Newbie Thinking about buying Wyndham resale...need advice

[ShebasJewel]

I have never owned timeshare and am very interested. I went to a sales presentation through Sapphire Resorts in Vegas at the Jockey Club but rescinded as soon as I got back after doing some research.

I think I am leaning towards Wyndham because of the number of resorts and the RCI Access. I have looked on Ebay and seen some sales that seem a much better price than what I have seen posted about through the sales office.

My questions...

1. How many points do you suggest for a family of 5 that would need a 2BR and probably would be doing most of the travel around school schedule?

2. What property is best to make your home property? I am thinking Orlando or Hawaii? Do these trade better than others? How should we pick?

3. What benefits do I not get buying resale vs through sales? Are there properties that I would not be able to use (worldmark)?

4. What is the benefit of Wyndham over Worldmark or other timeshares?

Anything else that I should be aware of?

Thanks in Advance

 

[RRedlich]

The minimum for a two bedroom during school calendar is 154,000. But many resorts require 184,000 to 224,000. I believe that Bonnet Creek is 224K.

 

[skotrla]

I have never owned timeshare and am very interested. I went to a sales presentation through Sapphire Resorts in Vegas at the Jockey Club but rescinded as soon as I got back after doing some research.

I think I am leaning towards Wyndham because of the number of resorts and the RCI Access. I have looked on Ebay and seen some sales that seem a much better price than what I have seen posted about through the sales office.

My questions...

1. How many points do you suggest for a family of 5 that would need a 2BR and probably would be doing most of the travel around school schedule?

2. What property is best to make your home property? I am thinking Orlando or Hawaii? Do these trade better than others? How should we pick?

3. What benefits do I not get buying resale vs through sales? Are there properties that I would not be able to use (worldmark)?

4. What is the benefit of Wyndham over Worldmark or other timeshares?

Anything else that I should be aware of?

Thanks in Advance

1. One full week/year? Weekends are typically ~40% of a week, so you need less points for shorter stays during the week. Interested in 3-day weekends during school? Weekends are higher but during the school year could be less. I'd recommend looking for contracts > 154K (you get one free reservation per 77K in points) to minimize closing costs when you exit (it can cost $500/unit in closing costs when you sell). Total points over ~234K minimizes the cost per point of the Wyndham program fee ($0.56/1K, minimum of $131).

Here's a points chart I put together giving you ability to easily compare the costs of different results at different times of the year:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Qg7jd4yPldw-HPWaPkVk1E68KsETwoIuyBFnJPulkgw/edit?usp=sharing

The average of the cheapest 2BR at each resort during Prime is 209K points - you could go in and select specific resorts to get a similar number for the places you want to go.

2. There are two considerations - minimize maintenance and ARP. Where you own will have no impact on RCI trades - all that matters is points. When school is out, you may find that RCI availability is not very good, so you may want to make RCI exchanges less of a priority. If you want to be able to book a specific resort at 13-10 months before arrival, you need to own at that resort to get ARP benefits - at 10 months, all points are equal. In many cases, having ARP means paying more for maintenance.

3. Resale doesn't get VIP status and points exchanges other than RCI. Generally you are looking at $15K in developer purchases before this becomes a significant decision factor. If you are considering enough resale points to get you in the ballpark of this level of spend, then at that point, it makes sense to dig deeper, but I don't recommend starting there.

4. Resort selection is a big factor. Beyond that, another factor is how much ownership costs you vs. renting similar stays. That's where maintenance costs come in - the best value of timeshares is getting the total cost of stays to be significantly lower than renting, and that requires low maintenance.

I have knowledge of HICV (Holiday Inn) and Wyndham and have tried to put as much useful information for comparing the systems into a single file - some day I hope to populate the details for the other systems through a combination of firsthand knowledge and the help of others.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uf6xo4XB9BRvK_4L7iUYqZaRTLwKVaP1Xno5ZyW-S-M/edit?usp=sharing

-Scott
Owner, HICV Google+ Group

 

[BibbityBoppity]

I have never owned timeshare and am very interested. I went to a sales presentation through Sapphire Resorts in Vegas at the Jockey Club but rescinded as soon as I got back after doing some research.

I think I am leaning towards Wyndham because of the number of resorts and the RCI Access. I have looked on Ebay and seen some sales that seem a much better price than what I have seen posted about through the sales office.

My questions...

1. How many points do you suggest for a family of 5 that would need a 2BR and probably would be doing most of the travel around school schedule?

2. What property is best to make your home property? I am thinking Orlando or Hawaii? Do these trade better than others? How should we pick?

3. What benefits do I not get buying resale vs through sales? Are there properties that I would not be able to use (worldmark)?

4. What is the benefit of Wyndham over Worldmark or other timeshares?

Anything else that I should be aware of?

Thanks in Advance

308-400 if you’re looking for 2 full weeks at the “premium” resorts (like bonnet creek, Clearwater, Austin, Hawaii).

When it comes to home resorts, if you’re going to book 10-13 months in advance somewhere on a regular basis then that’s when having a specific home resort matters. In terms of Orlando or Hawaii, *most* Hawaii deeded resorts have lower maintenance fees. Pay attention to the maintenance costs because for the life of your ownership, you’ll be paying these no matter what. The maintenance isn’t just for them fixing an AC vent or replacing a light bulb, these go towards other things like property taxes and insurance.

There’s a couple of different types of ownerships. There’s Club Wyndham Access (which is a trust of 66 home resorts) and there is Club Wyndham Select (which is a single deeded property like Orlando or Hawaii). Each one has its pros and cons. You’ll have to decide how important is the booking priority to what you need.

Resale properties are not able to utilize Club Pass for Worldmark properties or count towards VIP. VIP isn’t a viable option for everyone as they can’t take weekend getaways or last minute trips to take advantage of the points discount or they travel alone so they have no need for upgrades.

I’m not familiar enough with the Worldmark system to say which is better than the other.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ShebasJewel]

Resale properties are not able to utilize Club Pass for Worldmark properties or count towards VIP. VIP isn’t a viable option for everyone as they can’t take weekend getaways or last minute trips to take advantage of the points discount or they travel alone so they have no need for upgrades.

What are club Pass for Worldmark properties? Are they worth the cost of going through sales? Where can I get a list of them?

 

[BibbityBoppity]

What are club Pass for Worldmark properties? Are they worth the cost of going through sales? Where can I get a list of them?

https://www.clubwyndham.com/cw/resorts.page


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HitchHiker71]

OP, there's a thread for newbies with questions designed to help us determine your timeshare needs, here's the list of questions for you for ease of reference. If you could answer these questions it would be useful to help us make recommendations for you and your family's vacation needs:

1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where?

2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time?

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?

4) How many people do you usually travel with?

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?

10) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year?

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?

12) Do you understand that once you buy a timeshare, it may be very difficult to sell or give away, and you are responsible for all fees, until you do?

 

[Braindead]

I have never owned timeshare and am very interested. I went to a sales presentation through Sapphire Resorts in Vegas at the Jockey Club but rescinded as soon as I got back after doing some research.

I think I am leaning towards Wyndham because of the number of resorts and the RCI Access. I have looked on Ebay and seen some sales that seem a much better price than what I have seen posted about through the sales office.

My questions...

1. How many points do you suggest for a family of 5 that would need a 2BR and probably would be doing most of the travel around school schedule?

2. What property is best to make your home property? I am thinking Orlando or Hawaii? Do these trade better than others? How should we pick?

3. What benefits do I not get buying resale vs through sales? Are there properties that I would not be able to use (worldmark)?

4. What is the benefit of Wyndham over Worldmark or other timeshares?

Anything else that I should be aware of?

Thanks in Advance

1. 308,000 points is a good package for starters with kids. You don’t have to buy all 308k points in one contract. You could start with 154,000 or 231,000 point contracts and then add more contracts later. If you make a reservation at 90 days[Express booking period] or less you can borrow next years points at no cost. You can also deposit this years points into next years[or 2 years out] points for $39. That way you can start with a lower points than what you want in the long run to try Wyndham out for a year or two.

2. I like CWA[Club Wyndham Access] for you with kids. I seen in another thread your number 1 destination is Orlando. CWA has ARP at Bonnet Creek if you need it for the holidays. We can’t predict where we will want to travel in the future especially with kids and CWA gives you ARP at around 70 resorts. CWA MFs aren’t low but are comparable to Bonnet Creek. CWA contracts are cheap and easy to find on eBay etc. skotria brought up cost if you want out someday. Buy in cheap with a CWA contract and if you find out in a couple of years that Wyndham isn’t for you just call Wyndham Ovations to turn in your ownership at no charge.

3. I wouldn’t worry about benefits that don’t come with resales. Spend the least amount of $ to see if Wyndham is a fit for you. You can always buy from Wyndham at a later time. Some people buy resale Wyndham and WorldMark to get around needing Club Pass again I would start slow with buying Wyndham first and learning one system at a time.

4. Everyone here likes Wyndham Resorts and the variety of locations. General rule of thumb is Wyndham is best east of the Mississippi River with WorldMark west. Wyndham and WorldMark share several resorts so not having Club Pass isn’t as big of a deal as you might think.

Anything else that you should be aware of.
I would recommend that you do not respond to skotria if he sends you any PMs[Private Messages-Conversations]. Scott[skotria] has been relentless in trying to get Wyndham owners to give him access to their accounts with schemes that you don’t need be involved in. You can checkout his thread on Wyndham Scripting Experience . Also ignore his posts he responded to you like he’s a veteran Wyndham owner when in actuality he owns zero Wyndham points.

 

[Braindead]

I have experience with HICV (Holiday Inn) and Wyndham

-Scott
Owner, HICV Google+ Group

You have Wyndham experience with your ownership of 00,000,000 points. Whoops I guess 0 was enough.
I won’t even bother responding to what’s wrong with your comments. I hoped somebody else would

 

[MaryBella7]

In Orlando, Prime (summer/holidays) for a 2 BR deluxe at Bonnet Creek (what is likely the most popular resort) is 224,000, so you will want at least that many points if you want a 2 bedroom there at prime time for a week. 189,000 is High season, which I think includes the very end of August if your kids are off at that time.

You will want to take a look at the points required for the various resorts for an idea of how many points will work for you. For some resorts, it is only 154,000 or 203,000 for a prime week, 2 bedroom unit. For some, it can be 425,000 points for a 2 bedroom. DO NOT pay attention to averages. Points are often sold in units that are symbolic of a week in a particular unit at a particular time. You will likely have trouble getting a 209,000 contract (average # of points for 2 bedroom units), and that will NOT be enough to get you a week at Bonnet Creek, but would be too many for Governor's Green in Williamsburg, for example.

I own all resale and also work around a school schedule, and we are very happy with our ownership. We also maximize it by going to some places when they are off season or only Sunday-Friday when the points needed are less expensive.

 

[ShebasJewel]

Thank you all for the great advice.

One more question. If we wanted to take a large trip 1 every 2 years and use extra vacations or last call vacations for the off year, should we get the biennial points or get annual points and transfer them to the year we want to travel? Would that be the best way to go?

So what I am thinking is getting 154,000 biennial points or 77,000-86,000 annual points and transfer one year to the other to use every other year.

 

[MaryBella7]

Thank you all for the great advice.

One more question. If we wanted to take a large trip 1 every 2 years and use extra vacations or last call vacations for the off year, should we get the biennial points or get annual points and transfer them to the year we want to travel? Would that be the best way to go?

So what I am thinking is getting 154,000 biennial points or 77,000-86,000 annual points and transfer one year to the other to use every other year.

In my experience with extra vacations or last call, they are leftovers, and you may not be happy with the selection available - particularly in prime travel seasons. I have not used it extensively, however.

 

[skotrla]

Anything else that you should be aware of.
I would recommend that you do not respond to skotria if he sends you any PMs[Private Messages-Conversations]. Scott[skotria] has been relentless in trying to get Wyndham owners to give him access to their accounts with schemes that you don’t need be involved in. You can checkout his thread on Wyndham Scripting Experience . Also ignore his posts he responded to you like he’s a veteran Wyndham owner when in actuality he owns zero Wyndham points.

And to think I almost liked the post...

-Scott

 

[skotrla]

You have Wyndham experience with your ownership of 00,000,000 points. Whoops I guess 0 was enough.
I won’t even bother responding to what’s wrong with your comments. I hoped somebody else would

I edited my post to change experience to knowledge. As I said in the other thread, ownership and infrequent use do not automatically make one an expert and any non-owner who has bothered to learn the HICV system likely knows more than 90% of HICV owners and the same is true of Wyndham.

-Scott

 

[skotrla]

In my experience with extra vacations or last call, they are leftovers, and you may not be happy with the selection available - particularly in prime travel seasons. I have not used it extensively, however.

The 154K point recommendation from earlier would be an annual allocation - if you want biennial, I'd recommend double that. 154K biennial is a really small contract.

-Scott

 

[ecwinch]

I can see that this is about to become a thread needing attention. Keep it classy.

 

[skotrla]

Anything else that you should be aware of.
I would recommend that you do not respond to skotria if he sends you any PMs[Private Messages-Conversations]. Scott[skotria] has been relentless in trying to get Wyndham owners to give him access to their accounts with schemes that you don’t need be involved in. You can checkout his thread on Wyndham Scripting Experience . Also ignore his posts he responded to you like he’s a veteran Wyndham owner when in actuality he owns zero Wyndham points.

Starting one thread and only PMing people who PM me first = relentless?

Asking for an owner with scripting experience = asking for account access?

Bringing up the same topic on every thread = badgering?

-Scott

 

[ShebasJewel]

I was looking through the membership directory. I see there are different property types

Club Wyndham Plus - which you can get with a resale contract of plus points or CWA points
Wyndham Club Pass - which you do not get with a resale contract
Affiliate Resort
Associate Resort
Associate Hotel

Do you retain use of the last three types if you do a resale contract?

 

[Braindead]

I was looking through the membership directory. I see there are different property types

Club Wyndham Plus - which you can get with a resale contract of plus points or CWA points
Wyndham Club Pass - which you do not get with a resale contract
Affiliate Resort
Associate Resort
Associate Hotel

Do you retain use of the last three types if you do a resale contract?

Yes but but you will see very little to no availability for some of those locations.
As others have posted Wyndham likes dots on a map even if it’s next to impossible to get in some of the locations.

 

[schoolmarm]

Sheba, I'm glad that you are looking through the directory. That is the BEST way to figure out how many points will work best for you...not by "averages" or other such things. 154,000 is NOT a really small contract. 28,000 is a REALLY small contract (and these are not really sold anymore, but sometimes are found on eBay). I started with 154K points and it was fine for me, but I don't travel with children and need a 2BR. I bought more points when NYC went online and I go there frequently (in a studio or hotel room). Dang, it's a lot of points, but it comes out to about $150/night for me when I figure my maintenance fees cost per night. And that is not bad for NYC.

Here is the link, in case there are other newbies who would like to read the directory:
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/wyndham/plus_membersdirectory1819/index.php#/0

Remember that the older resorts don't need many points, and that you DON'T have to go for a full week! That is one thing that I love about Wyndham. I'm an organist and never stay over a Saturday night because I have to get back to play for church on Sunday. Wyndham is perfect for me. Also remember that the Friday night and Saturday night points are usually double the nightly points for Sunday-Thursday. Not staying on Friday or Saturday is another way to stretch points.

I always thought that I would use Last Call and sometimes it is tempting, but they are for whole weeks with a set check-in and check-out day. And as someone else said, they are often "leftovers". I haven't used it or anything with RCI in the 10 years of my ownership. I don't like paying extra fees.

Remember, you can always buy more points, if your initial purchase seems too small. And if your reservation is within the 90-day Express period, you can borrow points and housekeeping from your next use year. This can help if you are booking a larger vacation at a place with plenty of availability (Orlando, Williamsburg, Branson, etc.)

Welcome to Wyndham!

 

[schoolmarm]

Oh, and about the Affiliate/Associate Resorts and Hotels--technically they only have to have TWO units per week for Wyndham to list them as resorts/hotels. Yes, TWO! So these are ones that you need to book early. Some of them are also on Club Pass, where you pay $99 and use your developer (NOT resale) points (these are Worldmark resorts).

Anything in the directory that says "VERY LIMITED" will be in that 2 unit/week category. Or maybe they have 10 units, but not a lot. Limited availability is 50 units/week or less. <--if that is not correct, someone will correct me. I think that is the right number.

 

[paxsarah]

154,000 is NOT a really small contract.

It was 154,000 biennial, which even in my opinion as a pretty small potatoes owner, is really small, especially for a family who needs a 2BR and is traveling during school breaks. It's also going to disproportionately hit someone with the minimum program fee which is going to be paid every year.

 

[Braindead]

Thank you all for the great advice.

One more question. If we wanted to take a large trip 1 every 2 years and use extra vacations or last call vacations for the off year, should we get the biennial points or get annual points and transfer them to the year we want to travel? Would that be the best way to go?

So what I am thinking is getting 154,000 biennial points or 77,000-86,000 annual points and transfer one year to the other to use every other year.

Wyndham point contract MFs are paid monthly. Your not hit with one larger bill around the holidays as in the survey.

 

[Braindead]

OP, there's a thread for newbies with questions designed to help us determine your timeshare needs, here's the list of questions for you for ease of reference. If you could answer these questions it would be useful to help us make recommendations for you and your family's vacation needs:

1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where?

2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time?

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?

4) How many people do you usually travel with?

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?

10) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year?

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?

12) Do you understand that once you buy a timeshare, it may be very difficult to sell or give away, and you are responsible for all fees, until you do?

Don’t want you to think you were ignored. They filled out the questionnaire in the other forum

 

[schoolmarm]

It was 154,000 biennial, which even in my opinion as a pretty small potatoes owner, is really small, especially for a family who needs a 2BR and is traveling during school breaks. It's also going to disproportionately hit someone with the minimum program fee which is going to be paid every year.

She said she wanted to take a big vacation every other year so a biennial contract might be what is best. The 154,000 biennial might work, depending on WHERE she wanted to go. She wants Mexico, Caribbean and Orlando (and Hawaii), but to trade often. For a 2 BR 154K might not be enough, but there are plenty of weeks, just not at the newest resorts that can be had for 154,000.

Sheba needs to look at the directory to figure out WHERE they want to go and which resorts look good for them. The points chart will let them know what is feasible.

Sheba, it is easier to book Hawaii if you own Hawaii, and the resale Hawaii contracts usually have the Outrigger membership as well, giving you some more options for resorts that "regular" members don't have. Bali Hai has low Maintenance Fees. You might want to look at that. I have a 308K Every other Year at Bali Hai. You pay MFs on 154K per year. Because people know that Bali Hai is a low MF resort with some perks, the resale cost can be a little higher then other resorts.