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Cost effective way to purchase 10,000 points?

Dean

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There is also no reason that the OP has to spring for 10,000 points up front. Why not go out and buy 1,500 for now. Try out the system, maybe rent a little. They said they were closing in on retirement. I take that to mean that they aren't retired yet. They probably don't need 10,000 points out of the gate. That is putting a lot of money on the line for something that may not work as they would expect it to work. It is pretty easy to add points later. In fact, one might be hard pressed to find 10,000 points all at once in a single deal, so there will be multiple closings anyway.
Normally I'd recommend just renting for a year or 2 to try it out instead. The little now and more later for points can be far more risky and expensive than getting what one thinks they need. The reality is that often people actually need more points than they think they do in many cases. But it would work out a lot better than jumping with both fees if one decided it wasn't for them. IMO one needs timeshare experience that's applicable before getting into any timeshare, usually renting or staying with friends/family are good ways to try it out.
 

csalter2

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Marriott Ko Olina
Marriott Aruba Surf Club
Marriott Ocean Pointe
Diamond Resorts Gold
So the upfront cost is about the same as buying 10,000 points resale. I assume you are saving on the maintenance fees. What are your maintenance fees on each one?

Do you have other points to get you to Presidential level or are you the level below?

If you’re referring to my post, in post #31 I shared the maintenance fees difference. I pay over $2000 less in maintenance fees for those two weeks as opposed to maintenance fees for the same amount of DC points.

Yes, I’m at presidential because I already had a week at Ko Olina that I had bought pre-construction.
 

Fasttr

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If you’re referring to my post, in post #31 I shared the maintenance fees difference. I pay over $2000 less in maintenance fees for those two weeks as opposed to maintenance fees for the same amount of DC points.

Yes, I’m at presidential because I already had a week at Ko Olina that I had bought pre-construction.
And that’s the big positive about this approach. Saving a material amount on MF every year is a big plus.
 

warm_weather

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As you see there are lots of options and variations and all will separate you from your money. So the question is how to get the best for the least. IMO for the situation you described, that will be some combination of resale weeks and possibly enrolling with a resale purchase. If I had to have 10K points or more I'd probably find a high end, high points but LOW fee per point resale week or weeks then enroll with a retail WEEK purchase such as Spain, Aruba or St. Kitt's. For me I'm comfortable with the trading option so I'd likely ALSO buy a solid trading week and enroll at the same time. For any reasonable combination of weeks as described, that should get you over 10K points. And done that way the fees will be a solid 2/3 of just having the same number of points plus you'll have other options like II exchanging and using the weeks. so it saves you $2K per year minimum. I'd also suggest you step back and think where you would need to be in 5-7 years and plan on getting yourself there up front. And truthfully you can likely get to Chairman's Club for little more up front with good choices with the plan I outlined. For someone who wanted even more volume there are other ways to get there that might be cheaper per point still but we're talking 2-3 times the number of points.

Thank you for your detailed guidance.

Right now I'm researching the option to buy a couple of resale weeks. Eventually, I will make those weeks points-eligible so we can have the best features of points as well as weeks. I think exchanging might work for us since we have flexible schedule. And when we need to take the grand kids, we may have to use the points as that will be high season.


For me I'm comfortable with the trading option so I'd likely ALSO buy a solid trading week and enroll at the same time. For any reasonable combination of weeks as described, that should get you over 10K points. And done that way the fees will be a solid 2/3 of just having the same number of points plus you'll have other options like II exchanging and using the weeks.
Can you give some recommendations on which ones are worth pursuing assuming one wants to get to Presidential or Chairman? I had no plans to go to Chairman's but if you say it can be had for slightly additional cost then I might look into it.
 

Dean

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Thank you for your detailed guidance.

Right now I'm researching the option to buy a couple of resale weeks. Eventually, I will make those weeks points-eligible so we can have the best features of points as well as weeks. I think exchanging might work for us since we have flexible schedule. And when we need to take the grand kids, we may have to use the points as that will be high season.
First let me say that every situation is different and there are lots of nuances and opinions on these issues. My comments are more meant to help you think and work through the options as they apply in your situation rather than as an absolute guide. Issues that would affect recommendations include how flexible you truly are, how well you can/will plan ahead, unit size needed and any places you might visit routinely,

I think exchanging can work even for the higher demand times if you're flexible and plan ahead. Planning ahead means reserving a top week at your resort, anticipating what you want to trade for and requesting AT LEAST 12-13 months out. Planning ahead includes anticipating what you want (resort, location, unit size, dates) and how difficult it might be to trade which would help you decide whether to deposit a full 2 BR or smaller lock off components. For example, if trying for a 2 BR at HHI for summer or Aruba in Feb and you needed a 2 BR, I'd want a 2 BR to search with on top of the best week possible deposited early. For Orlando, a studio can likely get you most anything all but 3 or 4 weeks of the year possible even a 3 BR.

Can you give some recommendations on which ones are worth pursuing assuming one wants to get to Presidential or Chairman? I had no plans to go to Chairman's but if you say it can be had for slightly additional cost then I might look into it.
Presidential is 10K & Chariman's 15K points. I'm not sure where you are located and that could affect the thoughts but there are lot's of option. I'm going to think through this assuming we are going to enroll later. The ideal purchase(s) in this situation would be one that meets the other criteria (cheap, lock off, lower fees, above average trade power) but also one that's higher in points (esp fees per point) and has a fairly broad range for the Platinum season in case one needs to use the 13 month reservation window with other weeks owned. LV is likely the best choice in this situation either 2 or 3 BR units. So one might buy two 2 BR LV Platinum weeks and a 2 BR Grande Ocean Platinum then enroll with an OV Aruba Ocean Club Platinum week 2BR for maybe $60K all in. That'd be 15175 points and around 41¢ per point fees plus the club dues, II membership, lock off fees, and exchange fees pushing it up to around $7K per year. An alternative for just points but more for 10K points would be to get 1 high point week and try to enroll with an Aruba 1 BR maybe Platinum or Platinum Plus or an Aruba Surf Club Platinum 2 BR.

If one knew they wanted to exchange and to get points, like myself, Willow Ridge might be cheaper and would be less dues but is horrible for points but would count toward level at 1850 points per Platinum week. Grande Vista has the FL Club option which can offer certain advantages. Personally I have weeks I use (or rent if not), weeks I have for points and weeks I exchange and usually don't take points on. My HI weeks I take points and use about half and half but both are EOY anyway. But that's more volume than you're looking at and if one were looking at more like 25-30K points, I think there are other options that might be better for some.

Don't get me wrong, getting to 15K points is going to be more expensive up front and yearly than 10K points but if you plan well up front is doesn't have to be 50% more and either way with the knowledge you're gathering it will be better and cheaper than almost anyone else who gets to the level you end up at. Just spend time looking at where you want to go on repeat tips, decide if you're truly flexible, judge if you can/will plan ahead as discussed and if you can afford it. To me afford it to em means pay cash and no consumer debt but YMMV. If so then just look through the options and play with the thoughts for a few months. Spend some time with the resort list, points they garner and get an idea of the resale prices including up front and fees resale. I do have an Aruba Contact if that is helpful in the future, I get no benefit other than to know that I have trust that he will be straight with you and do what he can to make things work out. Just PM me directly if needed. I also have some pricing info from a couple of months ago for Aruba Surf Club and Ocean Club if you have specific questions related. Keep in mind that the info on the 2 BR Aruba OC on www.vacationpointexchange.com is incorrect, it's actually 4425 for a 2 BR Platinum.

If you don't have timeshare experience, go rent for a trip or 2 and see if you're OK with the compromises and limitations. Don't forget to look at other choices if you haven't like Westin, Wyndham, etc.
 

frank808

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Disney Vacation Club (Aulani,SSR,VGC,VGF) Hilton Grand Vacation Club(Bay Club, Kohala Suites, The District) Marriott Vacation Club (Aruba Surf Club, Grand Residence, Grand Chateau, Grand Vista,Harbour Lake, KoOlina,Willow Ridge & DC points)
I have enrolled weeks twice by purchasing points and 18 months later an Aruba week. If you want a lot of points, that is the way to go. It is cheaper than the annual MF for points as long as you get platinum weeks that convert to points for less than DC points MF. Example is my Willowridge platinum weeks cost more (.74 cents a point) per point than DC points if converted.

If you are wanting to enroll your resale weeks later, I suggest purchasing Marriott Grand Chateau. These units provide the most points in conversion vs price of purchase. You could buy a Maui 3br that converts to 10225 DC points but will cost $40k plus. Or purchase a Grand Chateau 3br for $3500 that converts to 4625 points.

My advice is slow down and learn the system first. Purchase one week to trade or use and see how it goes. I do not remember OP posting that they have stayed in Marriott timeshares and enjoyed it.

My take on resale enrollment is that there will always be one offered. MVC is a publicly traded company and they are beholden to their shareholders. What better way to prop up your balance sheet than to offer enrollmentt of ineligible resale weeks with a direct purchase? Enrollment might not be offered every year (although I belive it has the past decade) but when sales slump, it will be. Just ask any of the TUG members that enrolled during Covid.

You are on the right track, asking questions on TUG. You will get honest answers and probably 250+ years of combined Marriott timeshare experiences.

BTW there are also other timeshare systems. I also own HGVC and DVC points. No one size fits all for timeshares.

I see that Dean has beat me to the punch and posted the same recommendations before me.

Sent from my SM-T290 using Tapatalk
 
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