I can try and rent points on Ebay, should I choose, which I think (?) would cost me less than dues each year.
If your only interest in Wyndham is Bonnet Creek, I would recommend just renting from a Platinum VIP owner. They paid big bucks for their deeds (direct from Wyndham) and get point discounts/room upgrades when booking within 60 days. And, except for the biggest holiday weeks, there is usually some inventory available right at the 60 day mark, because the resort is so huge. A lot of DISers rent from a guy by the name of Ken Price at
http://vacationupgrades.com/ but there are others. You can find some at
http://forums.atozed.com/ which is probably the Wyndham owners' board with the best traffic. Most will pass along some of that savings, and that will end up keeping your costs below what you'd pay in fees on an average deed. Buying Wydnham makes more sense if you are looking at the system as a whole; most of the time, there isn't much in the way of inventory at most resorts during peak seasons at the 60 day mark.
does wyndham charge for every reservations (except to your home resort)?
Sort of. You get some number of free reservation transactions based on how many points you own. Making reservations at any resort consumes those transaction credits, but you can make multiple reservations in the same day for just one credit. When you are out, you have to buy more, but it's $40 or so online. With proper planning you can avoid this most of the time, but even in years that I have to buy an extra transaction or two, the total cost of the vacation is still so low that I don't much care.
Wyndham are fairly easy to get on RCI (except BC - because of location)
Many of the non-Orlando resorts are not easy to get during prime seasons---this includes atlantic coastal or florida panhandle in the summer, south florida coastal in the winter, San Antonio in the spring and early summer, the resorts that include waterparks in the summer (Dells, Smokies, etc.), Anaheim in the summer, Steamboat Springs in ski season, and Washington DC nearly all year round. Unlike
DVC, Wyndham doesn't deposit until a month or two after owners have had a chance to make non-home-resort reservations, so only the "leftovers" get sent to RCI.
Orlando is so well-supplied with inventory that it's the exception, rather than the rule. Some of the older resorts are easier to get as well. And, even Bonnet has been plentiful in RCI for the past few years as the newer towers have been completed---but it takes a better-than-average deposit to see it because of trade power requirements. Only DVC is higher on the Orlando totem pole based on my trade tests. For my only stay at Bonnet so far, I exchanged in rather than booking internally because my overall costs were lower that way.
And he hasn't figured out how you can play golf at Bonnet Creek unless you're staying there. Is their course just for the members?
The golf course is attached to the Waldorf Astoria, not the timeshare development. Waldorf guests get a break on greens fees, and as Waldorf is a Hilton brand, guests at the Hilton next door get a discount as well. As far as I know, Wyndham owners/guests have no special privileges there, but the public is allowed to play. Here's a link to the details:
http://www.waldorfastoriaorlando.com/golf/