What timeshare brand(s) should I look to purchase if I want European travel options?

[Adventureisoutthere]

I want the option to travel to the Caribbean, Hawaii, and Europe and beyond with my timeshare. What brand(s) give the best option for this type of travel? I want to buy resale.

Should I be looking at points? Which points? How many?

Should I be looking for a good trader week?

What exchange company is better?


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[Passepartout]

The best 'fits all' would probably be RCI, if you just want one. But HGVC and Marriott have good presence in Hawaii. Marriott has some nice properties in Spain. You should know that timeshares in general, are not well located for Americans in Europe. Most are in small towns out in the countryside. Europeans LIVE in the major cities, so they want to vacation out in the country. Americans generally want to see European cities. Now, there are exceptions, but not a lot. We have exchanged RCI points into Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Germany, and Scotland, but use hotels in the cities.

Jim

 

[Adventureisoutthere]

The best 'fits all' would probably be RCI, if you just want one. But HGVC and Marriott have good presence in Hawaii. Marriott has some nice properties in Spain. You should know that timeshares in general, are not well located for Americans in Europe. Most are in small towns out in the countryside. Europeans LIVE in the major cities, so they want to vacation out in the country. Americans generally want to see European cities. Now, there are exceptions, but not a lot. We have exchanged RCI points into Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Germany, and Scotland, but use hotels in the cities.

Jim

Good to know. I’ve been looking at RCI and II through Wyndham and knowing I would likely need a pretty significant amount of points, it could be my best bet.

I’ve looked at HGVC and not thrilled with their options stateside to be honest.

Marriott is appealing, but from what I’m reading is not great for resales purchases due to ROFR.

Is wyndham then RCI/II a good option?


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[Passepartout]

Is wyndham then RCI/II a good option?

I can't answer that. Not a Wyndham owner. My RCI Points are courtesy of a VRI resort.

 

[Adventureisoutthere]

I can't answer that. Not a Wyndham owner. My RCI Points are courtesy of a VRI resort.

What is VRI?


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[Passepartout]

Www.vriresorts.com

 

[VacationForever]

Marriott is appealing, but from what I’m reading is not great for resales purchases due to ROFR.

Is wyndham then RCI/II a good option?


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Marriott's ROFR is not the main issue here. If you buy a week, you may only use II to trade and trading is like crapshoot. If you buy points, points can book into any Marriott resort through their internal system which you should have no issue booking when booking window opens. Points are expensive and if you are thinking of going to Hawaii, you need to look at something like 5,000 points. You can buy much fewer, like 1,500 points to keep the cost down, and rent one time use points from other owners to get up to the number of points that you need. A 1,500 points purchase in the retail market will cost about $11K, after paying junk fees to Marriott.

RCI and II are merely exchange companies. You need to purchase timeshare with affliliation to whichever exchange company that you want to use. Exchanging requires annual membership and escalating exchange fees. I used to exchange close to 100 percent of my stays and now I own timeshares which have internal points system to book instead.

 

[Adventureisoutthere]

Marriott's ROFR is not the main issue here. If you buy a week, you may only use II to trade and trading is like crapshoot. If you buy points, points can book into any Marriott resort through their internal system which you should have no issue booking when booking window opens. Points are expensive and if you are thinking of going to Hawaii, you need to look at something like 5,000 points. You can buy much fewer, like 1,500 points to keep the cost down, and rent one time use points from other owners to get up to the number of points that you need. A 1,500 points purchase in the retail market will cost about $11K, after paying junk fees to Marriott.

RCI and II are merely exchange companies. You need to purchase timeshare with affliliation to whichever exchange company that you want to use. Exchanging requires annual membership and escalating exchange fees. I used to exchange close to 100 percent of my stays and now I own timeshares which have internal points system to book instead.

It’s sounding more like exchanging is a huge pain and a definite added expense to consider. Thank you for the input


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[Passepartout]

It’s sounding more like exchanging is a huge pain and a definite added expense to consider. Thank you for the input


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Exchanging is not an exact science, and in most cases were significantly to timeshare vacation costs. On the scale of cheapest to most costly, it might be fixed week. Every year you go to the same unit in the same resort the same week. It's like a second home. I have one of these and love it. Next would be owning at a resort or system with lots of internally available resorts. You just pick one from inventory and go. Higher cost is it you join an exchange - RCI or II. (About $100/yr) then deposit the week you own, and either put in for (called an ongoing search) where you really want to go, or choose from an online catalog. And pay that exchange co. $300ish more. And it gets worse. They tell you that you can exchange for flights of cruises. The deal here is that your $800-$1000 of MY will get you $300-$400 discount from full retail. Not a good deal at all.

Jim

 

[TravelTime]

I want the option to travel to the Caribbean, Hawaii, and Europe and beyond with my timeshare. What brand(s) give the best option for this type of travel? I want to buy resale.

Should I be looking at points? Which points? How many?

Should I be looking for a good trader week?

What exchange company is better?


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I think Marriott Destination Points program is the most flexible and has the most travel options. With the merger with Interval, they now own Westin, Sheraton, and Hyatt. It is speculation but it is possible Marriott Vacation Club might combine the programs, offering even more travel opportunities in the destinations you mention. The downside is Points are expensive and have higher maintenance fees. I think II is heads and shoulders better than RCI - I am a member of both. I do not trade using II or RCI but I have used their Getaways. You can get excellent prices on destinations to fill in where you own timeshares with Getaways. Sometimes the Getaways are available 6-8 months in advance, which is helpful for planning.