If you really want a Marriott (or any other) timeshare you can buy them resale on Ebay and other venues for abour 50 cents a point. Really! You will probably have to pay some transfer fees, but can really buy these things cheap on the after market. Keep in mind that you will pay maintenance fees forever, or until you get rid of it. You also may not get some of the perks with resale, but when you consider the difference in price, the perks usually aren't worth the extra thousands of dollars.

I too attended an MVC presentation in Oahu, right after the probowl. Sammyindc is correct in that they offered as much as 375k in marriott pts for the 1500 pts plan. My primary concern is the flexibility or lack thereof, thus buying a traditional week at a traditional Marriott resort that can be converted to annual points could be more beneficial to me personally.

I believe if you purchase in the secondary market, you may lose the ability to convert to points.

What do you mean by that? The Vacation club points gives you total flexibility with no blackout dates and the ability to stay at any property. At least that's my understanding of the program.

It is my understanding there are at least two types of ownership possibilities for Marriott timeshares: One can go with the points based system (1500-2500-3500 etc..) or a purchase a traditional week at a property. The former (points), as told by the marriott rep, does not convert well to traditional Marriotts rewards points, whereas some properties if purchased thru Marriott, you are able to exchange your week for MR points (40-100K+ points) annually or every other year.

If I purchase a resale thru Marriott, then every year exchange my week to Marriott for points, I can use said points at any property and they will count towards my liftetime status (2M needed for PLAT)

That's correct (with one exception), otherwise there would be no incentive to buy direct from Marriott. Marriott would then not be able to compete with the resale market. A search of timeshare resales on eBay will prove that.

The exception: about 2 years ago, Marriott converted their timeshare system from the old weeks-based system (where you would buy a week of timeshare use at a specific resort and then later trade that week for a week at another resort if you wanted to go elsewhere) to a points-based system (where you buy points that can be used to reserve at any resort). When they made this conversion, they wanted the old weeks-based owners to convert to the new points system (for a fee, of course). So as an incentive to convert, they did offer a time-limited opportunity for people who bought a week on the resale market to join the new points program. I thought it was a good deal for the resale owners, but that window of opportunity closed some time ago.

One more comment about timeshare ownership: I've owned a Marriott timeshare since 2004, and I am generally pleased with it. (In retrospect, this was my introduction to the world of hotel points, and how I ultimately landed here at FlyerTalk.) However, the annual maintenance fee does go up every year, and has risen significantly since I made the initial purchase. At the time I made my purchase, one of the selling points that the timeshare salespeople used was that I would be "locking in the cost of vacations in the future" and avoiding the heavy bite of inflation. Well, the maintenance fee has inflated.

Based on what I was told last week they no longer sell the week system. Only points. You can buy a certain number of vacation club points and use them at any MVC property, any time of the year.

Depending on your MVC level, you can transfer up to 75% of your MVC points to MR points fir a 1/33 ration (1 MVC point = 33 MR points).

The following link shows the premier benefits and the transfer to MR points for each level:
http://www.marriottvacationclub.com/...fits_chart.pdf

Thats my other concern, the ongoing lifetime maint fees and subsequent future increases. You can now purchase 50,000 MR points a year for $625, the annual fees for some of these nicer properties are $1000+ for 90-125K points over and above the initial purchase price. Decisions, Decisons....I always stay at Marriotts, I need to weigh the pros and cons as they pertain to me personally.

Sammy-

Marriott will resale you a week with the ability to convert to points.



vacation club points and use them at any MVC property, any time of the year.

Exactly and that was the sticking point, there are only 53 MVC properties where u get the most for your points.

For example--75% of 2500 is 1875 x 33= 61875. Some resale weeks can be converted to 125K MR points per year. The only issue the maint fees are much higher.

True - but if you're just buying as a new owner - it's the new point system.
Plus I wouldn't want to buy into the week system with all its restrictions. The points system in my opinion offers much more flexibility and advatnages and can be used at any MVC (and RCCC depending on level) properties.

hmm I dont believe any such restriction exists.

According to the 2 reps I talked to only points are being sold for brand new packages. All weeks are re-sale but I will get confirmation and report back.

OK-

Sam- Marriott has indeed converted to the point system. As a new owner Marriott will only sell you points. Marriott also has properties that it sells by the week directly to potential buyers and those properties (resales only) come with the added benefit points conversion ONLY if said property is purchased thru Marriott

Yes. That's what I understood from them so we're on the same page :)

Update:

Just got an email from my MVC contact. Here is the summary of what he said:
- resale weeks are available at corporate sales office
- also have a special type of product called a "bundle" - combination of a resale week and points which makes the resale automatically eligible to be used as points as an annual option
- Resale weeks purchased alone will never be eligible for points conversion
- deeply discounted prices of resale weeks - 30% to 40% off the regular price of Points
- this strategy be discontinued sometime this year. (it's getting a little too popular).

See also this thread which is specific to MVC Maui:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...sentation.html

The presentation we attended in November was very low key, no hard sell, out the door in 90 minutes once you say "no dice". We were quoted a rate of .43 per point for annual maintenance. Also note it takes a minimum purchase of 6500 points if you want to use at RC hotels and properties (which is of interest to us as there are several good RC properties in the Western US including the new Northstar hotel). 6500 x .43 = $2800/yr in maint alone!

What most people fail to consider is the opportunity cost of the funds "invested" in your timeshare week or points. for example it will cost you approx $50-60k to buy enough points for a 2BR ocean view for 7 peak nights in Maui (obviously your points will go a lot farther in Palm Desert in the summer, but this is what you will need for a peak location, peak season). If you invested that money in a security that earns 6-8%/yr, you would generate $3000-4800 cash per year, every year. You could then buy a hotel room, rent a condo, whatever you want without having to deal with MVC. Take a year off, bank the money.

So consider the ROI plus the maintenance fees when looking at the true cost of your timeshare. And compare to what you would normally spend, not the ridiculous example the sales person will use.

One final note: since 2003, we've been staying on "timeshare preview" packages with Hilton, Marriott and Starwood. The price is @ $150-300 for 3 nights, or approx. $400-800 for 5 nights. MVC preview price for Maui actually dropped from $650 to $500 in the last 2 years. They keep telling us "you won't see that deal again" but reality suggests that we will enjoy this deal for as long as they have points to sell and rooms to fill.