Help new at this game!!

[elou795 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close elou795]

Just came back from vegas and attended a presentation for Wyndham Grande Desert. They wanted 30 thousand for 154 000 points plus all the other perks RCI menbership and some other things. I declined and took the free show tickets. On the plane back home I was thinking of what they were telling me during the presentation (they're good salespeople) and it did make good sense but was way to expensive.

When I arrived home I decided to check out ebay just for fun and HOLLY SMOKES I found 154 000 points for $1000 at the same resort!! Now keep in mind I know nothing about time share so I don't really know if this is too good to be true. During the presentation I remember them showing all the wyndham resorts I could use my points with and I could also trade with RCI. My question is if I were to buy from a reseller on ebay (Desert Sands) am I limited to using my 154 000 points only from wyndham or can I still participate in the RCI exchange program.

Just because my experience was with wyndham, I realise that there are many other timeshare companies out there, would wyndham be a good timeshare point system to buy or are there better ones out there?

Thanks in advance, my first question (post) of many, many more to come.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Just came back from vegas and attended a presentation for Wyndham Grande Desert. They wanted 30 thousand for 154 000 points plus all the other perks RCI menbership and some other things. I declined and took the free show tickets. On the plane back home I was thinking of what they were telling me during the presentation (they're good salespeople) and it did make good sense but was way to expensive.

When I arrived home I decided to check out ebay just for fun and HOLLY SMOKES I found 154 000 points for $1000 at the same resort!! Now keep in mind I know nothing about time share so I don't really know if this is too good to be true. During the presentation I remember them showing all the wyndham resorts I could use my points with and I could also trade with RCI. My question is if I were to buy from a reseller on ebay (Desert Sands) am I limited to using my 154 000 points only from wyndham or can I still participate in the RCI exchange program.

Just because my experience was with wyndham, I realise that there are many other timeshare companies out there, would wyndham be a good timeshare point system to buy or are there better ones out there?

Thanks in advance, my first question (post) of many, many more to come.

to TimeshareForums.

Congratulations to YOU for walking out and not buying from them! Many don't do that.

Isn't it amazing what buying resale will save you over buying retail?

There are a lot of systems that could serve you. Lots of people love WYN I find them to be expensive outside of the 60 day reservation window and becoming more restrictive. Just my take.

What you need to do is sit back and think about where you would like to travel most and find a system that matches your needs best and learn to work that system to your advantage. You should find something that you don't need an exchange company MOST of the time.

So my advice is to read and ask all the questions you want. We are all here to help you. It is a game. A wonderful game if you learn the ins and the outs of playing it.

[Jya-Ning Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Jya-Ning]

Welcome, where you live? And which area do you have in mind you want to spend next few years for vacation?

Wyndham is flexible enough, and can fit a lot of different vacation needs. But it is not one for all cure type of deal. You will need to do some learning. That is one of the reason you saw a lot of eBay resale at a cost so low compare to the developer.

Jya-Ning

[EAM Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close EAM]

As far as I know, buying 154K points resale is the same as buying from Wyndham with the following exceptions, which most here do not think are worth the huge difference in price.
1. Resale points do not count towards eligibility for VIP benefits.
2. Purchases from Wyndham usually include free PlusPartners, which costs about $2-$3 otherwise.
3. Purchases from Wyndham include free LeisurePlan, which is gets you discounts that are about the same as an Entertainment book or an AAA membership.
4. Purchases from Wyndham allow you to enroll a non-Wyndham, non-RCI points week at an RCI weeks resort in the PIC system. The last I knew, buying a red 3 BR resale week then buying a minimum number of points from Wyndham was the most economical way of getting VIP benefits. Wyndham keeps changing the rules, so this information may no longer be current.

There are a number of companies that have timeshares at several locations. They include Bluegreen, DRI (Diamond), DVC (Disney), Escapes!, HGVC (Hilton), Hyatt, Marriott, Silverleaf, Starwood, Worldmark (sister to Wyndham), Wyndham, etc. Some have good internal exchange programs, some do not. Some are more high end, some mid-range, some low end. There are also independent timeshares that you would have to either use yourself or exchange via an exchange company such as RCI, II, DAE, SFX...

Investigate all your options and find someplace that you would use yourself frequently and that you can also exchange for desirable locations when you want to travel elsewhere.

[elou795 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close elou795]

I believe I'm looking to get into some kind of point system, now keep in mind I've only seen one timeshare presentation and this is how it was described to me. I'm looking at buying around 200 000 points from wyndham. I'm thinking of traveling to vegas and mexico mostly with the occasional trips to orlando with the kids. One downside with Wyndham is that I'm from Canada so there aren't any resorts that they own close to me so I would have to fly everywhere.

Are most other companies the same format with a point system or is it weeks? As far as weeks, if you buy for example smokey mountains week 17 does that mean that every year in week 17 you get that room? If so how do you trade weeks? That's enough for know, Thanks

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

weeks

Sometimes a week 17 is always a week 17. If you owned week 17, unit 1234, you would almost definitely get week 17 and unit 1234 every year.

Sometimes it's deeded as a week 17, but it's actually a floating week, which means that you can request any week in the float period. They deed floating weeks by week numbers and units so that the developer couldn't sell more weeks/units than exist at a particular resort.

I own a 52 week float which means that I can request any week of the year. I won't necessarily get the same unit each year. Some floats will only float during certain periods, say weeks 2-15 and weeks 35-50. I used to own a ski week which floated only in the winter. That cost more in maintenance fees because it was the high demand period, but other resorts don't charge different maintenance fees for different weeks.

So there's a lot to learn even if you buy a week instead of points.

You exchange you week by reserving the week with your resort, and then depositing the week with an exchange company. Then you request what you want to exchange into. Or you could do a direct exchange with someone, like a neighbor, or someone here at TUG, or you could rent it.
Sue

[bezerk Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close bezerk]

Welcome to TimeshareForums elou 795.....

I suggest you take your time, do a lot of research on here in different point and week systems/programs/resorts. There is a wealth of info here for sure! Along the way post your different questions.....then when you have narrowed it down to where and when you want to mostly travel and what you think will work best for you...post more ??'s here....and then you can buy resale.....and we will help you with that too! You came to the right place.......so take your time and research some so you can find what is best for YOU!

I own some fixed weeks, floating weeks, some in Mexico, some in US, and one point system, but low points and not sure that was a good move on my part, the weks work best for me, but that is me and my situation, not you!

Good luck and have fun while you are researching...on Timeshare Forums...great group of helpful people...