New to wyndham point system... help?

[Bomoto]

Ok so I decided to do a trial 400k points for 3700.00 last week. I can use the points and be done or take the 3700 value and apply it towards a full purchase. I've read where you can buy a basic package for benefits and then stack points from outside places like eBay. My job gives me freedom to take last min vacations so I can really take advantage of the last min discounts. Plus I'm able to take up to 8 weeks vacation a year on my terms. Is wyndham the best overall timeshare program or should I choose another like blue green or disney? I would like to learn as much as I can so any links to research material would be appreciated.

 

[vacationhopeful]

Rescind if you still can.

For $3700, you can buy and own with NO mortgage or financing costs about 400,000 Wyndham points. A low yearly MF resort will cost you less points or more cash to buy.

If you are still uncertain it you will like the resorts or vacationing styles .. NO PROBLEM, give away the deed for FREE. Yes, you will be OUT $3700 dollars, but you were going to SPEND that much money to TRY out Wyndham and their resorts.

 

[ecwinch]

Don’t hesitate .... rescind. Then do the research.

 

[Bomoto]

Rescind if you still can.

For $3700, you can buy and own with NO mortgage or financing costs about 400,000 Wyndham points. A low yearly MF resort will cost you less points or more cash to buy.

If you are still uncertain it you will like the resorts or vacationing styles .. NO PROBLEM, give away the deed for FREE. Yes, you will be OUT $3700 dollars, but you were going to SPEND that much money to TRY out Wyndham and their resorts.

Sorry it was 400k points. My understanding is. I'll need to become a member to get VIP status then I can stack points

 

[Bomoto]

Don’t hesitate .... rescind. Then do the research.

Thanks

Ok so I decided to do a trial 400k points for 3700.00 last week. I can use the points and be done or take the 3700 value and apply it towards a full purchase. I've read where you can buy a basic package for benefits and then stack points from outside places like eBay. My job gives me freedom to take last min vacations so I can really take advantage of the last min discounts. Plus I'm able to take up to 8 weeks vacation a year on my terms. Is wyndham the best overall timeshare program or should I choose another like blue green or disney? I would like to learn as much as I can so any links to research material would be appreciated.

I should be more clear on my position. My rescind date ends tommorro so to late to back out. Since my trial discovery 400k points is equal to the cost to rent where I want to go in not to concerned about the value at this time. My future decisions need to be either walk away after I use the points or use the 3700 value towards a deed for VIP status if it's worth it. I know that 200k cwp points is 29k minus my 3700 equals 25300. Is the VIP status worth the investment for the benefits or should I just buy a resale.

 

[ecwinch]

Yes, but those additional points won’t count toward VIP status. So to get a meaningful discount, you will potentially invest more ($80-100k give or take) than you might recoup. There used be some loopholes to lower that buy-in costs, Wyndham has closed most of them. Plus they have eviscerated the cancel-rebook strategy, making it harder to justify the ROI.

Don’t get me wrong - we stay at Wyndham resorts 60+ nights a year - and it is a great deal for us. But not as good as it was a year ago.

 

[ecwinch]

Thanks


I should be more clear on my position. My rescind date ends tommorro so to late to back out. Since my trial discovery 400k points is equal to the cost to rent where I want to go in not to concerned about the value at this time. My future decisions need to be either walk away after I use the points or use the 3700 value towards a deed for VIP status if it's worth it. I know that 200k cwp points is 29k minus my 3700 equals 25300. Is the VIP status worth the investment for the benefits or should I just buy a resale.

No it is not too late. A certified letter post-marked by midnight tomorrow is all that is required. Even a fax might do it.

Rescinding buys you time. If you research it, and find Discovery is the right path, then that deal will still be there.

 

[Bomoto]

Yes, but those additional points won’t count toward VIP status. So to get a meaningful discount, you will potentially invest more ($80-100k give or take) than you might recoup. There used be some loopholes to lower that buy-in costs, Wyndham has closed most of them. Plus they have eviscerated the cancel-rebook strategy, making it harder to justify the ROI.

Don’t get me wrong - we stay at Wyndham resorts 60+ nights a year - and it is a great deal for us. But not as good as it was a year ago.

What is your opinion on the VIP status. I'm ok with the initial costs if the VIP status is worth it long term. Also since everything is point based now vs deed. How does that change the monthly fees. I'm considering buying 300k points for basic VIP and then another 200k to 700k points on resale.

 

[kaljor]

Is the VIP status worth the investment for the benefits or should I just buy a resale.

The points needed for the lowest VIP level are 400,000, purchased direct from Wyndham. At the last sales meeting I attended back in December, I was quoted a bit over $100,000 for that. I saw this same number mentioned in another thread here earlier this week.

At that level a 25% discount would apply for reservations within 60 days, but as you might expect, desirable resorts in busy weeks are not likely to have great availability in that time frame. Or any availability. Another benefit is a unit upgrade within 30 days if available. Again, availability is not likely. The other benefits are pretty meager in my opinion and I don't see how they could ever be worth that price.

Not that I wouldn't like to have those benefits, but as someone just coming into the system now, I feel I get a far better bang for my buck by purchasing all resale points and using them as they are intended. At current resale prices, it's a very good deal.

 

[Bomoto]

The points needed for the lowest VIP level are 400,000, purchased direct from Wyndham. At the last sales meeting I attended back in December, I was quoted a bit over $100,000 for that. I saw this same number mentioned in another thread here earlier this week.

At that level a 25% discount would apply for reservations within 60 days, but as you might expect, desirable resorts in busy weeks are not likely to have great availability in that time frame. Or any availability. Another benefit is a unit upgrade within 30 days if available. Again, availability is not likely. The other benefits are pretty meager in my opinion and I don't see how they could ever be worth that price.

Not that I wouldn't like to have those benefits, but as someone just coming into the system now, I feel I get a far better bang for my buck by purchasing all resale points and using them as they are intended. At current resale prices, it's a very good deal.

I saw 300k was the basic VIP. They quoted me 17k for 105k points and 29k for 200k points. I was figuring about 40k for 300k points

 

[ecwinch]

I don’t see the value given the investment and current rules. The payback is too long, and the rules can be changed in the future to diminish the value even more.

And 300k is the grandfathered amount, not available for new members. Which only gets you a 25% pts discount. Kaljor makes the rest of the points I would make.

 

[Braindead]

I saw 300k was the basic VIP. They quoted me 17k for 105k points and 29k for 200k points. I was figuring about 40k for 300k points

If your bound and determined to be VIP you need to learn about PIC weeks. Get two 3 bedrooms worth 508k points and enroll them into the program when you buy 300k CWA points for $45,000.00 . You will be Gold VIP for under $50k with 808,000 points

 

[CCdad]

If your bound and determined to be VIP you need to learn about PIC weeks. Get two 3 bedrooms worth 508k points and enroll them into the program when you buy 300k CWA points for $45,000.00 . You will be Gold VIP for under $50k with 808,000 points

If the 200k developer purchase is locked in at $29k (before the $3,700 offset for the Discovery package) and the OP can enroll 2 three bedroom RCI fixed weeks into the PIC program as part of the purchase, that's Gold for only $29k plus the purchase cost of the PIC weeks. All in all, a very good deal.

 

[kaljor]

They quoted me 17k for 105k points and 29k for 200k points. I was figuring about 40k for 300k points

What they quoted you and what they would actually charge you are two different things. I would be very surprised if you could get 300,000 points for less than $65,000. By comparison, I paid $1874.00 all in for 316,000 resale points. Of course I won't ever get VIP benefits, but I saved about $63,000.

 

[Braindead]

If the 200k developer purchase is locked in at $29k (before the $3,700 offset for the Discovery package) and the OP can enroll 2 three bedroom RCI fixed weeks into the PIC program as part of the purchase, that's Gold for only $29k plus the purchase cost of the PIC weeks. All in all, a very good deal.

Your right! I did go braindead for a minute thinking Gold was 800k points.
I’m guessing it’s 200k points for $29,000.00 plus the $3,700.00
They say you have to buy 105k points for each PIC week enrolled
Buy 210k CWA for $32,000.00. I bought my PIC weeks for $1,000.00 each
VIP Gold for about $35,000.00

 

[Braindead]

What they quoted you and what they would actually charge you are two different things. I would be very surprised if you could get 300,000 points for less than $65,000. By comparison, I paid $1874.00 all in for 316,000 resale points. Of course I won't ever get VIP benefits, but I saved about $63,000.

You can buy 300k CWA points everyday for $45,000.00
If you don’t believe me don’t offer Wyndham a check for it unless you want to buy

 

[kaljor]

Yes I just spent some time reading back posts over the last several months and I see that now.

 

[Bomoto]

Ok,, let's say I want VIP gold. Which seems like the best tier fo r my needs till I retire. What's the best path. I see you guys are talking about pic program and another just buying the points outright with haggling. Which is better? Which is better upfront cost and maintenance fee?

 

[Bomoto]

What they quoted you and what they would actually charge you are two different things. I would be very surprised if you could get 300,000 points for less than $65,000. By comparison, I paid $1874.00 all in for 316,000 resale points. Of course I won't ever get VIP benefits, but I saved about $63,000.

I hear ya but I can see the benefits of being a VIP member and having a little more flexibility in my choices. I don't mind spending a little extra for more choice and not being told no

 

[Bomoto]

You can buy 300k CWA points everyday for $45,000.00
If you don’t believe me don’t offer Wyndham a check for it unless you want to buy

Is VIP gold 300 or 400k point or more. I see all different posts. I'd like to keep my initial investment to under 40k for VIP gold. Is that reasonable?

 

[kaljor]

VIP Silver = 400,000
VIP Gold = 700,000
VIP Platinum = 1,000,000

I took this straight from the Wyndham directory

 

[ecwinch]

Is VIP gold 300 or 400k point or more. I see all different posts. I'd like to keep my initial investment to under 40k for VIP gold. Is that reasonable?

It is reasonable, with some caveats.

Braindead’s post is the path you want to take to VIP Gold. Find and buy two fixed weeks at an RCI resort. You want them to be 3BR units as to maximize the points you will be credited toward VIP status. And then - after you have had those weeks transferred to your name - approach Wyndham and purchase developer points and as part of that sale require they enroll those weeks in the PIC Plus (not PIC Express). You can play with numbers a little to get you to Gold VIP.

As you can see this path has some potential bumps as you have to close on the PIC weeks first. And in that gap - Wyndham could change the VIP levels. Or your PIC weeks/resort could fall out of PIC eligibility. They could implement new purchasing levels or rules for PIC enrollment. Those are small risks, but you should be aware of them.

Here is one post of an issue that has occurred with this strategy.

https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...10-years-later-loss-of-200-000-points.270227/

Another member has PIC weeks at a resort that is voting to convert to fully owned condos. If so, he will lose those VIP Points, and to replace them will likely have to make another $20k purchase.

If there is one constant about Wyndham ... any loophole that gets too popular will be changed.

 

[bnoble]

What is your opinion on the VIP status.

Even under the most optimistic sets of assumptions under current rules and price points, it is at best a break-even proposition. I'm convinced that for most people it's no where near a good value.

If you end up keeping that Discovery package, it's a little more expensive than it needs to be, but it is not the end of the world. Try it out and see if you like Wyndham at all. If you do, then do your research and decide if and how you want to buy.

 

[Jan M.]

Is VIP gold 300 or 400k point or more. I see all different posts. I'd like to keep my initial investment to under 40k for VIP gold. Is that reasonable?

Braindead explained about buying a couple of weeks on the resale market at a non Wyndham property that when enrolled in the PIC program will give you enough points to help you reach a VIP level with a purchase of points directly from Wyndham. That would be the cheapest way to reach gold. But even then I'm not sure you could do it for $40k. Maybe in the past but I wouldn't count on being able to do it now. If you look at my profile information you can see that we are not only platinum but also presidential reserve owners. We did that before I found TUG and yes we spent a boatload of money

I don't know if Wyndham is still giving bonus points when you buy but they are usually good for two years if I remember correctly. And I think we had to pay maintenance fees on the bonus points. They typically gave you enough bonus points to get you to a VIP level or the next higher one if you were already VIP. Many people like us got used to having the better benefits of the VIP levels thanks to bonus points and ended up buying more points to keep that level. Silver isn't that big of a deal for the money you spend as you only get at 25% discount at 30 days out. For most people 30 days is a pretty tight window to schedule and plan a vacation so it is harder to make use of the discounts and upgrades. Gold gets you 35% at 45 days out and platinum gets you 50% at 60 days out. All three VIP levels get you an upgrade on the unit size if something is available.

Before my husband finally retired at the beginning of this month he was home based and set his own work schedule so we were able to make good use of the discount and upgrades on the unit size. Before we moved to Florida I worked 50-60 hour work weeks but like my husband I was able to take time off without a great deal of advance notice. Most people don't have that luxury. We haven't been tied to a school schedule for 14-15 years as we started taking some vacations by ourselves when our son was a junior in high school. When we went on vacations we went back to the same areas/resorts as I needed to be on vacation my first day in, not take several days to acclimate to a new resort in a new city. We came to Florida in January or February and stayed at Sea Gardens in either a one or two bedroom unit in the Ocean Palms building. March was Las Vegas, Grand Desert, for a convention for my job and we added some extra days as it was our anniversary. The end of May before schools let out we went to Myrtle Beach and stayed at Ocean Boulevard. September or October was back to either Myrtle Beach or Las Vegas and we always had a two bedroom unit at both places. We went to DC, Old Town Alexandria, one year for several days over the 4th of July and one other time for a few days in either the Spring or Fall and both times were in a one bedroom unit. We were never in a position of having to have reservations for set dates. Nor did we need three or four bedroom units either. We went when I found reservations and reasonably priced flights for the Florida and Las Vegas trips. We drove to DC and Myrtle Beach so I didn't even have to work around finding flights for those vacations. Sometimes I had to keep searching and also had to piece together the reservations to get the length of stay I wanted. I wasn't trying to find reservations over Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter nor over the summer when school is out. Being able to book, plan and travel in under 45-60 days worked for us but wouldn't for many people. My point in all this is that yes I was able to get the discount on the reservations and often the upgrade too but the only reason I was able to do this was because we could make what I found work for us. And I wasn't using the old book, cancel, rebook, upgrade trick to get them either which is no longer possible as of last year with the new website. Many unhappy VIP owners are now finding since the new website that they are no longer able to get the discount and upgrades they did in the past.

I would get that Discovery package rescinded today while you still can. If you can find the thread where people have talked about the Discovery packages you will find that you won't have access to all the Wyndham resorts and there are some restrictions too. Then think long and hard about spending the money to be gold VIP as it is likely going to be more money than you are anticipating. It might end up being worth if for you given your work situation but I think you need to take more time to think this through. One other thing you should consider. You mentioned buying resale points to stack the benefits in a VIP account. I wouldn't count on that in the future. Yes it could continue for years to come, but it could also end tomorrow. This is Wyndham. We've learned a lot in the past year and a half and very little of what we've learned has made us happy.

 

[jwalk03]

I have a hard time figuring out how spending $40k+ by buying developer makes more sense than spending ~$4k buying resale to get the same number of points. Are you really going to get $36k of value out of the Gold VIP benefits?! I get that the discount points and upgrades add up, but it would take a lot of discounts and a lot of upgrades to get to $36k, especially when you are nowhere near guaranteed a discount and/or an upgrade on every trip! Only when available, and they often will not be available if you are traveling at peak times and to popular resorts.