Hello, I am an MVC owner. You can buy resale points from owners who want to sell for a lot cheaper and there is no difference from buying directly from Marriott. This is definitely a timeshare but on a points system. You can get Platinum status if you buy 4,000 points but only maintain status as long as you own sufficient points (it is not lifetime in that sense.) There's a Timeshare Users Group forum with tons of info if you are interested in learning more.