I am going on a sales presentation tour tomorrow at one of the Marriott Vacation Club properties (this is my parents' timeshare week, but now that I'm old enough/employed/otherwise eligible, I figured it was worth checking out!). They're offering a gift of either $100 in gift certificates, usable around the resort or at other places around here, or 10,000 Marriott points.

Since Marriott isn't my primary hotel chain, I don't know a whole lot about the program and what points are worth, etc. I'll mostly be doing status-maintaining at my primary chain for the rest of the year, but I have some big trips (domestic and international) planned for the next two summers so maybe it might not be a bad idea to get some alternative points in the bank...?

Thoughts? What's the general "exchange rate" in this program?