Marriott points vs deed

Was just at Aruba Surf Club......already own 1 week. Considering getting 2nd week............any thoughts about buying while it can still be deeded vs getting their new destination points. I'm a brand new member and pretty naive about timeshares..........NEED HELP!

I'll leave it to someone else to answer your question about deeds vs. points, but if you are truly "naive" about timeshares, I don't think you should be buying anything until you have a clearer understanding of what you want/need.

Marriott will continue to sell points, so you can always buy them later. And you will still be able to pick up a deeded week on the resale market. There is no need to rush into a decision.

Take your time to learn what will work best for you. Just to give you something to think about- buying enough points to reserve a 2BR at the Surf Club during Platinum season (not President's week) will run you about $45,000, and incur an annual MF of ~$1800. Buying a Platinum OV week on the resale market will run in the 18000 area, and will have an annual MF of just over $1200.

IF you are looking to return to Aruba most years, then it's a no-brainer imho. IF you are looking to go different places annually, then it is a more complicated decision, but one that warrants time and a cool head.Don't waste your precious vacation time- enjoy the sun and the beach/pool, and read and ask questions when you get home.

Hope you have as nice a time as we did a few weeks ago!

oh- welcome to Tug btw- coming here may have saved you enough money to pay for several years worth of vacations. Make sure to come back when you return

You may also consider just renting week from owners; a very viable and no strings attached alternative that is looking better all the time in hindsight.

Charles

CMF said:

You may also consider just renting week from owners; a very viable and no strings attached alternative that is looking better all the time in hindsight.

Charles

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Not to get into a discussion of the pros and cons of ownership, but I do think it is worth mentioning that if the OP is looking to travel more to off season, low demand locations then renting may make more sense, but that renting becomes more expensive and ownership more attractive if his/her goals are to travel during peak periods to high demand locations.

Certain locations, such as Aruba, historically commanded high rental prices and given the rates that Marriott itself commands for these units, when the economy rebounds I expect those rental rates to recover as well. Since the OP mentioned being in Aruba and buying there, if his objective is to return for 2 weeks during Plat. season ownership may very well better fill his goals. Even in this economy I know Joe at least has reported a strong rental market here, and there have been several posts from others renting out their studios and covering their MF's. These units used to rent for 3500-4000 per week, but whether that will again be realized remains to be seen.

CMF said:

You may also consider just renting week from owners; a very viable and no strings attached alternative that is looking better all the time in hindsight.

Charles

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Agree that renting is a good option at this point (following recent changes). However, if you really want to own and consider most often staying at Aruba, do not go for points and just buy a resale deeded week. At least, you know what you have (one week per year at MF cost). You will always be able to sell if you change your mind later (it is a very good resort).

I am still not clear how people can "get rid of trust points". Can someone tell her if points can be sold?

ace7birdie said:

Was just at Aruba Surf Club......already own 1 week. Considering getting 2nd week............any thoughts about buying while it can still be deeded vs getting their new destination points. I'm a brand new member and pretty naive about timeshares..........NEED HELP!

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If you are sure that you only want to vacation at the Surf Club, you can try to pick up another week via resale. You will not be able to enroll that into the DC program, but as long as you just want to go the Surf Club, that will not matter much. If you will want to use the new week for exchanges, I would vote with those who suggest holding off for the time being and just renting. There is too much going on now with Marriott to committ to buying rather than just renting in my opinion. The developer purchase option has the advantage of keeping the door to joining the DC program open, but is very expensive.

davidn247 said:

I am still not clear how people can "get rid of trust points". Can someone tell her if points can be sold?

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Just a guess, but I believe it works the same way as the old Marriott resale program for weeks. You decide you want to sell, put your name on a list, and wait until Marriott has need of your inventory. This means of course, that you will be waiting years and many owners will be unable to unload their weeks.

Up until the last couple of years Marriott would sell or buy your week back from you if you wanted to get rid of it. When we bought our first timeshare week (Manor Club) we specifically asked......what if we want to get rid of it? And we were told that they would always be willing to purchase it back from us for 75% of what we paid. I don't know if we got that claim in writing. I'm guessing......probably not. But in the end, we got on their waiting list and actually did get back about 75% of what we paid. And we probably got close to that for our Barony week. It's really sad what some of those weeks are going for today on Ebay.

We haven't been on a points presentation yet and probably won't be going on one. But isn't anyone asking that question........what if we want to sell? It's hard to believe that wouldn't be brought up since I consider it a very important question. Just curious to know what Marriott is saying to anyone who asks.

We took the presentation last month and were told that Marriott would buy points back "at any time" for 60% of current selling price. I knew this couldn't be true (no way will they buy back points until they sell their current inventory). I surmised that it would be like the old weeks buyback program and wouldn't be realistic for most owners. It will be especially crowded now that everyone owns the same thing.

Stefa said:

We took the presentation last month and were told that Marriott would buy points back "at any time" for 60% of current selling price. I knew this couldn't be true (no way will they buy back points until they sell their current inventory). I surmised that it would be like the old weeks buyback program and wouldn't be realistic for most owners. It will be especially crowded now that everyone owns the same thing.

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That's interesting. I wonder if they will ever sell all their inventory of points?

BarbS said:

I wonder if they will ever sell all their inventory of points?

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I would say it is doubtful. They will also be reclaiming points from the inevitable defaults which may happen in greater numbers since there is no way to unload the points at this time. I would also think they would exercise ROFR on a high-points property before they would buy back points, but that's just a guess.

The Club documents do contain some language allowing for external resales by Marriott approved brokers, but, so far, nothing has been put in place for these to actually happen.

Stefa said:

We took the presentation last month and were told that Marriott would buy points back "at any time" for 60% of current selling price. I knew this couldn't be true (no way will they buy back points until they sell their current inventory). I surmised that it would be like the old weeks buyback program and wouldn't be realistic for most owners. It will be especially crowded now that everyone owns the same thing.

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I don't think it will be anything like the old weeks resale program. DC points really are fungible, so these would not be sales based on commission, with all the uncertainty of which resort and which season was sold.

I am surprised that they would be so specific, and I do not believe that is covered in the point sales documents, so it would not be enforceable. That kind of guarantee would certainly make DC points more attractive.

wof45 said:

I don't think it will be anything like the old weeks resale program. DC points really are fungible, so these would not be sales based on commission, with all the uncertainty of which resort and which season was sold.

I am surprised that they would be so specific, and I do not believe that is covered in the point sales documents, so it would not be enforceable. That kind of guarantee would certainly make DC points more attractive.

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What I meant was that it would be like the old weeks system in that you would be put on a waitlist until your inventory was needed, as opposed to the implied scenario where they would simply take it back when you were ready to sell. First come, first served. If you aren't at or near the top of the list you would be waiting a very long time.

And, yes, the salesman's claims would not be enforceable. I fee bad for all the people who fall for that line.

Stefa said:

We took the presentation last month and were told that Marriott would buy points back "at any time" for 60% of current selling price. I knew this couldn't be true (no way will they buy back points until they sell their current inventory). I surmised that it would be like the old weeks buyback program and wouldn't be realistic for most owners. It will be especially crowded now that everyone owns the same thing.

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It's interesting that they said that. Of course, it probably wasn't in writing. Still, I think such repurchases would be hugely profitable to Marriott, and it would make all kinds of sense for them to buy back the points (remember they're adding in a $1/point ROFR charge on top, so it's really a 50% buyback rate), and then sell them again at "full" price. Wouldn't you do that, if you had a pipeline of product, with willing buyers lined up?
Of course, the real problem is that the points are such a bad deal in the first place. When you analyze it, make sure you factor in time value of your money (what it would earn, long-term, if you didn't give it to Marriott), as well as the maintenance fee ($.40/point yearly). Then compare that to renting, either directly from Marriott, or much better, renting via Redweek.com. Add in the 50% haircut if you sold back to Marriott, and I think you'd run, not walk away.