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Why would I enroll my week in DC?

slomac

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I've had my Marriott shadow ridge platinum week for about 6 years now. It is every other year and for each of those years I have been able to the following exchanges:
2012 - 2 bedroom NCV spring break
1 bedroom MOC June week

2014- 2 bedroom NCV spring break
2 bedroom Waiohai

As you can see it has served me well trading in II. I also have other weeks in II and use getaways often so I would always have that membership. We do often have to give up a night of two since out flights don't always line up perfectly with the weeks we book. Just went to a presentation on DC and still cannot see that it would benefit me to enroll my week. But I do see that a lot of tuggers have enrolled so maybe I am missing something. Any input would be great. Thanks
 

bazzap

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I've had my Marriott shadow ridge platinum week for about 6 years now. It is every other year and for each of those years I have been able to the following exchanges:
2012 - 2 bedroom NCV spring break
1 bedroom MOC June week

2014- 2 bedroom NCV spring break
2 bedroom Waiohai

As you can see it has served me well trading in II. I also have other weeks in II and use getaways often so I would always have that membership. We do often have to give up a night of two since out flights don't always line up perfectly with the weeks we book. Just went to a presentation on DC and still cannot see that it would benefit me to enroll my week. But I do see that a lot of tuggers have enrolled so maybe I am missing something. Any input would be great. Thanks
The real benefit of enrolling in DC was for multi week owners at the original price $595/695, with the option to also include eligible resale weeks.
Enrolling one week at current prices is really tough to justify, especially when Interval still works well for you.
We decided to go for it early, on the basis that the price would only ever go up and even if we didn't use DC Points for reservations (which we since have) we would still save a significant sum on Interval fees for lock offs, exchanges...etc (which we have)
 

davidvel

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I've had my Marriott shadow ridge platinum week for about 6 years now. It is every other year and for each of those years I have been able to the following exchanges:
2012 - 2 bedroom NCV spring break
1 bedroom MOC June week

2014- 2 bedroom NCV spring break
2 bedroom Waiohai

As you can see it has served me well trading in II. I also have other weeks in II and use getaways often so I would always have that membership. We do often have to give up a night of two since out flights don't always line up perfectly with the weeks we book. Just went to a presentation on DC and still cannot see that it would benefit me to enroll my week. But I do see that a lot of tuggers have enrolled so maybe I am missing something. Any input would be great. Thanks
You incur a lot of fees for all that locking off and trading. DC club fees are $195, and would cover all of those fees. For those who do what you do EVERY YEAR, they save a lot in fees. For you, doing this EOY, you still save, but much less obviously:

EVEN YEAR
$89 II Fee
$75 Lockoff
$134 trade 1
$134 trade 2
-----
$432

ODD YEAR
$89 II Fee
-----
$89

So, costs of $521 every 2 years (wiped out), but you pay $390 DC dues, so $131 savings over 2 years.

If you did this every year, you'd save $237/yr., or $474 every 2 years!
Also, note that sales outlets have been offering to enroll your week for free, (still as of November 3rd) if you buy an encore package. See this thread for more details: Free Enrollment with Encore Purchase
 

Fasttr

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You incur a lot of fees for all that locking off and trading. DC club fees are $195, and would cover all of those fees. For those who do what you do EVERY YEAR, they save a lot in fees. For you, doing this EOY, you still save, but much less obviously:

EVEN YEAR
$89 II Fee
$75 Lockoff
$134 trade 1
$134 trade 2
-----
$432

ODD YEAR
$89 II Fee
-----
$89

So, costs of $521 every 2 years (wiped out), but you pay $390 DC dues, so $131 savings over 2 years.

If you did this every year, you'd save $237/yr., or $474 every 2 years!
Also, note that sales outlets have been offering to enroll your week for free, (still as of November 3rd) if you buy an encore package. See this thread for more details: Free Enrollment with Encore Purchase

You sound a lot like a sales rep.

Just kidding.....couldn't resist. ;):p:D:):rolleyes:
 
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TheTimeTraveler

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The biggest reason we enrolled was to obtain an "instant" reservation without having to wait for Interval International (sometimes for months and sometimes not) to obtain the location we want to visit.

It makes it far easier for planning purposes and airline reservations:banana:

I think Interval International works well for those who can be much more flexible with their time and their plans.


:banana::banana::banana::banana:




.
 

slomac

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Thanks for you comments. I knew about fee savings but since I will still belong to II since I like the getaways and I have other weeks I exchange through II, I don't see as much of a savings. I do like the instant confirmation I would get in DC but my main concern is that I don't think I would be able to come close at getting the weeks and size unit I have been getting with weeks with the 3000 plus points they would give me every other year. They are basically offering me to enroll an little or no cost so that is why I want to make sure.
 

TheTimeTraveler

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Thanks for you comments. I knew about fee savings but since I will still belong to II since I like the getaways and I have other weeks I exchange through II, I don't see as much of a savings. I do like the instant confirmation I would get in DC but my main concern is that I don't think I would be able to come close at getting the weeks and size unit I have been getting with weeks with the 3000 plus points they would give me every other year. They are basically offering me to enroll an little or no cost so that is why I want to make sure.



You should seriously think hard about exercising the option to enroll your weeks if for no other reason as to keep your options open.

Remember, Marriott "could" close that enrollment option door at any time. They "could" also change the enrollment fees, i.e. raise or lower them. You know your options now, and those options may change at some point in the future. No one really knows for sure.

Note: Enrolling does not obligate you to use the Destination Points Program, but you can elect using it at any time or any year you wish to.

Best of luck!




.
 

mjm1

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We enrolled our week in order to have additional flexibility. Since then we have used our week as normal at our resort, converted to DC points to go to A Marriott on Hilton Head for less points than what we received, and extended a stay by a couple of nights in conjunction with another weekly stay. We haven't converted to MRP's, but that is another option if needed.

If you receive DC Plus Points or something else for enrolling and you can use them to get approximately the value of what it costs to enroll, that is a break even or close to it. Then you have the flexibility and savings from II trades as others have mentioned.

It isn't a one-size fits all situation, but if it makes sense for you and your travel plans, go for it. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Mike
 

davidvel

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You sound a lot like a sales rep.

Just kidding.....couldn't resist. ;):p:D:):rolleyes:
I resemble that remark! Good one!

Actually, more like the downstairs encore group. When I asked the sales rep about this he flat-out denied it could happen, even brought in his "manager" who said the same. Got downstairs and... FREE ENROLLMENT (w/ encore purchase)!
 

Fasttr

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Thanks for you comments. I knew about fee savings but since I will still belong to II since I like the getaways and I have other weeks I exchange through II, I don't see as much of a savings.

Also, keep in mind, since you have non-Marriott weeks that you trade via II, you would still need a regular II account in addition to your MVC Corporate II account that you would get for your enrolled weeks. So your fee savings are likely not as dramatic, as you still would be paying for the regular II account annual fee in addition to the MVC Club dues.
 

davidvel

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Thanks for you comments. I knew about fee savings but since I will still belong to II since I like the getaways and I have other weeks I exchange through II, I don't see as much of a savings. I do like the instant confirmation I would get in DC but my main concern is that I don't think I would be able to come close at getting the weeks and size unit I have been getting with weeks with the 3000 plus points they would give me every other year. They are basically offering me to enroll an little or no cost so that is why I want to make sure.
Note that you still have an II account with your Marriott week in it. Same options, getaways, etc. (I wanted to point this out for others.)
You elect to turn in your week on a yearly basis. Otherwise use your week as normal. As a EOY, not worth it unless you felt the extra $50/yr was worth it to access DC through point rentals, etc.

Regards, (Imitation) Encore sales guy.
 

dioxide45

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You incur a lot of fees for all that locking off and trading. DC club fees are $195, and would cover all of those fees. For those who do what you do EVERY YEAR, they save a lot in fees. For you, doing this EOY, you still save, but much less obviously:

EVEN YEAR
$89 II Fee
$75 Lockoff
$134 trade 1
$134 trade 2
-----
$432

ODD YEAR
$89 II Fee
-----
$89

So, costs of $521 every 2 years (wiped out), but you pay $390 DC dues, so $131 savings over 2 years.

If you did this every year, you'd save $237/yr., or $474 every 2 years!
Also, note that sales outlets have been offering to enroll your week for free, (still as of November 3rd) if you buy an encore package. See this thread for more details: Free Enrollment with Encore Purchase

Wit this, the payoff period based on today's enrollment prices is well over 10 years. That is a tough one to sell. DC Club dues is only $195 too, but within a couple years they will be at the price you mentioned.

The on thing that enrollment does give you is much more flexibility in II. You can retrade in to other Marriott's for free. So if you end up changing your mind, no worries. We have retraded up to five times. The cost of that as an unenrolled owner would be way up there. So much so that I wouldn't do it.

Given today's steep enrollment fee of $2395, I would only consider enrolling if I could get an encore package that includes free enrollment. Usually much cheaper and comes with a bundle of MR points, a few days to a week somewhere and your weeks would be enrolled to boot.
 
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JIMinNC

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Wit this, the payoff period based on today's enrollment prices is well over 10 years. That is a tough one to sell. DC Club dues is only $195 too, but within a couple years they will be at the price you mentioned.

The on thing that enrollment does give you is much more flexibility in II. You can retrade in to other Marriott's for free. So if you end up changing your mind, no worries. We have retraded up to five times. The cost of that as an unenrolled owner would be way up there. So much so that I wouldn't do it.

Given today's steep enrollment fee of $3295, I would only consider enrolling if I could get an encore package that includes free enrollment. Usually much cheaper and comes with a bundle of MR points, a few days to a week somewhere and your weeks would be enrolled to boot.

Based on the post quoted below, the OP says the enrollment being offered is free or almost free, not $3295:

They are basically offering me to enroll an little or no cost so that is why I want to make sure.

Since the OP will still need to maintain a separate II account for the other non-Marriott weeks, and only has an EOY Marriott, as davidvel says in post #11 above, a free enrollment will actually cost an average of about $50/year more in fees than the status quo over two years - but will come with the option to convert the owned week to points in any given year, (and the flexibility benefits that come with that), plus the retrade benefits you mentioned. The question the OP needs to answer is, based on their wants and needs, are those benefits worth an average additional cost of about $50/year.
 
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slomac

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So I would pay the fees every year whether I enrolled my week or not? I see that as an increase over what I am paying now by $195 worse case to $50 best case. Also no one has commented on whether I would be still get 2 weeks in a 2 bedroom as I have through II. It seems like by what they were showing me I would be lucky to get one week and probably not prime time.
 

dioxide45

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So I would pay the fees every year whether I enrolled my week or not? I see that as an increase over what I am paying now by $195 worse case to $50 best case. Also no one has commented on whether I would be still get 2 weeks in a 2 bedroom as I have through II. It seems like by what they were showing me I would be lucky to get one week and probably not prime time.

Your trading with II wouldn't change from what you are seeing now, except that the fees would be waived in favor of the $185 annual DC fee.
 

JIMinNC

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So I would pay the fees every year whether I enrolled my week or not? I see that as an increase over what I am paying now by $195 worse case to $50 best case. Also no one has commented on whether I would be still get 2 weeks in a 2 bedroom as I have through II. It seems like by what they were showing me I would be lucky to get one week and probably not prime time.

Every year you would pay $185 for your Destination Club dues (I'm not sure where the $195 quoted earlier came from. As dioxide45 said above, the 2016 fee is $185) - but that would be in lieu of all other II fees for your Marriott week - no trade fees, lockoff fees, etc. Even if you traded your week through II as you always have, you would not pay for those transactions. Remember enrollment in the points program does not commit you to using the points product every year - it just gives you the OPTION to use points if you so choose. You can still trade through II as you always have, just with no transaction by transaction fees. Marriott will give you a special corporate account with II for your Marriott week.

You will also need to maintain your separate II account for your non-Marriott weeks, so you will still pay $89/year for that as well. Total cost per year will be $274 ($185 + $89) with no additional fees for your Marriott trades or points transactions.

You said you would get 3000+ points whenever you elect for points, so no, there are very few places where you could get two, 2BR weeks with that amount except primarily in off season in some locations (in Hilton Head for example, 3000 points can get up to four weeks in the winter at the big oceanfront resorts and multiple weeks in the spring/summer/fall at some on the off-ocean resorts in Hilton Head.)

Your ability to lock-off and trade will generally get you more lodging nights than you can get with points, but you have to trade through II to do that. The advantages of points are in benefits other than maximizing the number of prime weeks you can "squeeze" out of the system. I think points work best for folks who:
1.) Often want to go somewhere for three or four nights rather than always seven nights;
2.) Don't like the waiting and uncertainty of weeks trading and just want to go online and book something;
3.) Want to add a few nights onto a week-long reservation;
4.) Want to travel on Sunday-Thursday nights when point requirements are much less, allowing points to be really stretched.
5.) You want to travel to some of the off-season locations where you can get three or more weeks for your points total
6.) You want to have a points account available so you can rent points on websites like vacationpointexchange.com to take extra vacations or add nights onto existing reservations

If those situations have no value to you - and you don't think they will ever be of benefit to you - then enrolling in points may not be for you. We happen to love the flexibility of points and much prefer points to weeks trading, but everyone has different needs/wants.
 
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BocaBoy

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Given today's steep enrollment fee of $3295, I would only consider enrolling if I could get an encore package that includes free enrollment.

I enrolled at the start for $695, so I don't closely follow the enrollment fee changes, but last I heard it was $2395. Did they raise it again?
 

dioxide45

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I enrolled at the start for $695, so I don't closely follow the enrollment fee changes, but last I heard it was $2395. Did they raise it again?

You are right, sorry. Thanks for correcting me. Looks like I transposed the first two numbers. Not when I typed them, but rather in my mind.
 

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My top reason for enrolling was flexibility. This year is my best example.

We traded the use of our gold Grande Ocean for points and used those points for 14 midweek (Sun-Thu) offseason nights at resorts in Branson (2-bedroom), Williamsburg (1-bedroom) and Orlando (studio).

14 nights might not seem like much, but we still had enough points left for nine midweek offseason 2-bedroom nights at our home resort, nearby Grande Ocean.

So we traded away the use of seven nights in exchange for 23 nights. What's there not to like about that?
 

BocaBoy

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My top reason for enrolling was flexibility. This year is my best example.

We traded the use of our gold Grande Ocean for points and used those points for 14 midweek (Sun-Thu) offseason nights at resorts in Branson (2-bedroom), Williamsburg (1-bedroom) and Orlando (studio).

14 nights might not seem like much, but we still had enough points left for nine midweek offseason 2-bedroom nights at our home resort, nearby Grande Ocean.

So we traded away the use of seven nights in exchange for 23 nights. What's there not to like about that?

An excellent example of the power of off season points reservations. It is why we are staying in Hilton Head (at Grande Ocean) the entire month of January again this year.
 

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An excellent example of the power of off season points reservations. It is why we are staying in Hilton Head (at Grande Ocean) the entire month of January again this year.
That looks like a pretty good return on (owner) retail rates vs. points. Assuming .50/point, its about 2 to 1.
 

BocaBoy

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That looks like a pretty good return on (owner) retail rates vs. points. Assuming .50/point, its about 2 to 1.

With our 30% discount for bookings within 60 days of check-in, it is costing me only slightly more than half of the points from our Maui week. That is about $1200 for the month of January at Grande Ocean based on our Maui maintenance fees. (I didn't calculate this exactly, but it is close enough to paint the picture.)
 

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With our 30% discount for bookings within 60 days of check-in, it is costing me only slightly more than half of the points from our Maui week. That is about $1200 for the month of January at Grande Ocean based on our Maui maintenance fees. (I didn't calculate this exactly, but it is close enough to paint the picture.)
Even better!
 

m61376

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Another consideration is changing family dynamics- are you at an age where you can foresee traveling with adult children and/or grandchildren, or want to travel with firends? A biggie for us was the potential to rent points for ease of booking an additional unit at a reduced price, with the comfort of making the reservation rather than booking a rental on Redweek.
 

temiatwork

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Dear All, Thank you for this informative discussion.

I signed a contract to MVCD in Orlando and currently have a Silver week in Village d'Ile de France.

My question would be, is it worth to pay $19380.00 just to gain additional 1500 DC points with an annual maintenance fee of $753.-? Is it really worth the money? I've made my down payment of $1938 and the balance to be paid within 120 days.

If I decide not to pay the balance, should I just ignore the executed contract and forget about the down payment?

Thanks in advance.
 
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