see no one has answered your question yet
When you are deciding which points system to buy, you dont have to know everything about every one. That would indeed be overwhelming. Following the "buy where you intend to vacation, and buy close to home" advice you will get here on TUG.... Focus on the resorts in each system first. Based on the number and mix of resorts in each system, you should be able to choose a system or two to put at the top of your list. (for me it had to be Wyndham... its the only system with resorts in San Francisco, Washington DC, Florida and New Orleans. All are important to me) Then you get down to the other details
Just know when you compare one of the systems to buying an RCI points resort; Although RCI has the most resorts in their system, RCI also has all those fees, on top of the maintenance fee charged by the resort.
I own 15 weeks, two of which are RCI Points weeks. I own the points for exchange, the other weeks are resorts I like to go to-- I use my day use privilege at nearly all of them.
This may be semantics, but you are not talking about buying where you want to go; you are talking about buying into the SYSTEM that has the type of resort you want to vacation in.
You still own points or arbitrary shares. You espouse the same thing often (as do many Tuggers) that one should buy where they want to go. And, while the system is working well for you, and will likely continue to work for years, don't think you are immune to the powers that be, and their ability to create change that favors new developers, new investment, and new owners. You own the points; they control the system.
I own week 25 at the Carlsbad Inn... nobody can take that away from me. I pay my taxes, I pay my fees, and I have my fixed unit every year.
I own my floating week 30 at Carlsbad Seapointe, and my unit can fluctuate, but my July reservation will remain solid.
You own shares in a system. Systems change... you bought in there for the exchanges that this affords you.
If you don't believe this, take a good look at Marriott owners. Look at their Platinum membership. Take Newport Marriott for example... owners who bought platinum knew they were getting summer weeks, and it was easy to book June, July and August. Today, they've been pushed out by the Platinum Points. It's a long explanation, but Marriott started with straight weeks-- floating. Then it went to platinum-- seasonal ownership with prime booking privileges. Now the favored membership is a Points ownership-- more like owning stock in a corporation. They have steadily buried the platinum season owners, and the resale value of their weeks are reflecting this.
What's my point? Many people espouse the "buy where you want to go" philosophy on TUG. This is a good idea. Most Tuggers also play the system. You might own Wyndham POINTS in places you want to go, but you are also playing with a system-- a system that feels pretty secure to... for the time being.
