Bundle deals offered at presentation

[Fallenone]

Hi everyone, just wanted to get your 2 cents on week+point bundle offers. I know everyone's situation is different, but in your opinion, how good are these deals generally? Are they, in terms of $/point and maintenance fee preferable to points only offers? It seems to me that is the case.

Asking because had this offer last week with a plat week that is worth ~4k points, bundled with 3k points, with 9k plus points to be used within 2 years, for a total of ~$57k all-in cost along with some other incentives. Didn't take it as we don't really need more but was wondering if I passed a good deal.

 

[ljmiii]

~7K points at ~$57 is a little over $8 a point (not counting incentives). So it’s not necessarily a good or bad deal…it depends on the week.

It the MFs are less than 81 cents a point than the value increases. And if it’s a week you might use as a week that dramatically increases its value.

 

[Dean]

Hi everyone, just wanted to get your 2 cents on week+point bundle offers. I know everyone's situation is different, but in your opinion, how good are these deals generally? Are they, in terms of $/point and maintenance fee preferable to points only offers? It seems to me that is the case.

Asking because had this offer last week with a plat week that is worth ~4k points, bundled with 3k points, with 9k plus points to be used within 2 years, for a total of ~$57k all-in cost along with some other incentives. Didn't take it as we don't really need more but was wondering if I passed a good deal.

For someone who was truly interested in owning or adding to their options, it MIGHT be a decent deal. IMO it would completely depend on the underlying resort, view type if applicable and season of the resale week. One could always go out and buy a resale week then enroll it with a 3000 pt purchase or the equivalent weeks purchase which is usually a far better choice because it allows more control of the resale week usually saving five figures in the process.

 

[dougp26364]

We purchased a bundle several years back. The price per point was were I wanted it to be and we wanted the additional points for the reservations/views we enjoy. The one thing I regret was not knowing the MF/point of the deeded week. That’s the part that wasn’t a good deal. What I should have done was research what weeks had a good point to MF ratio and seek out a bundle with a more acceptable week.

 

[Dean]

We purchased a bundle several years back. The price per point was were I wanted it to be and we wanted the additional points for the reservations/views we enjoy. The one thing I regret was not knowing the MF/point of the deeded week. That’s the part that wasn’t a good deal. What I should have done was research what weeks had a good point to MF ratio and seek out a bundle with a more acceptable week.

That's part of the reason I think buying resale then enrolling is a much better choice. It gives you control over the underlying week including how many points and the fees. It also gives one the opportunity to potentially get something that they'll actually use as well. While I think enrolling with the current options is very difficult to justify, buying the right resale week then enrolling with a GOOD qualifying weeks purchase is the only way to consider it. Currently that's either a good week in Spain or St. Kitts if the special still holds unless something changes. Buying resale then enrolling is likely to be around $10K cheaper for the same resorts options. But it does delay the process and there is the potential that the options won't be available by the time one gets the resale week in their account. There's no guarantee there will be an enrollment program next year or even if there is that it won't be even more negative than it currently is.

 

[rickandcindy23]

We were offered a deal of $15,000 to enroll both of our non-enrolled weeks at Westin Ka'anapali. That would have been a good deal in MF's to enroll weeks in Abound; however, I couldn't see any reason to enroll the weeks, as they are already in SO's and are used as deeded weeks each year.

I am still wondering what other costs would be involved in that sort of deal. The salesperson was done with us after I told him we use the weeks each year.

 

[deniseh]

I think the bundle offers usually are pretty attractive if you have specific reasons to buy from Marriott.
We were just offered a bundle of platinum GV 2 BR with 2000 points and bonus 2000 one time points. Price was approximately 32K and they would enroll a resale EOY DSV 2 week. Being able to enroll a resale was appealing.
We passed on it as we have not retired yet and have enough for our own travel needs. And it would have added about $4K to our maintenance fees.

 

[Venter]

Cyndi, I believe that would have been the cost except for other fees that they normally add onto all purchases like title etc. We did a deal similar to yours and took it because with incentives it made it more than worthwhile.

Incentives where bonus points(Staroptions - which limit reservations a little but still worthwhile), encore paid back, getting cost of other hotel stays within a week of the purchase back, Bonvoy points, and a little(not much but I like playing the game) extra after some hard bargaining.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Cyndi, I believe that would have been the cost except for other fees that they normally add onto all purchases like title etc. We did a deal similar to yours and took it because with incentives it made it more than worthwhile.

Incentives where bonus points(Staroptions - which limit reservations a little but still worthwhile), encore paid back, getting cost of other hotel stays within a week of the purchase back, Bonvoy points, and a little(not much but I like playing the game) extra after some hard bargaining.

Our first two OFC at Westin were grandfathered, our last two purchases were not grandfathered into Abound.

We walked away wondering if it was a good idea to walk away, and then I remembered we already have Abound and haven't used it.

The ins and outs of Abound are not in my wheelhouse. I love Westin Ka'anapali and love to sit on that huge lanai and watch whales during that season. I just cannot see using these for anything else, not for 2026, anyway.

I do have questions:
1) When do you have to decide to use the Abound system with Westin? When is the deadline for using 2026 points in Abound?
2) Can I go back to Westin with Abound, if I change my mind? Is it a final transaction?
3) Is there much inventory within 60 days for the discount we have with Chairman's level? Is it really picked over?

Exchanges into most Marriott resorts are working for us. The only Marriott resorts that seem to be tough to get are Costa Rica and Aruba. Aruba is far from home, requires an overnight in Florida.

 

[Venter]

I have heard there are now direct flights to the Caribbean from Denver to.

You are Chairman's club if I recall correctly. This means you will be able to wait till October 31st before converting.
You can go to Westin in Abound but reservations open earlier in Vistana. Converting is a one way street. The transaction is final.
As to question number 3, hopefully others can chime in as I have not done those searches yet.

Those units sound amazing. If you plan to use them every year for the next 10 years or so I don't see any need to requalify now.

 

[5finny]

We were offered a deal of $15,000 to enroll both of our non-enrolled weeks at Westin Ka'anapali. That would have been a good deal in MF's to enroll weeks in Abound; however, I couldn't see any reason to enroll the weeks, as they are already in SO's and are used as deeded weeks each year.

I am still wondering what other costs would be involved in that sort of deal. The salesperson was done with us after I told him we use the weeks each year.

Cindy,
Was this a straight cash offer or were they offering to sell you something for $15k and then requalifying/enrolling your weeks as part of the sale?

 

[Fallenone]

~7K points at ~$57 is a little over $8 a point (not counting incentives). So it’s not necessarily a good or bad deal…it depends on the week.

It the MFs are less than 81 cents a point than the value increases. And if it’s a week you might use as a week that dramatically increases its value.

It's a place we've never been to and open to visit once, but doesn't sound like somewhere we will keep going back to like Hawaii. MF was pretty good, about $0.50/point equivalent.

 

[TolmiePeak]

Why buy points and pay 81 cents in maintenance fees when you can rent them for far less than that?

 

[vacationtime1]

Why buy points and pay 81 cents in maintenance fees when you can rent them for far less than that?

Good question.

Once one is at Executive level, the additional benefits are minor and the ongoing costs are major.

 

[DRH90277]

Why buy points and pay 81 cents in maintenance fees when you can rent them for far less than that?

Good thought. But considering the great difficulty in getting better reservations for points, why wouldn't you just rent weeks. Having participated heavily with both, I think availability and cost work in favor of week transactions. Of course, a short few day rental while avoiding Friday and Saturday nights is a very compelling use of points, rented or owned.

 

[TolmiePeak]

Good thought. But considering the great difficulty in getting better reservations for points, why wouldn't you just rent weeks.

Why I don't understand is why doesn't Marriott vary the number of points needed more? Rather than just dump unused weeks on Interval why not offer them to MVC owners at 50% off or more? Shouldn't I be able to stay 3 weeks at Palm Springs in July for the same number of points as a week during a high demand period?

 

[DRH90277]

Why I don't understand is why doesn't Marriott vary the number of points needed more? Rather than just dump unused weeks on Interval why not offer them to MVC owners at 50% off or more? Shouldn't I be able to stay 3 weeks at Palm Springs in July for the same number of points as a week during a high demand period?

Marriott does offer a 30% discount to certain levels for point reservations within 60 days of use. Of course, one needs to own points to access this opportunity.

 

[claraj]

Marriott does offer a 30% discount to certain levels for point reservations within 60 days of use. Of course, one needs to own points to access this opportunity.

I've used this to upgrade my studios reservations to a 1BR and I usually only have to add a few more points.

 

[Fallenone]

Why buy points and pay 81 cents in maintenance fees when you can rent them for far less than that?

For my family, staying anywhere for vacation that goes beyond 5 days becomes a little boring. We've tried week-long vacations at a certain place before and by day 5 the kids start to complain. Points do offer the flexibility in our situation. And if we can book days outside Friday and Saturday, it is much cheaper on a daily basis compared to a whole week as MVC inflates the points needed for weekend days quite a bit.

 

[rthib]

Why I don't understand is why doesn't Marriott vary the number of points needed more? Rather than just dump unused weeks on Interval why not offer them to MVC owners at 50% off or more? Shouldn't I be able to stay 3 weeks at Palm Springs in July for the same number of points as a week during a high demand period?

They do. They are called Destination Escapes. Low point cost last minute reservations.
The Palm Desert and Arizona weeks are usually there during the summer.

The reason they don't lower more is the total number of points for a year need to be close to the value they give for those weeks. So they can't allow an enrolled week to be worth 2000 points and then let someone reserve that same time for 1000.

 

[TolmiePeak]

The reason they don't lower more is the total number of points for a year need to be close to the value they give for those weeks. So they can't allow an enrolled week to be worth 2000 points and then let someone reserve that same time for 1000.

Hilton does that all the time. They are frequently offering 50% off points in Las Vegas and Orlando during low demand periods. You can generally book them 60 days out.

 

[davidvel]

For my family, staying anywhere for vacation that goes beyond 5 days becomes a little boring. We've tried week-long vacations at a certain place before and by day 5 the kids start to complain. Points do offer the flexibility in our situation. And if we can book days outside Friday and Saturday, it is much cheaper on a daily basis compared to a whole week as MVC inflates the points needed for weekend days quite a bit.

I think they were referring to you renting points, not necessarily a full week. From your OP, it appears you already have an enrolled week (or own points), no?

If so, you can rents points instead of buying more. So no upfront cost and often rental cost is less than the MF on the points you would buy.

 

[rthib]

Hilton does that all the time. They are frequently offering 50% off points in Las Vegas and Orlando during low demand periods. You can generally book them 60 days out.

Marriott has a similar thing, that is what the destination escapes are.
I was commenting on why they don't do it long term or on all properties. Thought right now they have 20+ properties for Aug and Sept. with a week only costing 840 points for 1 Bd

 

[dioxide45]

It i

Cindy,
Was this a straight cash offer or were they offering to sell you something for $15k and then requalifying/enrolling your weeks as part of the sale?

It isn't cash for re-qualifying/enrollment. One would be buying $15K worth of Sheraton or Westin Flex or Westin Aventuras.