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Trust vs. Deed

cbyrne1174

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Club Wyndham, Marriott, DVC
100% resale!!
Don't the point values change in Jan? I though December was the last month that VIPP was 1M+ and VIPG was 700k+. But as Jan said, since you are close to Platinum, I would just get another PIC and go all the way and rent out the points you don't need.
 

paxsarah

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Wyndham Ocean Boulevard, Flagstaff, Grand Desert
Don't the point values change in Jan?

Privileges is still in development and scheduled to roll out in late 2020. No change as far as we know in January 2020.
 

Eric B

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@MoPops, What you need to take into account is the difference in ongoing costs for the points and whether the benefits of VIPG or VIPP meet your needs. Right now, Bali Hai points are ~37% less expensive than CWA (using 2020 costs and plus partners program fees). That’s about the same as a VIPG 60-day discount, but works all year, so a resale Bali Hai contract could be a good deal. It won’t change your current CWA costs, though. Going to VIPG or VIPP will get you discounts at 70-days out and unlimited transactions, which can be helpful. You should also look at the effective cost of your PIC points; mine come in around $5/1k.

Keep in mind that telesales will likely only let you do one PIC per 49K point purchase, which could equate to a boost of 303K. Not sure how many you have now, but it must be less than 700K, so I don’t believe you’ll get to platinum unless I’ve misjudged - my guess is you’re right around 400K now, so a 49K plus a 3 or 4 BR PIC would get you gold grandfathered into the new equivalent. That does have value in the long term, but in the short term resale can be better. There have been a number of Shearwater EOY contracts that are in the 500-600K range that have sold on eBay in the last few months for around $4100; I believe it’s at around the same MF as Bali Hai. Best to do your own due diligence.
 

SNA27

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Rancho Cucamonga CA
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Grand Desert - Flagstaff - Waikiki-Beachwalk+2PICs - Bonnet-Creek - Smoky-Mountains - NO CWA/NO RESALE
Mysterious! EXPIRE DATE disappeared! Let's see if it reappears on 1/1/2020! Or HAL did routine integrity checks and realized I am a permanent VIPP!:)

upload_2019-12-16_11-57-4.png
 

Richelle

TUG Review Crew
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Location, Location.
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Wyndham Canterbury
Wyndham Atlanta
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Williamsburg Plantation
Mostly a lurker here, just trying to learn Wyndham. But I do have a question.
We are presently silver VIP with CWA points and a PIC. I was thinking of buying more points to get to gold. Telesales wants $147 per 1000 points (I need 49,000 points) or $7,200.
Would I come out ahead just buying resale Wyndham points? I guess it all boils down to maintenance fees. We don’t travel that much, and have a travel trailer for some trips.
I don’t want to end up with points I can’t use, and MFs I’m stuck with. Paying for gold or just adding resale? I still haven’t figured out what I need to know to even decide..


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I assume since you said 49,000 points, you are looking to enroll a second PIC? If so, I need a little more information, so I can answer your question. Do you currently have a week you can enroll into PIC Plus? If so, what are the maintenance fees? If not, do you have an idea of what week you want to buy enroll? Whether you come out ahead depends on your maintenance fees for the second PIC. In most cases, the maintenance fees on the PIC will be cheaper then any maintenance fees on the equivalent about of points. For example, I have a PIC that gets me 254,000 points. When you factor in the $89 fee to exchange them, the MF rate is $3.81 cents per 1,000. That does not include the program fee you pay on those points. It’s the same fee you would pay on your regular points. So it’s cheaper then CWA points, but not cheaper then Bali Hai or Canterbury. However, if you buy those resale, you won’t be VIP gold. If you buy them retail, it’s significantly more expensive.

Another thing to factor is, what benefits can you use with Gold? Discounts and upgrades are never a guarantee. So don’t make those a deciding factor. Consider those a bonus. What other benefits have value to you, and are they worth the $7,200? The 9 months to move points forward, the unlimited reservation transaction credits and housekeeping has substantial value for me. That $7,200 can buy a significant number of reservation transaction credits or housekeeping. The value is not having to worry about them increasing the price. I say, you already have a ton of money dumped into the system, Go gold for that cheap price and let that be it. If you have extra points, you have nine months to move then forward. If you cannot move then, rent them out to friends and family. Or put them into RCI.

Of course there will be plenty who say that benefits can be taken away. They are not entirely wrong, but previous history shows Wyndham is a fan of the grandfather model.
 

MoPops

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Grand Luxxe Nuevo Vallarta
Wyndham CWA, VIP Silver
I would do the telesales deal for the 49,000 points and add another PIC Plus week in a three or four bedroom unit. That would be worth 254,000 points. It would make you platinum.

Log into your Wyndham account. Click on Owner 101, then Knowledge Base and under My Membership click on VIP Booking Benefits. The difference in the silver and gold benefits are significant. Platinum are even better.

I don't know your ages but you may find staying at the resorts more appealing as you age. My husband finally retired last year and we are staying at our timeshares more than we are home now. In our travels we've done some mountain driving, driving in heavy rain or winds and snow too. We are both good drivers and like driving but there is no way either one of us would want to be driving a motor home or pulling a travel trailer in the less than ideal driving conditions we've sometimes experienced. We flat out don't want to have the work and headaches of a motor home or travel trailer. As platinum VIP we get a mid week trash and tidy at the Wyndham resorts if we want it and if we stay more than a week they do a full clean. If there are any problems/issues we call to have maintenance or housekeeping take care of it.

There are a few things of our own that we like having and they are easy enough to pack in the car and bring with us. There is a thread in the TUG Lounge about the things people who stay in their timeshares a lot bring with them/keep packed for their stays.

Thanks Jan. A for instance would be this September, we are heading out with the trailer and going through Montana, up to Washington state, then down the coast as far as Napa. Then turning back east towards home. With the trailer we stop where we want and stay or leave whenever we want. Slow paced for sure. I just retired in Aug. We added CWA points and traded Durango (high MF) points. We bought a PIC from Timeshare Nation that got us to silver. I want to be able to head out on short notice for a week here or a few days there to escape winter cold or summer heat. (All while driving.) We have grandkids close, and a farm to take care of besides our home. I don’t see us using more than 3 or 4 weeks max. I think I’d be happy with gold, maybe even silver.
The more I think about it the more I think we will just sit tight, and rent if we need more weeks. The telesales rep has been pushing me to add the CWA points because I’ll be grandfathered into whatever gold is going to be. She was totally amazed I didn’t jump on the cyber Monday deal, which is still available I guess. lol
She did get me thinking though. Thanks for the advice.


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Eric B

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The cyber Monday deal seemed to be just the same as the ordinary telesales pricing, so I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. The same deal will always be there. There might be a need to get more points to get to the new Privileges level, but on the other hand there are trade offs that you have to consider in order for it to make sense to get the VIP status.
 

MoPops

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Wyndham CWA, VIP Silver
The cyber Monday deal seemed to be just the same as the ordinary telesales pricing, so I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. The same deal will always be there. There might be a need to get more points to get to the new Privileges level, but on the other hand there are trade offs that you have to consider in order for it to make sense to get the VIP status.

Yes, on the cyber Monday deal. Made me laugh.
I think I need to see if we can use the points we have before adding more. I also had heard in order to get grandfathered in at gold and to move to Champion (if I remember right) I had to buy before the end of the year. Now I see from a post above that the new levels don’t start for a while.
Thx


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Eric B

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Yes, on the cyber Monday deal. Made me laugh.
I think I need to see if we can use the points we have before adding more. I also had heard in order to get grandfathered in at gold and to move to Champion (if I remember right) I had to buy before the end of the year. Now I see from a post above that the new levels don’t start for a while.
Thx

Just went through a sales pitch in Austin and they said it would be starting on 1/1 but couldn't provide anything to back up that statement. Also couldn't provide any details as to what the changes would be, which seemed quite odd for something happening that soon. They couldn't be just making things up, could they...?
 

Cyrus24

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CWA, Royal Garden, Las Olas, VV at Parkway, Island Links
Is VIP status effective-dated?

A temporary VIPP in 2019, books in December for January 2020? What benefits apply, Platinum or Gold?:ponder:

What if the reservation is for 12/27/2019 to 1/3/2020? I would say platinum for the whole duration or else, it becomes a nightmare code!
A simple test for you. Book something for Jan 2020 and see what your discount is. If it's 50%, the expire date is of no meaning. You are permanent VIPP, so your discount should be 50%. Anything less and I'd suggest you call Owner Care.
 

Cyrus24

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Mysterious! EXPIRE DATE disappeared! Let's see if it reappears on 1/1/2020! Or HAL did routine integrity checks and realized I am a permanent VIPP!:)

View attachment 15549
My expire date comes and goes. No rhyme nor reason. Keep watching, it'll be back.
 

SNA27

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Rancho Cucamonga CA
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Grand Desert - Flagstaff - Waikiki-Beachwalk+2PICs - Bonnet-Creek - Smoky-Mountains - NO CWA/NO RESALE
To paraphrase a saying about guns:
Computers don't act stupid, their programmers do!;)
 

Jan M.

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Wyndham Presidential Reserve at Panama City Beach
Club Wyndham Access
Grandview Las Vegas and Discovery Beach Resort - Both in RCI Points
Woodstone and Summit at Massanutten - Both in RCI weeks used as Wyndham PICs
Thanks Jan. A for instance would be this September, we are heading out with the trailer and going through Montana, up to Washington state, then down the coast as far as Napa. Then turning back east towards home. With the trailer we stop where we want and stay or leave whenever we want. Slow paced for sure. I just retired in Aug. We added CWA points and traded Durango (high MF) points. We bought a PIC from Timeshare Nation that got us to silver. I want to be able to head out on short notice for a week here or a few days there to escape winter cold or summer heat. (All while driving.) We have grandkids close, and a farm to take care of besides our home. I don’t see us using more than 3 or 4 weeks max. I think I’d be happy with gold, maybe even silver.
The more I think about it the more I think we will just sit tight, and rent if we need more weeks. The telesales rep has been pushing me to add the CWA points because I’ll be grandfathered into whatever gold is going to be. She was totally amazed I didn’t jump on the cyber Monday deal, which is still available I guess. lol
She did get me thinking though. Thanks for the advice.


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It's not like you have to decide anything right now. The new VIP levels don't happen until late 2020 and it will be some months yet before the final details on the level benefits are officially announced. We do know for sure that current owners will be be grandfathered into the new point levels and names when the changes become effective. This was all discussed at the owner's meeting in Austin at the beginning of November. Some of us had the opportunity to talk to the execs after the meeting. Unlike sales they are and have to be extremely careful about what they say.

One thing to take into consideration is that from what you said you have your kid or kids and grandkids who can also benefit from being able to stay at the timeshare resorts. Your ownership with the VIP benefits is something that can be passed down to them should they choose to accept it. You can leave your timeshare to someone in your will but that doesn't obligate them to accept it. So that isn't a concern.

The difference between silver and gold is significant. The discount at 60 days increases from 25% to 35% and the upgrade window goes from 30 days to 45 days. The extra 10% savings on the number of points needed can make a lot of difference in what a reservation costs you in the maintenance fees on the number of points you use for a reservation. What you see for upgrades is significantly better at 45 days than 30 days. And platinum gets a 50% discount with upgrades at 60 days.

Silver doesn't get unlimited transactions but gold does. Those transaction fees are $19 each after the couple of free ones you get with silver. When you are making reservations hoping to get a stay to come together having unlimited transaction fees is a big deal. At many resorts it can be fairly easy to get the Sunday through Thursday stays with the discount and upgrade too. You can book the Friday and Saturday at full points or book the larger unit you need in the discount window if a smaller unit isn't available for the discount and upgrade. Many people are very successful at making stays come together to use as few points as possible. People will build a stay in two to four day increments and that takes more transactions fees if you are having to pay for them on the chance you can make the stay come together. As long as all the pieces of the stay are in exactly the same unit size and type most resorts will do everything they can to keep you in the same unit to keep their housekeeping expenses down.

From silver to gold the number of free guest certificates increases from 5 to 10. At $99 each that is a savings of $495 a year if you are using guest certificates. Platinum gets 15 per million points.

Gold and platinum can also request specific units when they make a reservation. There are certain resorts we stay at that I want a unit that gives us a view of the ocean, lake, mountains, etc. If you aren't familiar with the unit numbers at a resort you can call the resort to ask them. It helps if you don't call at a time when they are busy checking people in, like don't call between 2pm-6pm.

When I talked about the disadvantages of having a motor home or travel trailer that is more of a concern if you would have a major health problem or be older which would make it difficult to do the driving or setting up at the campgrounds. Some older people transition from their motor homes and travel trailers to the timeshares when those things become too much for them.

We know and and in our stays have met people who travel with their motorhomes or travel trailers. They really like having the occasional stay at the timeshares during their travels. That gives them the best of both worlds. If you farm I'm guessing that you have down time in January and February. Before my husband retired his territory was all of Florida south of Sarasota and across to Fort Pierce. We also own at non Wyndham resorts that give us points through RCI. There are so many great resorts in Florida available through RCI. When I would find reservations at resorts that appealed to us if my husband had a few days work in that area I would confirm the reservation and off we went. During those stays we met a lot of people in our age group and older who farm and like to come to Florida in their winter down time. On our recent stay in Hawaii we met a couple from Canada who spend time in Arizona and Mexico during the winter months.

The people we've met during our travels have been a bad influence on us. Hearing them talk about some of the places they've been gives us more ideas.

You may find yourselves using your timeshare more than you think. I know our first year of retirement we were still kind of finding our feet. But like I said you have time to figure it out and think about it.
 
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MoPops

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Wyndham CWA, VIP Silver
Thanks again Jan. I really appreciate all the information. We are, in fact using Wyndham as a break from the travel trailer in late Feb. we will leave one of the Florida state parks we have reservations in, and head over to Orlando to stay three nights at Bonnet Creek. (I used some Wyndham points we had transformed to RCI because they were going to expire, then they were going to expire at RCI) We had trouble finding a location though that would let us bring our airstream in while we were there. (That appears to be another issue with a travel trailer.)
We haven’t stayed in many Wyndham locations over the years. We’ve mostly used transferred points to RCI, probably the most expensive way to use the points, but they were expiring. We’ve almost always used the points to get to the mountains during ski season. Last year we stayed in a Wyndham TS near Ft Lauderdale, and were not real impressed. Hopefully Bonnet Creek will give us a better impression. But then again, we don’t know which building, which side of the building, which floor, etc. to even look for.


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