Should I buy Club Wyndham Points - 84,000 annually

[J-Travels]

1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where? - No

2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time? - Trade more than half the time

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations? - I have more than 5

4) How many people do you usually travel with - total, including yourself? - Just me most of the time

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule? - I'm very flexible with my travel time

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance? - Yes

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time? - Yes, but I prefer 3 to 5 day stretches

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars? - 1 star, I use my lodging primarily for sleeping

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing? - $2,000

10) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year? - $2,000

11) Are you a detail oriented planner? - Yes

12) Do you understand that once you buy a timeshare, it may be very difficult to sell or give away, and you are responsible for all fees, until you do? - Yeah, I'm hoping it's worth it

 

[dioxide45]

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations? - I have more than 5

You can really only have five top 5. You may have more travel destinations in mind, but what are the top 5. This will help determine if Wyndham is even a good fit.

 

[jp10558]

Yea, Wyndham is stronger in the East. I think for one person who just wants a bed, it might be hard to make anything beyond last call style things make a lot of sense. Like if you go where RCI shows a last call, then I suppose the ~$400ish for a studio/1BR for a week would be a savings. But then you don't really need Wyndham, you could look for a triennial or even one of the vacation clubs that lets you just buy the last calls with no commitment.

Otherwise, even given my various reservations - the Priceline style discounted hotel nights might meet your 1* requirement at a similar price for "normally booked stays" - you could pretty regularly get $70 a night in a lot of place hotels.

 

[J-Travels]

Can anyone comment on how CW points work? Pros, cons, tips, etc...

 

[CO skier]

Can anyone comment on how CW points work? Pros, cons, tips, etc...

Go here

2023-2024 CW Directory

media.travelandleisure.com

and type "316" (without the quotation marks) into the rectangular box in the lower right. That will explain how CW points work.

A few insider tips:

1) A complimentary housekeeping is awarded for every 70,000 points owned. An 84,000 points ownership would get you one per Use Year. After that it is $159 per reservation for housekeeping -- not very efficient for "3-5 night stretches."

2) There is a program fee of $0.75/1000 points with a minimum of $192, so the "breakeven" is 256,000 points. A single 84,000 ownership is terribly inefficient.

3) Put those two together, and all you would be getting for your maintenance fee dollars is access to RCI, if you want to book stays beyond your 84,000 points -- which is not a lot of nights -- just look at the points charts for the resorts where and when you might want to stay.

4) As previously mentioned, there are MUCH more efficient ways to access RCI Extra Getaways and Last Calls, but those may not take you where you want to go when you want to go there, which is why you need to be more specific about where you want to go (and when). People can then offer their experience with the general area availability in RCI. (I have booked almost 40 RCI Extra Vacations and Last Calls within the last four years, but my schedule is entirely flexible as to where and when, so I can take maximum advantage of the opportunities.)

With less than 7-nights stays in RCI, there is a housekeeping charge of around $120 for a 1 bedroom (depends on resort). It is not uncommon, especially with Last Calls, for a 7-night reservation to be cheaper than a fewer nights reservation that includes a housekeeping charge.

"7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time? - Yes, but I prefer 3 to 5 day stretches" means that a points system of some kind is probably the best fit, but you will encounter the extra housekeeping charges in any points system.

 

[StarSailer]

84K Club Wyndham ought to get you 2x 3-5 night stays in a studio if that is your goal, second trip pays housekeeping.

However HICV (Holiday Inn Club vacation) might be a better fit for booking short stays in studio units since there appears to be no housekeeping fees... assuming you can find a cheap points deed at either: Gatlinburg, Myrtle Beach (South Beach), or Lake Geneva. [Note: location is very important: other locations reported to have resale use restrictions]

Do check the maintenance fees on any free/cheap HICV deed: A free bronze season deed will have a terrible MF/pt ratio worse than just paying housekeeping at Wyndham. Point conversion is always fuzzy, but I think ~50K annual / ~100K EOY HICV points are about equivalent to 84K annual CWA.

Honorable mention for a cheap RCI trader if you are spontaneous enough to be able to book last-call trips when opportunity arrives.

Honorable mention for skipping a timeshare and booking motels if a 1-star place to sleep is all you need.

 

[MarkLoggavich]

Go here

2023-2024 CW Directory

media.travelandleisure.com

and type "316" (without the quotation marks) into the rectangular box in the lower right. That will explain how CW points work.

A few insider tips:

1) A complimentary housekeeping is awarded for every 70,000 points owned. An 84,000 points ownership would get you one per Use Year. After that it is $159 per reservation for housekeeping -- not very efficient for "3-5 night stretches."

2) There is a program fee of $0.75/1000 points with a minimum of $192, so the "breakeven" is 256,000 points. A single 84,000 ownership is terribly inefficient.

3) Put those two together, and all you would be getting for your maintenance fee dollars is access to RCI, if you want to book stays beyond your 84,000 points -- which is not a lot of nights -- just look at the points charts for the resorts where and when you might want to stay.

4) As previously mentioned, there are MUCH more efficient ways to access RCI Extra Getaways and Last Calls, but those may not take you where you want to go when you want to go there, which is why you need to be more specific about where you want to go (and when). People can then offer their experience with the general area availability in RCI. (I have booked almost 40 RCI Extra Vacations and Last Calls within the last four years, but my schedule is entirely flexible as to where and when, so I can take maximum advantage of the opportunities.)

With less than 7-nights stays in RCI, there is a housekeeping charge of around $120 for a 1 bedroom (depends on resort). It is not uncommon, especially with Last Calls, for a 7-night reservation to be cheaper than a fewer nights reservation that includes a housekeeping charge.

"7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time? - Yes, but I prefer 3 to 5 day stretches" means that a points system of some kind is probably the best fit, but you will encounter the extra housekeeping charges in any points system.

Can you point me in the direction of the more efficient ways to access RCI Extra Getaways and Last Calls?

I am interested in trying to find ways to spend time in one location (Lake Lure) that has a couple properties that always seem to have excess inventory, at least based on the fact that RVC always has availability there. I don't necessarily want a timeshare but am trying to get up there more frequently without having to plunk down $$$ for a VRBO every time we go. I've used RVC and it's cheaper than getting a VRBO/Airbnb but from lurking around here it seems like having access to RCI would open up the possibility of cheaper stays.

 

[J-Travels]

Thank you guys so much for your very valuable info!! What are some ways to get access to RCI?

 

[StarSailer]

@MarkLoggavich
Armed Forces Vacation Club and similar if you qualify.

A cheap annual or EOY at an RCI affiliated independent resort is the best way available for all.

If you really want to own in a point system not tied to a single resort Sapphire/Geoclub has some cheap biennial/triennial deeds, but some of those deeds are so small that the points are basically useless within the home system and can only be used for RCI last call / extra getaway access.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I wouldn't buy CWA because the fees are too high per point.

For what you want, you need a point system. Weeks isn't going to cut it for you if you don't want to go a full week anywhere.

 

[austdav]

Magic Tree in Kissimmee FL has 1bd's for free right from the resort, they will also do a quick deed so cheep to purchase. MF;s are $575. If you don't like it they ask for 2yr's MF's and your out. They will let you use whatever trading company you want. I use both RCI and II. I seem to find plenty of getaways and some that are harder I trade my week. 0 to buy about 1k to get out if you don't like it. Work's great for me.

 

[CO skier]

What are some ways to get access to RCI?

Can you point me in the direction of the more efficient ways to access RCI Extra Getaways and Last Calls?

I am interested in trying to find ways to spend time in one location (Lake Lure) that has a couple properties that always seem to have excess inventory, at least based on the fact that RVC always has availability there. I don't necessarily want a timeshare but am trying to get up there more frequently without having to plunk down $$$ for a VRBO every time we go. I've used RVC and it's cheaper than getting a VRBO/Airbnb but from lurking around here it seems like having access to RCI would open up the possibility of cheaper stays.

Search for TUG discussions of Grandview Triennial points such as this:

cheapest entry to RCI

I would like to enroll in RCI just to have access to the cash deals. I am already an Interval member. What is the cheapest way to become an RCI member (weeks or points)? From reading other posts, I was thinking that an EOY 1 bedroom Grandview Las Vegas worth 49,000 RCI points would do the job...

tugbbs.com

There are no Last Calls for Lake Lure area at the moment, but there is a sale on Extra Vacations 2 bedroom units at Fox Run at Fairfield Mountains during September and October for $375/week (total cost -- no exchange fee, no housekeeping fee), as an example. There are 2 bedroom units at other resorts for $450-500/week.

 

[MarkLoggavich]

Search for TUG discussions of Grandview Triennial points such as this:

cheapest entry to RCI

I would like to enroll in RCI just to have access to the cash deals. I am already an Interval member. What is the cheapest way to become an RCI member (weeks or points)? From reading other posts, I was thinking that an EOY 1 bedroom Grandview Las Vegas worth 49,000 RCI points would do the job...

tugbbs.com

There are no Last Calls for Lake Lure area at the moment, but there is a sale on Extra Vacations 2 bedroom units at Fox Run at Fairfield Mountains during September and October for $375/week (total cost -- no exchange fee, no housekeeping fee), as an example. There are 2 bedroom units at other resorts for $450-500/week.

View attachment 125986

This is exactly what I'm looking for. $375 for a 2br in Fox Run is insanely cheap. Right now the closest comp I have is going through RVC via a Wyndham credit card and once you tack on the RVC upgrade fee it's still in the $600-800 range.