"using Club Wyndham Plus points to ‘exchange’ into a different Wyndham Resort"...?

[oxine]

Hi,

I am new to this forum.

I decide to learn more about the timeshare before I buy any.

I am reading some articles for newbies and I found something I didn't fully understand.

It might be a silly question, but I want to make sure before I read further.



In Article II (Buying From the Developer) by GoofyHobbie,

"...if you buy a Wyndham points product re-sale as opposed to directly from the developer, you cannot later “exchange” the deed for points at a new resort..."



What is exact meaning of 'exchanging the deed for points'?

Does it mean that if I buy re-sale then I cannot use the points other than my 'home-resort'?



Let's say I purchase Wyndham Grand Desert (Las Vegas) this year and I plan to travel to Thailand next year.

Can I still make reservation with my points through RCI or II?

Sorry for a stupid question, but thanks in advance.

 

[DeniseM]

Some Wyndham deeds are "deeded weeks" and do not have Wyndham points. You can make a home resort reservation, and that's it.

Some Wyndham deeds are enrolled in Wyndham points, and you can use them to make reservations at other Wyndham resorts.

RCI and II are completely different - they are outside exchange companies - not Wyndham. Whether you can make an exchange or not is hard to say - there are lots of factors and no guarantees - especially internationally.

 

[oxine]

Whether you can make an exchange or not is hard to say - there are lots of factors and no guarantees - especially internationally.

Thanks, Denise!

Let me summarize this;


1. If I purchase a re-sale with points, I can make reservations within any Wyndham network.
2. Even though I have points, reservation (whether or not it's domestically or internationally) is not guaranteed.


Am I right?
Then how I can check that I can make an exchange or not before purchasing any?

 

[DeniseM]

You don't have to buy a resale with Wyndham points to exchange with an exchange company - ALL timeshare owners can join exchange companies, regardless of the resort/points.

There is no way to check in advance if you can make an exchange or not, you have to have an account with the exchange company, and the best practice is to put in a request for the exchange, 12 months or more in advance.

If your primary goal is to buy a timeshare for international trading, I think you are going to be disappointed.

 

[paxsarah]

In context, the original GoofyHobbie article is largely talking about lies salespeople tell. For the record, it is not talking about exchanges as we typically use the term such as through RCI or II. The article is saying that a salesperson will try to talk you out of buying resale (or talk you into buying developer) by stating that you can't use your resale points to exchange inside the Wyndham system. This would be a lie, and if the salesperson is called on it, GoofyHobbie posits that they might explain that what they really meant is that you can't exchange your resale deed at one resort for a developer-purchased deed at a different resort. I.e., if you own resale points deeded at Wyndham Kingsgate, you can't go back to Wyndham later and exchange that deed for points at Wyndham Bonnet Creek instead. That part is technically true, but completely irrelevant. Wyndham salespeople will frequently use the sales tactic that what you own is inadequate moving forward; you should trade in or "exchange" your points for whatever package they are currently touting that will solve some problem within your account (of course, accompanied with a retail purchase of added points - this is not a free "service" they offer!).

So the bottom line is, resale points for the most part spend just like developer points. You can use them inside the Wyndham system, and you can use them to exchange in RCI. You would not be able to use them within the ClubPass system, which is a sort of internal exchange system for Worldmark (and other? I don't know) locations. I don't know that any new accounts are being given II access (in the past there were a few resorts affiliated with II instead of RCI, but I think they may have ended that?), so RCI would be the main external exchange system. And resale owners have access to only RCI Weeks, not RCI Points inventory.

Edit: I also just wanted to add that there's a lot of good information in GoofyHobbie's articles, but just to note that Article X (or IX, depending on where you look) "How I Managed 469,000 Points Purchased in 2009" is pretty much completely out of date. It refers to an RCI deposit and exchange process that is no longer available.

 

[oxine]

A-ha!! I got it.
Thanks for your explanation.

Well, I need to study more... and more.