• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 30 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 30th anniversary: Happy 30th Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $21,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $21 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    60,000+ subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Marriott Trip to New Zealand Using Points

Darlene

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Messages
1,003
Reaction score
6
Points
398
Location
Salt Lake City
Has anyone done a trip to New Zealand using your reward points? Would you share your itinerary? We have a lot of saved up points, and would like to do a big trip. We are also destination club members, but we have never deposited our week for club points. What are your recommendations for a December trip.
 

Steve Fatula

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2017
Messages
3,723
Reaction score
2,718
Points
349
Location
Calera, OK
Hmm, you've confused me though that isn't too hard these days.

"to New Zealand using your reward points", I presume you mean Bonvoy points?

"We are also destination club members, but we have never deposited our week for club points.". So, here, you are speaking of depositing your week for destination club points? Or, depositing it for more Bonvoy points?

There are no MVCI resorts in New Zealand, though there is one near Brisbane Australia which we visited 3 times now. There are a fair number of resorts you could trade into in New Zealand. Just not clear if you are thinking hotels or resorts. And how your destination club membership plays into it.

When we made our last Pacific trip, we made a stop in Fiji on the way to Australia, there is a nice Marriott "hotel" there. We had an over the water bure, points paid. Made the flight a little bit shorter.
 

jmhpsu93

TUG Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
1,764
Reaction score
1,147
Points
274
Location
Maryland, USA
Resorts Owned
MVC Abound Points
MVC Grande Vista (x2)
MVC Cypress Harbour (x2)
MVC Harbour Lake (x2)
Golden Shores (Mexico)
There is also only one Marriott hotel in New Zealand, so I'm thinking using Bonvoy points won't be your best bet for there. Austrailia has a few in the major cities and might be a better bet if you're looking to use those Bonvoy points. Be sure to do 5 days at a time to get the 5th night free.
 

pipet

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2010
Messages
367
Reaction score
8
Points
228
Resorts Owned
Marriott Waiohai, Marriott Shadow Ridge
I’m going to New Zealand in July, and it’s definitely not a Marriott destination. With only one hotel (a Four Points by Sheraton in Auckland, supposedly better than what Four Points typically are here so possibly a decent option especially if you have Plat with suite night upgrades) and no Marriott timeshares, Marriott doesn’t go far. Last time I checked, they don’t even have vacation homes either (although for those you could almost always get a better deal on AirBnB etc or some home owners even have direct booking).

If you only have trust points, I also doubt the trades you could make in II are a good exchange value. Compare your MF cost with what you can pay for outright. The timeshares in New Zealand that I’ve checked out are nice enough but definitely not Marriotts — so I personally wouldn’t want to pay my Marriott MFs but get less. If you have a low cost trader, that is a more cost effective way to use II. If you will get a better value by paying for places outright vs exchanging in II, consider renting your points on the rental site run by a TUGger, vacationpointexchange.com.
 

Jwerking

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2005
Messages
902
Reaction score
59
Points
388
Location
Virginia Beach VA
Resorts Owned
Marriott Barony Beach Club, Marriott Summit Watch, Port of Call (HHI), Mayan Palace
We did a trip to NZ (both islands) about 10 yrs ago in mid - December to January for about 5 weeks. Used several timeshare rentals (getaways) thru II and DAE - which were really cheap and much more reasonable than exchanging. We even rented a timeshare Xmas week in Queenstown and had the most beautiful view of the lake - just magnificent.

If you can travel for long periods, you may want to add a trip to Thailand where there are Marriott timeshares in Bangkok and Phuket. Not necessarily close but in the same hemisphere - so why not?

We did use frequent flyer miles for the flights - so you could use your Bonvoy Points to get a travel package ( do they still exists since combining with Sheraton) to get miles needed and use hotel certificate for another trip. However, award tickets have many more restrictions these days.

Good luck, we loved New Zealand and will return one day!
 

Darlene

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Messages
1,003
Reaction score
6
Points
398
Location
Salt Lake City
Hmm, you've confused me though that isn't too hard these days.

"to New Zealand using your reward points", I presume you mean Bonvoy points?

"We are also destination club members, but we have never deposited our week for club points.". So, here, you are speaking of depositing your week for destination club points? Or, depositing it for more Bonvoy points?

There are no MVCI resorts in New Zealand, though there is one near Brisbane Australia which we visited 3 times now. There are a fair number of resorts you could trade into in New Zealand. Just not clear if you are thinking hotels or resorts. And how your destination club membership plays into it.

When we made our last Pacific trip, we made a stop in Fiji on the way to Australia, there is a nice Marriott "hotel" there. We had an over the water bure, points paid. Made the flight a little bit shorter.
I should have been more specific. We have lots of Bonvoy points, and we are Destination Club members as well. I have not traded our week for points, though. I am trying to decide if it is worth it. I was thinking of using a combination of Bonvoy points and DCP.
 

Darlene

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Messages
1,003
Reaction score
6
Points
398
Location
Salt Lake City
I’m going to New Zealand in July, and it’s definitely not a Marriott destination. With only one hotel (a Four Points by Sheraton in Auckland, supposedly better than what Four Points typically are here so possibly a decent option especially if you have Plat with suite night upgrades) and no Marriott timeshares, Marriott doesn’t go far. Last time I checked, they don’t even have vacation homes either (although for those you could almost always get a better deal on AirBnB etc or some home owners even have direct booking).

If you only have trust points, I also doubt the trades you could make in II are a good exchange value. Compare your MF cost with what you can pay for outright. The timeshares in New Zealand that I’ve checked out are nice enough but definitely not Marriotts — so I personally wouldn’t want to pay my Marriott MFs but get less. If you have a low cost trader, that is a more cost effective way to use II. If you will get a better value by paying for places outright vs exchanging in II, consider renting your points on the rental site run by a TUGger, vacationpointexchange.com.

I have Bonvoy Points, but can trade for Destination Club Points. I did see there is only one Marriott Hotel in Auckland. I was just making sure that I wasn't missing something. We have used Bonvoy points (Marriott Reward points) in the past to go to England. Hubby asked if we could go to NZ using points, and I am confident that the answer is no now.
 

Darlene

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Messages
1,003
Reaction score
6
Points
398
Location
Salt Lake City
I have decided to look at other trip options where I can use the Bonvoy points.
 

Steve Fatula

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2017
Messages
3,723
Reaction score
2,718
Points
349
Location
Calera, OK
You cok;d trade your week into New Zealand, use Bonvoy points for the expensive flight?
 

TheTimeTraveler

TUG Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
5,952
Reaction score
2,858
Points
648
Location
Florida
I have decided to look at other trip options where I can use the Bonvoy points.



As you likely know, Marriott now owns Sheraton and Westin (as well as others), so your options of using Marriott Bonvoy Points (Marriott Reward Points) has greatly expanded.

I like the flexibility of the Bonvoy Points as you can use them with short notice, get five nights for the price of four, and the never expire. There's a lot to be said about them if you know how to utilize them to your advantage!




.
 

bazzap

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
4,423
Reaction score
1,240
Points
399
Location
Cirencester UK
As you likely know, Marriott now owns Sheraton and Westin (as well as others), so your options of using Marriott Bonvoy Points (Marriott Reward Points) has greatly expanded.

I like the flexibility of the Bonvoy Points as you can use them with short notice, get five nights for the price of four, and the never expire. There's a lot to be said about them if you know how to utilize them to your advantage!




.
For just about everyone with normal usage, the Marriott Bonvoy points will not expire.
They did update their Ts & Cs a while back though to
Points Expiration Policy. Members must remain active in the Loyalty Programme to retain Points they accumulate. If a Member Account is inactive for twenty-four (24) consecutive months, that Member Account will forfeit all accumulated Points”
 

Darlene

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Messages
1,003
Reaction score
6
Points
398
Location
Salt Lake City
For just about everyone with normal usage, the Marriott Bonvoy points will not expire.
They did update their Ts & Cs a while back though to
Points Expiration Policy. Members must remain active in the Loyalty Programme to retain Points they accumulate. If a Member Account is inactive for twenty-four (24) consecutive months, that Member Account will forfeit all accumulated Points”
Bonvoy points actually do expire if there is no activity in the account for 2 years.
 
Top