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Presentation today ended with more questions than answers = Help!

dmharris

dmharris

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I haven't kept up with the reading on TUG because my new career has taken my time. So I need some help; I read a lot of threads today but don't have answers to my questions. We own a 2 bedroom lock-off at Grande Vista gold season and joined the points option when it started just to save on trading fees. We've never converted to points. We've been to 12 presentations over the years and in September at Hilton Head we agreed to buy an encore package. That locked in the point cost for when we came back. To HHI I thought. We're at Newport Coast and went to a presentation this morning where the sales person said we can't keep that cost/point if we don't buy now. So when we return to HHI in September, if we go to a presentation, that offer will not stand. Question 1. Is that true? (I don't have any documentation with me and my memory doesn't recall that being said).

Sales person said NOW we can only trade with 30 some Marriott properties becuase Marriott owns Interval and we won't be able to exchange into Hyatt (which is the only other one we've exchanged in to). HUH! Question 2. Is that true?

Moving forward, she said Marriott owns the Interval Inventory and we'll not get much when we try to trade into Interval. Question 3. Is this likely? Since 2006, I've locked off our unit, deposited it into Interval and we can travel off season so I've gotten Aruba, Waiohi, Newport Coast, Grande Ocean, Willamsburg, etc. I've gotten 2 bedrooms with my lockoff.

We asked for papers to review because we wanted to think about it and they wrote a few numbers down on a piece of paper. Imo, that's crazy that you don't get documents to review before you sign them. I'm very concerned that she's right and that come February, they're introducing a new name for the company and we weeks owners are all in for a tail spin. Any advice please respond asap because they've given me today to think about this. Is there anything else I should be aware of or concerned about before we sign up for 1000 points?
 
You just heard an awful lot of baloney! If it's not in writing don't believe it!
Although trading in to Hyatt is probably problematic.
 
Timeshare sales never want to give you anything to review. They rarely even let you walk out the door with their scribbles. They want very little to leave the floor because confusion in the numbers helps them. If you actually take the time to run their numbers, they usually don't add up.
 
Don't panic... You said you've been to 12 presentations over the years, so you know how they create a sense of urgency for you to buy. Don't fall for it...

If HHI locked the cost/point for you, they should honor that. It was probably not a good buy then and probably won't be a good buy when you come back, even if their prices went up and you get a "discount". But you attending a presentation and potentially buying at HHI doesn't help the guy at Newport Coast so he says what he needs to say.

I don't trade through II but I remember the II Inventory is going away stories since 2010. It sounds like they never materialized. This is just another way to create a sense of urgency for you to buy the latest shiny object. 5 years later they will tell you that one is going obsolete too, so buy the next thing....

Enjoy your vacation!!
 
The sales team at NCV is notoriously bad. We own there and love the resort, but don’t trust the sales reps at all.

If you didn’t use your Encore package for this stay the they are wrong. Enjoy your stay and forget about them.

Best regards.

Mike
 
We had a Vistana Encore package and went to several presentations having that package "open". When we finally used the package, our locked in price still applied. Shoot, we have been to multiple presentations after using the stay and they still tell us we have an open package and a locked in price.... What a joke.
 
There should never be a sense of urgency when it comes to making a second Developer purchase.
 
"So when we return to HHI in September, if we go to a presentation, that offer will not stand."

In my experience, you are REQUIRED to attend a presentation when you accept an Encore Package. As such, it seems very unlikely that an intervening presentation at NCV would have any impact. Of course, as others pointed out, that "frozen" number isn't likely good for you anyway. Best deals I've seen tend to be "hybrid" ones where you pick up a week at a lower maintenance fee and buy X points at same time and they are able to pencil a fairly low # ($7-$8/pt?) via the hybrid. We did that and found a week at OP and corresponding points that took us to just 50 points above Presidential Level which we have enjoyed being able to book at 30% off w/i 60 days since we are empty nesters.

In reality, unless you need a certain level of points to get some benefit, owning and paying the lowest amount is best and then renting to go wherever you want each year. I can't imagine we'll ever purchase more points.

YMMV
 
dmharris said:
I haven't kept up with the reading on TUG because my new career has taken my time. So I need some help; I read a lot of threads today but don't have answers to my questions. We own a 2 bedroom lock-off at Grande Vista gold season and joined the points option when it started just to save on trading fees. We've never converted to points. We've been to 12 presentations over the years and in September at Hilton Head we agreed to buy an encore package. That locked in the point cost for when we came back. To HHI I thought. We're at Newport Coast and went to a presentation this morning where the sales person said we can't keep that cost/point if we don't buy now. So when we return to HHI in September, if we go to a presentation, that offer will not stand. Question 1. Is that true? (I don't have any documentation with me and my memory doesn't recall that being said).

Sales person said NOW we can only trade with 30 some Marriott properties becuase Marriott owns Interval and we won't be able to exchange into Hyatt (which is the only other one we've exchanged in to). HUH! Question 2. Is that true?

Moving forward, she said Marriott owns the Interval Inventory and we'll not get much when we try to trade into Interval. Question 3. Is this likely? Since 2006, I've locked off our unit, deposited it into Interval and we can travel off season so I've gotten Aruba, Waiohi, Newport Coast, Grande Ocean, Willamsburg, etc. I've gotten 2 bedrooms with my lockoff.

We asked for papers to review because we wanted to think about it and they wrote a few numbers down on a piece of paper. Imo, that's crazy that you don't get documents to review before you sign them. I'm very concerned that she's right and that come February, they're introducing a new name for the company and we weeks owners are all in for a tail spin. Any advice please respond asap because they've given me today to think about this. Is there anything else I should be aware of or concerned about before we sign up for 1000 points?
Click to expand...

Question 1 - You can rely on whatever you have in writing regarding your Encore package.
Question 2 - Hyatt is not part of the recent MVCI acquisition and remains a separate timeshare company. The relationship between Marriott and Hyatt hasn't changed to my knowledge. They remain 2 separate companies with the same rules to exchange between them (via II) as they have always had.
Question 3 - I haven't seen any proof that this will be the case now or in the future. While MVC does own II, that doesn't mean they will materially alter the way II does business. However, as the new corporate owners could they in the future - Yes. Will they - Unknown.

In summary - I wouldn't make a purchase decision based on what you heard at NCV.
 
Assume anything preceding with "unless you buy now!" to be sheer BS.
 
Unless the price/point is less than $6 who cares, since that is what you can get resale.

The other 2 are garbage, but if you are bored and want to wind them up - "So you are saying since Marriott has a habit of penalizing people who bought from them, wouldn't it be better if I waited so you don't penalize me again in the future if I bought now"
 
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So, can I buy points resale and will they be matriculated into my account and be able to be used as if they were bought from Marriott, or are there restrictions, like resale weeks had restrictions? I so appreciate all your responses.
 
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StevenTing said:
Is Newport Coast your Encore Package usage? If it is, then that’s when your pricing offer will expire. If it’s not, you’re covered till you go on your Encore Package.

I don’t believe 2&3 are true.
Click to expand...

Our encore package is at Grande Ocean in HHI and was purchased in September 2021.
 
dmharris said:
So, can I buy points resale and will they be matriculated into my account and be able to be used as if they were bought from Marriott, or are there restrictions, like resale weeks had restrictions? I so appreciate all your responses.
Click to expand...
You buy the points, pay junk fee and they are the same.
 
dmharris said:
So, can I buy points resale and will they be matriculated into my account and be able to be used as if they were bought from Marriott, or are there restrictions, like resale weeks had restrictions? I so appreciate all your responses.
Click to expand...
Yes …If you want points buy resale … going for about $3.50 about plus Marriotts Activation of $3. For full usage no restrictions = $6.50
Also you can rent points on VacationPointExchange.com
[QUOTE="dmharris, post: 2729438, member: 9441"
 
Is Marriot Activation fee the 'Junk fee'? Where does one go to buy junk points?
 
dmharris said:
Is Marriot Activation fee the 'Junk fee'? Where does one go to buy junk points?
Click to expand...
Yes, one and the same. That being said, please continue to ask questions and read stickies on the Marriott board. Based on the questions you ask (that are rudimentary for longtime Tuggers), there is a lot for you to learn and you are a "newbie" that would be well served by much more education here before you spend tens out thousands of dollars on anything. You'll get there through TUG!
:banana:
 
"Junk fees" is a slang term. Meaning the fees really don't do anything special, they are just required fees to help pad MVC's bottom line.
 
dioxide45 said:
Meaning the fees really don't do anything special, they are just required fees to help pad MVC's bottom line.
Click to expand...

And they pad the bottom line in 2 ways...

The "direct" way is the $3/point. Every point transacted on the resale market for which MVC is not the buyer generates $3 with almost no cost to MVC.

The "indirect" way is by lowering the resale value of points, and MVC buying them with right of first refusal. If the "real value" of a point is $6 (highly debatable number) right now that is split as $3 to the seller and $3 to Marriott. If the junk fee were to go to $5 (and the average buyer is still only willing to pay $6) then the seller now only gets $1. Given that MVC would have the ability to buy at $1 via right of first refusal, they can now buy points for cheaper and still resell at their full freight price.

If the fee goes up, MVC gains whether they exercise ROFR or not. The "junk fee" was $1 in 2010. It is $3 now. It can be $5 next week. Points owners have no say in this.

This is why I will never buy points, unless I was getting a lot of other things with that (like enrolling a bunch of weeks I couldn't enroll otherwise). I already hate the fact that you lose 70%-80% of the "value" the moment you walk out the door (or when you can't rescind anymore). But the fact that some organization can literally take resale values to zero just by raising a fee whenever they want to, doesn't work for me... Resale points have a similar issue, it's just less painful because you pay less upfront and so it's less costly.
 
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davidvel said:
Yes, one and the same. That being said, please continue to ask questions and read stickies on the Marriott board. Based on the questions you ask (that are rudimentary for longtime Tuggers), there is a lot for you to learn and you are a "newbie" that would be well served by much more education here before you spend tens out thousands of dollars on anything. You'll get there through TUG!
:banana:
Click to expand...
I'm not actually a newbie, I've been a paid TUG member since 2006 and made a bunch of posts and replies over the years. I use TUG when I need information, not as a social medium, so I have wide vacancies and until now, haven't really needed any more info that required direct answers. I so appreciate everyone's knowledge and advice. I'm asking myself hard questions. E.g. How much vacation do I want each year? How many more years will we vacation? Do I always want a villa type experience? Do I want to be locked in further to the maintenance fee type of ownership or simply rent? Do our adult children even care if they inherit our timeshare? Thanks for listening.
 
Vacation fun said:
Yes …If you want points buy resale … going for about $3.50 about plus Marriotts Activation of $3. For full usage no restrictions = $6.50
Also you can rent points on VacationPointExchange.com
[QUOTE="dmharris, post: 2729438, member: 9441"
Click to expand...

Very helpful! Thank you!
 
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