Original Message:
Re: Ripoff - Marriott Vacation Club Destinations Program - New Point System (by Kathryn M.):
Thank you all for changing the tone of this discussion! Instead of being combative, can we spend our time trying to help each other and maybe offer suggestions on how we can get the vacations we would like--i.e., how to get the most out of our Marriott ownership or membership?
I think the change I like the least is the fact that MVC is no long owned by Marriott International. This new entity just has the right to use the Marriott name. I sometimes feel like I have lost my parents in the middle of the night and have been adopted by total strangers--and no one even asked me if I wanted to be adopted! I know that's a bit strong, but I think you all get my point. Fact is that we all may have different preferrences in our vacations, so no one program will work for us all. For example, I suppose you could say that my husband and I are Marriott Reward Points junkies! We get 330,000 MRP every other year and have taken wonderful world trips. It's great for us, but not for the man who said he had no desire for foreign travel. If you love foreign travel the way we do, buying a Marriott property on the open market would do you little good because you would not have the option to trade for MRP every other year (just to give you one example--and other disadvantages have already been mentioned). I know that g333s has really helped me understand what it is we own, and that's why I'm suggesting we lay out what we would like to do--and then see if other members can help us find a way to make it happen through positive problem solving. So far the reps have been very helpful when I have called in for advice--so I want to share with you what I was told a couple of days ago when I called in to get some information on our possible trade for Destination points this year. We own three properties (Legacy) that currently net us exactly 6,500 points. I was told that we have until September 30th, 2012 to exchange for points (if that's what we decide to do) and, if we do make the exchange, our 6,500 points will not expire until December 31, 2013. However, if we can't use them by then, if we notify them by June 30, 2013, we can roll them over for an additional year. Is this what all of you have been told as well?
Finally, why don't we try to take a more rational tactic and push for postive changes in the program as it now exists--ones that could reasonably address our concerns? Based on my sense of what I see as inequities in the program I would request: 1) to increase the points we receive for our properties when we deposit as an incentive for us to deposit our weeks and exchange for points (a win for us and a win for Marriott as they do need our properties!), or 2) ask that our points not expire for 3 years?
Anyway, my two cents.