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Good Deal on DC Points?

ntipton84

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My wife and I attended a sales presentation yesterday after not having done so for many years. We're owners of four legacy weeks, two of which are enrolled, and have never purchased points before. The salesman pointed out that our two enrolled weeks (a Silver 2-Bedroom Lock-Off at Manor Club and a Gold 3-Bedroom Oceanfront at Ocean Pointe) aren't a great value considering the maintenance fees we pay in return for the Elected Points we receive. In case it matters in the analysis, we never actually stay using our reservations at these resorts. We either opt for Elected Points to travel elsewhere or rent out the weeks when possible just to try and break even on the maintenance fees. Anyway, here are our 2025 maintenance fees and the elected points we get for each:

Ocean Pointe - $3,463.51 for 3,725 Elected Points ($0.93/Elected Point)
Manor Club - $1,865.95 for 1,325 Elected Points ($1.41/Elected Point)

He proposed selling both weeks if possible (or doing a courtesy deed transfer to Marriott before early August when next year's maintenance fee season begins) and purchasing 4,000 DC Points so that we could enroll our other two deeded weeks (both are Platinum Oceanside at Barony Beach Club). I know we'd have 1,050 less DC Points in a straight up comparison, but we'd pick up the ability to convert our other weeks for an additional 9,000 DC Points, which have a very attractive cost per Elected Point. This would take us from the "Select" level to "Presidential" while also saving us $2,070.26 a year in maintenance fees ($3,259.20 for 4,000 DC Points at $0.8148/DC Point vs. $5,329.46 for both weeks combined). The price per DC Point was $14.16 ($56,640 total) and they offered us an incentive of 8,000 bonus DC points. They also said they'd deposit an additional 4,000 DC Points if we finance the purchase and make at least 18 monthly payments.

I'm typically pretty skeptical during these presentations but it doesn't seem like the worst deal they've ever slid across the table. We've always purchased resale and would consider it again if not for the ability to enroll our other two weeks. Are we missing something or not considering something we should? Thanks in advance for the advice/feedback!
 
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Hindsite

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If your aim is to enroll your two platinum weeks, do a load more research as there are usually deals around at the non-US properties, Spain seems to be popular for that and you might get a deal done for less than $40k.

If your aim is to get the Presidential then a resale purchase of club points would cost you around $7/club point including the MVC initiation fee so they count towards status.

I can't quite get my head round the maint fee maths, but saying paying less for less club points ownership that you currently have, seems someone is trying to pull the wool, of course you would!

If you have got the hang of club points and won't miss the opportunity to use your OP and MC weeks via II to get some great exchanges into MVC, Sheraton or Westin, then no loss. If you're going to want to go to one of the MVC, Sheraton or Westin resorts that have better inventory via II, then consider that in your plans. As a rough rule of thumb, for exchanges into shoulder season, you'd need at least 40% more club points than your weeks elect for to book the same unit, date and resort via Abound. Subject to availability and if view type is important to you, II can be a problem for a small number of resorts, due to unit assignment priority.

I can't help but feel there is more analysis to do as salespeople rarely offer the best deal for you off the bat. If they didn't offer you other hybrid deals then that probably means they made the best deal for their commission.
 

TheTimeTraveler

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My wife and I attended a sales presentation yesterday after not having done so for many years. We're owners of four legacy weeks, two of which are enrolled, and have never purchased points before. The salesman pointed out that our two enrolled weeks (a Silver 2-Bedroom Lock-Off at Manor Club and a Gold 3-Bedroom Oceanfront at Ocean Pointe) aren't a great value considering the maintenance fees we pay in return for the Elected Points we receive. In case it matters in the analysis, we never actually stay using our reservations at these resorts. We either opt for Elected Points to travel elsewhere or rent out the weeks when possible just to try and break even on the maintenance fees. Anyway, here are our 2025 maintenance fees and the elected points we get for each:

Ocean Pointe - $3,463.51 for 3,725 Elected Points ($1.08/Elected Point)
Manor Club - $1,865.95 for 1,325 Elected Points ($1.41/Elected Point)

He proposed selling both weeks if possible (or doing a courtesy deed transfer to Marriott before early August when next year's maintenance fee season begins) and purchasing 4,000 DC Points so that we could enroll our other two deeded weeks (both are Platinum Oceanside at Barony Beach Club). I know we'd have 1,050 less DC Points in a straight up comparison, but we'd pick up the ability to convert our other weeks for an additional 9,000 DC Points, which have a very attractive cost per Elected Point. This would take us from the "Select" level to "Presidential" while also saving us $2,070.26 a year in maintenance fees ($3,259.20 for 4,000 DC Points at $0.8148/DC Point vs. $5,329.46 for both weeks combined). The price per DC Point was $14.16 ($56,640 total) and they offered us an incentive of 8,000 bonus DC points. They also said they'd deposit an additional 4,000 DC Points if we finance the purchase and make at least 18 monthly payments.

I'm typically pretty skeptical during these presentations but it doesn't seem like the worst deal they've ever slid across the table. We've always purchased resale and would consider it again if not for the ability to enroll our other two weeks. Are we missing something or not considering something we should? Thanks in advance for the advice/feedback!
.


Do you really want them reaching in your pocket to grab $56,000 ? If you do then do it. Personally I would not do it.

A better option may be to rent points as you really need them. Go to the website below;



www.vacationpointexchange.com



I don't know how old you are, but renting points may be a better alternative to actually owning points.














.
 

dioxide45

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Are your two Barony weeks not eligible for enrollment? You can probably deed back your Ocean Pointe and Manor Club weeks now for free without buying anything. If your Barony weeks are post 2010 resale weeks, then the only benefit to such a deal is the ability to enroll those.
 

Superchief

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I understand your dilemma and why this offer is somewhat appealing to you. Poor and greedy management have caused Ocean Pointe to move from being one of the lower DC cost per point values to one of the worst for Gold and Silver weeks. You likely won't be able to get much for that week or Manor Club on the open market, so your point purchase will be totally out of pocket. You will still be responsible to pay their MF's until you can get rid of them. In my last presentation, I was offered the amount that I originally paid for my OP week to be applied to the purchase price for the points, but the points were at full cost of $17 per point and I would have to buy at least 2000 additional points. Did you discuss whether they would 'buy' your OP or MC weeks?

Since you seldom use those high cost enrolled timeshares, I agree with Dioxide regarding whether the ability to enroll the Barony weeks is worth the investment. The value of the 8000 bonus points is currently about $6400, so your net cost per DC point is about $12.40. You could likely buy resale points plus the junk fees for less, but it would be less hassle to do it through MVC and your Barony weeks wouldn't be enrolled. I haven't checked the resale market recently, but do other TUG members think the sale of this Ocean Pointe week would generate much? If not, I would definitely do the deed back as part of the transaction.
 

ntipton84

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Are your two Barony weeks not eligible for enrollment? You can probably deed back your Ocean Pointe and Manor Club weeks now for free without buying anything. If your Barony weeks are post 2010 resale weeks, then the only benefit to such a deal is the ability to enroll those.
No, both Barony weeks were purchased as resales after 2010.
 

ntipton84

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If your aim is to enroll your two platinum weeks, do a load more research as there are usually deals around at the non-US properties, Spain seems to be popular for that and you might get a deal done for less than $40k.

If your aim is to get the Presidential then a resale purchase of club points would cost you around $7/club point including the MVC initiation fee so they count towards status.

I can't quite get my head round the maint fee maths, but saying paying less for less club points ownership that you currently have, seems someone is trying to pull the wool, of course you would!

If you have got the hang of club points and won't miss the opportunity to use your OP and MC weeks via II to get some great exchanges into MVC, Sheraton or Westin, then no loss. If you're going to want to go to one of the MVC, Sheraton or Westin resorts that have better inventory via II, then consider that in your plans. As a rough rule of thumb, for exchanges into shoulder season, you'd need at least 40% more club points than your weeks elect for to book the same unit, date and resort via Abound. Subject to availability and if view type is important to you, II can be a problem for a small number of resorts, due to unit assignment priority.

I can't help but feel there is more analysis to do as salespeople rarely offer the best deal for you off the bat. If they didn't offer you other hybrid deals then that probably means they made the best deal for their commission.
You're absolutely right that we could save money if we were only trying to achieve one thing (either enrolling deeded weeks or purchasing more DC Points). The interesting thing to me is being able to achieve both at this price. If my math is correct, I think buying direct through MVC as they proposed is cheaper than buying a non-US week to enroll our other two Platinum Barony weeks and then separately buying 4,000 resale DC Points.
 

ntipton84

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I understand your dilemma and why this offer is somewhat appealing to you. Poor and greedy management have caused Ocean Pointe to move from being one of the lower DC cost per point values to one of the worst for Gold and Silver weeks. You likely won't be able to get much for that week or Manor Club on the open market, so your point purchase will be totally out of pocket. You will still be responsible to pay their MF's until you can get rid of them. In my last presentation, I was offered the amount that I originally paid for my OP week to be applied to the purchase price for the points, but the points were at full cost of $17 per point and I would have to buy at least 2000 additional points. Did you discuss whether they would 'buy' your OP or MC weeks?

Since you seldom use those high cost enrolled timeshares, I agree with Dioxide regarding whether the ability to enroll the Barony weeks is worth the investment. The value of the 8000 bonus points is currently about $6400, so your net cost per DC point is about $12.40. You could likely buy resale points plus the junk fees for less, but it would be less hassle to do it through MVC and your Barony weeks wouldn't be enrolled. I haven't checked the resale market recently, but do other TUG members think the sale of this Ocean Pointe week would generate much? If not, I would definitely do the deed back as part of the transaction.
They didn't offer to purchase either of the enrolled weeks. From what I've seen, our Silver Manor Club week is worthless. We'd be lucky to sell it for a dollar on eBay. The asking price for Gold 3-Bedroom weeks at Ocean Pointe seems to be around $7,500. We've got until early August to try and sell it ourselves and pocket the cash. If we're unsuccessful, they'll take back both weeks but we won't receive any credit for them. We'd be relieved from paying next year's maintenance fees though.
 
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Fasttr

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Ocean Pointe - $3,463.51 for 3,725 Elected Points ($1.08/Elected Point)

This calc is not correct. The math is backwards.
 

ntipton84

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Ocean Pointe - $3,463.51 for 3,725 Elected Points ($1.08/Elected Point)

This calc is not correct. The math is backwards.
Oops! Good catch. The correct number is $0.93/Elected Point. Still above the maintenance fee for Trust Points though.
 

Hindsite

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I think buying direct through MVC as they proposed is cheaper than buying a non-US week to enroll our other two Platinum Barony weeks and then separately buying 4,000 resale DC Points.
Yes a hybrid package from MVC could be worth it, but I think they have better offers than what you have been offered.
You can negotiate directly with corporate to refine the deal. It can take a while, but could save over $10k.
 

Superchief

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Oops! Good catch. The correct number is $0.93/Elected Point. Still above the maintenance fee for Trust Points though.
Ocean Pointe MF increases are absurd and will continue to go up. My cost per point for a 2BR silver week has increased from $.61 in 2022 to $.92 in 2025. This increase is far greater than any of my other five MVC resorts. Management fee alone is $265 compared to $180 at Oceana Palms up the street. It is my only resort with over $1000 for reserves, which really drives up MVC's income from management fees.
 

TolmiePeak

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They tried to pull this nonsense on me. I said why on earth would I buy points when maintenance fees are $0.81 per point? I can rent them for $0.75 per point. The conversation ended quickly and we were out of there.
 

dioxide45

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They tried to pull this nonsense on me. I said why on earth would I buy points when maintenance fees are $0.81 per point? I can rent them for $0.75 per point. The conversation ended quickly and we were out of there.
I tend not to use things like this as a counter to a sales offer. The more that points transfers/rentals starts to impact direct sales, the more likely MVC is to just do away with the ability to transfer points.
 

ntipton84

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.


Do you really want them reaching in your pocket to grab $56,000 ? If you do then do it. Personally I would not do it.

A better option may be to rent points as you really need them. Go to the website below;



www.vacationpointexchange.com



I don't know how old you are, but renting points may be a better alternative to actually owning points.














.
We're definitely not excited about shelling out that kind of money, hence my hesitation and this post. But conversely, I also think we're not getting much for the $5,329.46 we currently spend in maintenance fees each year on the two weeks we'd be disposing of. My wife is a teacher and we have two school age children so right now we're limited to traveling during peak seasons at a lot of resorts. And it's hard to go a lot of places with the 5,050 Elected Points we have available. In the past we used Interval a lot when we were more flexible with our travel dates but that's no longer the case.
 

Dean

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Run away, they're just trying to get you to buy and are trying to confuse you with the numbers. You're best bet on the OP weeks and the MC is to use them yourself or exchange them, esp the MC week. If you use the Barony weeks or would rent them out, you gain little from enrolling. If you want to enroll them you can likely do so by buying a week in Spain for under $30K. It won't have great point to fee ratio but should be much better than you have now. You can always pay to have points transferred if that's your goal. Just spend time contemplating how YOU would use the various options then learn how best to proceed in that situation.
 

Hindsite

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In the past we used Interval a lot when we were more flexible with our travel dates but that's no longer the case.
While you're working up a potential deal, give II a go again. Book the highest TDI in your season for the MC and OP weeks and then set up requests for 2026 with a range of dates and resorts, you want to go to and see what pops up in the next 6 months. As they are enrolled, you have an II account and no-fee exchanges to other MVC, Sheraton and Westin and then unlimited retrades to those brands as well, so you don't need to buy e-plus.
My MVC silver week elects for 1,825 club points and regularly exchanges back via II into an MVC week that would cost me 3,950 if I used Abound.
I'd be amazed if you can't get suitable exchanges via II, so many people with lesser ownerships do.
 

ntipton84

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While you're working up a potential deal, give II a go again. Book the highest TDI in your season for the MC and OP weeks and then set up requests for 2026 with a range of dates and resorts, you want to go to and see what pops up in the next 6 months. As they are enrolled, you have an II account and no-fee exchanges to other MVC, Sheraton and Westin and then unlimited retrades to those brands as well, so you don't need to buy e-plus.
My MVC silver week elects for 1,825 club points and regularly exchanges back via II into an MVC week that would cost me 3,950 if I used Abound.
I'd be amazed if you can't get suitable exchanges via II, so many people with lesser ownerships do.
Our travel dates are so restrictive though I'm not sure we can cast a wide enough net to have our request filled. For example, my wife and our children's spring breaks are consecutive weeks so we can only do a Wednesday to Wednesday stay to limit my wife's days off and the amount of school our kids miss. Summers are a little bit easier but that's prime season so we'd be up against a lot of competition for presumably the same desirable weeks.
 

Hindsite

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Our travel dates are so restrictive though I'm not sure we can cast a wide enough net to have our request filled. For example, my wife and our children's spring breaks are consecutive weeks so we can only do a Wednesday to Wednesday stay to limit my wife's days off and the amount of school our kids miss. Summers are a little bit easier but that's prime season so we'd be up against a lot of competition for presumably the same desirable weeks.
Summer is achievable with a request submitted +12 months in advance, but if it just doesn't suit you don't go with it.

Another data point for your enrollment deal investigation is that Sheraton and Westin allow it (they call it retroing) for a spend of $10k for the first week and $5k for a second week. I think I read that someone had tried that with enrolling MVC weeks, but its probably too early to tell if it is realistic, but it does provide a target floor for your negotiations. I don't know the MF/club points for Adventuras flex, or how many club points you could get for the $15k, but you could find that out elsewhere.
 

cubigbird

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Our travel dates are so restrictive though I'm not sure we can cast a wide enough net to have our request filled. For example, my wife and our children's spring breaks are consecutive weeks so we can only do a Wednesday to Wednesday stay to limit my wife's days off and the amount of school our kids miss. Summers are a little bit easier but that's prime season so we'd be up against a lot of competition for presumably the same desirable weeks.
If you have restrictions then you should look for resale weeks and buy where you want to go that fit your restrictions. Points have had inventory availability challenges and are expensive.
 

jbman

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Our travel dates are so restrictive though I'm not sure we can cast a wide enough net to have our request filled. For example, my wife and our children's spring breaks are consecutive weeks so we can only do a Wednesday to Wednesday stay to limit my wife's days off and the amount of school our kids miss. Summers are a little bit easier but that's prime season so we'd be up against a lot of competition for presumably the same desirable weeks.
Sure seems to me that it would be worth trying rather than spending tens of thousands of dollars if you don't need to.

Why not use the points you would get for your Ocean Pointe week for the Wed to Wed Spring break trip and rent additional points if you need to for any given year, then try and trade Manor Club and see what you can get, you might be surprised, especially if you can travel in August.
 
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