. 

If you could buy 125,000 points (Marriott now limits you to 50,000 points per year) the cost would be $1,562.50. I don't know what your MF's are but, in our case I determined it's not economical to exchange for MR points when I can buy them outright and keep my ownership week for exchanges.


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## thinze3 (Jun 21, 2010)

*I like the MR pts conversion ability!*



Asia2000 said:


> It is actually less MR points than you would get if you were a "purchased from Marriott" deeded week owner.  A 3,000 club point equivalent deeded week would net you 125,000 MR points under the original system "if you bought from Marriott". ...




Not understanding this post. There are very very few resorts that ever offered 125K MR points. My 2BR Waiohai in HI was only offered 85K MR pts originally.  It now offers me 4225 Club points which is equal to 135K MR points (cheaper than buying). Of course you can only trade in 50-75% depending on your status. If I join I will be "Premier" status and could trade 65%.

Waiohai
4225 club pts  x 65% = 2746 club pts
3746 club pts X 32 = 88K MR pts

So I would get the 88K MR pts still have 1479 club pts that I could add to my other pool of club pts. 

Actually, I could convert three of my weeks to 202K MR rewards points and still have enough club points (3395) to get a 2BR week at St. Kitts,  which is where we want to go next.

.


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## dougp26364 (Jun 21, 2010)

ral said:


> Let's also remember that any Marriott Rewards member (doesn't have to own either points or weeks) may purchase or receive as a gift a combined maximum of 50,000 points per calendar year. Points may be purchased at the rate of $12.50 per 1,000 points ($625 for 50,000 points or $1250 for 100,000 points accumulated over two years). This charge can be placed on the Marriott credit card, obtaining additional Marriott Reward points. If one were willing to pay $169 or $199 Club Fee solely to exchange for points, subtract that amount from the $1250 and you've got a bargain!



Did you forget to add in the MF's for the week you exchange for those points? When you do that PLUS the joiner fee PLUS the membership fee, is it still a bargain?


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## jimf41 (Jun 21, 2010)

marksue said:


> You can only trade in 50% of the vacation club points.  Not much you can do with 45k points.
> 
> If you need the points right away just trade in your unit (in most cases).



My Ocean Pointe unit generates 100,000 MRP points under the old system. Under the new system it gives me 4,325 MVCP points. I can convert 75% to MRP. Doing the math that gives me 103,800 MRP. That's a BC R/T to Europe with 3,800 MRP left over. I'll have 1081 MVCP in the bank. That gives me 6 days in a studio at the Surf Club or 8days in a studio at Ocean Pointe.

Considering that I didn't have to pay a separate $104 fee to convert  or $99-$109 fees to trade into either of the units I mentioned I think its a pretty good deal. I'll have 3,800 MRP left over and I guess you're right, not much I can do with those.

The title of this thread is "what are the good points". Some folks are going to see bad in all of it. There are some things I don't like but so far the only real show stopper for me is that this is the initial offer that can be changed at any time. If they were to reassign only 2000 MVCP points to my Ocean Point unit it would be a disaster for me. Before I join I'm going to have to be reasonably sure they can't or won't do this.


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## ral (Jun 21, 2010)

dougp26364 said:


> Did you forget to add in the MF's for the week you exchange for those points? When you do that PLUS the joiner fee PLUS the membership fee, is it still a bargain?



I meant for my interpretation to show that it is NOT necessarily a plus to exchange one's week for Marriott Reward points, when you can purchase them without any ownership for as little as $1250 for 100,000 points. I will edit the original post to make it clearer.


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## gmarine (Jun 21, 2010)

Anyone who is considering joining should read EVERYTHING very carefully in the Terms and Conditions. There was something posted in which you give up your right to vote against Marriott and your ability to vote Marriott out of your resort. 
Marriott wants you to give up your vote. Hmmmmm. Think about it.


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## thinze3 (Jun 21, 2010)

Dave M said:


> I still think it's not a sure bet to exchange resale week usage for MR points. The footnote to Terry's quoted language makes it clear that the ability to trade is subject to the rules in the language quoted for me in the third post in this thread and also includes:



I am on the phone now with MVCI. I am being told that the two resale weeks which I now own WOULD be able to convert to MR points but only at the original rate that was offered and the frequency offered.

BeachPlace 110K EOY
Waiohai 85K  EOY (not so good)
Legends Edge 100K EY


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## Dave M (Jun 21, 2010)

Others are being told the same thing (and so was I) - but only if they sign up by tomorrow night.


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## thinze3 (Jun 21, 2010)

Dave M said:


> Others are being told the same thing (and so was I) - but only if they sign up by tomorrow night.



Still on the line and of course I was told that there is NO DEADLINE.


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## jimf41 (Jun 21, 2010)

Does anyone know what the "T" and "E" designations mean on the points chart?


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## iamnotshopgirl (Jun 21, 2010)

thinze3 said:


> Still on the line and of course I was told that there is NO DEADLINE.



Terry

Have you verified NO DEADLINE?

bob


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## TheTimeTraveler (Jun 21, 2010)

Dave M said:


> Others are being told the same thing (and so was I) - but only if they sign up by tomorrow night.





Dave, I'm glad you're retired.  Moderating the Marriott posts for the next few weeks will turn into a full time job!

On behalf of myself, and surely all others, thank you so much for your continued assistance and input.


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## DB-Wis (Jun 21, 2010)

I just don't understand this overwrought emotional negativity to the new program.  

If you think it stinks, ignore it and continue as you have in the past.  If it's really as bad as you think it is, then few will participate and the quantity of units for exchange on II will not be affected.  In short, you've lost nothing.

So, if you don't like it, fine.  Move on and stop wasting your time trashing something that will not affect you if you choose not to participate


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## thinze3 (Jun 21, 2010)

I agree. I was also just told that I could deposit any week, even after converting to the new system, with II under the old rules in my old II account which still has five more years left on it. I could then request any other resort, even a Marriott.

So far so good.


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## RandR (Jun 21, 2010)

But I thought that someone else posted that if you join the new program your week would have to go through Marriott and they would then work with II.  I think a big problem people are going to have is that this is so new that there is no way the reps can anticipate all the questions and have answers for them.  

One good thing is that they are giving you until August to decide and still get a bonus and the end of the year to join at the current pricing.


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## saturn28 (Jun 21, 2010)

RandR said:


> But I thought that someone else posted that if you join the new program your week would have to go through Marriott and they would then work with II.  I think a big problem people are going to have is that this is so new that there is no way the reps can anticipate all the questions and have answers for them.
> 
> One good thing is that they are giving you until August to decide and still get a bonus and the end of the year to join at the current pricing.



I spoke to Marriott Owner Services and the only time your week goes through Marriott to Interval is when you convert your week to points. The new Interval account that they setup at Interval is a points account not a weeks account. So, if you are a weeks owner and join the new points system, you will have 2 Interval accounts one that you use if you decide to make a weeks exchange like you have done up until now and a 2nd that you use if you are depositing points into Interval for exchange and are making an external exchange to another resort that is not Marriott.

It is good to use the points deposit into Interval if you own at a place like Cypress Harbour were you don't have lock-offs. Interval will now have a points exchange where the cost of exchanging into different size units will cost you more or less points depending on the size of the unit and the time of year you go. Again this new Interval Points exchange setup for Marriott Points members is strictly for external exchanges out of Marriott


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## jjluhman (Jun 21, 2010)

saturn28 said:


> I spoke to Marriott Owner Services and the only time your week goes through Marriott to Interval is when you convert your week to points. The new Interval account that they setup at Interval is a points account not a weeks account. So, if you are a weeks owner and join the new points system, you will have 2 Interval accounts one that you use if you decide to make a weeks exchange like you have done up until now and a 2nd that you use if you are depositing points into Interval for exchange and are making an external exchange to another resort that is not Marriott.
> 
> It is good to use the points deposit into Interval if you own at a place like Cypress Harbour were you don't have lock-offs. Interval will now have a points exchange where the cost of exchanging into different size units will cost you more or less points depending on the size of the unit and the time of year you go. Again this new Interval Points exchange setup for Marriott Points members is strictly for external exchanges out of Marriott



So does that mean that you still have to pay your own II membership fee AND the Marriott dues?


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## saturn28 (Jun 21, 2010)

jjluhman said:


> So does that mean that you still have to pay your own II membership fee AND the Marriott dues?



If you make an external exchange out of the Marriott system through II you have to pay an exchange. However, if you make an internal weeks exchange to another Marriott through Interval using the weeks exchange their is no extra charge


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## m61376 (Jun 21, 2010)

So would we have 1 or 2 II accounts? I thought it was a singular account, with the dues covered by the annual 169/199 fee, and could be used for either weeks based or points based exchanges.


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## saturn28 (Jun 21, 2010)

m61376 said:


> So would we have 1 or 2 II accounts? I thought it was a singular account, with the dues covered by the annual 169/199 fee, and could be used for either weeks based or points based exchanges.



You will have a weeks based account with II should you choose to continue to exchange either to Marriott or externally to other resorts through Interval. Then you will have a points account with II that you only use when you are depositing the new Marriott points for exchange to go resorts that are not Marriott through Interval. If you are using Marriott points to do an internal exchange to other Marriott resorts it doesn't go through II, Marriott does the exchange internally themself. Both of these accounts are included in the new club fee. However, any external exchange to another resort other than Marriott will incur an exchange fee.


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## Antny (Jun 21, 2010)

*Website vs. owner services*

Will we be able to request/confirm exchanges made via points from the current MVCI website (similar to II) or is this something that can only be done via owner services?


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## thinze3 (Jun 21, 2010)

There are Starwood owners who have the same thing - two II accounts. One for weeks in the SVN network and one for weeks not in the SVN network.


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## saturn28 (Jun 21, 2010)

Antny said:


> Will we be able to request/confirm exchanges made via points from the current MVCI website (similar to II) or is this something that can only be done via owner services?



I believe the internal exchanges are done either through your Vacation Advisor at Marriott or you will able to do the internal exchange through the Marriott website the same way you can use the website to reserve your home week.


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## IngridN (Jun 21, 2010)

This is what I was told re weeks deposit if you join the program and II.

Until you exhaust your banked weeks in II, you will have 2 II accounts. If you join the points program and continue to reserve and deposit your weeks Marriott will utilize II under the new II account #. Your liaison will be Marriott and they will make all of your reservations for you, including non-Marriott ones, not II. You will talk to a Marriott rep to make reservations during their office hours. Told her no thanks, I want 24/7 II online access. She went to talk to her supervisor, comes back and tells me that I will continue to have online access as now...

Ingrid


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## wuv pooh (Jun 21, 2010)

*Benefits that I see*

1. Relatively low buy in - $695 offset by 800 plus points which I should be able to recoup my costs by stretching my first trade or trading for 4-5 nights at a resort.

2. Lower fee for my current usage pattern:

Current - II - $89
      lockoff -  $75
2 internal trades - $218
Total = $382

System fee = $165

3. Option to convert weeks to the new points currency and stay less than a week, etc.  A new flexibility that I do not currently have.

4. Continued access to new Marriott points resorts if I want it.

5. Ability to trade for new points currency if Marriott does begin to steal the prime weeks from II for the points system (although I do not believe this)

6. Ability to back out of the system every year if desired.

7. I will get an AC to compensate me for my current 1 year left in II.

8. I can now procure the view that I want, rather than being stuck with what the resort gives me through exchange.

9.  Marriott will be working to make the points system succeed. 


Things I do not like:

1. I did not get the points I wanted -   But I guess no one did  I am dissapointed that the value of points in arbitrary and not tied to a fixed pool of sold points.  There seems to be some "missing" points.

2. Uptrades will be limited or disappear   I currently take advantage of less knowledgeable owners.  This will stop now that the prime week owners can convert to the new currency and get more equitable trades.


Bottom line is I do not see any real downside to joining, but large potential downside if I don't join and the program is very successful or Marriott chooses to game the system in favor of points owners.  I will attend a sales presentation next week and see if they are offering any better incentives for comprehensive realignment of my ownership.


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## KathyPet (Jun 22, 2010)

We own a MMC platinum and a GO Gold Oceanside.  In the entire 14 years that we have owned our MMC we have never once stayed there.  We have used to trade through II or trade for MR points.  We do use our GO week just about every year. I would get 3325 pts for GO and 2375 pts for MMC.  If I put the points together (5700) I would be able to use them for a week in a Ocean Front unit using 4000 points for a week with a Ocean Front view during our gold time or 5400 points for ocean front during platinum season.  I have never had a ocean front view and that does sort of intrigue me.  However, I cannot see any other use for this program


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## mjkkb2 (Jun 22, 2010)

I have posted some quotes in the opposite thread, I do see a benefit for my ownership at Oceana Palms.

There are four weeks that only require 2000 points to occupy.  It's the hurricane season but I wouldn't mind going then so I figured I could geat one week plus 3 extra days for my 2625 points (gold OV).
Inventory should be plentifull as Marriott has yet to built the second tower.  The only issue I have with this is what happens if nex year the four 2000pts weeks go away (at Marriotts discretion) and I don't have enough points for any of the gold season weeks (which typically are 2900pts right now.)


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## thinze3 (Jun 22, 2010)

I have an ongoing request with II for St Kitts during June of 2011 as we speak. If I were to trade in my Waiohai to the new club today, I would have enough club points to get a 3BR OV unit and be close to enough to get a 3BR OS unit.

I can also trade my BeachPlace for an OF 2BR at Oceana Palms for the same dates.
This is intriguing to me as well.


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## mjkkb2 (Jun 22, 2010)

I think it'll all come down to availability. 

IF you look to trade into a resort that has a lot of unsold inventory and/or a lot of points members then it may be a wise choice to join.  However, if you think about trading into sold out resorts and/or those than have  just a few points mambers then you can have thousands of points and still not be able to get the unit you like because it's not available.


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## walken1974 (Jun 22, 2010)

*conflicting statements via phone*

I own aruba ocean club 1 bdrm resale . Owner services stated originally that my week could be traded for 88,000 marriott reward points however I could only convert 44,000 points per year. After asking what would happen to the other half she spoke with a supervisor. After speaking with the supervisor owner services rep stated that my unit would be worth 100,000 mrp's and that I could use all of those every year. She stated the original quote was only for new owners buying points. Does anyone know for sure what the true story is ? I am leaning towards buying in (although I don't like the system and how my platinum week won't even trade back for points to my resort) as an insurance policy for the future so that if I need to convert to points to get a trade I can.I also like the idea of basically converting my resale week to an owner week for short money. I would appreciate any ones thoughts or knowledge.


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## TheTimeTraveler (Jun 22, 2010)

walken1974 said:


> I own aruba ocean club 1 bdrm resale . Owner services stated originally that my week could be traded for 88,000 marriott reward points however I could only convert 44,000 points per year. After asking what would happen to the other half she spoke with a supervisor. After speaking with the supervisor owner services rep stated that my unit would be worth 100,000 mrp's and that I could use all of those every year. She stated the original quote was only for new owners buying points. Does anyone know for sure what the true story is ? I am leaning towards buying in (although I don't like the system and how my platinum week won't even trade back for points to my resort) as an insurance policy for the future so that if I need to convert to points to get a trade I can.I also like the idea of basically converting my resale week to an owner week for short money. I would appreciate any ones thoughts or knowledge.





My suggestion is to go to the Marriott website and ask this same question using the computer typed method so that their response is made to you IN WRITING.


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## scrapngen (Jun 25, 2010)

In continuing to look at various aspects of the program, I found one good thing that seems to have been overlooked, or at least not mentioned much in the huge discussions, so I am posting it here.

Premier Plus definitely has great advantages. (this is a given - IMO)
Premier initially didn't look that different than the current 13 month reservation rule. BUT I've been looking from my own perspective and not the bigger picture. For me this holds as  true as I have 2 fixed back to back weeks at one resort, and if I added more weeks it would be to mostly extend this timeframe further. 

Here is the big advantage I see for Premier points:

YOu can now reserve at 13 months out as long as it is 7 or more consecutive days. You no longer need to reserve two weeks back to back to get that 13 month advantage!! This is actually great for those who have enough points to get to Premier. They can reserve one primo week w/out linking it with another week to get the 13 month window.

(While I still don't like the system, I am still looking at what you GET rather than only focusing on what you don't )


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