Looking at my first timeshare

[jagsv650]

Hello. New member here and looking to purchase a Wyndham timeshare and have a few questions. I’ve looked for answers to these questions previously posted but am not seeing the answers.

• If I buy 1,000,000 points on the resale market will I get the vip status or do I need to purchase direct from Wyndham to get that?
• I’m looking at an opportunity for a deeded ts at National Harbour with 1,000,000 points. I’m mostly interested in using them in Hawaii. Will it be an issue doing that since they’re deeded in National Harbour? I will almost never actually go there.
• From what I’ve read maintenance fees on deeded properties don’t go up as much as RTU points. Is that true?
• Before purchasing the ts what questions should I be asking?

Thank you,
James

 

[bogey21]

I don't know how many TS Weeks I owned in my lifetime, probably somewhere between 30 and 50. I started out with a pre-construction Marriott Sabal Palms, owned a Monarch Crown Suite along the way and ended up with a Week at Pinecliff Village in Ruidoso, NM. If I were starting out today from scratch, I'd probably rent the good stuff, say a Marriott in Hawaii (or a Wyndham in Las Vegas) from those wanting to rent their unused Week to cover their MFs. If I wanted a Week at one of the smaller HOA Controlled Independent Resorts, I would call the Resort directly and rent it from them. Every HOA Controlled Independent I owned always had Weeks for rent (probably those they had foreclosed on) and would negotiate on price. My rational for doing this is not to tie up a bunch of money, not to be stuck with MFs and not having to jockey around trying to reserve a Week if what you own are Points...

George

 

[steve_solo]

James,
Congratulations on looking into all of this BEFORE purchasing. You are on the right forum.
Answers:
- resale points will not get you to VIP. You can get to VIP a number of ways, buying all from the Developer is the most expensive way.
- You can use NH points in Hawaii or anywhere but you will have to wait until the 10 month mark. Not generally an issue unless it is a holiday or special event.
- Maintenance fees are highly variable. Nat Harbor is low (good). There is a sticky on this forum with many Wyndham M fees.
- ask lots of questions but read the stickies about buying first.

 

[Fredflintstone]

Hello. New member here and looking to purchase a Wyndham timeshare and have a few questions. I’ve looked for answers to these questions previously posted but am not seeing the answers.

• If I buy 1,000,000 points on the resale market will I get the vip status or do I need to purchase direct from Wyndham to get that?
• I’m looking at an opportunity for a deeded ts at National Harbour with 1,000,000 points. I’m mostly interested in using them in Hawaii. Will it be an issue doing that since they’re deeded in National Harbour? I will almost never actually go there.
• From what I’ve read maintenance fees on deeded properties don’t go up as much as RTU points. Is that true?
• Before purchasing the ts what questions should I be asking?

Thank you,
James

Hi James,

I will say on the outset, I rent timeshares. Why?

1. I personally hate locked in contracts. Every contract I have read has a clause stating that the developer/resort reserves the right to change any term(s) at anytime at their sole decretion. So, in theory, what you think you have you may not have in the future.

On the timeshare side, you may or may not pay more MF than rent. To me, the extra I pay SOMETIMES is worth it to avoid a contract. Some argue they make money renting. In my case, I don’t want the hassle and risks of renting.

2. Freedom to choose. With renting, I can scour for deals and let the competitive rental market work to my favour. With timeshares, you are more chained to a system or resort.

3. Cash is King and never expires. Points can expire. Some folks here love the expiry feature because they are “forced” to vacation. I personally do not like to be forced to do anything.

4. Timeshares can be difficult to sell if they end up not working your way.

5. You mentioned you like Hawaii. I do too. With renting, I have rarely not been able to find a place. Yes, it may not be 5 star, but it’s a place when I want and on my terms. With timeshares, Hawaii fills up fast. You may or may not get your desired place or time. You, most times, have to book quite far ahead. With renting, I can book with more spontaneity.

6. The timeshare resorts are beautiful and that’s a plus.

7. On a million points, my guess is your MF could be around 5 k a year. I can rent a lot for 5 k on my terms.

8. Although renting can have added fees (resort fees, cleaning fees), timeshares do too. On top of MF, you may have special assessments, exchange fees, rescue point fees, membership fees, parking fees, etc.

I do respect those who own timeshares. I just have found renting works for me and in my view, I love the freedom of not being beholding to a resort or developer. I choose when I am willing to pay vacation because I want to (versus having to use up points).





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[Eric B]

Hello. New member here and looking to purchase a Wyndham timeshare and have a few questions. I’ve looked for answers to these questions previously posted but am not seeing the answers.

• If I buy 1,000,000 points on the resale market will I get the vip status or do I need to purchase direct from Wyndham to get that?
• I’m looking at an opportunity for a deeded ts at National Harbour with 1,000,000 points. I’m mostly interested in using them in Hawaii. Will it be an issue doing that since they’re deeded in National Harbour? I will almost never actually go there.
• From what I’ve read maintenance fees on deeded properties don’t go up as much as RTU points. Is that true?
• Before purchasing the ts what questions should I be asking?

Thank you,
James

1. As mentioned, resale points generally don't count towards VIP status. Some resellers will tell you they know ways around the rules, but trusting them would come with risk. The only sure way to VIP status with Wyndham is to follow their rules; there are ways to do it that are less expensive than others, of course.

2. There are no issues with using National Harbor points to go to Hawaiian Wyndham resorts. While NH has low costs, there are some Wyndham resorts in HI that cost less to use that sometimes come up as resales. The cost difference resale for them isn't that much when available and there are some minor benefits associated with owning there.

3. As with many generalizations, there is some truthiness to that idea, but only some. CWA isn't really an RTU program, first of all; instead it's a collection of ownership interests in deeded properties. As a result, the fees are similar to a weighted average of the underlying deeds and won't exceed the most expensive of those. Bottom line, if you pick the right deeded properties and don't have bad luck (e.g., hurricanes or earthquakes resulting in special assesments, or other unanticipated expenses driving up MFs), you can do better on MFs than CWA. RTU is a vacation club type of program that has no underlying ownership rights that is different than the Club Wyndham program; you see a lot of RTUs in Mexican resorts, amongst other places, and the MF changes are driven and limited by other considerations.

4. Look through the forum on New to Timesharing to see the sorts of considerations you ought to take into account. Things to think about also include an exit plan. There's also a forum on Hawaiian file-sharing that's worth looking over. As @Fredflintstone mentioned, you might want to try renting first from a few different resorts to see what you like before deciding whether to buy into a specific resort or resort system; there are some besides Wyndham that might suit your needs as well or better that are being given away free.

 

[Fredflintstone]

James,

After learning somewhat about timeshares, buying shares in the company and enjoying the capital gains and dividends versus paying MF have been awesome. I use my dividends to pay for travel.

Here was my thinking. Instead of being a timeshare owner where I have regular cost commitments, why not turn the situation to my true advantage and use the gains and dividends to travel my way?

Currently, I own 2500 k of WYND and I paid 37.61 a share early 2019. The price is around 51 a share now. The last dividend I got as .45 a share in December. Dividends are quarterly.

Now, based on what I said regarding why I rent, turn it to the advantages of investing versus owning a timeshare:

As an investor, I love:

1. Folks being locked into MF via contracts in good times or bad. I can change the program as I see fit to maximize profits.
2. The guarantee of filled, paying condos through timeshare owners. I enjoy extra income through added fees, memberships and charges.
3. The liquidity of the shares. I can sell my position within seconds. I can also call or put them to hedge risk and maximize income.
4. The capital gains I potentially can get and, so far, have gotten.
5. The ability to capitalize on folks returning their timeshare through Ovations and turn their loss into a resale gain. Also, I gain by foreclosed units being sold at nice profits by the company.
6. Having total control over the resort.
7. Taking earnings via dividend and using it for vacations.
8. Oh, and let’s not forget the other streams of income like renting excess inventory.

To me, moving my money from MF to investor just made sense. It’s those funds that help me vacation cheaply. I let my money work for me.

Just my thoughts. So far, it has worked well for me. Just sayin’




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[Jan M.]

For the right price 1M points at National Harbor would be a good thing to own. The maintenance fees there are lower than many other resorts and that is always a good thing. That number of points would get you a nice number of stays.

There is one red flag that I want to point out. Contact the seller and make very sure you know what you would be getting. Are these are Club Wyndham Select, CWS, points or Presidential Reserve, PR, points also known as designated points? With 1M points this might be PR and that might not be what you want. The maintenance fees and program fees are higher for PR points. You can only use the Advance Reservation Priority, ARP, to book PR units which are a lot more points. At 10 months you can use PR points to book the other inventory not just PR.

 

[dagger1]

We have probably stayed in our last Wyndham timeshare in Hawaii. We have yet to see one that could be called a “resort”. They are all basically mid tier apartment complexes with apartment type pools and no AC. We prefer staying in actual resorts: Westin, Hyatt and Marriott. That’s why we bought 2/2 OV’s and OF’s from Marriott and Hyatt (resale only). But we do enjoy the various lower 48 Wyndham’s though. Only four or five of those could be called resorts as well.
Renting would seldom work for us. We always need at least 2 BR units (sometimes 3 and/or 4 BR units).
We bought Hyatt in San Antonio because we wanted the same week/units every year (for an annual family gathering). Renting 4 2BR’s every June would be impossible. We only travel last minute to locations close to us. For our long distance trips we book 10-13 months in advance to get the size units where and when we want. Hoping to get something just isn’t for us. Renting works for many, and is probably a way to see if the resorts meet your expectations. It’s harder to rent the top tier resorts in Hawaii for the annual MF’s than the lower tier “resorts”.

 

[Fredflintstone]

Frankly, the best advice I have read on TUG was:

1. to buy WHERE you mainly want to be. If that’s Hawaii, then buy Hawaii.
2. Always buy resale
3. Get the best resorts like Disney, Marriott, Hyatt
4. Buy platinum
5. Buy at least 2 bedroom
6. If you are beachside, get Ocean front or view

Yes, more expensive but has great resale, is where you truly want to be (just exchange outside of your favourite place/not inside so you have availability) and you will be pleased with your purchase.





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[capital city]

We have probably stayed in our last Wyndham timeshare in Hawaii. We have yet to see one that could be called a “resort”. They are all basically mid tier apartment complexes with apartment type pools and no AC. We prefer staying in actual resorts: Westin, Hyatt and Marriott. That’s why we bought 2/2 OV’s and OF’s from Marriott and Hyatt (resale only). But we do enjoy the various lower 48 Wyndham’s though. Only four or five of those could be called resorts as well.
Renting would seldom work for us. We always need at least 2 BR units (sometimes 3 and/or 4 BR units).
We bought Hyatt in San Antonio because we wanted the same week/units every year (for an annual family gathering). Renting 4 2BR’s every June would be impossible. We only travel last minute to locations close to us. For our long distance trips we book 10-13 months in advance to get the size units where and when we want. Hoping to get something just isn’t for us. Renting works for many, and is probably a way to see if the resorts meet your expectations. It’s harder to rent the top tier resorts in Hawaii for the annual MF’s than the lower tier “resorts”.

Seems a little harsh, only 4 or 5 could be labeled as resorts? Which ones did you like? I'm planning 2 weeks in Hawaii next winter, any advice within Wyndham? Was planning on 5 days at royal sea cliff Kona, 5 days Honolulu Beachwalk, and 5 at shearwater or something along those lines.

 

[CPNY]

Hello. New member here and looking to purchase a Wyndham timeshare and have a few questions. I’ve looked for answers to these questions previously posted but am not seeing the answers.

• If I buy 1,000,000 points on the resale market will I get the vip status or do I need to purchase direct from Wyndham to get that?
• I’m looking at an opportunity for a deeded ts at National Harbour with 1,000,000 points. I’m mostly interested in using them in Hawaii. Will it be an issue doing that since they’re deeded in National Harbour? I will almost never actually go there.
• From what I’ve read maintenance fees on deeded properties don’t go up as much as RTU points. Is that true?
• Before purchasing the ts what questions should I be asking?

Thank you,
James

I’m biased, but look into Vistana (Sheraton/Westin mandatory resorts) or MVC DC Points. Check the locations and resorts you want to go before entering into a system. I prefer vistana

 

[dagger1]

Seems a little harsh, only 4 or 5 could be labeled as resorts? Which ones did you like? I'm planning 2 weeks in Hawaii next winter, any advice within Wyndham? Was planning on 5 days at royal sea cliff Kona, 5 days Honolulu Beachwalk, and 5 at shearwater or something along those lines.

Didn’t mean to be harsh... I would say Bonnet Creek, Clearwater, some of the Destin Wyndham’s would fit my definition of “resort”. We have stayed at Sedona, Flagstaff, Durango, Pagosa Springs, Taos, Austin, both San Antonio locations, the Meadows in Branson, Avenue Plaza (New Orleans), National Harbor and Old Town Alexandria near D.C., Nashville, and Wyndham Shearwater on Kauai. We enjoyed all of them but none were “resorts”. Mid tier apartment/condo complexes and/or hotel like facilities. Most, if not all of the “resorts” in Hawaii have no AC. This is fine sometimes. Other times it can be warm and humid in the units and is very unpleasant.
We have enjoyed staying at all the Wyndham’s and have already booked our entire 2020. But never a Wyndham Hawaii location again. They take a lot of points for what you get. Shearwater had a great ocean view, but few of the others do.

 

[CO skier]

Hello. New member here and looking to purchase a Wyndham timeshare and have a few questions. I’ve looked for answers to these questions previously posted but am not seeing the answers.

• I’m mostly interested in using them in Hawaii.

But never a Wyndham Hawaii location again. They take a lot of points for what you get. Shearwater had a great ocean view, but few of the others do.

I have to agree with dagger1, if you are going to Hawaii, you will want something more than what the Wyndham resorts have to offer.

Definitely seek out resorts with A/C. That business about Trade Winds is baloney.

I would recommend passing on the opportunity for 1M Wyndham points if your goal is Hawaii vacations.

 

[bogey21]

To me, moving my money from MF to investor just made sense. It’s those funds that help me vacation cheaply. I let my money work for me.

Makes sense to me. Wish I had thought of it. Could have bought Marriott Vacation Properties stock when it came out at about $30 per share. I don't know if they pay dividends or not though...

George

 

[jabberwocky]

Makes sense to me. Wish I had thought of it. Could have bought Marriott Vacation Properties stock when it came out at about $30 per share. I don't know if they pay dividends or not though...

They do $0.54/share each quarter. Only yields 1.7% now.

 

[Braindead]

Hello. New member here and looking to purchase a Wyndham timeshare and have a few questions. I’ve looked for answers to these questions previously posted but am not seeing the answers.

• If I buy 1,000,000 points on the resale market will I get the vip status or do I need to purchase direct from Wyndham to get that?
• I’m looking at an opportunity for a deeded ts at National Harbour with 1,000,000 points. I’m mostly interested in using them in Hawaii. Will it be an issue doing that since they’re deeded in National Harbour? I will almost never actually go there.
• From what I’ve read maintenance fees on deeded properties don’t go up as much as RTU points. Is that true?
• Before purchasing the ts what questions should I be asking?

Thank you,
James

We’ve used over 1,000,000 Wyndham points 4 out of the last 5 years for staying at Waikiki. Units have A/C.
Several of the other TS companies listed in this thread do not have a Waikiki TS as far as I know.
So depending on where in Hawaii you plan on staying Wyndham is a good choice. Some other Wyndham Resorts in Hawaii have A/C also.
We’re very happy Wyndham OWNERS but as usual in this forum & reading this thread you wouldn’t know that there’s many out there that do indeed enjoy being an owner in the Wyndham TS system !!

 

[kaljor]

We’re very happy Wyndham OWNERS but as usual in this forum & reading this thread you wouldn’t know that there’s many out there that do indeed enjoy being an owner in the Wyndham TS system !!

I don't see that. I think the reason there are so many helpful posters here is because there are so many happy Wyndham owners wanting to help anyone who has a question. People who want to rent but not own have their reasons, and that fits their lifestyle and their preferences. People who are happy owners don't feel the need to trumpet that, they're here just to answer questions. And there's a TON of stuff to know before buying into any system. They're complicated to understand until you're in it for a while. And to get the best results, you do have to understand the system.

For the record, I'm an extremely happy Wyndham owner. The benefits have been even better than I anticipated.

But I sometimes lurk on the other TUG timeshare forums to try to learn about them, even though I have no intention of buying them. Yet!