Best way to get more points [Shell/Wyndham]

[bluechips707]

I bought Shell Vacations with my wife over 15 years ago, while we were still dating. We paid about $13k for less than a week. I feel as if we need to decide whether it's better to get more points or just give back the points to Shell. I know Shell was bought out by Wyndham, and there have been various acquisitions over the years, but I believe we are still under Wyndham. We took my son to Anaheim last month, and the sales team told us Shell was shutting down half of their resorts, so our best bet was to get more points through them, but they came out with a highball number like $50,000. We needed to catch our flight, so we walked out of the meeting. What is the best way to add points to my current account for a good price and make sure I am not getting scammed? I see prices vary from Wyndham, going from 154k points, selling for $300, and 350k points selling for over $2,000. How can I tell what is a good deal with such a high variance in price per point?

 

[StarSailer]

Shell may be owned by Wyndham, but Club Wyndham and Shell are still different systems so the points don't mix. If you want to add to your Shell account you will need to buy Shell points.


If you gave back Shell and bought Club Wyndham note that different resorts charge different maintenance fees. It isn't a complete list but see: https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/s...previous-years-last-updated-9-22-2025.315557/

CWA [$8.47/K] is par. Free with seller pays closing on deeds at that price (slow transfer), buyer sometimes pays closing on CWA (faster transfer). If one wanted a 7-year return then every $1/K MF saving is worth spending $7/K up front, including closing costs.

A $300 token price for 154K could be amazing for something like Desert Blue, maybe OK for Club Wyndham Access, but rather bad for Cypress Palms unless seller pays closing.

$2,500 (plus $700-1000est closing) would only be a good deal for 350K points if the maintenance fee is less than $2481/year (vs $2965 CWA) but your standard may differ from the suggested 7-year break-even. Large 350K+ deeds also tend to be cheaper per points since those can be a signifiant commitment.


Otherwise just keep reading listings accross ebay/redweek/tugmarketplace to try and get a feel of what the lowest maintenance fees on a "free" deeds are and what the going rate for going lower is. I've found that 154-350K deed seem to have the highest $/pt values

 

[rickandcindy23]

Shell is an expensive product to own. I would deed it back to Wyndham and I would buy WorldMark in its place.

We owned Shell for almost 18 years, and I have seen some pretty terrible changes with Shell, including housekeeping credits that are charged at the whim of the front desk, and countless reservation fees, even when I was making reservations or cancellations on the same day. I had to call to have those issues fixed and reimbursed after seeing the charges on my credit card statement. Wyndham's takeover meant more and more ridiculous fees. The burden of proof that you were charged when you should not be charged was entirely on YOU, and they would make me send them a statement from my credit card showing them that they charged me 5 X $17.50 reservation fees in one day. They wouldn't look on their end.

We bought resale and were treated as resale owners, so maybe you aren't experiencing the same issues with overcharging.

What resorts do you love in Shell? WorldMark has Dolphin's Cove and WorldMark Anaheim, both are superior to Peacock Suites (no parking fees and full kitchens). WorldMark is cheaper to own and has more locations.

 

[bluechips707]

Shell is an expensive product to own. I would deed it back to Wyndham and I would buy WorldMark in its place.

We owned Shell for almost 18 years, and I have seen some pretty terrible changes with Shell, including housekeeping credits that are charged at the whim of the front desk, and countless reservation fees, even when I was making reservations or cancellations on the same day. I had to call to have those issues fixed and reimbursed after seeing the charges on my credit card statement. Wyndham's takeover meant more and more ridiculous fees. The burden of proof that you were charged when you should not be charged was entirely on YOU, and they would make me send them a statement from my credit card showing them that they charged me 5 X $17.50 reservation fees in one day. They wouldn't look on their end.

We bought resale and were treated as resale owners, so maybe you aren't experiencing the same issues with overcharging.

What resorts do you love in Shell? WorldMark has Dolphin's Cove and WorldMark Anaheim, both are superior to Peacock Suites (no parking fees and full kitchens). WorldMark is cheaper to own and has more locations.

I would say we don't use too many of the Shell locations. We are based on the West Coast and stay out here for the most part. We usually go to Peacock Suites, which I agree is pretty basic, or somewhere in Hawaii. Since we live close to Napa, my wife and I will go to Vino Bello every once in a while. It would be nice to have a place in Maui since my wife and kids have never been there. I would also like some options in Los Cabos and the Mexican Riviera. How many points do you own through CW, and what would you say is a fair price in your opinion? What are reasonable annual maintenance fees? When you bought in the secondary market, how did you know it wasn't a scam, and how did you navigate through all the paperwork and red tape?

 

[rickandcindy23]

Club Wyndham is very different from WorldMark. I love WorldMark and recommend it to family and friends, not that anyone listens to me.

I deal with Wyndham because we have status that is worth keeping. We happened into it quite by accident and we get 60% off of our stays and upgrades in unit size, unlimited HK and transactions. We have it made with Wyndham. We gave away millions of Wyndham points but kept one valuable account. I don't love the company. I do love our benefits. You cannot get these benefits through resale.

WorldMark is being given away on eBay currently, and I am so tempted to buy more. A two-bedroom at Dolphin's Cove is 10,000 points or about $1,100. Parking is free, and it's a short walk to the Toy Story Lot to save on parking. WorldMark has Windsor in Northern California but it's not Vino Bello.

 

[bluechips707]

Club Wyndham is very different from WorldMark. I love WorldMark and recommend it to family and friends, not that anyone listens to me.

I deal with Wyndham because we have status that is worth keeping. We happened into it quite by accident and we get 60% off of our stays and upgrades in unit size, unlimited HK and transactions. We have it made with Wyndham. We gave away millions of Wyndham points but kept one valuable account. I don't love the company. I do love our benefits. You cannot get these benefits through resale.

WorldMark is being given away on eBay currently, and I am so tempted to buy more. A two-bedroom at Dolphin's Cove is 10,000 points or about $1,100. Parkig is free, and it's a short walk to the Toy Story Lot to save on parking. WorldMark has Windsor in Northern California but it's not Vino Bello.

If I could go to a place that could offer me multiple weeks in Hawaii and Mexico, I would be happy. I would like to travel to Europe as well, but I am guessing, since I am not well-versed in timeshares, my options would be limited with Euro trips if I had Wyndham.

 

[StarSailer]

I am in the process of buying Club Wyndham because 80%+ of my travel is in the Eastern US where Worldmark is sparse, but it hasn't finished closing yet.

I should have guessed by Shell, but yah... +1 Worldmark for Western US/Hawaii. It looks like Worldmark has three Mexico resorts, including one in Los Cabos.

You can pick up the occasional Europe trip through an RCI exchange. I don't know enough about Europe to know what system is best for regular European travel.

 

[jp10558]

Europe isn't one thing just like the US isn't one thing for systems sadly. I guess RCI is the most expansive "system" but it won't get you MVC locations, they're in II or you have to own MVC. Many Americans want to go to cities when they go to Europe, and RCI isn't good for that, most resorts are in the countryside or near a beach or for skiing. Similar to the US in that case. If you want to try cities, I think Hapimag is the best option, but they're very different from the US timeshares and still don't cover "everywhere". You'd want to look at their site and really understand them.

 

[bluechips707]

Europe isn't one thing just like the US isn't one thing for systems sadly. I guess RCI is the most expansive "system" but it won't get you MVC locations, they're in II or you have to own MVC. Many Americans want to go to cities when they go to Europe, and RCI isn't good for that, most resorts are in the countryside or near a beach or for skiing. Similar to the US in that case. If you want to try cities, I think Hapimag is the best option, but they're very different from the US timeshares and still don't cover "everywhere". You'd want to look at their site and really understand them.

I think it would make sense for me to have two buckets when it comes to travel. The first would be Mexico, Hawaii, or somewhere in the US, like Orlando, where I can take advantage of Club Wyndham. In the other bucket, I would just save for any international trips if we have the funds to do so.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I just bought a week in Palm Desert, 2 bed platinum Marriott season week, and those are fantastic for trading into the Marriott resorts in Europe, but even Marriott resorts are few and far between in Europe. We already own a few of these weeks, and I got the week for 10% of what I paid resale five years ago. We are talking $3,000 five years ago to $300 today, closing costs included. Buy something like that and enjoy Marriott accommodations where you can.

I doubt my week will pass ROFR. We will soon know.

 

[MissTins]

If you want points for free, I'd be happy to give you our 6200 Shell points (Hawaii). We went to the Big Island last December and they badgered us to go to an update meeting. We were very short on time since we were only there to dive with the Manta Rays so we never went. We have way too many timeshares to use and have been letting our Shell points expire (or deposit with RCI). If you're interested - PM me.