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Points for Southwest use mainly

dcsouthgw

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Jun 20, 2011
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I am only interested in TS for driving distance only (4 kids 2 or under) and I live in Phx. I do most of my vacationing as camping and fishing spring to fall in state, but have very few TS options here. I like the beach and skiing and have San Diego and SW Colorado close enough, that I thought that RCI points might be flexible enough to accomodate those two locations. RCI shows a handful of resorts in Co and almost 2 dozen in San Diego. None of those seem to be affordable themselves, but Grandview in Vegas shows several listings for RCI points on ebay for $1 plus mf. If I were to buy in Grandview or some other small RCI point resort in Vegas in the 100,000 range, would that allow me to exchange for a few days in Durango/Telluride and another few days in San Diego? The points never mention peak seasons or room size, because they are just vacation credits, right? Please help....
 
Still confused about difference in point sys's and RCI points...

I am trying to get in a cheap as possible, and any listing I have seen for WM or VI points seems to be in the thousands of dollars range. That is way out of my budget right now. I keep reading here about users finding ts for next to nothing at ebay, etc, that offere RCI points. I guess that means that the TS has an RCI point value, but I am hazy on that too. I even saw many in Vegas, like the Grandview, but don't know what they mean and am suspicious that it is being sold for cheap because no one wants to go there or it isn't exchanged highly from rci. Vegas is not a place I care about, so it would be a purchase just for the points to be able to book using RCI in San Diego, Colorado or near a national park. (I would prefer a TS in Sedona, San Diego, or Colorado, but none of the auctions or listings appear to be affordable.) Users I read about here seem to be more concerned about finding the right point to mf ratio...1cent per point or less. Then they talk like they can use those points to book TS off of RCI's listings. Others seem to think that loving your home resort is important and make sure it is Gold Crown, and a desirable week. I have only been looking at these for a couple of weeks, so most of the info hasn't sunk in yet, but I have read a bunch of the threads here and I am still confused, especially since I just read somewhere that RCI isn't a point system.

Maybe the better solution here is to tell you exactly what I want and hope it makes enough sense to be able to get the right advice.
I would like to be able to take a weeks worth of a vacation split up between a 3-4 days in colorado and 3-4 days in san diego. I would also like the flexibility to forgo one or the other and have 3 or so nights out with my wife in Phx in a year.
If loving your home resort is important, it would need to be in Pinetop, Az, Sedona, Az, San Diego, or SW Colorado, because those are the only locations that are with in a days driving distance. If loving it isn't important, then make it in Alaska for all I care.
I would prefer enough points for a 2 bed in peak season, because I will have tons of kids with me and once they are in school, I am chained down to the school breaks. I can go down if necessary especially if it is just a matter of adding points later.
Please advise.
 
I guess I will look into wyndam points, but a little more explanation would be appreciated.
 
Hi, welcome to TUG!

Wyndham is a points based system. Each timeshare week sold is alloted a certain number of points. You use these points to make reservations within the Wyndham system of resorts which is rather extensive.

One of the nice features of the Wyndham points system is that you do not have to take a whole week at a time, you can stay 3 or 4 days like you were mentioning.

You also mentioned that you were interested in Sedona, San Diego or Colorado. Wyndham has resorts in all these places.

There is no exchange fee to exchange your points within the Wyn system.

I have owned with Wyndham for about 10 years and I am happy with my ownership. I bought resale (on ebay) which is the only way to go for most timeshare purchases.

There's more to Wyndham but that's a start.
 
I guess I will look into wyndam points, but a little more explanation would be appreciated.

I own WM which you said was too expensive, Wyndam Vacation Ownership would seem to fit your needs, I am not an owner of WVO so anything I would post would be based on other member's postings
 
After more research...

So Wyndham is reletively inexpensive to get into, but the more I find out, the more questions I have.

Most of the Wyndham listings on ebay, etc have a home resort with a specified amount of points associated. A couple showed a home group, meaning that they could book 13 months out for the whole group and not just one resort. Is that considered a better level of points, a more expensive program or just something that all of them can do or is that a snow job by that particular poster?

Does Wyndham have standardized mf's per point or does it vary per resort?

It sounds like the the value in Wyndham is based on a the associated mf or assessment fee or whatever their name for it is, because there are listings for 100,000's of points for very little money if they will assume the contract and the mf associated with it. Then I found others listings like in TUG's classifieds that want $1000's for the deed itself as well as taking over the mf's. Why would anyone pay a lot for the deed when it is the mf that makes up the ongoing expense? Is there something special about their deeds/resorts?

Wyndham's system is much cheaper to get into than Marriott/Hilton/Worldmark, as evidenced by all of the MHWm point listings having dollar figures being asked for the deed itself. Is that because their resorts are higher quality than Wyndham's or is there some other reason they are more valuable?

The only problem with Wyndham's system that I can see is how much it is really saving me on hotel stays. I compared it to orbitz for the same hotel, same holiday weekend and it was about 20-25% cheaper. If I were to compare the same weekend with comparable hotel on hotwire, it is close to even. Is it then worth it to get locked into a contract with annual mf's and the eventual certainty of special assessments at some time in the next 40 years? Are there any other upsides that I am missing by having priority access to Wyndham's system?
Thanks, Steve.
 
You might want to edit your title. Initially I thought you were discussing Southwest Airlines Rapid Reward Points

Most of the Wyndham listings on ebay, etc have a home resort with a specified amount of points associated. A couple showed a home group, meaning that they could book 13 months out for the whole group and not just one resort. Is that considered a better level of points, a more expensive program or just something that all of them can do or is that a snow job by that particular poster?

On WVO there is one Home resort per original contract giving ARP (Advanced Reservation Priority) @ 13 month for the point associated with the underlying week/season, 10 Months at the remaining properties

Some owners have purchased multiple contracts which create "a group" Keep in mind the ARP advantage only applies to the point in a particular contract. Resort A 109,000 Points Resort B 200,000 point at 13 month from the original contract date(s) you have priority to use 100 and 200 at the respective resorts not 300 at 10 months you can use all 300

Does Wyndham have standardized mf's per point or does it vary per resort?

Each resort is different

It sounds like the the value in Wyndham is based on a the associated mf or assessment fee or whatever their name for it is, because there are listings for 100,000's of points for very little money if they will assume the contract and the mf associated with it. Then I found others listings like in TUG's classifieds that want $1000's for the deed itself as well as taking over the mf's. Why would anyone pay a lot for the deed when it is the mf that makes up the ongoing expense? Is there something special about their deeds/resorts?

eBay is the worst place for a seller in maximizing value - It is a market that at the right place will result in the week that the seller can't (or won't learn how to) use can get out of the on going maintenance fees

As to the higher listing, there is always a segment that refuse to believe the true value and think that by being patient they will get the price that a "real estate" investment should. After months/years of nothing but low ball offers eventually reality sets in.

Wyndham's system is much cheaper to get into than Marriott/Hilton/Worldmark, as evidenced by all of the MHWm point listings having dollar figures being asked for the deed itself. Is that because their resorts are higher quality than Wyndham's or is there some other reason they are more valuable?

Marriott and Hilton are better underlying resort, WM trades higher due to a lower maintenance fee which is contractually capped annually.

The only problem with Wyndham's system that I can see is how much it is really saving me on hotel stays. I compared it to orbitz for the same hotel, same holiday weekend and it was about 20-25% cheaper. If I were to compare the same weekend with comparable hotel on hotwire, it is close to even. Is it then worth it to get locked into a contract with annual mf's and the eventual certainty of special assessments at some time in the next 40 years? Are there any other upsides that I am missing by having priority access to Wyndham's system?
Thanks, Steve.

In doing comparison you need to compare Condo rental to Condo Ownership, there are plenty of timeshare rental sites out there, comparing to hotel i not a meaningful comparison
 
Wyndham nickle and dimes you

I don't own Wyndham, so use this info as you wish. Wyndham may be cheaper up front, but from what I've researched they also nickle and dime you like crazy. They also seem to make it worse for its owners every year. Wyndham buying WorldMark has not been a good thing. However, since all the places you vacation has a Wyndham property, it still may be a good option.
 
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