VIP - Is it worth it?

[Silverdollar]

Some have commented that VIP is no longer worth it because of issues with the new website and changes to Wyndham's policies. For the sake of current VIP (Platinum) owners like myself, and others that are considering becoming VIP, why do you think VIP is or is not worth it and why?

 

[spackler]

"VIP benefits" can be changed at any time by Wyndham. They are not deeded rights.

That fact alone should answer your question.

 

[tschwa2]

VIP can be had a various cost. I don't think it was ever worth it at $100,000+. I think its still worth it if you can inherit a gold or platinum account or if you already sunk the cash and are paying MF's only at this point. Obviously if you don't like the resorts, don't like vacationing or can't vacation and don't want to figure out how to at least break even then it isn't even worth owning already paid for deeds/contracts.
I think most think that having a platinum account is valuable or at least more valuable than a standard account. The question is at what cost is it worth paying to obtain platinum. I think the answer for most Tuggers who are interested in Wyndham that number would be between $5,000 and $40,00 with much more interest at the lower end. I can't see anyone here with a good grasp of the Wyndham system thinking it is worth over $40,000 to obtain platinum given the current website, benefits, and potential changes in the future.

 

[ronparise]

VIP benefits are valuable, even now

Discounted reservations inside 60 days
Free upgrades inside 60 days
Unlimited housekeeping
Unlimited transactions
30 guest confirmations
USA Today delivered to your room
Ability to choose your room

For those of you that are already Platinum, the money you have spent is a "sunk cost" and you should just enjoy what you have

For those of you that are not VIP and think you want to be, ask yourself this question. Are these benefits worth what it will cost you to get to VIP status

Everyone will have to run their own numbers, but here's how I'd do it for a small account

Assume that it will cost at minimum, $75, 000 to get from no status to Platinum (PIC two 3 bedroom red weeks and buy 500,000 points from Wyndham at $150/1000. In 10 years you will spend $60,000 on mf plus the $75000 to buy. That's $135,000

compare that to the guy that has no status: he needs 2 million points to get the same vacations as the first guy His purchase price will be about $10000 and over 10 years he will spend $120,000 on fees so $130,000 total. I'd call that about even except that the second guy has the $65000 he didn't spend to buy his points in the bank and the first guy dosent

I used to be able to justify the money I spent on a VIP account because I added millions of additional points that also got the discount and I used all those points to make discounted reservations for rent.

with the rule changes I'm not sure I could get everything at a discount like before. so now I can't say that it would be worthwhile buying a platinum account to use as a rental business either

 

[buckor]

VIP benefits are valuable, even now

Discounted reservations inside 60 days
Free upgrades inside 60 days
Unlimited housekeeping
Unlimited transactions
30 guest confirmations
USA Today delivered to your room
Ability to choose your room

For those of you that are already Platinum, the money you have spent is a "sunk cost" and you should just enjoy what you have

For those of you that are not VIP and think you want to be, ask yourself this question. Are these benefits worth what it will cost you to get to VIP status

Everyone will have to run their own numbers, but here's how I'd do it for a small account

Assume that it will cost at minimum, $75, 000 to get from no status to Platinum (PIC two 3 bedroom red weeks and buy 500,000 points from Wyndham at $150/1000. In 10 years you will spend $60,000 on mf plus the $75000 to buy. That's $135,000

compare that to the guy that has no status: he needs 2 million points to get the same vacations as the first guy His purchase price will be about $10000 and over 10 years he will spend $120,000 on fees so $130,000 total. I'd call that about even except that the second guy has the $65000 he didn't spend to buy his points in the bank and the first guy dosent

I used to be able to justify the money I spent on a VIP account because I added millions of additional points that also got the discount and I used all those points to make discounted reservations for rent.

with the rule changes I'm not sure I could get everything at a discount like before. so now I can't say that it would be worthwhile buying a platinum account to use as a rental business either

Ron, your assumption is based on a Platinum VIP making all their reservations with the 50% discount. Is that a realistic assumption? One would have to be willing to wait until the discount window for all reservations to get the discount and be willing to settle for what is available then.

That's a lot of trade-off for those VIP benefits to work out so the VIP gets double the point of a non-VIP, with no guarantee your vacation will be able to be what you want it to be.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320AZ using Tapatalk

 

[Braindead]

I'll add to Rons list. VIP Platinum being able to deposit points in a future year till end of the current use year is a big financial advantage.
Not all VIP benefits have a dollar amount you can attach. Room choice is one example.

A VIP Platinum account is worth it to me. I expect my VIP Platinum account to be passed down to atleast our grandkids. The oldest is seven and all of them already ask if their going to be in a condo for vacation or do they have to stay in that dreadful hotel room. I expect my VIP account will be used for 70 plus years.

I do not think you should ever finance any timeshare purchase. I also don't think you should tie up more than 10% of your net worth in a TS for family vacations. If your going to tie up $100,000 for family vacations you need to be a millionaire

 

[ronparise]

Ron, your assumption is based on a Platinum VIP making all their reservations with the 50% discount. Is that a realistic assumption? One would have to be willing to wait until the discount window for all reservations to get the discount and be willing to settle for what is available then.

That's a lot of trade-off for those VIP benefits to work out so the VIP gets double the point of a non-VIP, with no guarantee your vacation will be able to be what you want it to be.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320AZ using Tapatalk

Yes. Assuming a VIP could get all their reservations at a discount is not realistic.

My point is, even if you could get every reservation at a discount, you would be better off buying on the secondary market

 

[ronparise]

I'll add to Rons list. VIP Platinum being able to deposit points in a future year till end of the current use year is a big financial advantage.
Not all VIP benefits have a dollar amount you can attach. Room choice is one example.

A VIP Platinum account is worth it to me. I expect my VIP Platinum account to be passed down to atleast our grandkids. The oldest is seven and all of them already ask if their going to be in a condo for vacation or do they have to stay in that dreadful hotel room. I expect my VIP account will be used for 70 plus years.

I do not think you should ever finance any timeshare purchase. I also don't think you should tie up more than 10% of your net worth in a TS for family vacations. If your going to tie up $100,000 for family vacations you need to be a millionaire

I remember my uncle telling me that if his grandparents hadnt sold off most of their land, we would be rich... and that was when land in O'brian county was worth about $2000 an acre

I get it that a VIP account has value, I just wouldnt tie up $100000 in it, even if I was a millionaire. And the problem for most of us is that we dont have $100000 laying around,,, so financing is the only way. That makes the decision to go for a VIP account even more questionable

 

[Braindead]

I remember my uncle telling me that if his grandparents hadnt sold off most of their land, we would be rich... and that was when land in O'brian county was worth about $2000 an acre

I get it that a VIP account has value, I just wouldnt tie up $100000 in it, even if I was a millionaire. And the problem for most of us is that we dont have $100000 laying around,,, so financing is the only way. That makes the decision to go for a VIP account even more questionable
View attachment 4787

Sure hope they didn't sell the land to buy a timeshare. Are you sure it wasn't $200 an acre instead of $2,000 if they sold 50 years ago

 

[Silverdollar]

Ron, your assumption is based on a Platinum VIP making all their reservations with the 50% discount. Is that a realistic assumption? One would have to be willing to wait until the discount window for all reservations to get the discount and be willing to settle for what is available then.

That's a lot of trade-off for those VIP benefits to work out so the VIP gets double the point of a non-VIP, with no guarantee your vacation will be able to be what you want it to be.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320AZ using Tapatalk

Something else that I like about VIP Platinum is the ability to book, cancel, rebook and cancel as many times as I want without having to pay for any transactions. That way, even if I'm just thinking about the possibility of using it, or if my wife is not present to confirm the dates are good for her, I can book it and cancel it later with no fees attached.

 

[Braindead]

Something else that I like about VIP Platinum is the ability to book, cancel, rebook and cancel as many times as I want without having to pay for any transactions. That way, even if I'm just thinking about the possibility of using it, or if my wife is not present to confirm the dates are good for her, I can book it and cancel it later with no fees attached.

We tell our kids that all the time. If you see something you might want to use - book it. You can always cancel later.

 

[Avislo]

Our family books maybe reservations to cancel if plans change. Not a massive amount but have been doing both before and after the web site roll-out. It worked better under the old system.

 

[ronparise]

Sure hope they didn't sell the land to buy a timeshare. Are you sure it wasn't $200 an acre instead of $2,000 if they sold 50 years ago

It was in the mid 1970's when I visited Iowa with my 6 yo daughter. So 40 years ago, when my uncle was complaining about what his grandparents had done

 

[ronparise]

Something else that I like about VIP Platinum is the ability to book, cancel, rebook and cancel as many times as I want without having to pay for any transactions. That way, even if I'm just thinking about the possibility of using it, or if my wife is not present to confirm the dates are good for her, I can book it and cancel it later with no fees attached.

So if you do it 100 times a year, you save $2000 a year

 

[Silverdollar]

So if you do it 100 times a year, you save $2000 a year

It's not just about the money, its the stress-free experience of knowing you can book, cancel and rebook as many times as you want. It's the freedom/flexibility to search and reserve 3-4 "gems" at a time and then check with the wife, or children, later. If it's not a good fit, then you can cancel and search again the next day. No problem.

 

[Avislo]

Was talking to the OP reference to existing VIPs.

 

[Braindead]

It's not just about the money, its the stress-free experience of knowing you can book, cancel and rebook as many times as you want. It's the freedom/flexibility to search and reserve 3-4 "gems" at a time and then check with the wife, or children, later. If it's not a good fit, then you can cancel and search again the next day. No problem.

Wyndham has hurt the educated VIP Platinum owner here on TUG. But they might of helped the uneducated Platinum owner with auto upgrades.
I think Platinum actually increased in value with the point deposit feature over other levels of ownerships. With the Credit Pool it didn't matter if you were VIP Platinum or not.

I have said many times people put different monetary values on the same item. A stress free experience for you is an example of that.

Just like the thread on the best or favorite units at resorts. Some put no value on getting certain units while the next owner puts a lot of value on getting their choice unit. Every time we visit a resort that we haven't been to we search out what we think might be a unit number we would like to stay in next time.

 

[vacationhopeful]

Really.. you better make it about "the money".

Take your $100,000 in cash .. if you have it in cash. But if you take out ANY TYPE or form of a loan ... add in the 15 years of interest you will pay ...

So take the $100,000 and realize that "cash" will earn money .. $3000 per year @ 3%. But take the MFs you will be paying at $5.50 per 1K of points... or another $5500 in gone money.

So now, your COST of MFs is $5500 per first year, plus $3000 in lost interest (on the $100,000 purchased cash you spent) ... making the annual point cost $8500. Plus to pay off the loan throw $5000 into the cost to pay down the LOAN. NOW, you have spent $13500 yearly .. with rising annual MFs plus the cash to pay down the loan. Throw in 3-5% annual MFs increases...

Buy down your home MTG, fund the kids college tuition account, buy 2nd hand cars and fund your retirement account starting from your first job.

Research deeper.. my vacation home built in 1977, costs me about $300 a month today. Had a 15 year mtg...long since paid off. Yes, I like timeshares .. but I rather not be 75+ yo and having 3 strangers living with me in a single room and bath ... eating what is on my tray between the kitchens' fixed hours of service.

 

[Braindead]

Really.. you better make it about "the money".
So now, your COST of MFs is $5500 per first year, plus $3000 in lost interest (on the $100,000 purchased cash you spent) ... making the annual point cost $8500.

If I spend the same amount of nights in a motel room for $10,000.
I saved $1,500 bucks and had a much more enjoyable vacations!
You can still cancel rebook 1 Bedroom Presidential units at a lot of the resorts

 

[ronparise]

It's not just about the money, its the stress-free experience of knowing you can book, cancel and rebook as many times as you want. It's the freedom/flexibility to search and reserve 3-4 "gems" at a time and then check with the wife, or children, later. If it's not a good fit, then you can cancel and search again the next day. No problem.

Please understand I dont care how you or anyone spends their money. And god knows, Ive made some poor financial decisions in my life,(the best was my decision to "go big" with Wyndham timeshares) What Ive learned is that if I have a choice between spending $100,000 to save $20, or spending $20 to save $100,000, Im keeping the $100,000 in the bank

a non VIP can enjoy the same vacations as a VIP for less money per vacation and he can cancel and rebook without stress too.. It just takes $20 to do it.. I dont know about you, but when I have $100,000 in the bank, spending $20 is a pretty much, stress free decision.

I would love to be in a position that I can blow $100,000 without stress, but Im not. Ill keep my $100000 in the bank, and knowing its in the bank, spend a extra little bit per vacation to cancel and rebook, without stress.

 

[djohn75087]

For me, as a guy who uses Wyndham as a tool for family vacations, the question regarding the value of VIP is answered by considering the value I'm currently getting as a non VIP. A couple of years ago we were at Majestic Sun in a two bedroom lockoff with another couple. They invited us to an update and since I enjoy watching the sales team perform we went. He told us all about VIP and all of the money we would save. I explained that I was currently on the top floor, with a beach view, across the street from the beach, and it was only costing me $211 a night in maint. fees. If I'm already getting a great deal out of my resale points why would I spend thousands of dollars with the HOPE of getting a BETTER deal. That being said I would probably risk $5000 to become VIP. Until they make that offer I'll be happy with what I have as long as maint. fees continue to rise at about the same rate as hotel prices.

 

[spackler]

If they have to present the product in an extremely hard sell atmosphere...bribe you to even sit down with them...playing one spouse's reactions/emotions off the other...while you're on your vacation high, then no, it probably isn't a good deal.

Common sense people, come on.

 

[bnoble]

It's not just about the money, its the stress-free experience of knowing you can book, cancel and rebook as many times as you want.

I can do that too, because $19 per is not stressful to me. In fact, I just cancelled and re-booked a June '18 Hawaii reservation that was made with regular UY points and some of my remaining pool credits so that I could deposit some 2018 points to RCI. I then re-booked the Hawaii reservation. It cost me $19. I didn't even blink.

 

[dgalati]

How can anyone justify buying VIP developer? When Resale points can be had for pennies. Below is a recent sold item.
Wyndham Smoky Mountains 707,000 Points! Free Closing/Transfer!
Ended: Sep 18, 2017 , 11:08AM

Winning bid:
US $851.00

 

[Braindead]

Please understand I dont care how you or anyone spends their money.

Exactly right!!
I don't care how others spend their money either.

I don't tell resale buyers that they are dumb or have no common sense because I don't think they are. To each their own. I'm sure some of you drive vehicles that cost over $40,000 while I'm driving an old ford worth $5,000 but I don't tell you your stupid or have no common sense. I don't get cutting others down for how they spend their own money