[LOCKED] Is getting VIP status worth by buying developer points?

[ninjared8]

I bought a wyndham timeshare via resale, so I don't have VIP benefits, worldwide access, Travel & Leisure access, rent the points etc.
I attended the owner presentation recently and was asked to buy developer points to become a VIP member. I said no.

Here are some of the points discussed to become a VIP member.

84K points = $16000 ( $ 250 per month)
Additional Maintenance fee to cost = $62

Extra cost per month : $312, ( ~$3744 per year extra)

• Rent that 84K extra points in extravacations and get good money which can offset the extra cost. He showed some rentals for $400-800 per night.
• Some of the maintenance fee can be offset by the wyndham credit card ( 7x points per dollar spending) - Is this true?
• Next year VIP membership is going to require 500k points.
• Book cruises/car rentals/hotels from Travel& leisure access at 50-70% discount. ?
• Ability to book in worldmark resorts

Is it worth getting VIP status by buying developer points for the above benefits.? Thansk in advance

Thanks

 

[Sandy VDH]

NO. But with PICs it might be close to a viable alternative. You would have to have two 3 BR units prime season, PIC allowed contracts, already in your name before you approached Wyndhm.

Only really worth it to become Platinum or Founders, in my Opinion.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Two PIC weeks, 3 bedrooms, would give you 508,000 points. There are plenty of resorts that have low MF's to use for PIC.

I am hoping Wyndham never gets rid of PIC, but they could at any time.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I would want in writing that my resale points would count toward status with any purchase. Just 'cause the salesperson says it's so, that doesn't mean it is. They will say anything to make a sale. Be sure you have that in your contract.

 

[Richelle]

NO. But with PICs it might be close to a viable alternative. You would have to have two 3 BR units prime season, PIC allowed contracts, already in your name before you approached Wyndhm.

Only really worth it to become Platinum or Founders, in my Opinion.

I mostly agree. I personally think Gold is the first tier that has some actual value. Either way, there is no ROI.

I still agree PIC is the way to go. Silver can be had for less then $20k.

 

[Richelle]

I bought a wyndham timeshare via resale, so I don't have VIP benefits, worldwide access, Travel & Leisure access, rent the points etc.
I attended the owner presentation recently and was asked to buy developer points to become a VIP member. I said no.

Here are some of the points discussed to become a VIP member.

84K points = $16000 ( $ 250 per month)
Additional Maintenance fee to cost = $62

Extra cost per month : $312, ( ~$3744 per year extra)

• Rent that 84K extra points in extravacations and get good money which can offset the extra cost. He showed some rentals for $400-800 per night.
• Some of the maintenance fee can be offset by the wyndham credit card ( 7x points per dollar spending) - Is this true?
• Next year VIP membership is going to require 500k points.
• Book cruises/car rentals/hotels from Travel& leisure access at 50-70% discount. ?
• Ability to book in worldmark resorts

Is it worth getting VIP status by buying developer points for the above benefits.? Thansk in advance

Thanks

Do NOT rely on renting. Even if you use their "approved" rental program Extra Holidays, you're unlikely to get enough to cover your maintenace fees on those points. Thats assuming they can rent the entire reservation you gave them. Extra holidays rents out reservations, not points. You can try renting points privately but if Wyndham finds out you're doing it, they will send a nasty gram. If you ignore said nasty gram, they will cancel your guest reservations and guest certificate usage. Not worth renting privately in my opinion.

10,000 Wyndham rewards points gets you a $50 Maintenace fee credit. 100,000 Wyndham rewards points gets you a $500 credit. At 7 points per dollar, you have to spend $14,285 to get a $500 Maintenace fee credit. Now, math was never my strong suit, so maybe someone who is better at math can check my work. Either way, the one thing I do know is, using Wyndham rewards points for Maintenace fee credit yields a poor return. So does converting your Club Wyndham points to maintenace fee dollars.

Since it changed from Fairfield to Wyndam many years ago, they have changed the point level requirements for VIP twice. Once in 2012, and once in 2020. Based on past behavior, I say it's unlikely they will increase the point levels again next year. Neither I nor the salesperson have a crystal ball, but I would bet a paycheck, he is lying through his teeth and has nothing to prove that it will increase next year. Maybe I am wrong, and they will increase next year, but I doubt it. Also, the last time the point levels increased; the salespeople knew about a month prior (maybe less). They have the biggest mouths of the company and would divulge state secrets if it would sell a timeshare. So, Wyndham is not going to tell them this far out that point levels are changing. There are a million reasons to prove he is full of it.

It's "TravelUp", not Travel and Leisure. You are already apart of Travel and Leisure. TravelUp is not that great. I spent quite a bit of time looking at car rental and hotel prices. With the exception of some of the Wyndham branded hotels and chains, Priceline had them beat or were the same. That's including the Platinum discount which is only a few percentage points higher than lower level and non-VIP. I know what the brochure says, but real life does not match the brochure. Cruise prices were not all that great either. I can get the same prices through the cruise operator. Priceline is free to access and doesn't require a massive upfront cost.

The ability to book WorldMark is resorts is true. The caveat being that Club Wyndham owners cannot book WorldMark associate resorts. Resale only owners do not have the option to book WorldMark through Club Pass. There is occasionally some WorldMark inventory in RCI but it's rare. If WorldMark is important to you, I would consider renting from a WorldMark owner or buying a WorldMark resale contract.

With all that said, I am not trying to talk you out of VIP. I am Platinum and have no regrets. I use all my points for my personal use and do not have to rely on renting to offset maintenance fees. If you have to rent to pay for maintenance fees, do not do it. It's risky. There is no guarantee you will rent your reservation in extra holidays. Worse yet, if they only rent a few days of your reservation, you forfeit the points for the remaining days and you do not get paid for them. If you have to finance the purchase, do not do it. That will increase your month cost and the interest rates are stupid high. Hope this helps.

 

[bnoble]

Is it worth getting VIP status by buying developer points for the above benefits.?

In my opinion, no. I wrote this in another thread:

The best way is probably to use PIC Plus (not PIC Express). The short version: you buy two non-Wyndham RCI-affiliated weeks, and then buy some developer Wyndham points. In the process, those two non-Wyndham weeks will count towards your VIP qualification tier. However, even this is going to cost a minimum of about $16K and that only gets you to Silver. Silver VIP is a nice thing, but not something I would value at $16K.

Getting from Silver to Gold will cost another $32K, or about $48K total. IMO, that's definitely not worth it.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I bought a wyndham timeshare via resale, so I don't have VIP benefits, worldwide access, Travel & Leisure access, rent the points etc.
I attended the owner presentation recently and was asked to buy developer points to become a VIP member. I said no.

Here are some of the points discussed to become a VIP member.

84K points = $16000 ( $ 250 per month)
Additional Maintenance fee to cost = $62

Extra cost per month : $312, ( ~$3744 per year extra)

• Rent that 84K extra points in extravacations and get good money which can offset the extra cost. He showed some rentals for $400-800 per night.
• Some of the maintenance fee can be offset by the wyndham credit card ( 7x points per dollar spending) - Is this true?
• Next year VIP membership is going to require 500k points.
• Book cruises/car rentals/hotels from Travel& leisure access at 50-70% discount. ?
• Ability to book in worldmark resorts

Is it worth getting VIP status by buying developer points for the above benefits.? Thansk in advance

Thanks

This math is Hogwash. Renting through extravacations is difficult, you get crap for it, and 84k point isn’t getting you very many nights anywhere to rent anyway. 84k isn’t even close to enough points to get to VIP status, which isn’t worth anywhere near the cost. You did a great job buying Wyndham resale. If you want more Wyndham points, buy more resale! You can rent your resale points out through extraholidays the same as your developer points, but extraholidays is still a terrible deal.

 

[tschwa2]

I bought a wyndham timeshare via resale, so I don't have VIP benefits, worldwide access, Travel & Leisure access, rent the points etc.
I attended the owner presentation recently and was asked to buy developer points to become a VIP member. I said no.

Here are some of the points discussed to become a VIP member.

84K points = $16000 ( $ 250 per month)
Additional Maintenance fee to cost = $62

Extra cost per month : $312, ( ~$3744 per year extra)

• Rent that 84K extra points in extravacations and get good money which can offset the extra cost. He showed some rentals for $400-800 per night.
• Some of the maintenance fee can be offset by the wyndham credit card ( 7x points per dollar spending) - Is this true?
• Next year VIP membership is going to require 500k points.
• Book cruises/car rentals/hotels from Travel& leisure access at 50-70% discount. ?
• Ability to book in worldmark resorts

Is it worth getting VIP status by buying developer points for the above benefits.? Thansk in advance

Thanks

84k isn't going to get you any type of permanant VIP. I think you could do a max of 1 PIC less than a 98k purchase. So spending 16,000 will get you maybe temporary bronze for 2 years with bonus points. You would have 84k that you could use with Worldmark. Travel and Leisure 50-70% discount is similar marketing gobbledy gook as the normal 70% discount with priceline of travelocity. I think you would be lucky to regularly get 2-5% off what you can find on other online travel sites that don't require any type of special membership.

You can rent your resale points the same as you could rent the 84k, you don't need to buy anything special for that.

 

[FunnyFarm]

what is a PIC ?

 

[jasavak]

I dont know what a pic is either. I have 486, 000 whyndam resale points. I would need to buy developer points and the pic to add to over a million to get a VIP ? Do people have luck getting the upgrades and discounts at 60 days out ?

 

[Richelle]

I dont know what a pic is either. I have 486, 000 whyndam resale points. I would need to buy developer points and the pic to add to over a million to get a VIP ? Do people have luck getting the upgrades and discounts at 60 days out ?

VIP starts at 300,000 eligible points. Eligible points are points purchased direct from Wyndham (not resale), bonus points, and PIC points.

PIC is "Personal Interval Choice. It's Wyndham's answer to the question "I already have a timeshare, why should I buy yours". It allows timeshare owners to use their timeshare within Wyndham. If you own a fixed or float week that can be deposited into RCI, it is eligible for PIC Plus. If you own a timeshare anywhere else, it's eligible for PIC Express.

You have to purchase a minimum of 49,000 points per week, to enroll your week in PIC. You are allowed a maximum of two. PIC Express is only good for five years, and you have to buy points to enroll your week and buy more points every five years to renew. PIC Plus is permeant for as long as you own the timeshare week and have an account in good standing with Wyndham. Neither PIC enrollments are transferable to another owner, even family.

A one bedroom will get you 105,000 points that count towards VIP. With PIC Plus, you can use those points for bookings. With PIC express, you cannot. Those points are symbolic. A two bedroom will get you 154,000 points and a three bedroom is 254,000 points.

Ideally, if you go this route, you will want to buy two three bedroom fixed or float weeks that can be deposited into RCI. You can buy those on eBay or on TUG for dirt cheap. Timeshare nation has them for free. You'll want to make sure the Maintenace fees are reasonable. Less than $1k for a three bedroom would be good. You would have to buy 98,000 points which you can get for around $20k. That will give you 606k points that count towards VIP and permanent Silver. Make sure you do your research on PIC before going this route. There is the whole exchange process. Once you do it once or twice, it will be easy. It's just that each resort has their own process on depositing to RCI. If it's a float week, it adds another step of having to book the week first and then depositing. You have to do it nine months before the check in date of the PIC week. I recommend doing it farther out then that in case something goes wrong on Wyndham or RCI's end.


It sounds complicated, but when you consider the fact that you're saving over $50k buy using PIC, the leg work doesn't seem so complicated. I would recommend getting a fixed week at a desirable location over a holiday week. Gold crown resorts are best to. Those are not important as far as PIC is concerned, but having a desirable gold crown resort during a holiday week means higher trading power. You do not always have to exchange your PIC with Wyndham. You could choose to deposit your week and keep the trading power instead. More trading power means more options to book in RCI. If you do not exchange your week, it will still count towards VIP. Hopefully that answers yours and @FunnyFarm question

 

[ninjared8]

Do NOT rely on renting. Even if you use their "approved" rental program Extra Holidays, you're unlikely to get enough to cover your maintenace fees on those points. Thats assuming they can rent the entire reservation you gave them. Extra holidays rents out reservations, not points. You can try renting points privately but if Wyndham finds out you're doing it, they will send a nasty gram. If you ignore said nasty gram, they will cancel your guest reservations and guest certificate usage. Not worth renting privately in my opinion.

10,000 Wyndham rewards points gets you a $50 Maintenace fee credit. 100,000 Wyndham rewards points gets you a $500 credit. At 7 points per dollar, you have to spend $14,285 to get a $500 Maintenace fee credit. Now, math was never my strong suit, so maybe someone who is better at math can check my work. Either way, the one thing I do know is, using Wyndham rewards points for Maintenace fee credit yields a poor return. So does converting your Club Wyndham points to maintenace fee dollars.

Since it changed from Fairfield to Wyndam many years ago, they have changed the point level requirements for VIP twice. Once in 2012, and once in 2020. Based on past behavior, I say it's unlikely they will increase the point levels again next year. Neither I nor the salesperson have a crystal ball, but I would bet a paycheck, he is lying through his teeth and has nothing to prove that it will increase next year. Maybe I am wrong, and they will increase next year, but I doubt it. Also, the last time the point levels increased; the salespeople knew about a month prior (maybe less). They have the biggest mouths of the company and would divulge state secrets if it would sell a timeshare. So, Wyndham is not going to tell them this far out that point levels are changing. There are a million reasons to prove he is full of it.

It's "TravelUp", not Travel and Leisure. You are already apart of Travel and Leisure. TravelUp is not that great. I spent quite a bit of time looking at car rental and hotel prices. With the exception of some of the Wyndham branded hotels and chains, Priceline had them beat or were the same. That's including the Platinum discount which is only a few percentage points higher than lower level and non-VIP. I know what the brochure says, but real life does not match the brochure. Cruise prices were not all that great either. I can get the same prices through the cruise operator. Priceline is free to access and doesn't require a massive upfront cost.

The ability to book WorldMark is resorts is true. The caveat being that Club Wyndham owners cannot book WorldMark associate resorts. Resale only owners do not have the option to book WorldMark through Club Pass. There is occasionally some WorldMark inventory in RCI but it's rare. If WorldMark is important to you, I would consider renting from a WorldMark owner or buying a WorldMark resale contract.

With all that said, I am not trying to talk you out of VIP. I am Platinum and have no regrets. I use all my points for my personal use and do not have to rely on renting to offset maintenance fees. If you have to rent to pay for maintenance fees, do not do it. It's risky. There is no guarantee you will rent your reservation in extra holidays. Worse yet, if they only rent a few days of your reservation, you forfeit the points for the remaining days and you do not get paid for them. If you have to finance the purchase, do not do it. That will increase your month cost and the interest rates are stupid high. Hope this helps.

thank you for sharing your valuable inputs.

 

[Mongoose]

I bought a wyndham timeshare via resale, so I don't have VIP benefits, worldwide access, Travel & Leisure access, rent the points etc.
I attended the owner presentation recently and was asked to buy developer points to become a VIP member. I said no.

Here are some of the points discussed to become a VIP member.

84K points = $16000 ( $ 250 per month)
Additional Maintenance fee to cost = $62

Extra cost per month : $312, ( ~$3744 per year extra)

• Rent that 84K extra points in extravacations and get good money which can offset the extra cost. He showed some rentals for $400-800 per night.
• Some of the maintenance fee can be offset by the wyndham credit card ( 7x points per dollar spending) - Is this true?
• Next year VIP membership is going to require 500k points.
• Book cruises/car rentals/hotels from Travel& leisure access at 50-70% discount. ?
• Ability to book in worldmark resorts

Is it worth getting VIP status by buying developer points for the above benefits.? Thansk in advance

Thanks

Some people swear by it, some people think it’s a gimmick without value. It depends on how much you are bought into Wyndham. I have only purchased resale on the cheap and could care less about elite or VIP status.

 

[ninjared8]

Some people swear by it, some people think it’s a gimmick without value. It depends on how much you are bought into Wyndham. I have only purchased resale on the cheap and could care less about elite or VIP status.

the salesperson showed one Alaska cruise deal costing $267 ( $37 per day per person). it appears too good to be true. He also claimed to be getting cheap car rentals compared to other sites.

 

[Mongoose]

the salesperson showed one Alaska cruise deal costing $267 ( $37 per day per person). it appears too good to be true. He also claimed to be getting cheap car rentals compared to other sites.

Trust me. It’s to good to be true. Was there a fee for all inclusive? The return on ancillary benefits like cruises is awful the majority of time.

 

[jasavak]

VIP starts at 300,000 eligible points. Eligible points are points purchased direct from Wyndham (not resale), bonus points, and PIC points.

PIC is "Personal Interval Choice. It's Wyndham's answer to the question "I already have a timeshare, why should I buy yours". It allows timeshare owners to use their timeshare within Wyndham. If you own a fixed or float week that can be deposited into RCI, it is eligible for PIC Plus. If you own a timeshare anywhere else, it's eligible for PIC Express.

You have to purchase a minimum of 49,000 points per week, to enroll your week in PIC. You are allowed a maximum of two. PIC Express is only good for five years, and you have to buy points to enroll your week and buy more points every five years to renew. PIC Plus is permeant for as long as you own the timeshare week and have an account in good standing with Wyndham. Neither PIC enrollments are transferable to another owner, even family.

A one bedroom will get you 105,000 points that count towards VIP. With PIC Plus, you can use those points for bookings. With PIC express, you cannot. Those points are symbolic. A two bedroom will get you 154,000 points and a three bedroom is 254,000 points.

Ideally, if you go this route, you will want to buy two three bedroom fixed or float weeks that can be deposited into RCI. You can buy those on eBay or on TUG for dirt cheap. Timeshare nation has them for free. You'll want to make sure the Maintenace fees are reasonable. Less than $1k for a three bedroom would be good. You would have to buy 98,000 points which you can get for around $20k. That will give you 606k points that count towards VIP and permanent Silver. Make sure you do your research on PIC before going this route. There is the whole exchange process. Once you do it once or twice, it will be easy. It's just that each resort has their own process on depositing to RCI. If it's a float week, it adds another step of having to book the week first and then depositing. You have to do it nine months before the check in date of the PIC week. I recommend doing it farther out then that in case something goes wrong on Wyndham or RCI's end.


It sounds complicated, but when you consider the fact that you're saving over $50k buy using PIC, the leg work doesn't seem so complicated. I would recommend getting a fixed week at a desirable location over a holiday week. Gold crown resorts are best to. Those are not important as far as PIC is concerned, but having a desirable gold crown resort during a holiday week means higher trading power. You do not always have to exchange your PIC with Wyndham. You could choose to deposit your week and keep the trading power instead. More trading power means more options to book in RCI. If you do not exchange your week, it will still count towards VIP. Hopefully that answers yours and @FunnyFarm question

Thank you for the detailed explanation
Is it possible to buy a 3 bedroom for the 254k points without the VIP ? I really only wanted the VIP for the unit upgrades and bonus points, but 254k points for less than $1000 ,would be great
Is there an exchange fee ?

 

[Mongoose]

Thank you for the detailed explanation
Is it possible to buy a 3 bedroom for the 254k points without the VIP ? I really only wanted the VIP for the unit upgrades and bonus points, but 254k points for less than $1000 ,would be great
Is there an exchange fee ?

Look at ebay. These go every day. Just pick one with low MFs. Exchange fee for what?

 

[paxsarah]

Thank you for the detailed explanation
Is it possible to buy a 3 bedroom for the 254k points without the VIP ? I really only wanted the VIP for the unit upgrades and bonus points, but 254k points for less than $1000 ,would be great
Is there an exchange fee ?

No, but you’ve caught on to one important part of the PIC/retail purchase strategy in terms of ever making it pay off - and that’s ensuring that the points conversion of the PIC week(s) you bring in come in at a very low MF rate. You may never make $20k pay off on VIP silver discounts alone, but you may once you factor in the low MFs over years of use. Except you may not, actually, since you have Canterbury points, which is already about as low as you can go. But someone starting with CWA or a so-so MF rate would see some savings.

 

[jasavak]

No, but you’ve caught on to one important part of the PIC/retail purchase strategy in terms of ever making it pay off - and that’s ensuring that the points conversion of the PIC week(s) you bring in come in at a very low MF rate. You may never make $20k pay off on VIP silver discounts alone, but you may once you factor in the low MFs over years of use. Except you may not, actually, since you have Canterbury points, which is already about as low as you can go. But someone starting with CWA or a so-so MF rate would see some savings.

If i skip the VIP strategy and just add an RCI TS , it would add 254k points without spending $20,000 ? This seems even better than VIP or than finding another Canterbury that I had to pay $2,000 plus another $1000 in fees.

 

[Richelle]

If i skip the VIP strategy and just add an RCI TS , it would add 254k points without spending $20,000 ? This seems even better than VIP or than finding another Canterbury that I had to pay $2,000 plus another $1000 in fees.

You have to buy 49,000 points direct from Wyndham to enroll your PIC week. If you want to just enroll one that's fine, but one three-bedroom PIC and 49,000 points puts you in bronze territory. 49,000 points will be roughly $13k. That number of points gets no discounts, so you're going to pay full rack rate. Not a big deal really.

I have Vacation Villages at Williamsburg and the Maintenace fees on a four bedroom is $915. Factor in the $165 exchange fee, your average point cost is $4.25 per 1,000 points. If you do not exchange, it will still count towards VIP, you just won't have those points to book within Wyndham. If you do not exchange, that will bring your cost down to $3.60 per 1,000 points because you're not paying the $165 exchange fee. There are probably resorts with maintenance fees lower than that.

 

[r4rab]

Resale points do not count towards VIP status and do not receive VIP benefits. So, for purposes of reaching a VIP level, you are starting at 0 points. Only the developer purchased points can have VIP benefits (useable for Club Pass, VIP upgrades, VIP discounts, etc.).

 

[jasavak]

You have to buy 49,000 points direct from Wyndham to enroll your PIC week. If you want to just enroll one that's fine, but one three-bedroom PIC and 49,000 points puts you in bronze territory. 49,000 points will be roughly $13k. That number of points gets no discounts, so you're going to pay full rack rate. Not a big deal really.

I have Vacation Villages at Williamsburg and the Maintenace fees on a four bedroom is $915. Factor in the $165 exchange fee, your average point cost is $4.25 per 1,000 points. If you do not exchange, it will still count towards VIP, you just won't have those points to book within Wyndham. If you do not exchange, that will bring your cost down to $3.60 per 1,000 points because you're not paying the $165 exchange fee. There are probably resorts with maintenance fees lower than that.

Let me see if im getting this
I can spend $13,000 to get 49,000 points and add 254,000 for a few dollats more. My MF would be lets say another $800 for the PIC week plus maybe $400 for the 49k points. This would be around 300k points for $1200 yearly or $4 per thousand ?
If i want another pic week , do i need to purchase more than 49k devoloper points?

 

[rickandcindy23]

I wouldn't buy developer again myself. Extra Holidays, or whatever their rental program is called, is set up to make money for Wyndham, and if your rental doesn't rent, you are out your points and your money.

Wyndham is sold with untruths. When you are sitting across from a Wyndham salesperson, don't picture them with a halo, picture them with a pitchfork and red eyes. You will be sorry you bought later on. Resale is cheap. Buy resale and be happier.

 

[bnoble]

I can spend $13,000 to get 49,000 points and add 254,000 for a few dollats more. My MF would be lets say another $800 for the PIC week plus maybe $400 for the 49k points. This would be around 300k points for $1200 yearly or $4 per thousand ?

The other thing you can do is spend about $1000 give or take for 300K resale points with an annual fee not much larger than that. You have to be patient, but it is doable. It will take you a long time to recoup that $13K in comparison.