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Points VS Weeks

cimmel

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Whats better buying a week or buying points. What are advantages and disadvantages of each
 
Deciding what is better depends on how you want to vacation. My wife and I own weeks and points. We like to vary where and when we go so we get better use of our points. The flexibility is great for us. We love being able to choose our check in and check out days as well as length of stay. Our weeks get banked and traded most of the time and we are limited to preset check in and out days.

Doug
 
I say points. I just think you have so much more flexibility. However if you have to be at a certain resort for a certain week than you might want to buy that week. I look to get the most out of my points which can be tricky with a week. I also think the amount of effort you want to put in should be considered.

We bought 469K points. Thought we would get 2 weeks in a 2BR plus some extra nights. So far we have gotten two seven night stays in 1 BR's, 2 seven night stays in 2 BR's and two 5 night stays in 2 BR's plus we still have 100K left.
 
Weeks / Points - difference?

Whats better buying a week or buying points. What are advantages and disadvantages of each

Whoa - a loaded question that could take pages to answer fully. Quick hitter summary:

Points are best if purchased in a LARGE (bigger the beeter) system that has so much inventory & so many varied locations that you can literally travel to different resorts / areas without costly exchange companies needed. Plus they tend to have tie ins with an exchange company when you absolutely need a place outside the system on a rare occasion. Points are best when you don't plan to go the same place most use years. Maximum flexibilty.Requires careful planning & monitoring.

Weeks are best for a resort / area you want to treat as a second home / cottage. Less work but limits your travel to your fixed week regardless of convenience for you in any given use year OR you have to pay to use a third party exchange company. Not a good thing to have to deal with if you do ant a change any given year. In highly seasonal areas (the majority of those out there) a fixed week in your desired time frame is best - maybe right down to the unit/view if that is important to you. In less seasonal areas - Orlando comes to mind - a float ownership is best as it lets you choose each use year exactly when you can best enjoy the trip. The very est way to enjoy a resort you want to visit most years AND not be forced into what may be a bad or inconvenient date in any given use year. Also requires a third party exchange if you must go elsewhere in a given use period.

In either case BUY RESALE for best value.

That's a short summary - hope it helps.
 
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Whats better buying a week or buying points. What are advantages and disadvantages of each

I assume you are referring to RCI weeks or RCI points and the question is: which is better for trading?

You will find fans of both here and some of us that like neither very much, as dwojo said...it depends.

I think its safe to say that the basis of both systems are weeks at the various resorts, Whichever system you choose, you will own a piece of one particular resort.. This also holds true for the systems like Wyndham, and marriott and the others, You will probably own a week in a specific resort

The best advice I can give, at least for your first purchase, is to buy into a resort that you like and will want to use most of the time....A resort within a days drive of your home also makes sense... I would make trading a secondary consideration

Having said that my first purchase was a points contract at a Wyndham resort...Wyndham has numerous resorts within a days drive of my home ..Beach resorts, Mountain resorts, Orlando, Branson, Nashville, even New Orleans are all within a days drive for me. Also San Francisco where my daughter and grandkids live and Washington DC where my wife and I both have family are in the Wyndham system. What sealed the deal for me is the fact that the two Wyndham resorts near DC are the only two timeshares in the Washington area . ie if I wanted to go to Washington and I wanted to stay in a timshare, Wyndham was my only choice.

Every conceivable vacation I might want to take I can take without leaving the Wyndham system ie I didnt think about trading with my first purchase. Buying Wyndham was a no brainer, for me

Obviously you will have different needs, and wants, which will probably take you to a different decision, but my point is: make the specific resort(s) your focus
 
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some more info -- sorry for the very long post

I'll also assume you are talking about RCI Weeks and RCI Points in your OP, since that is what most Newbies are looking at when they start. You already got some great input, so I'll take a stab at some more, and will cover some of the 'technical and exchange' aspects.

Covering all the advantages and disadvantages of each one is complicated as pointed out, since they can also be influenced by when and where you want to exchange into, what you are exchanging with, how important cost is, how much time you want to put into exchanging and other personal factors. Small and subtle differences in any of these factors, might cause what one would perceive as an advantage, to be a disadvantage; or vice versa. An Aside: So that's why many say a lot of homework is needed to buy the right property, develop an exchange strategy, plan where you want to go, and so on -- especially if you are just starting out. As you start to get familiar with things you'll eventually need to decide on what you want to achieve, the best way to get there, and maybe even consider other options like rentals or possibly one of the hotel timeshare chains.

An Observation: One person might recommend one ownership over the other, because the properties that they own have an advantage in one system vs the other, or because they own a week that gets a lot of exchange "horse-power" for relatively low maintenance fees, and they are able to make the exchanges for where they specifically want to go. Yet another might have a totally different perspective; since the higher maintenance fee for their property is not of concern (travel is top priority), or they want to primarily stay at the same resort for a lot of weekend getaways, and they really aren't interested in exchanging into higher-end or unique properties anyway. So I'm convinced that one size will not fit all when it comes to exchange systems; and that's great for us TUGgers, since we can each take timesharing to whatever end we desire. [We personally use RCI TPU, points, rentals and even internal resort exchanges for our vacation needs.] I also believe you would have to understand the needs, preferences, ownership, etc. of someone asking for a recommendation on what system is best for them!

Now having given you the caveats, here are some things that will help you get started. I like to think of them as trade-offs or considerations, rather than as advantages and disadvantages. (After all, both systems are nothing more than a way to achieve a means anyway.) But beware, since RCI controls the rules and terms/conditions for exchanging, they could change at any time:

1. Membership Fees: Annual fees for a weeks account are less than a points account. So if you only own weeks properties, the cost to open and renew will be less. In addition, RCI has periodically offered deeply discounted fees for weeks account renewals, and I don't recall them ever doing that for points account renewals. (Both will give you a discounted renewal % if you extend your membership for multiple years, but the weeks renewal fee ends up costing less, because the annual membership fee is less to begin with.)

Although a points membership account costs your more than a weeks account, if you own a weeks property and a points property, you can get a free weeks account anyway. You just need to call RCI and ask for Web Services to get the account in this case; and just be sure you open the points account before you establish the weeks account.)

2. Exchange Fees: A weeks exchange fee is slightly higher than a points exchange fee. So this might be a consideration if you eventually will make a lot of 1BR exchanges for all of your 2BR lockouts, or take a lot of timeshare vacations.

3. Exchange Units: TPUs from from a deposit, are not automatically combined with other TPUs you may have in your account, at the time you want to set up an automatic search or even make an exchange. So that means, you will have to pay a combine fee to set up an automatic search or to book a unit, for a higher TPU exchange.

Although you might need to combine TPU, there is nice an advantage in doing it. When you combine TPUs you also extend their life for an additional 2 years, from the time you combine. So it's theoretically possible to carry TPUs forever, from any given year -- as long as you periodically combine them with others from time to time. However, you will also want to have a strategy for combining TPUs, since combine fees are currently $99 each time you do it. (Points can be rolled from this year to the next year for free, but will cost you to extend them into the 3rd year. Unfortunately they can't be extended beyond that, so they have a finite life before you loose them.)

RCI Points from one timeshare automatically combine with RCI points from other points that are already in your account, since they all have the same use year. So there are no combine fees with points.

You can do what is call a Points for Deposit (PFD) if you already have an RCI Points account. However, a PFD cannot be done with a unit from an RCI Points resort. RCI currently charges $26 per PFD, and points are mixed with any other points you have in your account at the time, once RCI verifies you can make the deposit with your resort (can take up to 3 weeks or so).

4. Vacation Window: A weeks exchange can only be made for a 7-day window. So you cannot exchange for less than a week, and if you want more than 1 week, it will have to be done in additional 1 week increments (which will also result in additional week exchange fees). Hint: If you want to stay an extra day or two at a resort, call them and see if you can rent these days. Some have an internal rental program just for this, and the $$$ cost can vary, especially if you own there.

RCI points exchanges give you the opportunity to exchange for less than 7 days (for a reduced exchange fee), and even longer for only one exchange fee. But be aware, not all resorts will allow you to exchange for less than a week, and/or they may charge a cleaning fee if they do.

5. Renting, Transfers and Borrowing: There are no provisions for buying (renting) week TPUs, should you find yourself a little short for an exchange. In addition, there are no provisions for transferring TPUs to other members, and you cannot borrow TPUs from a future deposit, without first making the deposit and having the resort confirm it.

You can "rent" RCI points directly from RCI, should you find yourself running a bit short for an exchange. The price is a fairly high, but it might be an option if you don't need many points. Most will not recommend renting a lot of points, because it can be very expensive. A better option in this case, might be to get them from another member. Although there is no fee for doing a point transfer, there are rules and an intended purpose for this, that need to be followed.

You can also borrow points from your next year's RCI point deposit, should you find yourself running short in the current year. There is no fee for doing this, and it can be useful when planning special, important, difficult or more costly exchanges.

6. Exchange Inventory: You might find that the exchange inventory or required exchange values, are better in one system or the other. This can be the result of several factors, some of which include: owners deposits, owners making PFD deposits, whether the resort has sold RCI Points conversions (is an RCI Points Resort), the specific resort agreement with RCI, whether the resort uses RCI to rent units for owners, whether the resort bulk banks deposits, demand, travel seasons, etc.

Although you will be able to see and exchange into some weeks properties from your RCI Points account [using points], you will not see all the possible weeks inventory that may be available for exchange at that time. You will also need an RCI weeks account to see other exchanges being offered from Weeks owners -- because it can be different inventory. However, some RCI points members have been able to see them in their RCI Weeks account, and have had success calling RCI to get them to exchange that inventory using their RCI points. [Although some RCI vacation counselors have refused to do this, it is worth a call if you are a points member and have taken advantage of your free account. The key here is to be able to see them; and without a weeks account you don't know what you can't see.]

Making specific exchanges into certain areas or resorts can be a whole separate topic in and of itself. The Sightings, Exchanging and Regional Sections of the forum have a lot of posts for specific topics, so that's a good place to start. Don't be afraid to make a post asking for the best ways to get there.

7. TPU and Points: TPUs you receive for a week deposit will vary with supply and demand at the time you make your deposit. In addition, the TPUs required to make a week exchange will also vary with supply and demand at the time you make the exchange. Subsequently, values tend to fluctuate over time due to other owners making deposits and competing for exchanges, and it is not unusual to see a noticeable differences from year to year. In general, the further out you deposit the more assurance you have of getting the highest TPU for your deposit, and the the best chance you have for getting the exchange that you really want. A Note: The TPU Calculator in the weeks account is a good tool to use, to get a feel for TPU deposits and exchanges, but you must have a unit on deposit to gain access to it. [Unless you can talk an RCI Website Specialist into adding a 'dummy deposit' into your empty weeks account.]

Weeks that get deposited less than 276 days ahead of the timeshare-week start, loose some TPU value the closer it gets to the start. In general, the value drops below 100% at <276 days, all the way down to 45% if deposited <14 days ahead of time.

Points given for a deposit or required for an exchange, are based on a grid that is periodically published by RCI. (Although the grids haven't changed much over the past several years; the seasonal supply/demand, quality rating, feedback scores, and other factors might cause changes in future years.) The grid generally reflects averaged seasonal values of supply/demand, with peaks for any highly traveled or valued periods. This means that you typically know how many points you will receive on your account anniversary date, and don't need to make any arrangements to make actual deposits with RCI ahead of time.

PFD values are also based on the conversion grid, and they will also begin to loose value if the PFD is done within 90 days of the timeshare-week start.

8.Float And Conversion: A floating-week at a weeks resort usually requires extra steps with the resort, to make a deposit. Oftentimes, the resort will pick the week you will get to deposit, based on available inventory, owner banking, and specifics from your deed/contract with the resort. At the better resorts you can request what to deposit, in order to maximize the TPU you receive from the deposit. So, in some ways having a floating week when making a week deposit can be good or bad, depending on your ownership and when the week is selected. I would start with the resort first, to see how they handle floating weeks, assignment priority, etc. when they select a week for deposit.

Converting a weeks property to a points property is expensive; anywhere from ~$700 to >$3000, depending on the resort, timeshare and size of the unit itself. (Since you can find resale units already converted to points on eBay or from other TUG members, most will not recommend you pay for converting a unit today.) With a converted unit you will already know who many points you get on the anniversary date (as previously described), and won't care what underlying week actually got deposited.

9. Exchanging Priority: Some resorts allow you to deposit your week up to 24 months in advance of the timeshare-week start. So you are able to deposit it at that time and can start to exchange with the TPUs once it is confirmed by the resort. This allow you to start watching for other exchanges at the home resort or resort group that you may be interested in. However, you are also competing with other exchanges at this time.

Some resorts have provisions where weeks owners are given booking or exchange priority within their resort, resort group and affiliated resorts. But this too can become a topic in and of itself, so you'd want to search the forum for more information.

Points owners get priority booking for their owner week, home resort and resort group at 13 to 12, 12 to 11 and 11 to 10 months, respectively. Priority booking within your resort using RCI Points can be a good way to get into your resort if you can't travel during your owned week.

10. Searching: Searching in a weeks account is much more user friendly when compared to a points account. [In many ways the flexibility to book stays of various lengths in a points account, limits the way you can search the account.] You can also initiate on-going searches in a weeks account, but can't in a points account, once you have made your deposit and paid the exchange fee.

You can save any real-time searches in a weeks and points account, so you can use it later. However, I also find that saved searches are much easier to understand and use on the weeks account; especially since you can only search in a 30 day window in a points account.
 
Whats better buying a week or buying points. What are advantages and disadvantages of each

A big question - I have both:

I would advise "either can work" - "it depends on your use pattern".

How's that for a non-answer?

Just make sure you buy right, then any "rough edges" in your use pattern will be absorbed by the glow of a real bargain purchase.

I like points for both short stays (less than a week) and long stays (well over a week).

I also have a couple of weeks to get into some hard to find week system (some MROPs).
 
Both for me. Provides More flexibility, especially if you add a few days before or after your week stay.
 
You aren't a regular Timeshare ADDICT here until you have 3 out of 4 on this list:

1) Ownership in major point system mini-system (Wyndham, HGVC, Sheraton, etc)
2) Membership in II and RCI (both Weeks and Points)
3) Ownership in an upscale system (Marriott, DVC, Sheraton, Westin)
4) Have more than 1,500 TUG posts

So, many of us have ownership in both several points systems and also FIXED or Floating week resorts. The more you learn, the more you game the various systems.

Of course, if you only have 1 week of vacation time - you do have a handicap. Rent your vacation locations until you find that one perfect resort. Then, you will know what you have to own to get back there. Of course, you will most likley be buying resale!;)
 
You aren't a regular Timeshare ADDICT here until you have 3 out of 4 on this list:

1) Ownership in major point system mini-system (Wyndham, HGVC, Sheraton, etc)
2) Membership in II and RCI (both Weeks and Points)
3) Ownership in an upscale system (Marriott, DVC, Sheraton, Westin)
4) Have more than 1,500 TUG posts

So, many of us have ownership in both several points systems and also FIXED or Floating week resorts. The more you learn, the more you game the various systems.

Of course, if you only have 1 week of vacation time - you do have a handicap. Rent your vacation locations until you find that one perfect resort. Then, you will know what you have to own to get back there. Of course, you will most likley be buying resale!;)

Oh, Maaaannnnn

And here I though I was so close to qualifying as a regular Timeshare ADDICT here.

Dang :wall:
 
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