Which Marriott timeshare offers best points for your purchase?

[chc818]

I'm sure this has been addressed in the past, but I cannot find the thread...

We just came from a Marriott presentation at Newport Coast, CA. We are already owners. When we declined to purchase another Newport Coast timeshare, the salesperson offered to sell us a Marriott Myrtle Beach, SC timeshare for $13,900 for 2b+2ba, every-year, DEC-JAN time, which gives 75,000 points per year for a HOA cost (including taxes) of about $844/year. It would cost another $104/yr to convert the time to points. So that would be about $950/year to get 75,000 Marriott points with an initial purchase outlay of $13,900. We would NOT plan to use the Myrtle Beach unit, but instead use the points.

Is that a good deal? (The Newport Coast timeshare would give you 110,000 points for similar yearly cost, but at a more that double initial purchase price.)

Does anyone have a suggestion for a Marriott timeshare which gives the best points-to-dollar value?

 

[chc818]

Has Marriott raised the points required to use their package deals? hotels? airfares?

I just came from presentation showing that Marriott has a "package deal" for using their points. For example, 2 coach airfares (can be open jaw or include stays at stopovers) AND 7 nights at a Catelgory 5 Marriott hotel, and 25%OFF on Hertz car rental for 215,000 points for Europe. The open jaw or stopover feature sounds pretty good. You can fly from US to Paris, then London, then Rome, then Berlin, then back to US all included in the use of the 215,000 points (and you can spread the 7 nights over various Marriott hotels) . THAT seems too good to be true. But the salesperson insisted that is correct as long as the air travel is within the destination continent. He explained that is how to best use the points because air travel is so expensive now. He also claims there are NO BLACK OUT DATES for the air travel.

Can any owners out there confirm this is true?

ALSO, has Marriott increased the points required to take such a "package" deal compared to past years?

 

[vacationtime1]

. . . , the salesperson offered to sell us a Marriott Myrtle Beach, SC timeshare for $13,900 for 2b+2ba, every-year, DEC-JAN time, which gives 75,000 points per year for a HOA cost (including taxes) of about $844/year. It would cost another $104/yr to convert the time to points. So that would be about $950/year to get 75,000 Marriott points with an initial purchase outlay of $13,900. We would NOT plan to use the Myrtle Beach unit, but instead use the points.

Is that a good deal?

You can buy 50,000 Marriott points every year for $625. So can your spouse. Without paying $13,900 upfront. Without committing to doing it every year. And without worrying whether HOA costs will increase (which they will).

Is that a good deal? It is for Marriott.

 

[chc818]

You can buy 50,000 Marriott points every year for $625. So can your spouse. Without paying $13,900 upfront. Without committing to doing it every year. And without worrying whether HOA costs will increase (which they will).

Is that a good deal? It is for Marriott.

Gee. I'm so uninformed. I did not know I can buy 50,000 points for $625 every year, for myself, and another 50,000 for spouse!

I just read I can buy resale through Marriott which DO have point conversion feature. Does anyone have a particular recommendation for a resale timeshare through Marriott which is best point-for-dollar value??

 

[vacationtime1]

I believe that buying resale through Marriott is the same as a developer purchase from Marriott; the only difference is that someone previously owned the unit, turned it in, and Marriott is selling it for them. My understanding is that the price and benefits (such as the ability to turn it in for Marriott points) is identical; the economics to you would be identical.

 

[rsnash]

You can buy 50,000 Marriott points every year for $625. So can your spouse.

How please?

 

[DJensen]

We are just rescinding a direct buy for Marriott Horizons in Orlando for even EOY, the points value is 110,000. We are opting for a resale as going for points on EOY along with the higher purchase prices was not attractive once we started to do our research.

In the sales presentation, the new Lake Shore Reserves in Orlando (JW and Ritz) was noted at 100,000 but the purchase price was over $24000.

 

[pwrshift]

You need to take the time to study TUG and the www.marriottrewards.com site carefully before spending money to buy a TS anywhere. Buying points is a good thing to do, but it will take you 5 years or more that way to get enough points to take a 2 week trip to Europe on business class air. You need to get a Marriott VISA card to earn points on everything you buy, even more when used at a Marriott hotel. By staying at a Marriott hotel you earn points, and even if you are at the hotel on points, anything you charge to the room will earn points - even a chocolate bar in the snack bar. To earn 100,000 points it will take about 50 nights a year in a $200 a night Marriott ... great bonus if your business travel permits. Trading in a week for points is a way to get those points for the annual cost of Maintanance (if it's too high it's not a good deal) and the $104 fee ... so if you can get a week that nets you 110,000 pts every year (like Marriott Manor Club platinum) it can eventually work out OK even at the $20,000 price. The best way is the incentive to buy a week and get bonus points for doing so...but it can get pricey. The newly annouced Grande Lakes Orlando TS deal was almost $1 million points over a 7 year period ... seach Grande Lakes and you'll find some posts on it.

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=561412&postcount=33

Brian

 

[thinze3]

How please?

Here is the link.
http://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/tranpurc.mi



Terry

 

[ondeadlin]

To earn 100,000 points it will take about 50 nights a year in a $200 a night Marriott

No, no, no ... not even close.

You'll earn 17 points per $1 spent if you get the Visa card (10 points per $1, plus 5 points per $1 for the card, plus 2 points per $1 for the automatic silver elite level awarded to Visa card holders).

At 17 points per $1, you'll earn 100,000 points after 29.6 nights at a $200 per night hotel.

 

[lll1929]

I would suggest buying resale (ebay, redweek, etc). That will save you thousands off the Marriott price.

Additionally, purchase you max number of pts directly from Marriott yearly using the thousand of $$ you saved from buying resale.

 

[winger]

No, no, no ... not even close.

You'll earn 17 points per $1 spent if you get the Visa card (10 points per $1, plus 5 points per $1 for the card, plus 2 points per $1 for the automatic silver elite level awarded to Visa card holders).

...l.

how u come up with 17 mrps per $1 spent? i thought it's 5 pts per $1 on the card, then 20% for silver elite. that is then 6 pts per $1 spent?

 

[thinze3]

how u come up with 17 mrps per $1 spent? i thought it's 5 pts per $1 on the card, then 20% for silver elite. that is then 6 pts per $1 spent?

Mariott Rewards - 10 points per dollar spent at most Marriotts
Silver Elite - 20% bonus = 2 points
Marriott Visa - 5 points per dollar charged at Marriotts

Total = 17 points

 

[Latravel]

Right now, Marriott is offering a LOT of points if you buy a timeshare from them. The value is the bulk number of points you get from the purchase, not just from turning in your timeshare every year for points. When we bought a 2bd unit in Shadow Ridge, we were offered a ton of points. The dollar value of the trip we could take with those points was about as much as the difference in price if we bought resale. It was a no brainer to us. We could never have gotten those points any other way.

Bottom line, I wouldn't buy the timeshare unless they give you a large amount (>250,000) of points also.

 

[gmarine]

Lets say you bought Manor Club for about $12K more than resale which is about $8K. Your 110K points cost you $949. $845 maintenance fees and $104 points fee.

For $1250 you and your spouse could buy 100K points per year and keep the $12K. And that $949 cost is going to go up every year.

Unless your getting a huge amount of incentive points, your better off buying resale.

 

[Dave M]

I just came from presentation showing that Marriott has a "package deal" for using their points. For example, 2 coach airfares (can be open jaw or include stays at stopovers) AND 7 nights at a Catelgory 5 Marriott hotel, and 25%OFF on Hertz car rental for 215,000 points for Europe. The open jaw or stopover feature sounds pretty good. You can fly from US to Paris, then London, then Rome, then Berlin, then back to US all included in the use of the 215,000 points (and you can spread the 7 nights over various Marriott hotels) . THAT seems too good to be true. But the salesperson insisted that is correct as long as the air travel is within the destination continent. He explained that is how to best use the points because air travel is so expensive now. He also claims there are NO BLACK OUT DATES for the air travel.

Can any owners out there confirm this is true?

ALSO, has Marriott increased the points required to take such a "package" deal compared to past years?

There is a ton of misinformation here.

The easy part is that Marriott has not generally increased the points required for its air-hotel packages, but it does sometimes move a hotel up from one "category" to another, resulting in the need for a higher point-level award to stay in a particular hotel. And you can be absolutely sure that Marriott will regularly devalue what a Marriott Rewards point is worth. It must do so. See the "Devaluation Example" in this post for the reasons why.

Basically, 215,000 points gets you a 7-night hotel stay in a category 1 to 5 Marriott hotel (definitely not the top Marriott hotels in Europe!) and 100,000 frequent flyer ("FF") miles with the airline FF program of your choice. Then it's up to you to try to get plane tickets.

As for the misinformation....

(1) You can fly from the U.S. to a European city and then back home from a different European city on a single award ticket. It's called an "open jaw" ticket. But you can't use frequent flyer miles to fly to the numerous different cities on one ticket as outlined in your post.

(2) You can't spread those seven nights among multiple hotels. With the air-hotel Marriott Rewards packages (including the 215,000 points package), you must use the 7 nights at a single hotel. There are separate hotel-only packages (see the link in this paragraph) that allow dividing a 7-night stay among as many as three hotels.

(3) The 100,000 FF miles that come with the 215,000 points package will get you two economy seats to Europe on most airlines, but definitely not the business class seats that Brian ("pwrshift") and others believe make sense for such dream trips.

(4) Although there are often no "blackout dates", it can be virtually impossible to get summer or other high season FF award tickets to Europe even with careful planning. Many airlines make very few award seats available on the most popular routes and dates. That situation is likely to get worse as the airlines follow through on their announced cut back on their schedules, making competition even tighter for those few available FF seats.

(3) The 25%-off Hertz certificate is virtually worthless. The discount is from standard rates. Almost any group you belong to (AAA, your employer, a trade group, AARP, etc.) has discounts that will get you a better rate.

Brian's advice was excellent. "You need to take the time to study TUG and the www.marriottrewards.com site carefully before spending money to buy a TS anywhere."

 

[chc818]

Great Advice

There is a ton of misinformation here.

The easy part is that Marriott has not generally increased the points required for its air-hotel packages, but it does sometimes move a hotel up from one "category" to another, resulting in the need for a higher point-level award to stay in a particular hotel. And you can be absolutely sure that Marriott will regularly devalue what a Marriott Rewards point is worth. It must do so. See the "Devaluation Example" in this post for the reasons why.

Basically, 215,000 points gets you a 7-night hotel stay in a category 1 to 5 Marriott hotel (definitely not the top Marriott hotels in Europe!) and 100,000 frequent flyer ("FF") miles with the airline FF program of your choice. Then it's up to you to try to get plane tickets.

As for the misinformation....

(1) You can fly from the U.S. to a European city and then back home from a different European city on a single award ticket. It's called an "open jaw" ticket. But you can't use frequent flyer miles to fly to the numerous different cities on one ticket as outlined in your post.

(2) You can't spread those seven nights among multiple hotels. With the air-hotel Marriott Rewards packages (including the 215,000 points package), you must use the 7 nights at a single hotel. There are separate hotel-only packages (see the link in this paragraph) that allow dividing a 7-night stay among as many as three hotels.

(3) The 100,000 FF miles that come with the 215,000 points package will get you two economy seats to Europe on most airlines, but definitely not the business class seats that Brian ("pwrshift") and others believe make sense for such dream trips.

(4) Although there are often no "blackout dates", it can be virtually impossible to get summer or other high season FF award tickets to Europe even with careful planning. Many airlines make very few award seats available on the most popular routes and dates. That situation is likely to get worse as the airlines follow through on their announced cut back on their schedules, making competition even tighter for those few available FF seats.

(3) The 25%-off Hertz certificate is virtually worthless. The discount is from standard rates. Almost any group you belong to (AAA, your employer, a trade group, AARP, etc.) has discounts that will get you a better rate.

Brian's advice was excellent. "You need to take the time to study TUG and the www.marriottrewards.com site carefully before spending money to buy a TS anywhere."

THANKS to everyone for such great advice! I am very appreciative!!

 

[jenfed]

I was wondering if you turn your week in for points, how quickly do you need to use them?
Thanks.

Right now, Marriott is offering a LOT of points if you buy a timeshare from them. The value is the bulk number of points you get from the purchase, not just from turning in your timeshare every year for points. When we bought a 2bd unit in Shadow Ridge, we were offered a ton of points. The dollar value of the trip we could take with those points was about as much as the difference in price if we bought resale. It was a no brainer to us. We could never have gotten those points any other way.

Bottom line, I wouldn't buy the timeshare unless they give you a large amount (>250,000) of points also.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

Marriott Reward Points never expire.

 

[winger]

I was wondering if you turn your week in for points, how quickly do you need to use them?
Thanks.

No time limit. You just need to be cognizant of the 'devaluation' of the points as it sits in your acct - it's not like a CD where it accumulates interest, on the contrary, it's like unused clothes that gather dust and mothballs in the closet.

 

[snackyx]

The Marriott offer of the package with two free airline tickets has always been a real laugh with me. A free ticket to Europe is 50,000 miles with most airlines. Marriott does not give you two free tickets to Europe, they give you 100,000 FF miles to convert to those two tickets. As previously noted: just try to get to tickets to Europe for 50,000 miles each on any airline. The capacity controls on these seats are terrible and getting worse. Unless you use the "rule buster" or "anytime award" for 100,000 PER TICKET you most likely will NOT be traveling for free to Europe when you want to go. Everytime a Marriott sales rep tells me about the things that I can do with all those Marriott Reward points and gets to the part about "and you get two free tickets to Europe (or wherever)" I always correct them that you get 100,000 FF miles--what to convert them to is up to you--and by the way, good luck!

 

[ukellie]

Hi, we have used the travel package on several occasions as long as you are travelling in 1 direction you can stop as many times as you like We live in the UK and used a travel package to travel to Hawawaii and a stop in Los Angeles. What is difficult is getting business class flights with the airmiles alot of patience is needed trying to coordinate everything
Also you cannot split the hotel nights they have to be taken in 1 lot

 

[Zac495]

Best deal is probably Manor Club platinum - 110K every year and a "reasonable" maintanence fee. THAT SAID - I wish I hadn't done it. In the past, I think it was a good deal. But I am currently booking with my points. Yes, I'll get 2 first class flights to Hawaii (if the Marriott points get to my USAIR account in time - which is ANOTHER problem - you have too much waiting and worrying with points). but I had to pay the premium amount for those tickets because it's almost impossible to get tickets at the regular amount unless you're flying off season (not sure Hawaii has an off season).

It is a HUGE pain. If I had my 20,000 back, I could have booked this much more easily. I'm not regretting my decision - I will use my resale Aruba as a trader for Hawaii. This year I'll go to williamsburg. The money is spent - as a very wise TUGGER (named Dave) told me - don't regret things that are great -timeshares are great , vacations are great.

But I will advise you to buy resale. If you want points, don't buy anything except points from Marriott. Get the credit card and use it for everything - groceries -etc. Rent. More and more I'm wondering if renting would be the best if you never bought in the first place... Do not buy anything until you are reallly sure. Certainly timeshares are VERY worth it if you're going to your home resort there at least every 3 years - in my very humble opinion.

 

[Cathyb]

thinze: Do these Marriott reward point calculations apply at money spent while staying in a Marriott timeshare like Newport Coast? We accrued about $300 costs and paid with our black Marriott credit card.

 

[thinze3]

thinze: Do these Marriott reward point calculations apply at money spent while staying in a Marriott timeshare like Newport Coast? We accrued about $300 costs and paid with our black Marriott credit card.

Yes on most. If the resort has NO relations with the outside company, then you may not receive all the points.

For example: If you book a helicopter ride through your Marriott concierge and pay your resort for that trip with your Marriott card, then you may or may not get ALL the points listed above. It depends on the resort's agreement with the helicopter company.

We amassed over 40,000 MR points during our last stay at Waiohai, and that did NOT include tour or purchase points. We simply used our concierge to book every excursion for us and our inlaws and then paid with our Marriott Visa.

Terry