Trying to buy Wyndham points - so many questions? Can you help?

[raeuven]

I have owned two South African timeshares for over 10 years with great, great success in trading. We were in Flagstaff and attended a sales meeting but of course didn't buy but became interested in the points system for more flexibility. So I want to buy a points week.

The questions I have are as follows: Sorry if they are all over the place.
I have been gathering questions as I am reading here.

1) Any advantage over owning Wyndham points vs RCI points?

2) What does UDI stand for? My understanding is that it is original points and not a converted week, but I'm not sure what that means and what the consequences of have a non-UDI week vs a UDI week?

3) Does a resorts MF include the FSP if it is a Wyn resort or is that additional?

4) What is the advantage to having a fixed week with points attached and how do I find that out? I am assuming the seller would know that.

5) Is there a way to check with Wyndham or RCI to find out if a resort is a points resort or converted points? I saw where some points you would purchase but at the end of three years, it converts back to weeks? How do I find this out for myself doing due diligence instead of relying on the seller?

6) I have an existing RCI account from when I was single and now I am married. Should I put that in both of our names and the kids names and how do I do that? This question comes from something I saw that if I did buy a Wyn points resort, that I should consider putting the new contract under a different name and having them give me a free II account? What would be the benefit of that? or would I just be paying two membership Fees? One for Wyn/II and one for RCI?
Can I have, through Wyn, a II account and RCI account?

7) If I put my name and my husbands and the two children on the deed, does that help in paying for guest certificates or would all of us have to be present when checking in or just one?

8) How do I find out if Wyn has right of first refusal on a resort I want to buy?

9) If I do buy an Wyn points resort, can I transfer my RCI weeks to that account? this kind of ties into the previous question about my husband and kids' names on the deed?

Any help is greatly appreciated as I am looking on e-bay right now to buy a points resort. I was only looking at Wyndham Resorts, but it seems like maybe a regular points resort would work out great, too. I have always been able to trade into they Wyn resorts with my weeks with no problem.

thanks so much for your help

 

[aliikai2]

You need to do some reading on the points board

then the Wyndham board.

These previously posted threads will answer many of your questions.

Then, narrow your focus and ask your questions on the Wyndham board or the Points board ( for RCI points questions)




Greg

 

[gorevs9]

I have owned two South African timeshares for over 10 years with great, great success in trading. We were in Flagstaff and attended a sales meeting but of course didn't buy but became interested in the points system for more flexibility. So I want to buy a points week.

If you ultimately get an RCI Points account, then you can use your SA units for Points for Deposit.

 

[Bill4728]

I'll try an give it a shot but I'm not a Wyndham owner so I may be fuzzy on some of the questions

I have owned two South African timeshares for over 10 years with great, great success in trading. We were in Flagstaff and attended a sales meeting but of course didn't buy but became interested in the points system for more flexibility. So I want to buy a points week.

The questions I have are as follows: Sorry if they are all over the place.
I have been gathering questions as I am reading here.

1) Any advantage over owning Wyndham points vs RCI points?

IMHO, the biggest advantage of owning a points resort (any point resort) is that you can make a reservation with your points if the resort has an open room. With RCI points, you can only make an exchange if the week is deposited into RCI points ( so even if the resort has openings, unless it is deposit into RCI points, you can not reserve that open room.)

2) What does UDI stand for? My understanding is that it is original points and not a converted week, but I'm not sure what that means and what the consequences of have a non-UDI week vs a UDI week?

UDI=Undivided Interest Basically you own very small part of the entire resort instead of a single week/unit. Normally it isn't a big deal which you own. I believe that all resorts which are UDI, all owners are in FSP.

3) Does a resorts MF include the FSP if it is a Wyn resort or is that additional?

If your asking will I be billed for the small fee to belong to FSP when I get my MFs? they yes, you'll be bill at the same time. BUT being in FSP has nothing to do with MFs. FSP is the name of the wyndham point system. At some resorts, all units are in FSP. At other, mostly older wyn resorts, only those owners who converted their weeks into FSP are FSP. THIS IS A BIG DEAL!! Because the cost to convert a non-FSP week into FSP is likely going to be much more than the cost of buying an already converted week.

4) What is the advantage to having a fixed week with points attached and how do I find that out? I am assuming the seller would know that.

If you plan on using your home resort almost all the time ( like some hawaiian owners often do) Having a week outside FSP may be a plus, because wyn has to keep those weeks seperate from the FSP weeks. So you never need to worry is some owner from a wyn resort in Florida is going to reserve your week instead of you.

But if you plan to use your week/FSP points to do internal trading to the many other wyn resorts then you want you week in FSP points.

5) Is there a way to check with Wyndham or RCI to find out if a resort is a points resort or converted points? I saw where some points you would purchase but at the end of three years, it converts back to weeks? How do I find this out for myself doing due diligence instead of relying on the seller?

All Wyn resort are RCI point resorts too. BUT only recent buyer diredt from wyn are both FSP points & RCI point owners. And if you buy Wyn resell ( YOU ARE BUYING WYN RESALE, RIGHT??) the RCI point membership doesn't come with your purchase. I don't think the other rules (like every 3 years you must renew RCI points memberships) are true about Wyn.

6) I have an existing RCI account from when I was single and now I am married. Should I put that in both of our names and the kids names and how do I do that? This question comes from something I saw that if I did buy a Wyn points resort, that I should consider putting the new contract under a different name and having them give me a free II account? What would be the benefit of that? or would I just be paying two membership Fees? One for Wyn/II and one for RCI?
Can I have, through Wyn, a II account and RCI account?

7) If I put my name and my husbands and the two children on the deed, does that help in paying for guest certificates or would all of us have to be present when checking in or just one?

Outside of a Wyn ownership, If you buy a RCI points week somewhere, it is a good idea to put as many people as possible ( up to 7) on your RCI points account ( they don't have to be on the deed)

BUT the rest of how it works inside Wyn I don't know.

In II, for you to share an II account with anyone else, that person must be on the resorts deed. So if you own an II resort as a single owner , then buy an II resort as a married lady, you can't combine those 2 resorts into one II account because the names on the deeds don't match.

8) How do I find out if Wyn has right of first refusal on a resort I want to buy?

Very few Wyn resorts have ROFR. So I won't worry about this.

9) If I do buy an Wyn points resort, can I transfer my RCI weeks to that account? this kind of ties into the previous question about my husband and kids' names on the deed?

If you buy a RCI points week, RCI will combine the RCI week account and the RCI points account for a single price.


The key points are:

-If you want Wyndham, forget about RCI points. It is only for people who paid 9-10 times too much because they bought direct from Wyn.

-If you want to be in FSP, be sure that the week you're buying is in FSP, because to convert a week into FSP costs way too much.


Hope that helps

PS If any wyndham owner hasa correction about what I said feel free to correct me.

 

[raeuven]

thank you so much for the reply. I'm getting most of the questions I need asked.

 

[Jennie]

Got a few hours to do required homework? There is an entire web site devoted to helping owners and prospective owners understand the complex Wyndham Fairfield system which has a ton of ever-changing rules.

Go to: http://forums.atozed.com/


While there, I suggest you download the 31 page "Primer for Timesharing in Wyndham Resorts Fairfield V 2.0.pdf ".
It is a "masterpiece" created by a long-time very experienced owner as "a labor of love". He wishes to remain anonymous.

Here's the link to the page where you can download it:

http://forums.atozed.com/viewtopic.php?f=1337&t=4185


After you master the Wyndham Fairfield program, then you can explore the RCI Points program which has a whole 'nother set of rules (some of them vastly different from FF).

It took me months of diligent research to sort it all out. But it was worth the effort because I was able to figure out which type of ownership was right for me, based upon my vacation goals. And how to accomplish it once I became an owner.

The get the full picture, you should become a paid member of TUG ($15. a year). This will give you access to the "search" feature so that you can find a list of, and links to, the hundreds, maybe thousands, of discussions that have already taken place on the TUG forums/bulletin boards over the past couple of years. All your current questions have been asked and answered many times. Plus a lot of questions you haven't thought about yet.

Good luck.