Honest Review of Wyndham Club

[Fido Chuckwagon]

THIS makes sense!!! I don't need the 'reserve'--I just want the Presidential Level for some of our stays. Sounds like I will be OK since I will most likely buy/get a WBC deed.

There are a whole mess of WBC deeds on ebay right now from reputable sellers. The key is to look at the seller detailed feedback rating, and make sure that they have positive feedback from previous timeshare sales. If you want to be extra careful you can send the seller an ebay message asking for a copy of the estoppel letter. All the reputable sellers will have one they can send you that will verify the ownership. That said, since WBC deeds are so cheap (you should be able to get it for less than $700 which is closing costs, so really free), you are risking very little money if the deal goes sideways.

I started with a WBC 252,000 point deed as my first one because we wanted to make sure we had that ARP, and then as we got comfortable with the system and saw what was available within 10 months, we started adding on other cheaper maintenance fee contracts. The dues on a 2 bedroom WBC room for a week are still significantly cheaper than the dues at a 2 bedroom DVC room for a week, so it's still a great deal.

Again though, I would plan on buying soon (like within the next week or two) if you want to guarantee that you get 2025 points.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Our smaller fall trips are still planned around 6mos out (for early-November), but that be 'no kids' trip, so 1-bed, and we can be somewhat flexible for that trip.

At Bonnet Creek you likely won't have any problem grabbing a 1 or 2 bedroom deluxe unit in the Fall at the 6 month mark. We just spent Veteran's Day weekend in a 1 bedroom (got surprise upgraded to a 2 bedroom on arrival) that we booked 4 months out.

 

[HitchHiker71]

There are two types of room categories at Bonnet Creek with the words “Presidential” in them. “Presidential” suites, and “Presidential Reserve” Suites. They are extremely similar, to nearly identical. Presidential Reserve Suites are set aside for those who own “Presidential“ contracts at Bonnet Creek in the 10-13 month mark, and are available to everyone at 10 months or less. Regular Presidential units are available to anyone with Bonnet Creek Priority at the 10-13 month mark, and everyone else at the 10 month mark. It doesn’t matter if you own direct or resale for any of this. I would not buy a presidential contract as: 1. They are harder to find, and 2. They dues are more for them, and 3. You won’t have trouble booking presidential units with a regular contract. If you really ant to ensure you have access to those 3 & 4 bedroom presidential units, then buy a Bonnet Creek contract on eBay. I own one and certainly have no regrets.

It's worth noting that all PR rooms don't become available to everyone at the 10 month SRP mark. Wyndham reserves the right to withhold up to 75% (this used to be 50% IIRC - but the current member directory now states up to 75%) of PR rooms until 30 days out to preserve availability for PR owners. This doesn't mean you won't find PR rooms - it simply means that not all available PR inventory is accessible for non-PR owners until the 30 day marker, so as to heighten availability for PR owners subject to availability. Screenshot below from the current member directory for ease of reference. As you said, Presidential suites are indeed available to everyone at the 10 month mark, and to anyone with ARP at BC in the 10-13 month ARP window.

If I have a choice between a PR room and a Presidential room - I always choose the PR room. While all PR benefits are supposed to be tied to the ownership for the reservation holder, IME oftentimes you still get the better room supplies that come with the PR room - better shampoo/conditioner/body wash for example - and sometimes you can get a few of the perks that come with the PR room even though you aren't a PR owner, such as access to cabanas and such - at Rio Mar for example. This isn't supposed to happen - but sometimes the local resort staff will give you these PR perks without the ownership requirement - you just have to ask. We got a cabana for free at Rio Mar while staying in a PR room for example - but we're only VIPG owners. Worth a shot at least, the worst they can say is no when you ask.