Is Marriott's weeks to points conversion a good thing?

Ask the Timeshare Crusader / August, 2010

There is much discussion and many rumors about Marriott converting from deeded-weeks to a points system. Marriott sales people are now discussing this openly during sales presentations. As a current MVCI owner, I am more than a little concerned. I've read many horror stories about points-based timeshare programs, and I specifically purchased a Marriott deeded-week to avoid such problems. What can you tell me about Marriott's plans? Will this be a good or bad thing for existing owners?

As usual when there is a major change in the way the timeshare is bought and used, there is a good deal of confusion facing owners and potential owners. Unfortunately, there seems to be a good deal of confusion among Marriott Vacation Club employees, especially the ones answering the phone on the 800 number as I found out.

A bit of background… Marriott says that they have 53 resorts, while I was only able to find 51. If someone can help me find the "missing" two, I'd appreciate it! These resorts are comprised of the Marriott Vacation Club Collection, the Marriott Collection, the Explorer Collection and the World Traveler Collection.

As with other point-based timeshare - most notably RCI points - the new methodology can offer owners more flexibility, but there are some drawbacks.

On the plus side, shorter stays, smaller room sizes and off peak seasons will require fewer points, so owners may be able to get more than a week out of what they already own or may purchase in the future. This is far more "fair" if you ask me and current point-based owners.

On the minus side, from what I can tell, new owners don't have any "home resort"; they simply own a set of points. Also, as with most point-based programs, owners may lose the ability to come back to their "home resort" as all the points are simply thrown into a pool and making reservations becomes first-come, first-serve.

Another "small minus" is that you may find that there are more fees associated with your timeshare use with points (similar to RCI points). While one week used to incur one set fee, "splitting your week" into several mini-stays may incur multiple "usage fees"; something else to consider when evaluating if this new system would be a good idea for your needs.

There still seems to be a good deal of confusion about the cost of converting existing Marriott weeks to the new point-based system. I talked with three (3) different representatives, each of whom had a different answer ranging from "you can't just upgrade" to "$1,500 if you purchased an additional 1,000 points." As we go to press, I'm awaiting corporate confirmation on this and will post an update when I receive the "official word".

It bears repeating that just as with owners who owned at an RCI week- based resort that then converted to RCI Points, individual consumers are NOT required to convert to the new Marriott point-based system. This is good news for owners at high-demand resorts that enjoy their home resort priority. They are under no obligation to convert their ownership.

A good sign for RedWeek.com devotees, the minimum buy-in from Marriott will run you about $15,000 (plus annual fees of course). Similar Marriott products can be found on RedWeek.com for 50%-75% less than that. And as I've been saying for some time now, there is no such thing as a "new" or a "used" timeshare. Timeshare is nothing more than a pre-paid vacation insurance premium. If you can get what you want/need at 75% less, why wouldn't you?