Originally Posted by
Horace
First, I would recommend to mattcng to take some time to gain a fuller understanding of Marriott Vacation Club, the upfront cost, the substantial maintenance fee each year (which increases each year), and what you get for that money.
With Marriott Vacation Club (MVC), you're not buying Marriott Rewards (or Marriott Bonvoy) points. You're buying MVC Destination Club points, which are deposited into your MVC account annually. You spend those points on a portfolio of MVC properties. The properties are well-located, well-maintained, and can provide wonderful vacations — but the locations are limited. You can also convert those points for other options, including tours, cruises, and even Marriott Bonvoy points, but the value proposition is typically much worse than for MVC properties.
MVC membership does not provide lifetime Marriott Bonvoy elite status. At high ownership levels, it provides status, but only as long as the MVC member remains in the program. When an MVC member sells and exits from the program, there is no lifetime status.
I don't understand the reference to "37 years" in the post from mattcng. There is nothing magic about 37 years in the MVC program.
I think the sale pitch is very different from the one in the states.
Firstly, there is a maintenance fee, they didn't mention it being increased every year. From memory, the maintenance fee is 0.039 cents per MVC points.
Secondly, I understand that I am not buying MR Points when I sign up for MVC, but there is an option to transfer 1 MVC Points : 40 Marriott Bonvoy Points. Since I was not familiar with the MVC Points system, for the sake of familiarity, I multiplied the MVC points by 40 to get an idea of how many Marriott Bonvoy Points.
Thirdly, I never said it was lifetime status with Marriott Bonvoy. I said "lifetime" and where did I get the 37 years from. That was from the sales pitch. If I sign up, I will be signing up for 37 years. Pay an upfront fee and then annually pay the maintenance fee for the next 37 years. If you are in your 40s or 50s and you are buying into Marriott Vacation Club for 37 years, it is pretty much your lifetime. Only time will tell how long we live for.
I was not interested in the MVC Properties, so put it in terms of Marriott Bonvoy and see if it was a deal or not.