Buying 2500 points to enroll my resale - at what price?

[vacation dreaming]

I know sales starts with an inflated price and offers discounts. Any recent experience with pricing? I would prefer lowest cash price, not financing or incentives. Any advice on getting the lowest price? What is the best way to approach the negotiations?

 

[Mroze]

Too expensive.

Single-Resale
At the current price of $15.92/DCP it works out to $39,800 to retro 1 resale.
Since 2500-DCP is the lowest you can purchase to retro, it gets the lowest discount of 10% [~$4K].
As for incentives. You can expect 2 x DCP or 5000-DCP [one-time use] with 2-years expiry OR [not AND] Bonvoy-Points.

Summary: $40K - $4K = $36K + $1K Closing = $37K - $3K [Incentive 5000-DCP @ $0.63/DCP] = NET $34K to enroll 1-Resale

Multiple-Resales
Makes more sense if you are enrolling 7 x Resales by purchasing 5000-DCP. Still expensive [7 x Closings] but a little better value. Bigger-Discount [20%-25%] + Lower DCP-Purchase.
Ends up costing approximately $70K for 7 x Resales @ $10K/Resale. This is still almost twice as much as what Vistana charges to enroll resales.

 

[DanCali]

I am never really sure how much flexibility they have on the actual price - they usually quote a high price and then tell you they have a X% discount and not sure how much they can budge from there.

But there are other dimensions you can play on:

- Will they allow you to buy fewer points to enroll your week?
- Will they allow you to enroll multiple weeks without requiring you to buy more points?
- Bonus DC points
- Bonus Bonvoy points
- Always best if you realize the deal they offered will always be there (despite what they say) and you are prepared to walk away.

That said - are you looking to enroll just 1 resale week? In my opinion, unless you have multiple weeks to bring into the system paying an "enrollment fee" of tens of thousands of dollars (which is what this is, since the points you are buying are worth on the resale market less than 20% of what you paid) is hardly worth it.

 

[vacationtime1]

I agree -- it's too expensive.

Especially because Marriott hasn't formally announced the new rules, so there is no guarantee what retro-ing a week will actually mean in the merger / combined system.

 

[VacationForever]

They have a discount table based on number of points by the whole thousand, i.e. 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000.

 

[LUVourMarriotts]

When I did this a few years ago, it was 3000 minimum purchase required for 1 resale enrollment. When I was at the sales presentation, it was a required presentation as part of a Encore package. The price was around $14/point at that time. I ended up paying $9.99/point for the 3000 points, including closing costs. But also, that got me 6900 points, not just the 3000, since i was enrolling a week worth 3900 points.
The way it got down to the $9.99 is by them giving me a 20% discount, then they gave me some other discount related to a "special" offer they were running at the time, and also gave me all the money paid for the Encore towards the purchase. It's been a few years, so I don't recall all the specific numbers right now, other than the $9.99/point. We also financed to get an extra 3000 points as an incentive over a 2 year use period, after we paid 18 months of payments. Sure, we could have rented 3000 cheaper than the interest cost us, but it was just easier, and my wife was focusing on that as an incentive to buy, so we did it that way.

As for a recommendation, I would simply negotiate, if you don't like the price. I don't know how much they will move off of their current offerings and specials. But, during the presentation I mentioned above, I repeatedly told them we were not there to buy anything. I also referenced the ability to purchase resale points at a much cheaper rate. We did go into a discussion about how it would be advantageous if my resale week (3900 points) was also enrolled. I honestly think the sales guy just knew he was going to have to be at a price point that was more acceptable than anything close to their current retail price.

 

[CPNY]

Too expensive.

Single-Resale
At the current price of $15.92/DCP it works out to $39,800 to retro 1 resale.
Since 2500-DCP is the lowest you can purchase to retro, it gets the lowest discount of 10% [~$4K].
As for incentives. You can expect 2 x DCP or 5000-DCP [one-time use] with 2-years expiry OR [not AND] Bonvoy-Points.

Summary: $40K - $4K = $36K + $1K Closing = $37K - $3K [Incentive 5000-DCP @ $0.63/DCP] = NET $34K to enroll 1-Resale

Multiple-Resales
Makes more sense if you are enrolling 7 x Resales by purchasing 5000-DCP. Still expensive [7 x Closings] but a little better value. Bigger-Discount [20%-25%] + Lower DCP-Purchase.
Ends up costing approximately $70K for 7 x Resales @ $10K/Resale. This is still almost twice as much as what Vistana charges to enroll resales.

I thought it was 1500 minimum to enroll, or is that just the smallest contract you can buy? Marriott enrollment prices are very high compared to VSE. There is a 345K Sheraton Flex resale on redweek. If there was enough time for closing/transfer, It probably wouldn’t be bad to pick that up for peanuts then retro the unit with a 10K Sheraton Flex purchase. One could elect to convert the Flex options to nearly 11K DC points for under $15K. Of course this is assuming all of the things coming from updates turn out to be true.

 

[Mroze]

I thought it was 1500 minimum to enroll, or is that just the smallest contract you can buy? Marriott enrollment prices are very high compared to VSE. There is a 345K Sheraton Flex resale on redweek. If there was enough time for closing/transfer, It probably wouldn’t be bad to pick that up for peanuts then retro the unit with a 10K Sheraton Flex purchase. It would workout to nearly 11K DC points for under 15K. Of course this is assuming all of the things coming from updates turn out to be true.

Can Vistana retro a Marriott resale?

 

[vacation dreaming]

The week I would like to enroll is worth 4400 points. I have been waiting for years for the enrollment requirements to come down, and while they finally have come down to 2500 points, the retail price of points has increased. This leaves me in a frustrating predicament of not knowing when to pull the trigger. I have no need for additional points/resales beyond what I own, so I don’t see purchasing additional units as something that makes sense simply to get the best enrollment deal. I could use an additional 2500 or 3000 points but not much more. I also was told that my Westin Maui units would only be enrolled with the purchase of 1,000 DP’s, while that was only from sales, I would be sure to get something in writing confirming that 2500 purchase would also count towards the Westin properties, when the time comes. $9.99 a point seems like something I would be interested in if I can figure out how to get them there.

 

[CPNY]

Can Vistana retro a Marriott resale?

No, I was just throwing out the difference between enrollment costs. I assume come June Vistana will be able to enroll Marriott ownerships via a Marriott purchase at a vistana resort.

 

[DanCali]

Can Vistana retro a Marriott resale?

Under the right circumstances and if all the stars align, then anything is possible

 

[BreakingAway]

The week I would like to enroll is worth 4400 points. I have been waiting for years for the enrollment requirements to come down, and while they finally have come down to 2500 points, the retail price of points has increased. This leaves me in a frustrating predicament of not knowing when to pull the trigger. I have no need for additional points/resales beyond what I own, so I don’t see purchasing additional units as something that makes sense simply to get the best enrollment deal. I could use an additional 2500 or 3000 points but not much more. I also was told that my Westin Maui units would only be enrolled with the purchase of 1,000 DP’s, while that was only from sales, I would be sure to get something in writing confirming that 2500 purchase would also count towards the Westin properties, when the time comes. $9.99 a point seems like something I would be interested in if I can figure out how to get them there.

With your week worth 4400 points if you could convert it, your week appears to have value on the resale market. If you want points as currency, have you thought of selling your week and buying the number of points you want resale? Seems like this would be less expensive than converting a post 2010 week to points.

 

[Venter]

I am never really sure how much flexibility they have on the actual price - they usually quote a high price and then tell you they have a X% discount and not sure how much they can budge from there.

But there are other dimensions you can play on:

- Will they allow you to buy fewer points to enroll your week?
- Will they allow you to enroll multiple weeks without requiring you to buy more points?
- Bonus DC points
- Bonus Bonvoy points
- Always best if you realize the deal they offered will always be there (despite what they say) and you are prepared to walk away.

That said - are you looking to enroll just 1 resale week? In my opinion, unless you have multiple weeks to bring into the system paying an "enrollment fee" of tens of thousands of dollars (which is what this is, since the points you are buying are worth on the resale market less than 20% of what you paid) is hardly worth it.

Another dimension to think about is to only start maintenance fees in a year or two and then use those extra points during the first couple of years that they are valid.

 

[vacation dreaming]

Another dimension to think about is to only start maintenance fees in a year or two and then use those extra points during the first couple of years that they are valid.

Meaning have use of points with maintenance fees starting the following year(s)?

 

[vacation dreaming]

With your week worth 4400 points if you could convert it, your week appears to have value on the resale market. If you want points as currency, have you thought of selling your week and buying the number of points you want resale? Seems like this would be less expensive than converting a post 2010 week to points.

Great thoughts. I have considered this but what would points end up costing me? I’m not sure that it would net much difference and the maintenance fees would be higher on those points. If I could buy 2500 points at $10 I would end up with 6900 points at an average cost of $6 each, lower maintenance fees, a unit I still plan to use at times, and much less hassle. I know people come up with lower costs, but I am not interested in a bigger portfolio. I also own 2 weeks at Westin Maui which I am assuming will either be enrolled for free, or as part of any deal I do now. Please poke holes in my thoughts, and help me figure out how to negotiate a DP purchase of no more than 3,000 points down to $10!

 

[DanCali]

Meaning have use of points with maintenance fees starting the following year(s)?

When we had a similar deal on the Vistana side it didn't work quite like that. They just made our purchase effective 2 calendar years later with the argument that we can use the bonus points we got as part of the deal over the next couple of years. So it saves on maintenance fees, but you also don't get usage of your new purchase.

 

[Mroze]

No, I was just throwing out the difference between enrollment costs. I assume come June Vistana will be able to enroll Marriott ownerships via a Marriott purchase at a vistana resort.

That is correct.
I was told that come June, Vistana would only be able to offer DCP which would mean the end of $10K/1-Retro and $5K for each additional retro [way cheaper option].

 

[CPNY]

That is correct.
I was told that come June, Vistana would only be able to offer DCP which would mean the end of $10K/1-Retro and $5K for each additional retro [way cheaper option].

That 345K flex option VOI for sale plus a minimum retro would have been a killer deal for converted DC points. If somehow my ownerships got me a lot of DC points with a retro, I’d consider a 10K purchase. They can forget a minimum 2500DC point purchase to enroll anything I have.

 

[VacationForever]

I thought it was 1500 minimum to enroll, or is that just the smallest contract you can buy? Marriott enrollment prices are very high compared to VSE. There is a 345K Sheraton Flex resale on redweek. If there was enough time for closing/transfer, It probably wouldn’t be bad to pick that up for peanuts then retro the unit with a 10K Sheraton Flex purchase. One could elect to convert the Flex options to nearly 11K DC points for under $15K. Of course this is assuming all of the things coming from updates turn out to be true. Minimum is 15000 to buy. Enrollment was 2500 pt for 1 week when they first ran the summer promo. Subsequently it went to 3000 pt to enroll one week in the summer promo. This April, they dropped back to 2500 pt to enroll one week.

 

[Dean]

The week I would like to enroll is worth 4400 points. I have been waiting for years for the enrollment requirements to come down, and while they finally have come down to 2500 points, the retail price of points has increased. This leaves me in a frustrating predicament of not knowing when to pull the trigger. I have no need for additional points/resales beyond what I own, so I don’t see purchasing additional units as something that makes sense simply to get the best enrollment deal. I could use an additional 2500 or 3000 points but not much more. I also was told that my Westin Maui units would only be enrolled with the purchase of 1,000 DP’s, while that was only from sales, I would be sure to get something in writing confirming that 2500 purchase would also count towards the Westin properties, when the time comes. $9.99 a point seems like something I would be interested in if I can figure out how to get them there.

I'd look at possibly buying a 1 BR Aruba Ocean Club (Platinum). You may find that the overall price is better both per point and in yearly dues. That should qualify to enroll the single week as well. Of course you still have the question you've wrestled with previously, whether it's worth enrolling it at all.

 

[DRH90277]

Please think about buying resale points and build in the transfer, education fees, etc. to your cost per point. I think you can do this for an all-in under $10 per point.

There is a posting in one of these forums which details the costs beyond the raw resale point purchase price.

The sales department will entice you with incentives, but you will pay for all of it.

 

[VacationForever]

Please think about buying resale points and build in the transfer, education fees, etc. to your cost per point. I think you can do this for an all-in under $10 per point.

There is a posting in one of these forums which details the costs beyond the raw resale point purchase price.

The sales department will entice you with incentives, but you will pay for all of it.

You cannot enroll a resale ownership by buying resale points.

 

[Venter]

When we had a similar deal on the Vistana side it didn't work quite like that. They just made our purchase effective 2 calendar years later with the argument that we can use the bonus points we got as part of the deal over the next couple of years. So it saves on maintenance fees, but you also don't get usage of your new purchase.

That is what meant.

 

[DRH90277]

You cannot enroll a resale ownership by buying resale points.

Sorry, I probably need to clarify and then you can comment again.

Buying resale points "and" paying the education and transfer fees, etc. brings these points to a usable and enrolled status. Isn't this true? So, what does it cost to perfect a resale point versus the cost to buy a point from the sales gallery personnel? Of course, there are minimum point buys, fixed rates, etc.

 

[VacationForever]

Sorry, I probably need to clarify and then you can comment again.

Buying resale points "and" paying the education and transfer fees, etc. brings these points to a usable and enrolled status. Isn't this true? So, what does it cost to perfect a resale point versus the cost to buy a point from the sales gallery personnel? Of course, there are minimum point buys, fixed rates, etc.

I believe OP is trying to "qualify"/enroll an existing resale week. You can only do so by buying 2500 DC points in current promo. If you buy resale points, the resale points are fully "enrolled" by paying for junk fees, but it does not enroll an unenrolled resale week.