Inventory visibility with Club Points

[jeffm211]

We are entirely Vistana owners at the Chairman level. Did an Owners Update today and explained that I have never elected into Abound to get Club Points because I won't do so only to find out there is no availability where and when I want to go to a Marriott property. The pitch was then to buy a minimum amount of Club Points (1,000 @ $17.70/point) so that all inventory would be visible and I could elect & reserve at the same time (either via MVC website or a phone call). Then in response to my inquiry about purchasing resale Club Points instead and paying the $3 Marriott fee, I was told Marriott is buying up all cheap resale points on ROFR so that wouldn't work.

Is there a minimum number of Club Point ownership that would allow full visibility of the "Trust" inventory (eg. 10 or 100 or 500) and not just the Abound inventory? If so, can this minimum be purchased on a resale basis? I sometimes am not using all my options so if I can strategically elect for Club Points, perhaps some other vacation locations can be had instead of banking or converting to Bonvoy Points.

There's a lot of wisdom on this site so thanks in advance for any guidance.

 

[dioxide45]

It's a tale as old as time....

 

[ljmiii]

One of the great things about being a Vistana owner who can convert their StarOptions into Abound Points is that you can call into Vistana, have the CSR look for availability, hold the reservation you want, and only then do the conversion. That way you won't be left with unused Abound Points.

And pretty much everything the salesweasel told you is a lie. There is no 'other' Trust inventory that is invisible to you (so there is no minimum purchase that would give you access to it). However, 1000 points is an effective minimum that you would want to purchase resale because the 'activation' fee you have to pay MVC is $3/point w/a $3000 minimum.

And no, MVC isn't buying all the cheap resales via ROFR...but they are likely to ROFR anything under $3/pt.

 

[DanCali]

Marriott is not buying all the cheap ROFR points and if the offer is to buy direct at $17.70, you can buy resale at $13/pt and still come out ahead... The reality is that some have reported passing ROFR at $2/pt, and you're pretty safe in the $3 range... and if not, just try again at $3.50 with a different seller - no lack of them.

As for availability - I believe you're asking about just seeing general availability (not the stories about Trust points "see different/more stuff" than elected points that is told by salespeople)? As long as you have access to Abound you can check for availability even if you do not have available points to book. You can try that yourself and see - it will look something like this (you can use the filters on the right to filter by unit size and view)

The biggest problem with that might be that you may be trying something that will not last long after the 12-13 month booking window opens, and then you don't have the time to elect points. If I find myself in that same position I just elect the points in advance. As Chairman you can always bank and you get 2 extra years to use them...

There is a tale told by salespeople that Trust points "see more stuff" because they can see their "home resort" availability that is not yet in the exchange system. There is very little empirical evidence for that and, even if true, that is not a reason to buy direct when you can buy them resale at a 65%-70% discount (all-in cost) and get the same outcome.

 

[dioxide45]

Marriott is not buying all the cheap ROFR points and if the offer is to buy direct at $17.70, you can buy resale at $13/pt and still come out ahead... The reality is that some have reported passing ROFR at $2/pt, and you're pretty safe in the $3 range... and if not, just try again at $3.50 with a different seller - no lack of them.

As for availability - I believe you're asking about just seeing general availability (not the stories about Trust points "see different/more stuff" than elected points that is told by salespeople)? As long as you have access to Abound you can check for availability even if you do not have available points to book. You can try that yourself and see - it will look something like this (you can use the filters on the right to filter by unit size and view)

View attachment 107495


The biggest problem with that might be that you may be trying something that will not last long after the 12-13 month booking window opens, and then you don't have the time to elect points. If I find myself in that same position I just elect the points in advance. As Chairman you can always bank and you get 2 extra years to use them...

The confusing part of the calendar is many think that if the date is grayed out, then it isn't available at all. One might look at that and think that a four night stay isn't available to book. That isn't the case. If it is grayed out it just isn't available as a checkin day for the number of days selected for the unit type.