"Important News About Your Payment Options"

[iowaguy09]

Just received an email from "Vistana Management, Inc." on "The Marriott Vacation Clubs" letterhead:

Dear Flex Collection Trust Owners,

Thank you for being part of The Marriott Vacation Clubs® family. As we prepare the 2027 draft budget for Board review and approval, the management company continues working with your Board to identify opportunities to help reduce Association costs while providing convenient payment options for Owners.

Credit card processing expenses are a significant cost for many Associations. Currently, these costs are funded through the Association’s annual budget, which means they are shared by all Owners regardless of the payment method used.

In an effort to reduce Association expenses, the Flex Collection Owners Association, Inc Board has directed the management company to pursue an alternate payment solution, beginning with the 2027 billing cycle. For 2027 and future years, Owners who choose to pay maintenance fees and/or club dues by credit card will be assessed a convenience fee surcharge of up to 3%, except where legally prohibited.

Some jurisdictions, including certain locations outside the United States, may limit or prohibit the use of a surcharge. As a result, the credit card processing expense line item cannot be eliminated entirely, but is expected to be significantly reduced for the Association.

This change better aligns credit card processing expenses with the Owners who choose to use that payment method, while helping reduce the total amount paid through the Association budget. Owners will continue to have flexible payment options. Those who choose to pay by credit card will be redirected to a third-party provider’s secure website to complete their transaction. All other currently accepted payment methods, including electronic check through ACH, debit card, and prepaid card, will remain available without a surcharge.

More information about this change, available payment options, and how the surcharge may apply will be included with the 2027 annual maintenance fee billing materials.

Thank you for your support as we continue to work together to efficiently manage costs for your Association.

Sincerely,
Vistana Management, Inc.

Well, that kind of takes away the "benefit" of using a Marriott branded credit cards to pay maintenance fees. I'll have to see if the 3% fee is worth paying relative to my perceived value of Bonvoy Points. I assume this will apply to MVC owners as well.

Disappointed, but not surprised.

 

[mjm1]

Just received an email from "Vistana Management, Inc." on "The Marriott Vacation Clubs" letterhead:

Dear Flex Collection Trust Owners,

Thank you for being part of The Marriott Vacation Clubs® family. As we prepare the 2027 draft budget for Board review and approval, the management company continues working with your Board to identify opportunities to help reduce Association costs while providing convenient payment options for Owners.

Credit card processing expenses are a significant cost for many Associations. Currently, these costs are funded through the Association’s annual budget, which means they are shared by all Owners regardless of the payment method used.

In an effort to reduce Association expenses, the Flex Collection Owners Association, Inc Board has directed the management company to pursue an alternate payment solution, beginning with the 2027 billing cycle. For 2027 and future years, Owners who choose to pay maintenance fees and/or club dues by credit card will be assessed a convenience fee surcharge of up to 3%, except where legally prohibited.

Some jurisdictions, including certain locations outside the United States, may limit or prohibit the use of a surcharge. As a result, the credit card processing expense line item cannot be eliminated entirely, but is expected to be significantly reduced for the Association.

This change better aligns credit card processing expenses with the Owners who choose to use that payment method, while helping reduce the total amount paid through the Association budget. Owners will continue to have flexible payment options. Those who choose to pay by credit card will be redirected to a third-party provider’s secure website to complete their transaction. All other currently accepted payment methods, including electronic check through ACH, debit card, and prepaid card, will remain available without a surcharge.

More information about this change, available payment options, and how the surcharge may apply will be included with the 2027 annual maintenance fee billing materials.

Thank you for your support as we continue to work together to efficiently manage costs for your Association.

Sincerely,
Vistana Management, Inc.

Well, that kind of takes away the "benefit" of using a Marriott branded credit cards to pay maintenance fees. I'll have to see if the 3% fee is worth paying relative to my perceived value of Bonvoy Points. I assume this will apply to MVC owners as well.

Disappointed, but not surprised.

Not surprised as Hyatt, which is under the Marriott umbrella, implemented that fee one or two years ago. I wonder if the Vistana resorts and Marriott resorts will do the same thing. I would think they would but we will have to wait and see.

 

[DanCali]

I seem to recall that maybe some resorts have credit card fees as a line item on the budget - ie everyone pays them regardless of how you pay the dues. Here’s an old post about it from [mention]dioxide45 [/mention]

HOA fees paid via credit card and charging a "convenience" fee

Hi everyone, Do any of your pay your HOA fees via credit card and get charged a "convenience" fee? I pay lots of different types of taxes via credit card and always get charged a convenience fee, so it does not bother me. But, I'm wondering if this happens for HOA fees and how people...

tugbbs.com

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dioxide45]

We own deeded Vistana weeks and didn't receive an email like this and didn't see anything like this mentioned in the SVV notice of annual meeting agendas. We'll have to wait and see if Marriott does something similar with Abound Trust Points.

This is a disappointing change for holders of Chase and Amex branded credit cards as it certainly takes away from the benefit of using the Marriott branded credit cards for earning Bonvoy points. These fees almost always outweigh the value of the points. I do remember Hyatt Vacation Club (also owned by Marriott Vacations) doing the same thing a couple years ago.

I seem to recall that maybe some resorts have credit card fees as a line item on the budget - ie everyone pays them regardless of how you pay the dues. Here’s an old post about it from [mention]dioxide45 [/mention]

HOA fees paid via credit card and charging a "convenience" fee

Hi everyone, Do any of your pay your HOA fees via credit card and get charged a "convenience" fee? I pay lots of different types of taxes via credit card and always get charged a convenience fee, so it does not bother me. But, I'm wondering if this happens for HOA fees and how people...

tugbbs.com

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That post was related to deeded HOA budgets. I suspect fees the trust pays MFs for is paid via money transfers between Marriott/Vistana and each individual HOA. So, that should reduce credit card fees that individual resort associations have to pay. It was explained once, many years ago, if an owners pays via one of the Marriott branded credit card that the association actually receives a rebate on the credit card merchant fees. I don't know if that was or is still true. If that is the case, that budget line item is there to cover fees by owners who use other types of credit cards.

Credit card fees are a significant cost to the associations, but I wonder what the alternatives cost. I don't know what a "pre-paid card" really is, but ACH payments are very cheap. Do they accept paper checks?

Have any Sheraton Flex owners received a similar email?

 

[YYJMSP]

Well, this move will be severely annoying for owners who live outside the USA...

Credit cards are the simplest most widely accepted way to pay for international purchases. Let the bank deal with the logistics of the foreign currency, which we are already paying for in the exchange and any conversion fees.

I really hope we don't have to start dealing with wire transfers, US-based bank accounts, and such to see if that is cheaper than a 3% surcharge (i suspect it isn't, as we will end up paying for those services in addition to exchange).

This is essentially an additional 3% MF increase...

 

[Hindsite]

This is essentially an additional 3% MF increase...

But thankfully as its not actually on the MF so Sheraton/Westin don't get their 10-15% fee on top.

 

[dioxide45]

Tagging @kozykritter as he owns Sheraton Flex. Looking to see if this is being implemented to those trust owners too.

 

[klpenny]

I have Sheraton Flex and got the email today. It says it would be state specific as there are state laws that may come into conflict.

 

[RebelR]

deleted

 

[dioxide45]

I have Sheraton Flex and got the email today. It says it would be state specific as there are state laws that may come into conflict.

According to Gemini AI, four states ban surcharges on credit card transactions.
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and California

 

[zentraveler]

According to Gemini AI, four states ban surcharges on credit card transactions.
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and California

I live in California and it happens a lot all over the place. At shops they post a sign saying it is not greater than the cost of the transaction (usually 3%). I have figure there must be some kind of loophole about this and a lot of them are small businesses. My hairdresser does this and now offers Venmo as an alternative to paying the 3%.

 

[dioxide45]

I live in California and it happens a lot all over the place. At shops they post a sign saying it is not greater than the cost of the transaction (usually 3%). I have figure there must be some kind of loophole about this and a lot of them are small businesses. My hairdresser does this and now offers Venmo as an alternative to paying the 3%.

Could be. The same AI said something about California and a proper disclosure. It was too much to include here, so I left it out. Perhaps California allows it if disclosed.

Here is the additional info from AI, which pulled it from Square and other sources.
California: Enforces a strict ban on hidden or added surcharges under consumer protection laws.

While several other states previously had total bans, federal court rulings have blocked or limited enforcement in places like New York, Florida, Texas, and California's previous statutes, leading to specific caps or disclosure rules rather than outright bans.

 

[zentraveler]

Could be. The same AI said something about California and a proper disclosure. It was too much to include here, so I left it out. Perhaps California allows it if disclosed.

Here is the additional info from AI, which pulled it from Square and other sources.
California: Enforces a strict ban on hidden or added surcharges under consumer protection laws.

While several other states previously had total bans, federal court rulings have blocked or limited enforcement in places like New York, Florida, Texas, and California's previous statutes, leading to specific caps or disclosure rules rather than outright bans.

I think that is exactly what is happening here; they are disclosing the 3% payment and the fact that it is not over what the law will allow, and of course, we can always pay cash. Some of the small little corner stores make it easy on themselves and just charge $0.75. I can really understand - most all of the shops that do that are mom and pop or small business shops. My hairdresser and her partner (a solo salon with very reasonable fees) started charging when they realized that had spent $40,000 one year on fees.

 

[dioxide45]

I think that is exactly what is happening here; they are disclosing the 3% payment and the fact that it is not over what the law will allow, and of course, we can always pay cash. Some of the small little corner stores make it easy on themselves and just charge $0.75. I can really understand - most all of the shops that do that are mom and pop or small business shops. My hairdresser and her partner (a solo salon with very reasonable fees) started charging when they realized that had spent $40,000 one year on fees.

To some degree it is really just an extra cash grab. How many people pay cash vs. use a credit card. If that hair dresser is getting 95%-100% of payments by card, they really should just raise the price by about 3%. Same with the corner store. Cash also carries more risk with embezzlement, theft or robbery. That doesn't include the additional costs accounting for and handling cash. If the fee doesn't actually change behavior, it is just a way to increase prices without actually increase prices.

 

[gravityrules]

2% back credit cards are common so at least you can recover 2/3 of the skim.

Why are you still charged 3% if you use a debit card? My understanding is the processing cost for a properly coded debit is a small fixed amount (25¢ ?)

 

[dioxide45]

2% back credit cards are common so at least you can recover 2/3 of the skim.

Why are you still charged 3% if you use a debit card? My understanding is the processing cost for a properly coded debit is a small fixed amount (25¢ ?)

You won't be charged to use a debit card. Per the letter.

All other currently accepted payment methods, including electronic check through ACH, debit card, and prepaid card, will remain available without a surcharge.

 

[dioxide45]

Did any Westin Aventuras owners get the same email?

 

[gravityrules]

You won't be charged to use a debit card. Per the letter.

All other currently accepted payment methods, including electronic check through ACH, debit card, and prepaid card, will remain available without a surcharge.

That's good, should have seen that. The letter says only credit card payments are routed to a 3rd party payment processor. My dentist uses a 3rd party payment processor and charges a 3% fee even for a debit card. One of the few places I've actually written a check.

 

[dioxide45]

That's good, should have seen that. The letter says only credit card payments are routed to a 3rd party payment processor. My dentist uses a 3rd party payment processor and charges a 3% fee even for a debit card. One of the few places I've actually written a check.

Perhaps he is using a FinTech company like Square to process transactions and is passing the Square transaction fee on to customers? In that type of case, Square is skimming the extra fees the merchant is paying. Square is being charged the fee for debit card transactions but is charting the merchant their full transaction fee.

 

[cubigbird]

Data point....I just went and prepaid some maintenance fees by credit card and was not charged the 3% fee. So if you prepay some now you can at least avoid it for now.

 

[cubigbird]

Did any Westin Aventuras owners get the same email?

Mexico allows for charging credit card processing fees to customer. We are in Quintana Roo often and water sports operators generally pass on this fee. Some are more than 3% and upwards of 5% so I assume regulation and oversight is fairly lax.

I also believe the corporate location of Aventuras is Florida and not Mexico?....so I assume processing fees would be regulated by Florida?

 

[dioxide45]

Mexico allows for charging credit card processing fees to customer. We are in Quintana Roo often and water sports operators generally pass on this fee. Some are more than 3% and upwards of 5% so I assume regulation and oversight is fairly lax.

I also believe the corporate location of Aventuras is Florida and not Mexico?....so I assume processing fees would be regulated by Florida?

Probably. I am just curious if Westin Aventuras actually got the same email. As an Aventuras owner, did you receive it?

 

[kozykritter]

Tagging @kozykritter as he owns Sheraton Flex. Looking to see if this is being implemented to those trust owners too.

Yep, received it as well. Fortunately for me, I prepaid my 2027 SFlex maintenance fees with my Marriott card earlier this year to get my usage released for use in II so I've dodged the fee for this year at least There's no way I would hand over my banking information or linked debit card info to Marriott or Vistana given the likely event of a data breach at some point with all their disparate systems and such.

 

[Heddp]

I did get this email as well. If this is only for Vistana I feel like this is part of a long term ploy to get people to convert to Abound points saying you won't ever have to pay a credit card fee with our main product. As with everyone it's annoying to pay this fee because mathematically it still may make sense depending on what you book with the Bonvoy points because they are if you pay $30 to each $1000 paid, you get 6000 bonvoy points which is valued at roughly $47 dollars. That still "makes sense" if you book at that value or better but with the fees of these credit cards the free night can be in theory worth the high fee but thats only if you normally stay in a st regis/ritz type of room everywhere you go. We would never book the super expensive hotel rooms and only stay in them with the free certificate.

So breaking it down - if you use the Bonvoy Brilliant thats $650 a year. You get an 85k certificate. You can earn another one at 85k value at 60k spending. So you can stay in a 1000 a night hotel room for 2 nights if you do this so that's $2000 of "value" of perks if you spend 60k a year. So subtract the 650 thats $1350. Would I ever book a $1000 a night hotel otherwise? Never but I guess thats a nice perk.

Then the bonvoy points you earn at 60k spending is maybe 100k-200k on average a year depending on what purchase with it. Some may get more if you really focus on maximizing the multiplier. So thats 3 nights in a $200-300 a night hotel.

The other perks are nice, but my other card has better total perks. Not sure it's worth it unless you want the Platinum Status. Maybe the Bevy card makes more sense at $350.

How does everyone else look at the value now that there is this fee? I'd love your breakdown too!

 

[claraj]

Do prepaid Marriott gift cards work for maintenance fees

**Update - Google says no.