# VIP status



## roundtheworld (Mar 12, 2012)

We are VIP status and we paid what I consider a small fortune to get it.  A few questions based on a recent sales pitch meeting.
We are VIP based on the following:
248000 purchase retail, 105000 PIC - we also purchased 98000 resale recently
Of course he wanted to sell me more points to make the 300000 so we could be real VIPs as you don't know when Wyndham will take away the PIC points and no longer count them.  I told him I had no interest in spending one more cent as I was disillusioned with all the information that I received at the previous sales meetings.  He let me go very quickly when I told him I wasn't going to spend another penny.

Questions:
1) What is a reasonable amount to have spend on VIP silver
2) I imagine it is true that Wyndham can change the contract and no longer recognize the PIC points.
3) I understand that the VIP system is changing.  All I have heard is the new level of points for VIP.  Has anyone heard of any benefits?
4) Is it worth spending money to get the extra 52000 points to get 300000 Wyndham points prior to the levels going up?  What would be a reasonable cost for this?

Confused as always


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## Ridewithme38 (Mar 12, 2012)

i believe wyndham is selling points at $220 per 1,000 so anything less then $11,440 is a decent price

But i don't see the PIC privilege disappearing anytime soon and i definantly wouldn't pay $11,440 for a timeshare, any timeshare


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## rrlongwell (Mar 12, 2012)

1) What is a reasonable amount to have spend on VIP silver

It appears you are VIP Silver.  The names were VIP, VIP Gold, VIP Platium, and Presidential Reserve.  The names under the new program are the same except that VIP is now called VIP Silver.

2) I imagine it is true that Wyndham can change the contract and no longer recognize the PIC points.

If you want to know what your rights are under the PIC contract, get a copy of the one that covers your PIC unit.  I would not assume they all say the same thing over time.

3) I understand that the VIP system is changing.  All I have heard is the new level of points for VIP.  Has anyone heard of any benefits?

Under the announced rules, VIP levels that exist are grandfathered.  If you want to change VIP levels, you would want to go to Gold or Platium.  

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=165212

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166182

https://www.wyndhamvacationresorts.com/ffr/member/services/benefits/program_benefits_vip.do

4) Is it worth spending money to get the extra 52000 points to get 300000 Wyndham points prior to the levels going up?  What would be a reasonable cost for this?

I do not know if you want the expense for the benifts you would receive in return.  It is up to you.  I chose to go the VIP Platium route.  It is my understanding that a number of posters on TUGS have also gone this route.  On the other hand, some regular posters are vocal in their recommendation not to do so.  If you go the VIP route, I would tell the salesperson that you would buy a sufficient number of point to get to VIP Gold.  However, they would have to take the re-sale contract and give a point by point credit for it.  If they start quoting rules or say no, say good-buy.  Wait for one that says yes.

248000 purchase retail, 105000 PIC  I am assuming that 248,000 points were bought from Wyndham or Fairfield before them.  The PIC contract would not be a Wyndham related Resort.  I am also assuming the re-sale for 98,000 is a Wyndham related Resort.


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## am1 (Mar 12, 2012)

I do not think that PIC and equity trades work together.  

There is value in you getting 300k straight from Wyndham.  Also in getting VIP Gold before they raise the bar with the PIC and less so without the PIC.  I will let someone else calculate those numbers but it is something.


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## ronparise (Mar 12, 2012)

You are already VIP Silver, there is no reason to buy more points to get to where you already are.  if they do change the rules,  my guess is that you will probably be grandfathered.

There are no new benefits to VIP to go along with the new required point levels unless you consider this stuff to be more

New VIP Benefits!


*VIPeek* – an opportunity to provide valuable feedback on programs and services being considered to enhance your ownership experience.
*VIP Merchandise Collection *
CLUB WYNDHAM Silver Owners shop at your store
*CLUB WYNDHAM VIP Now Benefits* – special opportunities throughout the year for last-minute deals and short-term discounts.
View current VIP Now offer(s) from Avis Rent A Car
*Cruising the Good Life *– annual cruise for CLUB WYNDHAM Gold and Platinum Owners – (cruise is cash only)
*Quarterly CEO Email Updates* (CLUB WYNDHAM Platinum Owners only)


There is no reason to spend any money to buy into the next VIP level (gold) unless it is your intent to become a mega renter and use your Wyndhem points for business and have a long term view.It will take a long time to earn back what you spend on retail points And if thats your goal, why not go platinum?


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## SOS8260456 (Mar 12, 2012)

Just because there may be a lot of Tuggers who are VIP platinum, don't take that as a recommendation to do so.  A lot of us got to VIP platinum under rules that are no longer available.  Rules that made getting to platinum not as expensive as it would be today.  When we first got into Fairfield/Wyndham, there were no limits to how many non-Fairfield weeks you could put into the PIC program.  We also did our research before we did our developer purchase and had 3 bedroom red weeks purchased resale ready to put into the PIC program.  We figured if we were going to put a week into the program, might as well put one in that will give us the maximum number of points.  Same price to PIC a one bedroom blue week as it was to PIC a 3 bedroom red week.  Utilizing PIC weeks, we were able to get to Platinum at the average price of $20 per thousand (which, back then, was the going rate for resale points).

There were also several other methods that people were able to use to get VIP benefits for reasonable costs.  As far as I know, all of these "loopholes" have been closed.

Also, keep in mind that what Wyndham has given, Wyndham can AND has taken away as far as VIP benefits are concerned.  So you could spend a whole bunch of money and find yourself with worthless benefits.


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## rrlongwell (Mar 12, 2012)

SOS8260456 said:


> ... Utilizing PIC weeks, we were able to get to Platinum at the average price of $20 per thousand (which, back then, was the going rate for resale points) ...



I remember when gas was at 25 cents per gallon and who knows, maybe chicken little is right, the sky is falling.


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## SOS8260456 (Mar 13, 2012)

rrlongwell said:


> I remember when gas was at 25 cents per gallon and who knows, maybe chicken little is right, the sky is falling.



I didn't realize that you were that old.  

Anyway, I just thought your comments about alot of Tuggers being VIP platinum deserved further clarification as to WHY alot of Tuggers are probably VIP platinum.


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## Cheryl20772 (Mar 13, 2012)

SOS8260456 said:


> I didn't realize that you were that old.
> 
> Anyway, I just thought your comments about alot of Tuggers being VIP platinum deserved further clarification as to WHY alot of Tuggers are probably VIP platinum.


I would think that anyone with that much money tied up in something would want to know as much as possible about that "something".  TUG is a place to find out just about everything about anything timeshare related.  Many may regret that they didn't find TUG before they committed to VIP, but they don't regret that they joined TUG.

I think the person who finds TUG before they buy and the lucky ones who find it in just in time to rescind are very rare.  The majority of people buy first and then come looking for support or to learn how to use what they bought.  Anyone who invested at the Platinum VIP level has even greater motivation to find and learn everything they can about what they own. 

I bought VIP.  Sales updates kept telling me things that sounded too good to be true.  I came looking on the internet to learn more about how to use what I already own and to see if I could find some truth.  That's how I found TUG. I didn't much like the truth I found, but I do love TUG and I'm very grateful we didn't buy Platinum VIP before searching.


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