Question About DC Points

[JWWS]

My wife and I own a Gold 2BR legacy week at the Aruba Ocean Club. I have been resisting converting to DC points ever since the program came into effect in 2010 because I felt that my Aruba week and unit were undervalued (3075 points). In past years (as recently as 2010) I have been able to trade my week for a 2BR villa in the summer at Hilton Head (Barony Beach) , which was valued at 4000+points.

I bought the Aruba week in 2001 when my kids were young and we vacationed in Aruba about 3 out of every 4 years for the past 16 years and we love it there.

My kids are now graduated from college and working and my wife and I are entering a new stage in our lives where we are vacationing alone rather than with the kids. Plus we have much more flexibility as to when we can travel without the worries of school calendars, sports schedules, etc.

We recently took a trip to Marco Island and went to Crystal Shores for a presentation. I did not buy the points, but was tempted. Instead, we opted for an Encore trip.

I have some questions that I hope the TUG community can answer. I want to make sure I understand how the DC program will work with my legacy week.

1. If I buy 1000 or 1500 DC points on my Encore trip, but don't enroll my legacy week, can I convert the legacy week to DC points on an ad hoc basis from year to year and combine the 3075 DC points that my legacy week is worth with my enrolled DC points? That would give me 4075 or 4575 DC points and provide me with more flexibility, or so it seems.

2. Does it makes sense to keep my legacy week in Aruba? Is it just as easy to use my Aruba week if I am in the DC program or, if I want to return to Aruba repeatedly, should I keep my Legacy week?

3. We will not have much use for the 2BR unit going forward. How hard is it to use the 1BR for a week and trade the lock off week for some other Marriott property as a legacy week by depositing it in II? Would it be easier to use points as per question 1?

 

[dioxide45]

1. If I buy 1000 or 1500 DC points on my Encore trip, but don't enroll my legacy week, can I convert the legacy week to DC points on an ad hoc basis from year to year and combine the 3075 DC points that my legacy week is worth with my enrolled DC points? That would give me 4075 or 4575 DC points and provide me with more flexibility, or so it seems.

Your legacy week should be enrolled automatically for free if you buy new DC Trust Points on your Encore trip. There is no reason to keep it unenrolled.

2. Does it makes sense to keep my legacy week in Aruba? Is it just as easy to use my Aruba week if I am in the DC program or, if I want to return to Aruba repeatedly, should I keep my Legacy week?

If your week is enrolled, there is no reason to get rid of it. Your MF to DC point cost on that week is probably close to what the MFs would be on trust points. Many weeks are higher and some are lower. So why not keep it, you can continue to use it as a week, exchange it through II or convert it to DC points if you desire. There is nothing better than a legacy enrolled week. The best of both worlds.

3. We will not have much use for the 2BR unit going forward. How hard is it to use the 1BR for a week and trade the lock off week for some other Marriott property as a legacy week by depositing it in II? Would it be easier to use points as per question 1?

Many people trade their studios in II. Getting a 1BR with it will cost a little more now that II has instituted upgrade fees. But for $99, you can go from a studio to a 1BR. Usually best done with instant exchange online trades since you can't request a larger unit with an II ongoing search (OGS) than the week you have deposited. Unless of course the resort you are trying to trade in to doesn't have studio units.

 

[JIMinNC]

First, there is no such thing as "converting to DC points." Since your week was bought prior to June 2010 it is eligible for enrollment in the DC program. You do not permanently convert your week to points when you enroll in the DC program. Instead, you essentially gain the ability to convert your week to points on an ad hoc, year-by-year basis. You do not need to buy Trust points to gain this capability. All you have to do is pay an enrollment fee (others can comment on current prices, but I think they have ranged from $595 to $1695; and in some cases they will offer to enroll the week for free with the purchase of an Encore package). Buying the 1000-1500 Trust points should also enroll your existing week, but that is not the only way to get enrollment. There are cheaper options, so buy the points only if you feel you need the extra points on top of the point value of your week.

Once your week is enrolled in the DC program, you can choose to convert it to Points for any given use year, OR you can elect to keep the week in the weeks system and use it or trade it as you always have. Enrollment is the only way to gain the OPTION of converting a use year to points, but enrollment does not mean PERMANENT conversion to points. You will always have your enrolled deeded week to either use, trade, or convert to points.

With an enrolled week, the only reason to buy more Trust points is if you think the point value of your week - 3075 points - is not adequate for your future travel needs. If you think you will need 4075 or 4575 points then buying the 1000-1500 Trust points might make some sense. One of the big advantages of Points is the ability to book smaller accommodations, book shorter stays than 7 nights, book the actual view category you want, and stretch your points by booking off-season. Your 3075 points (or 4075/4575 if you buy more), can get you a lot more than 7 nights in many circumstances (like if you reserve a 1BR or Studio instead of a 2BR) once you learn more about the points system. I think it is MUCH easier to use Points to downsize to smaller accommodations rather than using II. With points, you just book the smaller size you need and you have points left over for another trip.

We are getting ready to enter the same phase as you, as our oldest will be graduating from college and our youngest heading to college this year. We will no longer be hostage to the school calendar, so we are planning to add to our ownership as well to facilitate a more flexible travel calendar in the years ahead.

 

[mjm1]

We entered the same stage of life several years ago and are glad we enrolled our week for the additional flexibility it provides. We also added D.C. Points via resale.

If you enroll your week you will also be able to rent additional points from other owners, so you don't necessarily have to buy DC points. StevenTing maintains a database we can access for renting points from owners who post there.

If you do decide to buy points, Marriott will likely offer you a bundle, which includes a resale week and an equal or slightly larger amount of points than those allocated to the resale week. Doing so brings down the effective cost per point. They may have mentioned that option to you during your presentation.

I would recommend at least enrolling your week and give it a try. You can always add points later if that fits your new travel plans.

Good luck and please let us know what you decide to do.

Best regards.

Mike

 

[Bill4728]

My wife and I own a Gold 2BR legacy week at the Aruba Ocean Club. I have been resisting converting to DC points ever since the program came into effect in 2010 because I felt that my Aruba week and unit were undervalued (3075 points). In past years (as recently as 2010) I have been able to trade my week for a 2BR villa in the summer at Hilton Head (Barony Beach) , which was valued at 4000+points.

I bought the Aruba week in 2001 when my kids were young and we vacationed in Aruba about 3 out of every 4 years for the past 16 years and we love it there.

My kids are now graduated from college and working and my wife and I are entering a new stage in our lives where we are vacationing alone rather than with the kids. Plus we have much more flexibility as to when we can travel without the worries of school calendars, sports schedules, etc.

We recently took a trip to Marco Island and went to Crystal Shores for a presentation. I did not buy the points, but was tempted. Instead, we opted for an Encore trip.

I have some questions that I hope the TUG community can answer. I want to make sure I understand how the DC program will work with my legacy week.

1. If I buy 1000 or 1500 DC points on my Encore trip, but don't enroll my legacy week, can I convert the legacy week to DC points on an ad hoc basis from year to year and combine the 3075 DC points that my legacy week is worth with my enrolled DC points? That would give me 4075 or 4575 DC points and provide me with more flexibility, or so it seems.

If you buy DC pts you almost must enroll you legacy week into the DC then you can do what you just said "convert the legacy week to DC points on an ad hoc basis from year to year and combine the 3075 DC points that my legacy week is worth with my enrolled DC points? That would give me 4075 or 4575 DC points and provide me with more flexibility, or so it seems."

2. Does it makes sense to keep my legacy week in Aruba? Is it just as easy to use my Aruba week if I am in the DC program or, if I want to return to Aruba repeatedly, should I keep my Legacy week?

YES

3. We will not have much use for the 2BR unit going forward. How hard is it to use the 1BR for a week and trade the lock off week for some other Marriott property as a legacy week by depositing it in II? Would it be easier to use points as per question 1?

If you enroll your legacy week, any year you want to use or trade your aruba week just don't give it to the DC that year and use it for an exchange when you want. YES splitting a 2 bd into a 1 bd and studio is almost always a great idea.

 

[NJMOM2]

Another advantage of just enrolling your legacy week is your interval membership fee, base exchange fees (without II upgrade) for a Marriott to Marriott exchange and lock off fees are included with your annual DC Club Dues ($185).

 

[AlmostRetired]

I believe you can still enroll your legacy weeks by paying a fee without purchasing points. This would save you significant money. I can't quickly find the fee but For this example let's say the enrollment fee for a legacy week 2000 and the point purchase for 1000 DP is 12000. If you pay the fee and you take the 10,000 difference, add to this the yearly MF savings, this should allow you to rent 1000 points for at least 15 years.

Also if you pay an enrollment fee, you can turn rental $'s into points. Say you rent your Aruba 2 bedroom for 2500 . With this, you can rent 4200 points (at 60 cents per point).

The key is getting the legacy week enrolled the cheapest way you can.

 

[m61376]

There have been multiple reposts from people getting enrollment as part of their encore package fee, so hopefully you can get that or at least get enrollment at a reduced fee. As others have posted, that would give you the best of all worlds, and allow you to rent points on as an as needed basis and still enjoy your Aruba trips. A few months ago I nabbed a 2BR in the new towers in Maui exchanging my Aruba studio, so some great availability is still there, esp. with more flexible travel schedules.

 

[budnj]

+1 for enrolling in the DC program. We did it during the "$595" fee period, We have also rented points from a number of owners on vacation point exchange, been very happy with that.
We're in similar circumstances, daughter is getting older, we're both retired, and also own at Surf Club. I'd suggest enrolling, then renting the points from other owners, see if that works for you.
Will send pm with more info.

 

[bazzap]

Just enrolling a single week is not so easy to justify.
Enrolling multiple weeks (as we did originally for $695) and/or enrolling a single week in conjunction with buying points is a very easy decision though for the flexibility of booking options and benefits e.g. savings on Interval fees... this offers.