[ 2023 ] Wyndham Discovery program -nervous buyer

[DavyT]

Just bought 400k points in Discovery for $3900. Now questioning myself. Should I rescind or hope & pray I get $3900 value?

 

[Passepartout]

I might be mistaken, but isn't this a 'trial' plan where you get another vacation- and sales gets another shot at converting you? You may not be able to rescind this. If this is the case, put on your hard sales resistant overalls and have a good vacation. If I'm mistaken, it's your call. Lots of us have spent a lot more for questionable offers. With timeshares, there is NO 'dollars and cents VALUE. It's all in the value you place on memories you impart to other family members. Timeshare IS NOT an investment except in memories.

 

[tschwa2]

It is hard to say whether you would get $3900 value or not. Are you familiar with any Wyndham vacation club properties? Have you rented any of them before. Do you have any idea or plans of what you are hoping to book with your 400,000 points?

When and where did you buy? Are you still within the rescission period?

 

[altiste1]

We sat through a Wyndham sales presentation several years ago, knowing we’d never buy a full retail contract from them, but gave in when they offered the discovery package. I too thought it was a bit too much to spend at the time. But we got good use out of it, especially by looking at the promotions on the website. We got a week in a 2br at Bonnet Creek for half the points, as well as several ski trips to Smugglers Notch. It was a great way to get to know the system and a taste of the accommodations. It helped us to know that we’d want to timeshare generally and to buy resale Wyndham points at some point. Overpriced? Yes. Valuable? Yes.

 

[DavyT]

It is hard to say whether you would get $3900 value or not. Are you familiar with any Wyndham vacation club properties? Have you rented any of them before. Do you have any idea or plans of what you are hoping to book with your 400,000 points?

When and where did you buy? Are you still within the rescission period?

Yes. I bought today at Legacy Golf Resort in Phoenix. Want to use some points for a Hawaii vacation. Just wondering if I should avoid this program entirely, and simply try to rent a timeshare. I'm kind of a newbie, and experiencing some buyer's remorse. :|

 

[DavyT]

I might be mistaken, but isn't this a 'trial' plan where you get another vacation- and sales gets another shot at converting you? You may not be able to rescind this. If this is the case, put on your hard sales resistant overalls and have a good vacation. If I'm mistaken, it's your call. Lots of us have spent a lot more for questionable offers. With timeshares, there is NO 'dollars and cents VALUE. It's all in the value you place on memories you impart to other family members. Timeshare IS NOT an investment except in memories.

Yes, it is Wyndham's trial plan. Supposedly, no long-term commitment or maintenance fees. Pay the upfront cost of purchasing 400k points and use them within 24 months. Does $3900 come close to approximating the rental value of what 400k points would provide?
I only signed the contract today, so I presume I am within Arizona's recision period, and therefore Wyndham would honor that request. (Am I naive?)

 

[Passepartout]

Yes, it is Wyndham's trial plan. Supposedly, no long-term commitment or maintenance fees. Pay the upfront cost of purchasing 400k points and use them within 24 months. Does $3900 come close to approximating the rental value of what 400k points would provide?
I only signed the contract today, so I presume I am within Arizona's recision period, and therefore Wyndham would honor that request. (Am I naive?)

Whether or not you get what YOU consider that you are getting $3900 in value after you take the vacation(s) these 400K points will 'purchase' over 2 years is purely subjective. I am not a Wyndham owner, but see lots of annual buyers getting 160,000 annual point packages. A lot? A little? I don't know. Other Wyndham points owners will surely chime in on how to use the points at discounted resorts or catch 'specials' It may be that you could have more vacations than you are able to use in 2 years! I know. tough problem, eh?

Good Luck. I can't answer whether this discovery package qualifies as a 'timeshare' because of no ongoing commitment or maintenance fees might preclude you from rescinding. Others who bought similar 'discovery' type packages report that the only way out is to use it or let it expire. Rescission isn't an option. You bought it. Enjoy the resorts.

Jim

 

[BoomerKwanger]

With 400k, you can probably get 2 separate 1 week vacations in a 1BR at a decent resort during prime season, and then a few extra days on top. You could obviously make it stretch further if you went during off-season, or less popular resorts, or stayed at places Sunday-Thursday, or stayed in studios.

You can flip through the Directory if you want to see exactly what 400k would get you: https://media.wyndhamvo.com/2023-2024-cw-directory/index.html

The Discovery program isn't terrible from a fee/point basis (but it's definitely not great either). 400k at $3,900 means you're paying about $9.75 per 1000 points. For comparison, if you were to go on a facebook group and look to "rent points" (i.e. have a Wyndham owner book a place for you and then pay them directly) you'd typically pay around $7-$10 per 1000. So $9.75 is right within that range, and you benefit from getting to test out the program and make the reservation yourself, rather than have to trust a stranger.

I've done a lot of comparing between points vs booking Wyndham places on AirBnB as well (since a lot of owners will put their timeshare rentals on that site). Very roughly, I would say that if you're using AirBnB to book Wyndham places, you'll end up spending around $12-13 per 1000 points. So Discovery is definitely a savings relative to booking a Wyndham place via AirBnB, and a huge savings relative to Extra Holidays, which is Wynham's vacation rental website. I also find from personal experience that timeshare condos are way nicer than any hotel you could stay at. Having a living room + full kitchen + separate bedroom are amazing and I would find it hard to go back to hotel rooms after a timeshare rental experience.

The one major drawback about the Discovery program is that you are required to go to at least one sales presentation during the program. So if you're a person that's bad at saying "no" or are worried you might be bullied into purchasing a timeshare at the full retail price, then perhaps cancelling would be correct.

One last consideration is that resale contracts are just very cheap. You could conceivably purchase a Wyndham resale contract that has at least 400k points for less that you paid for Discovery. But the drawback there of course is that you'd now be responsible for owning a timeshare. So again: the Discovery program is doing exactly what it's marketed as...a test run of the program, with no long term commitments and fair but maybe slightly overpriced point costs.

 

[r4rab]

As others have said, be careful comparing hotel rooms to timeshare units. They are different beasts. The really nice hotels (Waldorf, Four Seasons, etc.) are really nice and great for a romantic getaway but not as good for a family vacation (IMHO). I've stayed in nice hotel rooms that were bigger than the apartment we were living in at the time but they still did not have fully equipped kitchens which most time share units (though not all) will have. Do not discount the benefits of having a kitchen & washer/dryer when on a family vacation. Even when it is just my wife & me, we cook breakfast most days in the unit. We'll go out 1-2 days for the local breakfast place but cooking our eggs, muffins, oatmeal, etc. in the unit probably saves us a good $25/day that we can spend on other meals and activities. Having a laundry in unit (or on the floor) allows us to bring less clothes and/or return home without my wife having to do laundry once we get back. Also, hotel prices keep going up each year (often by more than inflation) while MFs tend to increase more in line with inflation. And then there is the psychological effect. It can be a bit shocking to suddenly need to spend what a hotel room costs and impacts your vacation spending budget. A time share is more like a vacation lay away; you've already paid for your room on a monthly basis. And if it costs 150K points for a particular room at a particular resort today, the cost (in points) will be the same in 10 years. Try your Discovery program, say no to the sales people, and then decide if you want a permanent purchase and how to make it.

 

[bnoble]

Just bought 400k points in Discovery for $3900. Now questioning myself. Should I rescind or hope & pray I get $3900 value?

This is probably a little more than you'd pay to rent an equivalent stay from an owner, but not by that much. It's a reasonably fair price, and will give you the experience of what timeshare vacations are like. As noted, they are different from hotels. Compared to hotels, timeshares give you much more (and more functional) space, but are a little more "self-service" than a typical hotel. For example, a timeshare resort often doesn't have much in the way of on-site restaurants, because everyone has their own kitchen. [There are certainly exceptions to this, but not too many Wyndhams are.]

If you decide you like this style of vacation lodging, you can buy something on the resale market for a dime on the dollar or so, and have a grand time. If you decide you don't like it, you aren't out that much money.

I'd say give it a shot. In the meantime, do not attend owner's updates/surveys/tours/whatever they are calling it.

 

[schoolmarm]

You ARE obligated to go on the owner's update/survey/tour--which is a sales meeting, when you buy the Discovery package. You will do this at your first vacation booking, so plan for it. They will try to sell you a permanent package, and you will get the money you paid for your Discovery package as equity for your new purchase.

Also, the Discovery booking selections are a little different from the owner's directory mentioned above. If you want to go to Hawaii, you need to check to see which resorts, if any, are available with the Discovery program.

Enjoy your Wyndham vacations! And read and learn a lot on TUG so you can make an informed decision about future purchases, whether retail or resale.

 

[HitchHiker71]

I might be mistaken, but isn't this a 'trial' plan where you get another vacation- and sales gets another shot at converting you? You may not be able to rescind this. If this is the case, put on your hard sales resistant overalls and have a good vacation. If I'm mistaken, it's your call. Lots of us have spent a lot more for questionable offers. With timeshares, there is NO 'dollars and cents VALUE. It's all in the value you place on memories you impart to other family members. Timeshare IS NOT an investment except in memories.

We have had others successfully rescind the Wyndham Discovery package purchase in the past here on TUG. Of course, past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. If the OP is thinking about rescinding - I'd say you can definitely try to rescind if you so desire. Worst case they refuse the rescission for some reason (this may be tied to state laws which will be dependent upon the state in which you purchased the Discovery package).

 

[Baggi]

Yes, it is Wyndham's trial plan. Supposedly, no long-term commitment or maintenance fees. Pay the upfront cost of purchasing 400k points and use them within 24 months. Does $3900 come close to approximating the rental value of what 400k points would provide?
I only signed the contract today, so I presume I am within Arizona's recision period, and therefore Wyndham would honor that request. (Am I naive?)

I have 430,000 points a year and my annual fee for that many points is $2800.00.

 

[cbyrne1174]

Just bought 400k points in Discovery for $3900. Now questioning myself. Should I rescind or hope & pray I get $3900 value?

The average maintenance fees on 400,000 points is $3,160 so you overpaid by $740. I would just keep it and see if you want resale points down the road. Don't buy anything from the developer, it's a waste of money. The trial package gives you access to the owner website and the program without having any kind of long term commitment. I think that's worth the $740 you overpaid.

 

[Jan M.]

1. Rescind and get your money back.

2. Buy a resale deed/contract with low or low average maintenance fees. That $3900 is enough to get you something good.

For low average maintenance fees I typically suggest Grand Desert. Buildings 1 and 2 have about 9 or 10 cents lower maintenance fees than Building 3. For the lowest maintenance fees you could look for something at Bali Hai, Canterbury, Desert Blue, Panama City Beach and a few other resorts. However you will likely have more luck finding something for a better price at National Harbor. It's not the lowest of the low but it's still in the low group.

If you find something with low or lower maintenance fees and in a few years decide owning Wyndham isn't for you, you shouldn't have any trouble selling off what you bought. You might make a little on the sale, break even or might not get quite as much as you paid but you shouldn't be down much.

 

[BVdog]

1. Rescind and get your money back.

2. Buy a resale deed/contract with low or low average maintenance fees. That $3900 is enough to get you something good.

For low average maintenance fees I typically suggest Grand Desert. Buildings 1 and 2 have about 9 or 10 cents lower maintenance fees than Building 3. For the lowest maintenance fees you could look for something at Bali Hai, Canterbury, Desert Blue, Panama City Beach and a few other resorts. However you will likely have more luck finding something for a better price at National Harbor. It's not the lowest of the low but it's still in the low group.

If you find something with low or lower maintenance fees and in a few years decide owning Wyndham isn't for you, you shouldn't have any trouble selling off what you bought. You might make a little on the sale, break even or might not get quite as much as you paid but you shouldn't be down much.

Jan M I have read many of your great post. While I am still learning and pricing … quick question for you . How much in percentage are you seeing the MF’s going up? Have you ever had a large $$ bill for upkeep say after a large storm or disaster ? Thanks Bill

 

[Jan M.]

Jan M I have read many of your great post. While I am still learning and pricing … quick question for you . How much in percentage are you seeing the MF’s going up? Have you ever had a large $$ bill for upkeep say after a large storm or disaster ? Thanks Bill

We've haven't had any huge increases. Don't quote me but I think the normal increase range is 2% to maybe 6%.

We've owned for 20 years and have never had a special assessment.

If you have questions you're welcome to start a private conversation with me and I'll give you my number so we can talk.

 

[1Melanie]

Yes. I bought today at Legacy Golf Resort in Phoenix. Want to use some points for a Hawaii vacation. Just wondering if I should avoid this program entirely, and simply try to rent a timeshare. I'm kind of a newbie, and experiencing some buyer's remorse. :|

I’m assuming you bought Wyndham vs Shell. Hawaii resorts particularly in Honolulu/Waikiki tend to be more expensive than say, Florida or other Mainland states. Honolulu resorts, like other metropolitan cities, have ridiculous parking fees and the units tend to be smaller. Waikiki looks like a concrete jungle! Additionally, The State of Hawaii charges a transient/tourist tax/fee. Outer Island resorts are bigger and most have free parking. None of the Islands are exempt from that tourist tax. That’s Hawaii’s way of welcoming their visitors!
Most of us suffer from post purchase dissonance/buyers remorse after spending a huge chunk of money. If you are buying timeshare to enjoy vacations over a long period of time, that feeling will dissipate, especially when you start creating memories for yourself and your loved ones. We bought because we had to force ourselves to take a vacation! This insured that we would do exactly that. We haven’t had any regrets since.
Calculate what it would cost you for luxury hotel accommodations for a week and how much meals eaten out at modest restaurants would cost. The majority of timeshare units we’ve stayed in are beautiful with fully equipped kitchens. There’s usually so much room we can invite family or friends to join us. When in a large group, we head for the nearest Costco or grocery store and stock up for the week with basics like water, beverages, beer, eggs, bread, cold cuts, fruit and veggies and meat for barbecuing at the resort. There are also lots of preprepared meals you can buy and warm up for lunch or dinner. Oftentimes, we also plan for and build a few nice restaurant meals into our budget especially if we’re celebrating something. I bring ziplock bags, condiments, coffee and sweetener from home. We used to buy a foam cooler wherever we went but have since replaced that with a folding cooler we can pack in our suitcases. When out sightseeing, it’s easier and more cost effective to find a nice spot for a picnic rather than trying to hunt for a restaurant especially when you’re in the middle of nowhere! When we’ve been out sightseeing all day long, sometimes the last thing we want to do is get ready to go out to dinner. Sometimes a can of soup and a sandwich will do.
You have so much more flexibility in a fully furnished condo than you will ever have in a hotel even the ones that serve breakfast. Groceries won’t cost any more than if you were at home.
Many of us own or have owned TS bought on the secondary market. I paid $150 once for enough points for a week in a waterfront resort on the Big Island. To take advantage of the perks that come with greater levels of ownership, we slowly moved our ownership into all “developer” points and unloaded the ones from the secondary market to reduce our maintenance fees. “Developer” points are negotiable. They have lots of miscellaneous inventory other than the ones they present you with in a sales presentation but you have to ask about them. They won’t volunteer the information. They cost thousands less than the facility you are getting your presentation at. When consolidating our ownership, we opted to pay a little more for a facility with lower maintenance fees. Lower MFs together with the greater discounts we receive, gives us more usage/vacations. After a few years the increased cost becomes a wash. With flexibility we are able to get our 60% discount and free upgrades more often than not. This stretches our points out farther. With VIP status you can monitor your already booked vacations when you get within 60 days. More often than not folks book vacations they can’t take then take advantage of the 15 day cancellation policy. If you keep some points in reserve you can often take advantage of those discounts, (providing you are 15 or more days out) rebook your vacation at the discounted rate, cancel the original vacation and get all your points back. We often roll our “ leftovers” into the following year and put the equivalent points saved into our Wyndham Rewards account for those occasions when we need a hotel stay. That’s another program altogether associated with their Barclays card. Putting MFs on that card earns 5 points per dollar which adds up over time.
Take a deep breath, book your dream vacation. Once you do, you’ll never look back.

 

[1Melanie]

I might be mistaken, but isn't this a 'trial' plan where you get another vacation- and sales gets another shot at converting you? You may not be able to rescind this. If this is the case, put on your hard sales resistant overalls and have a good vacation. If I'm mistaken, it's your call. Lots of us have spent a lot more for questionable offers. With timeshares, there is NO 'dollars and cents VALUE. It's all in the value you place on memories you impart to other family members. Timeshare IS NOT an investment except in memories.

So true!

 

[1Melanie]

Yes, it is Wyndham's trial plan. Supposedly, no long-term commitment or maintenance fees. Pay the upfront cost of purchasing 400k points and use them within 24 months. Does $3900 come close to approximating the rental value of what 400k points would provide?
I only signed the contract today, so I presume I am within Arizona's recision period, and therefore Wyndham would honor that request. (Am I naive?

Yes, it is Wyndham's trial plan. Supposedly, no long-term commitment or maintenance fees. Pay the upfront cost of purchasing 400k points and use them within 24 months. Does $3900 come close to approximating the rental value of what 400k points would provide?
I only signed the contract today, so I presume I am within Arizona's recision period, and therefore Wyndham would honor that request. (Am I naive?)

Divide your $3900 by the daily rate of a five star hotel suite with a kitchen jacuzzis, pools etc to get your answer. The question is, are you content with a room at Motel 6 or would you prefer a suite at a beautiful hotel?

 

[Weebit]

Did you keep your Discovery plan? If so, where did you go and were you happy with your vacation?

We purchased Discovery in February. We have 2 vacations booked, one for September (6 nights) in Myrtle Beach, SC and one in March (6 nights) in Sevierville, TN. I think the purchase price is well worth it to decide if owning a TS is right for us. Our plan is to purchase resale if we are happy with what we get with Discovery. Those two vacations are only using 186,500 points so we still have enough for 2 more vacations. We are, however, able to be very flexible with the days that we go and are deliberately choosing to go during lower point seasons and rooms so that we can make the most of the points. I know not everyone is able to do that.

We also know that we have to attend a sales presentation on our first visit, but will not be purchasing anything at that time. I have no intention of purchasing until after we have had at least a couple of vacations and are sure we will be happy. I think the key is to do your homework and research. I have been researching and have joined several FB groups, along with this one, since we purchased.

I believe that the vast majority of the unhappy owners (aside from being annoyed with sales) are people who bought without doing a lot of research beforehand.

 

[Richelle]

Edit to delete text

 

[Richelle]

The discovery plan is a good way to try out the program without the commitment. You are correct that there are no maintenance fees, however, you do not have access to all resorts. You only have access to Discovery designated inventory at resorts that participate in Discovery. If you had access to everything, you'd be taking away inventory from people who did make the financial commitment. We tend to be touchy on who has access to inventory we pay for.

The average rental rate is $6 to $9 per 1,000 points used on the Facebook groups that allow rentals. So, if you were to rent points or reservations from someone, you're looking at spending between $2,400 to $3,600. That doesn't include any fees they tack on (PayPal fees, Credit card fees, Housekeeping fees, etc). That also does not include any discounts or free upgrades a VIP MIGHT pass onto you. So it would be cheaper to rent, but there are some drawbacks to consider when renting. First, not many sellers will offer refunds if your plans change. Their points expire at the end of the year, so if you cancel, they have to hope they find a new buyer or they could lose money. Also, to put a reservation in your name, it cost them a guest certificate. If they are out of their free ones, it costs $99 online or $129 over the phone to buy one. If you cancel, they do not get that money or GC back. Some might rebook for you, but you'll likely have to pay the GC fee if they are out of them. Also, there is this thing called Owner Priority. Certain resorts during certain times have different rules when it comes to guests. An owner can send two guests per year to a resort during the owner priority. If they run out of those two, they cannot send anyone else to those resorts during those times. They could still send them to other resorts not in Owner Priority period, but those are not always desirable locations, so you will need to be flexible. Finally, there is also the risk of getting scammed, so definitely do your research before renting from a stranger. If you want the flexibility of being able to cancel and rebook somewhere else without having to worry about the owner priority period or potentially getting scammed, go with discovery. If you're flexible, have a steady schedule, and are confident you won't get scammed, rent from a stranger.

If you decide to buy full fledged ownership, consider buying resale. I have no regrets buying retail because I wanted to go VIP for my own reasons. However, buying full-fledged ownership on the resale market will give you access to the same resorts as a retail owner. Both resale and retail can book during the same times. Resale cannot book Club Pass (WorldMark) resorts, convert points to Wyndham rewards, or be eligible for Plus Partners. That last two are no big loss in my opinion. Resale would work for probably about 80-90% of the ownership base.

 

[kanerf]

To maximize your points, only stay Sun-Thurs. Friday and Saturday are the most expensive days points wise.

 

[djjjd]

Just bought 400k points in Discovery for $3900. Now questioning myself. Should I rescind or hope & pray I get $3900 value?

Ripp Off, I was sold one at a timeshare presentation in San Antonio . Got 4 trips out of it and 2 were weekend trips to New Orleans and back to San Antonio for just the weekend.Went on a work trip to DC and used 4 days at nearby Maryland Wyndam resort.Got a 4 day trip to Freeport Bahamas nothing special and the 400000 points were spent! I had to pay for airfare, Converted points to dollars and I could have got the same rooms online for the same price or cheaper
The best timeshare locations are booked 1 to 2 years in advance I found out after buying it. THERE Was interest on the 3900 thatcame to 4600 total price!