The irony of Shell Vacations Club point charts price vs. exchange points. Same resort.

[rickandcindy23]

I can trade into Shell's The Donatello through the II portal for 2,500-3,000 Shell points + an exchange fee of $189. Total cost to do that is about .23 X 3,000 + $189 or $879. Shell points for a week in the same season is 5,150 points X .23 = $1,184.50.

Ridiculous. Is that irony or what?

We used to not see Shell inventory through the II portal.

By the way, I feel pretty STUCK with Shell at this point. It's the only thing we own that I absolutely feel is the worst timeshare point system. Of course, we don't own Diamond, and that might be worse.

I cannot see a way to get rid of the product without it costing a lot of money out of pocket.

 

[tschwa2]

Check often with Ovations to see if they will take it back. There was a report on one of the Wyndham facebook pages that a Shell contract was accepted. I don't know if it was because of a retail purchase or any other specific that may have let to the result but it can't hurt to try. The Ovations number to call may be different for Wyndham, Worldmark and Shell so if you contact Wyndham press to find a number for Shell Ovations.

It isn't unusual that the points requirement is less when exchanging through an exchange even with the exchange fee. A Hilton owner can grab a Hawaiian Hilton for much fewer points through II, if you happen to catch a 2 BR Bonnet Creek, the Wyndham points are less and while Hyatt can't exchange into a Hyatt through II, they can use fewer points to exchange into a Marriott or Westin Maui studio than it would cost to stay in the Hyatt Maui studio.

That is the nature of a fixed crossover grid on the other hand if you wanted a two bedroom Marriott Orlando or even a 2 bedroom Orlando Westgate or no name timeshare would cost you much more $ using shell points to exchange through II than what you could exchange for using a small SBP one bedroom even with the size upgrade fee. Using a crossover grid small higher demand properties are bargains using points and larger units in places with lots of timeshare inventory.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I called about the Ovation program. I cannot have anything reserved ahead, nor can I have any exchanges. They basically want the MF's for the year without me using a thing. I don't know how I would ever be able to take advantage of that program.

 

[ecwinch]

WM and Club Wyndham both have similar discounts if exchanging back into their resorts. I think any system that has a set pts chart for exchanges is going to.

 

[bizaro86]

I called about the Ovation program. I cannot have anything reserved ahead, nor can I have any exchanges. They basically want the MF's for the year without me using a thing. I don't know how I would ever be able to take advantage of that program.

Could you borrow the points and use them in advance? EG if you borrowed the 2018 points and used them in your 2017 use year, could you use ovation in 2018?

 

[alexadeparis]

When I gave back some of my shell contracts I had to cancel any reservations. It was totally worth it for me. Cindy, just don't use any points for your future years, change your MF to monthly, and start the process after your last stay in 2018 is done. The process only takes a few months. I called last December and was out by April. So I only had to pay 3 or 4 months in MF.

 

[uscav8r]

I can trade into Shell's The Donatello through the II portal for 2,500-3,000 Shell points + an exchange fee of $189. Total cost to do that is about .23 X 3,000 + $189 or $879. Shell points for a week in the same season is 5,150 points X .23 = $1,184.50.

Ridiculous. Is that irony or what?
....

WM and Club Wyndham both have similar discounts if exchanging back into their resorts. I think any system that has a set pts chart for exchanges is going to.

I realize OP is discussing II, but I agree with Eric regarding fixed exchange grids, though it depends on the resort. The more expensive resorts in a given system may be had for a discount via RCI, but the low-cost resorts actually end up more expensive via RCI.

The issue with exchanges is that you are usually not the first in line for bookings, and you may end up with less desirable units. Last summer I had a bunch of expiring RCI points and opted to jump back into a unit at Wyndham Smoky Mountains. The exchange unit were all in one building set apart from everything else and the furnishings/decor were quite run down. Oh, and it cost more than a direct booking.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[presley]

It's like that with HGVC and trading in RCI sometimes, too.

 

[kjohnsonusa]

When I gave back some of my shell contracts I had to cancel any reservations. It was totally worth it for me. Cindy, just don't use any points for your future years, change your MF to monthly, and start the process after your last stay in 2018 is done. The process only takes a few months. I called last December and was out by April. So I only had to pay 3 or 4 months in MF.

I just read your post. Did you say you were able to 'give back' your contracts to Shell? Did they take them back or did they foreclose on them? I'd love to find a way to just give my points back to them, no strings attached. My points are fully paid full, I just don't want to pay the maintenance fees anymore. Any info you have is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[alexadeparis]

I just read your post. Did you say you were able to 'give back' your contracts to Shell? Did they take them back or did they foreclose on them? I'd love to find a way to just give my points back to them, no strings attached. My points are fully paid full, I just don't want to pay the maintenance fees anymore. Any info you have is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I Gave them back through Ovation. Just like a Wyndham contract. You just have to call them.

 

[chellej]

I looked into the Ovation last December or so and I just couldn't bring myself to walk away from all those points so I pay monthly, am going to Hawaii for several weeks next month which will use all my points and when I get back I am going to call and give them back. Hopefully, they will be able to close it out by the end of the year or within the first couple months of next year. that way I will only lose a month or two of maintenance fees. I will miss the ocean front rooms at Beachboy but there are other resorts on Kauai I like so I will be able to live with it.

 

[Picker57]

I called about the Ovation program. I cannot have anything reserved ahead, nor can I have any exchanges. They basically want the MF's for the year without me using a thing. I don't know how I would ever be able to take advantage of that program.

Now THAT'S interesting...and a bit depressing. We attended an 'update' in Puerto Vallarta recently. After we made it clear that we didn't need nor want additional Shell points we were prodded to dump SVC and buy into that particular resort, thus gaining lots of points with I.I. and avoiding the SVC Club Fees. We called Ovation and were assured they would take it back, but didn't say anything about fees being paid ahead. That's disturbing.

I'm trying to do "apples to apples" here; the MF's would allegedly be a lot less by doing this , but I can't figure out how many points through I.I. would equal our current SVC package. It seems to me that SVC has become VERY expensive to use but it is fairly easy to use....sort of.

Thoughts about switching from SVC to another points program? Thanks for any observations/suggestions.

Zach