Points

[noreenkate]

Anyone here have any other timeshares like Hilton or others? How happy are you with Wyndham vs others? I know I will get mostly positive answers but love all feedback in order to make an informed decision.

I consider myself a happy owner- we use our units and I don’t attend sales/update presentations. You probably will be to if you know what your getting into. Ask questions!!! There is a ton of information.

I started with DVC, adopted 2 vacation village resorts for trading, added Wyndhams mainly because they are everywhere, and added 2 marriot units…we are early retirees so finally have time for travel. The Hilton ones I kinda stayed away from- the only unit I wanted access to was NYC and the dues were outrageous and at the time the booking rules made that difficult for internal exchange.

The Wyndham units & properties are fine for us but their website makes me nuts…Please read up on the website thread before making any decisions & have an understanding on the problems like ghosts reservations and the payment portal ect. That said we haven’t met a unit that we haven’t liked yet…That and of all the places we own or traded into Wyndham has the best stocked kitchens. Am i cooking gourmet meals no but it’s nice to have a cookie sheet if you feel in the mood for pillsbury cookies.

Marriot weeks are at least for me incredible easy to book through the website no issues. I know absolutely nothing about their points system.

 

[BaillieCH]

Thanks. What places do you typically go to and overall with 300k points do you find the timeshare cost/ value worth it?

I've done Bonnet Creek, Emerald Grand, Glacier Canyon, and this year Great Smokies. My wife and I have also been able get a couples week in Grand Cayman.

As far as do i think I'm getting more value than cost. I am. Though, had I known what I know now, I would have bought resale. I've been keeping track of what our vacations are costing us and what it would have cost to rent and I'm saving money. BC was only really a savings of like $900. Emerald grand was $2700, Glacier was about 1200 and since great smokies I've got a 4 br presidential im saving about 4k for the week.

Though because I bought developer points, it's going to take me another 5-7 years (depending on where and how we use our points) to break even with the cost. I'd be well in the black by now if i had bought resale. Silver lining is , I bought young and have plenty of time to make savings.

 

[Jan M.]

Amazing love these comments and feedback.

190k points is a good start thanks everyone, I will look for 190k to 250k range.
Appreciate all the posts!!!

Anyone here have any other timeshares like Hilton or others? How happy are you with Wyndham vs others? I know I will get mostly positive answers but love all feedback in order to make an informed decision.

Something to keep in mind when you're looking at listings is that housekeeping credits are awarded one per every 70k points per use year. They can't be carried over.

Here's another thing I preach. Your maintenance fees determine the cost of every stay you will have for as long as you own. What's cheap or vitually free usually won't be over time. That's Club Wyndham Access points and the resorts with higher maintenance fees. Take a look at the maintenance fee spreadsheet in the pink stickies at the top of this forum. The lowest maintenance fee resorts usually command a higher price on the resale market but every once in awhile a good deal comes along. There might be better deals on lower average maintenance fee resorts like Grand Desert, Oceanside Pier and a few others. My rule of thumb is if you can recover the higher cost of buying points at a lowest or lower maintenance fee resort in what you save on the maintenance fees in 5-7 years or less, that's a no brainer. 8-10 years is worth considering if you're planning to own for a number of years. Over 10 years most people are out because of the upfront cost. Many because of their age.

One last thing or things, lol. Think bigger. Newbies often find themselves wanting/needing more points within a year or two. Buying bigger to start will cost you less than buying again to have more points Many people are scared off by those larger point listings. Often ones at lower maintenance fee resorts. You can sometimes negotiate a lower price on them. Never hurts to make an offer. If there's a fantastic deal on a really big point listing, are there family or close friends you could share the account, maintenance fees and cost with?