New purchase [Merged]

[Zfrederick]

Hello everyone, I’m looking a purchasing a time share with Marriott. I have an opportunity to purchase either points or a set week in St Kitts. The week in St Kitts seems like the better deal. It’s 1 week in peak season that I can convert to points each year if I choose. It would convert to 4025 points and the week would cost me $35,000... plus a sign up bonus of 6200 points this year and additional 4000 bonus points next year. Is this a decent deal?

 

[NiteMaire]

The overwhelming feedback from tuggers is to buy resale. If you want St Kitts, you can buy a 2BR floating high season on redweek for $2K. Are DP and 10.2K bonus points worth $33K? Not to me.

I bought my MGC resale and have been very pleased with my ability to trade it. I see plenty of St Kitts weeks available (may not be the exact week you want).

 

[bluehende]

Some more knowledgeable about Marriott specifically can get into the details, but in general there are very few good deals from the developer. 35k is a lot of money and usually timeshares can be bought pennies on the dollar on the resale market, If you can rescind immediately. If you determine this is too good of a deal to resist it will be there later when you have done more homework.

 

[brianfox]

Sounds like you recently attended a presentation and are considering one of two options Marriott presented you.
Coming to TUG has been the best decision you have made so far! Too many people come here after buying from Marriott and are asking how to rescind.
It would really help to understand what your expectations are.

The deals Marriott presented you are quite bad.
You could save yourself 90% and buy a resale week from someone, if your intent was to sometimes stay at your resort and sometimes trade your week.
Buying a resale week means you lose the ability to convert to points. Not a big loss when you consider the savings.
You can still stay at your resort, rent out your week, and exchange it on Interval International.

Another option is to buy resale points. Still a lot better than what Marriott sells them for, but after fees buying a resale week is the cheapest way to go.

Regarding that $35K St Kitts week, the moment you take that offer, the week is worth about $3K, which is about the value of the resale week. Why throw away $32K?

Whatever deal has been offered WILL be there in a year, regardless of what they tell you.
Do a lot of research here before spending any money. TUG has tons of resources - all for free.

 

[rthib]

Another way to look at it is - Do you plan to go to St Kitts that same week every year for the next 10 years? If not then you might want to look at a week elsewhere. I am also a little worried about the algae/seaweed build up that may diminish value and special assessment because of Hurricane.

There was a good thread recently https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/new-thinking-about-mvc.300147/

 

[Pamplemousse]

Hello everyone, I’m looking a purchasing a time share with Marriott. I have an opportunity to purchase either points or a set week in St Kitts. The week in St Kitts seems like the better deal. It’s 1 week in peak season that I can convert to points each year if I choose. It would convert to 4025 points and the week would cost me $35,000... plus a sign up bonus of 6200 points this year and additional 4000 bonus points next year. Is this a decent deal?

The advice to do lots of research before purchase is excellent!

The ability to convert your week to DP seems great, but the amount of points you get when you convert are not even enough to stay in your owned week (high season st kitts is more like 4900)- i often see this referred to as ”the skim”.
The advantage to booking with DP is you can book less or more than a week, there can be savings if you stay off season or book smaller units ( one weeks worth of points could give you a longer/ multiple stay), access to some different inventory pool than exchanging a week.
Having an enrolled week also saves fees on interval- membership, lock off and Marriott to Marriott exchange fees are included in your yearly DC dues (could save a couple of hundred dollars a year depending on how you exchange)

You need to decide if these advantages are worth paying 10xs as much to buy a week from Marriott which is enrolled in the DC as opposed to a resale week which wouldn’t be.

I own an enrolled Marriott week ( bought many years ago) and very rarely elect points- did it for a graduation present for our youngest to do a short notice trip- if DC points weren’t an option we would have rented a place for that trip, not a big deal. Most of the time I exchange on II- definitely a better value especially because I have a lock off so I get 2 weeks stay for my yearly maintenance fee.

If you actually have an interest in St. Kitts I can tell you that is not that difficult an exchange on II- I exchanged the 1br portion of my Orlando Marriott lock off for St. Kitts in April ( not highest season, but still cold at home for me)- I ended up cancelling the reservation because flights to St Kitts were inconvenient and expensive).
The Marriott priority exchanging on II has helped me get many great trades- my Orlando gold season has traded to Hawaii, Disney Paris, Hilton Head, Phoenix, Palm Desert- etc. I don’t tend to travel high season- we like it at home in summer- and I do plan in advance and we usually vacation for a week.

 

[JIMinNC]

Bottom line is you need to educate yourself a lot more about the Marriott Vacation Club system before committing to a $35K purchase. You need to understand whether having the ability to use the DC Points system is important to you or whether you are OK buying a resale week and trading that through Interval International.

Having said that, if your priority is to have the flexibility to use the DC Points system, then $35K for 4025 points every year is a very good price. That's only $8.70/point, whereas it might cost you $12.50/point for developer-purchased Marriott DC Trust Points. Even resale DC Trust Points are likely to cost you around $6-$7/point after paying Marriott's activation fees for resale Points.

Many on TUG will tell you to avoid points and buy cheap resale weeks instead, and then trade that week through Interval International (II) when you want to visit other resorts. That may be fine for some, but I personally find II trading to be frustrating, and much prefer the booking ease and flexibility of DC Points. I dislike the game you have to play with II - deposit your week, make a request for a resort you want to book, and then wait an undetermined amount of time for that request to match. Many others don't mind the game, and others even enjoy it, as it is sort of like the game of bargain hunting and they love to score a "deal". You should better understand which type you are - do you value convenience and ease of use over the best possible deal? Then DC Points may be for you. If you enjoy chasing a good deal, even if you have to work at it a little, then II trading may be for you.

As others have said, the deal you were offered will likely be there in the future, so educate yourself and then spend the money only when you know what your real wants and needs are.

 

[LUVourMarriotts]

Looking at this a different way than others. If you were to buy 4025 points on the resale market, it would cost you:
$4.25/point + $3.00/point fee * 4250 points (you buy in increments of 250), or $30,812.50 plus education fee of ~$350, so basically $31K.
If you plan to primarily elect points each year, you could do it this way and save around $4K, or more, if you find the right deal and get past ROFR. If you plan to go to St. Kitts each year (potentially very expensive flights, depending where you live) then you could buy resale. If you plan to do a even mix of both, you are in a pickle, because you can't enroll a resale week, which is cheaper, unless you spend another $30K+ buying points. Maybe you could ask for a better hybrid package that would allow you to have a more enticing enrolled week and also some points to get you the number of points you think you need.

 

[TXTortoise]

To add another layer to your decision, the St Kitts week is often used for a developer hybrid deal to maximize points and minimize MF on the points value. Pick a stateside week you might use every year, or one with good points value and low MF and bundle it with St Kitts for a higher point purchase. This would likely drive your price per point lower than the St Kitts alone. Search for ‘hybrid’ and posts by ‘Dean, CSalter and others for the nuances.

 

[csalter2]

Hello everyone, I’m looking a purchasing a time share with Marriott. I have an opportunity to purchase either points or a set week in St Kitts. The week in St Kitts seems like the better deal. It’s 1 week in peak season that I can convert to points each year if I choose. It would convert to 4025 points and the week would cost me $35,000... plus a sign up bonus of 6200 points this year and additional 4000 bonus points next year. Is this a decent deal?

I would agree from a points perspective that it’s better than the current rates that Marriott is offering. However, I was faced with the same dilemma a couple of years back. The more I read about St. Kitts, the more concerned I became about buying there. For me it was the seaweed situation, the potential of hurricanes, no lock off units and difficulty getting there and the prices to fly there to name a few. Plus, more importantly, was I really going to like it if and when I did go there. I always like the option to visit a resort that I am paying for even if I am not going to go there that often. I was able to get a comparable unit at Aruba during platinum season.

One other thing that concerns me is that you are going to take out a loan if you are going to receive an additional 4000 bonus points next year. You can rent those same 4000 points for less than what you are going to be paying in interest to get them. Just some information.

My recommendation to you would be to determine what your priorities are. Make sure you are purchasing because you will travel and you will use your timeshare. If you just want a week and are going there each year, then buying a resale week is the way to go. It’s most economical and makes sense. If you are one who desires the flexibility of points, then there are possibilities that could be considered. Marriott during summers offers specials. I would wait to see what’s happening. Know the resale prices for weeks and points by looking at Redweek. I was fortunate to catch a Marriott deal in which I paid under resale value for two weeks that were enrolled which converted to well over 9000 points. I saved thousands on the purchase and even more by not having to pay per point on maintenance fees each year because I bought weeks. In addition, I received all kinds of perks and was quickly able to recoup about $10,000 from those perks and still able to vacation. However, I was buying at the right time and had all the information necessary to construct that deal with help here from TUG members.

 

[elked12]

I would agree from a points perspective that it’s better than the current rates that Marriott is offering. However, I was faced with the same dilemma a couple of years back. The more I read about St. Kitts, the more concerned I became about buying there. For me it was the seaweed situation, the potential of hurricanes, no lock off units and difficulty getting there and the prices to fly there to name a few. Plus, more importantly, was I really going to like it if and when I did go there. I always like the option to visit a resort that I am paying for even if I am not going to go there that often. I was able to get a comparable unit at Aruba during platinum season.

One other thing that concerns me is that you are going to take out a loan if you are going to receive an additional 4000 bonus points next year. You can rent those same 4000 points for less than what you are going to be paying in interest to get them. Just some information.

My recommendation to you would be to determine what your priorities are. Make sure you are purchasing because you will travel and you will use your timeshare. If you just want a week and are going there each year, then buying a resale week is the way to go. It’s most economical and makes sense. If you are one who desires the flexibility of points, then there are possibilities that could be considered. Marriott during summers offers specials. I would wait to see what’s happening. Know the resale prices for weeks and points by looking at Redweek. I was fortunate to catch a Marriott deal in which I paid under resale value for two weeks that were enrolled which converted to well over 9000 points. I saved thousands on the purchase and even more by not having to pay per point on maintenance fees each year because I bought weeks. In addition, I received all kinds of perks and was quickly able to recoup about $10,000 from those perks and still able to vacation. However, I was buying at the right time and had all the information necessary to construct that deal with help here from TUG members.

That’s sounds like a great deal. Can you tell us what the deal was so I can be on the lookout for such deals in the future? Thank you

 

[TXTortoise]

That’s sounds like a great deal. Can you tell us what the deal was so I can be on the lookout for such deals in the future? Thank you

Might search for CSalter2, his and a few other threads describing hybrid deals by GoldenVike, Dean and one other recently (Ritz Quartershares), should be required reading for maximizing points using hybrid deals for Marriott...if you are will to spend the money.

 

[Dean]

Hello everyone, I’m looking a purchasing a time share with Marriott. I have an opportunity to purchase either points or a set week in St Kitts. The week in St Kitts seems like the better deal. It’s 1 week in peak season that I can convert to points each year if I choose. It would convert to 4025 points and the week would cost me $35,000... plus a sign up bonus of 6200 points this year and additional 4000 bonus points next year. Is this a decent deal?

I'm going to pile on to say step back and educate yourself so you know what's the best choice in your situation. On the surface I'd say it's not a good deal compared to what you could get once you're better informed. I think once you get a good base of information and then look at your current and planned vacation usage, it'll be more clear what's best for you. I'm presuming that you're already comfortable with the inherent risks and compromises of a timeshare like not getting daily maid service and the dues increases/special assessments.

IMO questions you should be asking yourself include:

1. Your budget and what you can afford (to me that's being able to pay cash).
2. How far out you can plan (12-13 months is best by far and critical for some situations).
3. Where you want to vacation over the next few years.
4. How many day or weeks a year do you plan to travel.
5. How you wan to vacation (3 days vs 7 vs 10, different locations, different unit sizes).
6. How restrictive your schedule is (? tied to school calendar, limited weeks you can travel).
7. What your risk tolerance is for waiting on exchanges.

For us personally we tend to alternate usual spots with trying new things. For Marriott we do HHI most years as a very large group (only missing years where other trips preclude that), HI every 4-5 yrs for 2-3 weeks usually with family, Aruba EOY for 10-12 days then we try other things that are new or we haven't done routinely. So we own 2 HI weeks, 9 HHI summer weeks at GO, a week in Aruba plus weeks we mainly use either to trade or for points). We also considered the seasons, resort calendar when we bought to as to be able to take advantage of the 13 month option for reservations. We also own DVC and use that for Disney and we own with Bluegreen and use that for family trips to Gatlinburg, Bike week/Biktoberfest in Daytona (for my SIL) as well as to explore. We've positioned ourselves for our usage and the points have fit in with that nicely but hasn't changed our main usage plans. If I could wipe the slate clean and then replace without the obvious limitations, I can't think of much I'd change with any of our ownerships.