[2017] Just Joined Marriott Vacation Club - Was it a good choice?

[GoldenVIKE]

Am I wrong and renting excess points is successful 90% of the time or is it 50/50?

I'm interested in this too. I guess I took it at face value the comment that it's easy to rent excess points on VPE. Is the process of doing that fraught will a bunch of uncertainty and challenge? Or are owners renting out their DP points pretty plentiful?

 

[Saintsfanfl]

You're overly concerned about the P2P renting as there are many reputable owners that would provide you ample proof they are legit that you can confirm very easily. I'm not saying it because I'm one of them it's just a fact.

This truth has to come with an asterisk. Can the owner/landlord deposit the unit later, even unintentionally, which would cancel the reservation? Could the owner change the name on the reservation later? I'm not saying these things happen often but the fact that it's a possibility is unsettling for many people. A renter has to pay up front and has zero control.

There was a post only a couple weeks ago of an owner who rented a Wyndham reservation through a broker and after confirmation Wyndham canceled it and there was no way to get the reservation back for the renter. It can happen.

I'm assuming this caveat can't happen with points since they are transferred directly to your account, assuming there is a points account to transfer to.

 

[Fasttr]

Am I wrong and renting excess points is successful 90% of the time or is it 50/50?

I'm interested in this too. I guess I took it at face value the comment that it's easy to rent excess points on VPE. Is the process of doing that fraught will a bunch of uncertainty and challenge? Or are owners renting out their DP points pretty plentiful?

I have rented a slew of points over the past few years and have never had a problem easily finding them. That said, I am usually renting them during the year prior to their Use Year (e.g renting 2018 points in 2017) as I figure how many points I am going to need, rent them, and then am ready for when the ressie window opens up to book what I seek. That far out, there are always Mega Points Owners like TimG and jake88 who are always there renting hundreds of thousands of points (I have rented from both of them), and others who come and go at various times (I have rented from several others as well), but I have never had a problem finding points to rent at a reasonable rate. That said, if you leave things to the last minute for a last minute reservation (e.g. I want to rent points today to book a ressie 30 days out), it could prove more challenging as you are at the mercy of who has current year points for rent right then and there. Oftentimes, that's not a problem, but occasionally, especially later in a Use Year, available points for the current year become more scarce.

Some who seek points go on there and post an "I need points" post and hope somebody will come to them. I have always just reached out to the folks with "Points for Rent" listings in the Classifieds and have always had success striking a deal pretty quickly. Longest was likely within a day....shortest from initial contact to having points in my account was minutes. It just depends on how quickly emails or private messages get responded to....on both ends of the transaction.

Oddly enough, if you look at the classifieds right now, there are only a handful of listings, and most if not all are for 2018 points. Usually there are at two to three times that many listings in the Classifieds. Renters come and go, but as mentioned, the Mega Points Owners always seem to be there.

 

[Quilter]

Actually I'm doing my son's laundry for our trip to London Friday. His mom is looking after her sick father so I'm mr. mom this week. Actually for the last few months as my wife is the truly devoted daughter dealing with her dad. I'm also a night owl and work out of my home professionally so 2am-7am are often my sleeping hours.

Awww. . .this tracks so much with the personality I've come to know from you via TUG. Nice guy.

I heard Dr. Christine Northrup once say it's generally the daughters who end up taking care of their aging parents. http://www.drnorthrup.com

 

[Quilter]

How many were 36? I contacted the OP directly through another channel and he acknowledged the thread. We exchanged a couple words.

I think we as tuggers are so skeptical that when a post pops up like this we have a difficult time believing it's real.

We've seen the repeat of this thread go in both directions. Would you define that as skeptical or conditioned? (No snarkiness intended). It's either legitimate or a sales guy toying with the group. I just couldn't help wonder which way this one was going to go.

One thing I was reading from the OP from the outset is he can't be bothered with too much time investment searching for vacations. Before DC I found managing our 1, then 4, then 6, then 8 weeks a significant investment of time. After MVC rolled out the DC the flexibility of this system gives so many options that I don't know how you can avoid a significant investment of time.

 

[Quilter]

This truth has to come with an asterisk. Can the owner/landlord deposit the unit later, even unintentionally, which would cancel the reservation? Could the owner change the name on the reservation later? I'm not saying these things happen often but the fact that it's a possibility is unsettling for many people. A renter has to pay up front and has zero control.

I understand this one. I'm a renter and have my reservations all charted in a numbers document on my Mac. But still, I check and double check to make sure I'm not renting something twice. It's one of those things I'm on edge to avoid. I always put the renters name on the reservation right away. That way if I call to add another name, hopefully, Owner Services will be one last checkpoint to avoid a double rental.

 

[Quilter]

IMHO based on the wonderful free education provided by this group, no. In my initial analysis I felt that paying 2-15% extra up front to go direct through Marriott was worth it just for convenience and to have a contact within the sales team I could go to for advice. Since then I've learned that (a) while the recurring points have some special value due to benefits associated with various membership levels, the "add on" points are really only worth what it'd cost to rent them ($0.60 or so). Also, a broker has confirmed the level of bid that can typically be expected to pass FROR. In short, I overstated the value of buying through Marriott and understated the value of buying resale. Adjusting for the latest information within the model I had originally created puts the discount for buying resale is 30-45% net of all of the various costs and benefits of each option. I'll feel bad rescinding, in particular regarding the salesperson who seems like a good guy and did a very nice job. But at the end of the day, this TUG group has convinced me to rescind our MVCI package to do more research before we ultimately decide to buy a TS or not.

Well this is a pleasant outcome. You seemed a tough nut to crack. Not many newbies come so armed with the numbers and percentages and lists.

It's nice that you're thoughtful enough to care about the salesperson. But don't let that stop you from rescinding. We've been in that same situation.

Did you ever say how you found TUG?

 

[GregT]

Greg, thank you sincerely.

Per your last paragraph above, I found that old thread and my post to which you were alluding,
and I appreciate your remembering it. I've linked to it below. It was a a thread about
investing money independently as opposed to buying/financing timeshares, etc, and what
money could do over time---a somewhat similar conversation
regarding the financial analyses and "what to do and how to do it" contained in the current thread,
and it similarly evoked thoughts about "investments".

After re-reading my thoughts back in August of 2014, I can only say that for me, it's truer today than ever before. My kids are out on their own, but I see clearer than ever that the times, i.e. "moments in time", we shared together, especially on vacations courtesy of Marriott, were worth far more in this life than anything I could ever buy, realize through investment gain (instead of vacations), or obtain by any other method.

"Priceless" would be the trite old cliche, but I cannot come up with a better word or description than that. And that word means simply that there is no sum of money, regardless of the amount, that could ever begin to approach the value of something obtained. What would anyone take as a substitute for precious moments with their children? Say, for example a moment that the whole family remembers and subsequently bursts into laughter----something spontaneous that happened on vacation---- or maybe another completely different moment that instead causes everyone to well up and shed tears as they retell it. Could have been a special day for everyone, or maybe just a brief moment shared by only two, but regardless, it became seared into the memories and into the hearts. I have many of those, but then I'm a sentimental guy, and I hold onto such things tenaciously. Family vacations offered more opportunity for those moments, hence the value.

The more wonderful memories we have, the richer our lives become. As we get older, maybe memories will be all we have to cling to.
Timesharing has facilitated that to a significant degree. Growing up, I didn't have a lot of travel memories involving family, so I was determined to change that.

So contrary to my parents' practices, I decided to opt for planned vacations---- to "go and do"---- and that is, together as a family,
and to repeat often.
I might have been going against the old sage advice, but my motto has always been "Don't ever underestimate the QUANTITY of time together", as many have always touted simply the quality of time together. I never bought into that.
Both are important, but I hold quantity in very high regard. Timesharing allowed for the quantity, and luckily also added the quality. When all is said and done, it doesn't really matter how anyone does it, though, it's just important to do it. If it's affordable and it appeals to anyone, go for it. We have our way and it worked out well.

Anyway, here it is......my thoughts as expressed in August of 2014 in the following thread, specifically post #23:
http://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?...eek-or-just-keep-renting.216143/#post-1667332

To this day, Greg, I sincerely appreciate your reply immediately following that post.... I think it must have rung true for you too.
My hope back then (and still is now) was that maybe I could inspire someone out there to take a chance on putting their finger down on a calendar, or on a map, and say, "OK, this will be the day or place we will be going to spend time together", and then devising a method whereby they could do it....... then and again, and again.

Looking back on how we did it, I have no regrets. My wife says the same over and over in many different ways, and it's obvious that everything we have done, and everything we have seen "all together as a family", has not only been remembered but cherished. Nothing else would have been as valuable a substitute. As a matter of fact, it probably would never have happened at all. To this day the children thank me often for "whatever it was" that caused that little spark in the "Aha moment" two decades ago
when I suddenly realized "Yes, we can do this".
It literally changed our lives, and set up the bank into which we have repeatedly placed memory upon special memory.

There is no family conversation so precious as the one which begins, "Remember when....."

Like I said in that old post, "there are investments and there are investments".

Thank you for the comments, they do resonate very much! I thought of them when I was at WKORV and floating in the ocean with Cassie -- I'd persuaded her to come float on the tube in the ocean, and getting individual time with a teen daughter is so difficult. We floated for over an hour and talked about her goals, her fears (and my goals and my fears). She will still bring it up from time to time so it wasn't just me. These are special days....

I hope you are well, and that our paths cross in Hilton Head (or Maui) one of these days!

Best,

Greg

 

[JIMinNC]

Oddly enough, if you look at the classifieds right now, there are only a handful of listings, and most if not all are for 2018 points. Usually there are at two to three times that many listings in the Classifieds. Renters come and go, but as mentioned, the Mega Points Owners always seem to be there.

I haven't been in the market for points for awhile since our travel opportunities have been limited recently by our high school senior's busy schedule, but when I check-in at VPE from time to time just to look around, I've noted the same thing - the number of listings seems to have dropped off precipitously. I recall when I first started looking at VPE in 2014-2015 there would often be 15-20 or more listings. It seems like there's been a slow decline in the last year or so, and lately the numbers have been less than 10 every time I've looked. The current four listings seem to be a new low.

Am I just missing the busy times (since I admittedly don't check-in there very often) or has there indeed been a decline? Any explanation for this?

 

[GoldenVIKE]

Well this is a pleasant outcome. You seemed a tough nut to crack. Not many newbies come so armed with the numbers and percentages and lists.

It's nice that you're thoughtful enough to care about the salesperson. But don't let that stop you from rescinding. We've been in that same situation.

Did you ever say how you found TUG?

So here's where we've landed after all of the research, advice, frustration, drama, additional research, phone calls, cancellations, etc...

We did rescind the MVCI direct offer, and they came back with a counter to add on a traditional week for a "hybrid" or "bundle" package. One of our aims was to get to the Executive level anyway (13-mo bookings, access to the Homes, etc) so this was very interesting. The add-on has a DC conversion value of 3,825 and costs $10,700 ($2.80/pt) plus $1,519 annual MF ($.40/pt). We don't intend to actually use this week ever, so it doesn't really matter where it is. (It's Ocean Pointe though)

So when you roll this into the 4,000 pt package we bought initially, the net deal works out to: 7,825 points for $5.96/pt if you value the 8,000 incentive points at $1.00 ($6.31/pt if you value them at $.65 as some on this thread seem to).

Based on what I was told by a very helpful, knowledgable, and experienced broker of MVCI resales, currently at 4000-7000 points you can expect to pay between $5.50-$6.00/pt after conversion fees closing costs etc. But for buyers that have recently been to a presentation, I'm told MVCI will block you via ROFR 6-7 times before a deal at that level goes through. Also there's apparently a new policy at MVCI where resale points are subject to tighter booking windows than points purchased direct. It's difficult to verify if this last point is true or not, but given that this is one of the more important aspects of our decision, I don't want to risk it. So while I get that 75% of the people on this thead may not have done this deal, it's going to work great for our family. as the kids grow up and the timing of our trips and flexibility needed in booking are likely to change.

It's not lost on me that this posting literally saved us $30,000 vs. what we'd have paid for the 7,000 pt ownership level on our own. The knowledge and tips this group provided led to us cancelling, and gave me enough familiarity with the concept of these hybrid/bundle packages to know they're worth considering as a vehicle for a better overall deal. I'd love to buy those of you that helped with this a drink and may reach out to let you know when and where our next trip is for that!

To pay this forward for future potential owners considering MVCI, I'll update one of the initial charts I provided that compares the difference in cost between direct vs. resale:

ValBonus Save@$3.50 Save@$3.75 Save@$4.00
$0.60: -11.5% -7.6% -3.7%
$0.80: -8.6% -4.6% -0.5%
$1.00: -5.6% -1.4% 2.8%
$1.20: -2.3% 2.1% 6.4%
$1.40: 1.3% 5.8% 10.3%
$1.60: 5.1% 9.8% 14.4%
$1.80: 9.2% 14.1% 18.9%
$2.00: 13.6% 18.7% 23.7%

I've highlighted above the approximate break-even points based on two variables (a) what your resale gross cost per point is across the columns in the top row, and (b) how much you value incentive points (the "free vacations") MVCI will give you as represented by the far left column. For us, the potential savings for going resale wasn't worth it, but IF YOU HAVENT RECENTLY BEEN ON AN MVCI PRESENTATION TRIP THEN RESALE WOULD BE WORTH STRONGLY CONSIDERING!

Also, the two things to be sure to ask for if you do decide to go direct are:
1. A hybrid (a.k.a. "bundle") package with a week somewhere that's convertible to DC points. I had specifically asked about this in person and they basically shot it down, so be persistent. The process is pretty annoying but at the end of the day the cost per point you get on the bundled portion can be around $2.50 to $3.50 per point (as in my example above), so you truly can't afford not to do this if you're going to go direct.
2. The $1,750 discount for booking an extra night with your presentation trip.

 

[Fasttr]

It's not lost on me that this posting literally saved us $30,000 vs. what we'd have paid for the 7,000 pt ownership level on our own.

Or looking at it from a different perspective....starting this thread cost you an additional $10,700 in upfront costs, plus $1,500 in annual fees more than if you would have never posted it at all. ;-)

In any event.....you sound at peace with your final deal and now hopefully you can get on to enjoying some great family vacations!!

 

[Saintsfanfl]

MVCI has never treated resale weeks differently and never will treat resale points differently for booking windows. Marriott prides themselves on NOT being Westgate. Unfortunately MVCI has no direct control over the verbal lies that their salespeople might spin.

That said, I don't think your deal is a bad one but I'm not a points expert. There is obviously huge value on having an enrolled week which is impossible to get without a hybrid package.

Your week is a Silver Season Ocean Front. I've owned several of those. I don't know about the conversion but it's a fantastic week to own by itself. If Marriott did it over most of Silver season would be Platinum. You may never stay there but look up how many DC points it would cost to book thanksgiving week Ocean front. Look at the upfront buy-in and annual fee if you had those points. I think the last time I looked it was something like $50k up front and over $3k annual fee but I might be off. You won't get the same points value though because they have to blend it with the lower demand sept weeks but still probably not bad.

I got into timesharing right after the enrolled week cutoff so I missed the window. Someday I may buy some points.

 

[catharsis]

Discuss other weeks with your marriott sales report to try to get the lowest possible maintenance fee per point on your resale week. It's a more important long term metric than price per point.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[Saintsfanfl]

Or looking at it from a different perspective....starting this thread cost you an additional $10,700 in upfront costs, plus $1,500 in annual fees more than if you would have never posted it at all. ;-)

In any event.....you sound at peace with your final deal and now hopefully you can get on to enjoying some great family vacations!!

This is so true. Honestly the prudent thing to do is rescind and enter a "cool off" period and then decide what you really want. They will always sell you the deal and prices on the resale weeks included in hybrid continue to drop. That week for $10,700 was $12,100 a couple years ago. Also note that the saleman earns 40% commission on that week although the only way to have points conversion ability is to pay those prices.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

Discuss other weeks with your marriott sales report to try to get the lowest possible maintenance fee per point on your resale week. It's a more important long term metric than price per point.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Unfortunately you can't choose any week you want. It has to be a week that generates 4,000 points or less or you have to buy more points. I believe some of the best weeks generate more than 4,000 points. Perhaps there is an EOY. I think GregT had a chart that shows every week but not sure if it's current.

 

[Fasttr]

Unfortunately you can't choose any week you want. It has to be a week that generates 4,000 points or less or you have to buy more points. I believe some of the best weeks generate more than 4,000 points. Perhaps there is an EOY. I think GregT had a chart that shows every week but not sure if it's current.

I think StevenTing took that over. Its in the sig line of any of his posts.
Here is a link.... https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10fKEZf0mRljXBSDtGmguovIlHjggivemuPWYpnkSaXg/edit

 

[GoldenVIKE]

I think StevenTing took that over. Its in the sig line of any of his posts.
Here is a link.... https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10fKEZf0mRljXBSDtGmguovIlHjggivemuPWYpnkSaXg/edit

Wow this is awesome. This must be the conversion value for every property? The inventory that Marriott is currently reselling from are these (so I'm told):

FIRST TIME BUYER Election Price 2017
Resort/Inventory Value Maint
S Ridge Plat ((110K EY)) L/O *special* 3075 $10,700 $1,486
Barony Beach gold OS 100k 3,225 $10,800 $1,294
O Pointe Silver 2 Bed OS 90K L/O 3050 $8,500 $1,512
Grande Ocean Gold OS 100K 3325 $12,800 $1,387
Newport Plat ((110K EY)) 3475 $14,300 $1,450
K B Club 1 bed OF ((125K EY)) L/O 3375 $11,300 $1,683
Grande vista Plat 3 bed L/O 125K 3725 $12,600 $1,683
Grande Ocean Gold OF 100K 3850 $16,900 $1,387
O Pointe Silver 2 bed OF 90K L/O 3825 $10,700 $1,519
Kauai Bea 2 bed OV ((125K EY)) L/O (1) 4225 $14,000 $1,852
Ocean pointe Plat 2 bed OS 110k L/O 4325 $15,100 $1,608
Mountainside Plat ((125K EY )) L/O (1) 5350 $24,900 $1,316
Ocean Pointe Plat 2 bed OF 110K L/O 5375 $18,800 $1,577

As Saintsfanfl notes you can't buy a higher DC points election value than your package has in standard points - so to buy one of the final two options on the list which are both good values would require you end up with a 5,500 point package and a total of 10,875ish points. That'd be a fun package to own especially if you're retired and can travel a lot, but at this point for us it'd be starting to border on more vacationing horsepower than we need.

 

[davidvel]

Now this has become downright hilarious.

The inventory that Marriott is currently reselling from are these (so I'm told)

Lots of good detailed inside information from a "novice" whose original post dropped the name of a Marriott salesperson, said he was going through with the deal a few days after not receiving any advice to do so, only to claim he rescinded after being challenged on the value, then to state he's going through with it and he paid over 10,000 more which saved him 30,000.

Fun fact: seadoc is a CPA.

 

[GregT]

GoldenVIKE,

Where do you live? Ocean Pointe is a decent property as a points generator and is a good choice if you are close enough to Florida to actually use that property in the season you've purchased (Silver). One other thing to consider is switching to Grande Ocean Gold OF or OS -- that's a great property and the Gold season is desirable in its own right. I think that's where Fasttr bought and we visited Grande Ocean in April 2015 and think it is terrific. Hilton Head may be a little closer to you than Ocean Pointe, again depending on where you live, and Gold Season will hold its value better than Silver Season if/when you some day dispose of this property. I've sold a number of weeks also (usually because I'm buying a different week ) so don't discount that there is a monopoly component to this hobby. Platinum and Gold weeks hold their value better (but they still depreciate too). Newport Coast Platinum and Grande Vista 3BR Platinum may also be worth considering, if you are closer to West Coast, or some day enter into the II trading game.

Best,

Greg

 

[Saintsfanfl]

Now this has become downright hilarious.

Lots of good detailed inside information from a "novice" whose original post dropped the name of a Marriott salesperson, said he was going through with the deal a few days after not receiving any advice to do so, only to claim he rescinded after being challenged on the value, then to state he's going through with it and he paid over 10,000 more which saved him 30,000.

Fun fact: seadoc is a CPA.

Would it not be completely normal to ask the salesperson what hybrid resale weeks are possible? Especially when I told him to make sure he chooses a good week for a better ratio? The salespeople generally always push a week that is close to the points that you are buying. So if you are buying the minimum they will push HHI Bronze without thinking twice. A normal customer might not think twice about it but once you get on TUG and are told "don't blindly take the week they offer" you are going to inquire on the options.

The OP is not seadoc (or a CPA).

 

[jeepie]

Of course. You can also google "Marriott vacation club Resales" and easily find the current listings (perhaps it is not completely current, but it is at least close). They also list the phone number, so you can call and make sure you have up-to-date information. This list doesn't include the DC points value, but you can ask. They should be willing to tailor a bundle for you. I am currently in escrow for a specific bundle, so I know this to be true.

Would it not be completely normal to ask the salesperson what hybrid resale weeks are possible? Especially when I told him to make sure he chooses a good week for a better ratio? The salespeople generally always push a week that is close to the points that you are buying. So if you are buying the minimum they will push HHI Bronze without thinking twice. A normal customer might not think twice about it but once you get on TUG and are told "don't blindly take the week they offer" you are going to inquire on the options.

Cheers.

 

[BocaBoy]

Why do so many people think someone who does his homework is a Marriott salesperson in disguise? There are probably some here who still think I am. I personally am very impressed with the way the OP approached this, and his result seems pretty good too, provided there is not a different week he would rather have. (My prejudice is showing here: I am one of the few (apparently) TUGGERs who rank Ocean Pointe in the bottom 20% of the 30 MVCI resorts we have been to.)

 

[SueDonJ]

Why do so many people think someone who does his homework is a Marriott salesperson in disguise? There are probably some here who still think I am. I personally am very impressed with the way the OP approached this, and his result seems pretty good too, provided there is not a different week he would rather have. (My prejudice is showing here: I am one of the few (apparently) TUGGERs who rank Ocean Pointe in the bottom 20% of the 30 MVCI resorts we have been to.)

I don't get it either. And since it's been questioned, as a moderator I'm not seeing anything that supports this new poster being a new incantation of a previous poster OR a Marriott sales rep.

 

[GoldenVIKE]

I'm flattered that a lot of folks think that my basic financial analysis which was done w/ a 2-tab spreadsheet, indicates I have some insider level of understanding of a complex industry that just a week ago I knew nothing about. I did major in Finance and work in the Insurance industry managing some products that require I work closely with actuaries and closely monitor a wide array of interconnected numbers and metrics. So I suppose my understanding of numbers and analytics is more advanced that most. The insider info about the available inventory came from a spreadsheet provided by my MVCI salesperson. The insider info about what's available on the resale market came from a renowned broker of TS resales who is based in FL and has written a lot of articles and done TV interviews on the topic.

With regards to MVCI, I have no love lost for their sales process. We were not offered the most competitive package out of the gate, and only after spending now at least a dozen of hours doing research and analysis, and rescinding the original contract did they offer a competitive deal. My sales person really does seem to be a good guy, but I'll say that I did have a terrible experience with the sales manager. The day after we signed up for our package I went back to personally inquire about a hybrid package (based on advice on here) and a guy that should have been cast on the Sopranos declined to offer such a package after I talked with him for about 15-20 minutes and after he called me "bro" about 50 times. Only after I rescinded did they offer the hybrid deal. The MVCI sales process is awful (as I suppose most of the TS industry sales processes likely are?) and would likely be impossible to navigate by most novices. I accomplished my objective by posting on here through getting the sound and friendly advice from so many of you experts. I truly can't thank you enough. I hope that this thread may live on as a means to guide future potential MVCI owners by shining a light of transparency on their confusing sales process.

 

[SueDonJ]

Of course. You can also google "Marriott vacation club Resales" and easily find the current listings (perhaps it is not completely current, but it is at least close). They also list the phone number, so you can call and make sure you have up-to-date information. This list doesn't include the DC points value, but you can ask. They should be willing to tailor a bundle for you. I am currently in escrow for a specific bundle, so I know this to be true.

Cheers.

No need to google, here's the link to Marriott Resales Operations. Click on the "Buy Weeks" tab to search their available inventory, and use the contact information there to discuss Bundle Packages. It is not necessary to deal with an onsite sales rep in order to get these packages.

GoldenVIKE, in your shoes I would still be rescinding and taking a little bit more time to get answers from those of us who own and use Marriott products. At least two things that your sales rep is saying are not true now: "I'm told MVCI will block you via ROFR 6-7 times before a deal at that level goes through. Also there's apparently a new policy at MVCI where resale points are subject to tighter booking windows than points purchased direct." What is true is that ROFR sometimes has no rhyme or reason; we certainly haven't noticed a pattern of 6-7 or any other set number of times ROFR will be executed. And MVW can't implement a "new policy" of restricting resale Points in the manner suggested to you without substantially amending the Destination Club governing documents.

I agree with the others who think there's more value - in purchase price, usage options and maintenance fee costs - in a Bundle Package, and, that it's important to select a Weeks component that will work with your anticipated usage.

[eta] GoldenVIKE, one other thing. Using your real name as a TUG Username leaves you open to spam bots and other bad internet things. You may want to review this info: [How to] Change your BBS Username.