Do you plan to or have you enrolled in the new points program?

[dioxide45]

There is nothing that prevents Marriott from raising it to whatever they want since once in, your are a captive with no ability to avoid the fee.

Well, you can avoid the fee by simply not paying it. Then your enrollment in the DC program ends and if you want to get back in you would have to pay a new enrollment fee. That fee would be whatever the fee is at the time you want to re-enroll.

 

[dmharris]

As the deadline approaches before the big price increase I find myself leaning more and more towards joining the points.

I own two weeks, a silver week at Ford's Colony and a platinum three bedroom at Grande Vista. Each year I deposit the silver week with Interval and exchange it for a week in the fall, which I believe is Ford's Colony Platinum season. I have done this successfully for 13 years. This is my annual golf trip.

As the grandchildren get older I find myself using the Orlando week more often than trading it but I do cash it in for points every few years when my point total drops below 500,000.

By enrolling I pay $165 a year which is more than offset by my II dues and the $119 I am spending every year to exchange my Manor Club into the fall. So the question remains is it worth $695. I am leaning toward a yes. Last year I cashed in for points, that cost $119. Most years, unless the whole family is going with me, I lock out my unit ($80) and then, if I am not going to Orlando I exchange the two units separately, more exchange fees. It doesn't seem like it would take too long to recoup the $695.

Am I missing something?

Is Ford's Colony a Marriott property? Do you mean Manor Club? I'm confused as to what you own. If both properties are Marriotts, I would join if you exchange every year. We exchange every year and we own one gold 2 bedroom at Grande Vista that we lock off so we joined to save on fees over time.

 

[kassey22000]

multiweek owner will not join

Glad the program works for some, but a huge RED FLAG for me is how aggressively MVCI is pushing the DC program. The relentless on-hold ads, outbound calls, on & offsite reps insistence that I listen to another sales pitch and the fact the Marriott decided to spin-off the division has me thinking that they are motivated only by profit (not brand or customer loyality) and this program has all the new sales force/marketing focus that pushing weeks-for-sale use to. Seems almost like desperation to me. Good luck folks

 

[dioxide45]

Glad the program works for some, but a huge RED FLAG for me is how aggressively MVCI is pushing the DC program. The relentless on-hold ads, outbound calls, on & offsite reps insistence that I listen to another sales pitch and the fact the Marriott decided to spin-off the division has me thinking that they are motivated only by profit (not brand or customer loyality) and this program has all the new sales force/marketing focus that pushing weeks-for-sale use to. Seems almost like desperation to me. Good luck folks

The push really isn't any different than how they used to push weeks. They are in a sales based business, if they don't sell, there are problems. I don't understand why any of these marketing techniques would be cause for worry about the program in general?

 

[slum808]

they are motivated only by profit (not brand or customer loyality)

Dont let any corporation fool you, it's always about the profit. Those that concentrate on brand or customer loyality only do it becuase it will bring them future profit. A corporation who is not trying to maximise profits is doing an injustice to their investors.

 

[valenta]

I've just done been to a Marriott update because I haven't been to one in about 3 years and I wanted to hear everything about the points program from the horse's mouth (so to speak).

I was struggling with my decision and, as a multi-week owner the points idea was tempting at first but, the more I think about it, the more I think that the points aren't worth it. Yes, there are savings on fees but the $2,000 fee to enroll offsets a lot of those savings unless you lock off a lot.

Also I'm not too impressed with how they've introduced a pseudo new set of "seasons" for those using points. By that I mean that, for example, although the Grand Chateau only has one prime "week" under the old system, they've introduced a whole series of dates that are now "prime" dates where daily points rates are higher than the rates they assign to the week you own. If I exchange my MGC for points I expect to be able to book a week at the MGC, using those points, for any week of the year except New Years...but I can't, I'm now date restricted.

I like the idea of being able to visit resorts for less than a week, especially for places like Vegas and Boston, and to check in on most days of the week...but I'm not convinced these added bonuses make up for the deficiencies above.

So, after consideration and unless someone here points out something I'm missing (quite likely), I don't think I'll be going down the points route.

The fee to enroll is $700 not $2000. It goes up to $2,400 on June 14.

 

[SueDonJ]

The fee to enroll is $700 not $2000. It goes up to $2,400 on June 14.

At the DC inception and through 6/13/12, the cost to enroll depends on how many Weeks are being enrolled and how they were purchased:
- $595 for a single direct-purchased Week,
- $695 for multiple direct-purchased Weeks,
- $1,495 for a single external-resale Week purchased prior to 6/20/10,
- $1,995 for multiple Weeks if any were external resales purchased prior to 6/20/10.

As of 6/14/12 all enrollments will cost $2,395.00. There hasn't been an announced change to the eligibility rules - it appears external resales purchased after 6/20/10 are still not eligible for enrollment. As well, since the DC inception Marriott has not allowed Resales by Marriott to be enrolled, either.

{eta} So, if TUGger Docklander owns and is considering enrollment of multiple Weeks, with at least one being an external resale purchased prior to 6/20/10, then his/her enrollment fee until 6/13/12 is $1,995. For all those in the same situation, the enrollment cost increase on 6/14/12 will "only" be $400. It's much more, of course, for those who purchased direct from Marriott.

 

[suzannesimon]

The fee to enroll is $700 not $2000. It goes up to $2,400 on June 14.

So, what do you suppose the odds are that a Legacy owner would get a great exchange - say Christmas week in St. Thomas exchanged for Christmas week in Aruba using II the old-fashioned way? If it is possible, it certainly is better than converting to points and then dealing with the skim. I bought into the points program, but I don't see myself using it unless I want to go to a lower-point location/season, or to save points on a smaller unit. I certainly don't see myself borrowing points from the following year to get the same size unit in the same season in a comparable resort if I can just exchange into it. Renting would also be a better option.

 

[av8tor]

Torn

I'm a multiple resale owner. One of the weeks does qualify for enrollment, but at $1495. I was initially oppose to enrolling primarily due to the cost and the skim, but the more I think about it, I may just pull the trigger.

 

[Steve A]

Enrolled my four weeks today at the Grand Chateau. Although they are advertising 10,000 Marriott reward points I was offered and accepted 15,000 points. We are big users of reward points and the shows they were offering weren't that exciting. I did not buy an points from them. They kept me the whole 90 minutes. The prices will be going up, according to the salesperson, in the middle of April. I can hardly use the four weeks I have and we are still paying off the last TS purchase.

I will never again buy anything directly from the developer.

 

[tjkahn]

Probably Enrolling

Single week owner at Timber Lodge, platinum ski week. While $595 is nothing to sneeze at, I'm taking the nothing to lose attitude (except, of course, the $595). FWIW, I just got back from a week at Ocean Watch in Myrtle Beach, that I got on a flexchange, and went on the 90-minute presentation. Easiest $75 I ever made - they're really trying to sell you trust points, and once we made it clear that there was nothing that could get us to buy additional points, it was a really easy conversation. We're happy with our home resort, but enrolling, it would seem, could only benefit us and wouldn't really hurt (again, other than the $595). My logic is as follows:

- If I split my unit, which I do somewhat frequently, it costs $80. That would be waived.
- Interval membership is $89/year (les if you pay for multiple years at once). That is covered.

Now, those two items offset my $165 annual fee. Then there are the other “extras:”

- No charge to trade for Marriott points (which I do about every 3 years); saves $120
- No charge for changes made to reservation.
- My unit trades for 4,325 points. Not bad. If I trade for places in, say, Orlando, in some places I could get about 3 years’ worth of units for one points trade (I have young kids so Orlando is always a good option).
- You can trade for cruises – the one thing the salesman did show us live was the cruise site and there was a ton of availability for less than the number of points my unit is worth. I'm not a cruise expert, but it did seem to be a viable option.

I can still trade through interval, so I don’t lose anything. I’m parting with $595, but I do get 800 bonus points that I could use for a long weekend vacation somewhere.

If I don’t do it, and they increase the fee to $2,395 like they promise to, then I may possibly regret it.

What I think is the scam is that they won't show you what Marriott units are open for points deals right now...they claim that's because the on-line system isn't live yet --- but I think that's BS - they're holding back because they don't want you to see that availability is less than they're representing. Interval still has a ton of Marriott availability. If they were taking away Interval trades, I wouldn't do this - but locking in now at $595 is a good safeguard if they do get the enrollment they're shooting for (they claim they'll be at 50% by the price change in June, but I also think that's a line of bull).

So bottom line, I don't believe a thing they say but I'm going to enroll anyway. I have myself confused with that statement.

 

[Muggiev]

We just enrolled 2 developer weeks. Not sure if we'll exchange our weeks for points in the next year or two

 

[dioxide45]

Single week owner at Timber Lodge, platinum ski week. While $595 is nothing to sneeze at, I'm taking the nothing to lose attitude (except, of course, the $595). FWIW, I just got back from a week at Ocean Watch in Myrtle Beach, that I got on a flexchange, and went on the 90-minute presentation. Easiest $75 I ever made - they're really trying to sell you trust points, and once we made it clear that there was nothing that could get us to buy additional points, it was a really easy conversation. We're happy with our home resort, but enrolling, it would seem, could only benefit us and wouldn't really hurt (again, other than the $595). My logic is as follows:

- If I split my unit, which I do somewhat frequently, it costs $80. That would be waived.
- Interval membership is $89/year (les if you pay for multiple years at once). That is covered.

Now, those two items offset my $165 annual fee. Then there are the other “extras:”

- No charge to trade for Marriott points (which I do about every 3 years); saves $120
- No charge for changes made to reservation.
- My unit trades for 4,325 points. Not bad. If I trade for places in, say, Orlando, in some places I could get about 3 years’ worth of units for one points trade (I have young kids so Orlando is always a good option).
- You can trade for cruises – the one thing the salesman did show us live was the cruise site and there was a ton of availability for less than the number of points my unit is worth. I'm not a cruise expert, but it did seem to be a viable option.

I can still trade through interval, so I don’t lose anything. I’m parting with $595, but I do get 800 bonus points that I could use for a long weekend vacation somewhere.

If I don’t do it, and they increase the fee to $2,395 like they promise to, then I may possibly regret it.

What I think is the scam is that they won't show you what Marriott units are open for points deals right now...they claim that's because the on-line system isn't live yet --- but I think that's BS - they're holding back because they don't want you to see that availability is less than they're representing. Interval still has a ton of Marriott availability. If they were taking away Interval trades, I wouldn't do this - but locking in now at $595 is a good safeguard if they do get the enrollment they're shooting for (they claim they'll be at 50% by the price change in June, but I also think that's a line of bull).

So bottom line, I don't believe a thing they say but I'm going to enroll anyway. I have myself confused with that statement.

I would agree that for even the single week developer owner that exchanges somewhat regularly, it makes sense to enroll now before the price increase. $595 is a small price to pay for something that one likely paid tens of thousands of dollars for. With a week that has a high point allocation, it makes even more sense.

The only time it may not make sense is if they own other properties outside of the Marriott system that require them to maintain a separate II account.

 

[JimC]

It appears to me that whether it makes sense or not depends on what you own, how many weeks you own, how you bought the weeks, and how you use the weeks.

Still not convinced it works for us. Our MVCI weeks are an EEY developer, EOY developer and EY resale. We enjoy staying where we own. The annual fee would increase our annual costs, not decrease them. The added flexibility has little value for us.

I am also not confident that the annual fee will work out as a discount to specific fees over the long term. They have priced it well out of the gate. But the same could be said for maintenance fees early on, which over the long term exhibit a declining value relative to alternative options.

This may work for others, but it is not a win for everyone.

 

[Steve A]

How long does it take the new II membership and the 800 points to show up?

Also, because the weeks we have are worth over 8,000 points we are eligible for some kind of special membership. Could someone please explain? I just wanted to get out of the presentation and didn't follow-up on that.

 

[infamazz]

I would agree that for even the single week developer owner that exchanges somewhat regularly, it makes sense to enroll now before the price increase. $595 is a small price to pay for something that one likely paid tens of thousands of dollars for. With a week that has a high point allocation, it makes even more sense.

The only time it may not make sense is if they own other properties outside of the Marriott system that require them to maintain a separate II account.

While it is only 2012, and to wait could potentially cost over $1000 in missing out on the lower enrollment price, I'd like to see the point sheets for the 2014-2015 years to gauge exactly what the expected rate of point "inflation" is likely to be.

If it is relatively tame, with an increase of 1% or less, that may ease some fears. However, if they surprise people with a 5% increase in the amount of points it takes to reserve a particular week, that could leave a lot of people hurting who made a rash decision to jump in because of the lower enrollment cost.

 

[tjkahn]

While it is only 2012, and to wait could potentially cost over $1000 in missing out on the lower enrollment price, I'd like to see the point sheets for the 2014-2015 years to gauge exactly what the expected rate of point "inflation" is likely to be.

If it is relatively tame, with an increase of 1% or less, that may ease some fears. However, if they surprise people with a 5% increase in the amount of points it takes to reserve a particular week, that could leave a lot of people hurting who made a rash decision to jump in because of the lower enrollment cost.

I agree infamazz, but as dioxide points out, don't you almost have to do it considering if you own a developer week you're already 30K (in my case) in the hole? I figure the 800 points, which I'll probably used for a long weekend somewhere, offsets the $595. If you're going to make the best out of a situation, and the price really does quadrouple in 2 months, the downside of not enrolling (i.e. Marriott gets 75% enrollment and II exchanges dwindle significantly) far outweighs the risks of parting with $595. The way I look at it, the $595 is insurance against getting screwed. If the point inflation is severe, you're screwed whether you enrolled or not. Basically Marriott will be saying we don't care about current owners, we're only interested in selling trust points to future owners. That could happen---but are we convinced that the point value allocated to your unit is stagnant? If so, and they do inflate points, your point value will be worthless over time, but there's not much you can do about it anyway.

 

[SueDonJ]

While it is only 2012, and to wait could potentially cost over $1000 in missing out on the lower enrollment price, I'd like to see the point sheets for the 2014-2015 years to gauge exactly what the expected rate of point "inflation" is likely to be.

If it is relatively tame, with an increase of 1% or less, that may ease some fears. However, if they surprise people with a 5% increase in the amount of points it takes to reserve a particular week, that could leave a lot of people hurting who made a rash decision to jump in because of the lower enrollment cost.

It would be nice to have that kind of foreknowledge but we'll never get it.

Remember, enrollment in the DC doesn't mean that you must convert your Week(s) to DC Points; you can still use your Week(s) in the exact same ways that you've been doing. So if the Points Charts do increase to some ridiculous amount, you can still gain the cost-saving benefits of enrollment in the DC if the per-transaction fees of your usage are higher than the DC annual Club Dues. I think there are quite a few Weeks owners who have enrolled simply for the fee structure benefits - they don't ever expect to convert an enrolled Week to Points.

And if the Club Dues increase in the future to some ridiculous amount where there aren't cost savings, then you can simply not pay them which effectively cancels your enrollment.

 

[SueDonJ]

How long does it take the new II membership and the 800 points to show up?

Also, because the weeks we have are worth over 8,000 points we are eligible for some kind of special membership. Could someone please explain? I just wanted to get out of the presentation and didn't follow-up on that.

I'm not sure what the processing time is these days but if you keep an eye on your my-vacationclub.com and II accounts you should see your new account features as soon as they are available.

With 8,000+ DC Points you are at the Premier status level. Here's a handy chart that details the status levels. Remember that if you are using your Weeks in the usual ways, then the same usage rules (Reservation Windows, cancellation policies, etc.) you've always followed will still apply. If you convert Week(s) to Points, then the DC usage rules will apply. IMO, the Premier and Premier Plus discounts for cash stays at the timeshares are pretty valuable benefits, even more valuable if you use your Marriott VISA to book and pay for the stays. (Granted, this benefit is completely worthless for those who don't do timeshare cash stays.)

One note about that chart - the Marriott Rewards exchange benefit on it applies only to purchased Trust Points. It's different for enrolled Weeks.

 

[Steve A]

SDJ: another question. In order to take advantage of the Premier benefits do we have to deposit weeks over 6,000 points? The Grand Chateau week is quite valuable and I was thinking of using it for Hawaii 13 months out particularly a 1-bedroom at KBC. Do I have to deposit more than the MGC to book 13 months in advance?

 

[winger]

SDJ: another question. In order to take advantage of the Premier benefits do we have to deposit weeks over 6,000 points? The Grand Chateau week is quite valuable and I was thinking of using it for Hawaii 13 months out particularly a 1-bedroom at KBC. Do I have to deposit more than the MGC to book 13 months in advance?

No, your status is based on the total points you can convert to points.

 

[dioxide45]

SDJ: another question. In order to take advantage of the Premier benefits do we have to deposit weeks over 6,000 points? The Grand Chateau week is quite valuable and I was thinking of using it for Hawaii 13 months out particularly a 1-bedroom at KBC. Do I have to deposit more than the MGC to book 13 months in advance?

No, your status is based on the total points you can convert to points.

And the number is 6500 points, not 6000.

 

[Quilter]

When the new program was rolled out I had to do a lot of reading on TUG plus the documents at my-vacationclub. Finally called our salesguy in Orlando and he said with the way I used our 7 weeks it was a no brainer. Since he began our relationship by guiding us to the right resort/view and then even cautioned me to reconsider some of our further purchases I listen to his opinion. He's unique. Even though I didn't foresee electing points for all the weeks I enrolled them all for simplicity, options and to save fees. Enrolled the developer and resale weeks for the top enrollment of $1,995. Ouch.

This year I have locked off, exchanged and made more changes than ever before in our 12 years of ownership. Plans just kept changing. So being able to exchange without fees being added and then subtracted as I made requests, then cancelled has been nice. Being able to change without the cha-ching, cha-ching has really been nice.

Remember I said our salesguy cautioned me on some of our purchases? Canyon Villas and especially Manor Club were those impulse purchases. I have repeatedly tried to get someone to make me a deal I can't refuse to get rid of the Manor Club. No dice. However, it hasn't been a total loss. Besides being a good trader, when we bought it came with lots and lots of MR points that we used for some great trips. But it was no good to sell except at a big loss and we don't use it to stay. Now that it's enrolled in the DC it's not great mf/DC point value but it's o.k. Being able to easily elect DC points for a stay at Frenchman's Cove in Jan./Feb.--wonderful!

In March we stayed 2 weeks at Canyon Villas and had a big wake-up call with allergy problems we never dealt with before. Our plans to visit Phoenix on a regular basis has changed. We don't know when or if we'll return. Having the week enrolled in the DC allows me another option. I can exchange, rent or elect points.

Another change that happened this year was our thoughts about changing rooms and view at Ocean Pointe as we own both oceanside and oceanfront. A 1 bd. oceanfront became more desirable than a 2 bd. oceanview. That's an easy fix with the DC. With the leftover points I can reserve a couple nights at another resort.

Options is what the DC is about. They are coming in very handy.

 

[guyravad]

Just found this 'Blog' with a 'marriott destination program membership' search.

Timeshare Talk
Enrolled Club Points vs. Trust Points
Pam Keystone - Tuesday, March 01, 2011

We recently learned that there are 2 pools of inventory that the new Destination Club points can access. The majority of Marriott owners own deeded weeks which can be "elected" for Club Points in any given year. These points can be used to reserve Marriott Vacation Club stays for any number of days that you choose. These "enrolled" Club points can only access the available inventory of resorts and dates that are made available from owners turning their deeded weeks into Club Points. This is known as the Exchange Inventory.

When you purchase Club points these are considered "Trust" Club points and with these points you can only access the Trust Inventory. This is the inventory comprised of unsold weeks, resale weeks and re-acquired weeks. In other words, this is the inventory that Marriott owns, not the owners.

When searching for available resorts for specific dates, you can only search the inventory in which your points can access. The two types of points can not be combined. Marriott Sales Executives have been selling existing owners a minimum of 1,500 points and some owners have opted to do this with the idea that these 1,500 "trust" points can be combined with their deeded week Club points. Not so.

The following example illustrates how exchanging with points works: You have 2,500 points in the bank that you have elected from your deeded weeks. And you have 1,500 Trust points you have purchased. You want to go to Aruba in February and it requires 3,900 points. If the inventory is only in the Trust you don't have enough points to book it. If the inventory is only in the Exchange Inventory, you don't have sufficient points to book it. ONLY if the inventory is in both pools, can you book it. MVCI will use 2,400 points for the first 4 nights from your "enrolled" points and then 1,500 points from your "Trust" points for the last 3 nights.

I don't believe this is how it has been explained by Marriott Sales Executives.

Makes you kind of 'Wonder' doesn't it!!!!!!

.

Great Point. I just discussed with 2 sales reps last week and could not get a definitive answer to this issue. They both did claim that as an enrolled legacy owner who deposits into the exchange pool I would see "all" inventory from both pools. I'd love to run two computers side by side accessing the system- one with a mix of points and one with all trust points and see if it's true. Unfortunately I only have legacy points. Thanks for the info.

 

[guyravad]

Just found this 'Blog' with a 'marriott destination program membership' search.

Timeshare Talk
Enrolled Club Points vs. Trust Points
Pam Keystone - Tuesday, March 01, 2011

We recently learned that there are 2 pools of inventory that the new Destination Club points can access. The majority of Marriott owners own deeded weeks which can be "elected" for Club Points in any given year. These points can be used to reserve Marriott Vacation Club stays for any number of days that you choose. These "enrolled" Club points can only access the available inventory of resorts and dates that are made available from owners turning their deeded weeks into Club Points. This is known as the Exchange Inventory.

When you purchase Club points these are considered "Trust" Club points and with these points you can only access the Trust Inventory. This is the inventory comprised of unsold weeks, resale weeks and re-acquired weeks. In other words, this is the inventory that Marriott owns, not the owners.

When searching for available resorts for specific dates, you can only search the inventory in which your points can access. The two types of points can not be combined. Marriott Sales Executives have been selling existing owners a minimum of 1,500 points and some owners have opted to do this with the idea that these 1,500 "trust" points can be combined with their deeded week Club points. Not so.

The following example illustrates how exchanging with points works: You have 2,500 points in the bank that you have elected from your deeded weeks. And you have 1,500 Trust points you have purchased. You want to go to Aruba in February and it requires 3,900 points. If the inventory is only in the Trust you don't have enough points to book it. If the inventory is only in the Exchange Inventory, you don't have sufficient points to book it. ONLY if the inventory is in both pools, can you book it. MVCI will use 2,400 points for the first 4 nights from your "enrolled" points and then 1,500 points from your "Trust" points for the last 3 nights.

I don't believe this is how it has been explained by Marriott Sales Executives.

Makes you kind of 'Wonder' doesn't it!!!!!!

.

Great Point. I just discussed with 2 sales reps last week and could not get a definitive answer to this issue. They both did claim that as an enrolled legacy owner who deposits into the exchange pool I would see "all" inventory from both pools. I'd love to run two computers side by side accessing the system- one with a mix of points and one with all trust points and see if it's true. Unfortunately I only have legacy points. Thanks for the info.