Wyndham and Timeshares in General....Questions

[SolomonMan]

All,

Apologize now for being long-winded.

I originally posted a similar question on Trip Advisor and one of the respondents told me to get involved with this forum and to ask my question;

I am a family of seven. The Wife and I and our kids (Two kids Age 7, one at 8,a 12, and a 18 year old). The wife and I are in our mid 40s,

We usually do a one week-er with everyone once a year. The last 10 years or so its been in Myrtle Beach or its surroundings. There are other small vacations but most are local area within our state or surrounding states. We live in a state that is lucky enough to have 4 seasons and something to do in each of those seasons and the kids involvement in activities keeps our vacations limited.

I usually try to do one with the wife as well just the two of us and usually for a long weekend.

To be honest for us to get the week-er in and our weekend is really pushing things timewise for us and our family. We usually try to vacation at non-peak times or just before. For example the week before Biker's week in Myrtle is a common theme the last few years.

Anyways on our trip in 2019 at a hotel we have stayed at many times at Myrtle we were approached to come to the typical timeshare gathering which gave us a discount at 2 locations we were after on our trip. This trip money was tight as we went in early June (oddity for us but the dates worked) and the hotel cost us easily a third more and this made up the difference.

We ended up buying a Wyndham Discovery package. Price was roughly < $3,000 for 300,000 points over 2 year period. Of course they pressured us on the timeshare and of course my decent credit kept us there for 4 hours after saying "No" more than 20+ times. Also having 7 different timeshares shown which ranged in price as low as $7100 to as much as $40000 and the maintenance fees fluctuated as well.

Finally the head salesman came over and basically told us about the Wyndham Discovery Package. No maintenance fees and a test run of sorts.

The wife and I bought it, line and sinker, but it made some sense in our minds as we commonly spent $1000 or more on a typical room at Myrtle. The package would give us 2 stays at Myrtle and a weekend for us at a minimum. The rooms were larger, much larger then anything we had stayed at before, and the extra weekend for the wife and I forced us to "save" for it by paying the monthly loan premium.

The paying for it was not a problem as the monthly option really fit us well but I do wish they had a online payment method.

Unfortunately Covid-19 came and we got bumped for a owner due to the county health requirements. The letter from them basically was honest owners take precedence.

So finally, after both my wife and I both having Covid-19 just before Thanksgiving (kids school and the kids brought it home), my wife and I are trying to use our Discovery timeshare as much as possible. They have been helpful and we did figure something out which has me basically traveling somewhere every month for the next few months. We are ok with this... they did offer a 6 month extension but only after the end of last month. Unfortunately our summers are usually packed with events (4H,scouting,camping,boating) etc and its better to do things now. We only lost 2600 points.

We stayed, last weekend, at the Patriots Place, Williamsburg, VA.

We visited Virginia Beach and we had a wonderful vacation. It was a 4 day vacation. Accommodations were superb and the staff was top-notch and the weather cooperated.

With that said, we went to the supposedly "Mandatory" meeting (according to our Myrtle rep in 2019 - Walt was his name) at our first stay requirement. Got a $30 voucher which we did use (did not know about till we got there though) and listened to a quick Wyndham update. Then 4 more hours of them trying to sell me more on the Wyndham Time Shares with a salesperson.

We did not bite this time. Some due to financial reasons, we are buying some property to add on to my current residence and a son going to college. Other reasons; Covid-19, maintenance fee uncertainty, and truly not understanding what we were looking at exactly. Supposedly we lost our equity ($2600) from our discovery package to any other package in the future. Boy did they try to sell though....

The questions I have is choices I have after I complete my Discovery package. I have been "told" on Sunday that I cannot just grab another Discovery package as I was told originally in Myrtle. This was a consideration as the accommodations were meeting my expectations and then some. I probably would not buy till I completed my current package in May as I want to make sure the stays are all meeting expectations. Also it would allow us to get the kid in college and get the property purchase under our belt before adding additional debt.

My feeling is I need to explore what other options I have for next year (2022). I basically need a week and weekend vacation per year but the rooms need to fit my family. The destinations may not be Myrtle (but I feel it will be for the next few) as we as a family have traveled across the country in 2011 and may considered revisiting a old favorite again.

Also I would be interested in knowing what others have experienced with Wyndham. Also the ups and downs of a Timeshare. Also is there anything better we can choose for our family then a Timeshare?

I have been told (Trip Advisor forum) to consider instead of buying think about renting something from a current timeshare owner. And if you decide to buy go to the resale market where you can save thousands. Limitations and conditions of buying resale however should be understood beforehand. So any help/suggestions on the resale limitation would be fabulous.

Suggestions? Opinions?

Thanks for all the help,

Chris

 

[Sandy VDH]

I have been told (Trip Advisor forum) to consider instead of buying think about renting something from a current timeshare owner. And if you decide to buy go to the resale market where you can save thousands. Limitations and conditions of buying resale however should be understood beforehand. So any help/suggestions on the resale limitation would be fabulous.

Renting here is an option. There are lots of people with people here on TUG that either operate on a rental basis, put ads up on the Marketplace (see link on blue line at top of screen), or use the Last Minute Rental board as an option (which is another forum page).

If you eventually decide that Wyndham is your program of choice, then you could buy resale after you learn all the ins and outs of the program.

 

[jwalk03]

I would just rent from an existing owner when you want to plan a vacation. Make sure if you want somewhere popular in a large unit you plan ahead. Those go quickly. You get all the benefits of staying in timeshare units without any upfront cost or long term commitment. You can rent from owners here on TUG pretty easily. There are also several Wyndham Facebook groups that allow rentals, though some of those are wildly over priced in my opinion. Read the pages here and learna whole lot more about Wydnham prior to buying in. And NEVER EVER EVER buy from Wyndham if you do decide you want to become an owner buy resale. It will save you thousands of dollars and you get the points that work for the same resorts and the same units.

 

[paxsarah]

This is not always my advice, but your situation sounds perfect for renting from a Wyndham owner, at least for the next year or two. You also might want to look into resale ownership - it's obviously more of a commitment, but with Wyndham's Ovation/Certified Exit program, it's typically not that hard to get out at some later date (at least, under current policies).

 

[VacayKat]

Like the others said, rental is a good option, also Koala and Redweek are places owners put up rentals. I have heard some renters just reach out to folks they rented from before on a yearly basis as well. Known renters are great for timeshare owners as they are reliable and responsible.
Buying resale would most likely save you some $$ versus renting but you’d be on the hook for ongoing maintenance fees. However, if you know what you want to vacation yearly you can likely find something that would save you money versus paying hotels (and likely even renting from a timeshare owner). We originally bought our timeshare resale specifically for this- we wanted 1.5-2 weeks in Kona yearly and the nightly rate to stay at a hotel plus dine out every night was too much for our budget - maintenance fees for a condo with a kitchen and laundry made it possible for our family. Just something to consider.

 

[Jan M.]

Having a kid in college can be a big financial burden. Your situation is when I'll repeat what dgalati frequently posts. You can often rent from a Founder's level owner cheaper than you can own if they're booking within their 60 day discount window and getting their free upgrade on the unit size. However here's something else to consider based on what you've told us. From the ages of your kids your life is only going to get more complicated for quite a few years to come. Many people prefer to own to be able to secure what they need even if it costs them more rather on relying on other owners to hopefully have what they need. I've seen people here on TUG say that they do a mix of booking their own stays with the points they own and renting from other owners for some of their stays. Doing that works very well for them.

I'm sure the regulars here on TUG know by now that I can be counted on to give examples. You mentioned that you go to Myrtle Beach so we're going to look at a stay during the summer. I'm going to assume that you'll need a three bedroom unit with the size of your family. We going to use Grand Desert buildings 1 and 2 for where you own points. The 2021 maintenance fees are $4.97 per thousand points with another $0.64 for the resale program fee. So $5.61. You can usually find decent deals on points at Grand Desert and the maintenance fees while not the lowest are certainly on the lower end of average which makes owning at Grand Desert a good choice.

Your cheapest point options for a summer week and the cost based on $5.61 per thousand for the maintenance fees are going to be:
1. A three bedroom deluxe unit in Tower 4 at Ocean Boulevard for 266,000 points. Tower 4 is across the street. You might get lucky and have a unit that you can see a slice of the ocean when you stand in the right spot in your unit. We've done that and it didn't kill us because we spent a lot of time at the beach. Cost $1492.26
2. A three bedroom deluxe unit in the Villas at SeaWatch for 238,00 points, cost $1335.18. Or the SeaWatch Towers for 266,000 points, cost $1492.26.
3. An ocean front three bedroom deluxe unit at Towers on the Grove for 275,000 points, cost $1542.75
4. A three bedroom deluxe at The Cottages is 224,000 points, cost $1256.64

Here is where several questions pop up and I hope other people will help. Can a VIP owner get a discounted and upgraded week in a three bedroom unit at one of the Myrtle Beach resorts within the 60 window for stays during the summer months? I'm guessing it's not likely. I'm also guessing if someone has one they're looking to rent that it won't be cheap. Another question is can you book during the summer months at the Myrtle Beach resorts at 10 months out if you don't own at one of the resorts there?

You should keep an eye on eBay and Redweek for stays at these resorts in the summer months to get an idea of what people are asking for a week in a three bedroom unit. This is one time it might actually be cheaper to own even without the VIP discount and free upgrade. For resorts in other areas, maybe not all the time but at least some of the time you can probably find what you want as cheap if not cheaper than you can own.

 

[bouch181]

How do you find these Founder's Level Owners to rent from?

 

[Jan M.]

How do you find these Founder's Level Owners to rent from?

Here on TUG, the Wyndham Facebook group that allows rentals, eBay, Redweek. If you see a stay that catches your eye, take look at the point charts to see how many points it would be. I'd use $6-$7 per thousand points to figure the cost. Not everyone has lower maintenance fees. If the stay is significantly less than what you figured, then you've found a good deal. And it's likely to be an owner who got their discount and upgrade.

I don't do much renting anymore now that DH retired and we're traveling a lot. You could private message chapjim, Sandi Bo and bendadin as they rent. Other people may see this post and pm you too to give you their contact information for the next time you're looking for something..

 

[Sandy VDH]

How do you find these Founder's Level Owners to rent from?

Post a request in Last Minute Rental - Wanted or look in the Marketplace for Ads.

 

[bouch181]

Here on TUG, the Wyndham Facebook group that allows rentals, eBay, Redweek. If you see a stay that catches your eye, take look at the point charts to see how many points it would be. I'd use $6-$7 per thousand points to figure the cost. Not everyone has lower maintenance fees. If the stay is significantly less than what you figured, then you've found a good deal. And it's likely to be an owner who got their discount and upgrade.

I don't do much renting anymore now that DH retired and we're traveling a lot. You could private message chapjim, Sandi Bo and bendadin as they rent. Other people may see this post and pm you too to give you their contact information for the next time you're looking for something..

Thank you Jan and Sandy! Appreciate all feedback and help

 

[SolomonMan]

All,
Thanks for all the information!

I have take a day or so to try and soak some of this all in....I am definitely a amateur in travel/timeshares/rentals

I am glad, financially, I did not sign up for a retail timeshare purchase last week.

From my looking around (Tugs, Ebay, Redweek) there seems to be a timeshare/rental for most budgets.

I am starting to get ideas on the different timeshares available.

It appears that in resale timeshares there is a lost in VIP status or other promotions. Is this fairly typical for most timeshare systems to keep people signing on the retail side?

Is there a way to know what promotions are lost in a specific resale timeshare versus the current retail timeshare?

I see myself purchasing rentals probably the next couple years, due to Covid-19 and the extra points probably being available from owners but this brings up a couple more questions;

First on the rental side;

How does the rental work...say the seller and I agree on the purchase of rental for X amount dollars for a week.

How does money transaction typically take place (PayPal, Western Union, Check, etc?)?
Seems like eBay and Paypal unless there is a previous relationship will keep things legit.

How does the buyer guarantee booking has taken place/can not be revoked?

As I just recently used my Wyndham Discovery for the first time, I was introduced to the $100 security deposit for each room. Not a big deal but Is this fairly typical for Wyndham and other Time Share groups?

Looking for any gotchas on the rental side. (for the buyer)


On the Time Share purchase side.

Lets says you have purchased a yearly 200,000 point timeshare from Wyndham. You were only able to use 120,000 points this year.

1) Do points expire ever? (I have seen different things on this online)
2) If they carry over, Does the maintenance fees increase (as you theoretically have 280,000 points) for the next year?
3) Are there any risks for a Time Share owner to sell a rental/points?

Again Everyone thanks for the help!
Chris

 

[Melder]

I've never rented before, so I can't speak to that. Before I purchased in 2014, I read the Wyndham Directory in great detail. Yes, you can deposit into future years using the Points Deposit Feature.

Before you buy, DO YOUR HOMEWORK....

Resources:

• Compare Resort Maintenance Fees - Note: the $0.64 program fee is not included in the fees/k under the Master UDI tab.
• Wyndham Directory - Study resort points closely. Make sure you get enough points & within budget
• Buy Points Re-Sale or From the Developer - Dated, but informative
• BUYING WYNDHAM POINTS ON EBAY - Dated, but informative

 

[Sandy VDH]

Check this out, we did this about 18 - 24 months ago. So it might be just slightly dated. (I think it predates the Vistana Marriott marriage, in name not in combined TSs).

Here is comparison chart of most of the major players.

Timeshare System Points Comparison Chart

side by side comparison chart of all the major Timeshare Point systems

tug2.net

 

[cbyrne1174]

All,

Apologize now for being long-winded.

I originally posted a similar question on Trip Advisor and one of the respondents told me to get involved with this forum and to ask my question;

I am a family of seven. The Wife and I and our kids (Two kids Age 7, one at 8,a 12, and a 18 year old). The wife and I are in our mid 40s,

We usually do a one week-er with everyone once a year. The last 10 years or so its been in Myrtle Beach or its surroundings. There are other small vacations but most are local area within our state or surrounding states. We live in a state that is lucky enough to have 4 seasons and something to do in each of those seasons and the kids involvement in activities keeps our vacations limited.

I usually try to do one with the wife as well just the two of us and usually for a long weekend.

To be honest for us to get the week-er in and our weekend is really pushing things timewise for us and our family. We usually try to vacation at non-peak times or just before. For example the week before Biker's week in Myrtle is a common theme the last few years.

Anyways on our trip in 2019 at a hotel we have stayed at many times at Myrtle we were approached to come to the typical timeshare gathering which gave us a discount at 2 locations we were after on our trip. This trip money was tight as we went in early June (oddity for us but the dates worked) and the hotel cost us easily a third more and this made up the difference.

We ended up buying a Wyndham Discovery package. Price was roughly < $3,000 for 300,000 points over 2 year period. Of course they pressured us on the timeshare and of course my decent credit kept us there for 4 hours after saying "No" more than 20+ times. Also having 7 different timeshares shown which ranged in price as low as $7100 to as much as $40000 and the maintenance fees fluctuated as well.

Finally the head salesman came over and basically told us about the Wyndham Discovery Package. No maintenance fees and a test run of sorts.

The wife and I bought it, line and sinker, but it made some sense in our minds as we commonly spent $1000 or more on a typical room at Myrtle. The package would give us 2 stays at Myrtle and a weekend for us at a minimum. The rooms were larger, much larger then anything we had stayed at before, and the extra weekend for the wife and I forced us to "save" for it by paying the monthly loan premium.

The paying for it was not a problem as the monthly option really fit us well but I do wish they had a online payment method.

Unfortunately Covid-19 came and we got bumped for a owner due to the county health requirements. The letter from them basically was honest owners take precedence.

So finally, after both my wife and I both having Covid-19 just before Thanksgiving (kids school and the kids brought it home), my wife and I are trying to use our Discovery timeshare as much as possible. They have been helpful and we did figure something out which has me basically traveling somewhere every month for the next few months. We are ok with this... they did offer a 6 month extension but only after the end of last month. Unfortunately our summers are usually packed with events (4H,scouting,camping,boating) etc and its better to do things now. We only lost 2600 points.

We stayed, last weekend, at the Patriots Place, Williamsburg, VA.

We visited Virginia Beach and we had a wonderful vacation. It was a 4 day vacation. Accommodations were superb and the staff was top-notch and the weather cooperated.

With that said, we went to the supposedly "Mandatory" meeting (according to our Myrtle rep in 2019 - Walt was his name) at our first stay requirement. Got a $30 voucher which we did use (did not know about till we got there though) and listened to a quick Wyndham update. Then 4 more hours of them trying to sell me more on the Wyndham Time Shares with a salesperson.

We did not bite this time. Some due to financial reasons, we are buying some property to add on to my current residence and a son going to college. Other reasons; Covid-19, maintenance fee uncertainty, and truly not understanding what we were looking at exactly. Supposedly we lost our equity ($2600) from our discovery package to any other package in the future. Boy did they try to sell though....

The questions I have is choices I have after I complete my Discovery package. I have been "told" on Sunday that I cannot just grab another Discovery package as I was told originally in Myrtle. This was a consideration as the accommodations were meeting my expectations and then some. I probably would not buy till I completed my current package in May as I want to make sure the stays are all meeting expectations. Also it would allow us to get the kid in college and get the property purchase under our belt before adding additional debt.

My feeling is I need to explore what other options I have for next year (2022). I basically need a week and weekend vacation per year but the rooms need to fit my family. The destinations may not be Myrtle (but I feel it will be for the next few) as we as a family have traveled across the country in 2011 and may considered revisiting a old favorite again.

Also I would be interested in knowing what others have experienced with Wyndham. Also the ups and downs of a Timeshare. Also is there anything better we can choose for our family then a Timeshare?

I have been told (Trip Advisor forum) to consider instead of buying think about renting something from a current timeshare owner. And if you decide to buy go to the resale market where you can save thousands. Limitations and conditions of buying resale however should be understood beforehand. So any help/suggestions on the resale limitation would be fabulous.

Suggestions? Opinions?

Thanks for all the help,

Chris

Just get a low maintenance fee deed on Ebay from a seller with good feedback to start out with. You can always add more points down the road. Now that they've gotten rid of unlimited housekeeping for VIPs, their is literally 0 incentive to buy retail. I paid less than a thousand for my 497,000 points at low maintenance resorts. For simple reference, a 3 bedroom deluxe oceanfront unit at Ocean Boulevard costs me $1323/week in the first week of June when I normally vacation.

 

[montygz]

All,

Apologize now for being long-winded.

I originally posted a similar question on Trip Advisor and one of the respondents told me to get involved with this forum and to ask my question;

I am a family of seven. The Wife and I and our kids (Two kids Age 7, one at 8,a 12, and a 18 year old). The wife and I are in our mid 40s,

We usually do a one week-er with everyone once a year. The last 10 years or so its been in Myrtle Beach or its surroundings. There are other small vacations but most are local area within our state or surrounding states. We live in a state that is lucky enough to have 4 seasons and something to do in each of those seasons and the kids involvement in activities keeps our vacations limited.

I usually try to do one with the wife as well just the two of us and usually for a long weekend.

To be honest for us to get the week-er in and our weekend is really pushing things timewise for us and our family. We usually try to vacation at non-peak times or just before. For example the week before Biker's week in Myrtle is a common theme the last few years.

Anyways on our trip in 2019 at a hotel we have stayed at many times at Myrtle we were approached to come to the typical timeshare gathering which gave us a discount at 2 locations we were after on our trip. This trip money was tight as we went in early June (oddity for us but the dates worked) and the hotel cost us easily a third more and this made up the difference.

We ended up buying a Wyndham Discovery package. Price was roughly < $3,000 for 300,000 points over 2 year period. Of course they pressured us on the timeshare and of course my decent credit kept us there for 4 hours after saying "No" more than 20+ times. Also having 7 different timeshares shown which ranged in price as low as $7100 to as much as $40000 and the maintenance fees fluctuated as well.

Finally the head salesman came over and basically told us about the Wyndham Discovery Package. No maintenance fees and a test run of sorts.

The wife and I bought it, line and sinker, but it made some sense in our minds as we commonly spent $1000 or more on a typical room at Myrtle. The package would give us 2 stays at Myrtle and a weekend for us at a minimum. The rooms were larger, much larger then anything we had stayed at before, and the extra weekend for the wife and I forced us to "save" for it by paying the monthly loan premium.

The paying for it was not a problem as the monthly option really fit us well but I do wish they had a online payment method.

Unfortunately Covid-19 came and we got bumped for a owner due to the county health requirements. The letter from them basically was honest owners take precedence.

So finally, after both my wife and I both having Covid-19 just before Thanksgiving (kids school and the kids brought it home), my wife and I are trying to use our Discovery timeshare as much as possible. They have been helpful and we did figure something out which has me basically traveling somewhere every month for the next few months. We are ok with this... they did offer a 6 month extension but only after the end of last month. Unfortunately our summers are usually packed with events (4H,scouting,camping,boating) etc and its better to do things now. We only lost 2600 points.

We stayed, last weekend, at the Patriots Place, Williamsburg, VA.

We visited Virginia Beach and we had a wonderful vacation. It was a 4 day vacation. Accommodations were superb and the staff was top-notch and the weather cooperated.

With that said, we went to the supposedly "Mandatory" meeting (according to our Myrtle rep in 2019 - Walt was his name) at our first stay requirement. Got a $30 voucher which we did use (did not know about till we got there though) and listened to a quick Wyndham update. Then 4 more hours of them trying to sell me more on the Wyndham Time Shares with a salesperson.

We did not bite this time. Some due to financial reasons, we are buying some property to add on to my current residence and a son going to college. Other reasons; Covid-19, maintenance fee uncertainty, and truly not understanding what we were looking at exactly. Supposedly we lost our equity ($2600) from our discovery package to any other package in the future. Boy did they try to sell though....

The questions I have is choices I have after I complete my Discovery package. I have been "told" on Sunday that I cannot just grab another Discovery package as I was told originally in Myrtle. This was a consideration as the accommodations were meeting my expectations and then some. I probably would not buy till I completed my current package in May as I want to make sure the stays are all meeting expectations. Also it would allow us to get the kid in college and get the property purchase under our belt before adding additional debt.

My feeling is I need to explore what other options I have for next year (2022). I basically need a week and weekend vacation per year but the rooms need to fit my family. The destinations may not be Myrtle (but I feel it will be for the next few) as we as a family have traveled across the country in 2011 and may considered revisiting a old favorite again.

Also I would be interested in knowing what others have experienced with Wyndham. Also the ups and downs of a Timeshare. Also is there anything better we can choose for our family then a Timeshare?

I have been told (Trip Advisor forum) to consider instead of buying think about renting something from a current timeshare owner. And if you decide to buy go to the resale market where you can save thousands. Limitations and conditions of buying resale however should be understood beforehand. So any help/suggestions on the resale limitation would be fabulous.

Suggestions? Opinions?

Thanks for all the help,

Chris

First, timeshares are great for a big family -- staying in timeshares. Owning is a different story. You have to take great care if you take that path.

I can tell you that the gap between buying resale and renting isn't wide.

If you buy resale, even for a few bucks, you will still have the burden of maintenance fees. Is that a burden you don't want on your plate? I don't know your financial situation.

Owning does give you control. You can hunt for bargains and control your reservations.

I rented for years before I bought. What pushed me to buy was rising rates for rentals pre-covid and I wanted control. I also wanted access to DVC without paying DVC prices.

I think the best advice is to go carefully. Timesharing is complex, with financial minefields all over. Timeshares aren't going anywhere. There is always one that can be bought.

 

[dgalati]

How do you find these Founder's Level Owners to rent from?

Tug last minute rentals you will more then likely find a few. https://tugbbs.com/forums/forums/timeshare-rentals-offered.45/
Great deal and example on a one bedroom Presidential at Clearwater. https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/wyndham-clearwater-beach-resort-3-22-3-26-460-00.315644/

 

[dgalati]

First, timeshares are great for a big family -- staying in timeshares. Owning is a different story. You have to take great care if you take that path.

I can tell you that the gap between buying resale and renting isn't wide.

If you buy resale, even for a few bucks, you will still have the burden of maintenance fees. Is that a burden you don't want on your plate? I don't know your financial situation.

Owning does give you control. You can hunt for bargains and control your reservations.

I rented for years before I bought. What pushed me to buy was rising rates for rentals pre-covid and I wanted control. I also wanted access to DVC without paying DVC prices.

I think the best advice is to go carefully. Timesharing is complex, with financial minefields all over. Timeshares aren't going anywhere. There is always one that can be bought.

This is very good advice but I would add learn the system and make it work for your travel needs. If your buying or renting know the system to maximize the benefits and discounts available.

 

[AndySamuels]

My recommendation: renting. Downside: can be more expensive over the long haul. Upside: no lock-in / credit rating risk / increasing MFs + potential assessments.

My other recommendation: buy resale: but spend sufficient time doing homework.

Although resale points allow you to book you will not have early booking privileges as resale points do not confer VIP status. So far in demand TS' like Myrtle Beach in season you may miss out and end up with a) losing points or b) traveling elsewhere / booking out of season.

 

[cbyrne1174]

My recommendation: renting. Downside: can be more expensive over the long haul. Upside: no lock-in / credit rating risk / increasing MFs + potential assessments.

My other recommendation: buy resale: but spend sufficient time doing homework.

Although resale points allow you to book you will not have early booking privileges as resale points do not confer VIP status. So far in demand TS' like Myrtle Beach in season you may miss out and end up with a) losing points or b) traveling elsewhere / booking out of season.

I actually don't think your credit gets dinged every time you default as a resale owner. I never gave Wyndham my SSN.

 

[Roger830]

Although resale points allow you to book you will not have early booking privileges as resale points do not confer VIP status. So far in demand TS' like Myrtle Beach in season you may miss out and end up with a) losing points or b) traveling elsewhere / booking out of season.

This is not correct.
Resale points do have arp (advance reservation priority) at 13 months, the same as vip. Just can't select a unit number preference

 

[AndySamuels]

Thanks for the heads up! I believe I read somewhere that VIPs have even earlier or additional priority when booking resorts. Maybe I am wrong. There are so many rules / stipulations with TS' that it is hard to keep track. Another challenging aspect of ownership.

 

[paxsarah]

Thanks for the heads up! I believe I read somewhere that VIPs have even earlier or additional priority when booking resorts. Maybe I am wrong. There are so many rules / stipulations with TS' that it is hard to keep track. Another challenging aspect of ownership.

VIPs do have a limited number of RARP reservations they can make at 11 months - this comes after everyone (VIP and non) who can book with their ARP privileges at their home resort(s) at 13 months. And your Myrtle Beach example is interesting because summer at MB is excluded from RARP, so definitely not a VIP privilege at all, whereas I own resale deeded points at Myrtle Beach that I can use to book there at 13 months.

 

[AndySamuels]

Interesting. Still a matter of clicking on the right button at the right time to get a unit.

Similar to the annual Olive Garden pasta pass that opens up and is sold out within seconds.

 

[dgalati]

My recommendation: renting. Downside: can be more expensive over the long haul. Upside: no lock-in / credit rating risk / increasing MFs + potential assessments.

My other recommendation: buy resale: but spend sufficient time doing homework.

Although resale points allow you to book you will not have early booking privileges as resale points do not confer VIP status. So far in demand TS' like Myrtle Beach in season you may miss out and end up with a) losing points or b) traveling elsewhere / booking out of season.

Very good observation. This is a good recommendation IMHO.

 

[dgalati]

Thanks for the heads up! I believe I read somewhere that VIPs have even earlier or additional priority when booking resorts. Maybe I am wrong. There are so many rules / stipulations with TS' that it is hard to keep track. Another challenging aspect of ownership.

Wyndhams strategy of daze and confuse. Worldmark is very user friendly compareD to the Club Wyndham IMHO. This is from my personnel experience trading and owning both. Monthly fees are also lower on the Worldmark side since they don't offer the VIP ownership discounts that is subsidized by Non VIP owners.