Day 2 of Abound purchase - pros and cons of keeping/rescinding

[RebelRedbird]

Howdy all, wife and I attended a presentation in Orlando, FL yesterday and ended up signing a contract for 51,700 VOI ownership points for $21,833 (signing bonus of 103,400 points used within two years.

We mostly went for the tour gift, but the pitch made sense (of course it would, that's the point of a pitch.) Wife and I have a lot of flexibility to travel and the concept intrigued us. We currently travel at least 6 weekends a year to various cities for our daughters dance competitions, and spend at least a week or two in cities like Las Vegas or Branson for national competitions. Our thought was we could invest in the up-front cost now (while we have the disposable income to make a larger purchase) and the maintenance fees (~$1,200 annually) would be similar to the cost we're spending on hotels anyway. Bonus weeks for certain cities where the Abound properties aren't located, saving points for larger trips like Paris, and the flexibility to purchase days (opposed to weeks) for those shorter competition trips.

But of course for such a large purchase my wheels kept spinning today and I found this site. I'm still digging through the lingo and concepts, but I'm hoping to get your opinion on if this package makes sense?

Frankly nervous that while on paper the idea of being able to acquire stays in certain cities as we find out dance schedules should work, we don't have those schedules 13 months ahead of time. Typically 6-8 months. Are we going to be able to actually get bookings we want at that time?

We aren't opposed to paying more than it would to shop point buys or weeks on the secondary market for the convenience of being able to be flexible.....but are we paying A LOT more, and is our idea not practical in reality with the way the system actually works? I have a recession letter written up and have multiple days to mull it over, but we also don't want to cancel simply because I read a few negative reviews of people mad at a website not working properly when it's actually a cool program that people find value in.

Any input, thoughts, suggestions appreciated!

 

[StevenTing]

The time to rescind is now and only buy after you have had a chance to research. The offer to buy will always be available. You’re not missing out.

 

[davidvel]

I'm confused (but admittedly don't understand the AbBound merger etc.). Marriott points (DC/ABound?) Have bee going for well over $10 retail so this should have cost half a million.

 

[jabberwocky]

I'm confused (but admittedly don't understand the AbBound merger etc.). Marriott points (DC/ABound?) Have bee going for well over $10 retail so this should have cost half a million.

From their description I think they bought Vistana Flex which can be elected into Abound.

Vistana doesn’t have resorts in Vegas or Branson, so it might make sense to purchase resale Abound trust points instead of going through the election process.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

Rescind and then do your homework. You can buy again at anytime if you still want to proceed.

Welcome to TUG.



.

 

[dgf15215]

Howdy all, wife and I attended a presentation in Orlando, FL yesterday and ended up signing a contract for 51,700 VOI ownership points for $21,833 (signing bonus of 103,400 points used within two years.

We mostly went for the tour gift, but the pitch made sense (of course it would, that's the point of a pitch.) Wife and I have a lot of flexibility to travel and the concept intrigued us. We currently travel at least 6 weekends a year to various cities for our daughters dance competitions, and spend at least a week or two in cities like Las Vegas or Branson for national competitions. Our thought was we could invest in the up-front cost now (while we have the disposable income to make a larger purchase) and the maintenance fees (~$1,200 annually) would be similar to the cost we're spending on hotels anyway. Bonus weeks for certain cities where the Abound properties aren't located, saving points for larger trips like Paris, and the flexibility to purchase days (opposed to weeks) for those shorter competition trips.

But of course for such a large purchase my wheels kept spinning today and I found this site. I'm still digging through the lingo and concepts, but I'm hoping to get your opinion on if this package makes sense?

Frankly nervous that while on paper the idea of being able to acquire stays in certain cities as we find out dance schedules should work, we don't have those schedules 13 months ahead of time. Typically 6-8 months. Are we going to be able to actually get bookings we want at that time?

We aren't opposed to paying more than it would to shop point buys or weeks on the secondary market for the convenience of being able to be flexible.....but are we paying A LOT more, and is our idea not practical in reality with the way the system actually works? I have a recession letter written up and have multiple days to mull it over, but we also don't want to cancel simply because I read a few negative reviews of people mad at a website not working properly when it's actually a cool program that people find value in.

Any input, thoughts, suggestions appreciated!

I fully agree with Steven, rescind now, and don't be pressured into believing the opportunity won't be available if you choose to go ahead with the offer in the future. I wish I knew this years ago as I might have done it differently, but that's history. We own a fair number of points, have been owners for 25 years or so, and enjoy our ownership. Being in the Chairman's Club has given us countless benefits while traveling that have really enhanced our experience. If I were to do it all over, I would have been taking the advice given here and been the better off for it. Good luck!

 

[rickandcindy23]

I wouldn't want to own that type of points. They are free on ebay.

I would buy (for the same amount of money or even less) a Westin Kierland Villas resale 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom platinum week, 148,000 Mandatory Staroptions. advantagevacation.com had some on his site a few weeks ago, and buying resale means you can sell for about the same price down the road. Flexoptions are not worth anything. I know that's redundant but it's worth repeating.

 

[RebelRedbird]

From their description I think they bought Vistana Flex which can be elected into Abound.

Vistana doesn’t have resorts in Vegas or Branson, so it might make sense to purchase resale Abound trust points instead of going through the election process.

Reading the paperwork closer it says the exchange program is Interval International/Vistana Signature Network. 51,700 Star Options which gets converted into 1509 Marriott Vacation Club Point Elections.

 

[RebelRedbird]

I wouldn't want to own that type of points. They are free on ebay.

I would buy (for the same amount of money or even less) a Westin Kierland Villas resale 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom platinum week, 148,000 Mandatory Staroptions. advantagevacation.com had some on his site a few weeks ago, and buying resale means you can sell for about the same price down the road. Flexoptions are not worth anything. I know that's redundant but it's worth repeating.

So that's part of the question I had. We don't necessarily want to go to the same place every year, which is why the point option seemed to make sense. If I'm following the logic, though, its that once I own this share I can trade it and get other locations?

I know I need to do more research, and I'm not trying to be ungrateful on the advise by asking these questions.

 

[jabberwocky]

Reading the paperwork closer it says the exchange program is Interval International/Vistana Signature Network. 51,700 Star Options which gets converted into 1509 Marriott Vacation Club Point Elections.

Thanks for confirming.

I agree with the others on rescinding the purchase. I think it makes more sense for you to buy 1500 Abound points on the resale market. You can probably pick those up for around $10-11k.

As a point of comparison, you could get around 3000 points for the same price as you paid.

Rescind, do some more research and then make your move. Points will always be there to buy in the future.

We’re a friendly bunch here, so feel free to ask questions!

 

[RebelRedbird]

Thanks for confirming.

I agree with the others on rescinding the purchase. I think it makes more sense for you to buy 1500 Abound points on the resale market. You can probably pick those up for around $10-11k.

As a point of comparison, you could get around 3000 points for the same price as you paid.

Rescind, do some more research and then make your move. Points will always be there to buy in the future.

We’re a friendly bunch here, so feel free to ask questions!

This was an insanely helpful reply, thank you (all) so much. Just didn't understand the ecosystem we were buying into. We really liked the idea/concept of these points, just didn't understand if the "deal" we got was actually a deal. Seems like it isn't and we can do some more research.

Rickandcindy23 above mentioned a whole other angle of just buying a week through that website (which I assume but don't fully understand) can then be leveraged in a similar fashion to purchase weeks at other locations as we need. Seems like this might be a while new hobby/investment to lose myself in researching, but I'll rescind while the rescinding is good.

 

[jabberwocky]

So that's part of the question I had. We don't necessarily want to go to the same place every year, which is why the point option seemed to make sense. If I'm following the logic, though, its that once I own this share I can trade it and get other locations?

I know I need to do more research, and I'm not trying to be ungrateful on the advise by asking these questions.

You can trade it through II, but those are usually just whole single weeks, and 51k Sheraton Flex points won’t get you much.

There is a lot of nuance for a proper answer here, but time isn’t on your side - and I think you’ll be very dissatisfied with what you’ve purchased once you try to use it.

 

[amycurl]

Seems like this might be a while new hobby/investment to lose myself in researching, but I'll rescind while the rescinding is good.

Why do you think we are all here and available to answer questions? LOL! One can always learn more, even if it's just the recipe to boiled pizza.

 

[jwalk03]

You should absolutely rescind. You only have one small window of opportunity to save $21,000!

Rescind now. Then spend some time learning the various systems and see which one is right for you, or maybe none of them are. Not everyone’s travel style works for timeshares.

You mention Vegas and Branson. Vistana has no locations in either. Seems like this is not the right system for you. (Though Vegas and Branson are easy exchanges typically.)

You mentioned traveling to various cities for competitions. Not sure what cities you mean but Wyndham has the most diverse collection of city resorts of any of the timeshare systems. They have many city locations that Marriott and Vistana do not have- Austin, Atlanta, Portland, San Antonio, Nashville, New Orleans.

 

[amycurl]

Marriott has good locations in Branson and Vegas, which is why resale Abound points might work the best, and would be a *little* more straightforward. Wyndham has more locations, yes, but I think that system is bit harder to navigate and there's lots of nickel and diming--housekeeping credits, booking windows, etc. What do they have in common? Websites that don't really work the way they are supposed to.

 

[davidvel]

Reading the paperwork closer it says the exchange program is Interval International/Vistana Signature Network. 51,700 Star Options which gets converted into 1509 Marriott Vacation Club Point Elections.

Rescind. You paid at least double if you want DC points. By the way do you know where, when and in what size unit you could go for a week (for comparison) with 1500 points?

 

[cp73]

I agree with Davidvel, 1509 points won't get you much....Your probably looking at a studio unit, in an off season...Also on the timing you mentioned of 6-8 months in advance...thats pretty tough if you want to go to most resorts in their prime season...If you want a full week you need to make reservations at the first time you have the option to, which is generally 12 months out, otherwise you might be very disappointed. The most popular resorts are pretty much at full capacity every week so weeks available at less than 12 months out can be tough to come by. If your not good at planning a year out you might be very disappointed. Rescind while you can. There are lots of ins and out and lots of unhappy owners. I love my Marriott timeshare, but I am a planner. I already have reservations for Feb 2024 which I made last week.

 

[CPNY]

Reading the paperwork closer it says the exchange program is Interval International/Vistana Signature Network. 51,700 Star Options which gets converted into 1509 Marriott Vacation Club Point Elections.

1500 Marriott resale points will prob cost around $9,000 all in.

I’d absolutely rescind, you grossly overpaid for 51,700 flex options.

 

[TUGBrian]

welcome to TUG, glad you found us in time to rescind and save a fortune!

 

[Dean]

I'll pile on. Rescind and investigate the best SYSTEM and best option for your vacation needs. It might not be the Marriott related system and if it is, a simple retail purchase is extremely unlikely to be your best approach. You need to understand the points system, weeks, exchanging, availability issues as a minimum. Maybe renting privately initially is the way to go. Rushing in to something to get an initial "savings" is almost always more costly in the long run.

 

[RebelRedbird]

Thank you all for the guidance and advice. I have sent our rescission via email and I will mail a copy as well. Time to start exploring from the ground up and see what, if anything, makes the most sense for our needs. Hope to see you all in a future conversation and safe travels!

 

[rrsafety]

Just one other thought, I went through twelve years of dance with my daughter and I can't imagine timeshare points being helpful. Activities kids ae involved in will always be more fluid and dynamic than any timeshare program.

 

[Dean]

Just one other thought, I went through twelve years of dance with my daughter and I can't imagine timeshare points being helpful. Activities kids ae involved in will always be more fluid and dynamic than any timeshare program.

As a product, timeshare points are likely the best option when there are variables. Far more flexible to cancel or make changes than weeks. The question though is whether any timeshare makes sense when there are too many variables and too much uncertainty.

 

[Bill4728]

Look If you go fully MVC points, a minimum number of points is 1500. But 3000 is the number that will get you a nice vacation, at a nice time of year, in a 1-2 bedroom unit. The cost of MVC points resell is about $7 /pt ( $4 /pt and $3 in MVC fees) or $21,000 if you buy direct from MVC it will cost about $17- $18 /pt or $52,000

 

[DanCali]

Look If you go fully MVC points, a minimum number of points is 1500. But 3000 is the number that will get you a nice vacation, at a nice time of year, in a 1-2 bedroom unit. The cost of MVC points resell is about $7 /pt ( $4 /pt and $3 in MVC fees) or $21,000 if you buy direct from MVC it will cost about $17- $18 /pt or $52,000

The selling prices (those actually marked "sold") on Redweek seem to be between $2-$3/point. I even see 2000 points sold for $3000. And those were asking prices.

Perhaps MVC is exercising ROFR on all those sales - I see mixed results on rofr.net. But it's hard to find listings on Redweek marked as "sold" at more than $3/point.