# Do you own Wyndham timeshare points?



## MinnieLovesMickey12

I was curious how many points on average does it take to stay a week at Bonnet Creek?

I looked up some points for sale on Ebay and it was something like $4,000 for 150,000 points. I was curious how long you could stay with 150,000 points and how much are the maintenance fees on their points?

Is there a FAQ somewhere that tells all those details about owning points?


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## JimMIA

There is no one place that tells all.  You are going to have to piece it together on your own.

The *best* place for that info is the TUG Wyndham discussion group: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=47

At the top of that page, you will see a section of "Wyndham Information and Advice Articles."  The advice articles are good, but were written 3 years ago.  I don't know if they have been updated, but if not there will be a lot of outdated information...particularly when they are talking about RCI exchanges using Wyndham.  That aspect of Wyndham has completely changed in the last two years.

Also in that area, you will see lots of links to other Wyndham info, including Members Directories.

*****
Before you start worrying about how much 150,000 points will buy, you really need to learn how the system works generally.  Same with maintenance fees.

Wyndham is a very good timeshare system with about 90 quality resorts nationwide.  Their sales operation, however, is among the sleaziest in the industry.  Stay away from their salesmen.

On eBay pricing, two comments.  The first is that buying a timeshare on eBay is an art form in itself.  You really have to learn how eBay auctions work, set a limit you will pay for a particular contract, and walk away when it gets too pricey.  

Secondly, that $4,000 price seems like someone got carried away with the excitement of the auction.  I paid less than $2,000 total (including closing and transfer fees) for 500,000 points 2 years ago.  Simultaneously to buying that contract I was going to bid on an identical contract, but it went over my limit...and went to >$4,000.  

Also, you can sometimes get Wyndham contracts for $1 with free closing, but you need to look at the MFs to be sure that is really a good deal.


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## MinnieLovesMickey12

Are all the points charged the same maintenance fee per point across the board?

If you don't mind me asking how much is the monthly or annual maintenance fees for 500,000 points?

And thanks for the info and link.


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## MinnieLovesMickey12

For anybody else who has any helpful advice or words of wisdom for me. I am looking into buying some Wyndham points and know nothing about it so far.

And tips and tricks?

Is there a chart someplace that shows you how many points it takes to stay certain amounts of time in certain resorts?

Do you need to buy points from a specific home resort or does it matter? Can you use the points at any resort?


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## disneycrazy01

Two years ago when I was on vacation with a friend who owns a timeshare we spent a week at Star Island.  I was stupid enough to go on a timeshare presentation and they pushed so hard - even though I said "No" and my credit wasn't good, they pushed me into a Discover Program.  I ended up with a package with 154,000 points.  When I got home I wanted to cancel, but it was too late.  They lied so much telling me that I could get 2 weeks out of those points during the summer - the only time I could go on vacation.  I ended up going to Wyndham Governor's Green which cost 154,000 points for one week in a 2-bedroom in July.

I still have the Club Wyndham Discovery book, and a 2-bedroom at Bonnet Creek in Prime season costs 224,000 points.


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## maspaws

I am a Wyndham owner and I buy on ebay.  We are staying at Bonnet Creek in a 3 bedroom next week.  It was 308,000 for the week.  Points are based on time of year, summer is high,  n how many bedrooms you need.  My maintenance is around 1400 a year.  It also depends on the resort, some are a little higher and if they have special assessments due to weather damage, etc.  could run higher.  Remember points are points regardless of where you own.  Look for the lowest maintenance fee you can always exchange into Bonnet Creek or anywhere you want.  I own in Hawaii it was a great deal.  We love the resort, but every other year we go some where else.  We usually can get 3 weeks out of our 308,000 points by traveling off season, this year we are taking our daughter and her family to DW during high season, so only 1 trip


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## tndisneyfan

My Mom owns some Wyndham points.  I don't know much about it so I can't help you much.  Just wanted to tell you that in March of 2010 we stayed at Bonnet Creek for four nights in a one bedroom deluxe. It was 75,000 points.  She looked up something for my sister, something like a week in June was 225,00 or 250,000.  Not that you asked about Myrtle Beach, but she also looked for a week there in June and it was also around 250,000.


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## MinnieLovesMickey12

I would use our points for Orlando/Kissimmee. Daytona Beach, Tennessee and Las Vegas. Maybe one day even Hawaii or St Thomas.

How far in advance do you need to make your reservations to be able to get availability? I am sure it depends on what time of year you go.

I am looking at contracts for resale.


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## MinnieLovesMickey12

I found a link to the directory in a message forum but under Daytona Beach it doesn't even have a points chart. How do you go about finding out how many points each stay needs? Is there a member website once you own that you can access to see point requirements?

I kind of wanted to know estimates before buying a contract.

I want to research and investigate as much as I can before we make a commitment to a timeshare contract.


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## got4boys

I am a Wyndham Vacation Points owner and love the system. Before you decide to buy, take 6 months to learn whether the system will work for you.

As most timeshares work the best is if you plan in advance. If you are looking at Bonnet Creek during holidays - like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years or Spring Break or Easter, then I would recommend to buy at Bonnet Creek or Club Wyndham Access Points. This would give you home priority before it opens up to all owners at 10 months before desired check in dates. Yes, you can get Bonnet Creek at 10 months. Larger size units are tougher to get 4 bedrooms. I can see three bedrooms but 4 bedrooms are tough to get.

Yes, Wyndham Club Points are points at the 10 month window. Watch your maintenance fees on points. Read TUG boards - about the Wyndham system. Yes, you can get them for $1 on ebay or other owners giving them away for free. Usually these are high $ per points. Take the yearly maintenance fees and divide by the number of points per thousand. For example, a previous poster said they pay about $1,400 for 308,000 points. The point cost is $4.54 per thousand. Take $1,400 and divide by 308,000. That is a good point cost. 

You will also need to take into account your initial investment. The lower the maintenance fees advertised on ebay then they tend to go higher in cost in bid.

Just remember, it is easy to buy...and the maintenance are yearly (or monthly if you choose to pay that way).

To answer your question - for prime weeks - it takes 224,000 Wyndham points for a 2 bedroom deluxe unit. Current Wyndham Bonnet Creek maintenance fees are $5.12 per thousand. For you to stay in that unit - it will cost you $1,146.88 in maintenance fees.


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## MinnieLovesMickey12

We would never travel during holidays or summer to Orlando. Maybe to some place else like Tennessee or Las Vegas but I can't deal with peak Disney crowds.

If I were to buy a contract some time soon and it still had 2013 points left on it what would my options be for those points? Use them or lose them? Or is there another option to keep from losing them?


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## suffieldhockeymom

MinnieLovesMickey12 said:


> We would never travel during holidays or summer to Orlando. Maybe to some place else like Tennessee or Las Vegas but I can't deal with peak Disney crowds.
> 
> If I were to buy a contract some time soon and it still had 2013 points left on it what would my options be for those points? Use them or lose them? Or is there another option to keep from losing them?



You can save them to RCI and travel to a RCI exchange resort anytime in the following 2 years. I have done this many times to go to non Wyndham resorts. Bank in the amount that would give you a 1 BR because RCI always upgrades reservations. You may need to do it several times depending on how many points you have to use.


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## Upatnoon

MinnieLovesMickey12 said:


> I was curious how many points on average does it take to stay a week at Bonnet Creek?
> 
> I looked up some points for sale on Ebay and it was something like $4,000 for 150,000 points. I was curious how long you could stay with 150,000 points and how much are the maintenance fees on their points?
> 
> Is there a FAQ somewhere that tells all those details about owning points?


Here is the points chart. http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/wyndham/memberdirectory11-12/#/82

One thing you should know, is that I have considered buying points but I have found it is cheaper to rent even if you can get the points for free. Plus you are not committing to a lifetime of fees.


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## GAGirlInVA

Upatnoon said:


> One thing you should know, is that I have considered buying points but I have found it is cheaper to rent even if you can get the points for free. Plus you are not committing to a lifetime of fees.



I've found this too... the only upside I see of owning is being in control of my own reservation... 

Am I missing anything?


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## MinnieLovesMickey12

I want to buy a contract with about 230-250,000 points on it because that would get me 3 different weeks at different places (not during high season) and the maintenance fees would only be about $1000 a year. That works out to $333 per week for 3 weeks at my choice (if there is availability) at any Wyndham location.

I looked up completed sales on Ebay and all the contracts under 300,000 points seem to be going for less than $500.

You may be able to rent points for less than $50 a day (which is about what you pay by owning) but I think I would have more control and availability if I had control over my own points.

I looked into DVC for several months. I researched it and researched it and almost bought on two different occasions but something kept me from doing it. I decided I might not want to be tied down to 40 years of Disney vacations. That there are a lot of different locations I would like to see.

And buying Wyndham points is an easy way to do that. They have about 50 (?) resorts in the US to choose from and they all seem to be nice locations. I have been looking at the pictures and none of them seem to be in bad shape.

The maintenance fees for Wyndham points works out to be a little cheaper than DVC for what you get (Points wise) and the initial investment in buying your points is dirt cheap. So I haven't found any down sides yet.

I am mainly searching for info and details on buying and owning. But the actual timeshare boards they don't really want you to ask too many questions. They think you need to find your own info like they had to back when they decided to buy.


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## DCTooTall

MinnieLovesMickey12 said:


> Are all the points charged the same maintenance fee per point across the board?
> 
> If you don't mind me asking how much is the monthly or annual maintenance fees for 500,000 points?
> 
> And thanks for the info and link.



Different resorts can have different MF costs.   Some of the cheaper resorts will have a MF around $4.00-$4.50/1k,   while others could run upwards of $7/1k.    The cheaper the MF costs,  the higher the resale purchase price tends to be.

 You should also make sure you look into if you are looking at annual or every-other-year contracts.   With Annual contracts you get your points renewed each year,   while with the every-other-year contracts you only get points on the Odd or Even years,  depending upon your contract.    The Biennial contracts can also get you on the MF's since your program membership fee (basically your annual Wyndham Membership cost) is charged every year based off your total contract value.....  IE,  for a 150,000 Biennial contract,   Your contract may show as getting 75,000 annually,   but you'll be charged your program few for 150,000 annually.



MinnieLovesMickey12 said:


> For anybody else who has any helpful advice or words of wisdom for me. I am looking into buying some Wyndham points and know nothing about it so far.
> 
> And tips and tricks?
> 
> Is there a chart someplace that shows you how many points it takes to stay certain amounts of time in certain resorts?
> 
> Do you need to buy points from a specific home resort or does it matter? Can you use the points at any resort?



  Points are points, for the most part,  but there are a few exceptions.

Any wyndham owner can book any wyndham resort at the 10month mark.   However,   from 13-10months you get an "Advanced Reservation Priority" at your home resort.   This means that if you want a specific unit size/type,  or want to book at a popular time at a resort,   Sometimes you may need to factor in the ARP window in which resort you buy your points at.

Examples might include Bonnet Creek during Christmas/New Years week....  or 4bdrm Presidentials....  Or New Orleans resorts during Mardi Gras....    Or even sometimes a Presidential unit in some of the resorts that only have 2 or 3 Presidential units in their inventory.


Something else,  depending upon how you plan on using your points,  which you'll want to keep in mind is your Reservation Transactions and Housekeeping points.    depending on the size of your ownership,  you will get so many  free "reservation Transation Points",  and so Many Housekeeping points.    once you run out of either you'll incur some extra expenses.       I'm sure the TUG articles will probably go over these in a bit more details.



MinnieLovesMickey12 said:


> We would never travel during holidays or summer to Orlando. Maybe to some place else like Tennessee or Las Vegas but I can't deal with peak Disney crowds.
> 
> If I were to buy a contract some time soon and it still had 2013 points left on it what would my options be for those points? Use them or lose them? Or is there another option to keep from losing them?



 Honestly...   I'd personally not count on getting access to any of the 2013 points still on a contract.     You won't get any access to the contract as an owner until it goes thru the whole title transfer and Wyndham transfer processes.    Wyndham can sometimes take months to complete the transfer on a contract,   so those 2013 points could expire before you'd get access to them.   If the transfer completes however before the end of the [use]year,   then you can look at them as bonus points that you could try and bank with RCI if there isn't a resort nearby you could use them at.



MinnieLovesMickey12 said:


> I want to buy a contract with about 230-250,000 points on it because that would get me 3 different weeks at different places (not during high season) and the maintenance fees would only be about $1000 a year. That works out to $333 per week for 3 weeks at my choice (if there is availability) at any Wyndham location.
> 
> I looked up completed sales on Ebay and all the contracts under 300,000 points seem to be going for less than $500.
> 
> You may be able to rent points for less than $50 a day (which is about what you pay by owning) but I think I would have more control and availability if I had control over my own points.
> 
> I looked into DVC for several months. I researched it and researched it and almost bought on two different occasions but something kept me from doing it. I decided I might not want to be tied down to 40 years of Disney vacations. That there are a lot of different locations I would like to see.
> 
> And buying Wyndham points is an easy way to do that. They have about 50 (?) resorts in the US to choose from and they all seem to be nice locations. I have been looking at the pictures and none of them seem to be in bad shape.
> 
> The maintenance fees for Wyndham points works out to be a little cheaper than DVC for what you get (Points wise) and the initial investment in buying your points is dirt cheap. So I haven't found any down sides yet.
> 
> I am mainly searching for info and details on buying and owning. But the actual timeshare boards they don't really want you to ask too many questions. They think you need to find your own info like they had to back when they decided to buy.




  There are some downsides to owning at wyndham,   such as the fact they are easy to get,  but hard to get rid of (hense some of the virtual give aways of the contracts).    They also have a tendency to change the program rules in their favor on a semi-regular basis.

You also have to keep in mind the Reservation and Housekeeping points and how to manage them.

 And of course... the sales side of the company can be a nightmare to deal with at times.

Honestly,  It's a great system to own in if you are prepared and know what you are getting yourself into,   but it's something you should definitely take some time to get familiar with before you take the plunge.    Timeshare ownership can be a great thing for some people,   but for others,  maybe not so much.   Only you can really make that determination however since so many of the criteria can be subjective to your own situation.

Both the TUG forums and the Wyndham Owners forums would be good location to research and learn about the system.   There is information readily available for you to research and learn about the system,   but because of it's flexibility,  nuances, and complexities,  It's really hard for someone else to give you any real specifics or try and teach you about the system without a real sitdown one-on-one classroom type situation.


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## JimMIA

MinnieLovesMickey12 said:


> The maintenance fees for Wyndham points works out to be a little cheaper than DVC for what you get (Points wise) ...


Or *WAY* cheaper...depending on which resort you own at DVC and Wyndham.

Two years ago, I had a split reservation -- a couple of weekdays at Disney's Old Key West using my OKW points, followed by a couple of weekdays at WBC using my Wyndham Smoky Mountains points.  Both were in one-bedroom deluxe villas during the same week. (For those who don't know, OKW is among the lowest cost/lowest MF DVC resorts, and Smoky Mountains is among the lowest MF resorts for Wyndham).

The OKW points cost was 27 points per night.  My OKW cost per point (acquisition cost + MFs) was $7 per point.  So 27 X $7 = *$189 per night at Old Key West.*

My *actual* cost was lower (9K), but the _normal_ points cost per night at WBC for that week was 15,000 points.  I'm using the normal points cost so that a fluky break we caught doesn't skew the example.  

My Smoky Mountains cost per K is $4.48.  15K X $4.48 = *$67.20 per night*...*$122 per night less*.


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## MinnieLovesMickey12

JimMIA said:


> Or *WAY* cheaper...depending on which resort you own at DVC and Wyndham.
> 
> Two years ago, I had a split reservation -- a couple of weekdays at Disney's Old Key West using my OKW points, followed by a couple of weekdays at WBC using my Wyndham Smoky Mountains points.  Both were in one-bedroom deluxe villas during the same week. (For those who don't know, OKW is among the lowest cost/lowest MF DVC resorts, and Smoky Mountains is among the lowest MF resorts for Wyndham).
> 
> The OKW points cost was 27 points per night.  My OKW cost per point (acquisition cost + MFs) was $7 per point.  So 27 X $7 = *$189 per night at Old Key West.*
> 
> My *actual* cost was lower (9K), but the _normal_ points cost per night at WBC for that week was 15,000 points.  I'm using the normal points cost so that a fluky break we caught doesn't skew the example.
> 
> My Smoky Mountains cost per K is $4.48.  15K X $4.48 = *$67.20 per night*...*$122 per night less*.



Yeah you are right it is way cheaper. I forgot that when I was looking into DVC contracts I was looking at buying enough points where we could stay 5 nights 2 times a year or one time in a bigger unit for 7 nights. The maintenance fees were going to be around $800 a year.

With a big Wyndham contract I can get 3 weeks@ 7 days vacation a year for around $900 in maintenance fees.

And when you factor in the low initial buy in for the Wyndham points it really works out so much cheaper per night. 

I have never stayed at OKW (although I have really wanted to. We eat there a lot and it is my fav resort on property) So I don't know how the quality of the rooms compares to the Wyndham resorts...but you have to get a one bedroom there to have a full kitchen and the points for a one bedroom are double what it costs for a studio. From what I see in the Wyndham directory the one bedroom deluxe rooms have a full kitchen and it is still much cheaper per night.

I appreciate all the helpful info y'all are giving me. It helps a lot.

I read the Wyndham Primer on the Wyndham owners message boards but it all still seems like Chinese right now.

I have found out that 2 of the 6 contracts I am watching on Ebay do have the 2013 points on them. So if it takes a couple of months for closing and transfer to happen I really wouldn't have much time to use those 2013 points so I would need to deposit them into RCI correct? And then I can use them at RCI resorts during the next 2 years?


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## Upatnoon

MinnieLovesMickey12 said:


> Yeah you are right it is way cheaper. I forgot that when I was looking into DVC contracts I was looking at buying enough points where we could stay 5 nights 2 times a year or one time in a bigger unit for 7 nights. The maintenance fees were going to be around $800 a year.
> 
> With a big Wyndham contract I can get 3 weeks@ 7 days vacation a year for around $900 in maintenance fees.
> 
> And when you factor in the low initial buy in for the Wyndham points it really works out so much cheaper per night.
> 
> I have never stayed at OKW (although I have really wanted to. We eat there a lot and it is my fav resort on property) So I don't know how the quality of the rooms compares to the Wyndham resorts...but you have to get a one bedroom there to have a full kitchen and the points for a one bedroom are double what it costs for a studio. From what I see in the Wyndham directory the one bedroom deluxe rooms have a full kitchen and it is still much cheaper per night.
> 
> I appreciate all the helpful info y'all are giving me. It helps a lot.
> 
> I read the Wyndham Primer on the Wyndham owners message boards but it all still seems like Chinese right now.
> 
> I have found out that 2 of the 6 contracts I am watching on Ebay do have the 2013 points on them. So if it takes a couple of months for closing and transfer to happen I really wouldn't have much time to use those 2013 points so I would need to deposit them into RCI correct? And then I can use them at RCI resorts during the next 2 years?


I think you have underestimated the fees involved. For example, the 2012 annual fees at Bonnet Creek are $1,521 for 300K points. This is according to the fee calculator at http://forums.atozed.com/index.php

In addition, Wyndham has other fees you may run into including housekeeping, reservation, credit pool, etc.

Anyhow, there is a ton of material about timeshares out there and all that info can be daunting. Perhaps there is a secret formula to doing it cheaper than renting, but I haven't found it.


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## ez

I sold my disney DVC timeshare a few years ago at a profit (yay) and have never looked back. We go on ebay and get great deals at bonnet creek for whenever we want to go. I don't know how the point system is with wyndham but with disney it could be very limiting. Mostly you could only get what you wanted when the 11 month window opened up at your home resort, not sure if that has changed. It was very rare to be able to book a last minute trip, and sometimes even well in advance nothing is available. I feel like now, we can always book near the last minute regardless of time of year, stay whenever we want and we are saving a ton of money. I would never buy a timeshare again, even if I won the lotto!! I know people with timeshares that cannot give them away.


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## BeerMe

The LAST place you want to buy points is directly through Wyndham!  They will charge you hundreds of times more than you can buy them elsewhere.  

You can go to WBC and request a tour with a sales pitch if you'd like Wyndhams POV.  I'd not recommend that though.  The sales staff is very, very shady.  We are RCI owners and went to one of those "seminars" last February at WBC when we were staying and I nearly had to threaten physical violence to get away.  It's just not worth it.  Plus they wanted to charge $20,000 for something I could buy on ebay for less than $500.  

Tread carefully.  Very carefully.  BTW we love the timeshares, just not the sales tactics.  It's not for everyone though.


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## JimMIA

MinnieLovesMickey12 said:


> I have never stayed at OKW (although I have really wanted to. We eat there a lot and it is my fav resort on property) So I don't know how the quality of the rooms compares to the Wyndham resorts...but you have to get a one bedroom there to have a full kitchen and the points for a one bedroom are double what it costs for a studio. From what I see in the Wyndham directory the one bedroom deluxe rooms have a full kitchen and it is still much cheaper per night.


Both resort's 1 BR's have a full bedroom, living room/dining area, full kitchen, and washer/dryer.  I would rate the WBC 1 BR as a little better any DVC 1 BRs I've stayed in with the exception of OKW. The kitchens at WBC (and most Wyndham resorts) are somewhat better equipped than DVC kitchens.

OKW 1 BRs are substantially larger, laid out better, and the balcony is bigger than WBC.  (For comparison, the OKW 1 BR is 1005 square feet, the WBC 1 BRs range from 812-902 sq ft, and most other WDW DVC 1 BRs range from about 700 - 800 sq ft.)  Not that it matters, but the OKW washer and dryer are full-sized stand alone models; WBC and the other DVC resorts have stacked.

Downside with OKW is that with the exception of a few buildings, there are no elevators.  So if you are on the second or third floor, you will have to lug your luggage up and down the stairs -- or pay to have someone do it for you.


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## MinnieLovesMickey12

Upatnoon said:


> I think you have underestimated the fees involved. For example, the 2012 annual fees at Bonnet Creek are $1,521 for 300K points. This is according to the fee calculator at http://forums.atozed.com/index.php
> 
> In addition, Wyndham has other fees you may run into including housekeeping, reservation, credit pool, etc.
> 
> Anyhow, there is a ton of material about timeshares out there and all that info can be daunting. Perhaps there is a secret formula to doing it cheaper than renting, but I haven't found it.



I have read up on most of the fees. Fees for making a reservation, fees for transferring points to RCI, etc.

And the maintenance fees for all the different resorts are different.

In some of the listing there might be a 300,000 point contract with monthly maintenance fees of $165 but a contract I found with 250,000 had maintenance fees of only $90 a month.

But the ones with low maintenance fees are selling for more money up front.


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## MinnieLovesMickey12

BeerMe said:


> The LAST place you want to buy points is directly through Wyndham!  They will charge you hundreds of times more than you can buy them elsewhere.
> 
> You can go to WBC and request a tour with a sales pitch if you'd like Wyndhams POV.  I'd not recommend that though.  The sales staff is very, very shady.  We are RCI owners and went to one of those "seminars" last February at WBC when we were staying and I nearly had to threaten physical violence to get away.  It's just not worth it.  Plus they wanted to charge $20,000 for something I could buy on ebay for less than $500.
> 
> Tread carefully.  Very carefully.  BTW we love the timeshares, just not the sales tactics.  It's not for everyone though.



I'm not looking to buy directly through Wyndham. I am looking at buying resale through either a broker or through Ebay.


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## lilpooh108

Just so you know, some of the info in the Wyndham Primer on Tug is outdated.  Not all of it, but some of the specifics.  If you have questions you should ask on Tug.  I recently started going there for Wyndham info (I'm a new owner) and the Bonnet Creek questions come up every other week.


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## lilpooh108

MinnieLovesMickey12 said:


> But the ones with low maintenance fees are selling for more money up front.



I've been following ebay sales since January and I doubt you can get 300K points with low maintenance fees for under $500.  Prices have been going up.


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## JimMIA

lilpooh108 said:


> Just so you know, some of the info in the Wyndham Primer on Tug is outdated.  Not all of it, but some of the specifics.


YES!  Especially the info about RCI exchanges.  There are also a couple of newer programs that you will hear about (especially from timeshare sales weasels) that are not mentioned either.


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## JimMIA

MinnieLovesMickey12 said:


> I have read up on most of the fees. Fees for making a reservation, fees for transferring points to RCI, etc.


I think most of those fees get more mention than they really deserve.  For example, you get reservation transactions and housekeeping credits each year.  In 2 1/2 years, we've done about 10 stays and never had to pay for reservations or housekeeping, despite several very short trips.  We also have not had to pay for guest confirmations.  We've given two short trips to friends, but used our one free GC for those.

We did pay a small fee for credit pooling, but doing so extends the use of the points to three years from the date of the pooling, so I thought that was a great bargain.

We have also done one RCI exchange (2 units for a week on Cape Cod).  We were very happy with that exchange because it was only 3 miles from relatives we were visiting.  We currently have an ongoing request for an exchange into DVC, but I don't think we are going to get it.  If not, we may just extend those points for a year and go next spring.  The $199 RCI exchange fee is not cheap, but you only pay it if you actually get the exchange, and we only put points into RCI as a last resort.


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## staceyeileen

DCTooTall said:


> The Biennial contracts can also get you on the MF's since your program membership fee (basically your annual Wyndham Membership cost) is charged every year based off your total contract value.....  IE,  for a 150,000 Biennial contract,   Your contract may show as getting 75,000 annually,   but you'll be charged your program few for 150,000 annually.



This isn't really true anymore.  I think at one time it was true, but currently a 150k biennial contract is equivalent to a 75k annual contract with regards to fees.

I'm a happy Wyndham owner.  Glad to see some other Tuggers have already directed you that way.  Over the past year I've purchased 245k points for $1500 total (including fees/closing costs) and I got about a full years points included with the MF already pre-paid.  My husband says we now have a moratorium on Wyndham points....

As far as remaining 2013 points, are you sure you won't be able to book a last minute getaway?  Wyndham always has specials where the points needed for a stay get reduced up to 30-40% when you are booking something within about 60 days.  Availability isn't usually too much of a problem for most of the resorts.  You'd be surprised at what you can get!


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## JimMIA

MinnieLovesMickey12 said:


> I have read up on most of the fees. ... fees for transferring points to RCI, etc.


One other minor clarification -- there is no fee for depositing points into RCI.  An RCI deposit uses one "reservation transaction," but there is no cost unless you have used all of that year's RTs (which I've never come close to doing).

Once you deposit points to RCI, there is a fee for either booking an exchange or for starting an ongoing search.  That fee is $199 online, $209 if you do it by phone.  However, if you don't get an exchange, that fee is fully refundable.


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## MinnieLovesMickey12

staceyeileen said:


> This isn't really true anymore.  I think at one time it was true, but currently a 150k biennial contract is equivalent to a 75k annual contract with regards to fees.
> 
> I'm a happy Wyndham owner.  Glad to see some other Tuggers have already directed you that way.  Over the past year I've purchased 245k points for $1500 total (including fees/closing costs) and I got about a full years points included with the MF already pre-paid.  My husband says we now have a moratorium on Wyndham points....
> 
> As far as remaining 2013 points, are you sure you won't be able to book a last minute getaway?  Wyndham always has specials where the points needed for a stay get reduced up to 30-40% when you are booking something within about 60 days.  Availability isn't usually too much of a problem for most of the resorts.  You'd be surprised at what you can get!



The contract I am looking at right now just got it's points deposited in it on July 1st of this year so the points are actually good until next July. I just wish I had gotten to the contract before July so those points could be pooled. 

The 2 other contracts have all of the 2013 points on them and we will probably try to get a trip in to Disney between now and the end of the year but not one that will use up 233,000 points. So I guess we will deposit what is left over at the end of the year into RCI so we don't lose them.

Am I to understand that you have to pay the $198 fee to RCI to start an ongoing search looking for an exchange? So you may have two hundred dollars tied up looking for a reservation and not even end up getting it through RCI?

I have asked a few questions over on TUG and found a guy who is very helpful. At first nobody seemed to want to answer a question and basically told me to go search for the answers myself. But eventually a guy came along and has been very helpful.

I have been reading on TUG and on the WYndham owners forum.
I have been reading the directory and researching completed sales on Ebay.

I have been trying to figure out how much we want to spend.


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## staceyeileen

MinnieLovesMickey12 said:


> The 2 other contracts have all of the 2013 points on them and we will probably try to get a trip in to Disney between now and the end of the year but not one that will use up 233,000 points. So I guess we will deposit what is left over at the end of the year into RCI so we don't lose them.



Yep, that's your best bet.  Don't worry, you can still get some great deals trading through RCI especially DVC even after you factor in the $199 fee.



> Am I to understand that you have to pay the $198 fee to RCI to start an ongoing search looking for an exchange? So you may have two hundred dollars tied up looking for a reservation and not even end up getting it through RCI?



Yes, to start an ongoing search you do need to pre-pay the booking fee.  If your search does not get a match, you get your money back.  An ongoing search is good if you have a specific time period at a specific resort you are looking for.  However, ongoing searches are not the only way to trade through RCI.  You can just log in anytime and browse what is available. If you see something you want, you book it and pay the fee at that time.  On TUG there is a "sightings" board where people post especially desirable resorts when they pop up as available on RCI.  I've never started an ongoing search but have still seen DVC availability TONS of times that I could have booked had I had the points available.


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## MinnieLovesMickey12

staceyeileen said:


> Yep, that's your best bet.  Don't worry, you can still get some great deals trading through RCI especially DVC even after you factor in the $199 fee.
> 
> 
> 
> Yes, to start an ongoing search you do need to pre-pay the booking fee.  If your search does not get a match, you get your money back.  An ongoing search is good if you have a specific time period at a specific resort you are looking for.  However, ongoing searches are not the only way to trade through RCI.  You can just log in anytime and browse what is available. If you see something you want, you book it and pay the fee at that time.  On TUG there is a "sightings" board where people post especially desirable resorts when they pop up as available on RCI.  I've never started an ongoing search but have still seen DVC availability TONS of times that I could have booked had I had the points available.



Good deal. Glad to know that.


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## icydog

Sorry to open up an old thread but I have no experience with Wyndham.  My neighbor wants to give me 154,000 points-- maintenance fees are $850. Can I use those points to book a week in a two bedroom Disney Vacation Club resort?   Maybe you can explain how it's done? Do I deposit the points into RCI and are they worth what a two bedroom say, Disney's Old Key West would be? Thanks 

BTW, If you have any Disney Vacation Club or Marriott Vacation Club questions, those I can answer.  I just don't have much knowledge when it comes to Wyndham and RCI.  The $199 fee is the exchange fee and then Disney charges another $95, right?


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## Upatnoon

icydog said:


> Sorry to open up an old thread but I have no experience with Wyndham.  My neighbor wants to give me 154,000 points-- maintenance fees are $850. Can I use those points to book a week in a two bedroom Disney Vacation Club resort?   Maybe you can explain how it's done? Do I deposit the points into RCI and are they worth what a two bedroom say, Disney's Old Key West would be? Thanks
> 
> BTW, If you have any Disney Vacation Club or Marriott Vacation Club questions, those I can answer.  I just don't have much knowledge when it comes to Wyndham and RCI.  The $199 fee is the exchange fee and then Disney charges another $95, right?


That would be enough points for a week during value season for a 2BR at Wyndham Bonnet Creek.

The rub is that you could probably rent the same week on ebay for around $700.

You are on the right track about depositing the points into RCI if you want to trade into DVC. (and pay those extra fees) There are lots of experts about this over at tugbbs.com that would know more.


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## littlestar

Those maintenance fees are higher than my 154,000 Smoky Mountain contract. I pay $700 a year in maintenance fees on my Smoky contract with an $84.70 program fee (program fee varies by how many total points you own).  Maintenance fees include an RCI account, though, which is nice.  

Trading Wyndham points with RCI involves a grid with varying point requirements depending on time of year and size of unit. Look on Page 237 of the member directory for the grid.  Sometimes they reduce the points slightly.


http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/wyndham/memberdirectory11-12/

I wouldn't specifically buy/obtain Wyndham points for trading in RCI for DVC, but if you want access to the Wyndham system for their stable of resorts then that's different.  We recently downsized our Wyndham points and bought more resale DVC points at SSR.


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## JimMIA

icydog said:


> Can I use those points to book a week in a two bedroom Disney Vacation Club resort?


Yes, with some planning and a little luck.  As you might guess, 2 BRs are harder to get than 1 BRs, but not impossible at all.  This past December, we got an OKW 2 br, Dec 14-21, for 126,000 Wyndham points.  

Like littlestar, we own at Wyndham Smoky Mountains and our MFs are about $1 per thousand less than yours (we have a 501K contract, so some economy of scale there).  Our cost for the week, including the MFs on the points, the $200 RCI fee and the $95 DVC fee, was a little under $860.  Using your figures, I get a little less than $1,000 for the week, provided you get it for 126K points.  

You can do your own math comparing the costs between your DVC points and Wyndham including the $300 or so in fees.  I know my cost was WAY lower via Wyndham/RCI than using my OKW points would have been.



> Maybe you can explain how it's done?


The best chance is to set up an ongoing search in RCI.  DVC seems to do most of their deposits about 7 months out.  If you put in a search 10-12 months out for a one bedroom, your chances are quite good.  A 2 BR would be more difficult, but I've seen a lot of 2 BR success reported on TUG.

You can increase your chances of getting a match if you have flexibility in resorts and dates.  I used a fairly wide range of dates, but limited my search to an OKW 2 BR -- nothing else.  I put mine in at the last minute -- right at 7 months.  I matched almost immediately, but when I checked the dates before confirming, I had a conflict.  A couple of weeks later, I got the 12/14-21 match.  



> The $199 fee is the exchange fee and then Disney charges another $95, right?


I think the RCI fee has now gone up to $209 online/$219 by phone.  DVC will tell you the $95 fee is for transportation etc, but you're a savvy DVCer and you know better than that.  It's just a "because-we-can fee."


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## skylizard

For those that own points and have set up an ongoing search, did you have to pay a fee? I'm an owner myself and called RCI to ask about and set up an ongoing search. The rep on the phone told me it was a $200 fee to set up the search (refundable once you book something). Does that sound right? 
And do you have better success with the ongoing search than with checking the site throughout the day?


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## monagh10

To do an ongoing search with RCI you have to have a week or points deposited. I am not super familiar with how the points work but we have a week timeshare that when you want to deposit that week & exchange it for something besides your home resort requires the $209 exchange fee. The fee is only refundable if you don't find something through the search, if you find an option that you reserve they keep the $209 fee


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## skylizard

monagh10 said:


> To do an ongoing search with RCI you have to have a week or points deposited. I am not super familiar with how the points work but we have a week timeshare that when you want to deposit that week & exchange it for something besides your home resort requires the $209 exchange fee. The fee is only refundable if you don't find something through the search, if you find an option that you reserve they keep the $209 fee



Thanks! The rep was wrong and I'm glad I didn't pay her ahead of time to set up the search. I was able to set up a search on my own and now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed!


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