Resale vs Developer Purchase

[Soccer Canada]

So we ended up through a bit of a mess with another resort and ended up at the Marriott OceanWatch in Myrtle Beach. Of course we fell in love with it, we went through the tour (moreso to get the $150.00). Looks like we would need about 2000 Pts to get us by for 2 weeks per year here in the time we would be here.(which was why we came to Myrtle Beach in the first place).
Developer was $17.73/Pt..

Here is where it gets confusing to me, and maybe I'm not as confused as I am verifying what I think I know.
Are Resales are *ALL* in 250 Pts Beneficial Interests with a $700/Interest Transfer Cost, plus closing and a $300 Education Fee?
Is there a better way to purchase 2000-3000 pts (more then 250pts/time) and avoid the $700/Interval Cost? Or is this simply Marriotts version of "Punishment" for buying resale?
Are there any other "punishments" to buying resale?
Is Marriott like Wyndham that you cannot combine Developer Points and Resale points to have "status". Looks like at 4000/7000/10000 etc...
As best as I can tell the only difference might be that you don't get your Bonvoy Points status upgrade as a Developer vs Resale?

Anything else I should know? Highly experienced timeshare owner, just not dealt with Marriott in my travels.

TIA!!!

 

[Dean]

2000 points may get you 2 weeks at MB in Jan/Feb but it may only get you 2-3 nights in a higher season. I doubt you'll have trouble getting a reservation there with points but I wouldn't absolutely count on the Ocean Front or Ocean Side units, esp OF. Assume it'll be Garden View or Ocean View (which is lower). So maybe $13-14K all in for 2000 points resale (purchase plus $3 PP fee to Marriott plus closing and education fee). Then figure close to $2K per year in maintenance fees plus Club Dues. IMO to buy to get into a place that's not worth owning from a value standpoint (Bronze or Silver weeks there) doesn't make sense to me. If that was my goal I'd just find a member partner and rent from them consistently.

IF you have other travel plans that owning would make more sense, buying good trading week and exchanging in would be a better choice. Much cheaper going in with around the same yearly costs to accomplish the same goal. And it'd give you a ton more options. I'd suggest you spend a few months learning about the Marriott system before making any final decisions. Have you stayed on HHI for example, if not you might want to try that as well.

 

[sponger76]

Are Resales are *ALL* in 250 Pts Beneficial Interests with a $700/Interest Transfer Cost, plus closing and a $300 Education Fee?
Is there a better way to purchase 2000-3000 pts (more then 250pts/time) and avoid the $700/Interval Cost? Or is this simply Marriotts version of "Punishment" for buying resale?
Are there any other "punishments" to buying resale?

Correct, they are in 250 point BI increments. To have full usage you must pay $3/point ($750 per BI, minimum $3;000 so might as well buy 1,000+ points/4 BIs per transaction) as punishment for daring to buy secondhand. You don't *have to* pay it, but then you can only book a couple months in advance instead of 12-13 months out. The $300 "education" fee is only if it's your initial points purchase. If you already own some you don't have to pay it.

Is Marriott like Wyndham that you cannot combine Developer Points and Resale points to have "status". Looks like at 4000/7000/10000 etc...

Assuming you did pay the extortion, resale actually does count toward status and is seen exactly the same as developer purchases.

 

[Soccer Canada]

2000 points may get you 2 weeks at MB in Jan/Feb but it may only get you 2-3 nights in a higher season. I doubt you'll have trouble getting a reservation there with points but I wouldn't absolutely count on the Ocean Front or Ocean Side units, esp OF. Assume it'll be Garden View or Ocean View (which is lower). So maybe $13-14K all in for 2000 points resale (purchase plus $3 PP fee to Marriott plus closing and education fee). Then figure close to $2K per year in maintenance fees plus Club Dues. IMO to buy to get into a place that's not worth owning from a value standpoint (Bronze or Silver weeks there) doesn't make sense to me. If that was my goal I'd just find a member partner and rent from them consistently.

IF you have other travel plans that owning would make more sense, buying good trading week and exchanging in would be a better choice. Much cheaper going in with around the same yearly costs to accomplish the same goal. And it'd give you a ton more options. I'd suggest you spend a few months learning about the Marriott system before making any final decisions. Have you stayed on HHI for example, if not you might want to try that as well.

The low time is exactly when we want to be here, hence the points figuring. We would be happy with GV or OV, we have run across a couple owners here that are in OV and speak highly of it. We have just about 200,000 RCI points so would be buying Marriott to be at MB or in a very rare occasion use II for DVC. I like Marriotts (current) structure with no junk fees, and on the beach they nail you generally. We have an unattached II Platinum Membership so I did book this last minute for about $750USD on Getaways, and got lucky that the inventory manager happened to be out front and heard our plight so put us in an OV unit (maybe what we were assigned but never hurts to play the hero). I hate renting from owners (plenty good ones out there, just too many scams, and we are Canadian so payment is a hurdle) I like going on a website, putting in dates and knowing I have a reservation, even if there is a bit of a premium to have that convenience.
HHI is interesting to us, MB is just much easier to access. Our travel options from YYC are pathetically lacking. MB has a gorgeous airport with plenty of car rental options.

 

[Soccer Canada]

Correct, they are in 250 point BI increments. To have full usage you must pay $3/point ($750 per BI, minimum $3;000 so might as well buy 1,000+ points/4 BIs per transaction) as punishment for daring to buy secondhand. You don't *have to* pay it, but then you can only book a couple months in advance instead of 12-13 months out. The $300 "education" fee is only if it's your initial points purchase. If you already own some you don't have to pay it.

Assuming you did pay the extortion, resale actually does count toward status and is seen exactly the same as developer purchases.

Perfect, that’s good to know. Im not an RCI fan persay but they have good options in Orlando (often booking 16-17 nights on one exchange) which has been our vacation destination, finding we want to spend less time there. Also Vacation Village (Grandview Las Vegas is where we own) being taken over by Vacatia could be leading to a big increase in MFs or SAs, so having an exit strategy there may not be the worst idea. Marriotts MFs don’t seem to be extortion at least at this point.

 

[paxlin]

The low time is exactly when we want to be here, hence the points figuring. We would be happy with GV or OV, we have run across a couple owners here that are in OV and speak highly of it. We have just about 200,000 RCI points so would be buying Marriott to be at MB or in a very rare occasion use II for DVC. I like Marriotts (current) structure with no junk fees, and on the beach they nail you generally. We have an unattached II Platinum Membership so I did book this last minute for about $750USD on Getaways, and got lucky that the inventory manager happened to be out front and heard our plight so put us in an OV unit (maybe what we were assigned but never hurts to play the hero). I hate renting from owners (plenty good ones out there, just too many scams, and we are Canadian so payment is a hurdle) I like going on a website, putting in dates and knowing I have a reservation, even if there is a bit of a premium to have that convenience.
HHI is interesting to us, MB is just much easier to access. Our travel options from YYC are pathetically lacking. MB has a gorgeous airport with plenty of car rental options.

You can also consider buying one of Spain week direct which should be cheaper for maintenance cost with maybe similar upfront cost.

 

[Dean]

The low time is exactly when we want to be here, hence the points figuring. We would be happy with GV or OV, we have run across a couple owners here that are in OV and speak highly of it. We have just about 200,000 RCI points so would be buying Marriott to be at MB or in a very rare occasion use II for DVC. I like Marriotts (current) structure with no junk fees, and on the beach they nail you generally. We have an unattached II Platinum Membership so I did book this last minute for about $750USD on Getaways, and got lucky that the inventory manager happened to be out front and heard our plight so put us in an OV unit (maybe what we were assigned but never hurts to play the hero). I hate renting from owners (plenty good ones out there, just too many scams, and we are Canadian so payment is a hurdle) I like going on a website, putting in dates and knowing I have a reservation, even if there is a bit of a premium to have that convenience.
HHI is interesting to us, MB is just much easier to access. Our travel options from YYC are pathetically lacking. MB has a gorgeous airport with plenty of car rental options.

Regardless I think there are better options and better values for the stated goal. Only 2000 points is extremely limiting for anything that's of appropriate demand. IF I were going to proceed to own, I'd look at a Spanish week, possibly a Gold week, as well. If you proceed I predict you'll wish later you had given yourself more and better options. Realize though the discussion for a larger portfolio would result in different recommendations than for the stated situation.

 

[jmhpsu93]

If your sole purpose is for Ocean Watch for a couple of weeks in February, here is the points chart:

With 2,000 points, you could stay 25 days if you start on a Sunday and go with Garden View. IMO one of the best values in the system, though weather can be all over the place in February (still warmer that the midwest or northeast!!). 1500 points would get you 19 days, and IIRC 1500 is the minimum number of points to own to be in the Abound system. You could obtain these on the resale market for around $6-7/point all-in depending ROFR (and you might have to try a few times to pass through).

February Myrtle Beach is really easy to book at 12 months out (I even booked something like 45 days out recently).

 

[Soccer Canada]

Regardless I think there are better options and better values for the stated goal. Only 2000 points is extremely limiting for anything that's of appropriate demand. IF I were going to proceed to own, I'd look at a Spanish week, possibly a Gold week, as well. If you proceed I predict you'll wish later you had given yourself more and better options. Realize though the discussion for a larger portfolio would result in different recommendations than for the stated situation.

What size of portfolio would make the calculation more attractive in your opinion?

 

[Soccer Canada]

If your sole purpose is for Ocean Watch for a couple of weeks in February, here is the points chart:

View attachment 105593

With 2,000 points, you could stay 25 days if you start on a Sunday and go with Garden View. IMO one of the best values in the system, though weather can be all over the place in February (still warmer that the midwest or northeast!!). 1500 points would get you 19 days, and IIRC 1500 is the minimum number of points to own to be in the Abound system. You could obtain these on the resale market for around $6-7/point all-in depending ROFR (and you might have to try a few times to pass through).

February Myrtle Beach is really easy to book at 12 months out (I even booked something like 45 days out recently).

It’s -40* at home so the weather here isn’t so bad. It’s been a little over the place while we have been here but don’t mind sweater weather. Golfing some very nice places with a light jacket, I’d rather be wearing a jacket then sweating.
Currently there are a couple EBay giveaway listings with paying only the closing costs on around 3500 points ($700x15=$10,500.00 + closing etc). Think they pass ROFR? (I know that’s a roll of the dice, just curious what the average arm chair quarterback thinks)

 

[vacationtime1]

It’s -40* at home so the weather here isn’t so bad. It’s been a little over the place while we have been here but don’t mind sweater weather. Golfing some very nice places with a light jacket, I’d rather be wearing a jacket then sweating.
Currently there are a couple EBay giveaway listings with paying only the closing costs on around 3500 points ($700x15=$10,500.00 + closing etc). Think they pass ROFR? (I know that’s a roll of the dice, just curious what the average arm chair quarterback thinks)

I think Marriott will exercise its ROFR on any low cost / free points transaction.

 

[tomvc]

We bought our points resale. If I could go back in time, I would buy a Spain or Auba week retail instead because they re-enroll resale into Abound. Maintenance fee per point is lower with the weeks than the Abound trust.

 

[dioxide45]

I think Marriott will exercise its ROFR on any low cost / free points transaction.

It looks like they are snapping up most points when they are below $3pp. Hard to tell what they will do on an Ebay auction because the final auction price may not actually be what is presented to MVC for ROFR.

 

[Soccer Canada]

We bought our points resale. If I could go back in time, I would buy Spain or Auba weeks instead because they are enrolled in Abound. Maintenance fee per point is lower with the weeks than the Abound trust.

Is there an article or write up somewhere that explains how this works?

 

[Dean]

What size of portfolio would make the calculation more attractive in your opinion?

As I said, I likely wouldn't buy in just for this plan. But if it's this plan plus other options it would depend on specifics. Likely either a resale purchase AND a cheaper week in Spain to enroll or more likely one or 2 resale weeks and exchange in. If you play the exchange game well you should have no problem exchanging in at this time. If you have exchange options already with II, that may even be a better choice.

 

[rickandcindy23]

We bought our points resale. If I could go back in time, I would buy Spain or Auba weeks instead because they are enrolled in Abound. Maintenance fee per point is lower with the weeks than the Abound trust.

Really, is this true?

 

[jp10558]

Marriotts MFs don’t seem to be extortion at least at this point.

IDK about that - Marriott MFs are among the highest, and TBH, there's like a million MB options. Not saying don't pay it, but MB isn't at all hard to book, especially in Feb...

 

[Soccer Canada]

IDK about that - Marriott MFs are among the highest, and TBH, there's like a million MB options. Not saying don't pay it, but MB isn't at all hard to book, especially in Feb...

Issue is you seem to pay it one way or another not only in MB but beach towns (and increasingly everywhere else) Anywhere from $35-$50/day in Resort/Parking/Just because we can fees… I used about 70,000 pts to book 16 nights originally through RCI, $40/day resort and $50/week parking. So about $700 in Maintenance, $299 exchange (was able to do one transaction), $740 in fees is $1739.00. The place wasn’t great as we had to leave on Day 7 because the water had been out 4 out of 7 days. That’s 2000 pts in the Marriott system maintenance. Most of the RCI resorts would have required consecutive weeks and then a couple nights cash or otherwise. So the math at least during this time of the year seems to math, at least to me. I know I’m not factoring in purchase but we paid something for the RCI as well (not much but still a number). Again, not looking to reinvent the wheel, just trying to spend a couple weeks here in this area specifically, I realize that value decreases elsewhere at other times.

 

[jp10558]

Issue is you seem to pay it one way or another not only in MB but beach towns (and increasingly everywhere else) Anywhere from $35-$50/day in Resort/Parking/Just because we can fees… I used about 70,000 pts to book 16 nights originally through RCI, $40/day resort and $50/week parking. So about $700 in Maintenance, $299 exchange (was able to do one transaction), $740 in fees is $1739.00. The place wasn’t great as we had to leave on Day 7 because the water had been out 4 out of 7 days. That’s 2000 pts in the Marriott system maintenance. Most of the RCI resorts would have required consecutive weeks and then a couple nights cash or otherwise. So the math at least during this time of the year seems to math, at least to me. I know I’m not factoring in purchase but we paid something for the RCI as well (not much but still a number). Again, not looking to reinvent the wheel, just trying to spend a couple weeks here in this area specifically, I realize that value decreases elsewhere at other times.

Ahh, but have you considered / looked at the Extra Vacations / Last Call inventory? I don't really exchange in RCI cause the exchange fee is so high, but I often do see good last call. IDK, I'd also still suggest that everyone on TUG who gets good deals with Marriott seems to do 2BR lockoff and exchange marriott to marriott via II at a reduced $164 last I heard - and that gets you 2 weeks, with perhaps a size upgrade fee or two depending on if you need a Studio, 1BR or 2BR. This is as I understand it non-abound and cheaper MFs are possible. I will admit that II doesn't seem to have resort fees that I recall which is nice, though in a lot of cases I think the actual cash price ends up similar, it's just paid up front with II Getaways and split with RCI.

I just looked in RCI and Wyndham has several locations in Feb in MB for $379 +$111 for a 2BR.

 

[tomvc]

Really, is this true?

Enrollement offer Spain

I post these offers I get as even if it is of no interest to me maybe some owners are looking to get externals enrolled. My sales rep offered me this - 2 weeks x 2 bedroom platinum Mallorca 7200 club points for only $57,800 + huge gift of 1 million bonvoy points, enrolls up to 3 external weeks.

tugbbs.com

 

[Dean]

Really, is this true?

Still have to be bought retail, not resale. Spain, Aruba and Central America are sold as weeks and come enrolled. Spain tends to have relatively good fees to points ratio and the Gold weeks are fairly inexpensive and still favorable in fees and points returned. IMO though only reasonable to consider as a bundle with a good secondary week or as an enrollment option where enrollment makes sense.

 

[travelhacker]

A couple of thoughts:

1) I'm sure you could post something on Tug or Vacation Point exchange to get someone to rent you a couple of weeks at Oceanwatch for next February. The going rate is about 75 cents -- this seems a lot better than buying in and paying maintenance fees.

2) You may consider picking up a Marriott trader. If you pick up a Marriott Grand Chateau you could split the week and book both of your weeks with exchanges....I'm fairly certain you'd also be able to book a couple of weeks in February as Getaways and you could save your exchanges for something else. Perhaps an every other year 2 bedroom would make sense for your situation.

Good luck!

 

[tomvc]

Still have to be bought retail, not resale. Spain, Aruba and Central America are sold as weeks and come enrolled. Spain tends to have relatively good fees to points ratio and the Gold weeks are fairly inexpensive and still favorable in fees and points returned. IMO though only reasonable to consider as a bundle with a good secondary week or as an enrollment option where enrollment makes sense.

Thanks, Dean. I updated the important piece that Spain and Aruba (also St Kitts) purchased from Marriott re-enrolls resale weeks.