I'm overwhelmed! Help!

[Myswede]

I joined TUG a couple of weeks ago on the advice of a friend. I've done hours of reading, but I'm still very confused. Please help! Here's my story: We own one EOY timeshare in Cabo that we (stupidly) bought while on a cruise six years ago. We have never stayed there, but each time we pay our MF we deposit it into our RCI weeks account. We receive about 19 points, which doesn't get us far. We have taken some fun trips, though, to Oregon, Florida, and Mexico with those points (or should I say units??).

I'm a teacher and I have three weeks off in winter, two for spring, six in the summer, and one in the fall. We have one child left at home and travel during most of my breaks. Here's where I need help. I'm tired of paying vrbo fees. I would like to grab some of the "free" time shares that will give me points to book weeks in Mexico, SunRiver Oregon, and San Diego/So Cal area. (I live in northern Nevada.). I would LOVE to own a timeshare in SunRiver, OR, since we like going there during different seasons and spend about $3000 a year on vrbo's there. The "points" people talk about confuse me since I am used to RCI "weeks" trades. Any advice on what to read, where to look for resale units, anything else I need to know would be GREATLY appreciated!! I don't even know where to find what resorts are In the locations I desire to travel to and how many points I would need and how to book them, other than through RCI weeks. Thank you!


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[vacationhopeful]

Rent vacation stay from other owners.
... OR ...
Buy FIXED WEEKS where and when you love to go ... no fees for a 'club' membership fees and you will get exacting the weeks you need.
aka Week 52 is after Christmas (NYE week)
... Week 7 usually is Presidents Birthday
... Week 26 or 27 is July 4th

 

[sts1732]

If you use market place here on Tug it will list offers both to rent and buy region. Red week offers the same, and you can look, but you have to pay to join and contact the owners. You can also look on ebay, but I'd be leery there in that it's know for scammers.

 

[CO skier]

I'm tired of paying vrbo fees. I would like to grab some of the "free" time shares that will give me points to book weeks in Mexico, SunRiver Oregon, and San Diego/So Cal area. (I live in northern Nevada.). I would LOVE to own a timeshare in SunRiver, OR, since we like going there during different seasons and spend about $3000 a year on vrbo's there. The "points" people talk about confuse me since I am used to RCI "weeks" trades. Any advice on what to read, where to look for resale units, anything else I need to know would be GREATLY appreciated!!

WorldMark has locations in Mexico, Redmond and Bend, OR (SunRiver area), San Diego/So Cal.

https://www.worldmarktheclub.com/resorts/

These are popular locations during your travel times, so they book at or near 13 months in advance. Since you know your travel dates well in advance, this should still work for you.

A 1 bedroom in Bend, OR or a 2 bedroom at Eagle Crest in Redmond, OR during red season is 10,000 credits. Purchase price would be in the $3500 range for 10,000 credits with annual maintenance fees currently at $800 per year. While not one of the $1 timeshares, the selection of WorldMark resorts may make it a better value for your use. There are no exchange fees for reserving different resorts in the system. It is easy to rent credits from other owners or purchase permanent credits to add to an existing account for more vacation time.

There is a learning curve to using any timeshare, and points systems require a few hours of study to get the most value, but I think it is worth the time invested.

These are the rules for WorldMark to give you an idea how a points timeshare works.

https://www.worldmarktheclub.com/board/info/pdfs/WM_Club_Guidelines.pdf

I found it confusing at first, and it took more than a few readings with a highlighter to understand it, but now I reap year-after-year of really nice vacations for less than 1/2 of what a rental would be where and when I vacation (and that comparison includes the amortized purchase cost).

If you are paying a separate fee for your RCI account, you could join RCI through WorldMark and add your Mexico timeshare to it, then exchange some of your WorldMark credit for additional RCI tpu.