Just bought 1,000 pts, access to more inventory?

[luv_maui]

Background, we don’t own in Marriott system, we own WKORV. Our friends bought MMO over 20 years ago, 2 br lockoff. We met with them last night and during a presentation (this past week) they were told they needed to buy at least 1,000 more points to see more inventory. They say they have access at 13 months and can elect over 4,000 points/yr. I think it was around 4300 or 4700 pts. They were given 2,000 1-time use points + ? And I didn’t even get a price they paid. Salesman stated it would turn their week into a hybrid week and showed how there was inventory they couldn’t see by trying to search for even just 1 day over a time range , but stated they’d have access if they bought at least 1,000 pts. These are really good friends but unfortunately I don’t know the Marriott points system to advise but know that generally salesman is probably just looking for a sale. Of course, I don’t want them to feel bad about their purchase so listened and asked to get what few points I’ve described here. Should I advise them to rescind before it’s too late? I don’t have any more specific details, sorry.

they have points expiring by end of this year so plan to come back to Maui before end of this year.

 

[rthib]

Rescind. Lots of reasons.
First, let’s assume the salesman was telling the truth and 1000 points would magically make a difference. You can buy resale points at a fraction of the cost and they are treated just like developer purchased points. So no reason to buy them direct in this case.

Now to the lies. Sound like they have an enrolled week at 4700 points. That amount can only see 1+ night at 10 months, at 13 months they can see only 7+ nights. To get to 1+ night at 13 months they would need 7,000 points total. So the 1000 points gets them nothing new.

 

[ljmiii]

[T]hey were told they needed to buy at least 1,000 more points to see more inventory....

Telling a prospective buyer that they need to buy trust points "to see more inventory" is a common MVC salesweasel lie. Trust points and elected points see the same inventory and can be used interchangeably.

What is true is that if the purchase pushes them to a new tier - there is one at 4,000 and then one at 7,000 - they will have more flexibility in booking at 13 months. What is also true is that they can almost certainly buy the points cheaper resale (even after paying MVC their 'activation' fees).

 

[Pamplemousse]

Have they asked what this new inventory they will supposedly see is?
Is this the old “need trust points to see trust inventory” song and dance?
Or are they saying trust points will be needed to access the new Vistana/Sheraton/Westin?
Seems to be several posts lately about the push to buy a small number of points.

 

[DanCali]

Background, we don’t own in Marriott system, we own WKORV. Our friends bought MMO over 20 years ago, 2 br lockoff. We met with them last night and during a presentation (this past week) they were told they needed to buy at least 1,000 more points to see more inventory. They say they have access at 13 months and can elect over 4,000 points/yr. I think it was around 4300 or 4700 pts. They were given 2,000 1-time use points + ? And I didn’t even get a price they paid. Salesman stated it would turn their week into a hybrid week and showed how there was inventory they couldn’t see by trying to search for even just 1 day over a time range , but stated they’d have access if they bought at least 1,000 pts. These are really good friends but unfortunately I don’t know the Marriott points system to advise but know that generally salesman is probably just looking for a sale. Of course, I don’t want them to feel bad about their purchase so listened and asked to get what few points I’ve described here. Should I advise them to rescind before it’s too late? I don’t have any more specific details, sorry.

they have points expiring by end of this year so plan to come back to Maui before end of this year.

Salespeople grapple with the fact that long-time owners like your friends are able to enroll their weeks into the DC system at a reasonable cost (even for free). Weeks generally also have a superior Point/MF ratio compared to actual DC points. So weeks owners have no real incentive to buy more points, especially if they feel like they have plenty. This has led to the following strategy:

(1) If a weeks owner bought from the developer (usually pre-2010) and has enrolled weeks, tell them buying trust points will allow them to "see more exchange inventory". This story relies on the fact that this subset of owners is less likely to be aware points can be bought on the secondary market at a much lower cost, and also on the fact that this claim is perhaps true in theory but less so in practice, and is hard to verify.

(2) If a weeks owner owns post-2010 resale weeks, tell them those weeks can be enrolled if they make a developer purchase, allowing more flexibility, avoiding II inventory destruction etc. Then help them find the best "deal".

Your friends are likely in the first category above. Marriott has been using this strategy for over a decade and regulars on these boards have done a lot of work trying to verify or debunk the idea. It's (mostly) debunked for most cases people might care about and if you still think it matters then, as others mentioned, buy resale.

You're not the first (or the last) to ask about this... salespeople will continue these tactics because FOMO is a good motivator.

See this thread:

Marriott DC Program- Trust Inventory

We attended a presentation at NCV today and the rep told us that Mr Marriott owned 20% of each of the properties, and that he put all of his weeks into the Trust Inventory to start the program. I challenged her on that as I understand that Marriott started the DC program by putting all of it's...

tugbbs.com

and this thread:

Do trust points see different (as in more) inventory from enrolled weeks points?

Sales guy claimed if we added trust points we would have access to a larger inventory so much better chances of getting into locations we want. Any truth in this?Or just sales talk. BTW thanks for all the advice yesterday, we will rescind, just need to figure out how, Everything is Docusign...

tugbbs.com

and this thread:

Question about booking inventory for DC enrolled weeks

When an enrolled week is converted to DC points for a particular year, does the owner have the ability to book any available inventory in the DC Trust and the DC Exchange, or just the DC Exchange? Also, if someone owns 1000 DC points and 15000 points from enrolled weeks, can he/she book all...

tugbbs.com

and this:

Identifying Trust Inventory vs. DC point inventory?

When booking DC points is there any way to identify if the availability is from trust inventory or DC points inventory?

tugbbs.com

and this:

Is it worth it to buy into the Trust Points ?

Is it worth it to purchase land point trust points to be able to “see” more inventory? Barbars

tugbbs.com

And from the Forom FAQ:

Marriott Abound Points System Information, FAQ & Guide

ADMIN NOTE: This first section has been updated on June 2025 by TUG member @Hindsite - Please be sure to thank them for their efforts in bringing this first section to modern times! This thread has been updated to reflect the changes relating to the implementation of the Abound By Marriott...

tugbbs.com

 

[luv_maui]

What is the secondary market cost for points?

 

[michael49]

--What is the secondary market cost for points?--

Check rofr.net.
Looks to recently be around $3.00 per point, but you will also want to pay Marriott the "junk" fee (minimum $3,000) to fully participate.

 

[DanCali]

What is the secondary market cost for points?

It's about $3/point + $3/point fee MVCI requires to make those points fully functional (aka "junk fee"). I assume your friends paid around $15/point to buy direct? The 2000 bonus one-time-use points they got have a value of about $1400, so you can view that as a small rebate.

No matter how you buy the points you still lose substantially if you ever try to resell them.

- You can buy for $15 and they are worth $3 on the resale market, or
- You can buy for $6 (after junk fees) and they are worth $3 on the resale market.

(note: resale market prices have dropped below $2 during the height of covid, and there is no guarantee they will not go to zero with higher maintenance fees or an increase in "junk fees")

Once people are aware of the resale market option, that usually seems like a much more economical way to go (if you actually want to buy points), unless you are also getting the benefit of enrolling some resale weeks if you buy from the developer, which can change the calculus for some (similar to what's referred to on the Vistana board as "retro").

 

[LisaH]

If your friends bought from Marriott originally and haven’t enrolled their week yet, they can do so on Marriott’s website, for free! I just did that a couple months ago. I was told the same lie and bought 1000 points in March, but rescinded within a week after checking on TUG.

 

[Steve Fatula]

Technically, if there's a single day somewhere that you can see with points but not weeks (basically guaranteed), it's true that you can see more inventory. But it's not what it implies of course, 1000 points is so minimal though it would likely allow adding a few days to a week trip.

We have no problem with buying points, we've done so resale and if it's right for someone like us, then do it. But, better to understand the points system, what you can or can't do, what benefits it gives you, and then decide if it's worth it. Unless you know a lot about the system, buying a timeshare spur of the moment is never a good idea.

 

[Grammarhero]

Background, we don’t own in Marriott system, we own WKORV. Our friends bought MMO over 20 years ago, 2 br lockoff. We met with them last night and during a presentation (this past week) they were told they needed to buy at least 1,000 more points to see more inventory. They say they have access at 13 months and can elect over 4,000 points/yr. I think it was around 4300 or 4700 pts. They were given 2,000 1-time use points + ? And I didn’t even get a price they paid. Salesman stated it would turn their week into a hybrid week and showed how there was inventory they couldn’t see by trying to search for even just 1 day over a time range , but stated they’d have access if they bought at least 1,000 pts. These are really good friends but unfortunately I don’t know the Marriott points system to advise but know that generally salesman is probably just looking for a sale. Of course, I don’t want them to feel bad about their purchase so listened and asked to get what few points I’ve described here. Should I advise them to rescind before it’s too late? I don’t have any more specific details, sorry.

they have points expiring by end of this year so plan to come back to Maui before end of this year.

@luv_maui tell your friends to rescind and buy resale. mind sharing their TS sales price?

 

[luv_maui]

But they think it was only a 3 day rescission so too late since purchased Wednesday. Can that be right, just 3 day rescission for point purchases?

 

[luv_maui]

If your friends bought from Marriott originally and haven’t enrolled their week yet, they can do so on Marriott’s website, for free! I just did that a couple months ago. I was told the same lie and bought 1000 points in March, but rescinded within a week after checking on TUG.

They bought 1 week mmo 2br lockout originally from Marriott over 20 years ago, and can elect annually for points, so can convert to 4,725 points. And supposedly could already book 13 months in advance? But supposedly we’re told they couldn’t access trust resorts but can now with 1,000 pt purchase.

 

[Dean]

They bought 1 week mmo 2br lockout originally from Marriott over 20 years ago, and can elect annually for points, so can convert to 4,725 points. And supposedly could already book 13 months in advance? But supposedly we’re told they couldn’t access trust resorts but can now with 1,000 pt purchase.

I think it's 7 days for HI. I'd have them cancel ASAP then follow up on it to be sure before doing anything else. If they are in a different state, the time may be different but likely not 3 days.

 

[luv_maui]

Yes, they bought at MMO. This past Wednesday. But he thinks the rescission is only 3 days.

 

[DanCali]

Yes, they bought at MMO. This past Wednesday. But he thinks the rescission is only 3 days.

If they purchased in Hawaii the right to rescind is at least 7 days by law (some are more, some are less - AZ and FL is 10 days, CO and UT is 5).

This should also be disclosed in the purchase documents. If they want to rescind, they still have time and should act promptly!

(Here is a list of minimum time allowed to rescind by state: Cancellation Timeline by State - The Abrams Firm )

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

Hawaii allows SEVEN days. Google it to confirm.

With that said, tell him to rescind tomorrow. Follow the instructions exactly, send it USPS CERTIFIED MAIL, and retain the Postmarked Receipt.

Any buyer who signed the original contract must also sign the Rescission paperwork.





.

 

[DRH90277]

I think you can still enroll a week for Destination Points with a fee of a few hundred dollars - was about $595 to enroll 6 of ours in 2011 - we paid the $595. There was no requirement to buy additional points. The next year we bought some Destination Points and they refunded our $595 against the purchase.

Be careful, I suspect the sales guy is offering to enroll your old week (pre 2010) for free if you buy the points. Call owner services and see if you can just enroll the week for a small fee so you can deposit for points (without buying anything). Should you like the program or need more points, you can always buy points later.

 

[Mongoose]

Rescind. Lots of reasons.
First, let’s assume the salesman was telling the truth and 1000 points would magically make a difference. You can buy resale points at a fraction of the cost and they are treated just like developer purchased points. So no reason to buy them direct in this case.

Now to the lies. Sound like they have an enrolled week at 4700 points. That amount can only see 1+ night at 10 months, at 13 months they can see only 7+ nights. To get to 1+ night at 13 months they would need 7,000 points total. So the 1000 points gets them nothing new.

I thought with all the extra resale fees Marriott had, it was basically a wash with developer cost?

 

[Mongoose]

I think you can still enroll a week for Destination Points with a fee of a few hundred dollars - was about $595 to enroll 6 of ours in 2011 - we paid the $595. There was no requirement to buy additional points. The next year we bought some Destination Points and they refunded our $595 against the purchase.

Be careful, I suspect the sales guy is offering to enroll your old week (pre 2010) for free if you buy the points. Call owner services and see if you can just enroll the week for a small fee so you can deposit for points (without buying anything). Should you like the program or need more points, you can always buy points later.

Nice call out. i assume you can only enroll developer weeks.

 

[DanCali]

I thought with all the extra resale fees Marriott had, it was basically a wash with developer cost?

Far from it - it's still a savings of about 60%.

About $15/point from developer
About $6/point resale (after MVC fees)

Marriott increasing the fees would not necessarily increase the all-in resale cost. Unfortunately, it would probably mostly impact the amount the owner gets (i.e., if the junk fee went from $3/point to $5/point, I'd expect the resale price to go from $3 to $1 leaving the overall all-in resale cost at $6).

This, to me, is one of the main reasons why I do not want to buy points. MVC can destroy resale value of what I own just by raising a fee. And unlike MFs, this is a made-up fee simply to pad the bottom line and control resale prices. There is a reason why that fee went from $1 to $3 since 2010 - increasing the fee is a win-win for MVC... Either they get a higher fee for each resale point, or they destroy resale values and get to pick up points at a lower price in ROFR.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

Nice call out. i assume you can only enroll developer weeks.

Anyone who owned a Marriott week purchased prior to June of 2010 can enroll their week without any further point or week purchase. It could be a developer week, or it could be a resale week.......



.

 

[ljmiii]

What @TheTimeTraveler said. You might have to watch a webinar…

 

[LisaH]

I think you can still enroll a week for Destination Points with a fee of a few hundred dollars - was about $595 to enroll 6 of ours in 2011 - we paid the $595. There was no requirement to buy additional points. The next year we bought some Destination Points and they refunded our $595 against the purchase.

Be careful, I suspect the sales guy is offering to enroll your old week (pre 2010) for free if you buy the points. Call owner services and see if you can just enroll the week for a small fee so you can deposit for points (without buying anything). Should you like the program or need more points, you can always buy points later.

It’s free now to enroll developer bought weeks! I just did that in March.

 

[Bill4728]

To the OP, You do not want to own 1000 MVC points. WHY Because at some point you'll need to sell them and you can only sell 1000 points to another current owner. The smallest amount of points someone can own is 1500 (without an enrolled week)