Point amount question...

[Loco]

I am not a FF owner yet. I've been looking at buying on Ebay resale in Smoky Mountain...Tennessee resort. It is only 500 miles from my residence in Pa. Other than looking at past auctions and what the final bid was on these auctions, how do I know what is a fair price for example 154,000 to 210,000 points? Should I be looking elsewhere to purchase points? Resale from a private owner? I hear that buying close to ones Residence is the thing to do? Am I looking to buy too many points or should I just start off small? It will be my wife and I traveling and other times we might invite another couple, so what should I shoot for as a first time buyer. 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom for points purchase? I've been reading a lot on the forums and FF point system, so I do have a grasp on the system for a newbie. I'm just not sure how I should intially get into the TS vacation system. One more thing, I do desire Prime Time travel dates. Last question. Why do people own so many timeshares? Do they travel all those weeks and pay all those MF's?

 

[Jya-Ning]

It is very hard to say how many points is enough. I think you need to look at the completed listing and determine what is the current market value. Pay more attention to the MF and if it is a reasonable value (in other word, does SA look very likely or not). As to how much is a good value, it usually depends on the purpose of why you purchase it. For most people that purchase for the purpose of saving on the lodging cost, I believe this is the formula you probably want to use

Total Purchase Cost/ 10 years (assume you want to get the money back at 10 years) + MF < the cost you are willing to pay to be an owner (usually it is some factor * the hotel cost you will pay).

154k is a good number. It is very hard to say how many point is enough since each resort has its own point value, but 154k gives you 2 free transaction, and enough HK credit for 2 stay. And with prime season travel, you probably will be short of point. But if that is the case, you can try to get more.

As long as you can see you want to go several times, it probably is a good home resort to own. If it is close to you, you can easily drive there, and if you have need of planning a big get together, you can use ARP. But if it is a place you know you want to have a better chance to make reservation at least once per few years, it is worth to own.

I have 231k, 2 fix week, and another point system, my MF is around $2,500. I use them, rent few out, and with point system, I do take several short trips on the way, and when I visit my family, I usualy not stay in TS. After you start, you will know if you like it or not, and how many vacation you actually can make, and how many days you want to use TS.

Make sure you like it first

Jya-Ning

 

[Conan]

I think 175,000 would be a good number to start with.
Besides giving you advance reservation preference for a 2-BR Prime or a 3-BR High, you could (alternatively) get two good weeks through RCI Weeks via separate deposits of 105,000 and 70,000.

Maintenance plus dues will be about $4 per 1,000 (175*4= $700/yr) or $100/night for one week (or $50/night plus RCI exchange fees if you use your points to reserve 2 RCI Weeks).
If you pay 2 cents per point to buy them (including closing costs) that adds $3,500 or $350/yr over 10 years -- an additional $50/night or $25/night depending on whether you book one or two weeks.

And that's why people buy timeshares - - they force you to take vacations, and when you do you can stay in a handsome suite with two or three bedrooms and full kitchen for around $90 to $150 a night.

 

[Bucky]

To me buying points that I know were associated with Interval was more important than where they were located. I am a member of RCI Weeks/Points and Interval and I personally like staying at the Interval resorts more. There are less of them but overall I believe the quality to be better than RCI. I agree with the forcing you to take a vacation analogy. It's real easy to get addicted so figure out how many weeks a year you are able to vacation before taking the plunge and good luck.

 

[Loco]

Point amount question

Thank you all for the super answers and thoughts to my questions. I'm very glad I found this site. I'm sure I will need more answers in the future. Reading all the posts on this site has been priceless to someone new such as myself.

Thanks again

 

[JanB]

I just purchased 94,500 points at Dolphin's Cove for ~$750. While the $/point was a great value, the mfs are~$600/yr. Dolphin's Cove is in So. Ca about 1 mile from Disneyland. This is within ~7 hrs driving distance and a great family vacation for us or our son's families. While it may not be enough points for a full week with a family of 5 or 7 in a 2 or 3 bdrm unit, it will most definately give us some great mid-week days of Disneyland fun and a very nice resort and at a great per night rate. The fabulous thing about points is that we can manipulate the number of days/unit size as our needs require.

 

[mshatty]

I just purchased 94,500 points at Dolphin's Cove for ~$750. While the $/point was a great value, the mfs are~$600/yr. Dolphin's Cove is in So. Ca about 1 mile from Disneyland. This is within ~7 hrs driving distance and a great family vacation for us or our son's families. While it may not be enough points for a full week with a family of 5 or 7 in a 2 or 3 bdrm unit, it will most definately give us some great mid-week days of Disneyland fun and a very nice resort and at a great per night rate. The fabulous thing about points is that we can manipulate the number of days/unit size as our needs require.

JanB,

Now that you are in the pool as an owner, you can rent more FSP points from other owners so that you can make your stays longer. The rented points can only be used during the Standard and Express reservation periods (10 months to check in). Rental prices from other owners range from less than $5 to $7/1000 points. FF/Wyn does not have any ceiling limit on how many points you can rent from other owners.

Have fun.

 

[Timeshare Von]

Just to add to Mikes response about renting points . . .

It is VERY easy to do. I just acquired a 77k point contract that I knew I wouldn't be able to use in 2008. I rented them within days of Wyndham making the ownership transfer to me official. I think it took all of about 10 minutes on the phone by me, the seller. They buyer had them in their account immediately and was able to make a reservation for July 4th at the beach exactly 10 months out. WIN-WIN for all

 

[Conan]

I rented them within days of Wyndham making the ownership transfer to me official. I think it took all of about 10 minutes on the phone by me, the seller.

Be aware that you get one free phone transaction per year for each 77K points you own. Calls that don't result in a transaction don't count, but a call to transfer points counts just like a call that makes a reservation.

It's the year you make the phone call that matters, not the year to which to call relates.

Extra phone transactions are $25 each.