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I attended my first timeshare sales presentation yesterday. I'll admit, I was tempted to purchase directly from the company. (Well I did get something, just not what they were trying to sell)
My girlfriend and I have been talking about looking at timeshares this year. We have an almost 3 year old son and would like to start seeing the rest of the country. Our discussions started with the idea that we would take a week long vacation to Disneyworld this summer, but with prices being what they are, we started thinking more long term about what we would like to do each year.
We each picked a company that does tours in the area (I picked Wyndham WorldMark and she picked Hilton) and were going to compare.
I attended the WorldMark presentation, and it actually surprised me. What I understood of timeshares was the fixed week, fixed location deal that most people I know use. I had no idea that there were even points programs out there. I actually liked what I saw, the price was in line with what I was expecting to spend, and there are properties in the cities we would like to visit.
I'll save the details of the presentation as I'm sure you all know how they go. Here was the basic deal they were offering:
7000 points / year for $13,000 + an extra 14,000 points in the first year to get started. Monthly fees of about $25. This is their "Premier Ownership" and included things like RCI, cleaning fees, etc.
Since this was our first look at a timeshare I promised myself that I wouldn't purchase anything that day, and I'm glad I didn't get the whole thing then. I did however walk away purchasing something.
Like I said, I'm actually interested in something like that, and we are in the market, so I opted to go with the "WorldMark Experience". In case you don't know, it's 12,000 points to use in the next 20 months with no monthly fees for about $1600. This way we get to look at a couple of resorts and see how we like the program; and we can apply the amount paid to the other club if we like.
Like I said, I'm new to this, and I have plenty of questions. I have spent some time on these forums reading posts, but it's a whole new world. I hope I can figure all of this out in the next few months so that we can start a vacation sometime in the fall-and if that means our vacation is done "the old fashioned way" then so be it.
Is anyone here a member of WorldMark? Do they like it? It seems that most of the discussion here is around fixed week. We have no interest in visiting the same place every year, and we certainly can't (or maybe don't want to) plan the same week every year.
How does what they are offering compare to a resale purchase? I see that points can be purchased through brokers and on eBay, but how do those compare to purchasing directly from the developer?
Speaking of eBay, what is the relationship of Fairfield and Wyndham. According to Wikipedia, they are the same company, but are the points the same? All I see on eBay are Fairfield points, and still don't really understand how they relate. I also see discussion of "VIP" points, is that what their "Premier" membership is?
I'm sure I'll figure all of this out over time, and I'm glad to have found this resource. Thanks in advance!
My girlfriend and I have been talking about looking at timeshares this year. We have an almost 3 year old son and would like to start seeing the rest of the country. Our discussions started with the idea that we would take a week long vacation to Disneyworld this summer, but with prices being what they are, we started thinking more long term about what we would like to do each year.
We each picked a company that does tours in the area (I picked Wyndham WorldMark and she picked Hilton) and were going to compare.
I attended the WorldMark presentation, and it actually surprised me. What I understood of timeshares was the fixed week, fixed location deal that most people I know use. I had no idea that there were even points programs out there. I actually liked what I saw, the price was in line with what I was expecting to spend, and there are properties in the cities we would like to visit.
I'll save the details of the presentation as I'm sure you all know how they go. Here was the basic deal they were offering:
7000 points / year for $13,000 + an extra 14,000 points in the first year to get started. Monthly fees of about $25. This is their "Premier Ownership" and included things like RCI, cleaning fees, etc.
Since this was our first look at a timeshare I promised myself that I wouldn't purchase anything that day, and I'm glad I didn't get the whole thing then. I did however walk away purchasing something.
Like I said, I'm actually interested in something like that, and we are in the market, so I opted to go with the "WorldMark Experience". In case you don't know, it's 12,000 points to use in the next 20 months with no monthly fees for about $1600. This way we get to look at a couple of resorts and see how we like the program; and we can apply the amount paid to the other club if we like.
Like I said, I'm new to this, and I have plenty of questions. I have spent some time on these forums reading posts, but it's a whole new world. I hope I can figure all of this out in the next few months so that we can start a vacation sometime in the fall-and if that means our vacation is done "the old fashioned way" then so be it.
Is anyone here a member of WorldMark? Do they like it? It seems that most of the discussion here is around fixed week. We have no interest in visiting the same place every year, and we certainly can't (or maybe don't want to) plan the same week every year.
How does what they are offering compare to a resale purchase? I see that points can be purchased through brokers and on eBay, but how do those compare to purchasing directly from the developer?
Speaking of eBay, what is the relationship of Fairfield and Wyndham. According to Wikipedia, they are the same company, but are the points the same? All I see on eBay are Fairfield points, and still don't really understand how they relate. I also see discussion of "VIP" points, is that what their "Premier" membership is?
I'm sure I'll figure all of this out over time, and I'm glad to have found this resource. Thanks in advance!
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