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Abound contest

LEMONLEE

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Same here.

I wrote them about that mystery email, and got this reply:

"the confirmation email from 3/6/2023 is regarding your win from 1/29/23 for the following prize: Vistana- 500 PlusPoints or 11,200 Marriott Bonvoy Points."

So it wasn't a weekly prize. I still have not received the 500 points.
Wow, too bad - I was hoping I had won a weekly prize. How bizarre that they would send out another email on 3/6 for a prize won on 1/29. In my case, I won the 11,200 points on February 1, and they had already sent me a congratulatory email with the exact same language on Feb 3. Why in the world would they resend it again on March 6?
 

Ken555

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Same here.

I wrote them about that mystery email, and got this reply:

"the confirmation email from 3/6/2023 is regarding your win from 1/29/23 for the following prize: Vistana- 500 PlusPoints or 11,200 Marriott Bonvoy Points."

So it wasn't a weekly prize. I still have not received the 500 points.

At least they responded to you. They simply ignored my email.


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dioxide45

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Wow, too bad - I was hoping I had won a weekly prize. How bizarre that they would send out another email on 3/6 for a prize won on 1/29. In my case, I won the 11,200 points on February 1, and they had already sent me a congratulatory email with the exact same language on Feb 3. Why in the world would they resend it again on March 6?
I think I've determined that they now send three emails upon a win. One when you first win the prize. This email has a link where you need to go and verify your eligibility and claim your prize. After you do that, you almost instantly get another email saying that if you are a US resident, no further action is needed or if you are international you need to complete the W-8BEN. Then there will be a third email received a few days later indicating your eligibility has been approved. The first and second email indicate the prize won where the third does not.

The best I can tell is that, early on, HelloWorld was not sending out the third email. When we won the 1,000 Bonvoy points early in the contest period (Jan 17th) we didn't receive the third email. Only the first two. When we won the 2-year II platinum membership and 500 Plus Points in the last week, we did receive the third email. I suspect they started the third email notification sometime after the contest started. This may have resulted in you receiving the third email that didn't indicate a prize sometime after you actually won and were verified.
 

LEMONLEE

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Thanks for the explanation. That makes sense in a bizarre way. Still haven’t received any of the points from my first two wins, but the towel from my most recent win did just arrive today. As others reported, not what I would call a towel at all. Very thin and not absorbent at all - the material is more like a thin shawl than a towel or even a blanket. It is a nice bluish gray color but not sure what to do with it,
 

dioxide45

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Thanks for the explanation. That makes sense in a bizarre way. Still haven’t received any of the points from my first two wins, but the towel from my most recent win did just arrive today. As others reported, not what I would call a towel at all. Very thin and not absorbent at all - the material is more like a thin shawl than a towel or even a blanket. It is a nice bluish gray color but not sure what to do with it,
I wonder if it is one of those microfiber sand free beach towels? We bought a couple of those at Costco on clearance for less than $4 each.
 

Eric B

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Won 3,000 Bonvoy points this morning. That makes it 3 x 500 PlusPoints (received 500 so far), 1,000 Bonvoy points (not yet received), 1 photo book, and this 3,000 Bonvoy points.
 

buzglyd

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Won 3,000 Bonvoy points this morning. That makes it 3 x 500 PlusPoints (received 500 so far), 1,000 Bonvoy points (not yet received), 1 photo book, and this 3,000 Bonvoy points.
I'm gonna start doing the contest from your IP address! I've got a bunch of entries and what they call a beach towel.
 

daviator

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I can’t log into the MVC site at all today, either through my Vistana dashboard or directly. So I haven’t been able to play the contest on the Abound side which is annoying…
 

LEMONLEE

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I wonder if it is one of those microfiber sand free beach towels? We bought a couple of those at Costco on clearance for less than $4 each.
No, not microfiber, it's 100% Turkish cotton. The material feels more like a kitchen towel - not the soft cushy ones, but non-absorbent cotton ones, maybe a bit of a heavier weight.
 
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PamMo

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Wow! DH and I have been playing every day on our Vistana and Marriott accounts and haven’t won a thing. Seems like a lot of you have won multiple prizes!
 

dioxide45

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Won 3,000 Bonvoy points this morning. That makes it 3 x 500 PlusPoints (received 500 so far), 1,000 Bonvoy points (not yet received), 1 photo book, and this 3,000 Bonvoy points.
That's a pretty big haul you have there.
 

VacationForever

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I got a call from MVC today to attend yet another Zoom meeting. The offer is 40K Bonvoy or 500 Plus Points. I figure it is easier to get the 500 Plus Points by spending 90 minutes, than it is to spend a few minutes each day with the "hope" of getting 500 Plus Points, we accepted the offer to attend the Zoom meeting. I haven't won anything besides sweepstakes.
 

DavidnRobin

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Finally got our 500 points, and was to use them in May (Vegas).

Had to cancel our previous Vistana-Abound CP reservation due to flight cancellation and extend time our time (and upgrade to 1Bd from studio). As it is 60 days away - you can’t cancel online - need to contact !?
Tells me up to 7 business days for request.
That sucks - but got a discount on the reservation change and use the bonus 500 CP.


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vistana101

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As a Vistana owner, how do I check to see if the 50 Plus Points have been deposited?
 

grgs

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I won 1,000 Bonvoy points yesterday. Not as good as the 500 Plus points I won earlier, but I'll take it!
 

dioxide45

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As a Vistana owner, how do I check to see if the 50 Plus Points have been deposited?
Go to the Vistana Dashboard then click on the link to Search & Book Reservations. Then under the Use Points menu you can select the Vacation Club Points Balance.
 

dioxide45

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An update on the two year Interval International Platinum Membership that we won as part of the weekly sweepstakes. It looks like it was applied to our Vistana II Corp account. So a completely useless prize for us as we do all of our exchanges through our MVC Corp II account and have paid II Platinum Membership on that. I did send an email to Mark with II to see if there is a longshot chance it could be applied to our MVC account. If that doesn't work I may try to reach out to MVC about it. I have no idea how they determine which account to apply it to as the only thing you provide during verification is your mailing address.
 

Eric B

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Won 3,000 Bonvoy points this morning. That makes it 3 x 500 PlusPoints (received 500 so far), 1,000 Bonvoy points (not yet received), 1 photo book, and this 3,000 Bonvoy points.
Finally got something from a weekly drawing - 2 years of II Platinum, making it 3 x 500 PlusPoints, 1,000 Bonvoy points, 1 photo book, 3,000 Bonvoy points and 2 years II Platinum. Now to just wait and see which II account it shows up on....
 

byeloe

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Finally got something from a weekly drawing - 2 years of II Platinum, making it 3 x 500 PlusPoints, 1,000 Bonvoy points, 1 photo book, 3,000 Bonvoy points and 2 years II Platinum. Now to just wait and see which II account it shows up on....
"Finally" I think you have won more than your share:cool: Most of us have only sweepstakes entries:(
 

dioxide45

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"Finally" I think you have won more than your share:cool: Most of us have only sweepstakes entries:(
Yeah, now it just looks more like bragging :cool:
 

travelhacker

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I've won 3000 Bonvoy Points, a Towel, and a PhotoBook -- I really hope to add 500 plus points, but as my dad always says "It's better than a sharp stick in the eye".
 

daviator

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I have to say, I’m pretty pleased with this contest, I’ve never won anything in my life, and I’ve won 500 Plus Points x 2, 1000 Bonvoy points x 2, and a Shutterfly book. Does anyone know what the terms of the Plus Points are? I assume they are limited usage Anound points of some kind?
 
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