Good traders in MVC

[CaliJoe]

Hello Folks -- What are some of your preferred MVC resorts that have great trading power in II and ROI (in terms of acquisition cost, MF, price/point etc)
Have a bunch of Vistana weeks and looking to get a few MVC weeks.
Thanks for the advice

 

[dioxide45]

When thinking of Marriott weeks for II trading, price per point is irrelevant. It only matters if you later want to enroll that week in Abound through a big developer purchase.

As for traders, always buy platinum (though gold works well) and consider the following resorts. I have them in order of lowest to highest MFs.

1. Willow Ridge Lodge
2. Grand Chateau
3. Grande Vista

For a trader, lock off is king. This is so you can lock off and get two trades for one maintenance fee. The only drawback with resale Marriott weeks as traders is that there are a lot of fees to pay in order to exchange them. II membership Fee $99, Lock off Fee $90, Exchange Fee $164x2. There are also upgrade fees if you go up in unit size in II.

 

[jwalk03]

I agree on the 3 above- but personally I have a Harbor Lake Platinum that I trade with. It has just as much trade power as those and a very low buy-in cost. Just has a bit higher maintenance fees than Grande Vista.

 

[dioxide45]

I agree on the 3 above- but personally I have a Harbor Lake Platinum that I trade with. It has just as much trade power as those and a very low buy-in cost. Just has a bit higher maintenance fees than Grande Vista.

If I had listed four, Harbour Lake would have been next.

 

[m61376]

The other consideration is are you just buying to always trade or is there a location you'd like to visor at least some of the time. And, what are you looking to trade into, and when. Buying traders works better the more flexibility you have- both with respect to times you can travel and how far in advance you need to schedule. For example, what'll work well for a retiree is different for someone tied to school schedules.
And are you looking for resale weeks that can ultimately be enrolled with a qualifying purchase? Things to consider before encumbering yourself with more MF's.

 

[DanCali]

I don't play the II game but I'm curious is there a reason why folks who play this game don't do it with Playa Andaluza Gold weeks?

For example, 3BR lockoff has MFs of about $1600 (vs. $2100 for 3BR MGC), costs maybe about $5K-$6K (less than 3BR MGC) and some of those Gold weeks in June and September have max TDI. I believe that the 3BR units at Playa Andaluza are not deeded as lockoffs and some 3BRs are single entry (so lockoff is not guaranteed) but not sure how much of a factor that is.

 

[jwalk03]

I don't play the II game but I'm curious is there a reason why folks who play this game don't do it with Playa Andaluza Gold weeks?

For example, 3BR lockoff has MFs of about $1600 (vs. $2100 for 3BR MGC), costs maybe about $5K-$6K (less than 3BR MGC) and some of those Gold weeks in June and September have max TDI. I believe that the 3BR units at Playa Andaluza are not deeded as lockoffs and some 3BRs are single entry (so lockoff is not guaranteed) but not sure how much of a factor that is.

I’m not familiar with those weeks but Can’t be a good trader if it doesn’t lockoff. The lockoff feature allows you to exchange for two weeks vacation for only one maintenance fee.

 

[Red elephant]

When thinking of Marriott weeks for II trading, price per point is irrelevant. It only matters if you later want to enroll that week in Abound through a big developer purchase.

As for traders, always buy platinum (though gold works well) and consider the following resorts. I have them in order of lowest to highest MFs.

1. Willow Ridge Lodge
2. Grand Chateau
3. Grande Vista

For a trader, lock off is king. This is so you can lock off and get two trades for one maintenance fee. The only drawback with resale Marriott weeks as traders is that there are a lot of fees to pay in order to exchange them. II membership Fee $99, Lock off Fee $90, Exchange Fee $164x2. There are also upgrade fees if you go up in unit size in II.

Do all these fees apply with Vistana lock off as well for trading ?

 

[dioxide45]

Do all these fees apply with Vistana lock off as well for trading ?

All of them do except for the lock off fee. VIstana doesn't charge a fee to lock off like MVC does.

 

[DanCali]

I’m not familiar with those weeks but Can’t be a good trader if it doesn’t lockoff. The lockoff feature allows you to exchange for two weeks vacation for only one maintenance fee.

Some 3BRs lock off and some don't. It's just that the lockffs there are first come, first served or at least that's my understanding - you definitely have the option to try and lock off when you book as a week. For those who book at 13 months out, I don't think it'd be a barrier.

 

[Red elephant]

All of them do except for the lock off fee. VIstana doesn't charge a fee to lock off like MVC does.

I was trying to exchange my small 1 bedroom at SDO with lakeshore and they charged me $164 but I was told no more exchange fees if I’m abound. So I could get a resale Vistana lock off and not pay much fees to trade into Marriott instead of getting a Marriott trader .

 

[Red elephant]

Some 3BRs lock off and some don't. It's just that the lockffs there are first come, first served or at least that's my understanding. For those who book at 13 months out, I don't think it'd be a barrier.

Do they have 2 bedroom lock offs?

 

[dioxide45]

I was trying to exchange my small 1 bedroom at SDO with lakeshore and they charged me $164 but I was told no more exchange fees if I’m abound. So I could get a resale Vistana lock off and not pay much fees to trade into Marriott instead of getting a Marriott trader .

Yeah, they say no more exchange fees in II with Abound eligible VIOs, but II has yet to institute this. Apparently if you call Vistana, they can help make it happen for $0, but online it still charges the fee. I suspect at some point they will fix it. A resale Vistana week will be a good option and the fees are usually cheaper if you go with SVR, SDO or SBP. The only thing you lose is the Marriott to Marriott priority but there is still a preference period for Vistana to Marriott after the Marriott priority period expires.

 

[DanCali]

Do they have 2 bedroom lock offs?

Some of the 2BRs available on the hotel website list as "Dual Entry" but when I look at the resort docs I see that only (some of the) 3BR units lock off. The resort docs show only 2BR, 3BR, and 3BR LO.

 

[Red elephant]

Yeah, they say no more exchange fees in II with Abound eligible VIOs, but II has yet to institute this. Apparently if you call Vistana, they can help make it happen for $0, but online it still charges the fee. I suspect at some point they will fix it. A resale Vistana week will be a good option and the fees are usually cheaper if you go with SVR, SDO or SBP. The only thing you lose is the Marriott to Marriott priority but there is still a preference period for Vistana to Marriott after the Marriott priority period expires.

This sounds good. Cause it’s just too much work trading with a Marriott trader . I am not into trading but want to take advantage of the 2 weeks for one but I am too lazy to do all that work. I was also thinking of WLR . But I guess that’s for the Vistana site.

 

[Red elephant]

Some of the 2BRs available on the hotel website list as "Dual Entry" but when I look at the resort docs I see that only (some of the) 3BR units lock off. The resort docs show only 2BR, 3BR, and 3BR LO.

Thank you. I would love a lock off so I can use one side and trade the other.

 

[Dean]

Hello Folks -- What are some of your preferred MVC resorts that have great trading power in II and ROI (in terms of acquisition cost, MF, price/point etc)
Have a bunch of Vistana weeks and looking to get a few MVC weeks.
Thanks for the advice

It would depend on what you define as good trader. IMO there are no truly strong traders for MVC that have lower fees, a lock off option and are fairly inexpensive to buy. There are some that will work well trading MVC to MVC but this is largely due to the internal trading preference, being proactive and controlling the controllable (like week selected, deposit early). Here would be my list in order.

1. Willow Ridge Platinum
2. Grande Chateau Platinum (not 1BR)
3. Grande Vista Platinum
4. Harbour Lake Platinum
5. Manor Club Sequel Platinum (not the original resort)
6. Maybe CA Desert Gold or Platinum, esp if you can get Platinum cheaply enough as you could a year or 2 ago.

Pay attention to the yearly fees as they will vary from one resort to another and may change over time. The first 2 have the lowest fees by far. Most GV units are in the FL club which gives you additional options. If one might enroll later, GC will have the best points return. Ultimately I'd establish a price I was comfortable with for several rather than just waiting on one, as that will give more options. Some are available as EOY which is more likely to pass ROFR. I don't think Desert Springs I has ROFR.

For most new to the system it's often best to buy something they'll use but it seems you have sufficient knowledge and experience where that thought likely doesn't apply the way it would to someone completely new to the system.

 

[SteelerGal]

I personally went w/ Harbor Lake Platinum for Marriott to Marriott trading. I paid for closing only. I do own CA Desert Springs I, however it’s too costly in my opinion to trade. So we use or rent.

 

[Red elephant]

Yeah, they say no more exchange fees in II with Abound eligible VIOs, but II has yet to institute this. Apparently if you call Vistana, they can help make it happen for $0, but online it still charges the fee. I suspect at some point they will fix it. A resale Vistana week will be a good option and the fees are usually cheaper if you go with SVR, SDO or SBP. The only thing you lose is the Marriott to Marriott priority but there is still a preference period for Vistana to Marriott after the Marriott priority period expires.

I have a small 1 bedroom WKV gold does that trade well too?

 

[pchung6]

deleted due to only MVC traders, not Vistana traders.

 

[jmhpsu93]

I personally went w/ Harbor Lake Platinum for Marriott to Marriott trading. I paid for closing only. I do own CA Desert Springs I, however it’s too costly in my opinion to trade. So we use or rent.

Same here - much lower acquisition cost that MGV or MGC and probably only a really nominal difference in trading power. I also have a couple of gold MGVs acquired for less than nothing (free with free usage) that have served my trading purposes pretty well plus I've booked at Ocean Pointe through the Florida Club.

To the OP: you've received a few really good options here...just depends on your budget to acquire them.

 

[RookWDW]

Does locking off a unit impact the units trading power? For example, if I book a 2 bedroom MGC unit with a TDI of 135 and I deposit it 12 months out from the week I'm looking for, and search for two two bedrooms in Hawaii or Aruba or other high demand weeks, does the trading power and thus what higher value trades I can score get reduced by locking into a 1 bedroom and a studio? I realize you pay the fee to go up in bedroom size.

 

[hangloose]

I can vouch for MGV Plat. It trades well. Suggest you get 3BR if you might use, as it’s not much higher in purchase price/MFees and will also give 2BR / Efficiency lock-off. If Florida has to fund Full Reserves going forward due to the new law, keep an eye as MFees could increase.

MGC comes up often also, b/c of low MFees/low Resale….and 2BR lockoff splits to 1BR/1BR I believe…from an II viewpoint (vs 1BR / efficiency). We don’t own there…as we would and do travel to Orlando much more often than Vegas.

Within II…you can get excellent trades…especially if you put in the extra effort to do manual searches on/off in tandem with an ongoing search request.

 

[Dean]

Does locking off a unit impact the units trading power? For example, if I book a 2 bedroom MGC unit with a TDI of 135 and I deposit it 12 months out from the week I'm looking for, and search for two two bedrooms in Hawaii or Aruba or other high demand weeks, does the trading power and thus what higher value trades I can score get reduced by locking into a 1 bedroom and a studio? I realize you pay the fee to go up in bedroom size.

Yes, trade power is less. However, II doesn't tell you how much less.

 

[jwalk03]

Does locking off a unit impact the units trading power? For example, if I book a 2 bedroom MGC unit with a TDI of 135 and I deposit it 12 months out from the week I'm looking for, and search for two two bedrooms in Hawaii or Aruba or other high demand weeks, does the trading power and thus what higher value trades I can score get reduced by locking into a 1 bedroom and a studio? I realize you pay the fee to go up in bedroom size.

Yes a 2BR trades better than a 1BR (but higher cost as well.), and a 1BR trades better than a studio.

I would only deposit a full 2BR if I was really reaching for something great. Otherwise a 1BR Platinum booked for a high TDI week seems to have plenty of trade power.