- Joined
- Jun 6, 2005
- Messages
- 14,753
- Reaction score
- 3,570
- Location
- Kansas
- Resorts Owned
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Marriott Grand Chateau
Marriott Shadow Ridge
Marriott Ocean Pointe
Marriott Destination Club Points
Hilton Grand Vacation Club Las Vegas Blvd
Grand Colorado on Peak 8
Spinnaker French Quarter Resort Branson
Having spent countless hours looking over options for using our Grand Chateau week(s) when we're slightly overloaded with timeshare weeks, I've come to the conclusion that the DC is just to expensive for us to use efficiently. I had considered using it to essentially "burn" a couple of weeks and maybe get a couple of tough to get exchanges but, in the final analysis, I just can't validate using points instead of weeks in the Marriott system.
As it stands, to get 1 two bedroom ocean front Jan. unit at Oceana Palm and 1 one bedroom unit either in January or Sept. at Maui Ocean Club, I'd need to give up 2 three bedroom Grand Chateau weeks. OUCH!
Of course I could give up the two Grand Chateau weeks and take a decent selection of slightly off season weeks at Canyon Villa's, Hilton Head, Branson, Newport Coast, Vail and/or Breckenridge but, I can get most of those weeks a lot cheaper with weeks than with points.
Marriott outsmarted themsleves with their points system. They took the opportunity to take away the seasons they originally sold and remake them to what they felt they should be now. They gave owners fewer points for their weeks than it takes to secure a like for like exchange. Now they're sales staff appears to be telling owners that, if they don't buy additional points, they ownerships will be worthless.
I really wanted to like the points program and I really wanted to try to use it. But after looking at it every different way imaginable, it's just to expensive of an option to use and leaves me feeling cold and used by Marriott. I believe I'll stick with Marriott's weeks based system and continue on as before.
Points should add flexability without taking so much in cost. Of the three points based exchange systems we have access to, Marriott's is by far the most expensive to use. I had high hopes for Marriott when they announced there'd be a points based system. After looking very hard at it with our situation, I'm walking away more dissapointed with Marriott than I've ever been before.
As it stands, to get 1 two bedroom ocean front Jan. unit at Oceana Palm and 1 one bedroom unit either in January or Sept. at Maui Ocean Club, I'd need to give up 2 three bedroom Grand Chateau weeks. OUCH!
Of course I could give up the two Grand Chateau weeks and take a decent selection of slightly off season weeks at Canyon Villa's, Hilton Head, Branson, Newport Coast, Vail and/or Breckenridge but, I can get most of those weeks a lot cheaper with weeks than with points.
Marriott outsmarted themsleves with their points system. They took the opportunity to take away the seasons they originally sold and remake them to what they felt they should be now. They gave owners fewer points for their weeks than it takes to secure a like for like exchange. Now they're sales staff appears to be telling owners that, if they don't buy additional points, they ownerships will be worthless.
I really wanted to like the points program and I really wanted to try to use it. But after looking at it every different way imaginable, it's just to expensive of an option to use and leaves me feeling cold and used by Marriott. I believe I'll stick with Marriott's weeks based system and continue on as before.
Points should add flexability without taking so much in cost. Of the three points based exchange systems we have access to, Marriott's is by far the most expensive to use. I had high hopes for Marriott when they announced there'd be a points based system. After looking very hard at it with our situation, I'm walking away more dissapointed with Marriott than I've ever been before.