Using Points for MVCI
 

I try online and there is rarely any award availablity at these properties. However, on a recent trip to St. Kitts, people were staying there on points. I realize the property was just opening but this option was not available on line. Do you have to call marriott to get these award stays options?

Availability can be found online, but I don't think the "search for availability" function really works very well. So your best bet to find availability is probably to call in.

BTW, in general, the best time to find availability for an MVCI property is when it is first opening up. There aren't as many owners yet using their weeks. Once a property is sold out, the owner has to sell back the property to Marriott before they can offer it with points. And I would guess that most of those are offered back for paid stays rather than for point offerings.

I definately find more availability by calling. I have seen them offered online, but have been able to get an agent to help me by checking other dates around mine. Sometimes just 1 day out of 5 is causing the problem and an agent can see that.

FWIW, try not to pick dates that cross over a weekend (Thursday-Tuesday for example). The time shares are booked in weeklong increments with mostly Sat and Sun checkins. If you try a Thurs-Tues, you are taking from 2 weeks of inventory and lessen your chances of finding a room. Your best bets are stays that start or end Saturday or Sunday.

This all being said, I think the MVCI are some of the best value for points out there.

I haven't had a lot of success with searching online either. So, you're not alone. As a matter of fact, I have had a hard time even finding MVCI properties when looking for them directly. I haven't given it a lot of effort though. One point I'll bring up, if you're interested in sitting through a 90 minute timeshare pitch (which are consistently reputed to be low pressure) then you may have really low rates not worth blowing 100,000 or so points on. I'm looking into this right now.