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

[edinaiken]

What is the exit strategy?

In considering points vs weeks, I have not seen a discussion of how one gets out of the points program when you want out. I have asked about this in Marriott points presentations and have not gotten any answer except that a method will be put in place in the future.
So here's the question - When I am tired of paying maintenance fees and/or the perceived value of the points is < the maintenance fees, how do I get out??
With my deeded weeks I can sell them (for not much in today's environment!) or if I can't sell, I can walk away, not pay my maintenance fees and let Marriott or the timeshare association foreclose on the property.
What happens with points???? Do you lose all your accumulated DC points if you stop paying maintenance fees? Or can you just walk away as in the deeded week example?

 

[SueDonJ]

In considering points vs weeks, I have not seen a discussion of how one gets out of the points program when you want out. I have asked about this in Marriott points presentations and have not gotten any answer except that a method will be put in place in the future.
So here's the question - When I am tired of paying maintenance fees and/or the perceived value of the points is < the maintenance fees, how do I get out??
With my deeded weeks I can sell them (for not much in today's environment!) or if I can't sell, I can walk away, not pay my maintenance fees and let Marriott or the timeshare association foreclose on the property.
What happens with points???? Do you lose all your accumulated DC points if you stop paying maintenance fees? Or can you just walk away as in the deeded week example?

I'm confused - are you talking about DC Trust Points that you've purchased directly from Marriott, or about the DC Legacy Points that your Week(s) will be allocated if you enroll?

If you're talking about purchased Trust Points, you'll have to re-sell those to get rid of them. Just like with existing Weeks the amount you'll get at that time will be based on then-current supply and demand, but the general consensus here on TUG is that the unknowns of a Trust Points resale market are the major reasons to not purchase them at all. The little bit of information that can be verified about Trust Points resales tells us that the transfer fees are fairly substantial, and that the usage of those Points may be somewhat restricted for the buyer. As time goes on we'll get a better idea once resale transactions are related here, but until then the whole thing seems to be a crapshoot.

But if you're talking about enrolling Weeks and wondering what happens when you want to sell your ownership, it's much more simple. DC enrollment does not materially change the deeds connected to enrolled Weeks; it's simply an overlay-type exchange system in which you can elect on an annual basis to convert your enrolled Weeks to DC Points for use in the DC Exchange Company. Once you've paid the enrollment fee your Weeks will be eligible to convert to DC Points as long as you continue to pay the annual Club Dues fee. During the time period when your Weeks are enrolled and your Club Dues fees are current, you can use your Weeks in all the same ways that you always have in addition to the DC Points-conversion exchange option. When you no longer want your Weeks to be enrolled, simply don't pay the next Club Dues fee and your Weeks will be un-enrolled. Re-enrollment by you will be subject to whatever rules and fees are in effect at that time.

When it comes to selling Weeks which have been enrolled in the DC, what you will be selling is your Week - the DC Enrollment will not transfer to the new owner. Plus, at that point it will be a post-6/20/10 external resale, which means that it will not be eligible for re-enrollment by the new owner.

Again, if we're talking about enrolling Weeks, this thread may help with some of your questions.

 

[CJ2etc]

Question for those who have enrolled. I just enrolled and wanted to check to see what resorts and what weeks are available in inventory but it won't let me. The person I have been chatting with says it will take 2 weeks for my bonus points to show up and I can't see what is in inventory until I have points. My question is if you can't see what is in inventory until you have the points how do you really know if there is anything there that you would prefer over using the weeks that you can reserve? She said you have to exchange the weeks for points first before you can see what is available. My question is how do you know there is something you want to exchange for if you can't see it? Anyone have any experience or advice or am I just missing something?

Thanks
Craig

 

[suzannesimon]

That is my frustration as well. They might get more people converting their weeks to points if they could see if there was any chance of getting what they want.:annoyed:

 

[CJ2etc]

OK, well that is a horrible process then. At least with Interval you can look at what your week could exchange for or request an exchange without actually giving them your week first.

In this case you have to give them your week in the hope that you can find something else you want and if not you then don't have enough points to get your week back or the value of your week back because of the "skimming".

That really sucks.

Does the 800 points they give you as a bonus give you access to see all inventory or just the inventory that is availble for 800 points or less?

 

[SueDonJ]

OK, well that is a horrible process then. At least with Interval you can look at what your week could exchange for or request an exchange without actually giving them your week first.

In this case you have to give them your week in the hope that you can find something else you want and if not you then don't have enough points to get your week back or the value of your week back because of the "skimming".

That really sucks.

Does the 800 points they give you as a bonus give you access to see all inventory or just the inventory that is availble for 800 points or less?

You can only search online with as many Points as you have available, whether they're from converting Week(s) to Points, bonus Points, or Points you've rented from another Member.

However, although it's not nearly as convenient, you can call a VOA anytime to have them do a search for you and you won't have to commit to converting Week(s) unless you want to use DC Points to book what they find available. There's no limit to the number of times you can call.

{eta} There's also a "flexible" search option online where if you have enough Points for one night only, the system will search +/- three days from the date you indicate. So if you have a few points and want to see if an entire week might be available, that's one way to play around before committing an entire Week to Points. Check out this thread and Puck's post #4 in it.

 

[youcanfly]

decided to take the plunge

So, I decided to join DC last week. At first I was like most and was disappionted at the low point value we were given. Really didn't think I would change my mind but, after a presentation at willow ridge and a great phone call with a manager at marriott I decided to give it a go. Surprisingly the call came about on Monday after the BIG II crash. I first spoke with possibly the rudest woman I've ever dealt with and she clearly gave me misinformation. She transfered me to a manager who was aware of the problem. Monica was not only able to ease my concerns about the current situation but, spent another 30 minutes or more discussing the DC plan and answering my questions. My reasons to join are:

1. paid II membership (although I have to pay for upgrade in II)

2. we have only traded Marriott for Marriott and now I can do that for free

3. I will only use it when I want shorter stays, I'm looking at off season or
when a smaller unit will fit our needs.(the youngest graduates in a few
years)

4. if I really use #3 then I could get more travel for my 2/2 at MCP than my
usual week for a week.

It was #4 and made me reconsider my earlier position. Prehaps this is all some kind of ploy to get people like me to travel in the off season but, I'm game. We did Marco island in the off season and besides daily afternoon showers, we had a great stay. We hope to soon be the pround owners of a 2/2 gold at grande vista. (I hate closing, I worry too much) We look forward to the usage of l/o but plan to mainly use this as our week to trade in II since it's not available for DC enrollment. I have been so thankful for all of the information available from such very knowledgable owners. This site was also a big part of helping me to make my decision.

 

[bsohn]

Notes within.. You will be happy in the long run..

So, I decided to join DC last week. At first I was like most and was disappionted at the low point value we were given. Really didn't think I would change my mind but, after a presentation at willow ridge and a great phone call with a manager at marriott I decided to give it a go. Surprisingly the call came about on Monday after the BIG II crash. I first spoke with possibly the rudest woman I've ever dealt with and she clearly gave me misinformation. She transfered me to a manager who was aware of the problem. Monica was not only able to ease my concerns about the current situation but, spent another 30 minutes or more discussing the DC plan and answering my questions. My reasons to join are:

1. paid II membership (although I have to pay for upgrade in II)

I am not sure you are able to upgrade. but I am not sure why you would need to either.

2. we have only traded Marriott for Marriott and now I can do that for free

You can do any Interval trades for free not just Marriott to Marriott

3. I will only use it when I want shorter stays, I'm looking at off season or when a smaller unit will fit our needs.(the youngest graduates in a few years)

Yea it is always good to have the resort Point charts handy as you may find that the week that you wish to stay at your home resort is actually less for the same week through points than just making the reservation. You may also find at times that you cannot get the week as a week reservation but are able to get it via pionts as someone has traded their week.

4. if I really use #3 then I could get more travel for my 2/2 at MCP than my usual week for a week.

Definitely depending on where you go. I can trade my Grand Chateau 3BR week for about 4-5 weeks in a 1BR in Orlando. But that is all Based on the value that is initially given to your home week. Funny thing is that My Parents have a KoOlina Penthouse which 60% of the year I could elect vacation Points and get back into the PH at a lower point value, granted not by much only 50 points or so.

It was #4 and made me reconsider my earlier position. Prehaps this is all some kind of ploy to get people like me to travel in the off season but, I'm game. We did Marco island in the off season and besides daily afternoon showers, we had a great stay. We hope to soon be the pround owners of a 2/2 gold at grande vista. (I hate closing, I worry too much) We look forward to the usage of l/o but plan to mainly use this as our week to trade in II since it's not available for DC enrollment. I have been so thankful for all of the information available from such very knowledgable owners. This site was also a big part of helping me to make my decision.

I have also found that if unexpected things occur in life the Destination points option make things far more flexible. Last year my dad passed away and all of our travel stopped. By having the destination points it made things far easier to retain all ownership as I have been able to rent off points far easier than that of weeks which has allowed us to pay for all the maintenance fees as well as gain a little extra.

Now there is one issue that will creep into things in the future but it will be worse if you are not a destination points owner. Destination points are split into two categories (Enrolled) and (Trust) these are different and not interchangable. Meaning Enrolled points cannot reserve Trust point inventory. That means that any new Marriott property that Marriott takes over or builds will be Trust point based. This means that weeks owners and Enrolled owners will not be able to get into these properties without going through II or owning Trust Points.. This is partially why the Club Dues include II as part of the deal.

Brion

 

[youcanfly]

Now there is one issue that will creep into things in the future but it will be worse if you are not a destination points owner. Destination points are split into two categories (Enrolled) and (Trust) these are different and not interchangable. Meaning Enrolled points cannot reserve Trust point inventory. That means that any new Marriott property that Marriott takes over or builds will be Trust point based. This means that weeks owners and Enrolled owners will not be able to get into these properties without going through II or owning Trust Points.. This is partially why the Club Dues include II as part of the deal.

Thanks for the information on the differences between these two. Everyone I've spoken with through Marriott has given me conflicting information. Don't except to purchase points any time soon but, I will keep my options open. One thing no one ever explained was a 10 month reservation window when booking a short stay. Got a little upset when I realized that I had to wait. I'm accustomed to the one year. Then I considered using my week to trade and using the 800 to and a few extra days and was told I would have to wait 4-6 weeks for my II account to activate. Bummer

 

[bsohn]

Thanks for the information on the differences between these two. Everyone I've spoken with through Marriott has given me conflicting information. Don't except to purchase points any time soon but, I will keep my options open. One thing no one ever explained was a 10 month reservation window when booking a short stay. Got a little upset when I realized that I had to wait. I'm accustomed to the one year. Then I considered using my week to trade and using the 800 to and a few extra days and was told I would have to wait 4-6 weeks for my II account to activate. Bummer

I haven't run into the 10 month window thing YET, so I am not sure how that all works. I can imagine as it really sucks when they do not let you do what you want.. The dates of banking points and conversion and stuff is sort of strange as well, but I get why it is done as Marriott in their organization does have to know how the landscape of inventory will be as far as what will be Weeks, Points, and Reward conversions. I guess you can still use your old interval account but it will not be automatically free.. I was told when I first enrolled that they would reimburse fees if it was done after your effective date in the destination program.. (though I would fully check with your adviser before doing this).

The funny thing about all this is week owners (who bought through marriott) who may eventually by some Trust points will have a HUGE advantage over non enrolled or Trust only owners. The reason is that they will have the ability to choose to use their week, Use Trust Points, Use Enrolled Points, or exchange their units for reward points at their contracted rate.. The Trust Point to Reward point conversion really sucks..

I have so far in my reservations run into one occasion where I tried to make a reservation and it was available using Trust points but not available to Enrolled point owners.

Brion

 

[korndoc]

You can do any Interval trades for free not just Marriott to Marriott

Is this correct? I thought only Marriott to Marriott trades were free, otherwise you have to pay II their fees.

Jeff

 

[SueDonJ]

... You can do any Interval trades for free not just Marriott to Marriott ...

Is this correct? I thought only Marriott to Marriott trades were free, otherwise you have to pay II their fees.

Jeff

It's not correct. If you enroll Week(s) in the DC those annual dues will cover the annual fee for your new/corporate II account as well as any Marriott-to-Marriott exchanges made through that account. The DC dues will not cover II fees if:

- you have a pending exchange request in your old/individual II account at the time of enrollment (the Week deposit will remain in that account for processing);

- you exchange a DC-enrolled Marriott Week through the new/corporate account into a non-Marriott timeshare;

- you include a non-Marriott timeshare in an ongoing request to exchange out of a DC-enrolled Marriott Week, whether or not the ongoing request is ultimately exchanged to a Marriott Week;

- you upgrade your new/corporate II account to Gold or Platinum status, or if you purchase any II extras such as Getaways, AC's, XYZ's, etc.;

- you keep an individual II account in addition to the new/corporate II account (in order to exchange out of non-Marriott timeshares.)

 

[korndoc]

Surprisingly the call came about on Monday after the BIG II crash.

What BIG II crash?
Jeff

 

[youcanfly]

Jeff,
Sorry I've been unavailable for a few days. The II crash I am referring to happened around the end of May. No one at II or Marriott knew what was going on and I was given a lot of false info from a rep at Marriott. It was not until I spoke with a supervisor that I learned that Marriott was working to correct the problem. Simply put, all Marriott deposits vanished from II. (literally ALL) It was very strange and was to close to the June 14th deadline for DC enrollment. This should shed more on what it was like for those few days. http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=171534

 

[m61376]

It's not correct. If you enroll Week(s) in the DC those annual dues will cover the annual fee for your new/corporate II account as well as any Marriott-to-Marriott exchanges made through that account. The DC dues will not cover II fees if:

... if you purchase any II extras such as Getaways, AC's, XYZ's, etc.;

Is it clear that it doesn't cover xyz exchanges? I would have thought those would be included in the extras, but I know some people reported not being charged and exchange fee, although those may just have slipped through the cracks. Anyone know definitively what the policy is for those?

 

[dioxide45]

I think this poll needs a reset given the increase in enrollment fees today. I think also that the last option needs to be scratched. Too many people voted in this option before and couldn't change their vote once they decided and enrolled.

 

[SueDonJ]

I think this poll needs a reset given the increase in enrollment fees today. I think also that the last option needs to be scratched. Too many people voted in this option before and couldn't change their vote once they decided and enrolled.

I agree, and wrote to Brian asking for it. Feel free to expand on the idea, here where Brian may see it.

... Is it possible to lock that first sticky poll down and put up a new one? I would suggest that the question remain the same but the answers be expanded to:
- I own a single developer-direct Week which I have enrolled.
- I own a single developer-direct Week which I have NOT enrolled.
- I own multiple developer-direct Weeks which I have enrolled.
- I own multiple developer-direct Weeks which I have NOT enrolled.
- I own a single external-resale Week which I have enrolled.
- I own a single external-resale Week which I have NOT enrolled.
- I own multiple Weeks including at least one external-resale and have enrolled all of them.
- I own multiple Weeks including at least one external-resale and have NOT enrolled any of them.
- I own multiple Weeks and have enrolled only certain of them. (Please feel free to explain your reasons in this thread.)
- I own Week(s) which were purchased post-6/20/10 and thus are not eligible for enrollment according to Marriott's current rules. If the rules change and they can be enrolled, I will most likely enroll them.
- I own Week(s) which were purchased post-6/20/10 and thus are not eligible for enrollment according to Marriott's current rules. If the rules change and they can be enrolled, I will most likely NOT enroll them. ...

 

[SueDonJ]

Is it clear that it doesn't cover xyz exchanges? I would have thought those would be included in the extras, but I know some people reported not being charged and exchange fee, although those may just have slipped through the cracks. Anyone know definitively what the policy is for those?

Definitively II says that XYZ's should be considered the same as AC's in a DC/corporate account, with the exchange fees for their use NOT covered by the DC annual dues. Like you say, though, some have slipped through the cracks. IMO you can consider yourself lucky if you've not been charged the exchange fees, and you have no basis for fighting for it if you have.

 

[m61376]

Definitively II says that XYZ's should be considered the same as AC's in a DC/corporate account, with the exchange fees for their use NOT covered by the DC annual dues. Like you say, though, some have slipped through the cracks. IMO you can consider yourself lucky if you've not been charged the exchange fees, and you have no basis for fighting for it if you have.

Of course, that makes sense; I just read so many posts about it being covered I was wondering what the official policy really was. I was surprised when I read that some people reported it being covered. My guess is a loophole that will likely be shut closed securely.

 

[Karenann]

We joined the Destination Club enrolling our two timeshares last summer. So far we have not used the Dpoints and have been trading on II. We are happy with our timeshare purchases.

 

[av8tor]

Question about II Membership

So - I have enrolled one of my two weeks at MFC. The other week doesn't qualify since it was an external resale.

The question is with the DC membership, I know that I get II but can I add the other week (the external resale week) into that II account? I currently do not have an II account.

Thanks in advance.

Steve

 

[Apollo30]

Just joined the Marriott Destination Points Program

I was getting concerned about joining the Marriott programme based on some research on the Internet. However most people with a grievance will air this whereas happy customers generally remain quiet. Reading some of the negative comments I concluded that a lot of these people were unrealistic or just a pain in the ass. I decided to join for the following reasons -

As a multi-resort owner with Marriott I attended lots of owners meetings.
The biggest common complaint was that owners with better weeks or better located units had no recognition in the Interval exchange system. The idea with the points system is to make fairer exchanges so Marriott owners can see what their weeks are worth and trade up or down but inside Marriott ands not a third party like II.

Owners depositing their weeks can elect to deposit for points or to deposit with II. Only owners signed up to the points system will see both inventories.

Lastly, one of my weeks was bought third party so could not be traded for Marriott Rewards. I have now got his week into the Marriott destinations programme but I did pay nearly $1500 to do this and this option is closing if not already closed. Rosales now I understand don't allow entry into this new programme. I say new because it has only this week or so opened to European resorts but I hear is has been running for 2 years in the USA.

It looks a great system but like all of these offers satisfaction depends on results which really means availability. Looking forward to hearing about real experiences.

 

[MALC9990]

I enroled my European Weeks

I've waited 2 years for the DC to extend to the European resorts. I've now enroled my 5 weeks - incl. 2 resales. All I need now is to put into practice all the good info that I have read here over the last 2 years.

 

[Docklander]

From what I've seen so far, the most annoying feature of DC is that you can't see availability unless you have the points already banked (at least I can't find a way to do this) - that makes the decision whether or not to convert a week to points a bit more of a lottery.

 

[SueDonJ]

From what I've seen so far, the most annoying feature of DC is that you can't see availability unless you have the points already banked (at least I can't find a way to do this) - that makes the decision whether or not to convert a week to points a bit more of a lottery.

I agree, it is annoying. But you can call in to a VOA as many times as you want to ask them to check for Points availability, and you don't have to convert your Week(s) to Points until/unless they find what you're looking for. Then they'll be able to take care of the conversion and reservation during the same call.

It just hit me this week that when using the online system for booking Week(s) through my-vacationclub.com, you also can't browse the availability calendar unless you have a Week available with which to search. So if you've booked your Week already and want to re-book a different check-in, that also requires a call in to Member Services.

Each online system has its own issues with booking limitations. IMO one isn't any better than the other, we just need to get as used to the Points one as we are with the Weeks one.