I've enjoyed the lively response to my post. The responses seems to fall into two categories. 1. Yup, points are fantastically expensive. 2. You can't put a price on joy.
Now, only a curmudgeon would pooh pooh someone's perception of satisfaction. If your points package (of whatever type, legacy, new purchase, hybid ... ) floats your boat, then lovely. Really. Just don't tell me you can't put a price on it. You can.
I've invited some of you to do just that. While the computation is unquestionably a bit more complex than the one I did, it's not impossibly so. You either bought timeshare weeks (at some measurable price) and have transitioned to points (at some measurable cost), or you bought points from Marriott (also at some measurable price). You are either paying maintenance fees on your weeks, or maintenance fees on your points. Even you hybrid guys have measurable investments and measurable costs. I'm just hoping that one or two of you (ideally folks with a nice slog of points) will trudge through the math to arrive at an average nightly cost. I know it won't be exact. Frankly, I'd be quite happy if someone has discovered the grail of affordability, flexibility and joy.
Now, only a curmudgeon would pooh pooh someone's perception of satisfaction. If your points package (of whatever type, legacy, new purchase, hybid ... ) floats your boat, then lovely. Really. Just don't tell me you can't put a price on it. You can.
I've invited some of you to do just that. While the computation is unquestionably a bit more complex than the one I did, it's not impossibly so. You either bought timeshare weeks (at some measurable price) and have transitioned to points (at some measurable cost), or you bought points from Marriott (also at some measurable price). You are either paying maintenance fees on your weeks, or maintenance fees on your points. Even you hybrid guys have measurable investments and measurable costs. I'm just hoping that one or two of you (ideally folks with a nice slog of points) will trudge through the math to arrive at an average nightly cost. I know it won't be exact. Frankly, I'd be quite happy if someone has discovered the grail of affordability, flexibility and joy.
Last edited: