Just finished Wyndham Club sales pitch; buy direct or go for resale?

[rscott78]

We just fished listening to the sales pitch. I realize that buying someone else's points is many times cheaper. The sales guy is telling us that when we do that, we don't get all the same perks as what he's offering. For us, those main perks are:

1) having access to a CAM (he explained that it would be our very own travel agent, even that person's direct cell phone)
2) being able to exchange points for airfare and cruises, in addition to the Wyndham resorts and RCI exchange
3) pre-paid RCI exchange membership

Does anyone know if that's true? I.e, if I purchase off the 2nd hand market, do I get access to those same perks?

 

[b2bailey]

It must be very difficult to sell a product that can be received <sometimes> for free on TUG.

 

[ausman]

Those are all lies and are not a reason to buy.

The travel agent idea or as a personal arranger of reservations, you will never be able to reach him once you buy from him. You will have to leave increasingly frustrated messages that will never be returned because he can not live up to the promises made.

Being able to use points for airfare and cruises is true but you will find it a horrible use of points, costs far more than paying with cash. We could call that one not a complete lie, perhaps just a misrepresentatiion.

Free RCI membership is given whether you buy from the Wyndham salesman or on the resale market at a great discount.

Wynham at it's core is a good product but there is no reason to buy from the salesman.

 

[ecwinch]

We just fished listening to the sales pitch. I realize that buying someone else's points is many times cheaper. The sales guy is telling us that when we do that, we don't get all the same perks as what he's offering. For us, those main perks are:

1) having access to a CAM (he explained that it would be our very own travel agent, even that person's direct cell phone)
2) being able to exchange points for airfare and cruises, in addition to the Wyndham resorts and RCI exchange
3) pre-paid RCI exchange membership

Does anyone know if that's true? I.e, if I purchase off the 2nd hand market, do I get access to those same perks?

It is true that you do not get perk #1 and #2 if you buy resale. And let's pretend for a moment that everything he told you is true. What he omits is:

1. Any good travel agent will give you their direct cell phone number, and perform the same service.
2. By saving the premium you pay the developer for their points you would easily cover years and years of airfare and cruises.
3. That every everyone receives a "pre-paid" RCI membership - it is included in the program fee that all points owners pay.

The bottom line is the perks are meaningless compared to the huge premium you pay the developer. And if you decide to finance the purchase, even worse.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Resale is the way to go.

Nothing that the timeshare companies sell at full freight is worth the money.

That goes for Wyndham right along with all the rest.

Buy timeshares resale. Save thousands of dollars on exactly the same thing as full freight, or the equivalent, or something even better.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Avislo]

"having access to a CAM (he explained that it would be our very own travel agent, even that person's direct cell phone)"

Did the salesperson say that this person would be the salesperson or would it be one of the Wyndham travel arms?

 

[rscott78]

He said it would be on the Wyndham travel side of things -- someone that wasn't part of the sale's staff. He made it sound basically like an account service rep that would take care of us all the time.

 

[grab]

What were they offering - points and price?

 

[rscott78]

105k points for about $20,000, plus about 200k points as a 1-time bonus.

 

[silentg]

Resale is better.

 

[grab]

105k points for about $20,000, plus about 200k points as a 1-time bonus.

So resale cost for same points is $19,000 less.

 

[Panina]

We just fished listening to the sales pitch. I realize that buying someone else's points is many times cheaper. The sales guy is telling us that when we do that, we don't get all the same perks as what he's offering. For us, those main perks are:

1) having access to a CAM (he explained that it would be our very own travel agent, even that person's direct cell phone)
2) being able to exchange points for airfare and cruises, in addition to the Wyndham resorts and RCI exchange
3) pre-paid RCI exchange membership

Does anyone know if that's true? I.e, if I purchase off the 2nd hand market, do I get access to those same perks?

Hi, welcome to Tug. Everyone gave you good advice, you should buy resale. Look at all the money you will save. Stick around and learn, there are other system then Wyndham. Wyndham might be for you or you could find something that is a better fit for you.

 

[Arimaas]

105k points for about $20,000, plus about 200k points as a 1-time bonus.

FYI I just got 154k points for $625 including all closing costs on eBay resale. $74/mo maintnance.

 

[Dis.Dad]

Thanks for the answers guys! I was wondering too! I own 166K purchased from Fairfield originally and another 330K I bought this year resale. The intention was to return the 166K to Wyndham via Ovations but I've used up all the points and don't want them to cancel my reservation for end of Oct!

Anyways, at the "owner's review" meeting in July, the sales person raised some doubts about getting rid of my developer points. It sounds like I won't lose much of anything except overpriced maintenance fees!

 

[chapjim]

Thanks for the answers guys! I was wondering too! I own 166K purchased from Fairfield originally and another 330K I bought this year resale. The intention was to return the 166K to Wyndham via Ovations but I've used up all the points and don't want them to cancel my reservation for end of Oct!

Anyways, at the "owner's review" meeting in July, the sales person raised some doubts about getting rid of my developer points. It sounds like I won't lose much of anything except overpriced maintenance fees!

Maintenance fees depend on the resort, not by how you acquired the points.

Initial cost is affected by how acquired.

 

[Dis.Dad]

Understood Jim. The 166K was at $7.50/K and the 330K is around $4.20/K. Annually, $1200 vs $1300, so I'll be happy to get rid of the $1200 fee. Anyone want to buy Palm Aire? LOL

 

[HitchHiker71]

105k points for about $20,000, plus about 200k points as a 1-time bonus.

Rule #1: Buy resale 1st and then if you find you really like the Wyndham system. Better yet, rent a few Wyndham timeshares 1st to ensure you like the resorts/locations.
Rule #2: Never finance a timeshare. If you cannot afford to purchase it outright, don't do it, as they are essentially worthless on the resale market for the most part.
Rule #3: Timeshares may not be for you if you cannot book vacations a year in advance as a general rule. You can and will find good deals occasionally for last minute bookings, but most of the time the popular locations are all booked up pretty solid 10 months out.
Rule #4: Timeshares may not be for you if you have very strict vacation requirements - like I must go to this exact location on this exact date every year. Timeshares work best when you are willing to be flexible with your bookings on times/dates/locations. (Unless you invest in a legacy timeshare week where you get the same week at the same resort every year - which is not what Wyndham sells - they sell points only now).
Rule #5: Timeshares may not be for you if you do not have enough vacation time every year to actually use your points. If you only have two weeks of vacation every year, timeshares probably are not the best fit. I have five weeks of vacation every year for example. That gives me enough time to use for family events, impromptu days off here and there, while still having three full weeks left for timeshare bookings. Many folks who invest in a timeshare with limited vacation end up unhappy because they can't actually use their investment often enough to justify paying the monthly MFs.

I'm assuming the price you were quoted was for a CWA contract? If you use corporate telesales, you can beat the price you got by about 5k if we're talking CWA. I recently paid about $14.5k for a 105k/295k CWA contract (including a $500 rebate). Never buy from local sales offices. Corporate telesales is the ONLY way to fly if you actually decide to make a developer purchase IMHO and IME.

 

[RickIsOnVacation]

We just fished listening to the sales pitch. I realize that buying someone else's points is many times cheaper. The sales guy is telling us that when we do that, we don't get all the same perks as what he's offering. For us, those main perks are:

1) having access to a CAM (he explained that it would be our very own travel agent, even that person's direct cell phone)
2) being able to exchange points for airfare and cruises, in addition to the Wyndham resorts and RCI exchange
3) pre-paid RCI exchange membership

Does anyone know if that's true? I.e, if I purchase off the 2nd hand market, do I get access to those same perks?

Our sales weasel also said there were lots of things you don’t get with resales, points toward VIP status being one of them. I challenged him to show me the words on a contract and he gave me some BS about not being a real estate lawyer. Not sure if the VIP thing is true and what else we might be missing out on with resales vs developer sales.

 

[Jan M.]

Our sales weasel also said there were lots of things you don’t get with resales, points toward VIP status being one of them. I challenged him to show me the words on a contract and he gave me some BS about not being a real estate lawyer. Not sure if the VIP thing is true and what else we might be missing out on with resales vs developer sales.

Resale points do not count towards reaching VIP levels. However you would have to spend significantly more money to reach even the lowest VIP level with developer purchased points since you can buy resale so inexpensively. I'm sure other people will explain how Wyndham has devalued the VIP benefits so much that they wouldn't recommend spending the money to buy developer to get them.

Another thing the salespeople often say is that you won't be able to use those resale points which also isn't true. If they were to say it is raining out most of us would check our phones and look out a window to see if it is raining the next block over because they might have a person on the roof with a hose making it look like it is raining.

 

[bogey21]

Hi, welcome to Tug. Everyone gave you good advice, you should buy resale.

Or not buy Wyndham at all...

George

 

[chapjim]

Those are all lies and are not a reason to buy.

The travel agent idea or as a personal arranger of reservations, you will never be able to reach him once you buy from him. You will have to leave increasingly frustrated messages that will never be returned because he can not live up to the promises made.
<snip>

So true! We've had at least four such "travel agents." They are BFFs for a couple of days and might even spring for a dinner or breakfast. None of them ever made even one reservation for me or gave me one tip on how better to use points.

One died, one moved to a different resort (to or from Myrtle Beach, don't remember which), one entered the ministry (not really a career change for him), and I don't know what happened to the fourth.