Dvc vs Wyndham bonnet creek

[ziravan]

We have Wyndham and DVC points. We use Bonnet Creek to augment our trips.

We just bought our 3rd Wyndham contract and our first one specifically designed to use as a home resort, in Destin, both for sumner trips and as a layover to break up a 20 hr car ride into 2 more or less equal parts.

The Sandestin resort we're buying points into is impossible to book routinely without home resort advantage especially in the summer.

We bought all 3 for pennies on the dollar on eBay using Tugbbs.com to vet the sellers.

For all 3 contracts, we paid a total of about $1200 for 400,000 points, and that includes title and transfer fees.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

We have Wyndham and DVC points. We use Bonnet Creek to augment our trips.

We just bought our 3rd Wyndham contract and our first one specifically designed to use as a home resort, in Destin, both for sumner trips and as a layover to break up a 20 hr car ride into 2 more or less equal parts.

The Sandestin resort we're buying points into is impossible to book routinely without home resort advantage especially in the summer.

We bought all 3 for pennies on the dollar on eBay using Tugbbs.com to vet the sellers.

For all 3 contracts, we paid a total of about $1200 for 400,000 points, and that includes title and transfer fees.

Wow! May I ask what maintenance fees are for 400,000 points in those Wyndham resorts?

 

[ziravan]

Wow! May I ask what maintenance fees are for 400,000 points in those Wyndham resorts?

Same as my 420 BCV and Poly points.

Monthly I pay $95 and $125 for DVC

And $77 for 126k Fairfield Bay, $84 for 168 Cypress Palms and will pay $54 for 112 Sandestin Bay Club.

Or $215 each.

But. Between the two systems, we do a lot of travel. More than 40 nights this year.

WDW 21 nights DVC, 6 Bonnet Creek, 6 international (Drive) Resort Club (Universal)
5 Sandestin
4 National Harbor (DC)
3Fairfield Bay Ar

I'm an RN I work 12 hr night shifts on a rotating schedule. Every 4 weeks, my schedule lines up Su/Mo/Tu first week, Th/FR/Sa next week. Or. 8 nights off not considered vacation time Wed-Wed in between.

We take advantage. On top of the dates above, we're also taking a DCL trip this year.

 

[ziravan]

When I say we use Bonnet Creek to augment our trips, we do stay there and like it. But. What I specifically mean is that it's the perfect place to bring a large number of family members.

We burned over a year's worth of DVC points on a big family trip. A big room at Bonnet Creek is far cheaper than one at DVC. Now. Big family reservations go to Bonnet Creek.

Bonnet Creek lets us continue to both invite family and be DVC point hoarders.

Bonnet Creek is a big resort and we never have a problem booking there unless last minute and even then, there's almost always some Orlando inventory open, even last minute.

So. Buy cheap maintenance fee resort.

 

[JimMIA]

Wyndham MF's depend greatly on where you own, and also a couple of other factors. We have 501K points at Wyndham Great Smoky Mountains in Sevierville, TN, which I roughly estimate will buy the same lodging as about 600-700 DVC points.

For comparison, at our home resort, THREE two-bedroom villas for seven nights during peak season are 498K points total. Last year, we spent 10 nights total -- all in 2 BR units -- at Flagstaff and Sedona, and that was less than half a year's points.

We pay $226 per month, or about $2,700 per year. Some Wyndham resorts MFs are lower, some are much higher.

 

[ziravan]

Wyndham MF's depend greatly on where you own, and also a couple of other factors. We have 501K points at Wyndham Great Smoky Mountains in Sevierville, TN, which I roughly estimate will buy the same lodging as about 600-700 DVC points.

For comparison, at our home resort, THREE two-bedroom villas for seven nights during peak season are 498K points total. Last year, we spent 10 nights total -- all in 2 BR units -- at Flagstaff and Sedona, and that was less than half a year's points.

We pay $226 per month, or about $2,700 per year. Some Wyndham resorts MFs are lower, some are much higher.

Smoky mtns are among the cheapest. We bought Fairfield because my brother lives close, cypress palms because it was so cheap - I was contract bottom fishing and snagged it on eBay for $105 with closing and transfer fees paid and we are buying Sandestin to use booking window for summer travel.

Buy cheap MFs resorts is advice we've learned more than practiced.

But. Buy in? $350 (fees paid by seller) for Fairfield, $105 (fees paid by seller) for Cypress Palms and $748 for Sandestin ($199 plus fees) is $1203 total buy in.

Wyndham: $1203.00 for 399k points

DVC: $50,000.00 for 420 points

Both are about same room reserving power, and MFs are equal.

 

[Dean]

Smoky mtns are among the cheapest. We bought Fairfield because my brother lives close, cypress palms because it was so cheap - I was contract bottom fishing and snagged it on eBay for $105 with closing and transfer fees paid and we are buying Sandestin to use booking window for summer travel.

Buy cheap MFs resorts is advice we've learned more than practiced.

But. Buy in? $350 (fees paid by seller) for Fairfield, $105 (fees paid by seller) for Cypress Palms and $748 for Sandestin ($199 plus fees) is $1203 total buy in.

Wyndham: $1203.00 for 399k points

DVC: $50,000.00 for 420 points

Both are about same room reserving power, and MFs are equal.

I know you know this but for others who may read, you can pay a lot of dues having $49K in your pocket. Likely a better comparison for a new buyer in this situation is either SSR or HH. SSR buy in maybe $34K or HH for maybe $25K. Even with $24K left after buying Wyndham or similar, one can pay the dues almost indefinitely without depleting the based amount. And you can stay at nice places in Orlando and possibly even exchange into DVC at times with Wyndham. So obviously there's more to the issue than $$. Bluegreen would be even cheaper, and better in some ways, not in others. One could get into BG for around your purchase and fees on 20K points would be around $1500. Marriott could be cheaper yearly depending but more going in than Wyndham or BG though less than DVC. The flexibility of DVC adds some value compared to some of the other choices. Not that it's necessarily more flexible overall (it isn't) but that it is more flexible in some situations than others and vice versa. IMO the bottom line is to educate oneself going in, decide what they want AND can afford, then position themselves accordingly. IF there is sufficient volume (at least a 2 BR or equivalent yearly on average non DVC), using both to work to the strengths of each system is often the best approach.

 

[ziravan]

I know you know this but for others who may read, you can pay a lot of dues having $49K in your pocket. Likely a better comparison for a new buyer in this situation is either SSR or HH. SSR buy in maybe $34K or HH for maybe $25K. Even with $24K left after buying Wyndham or similar, one can pay the dues almost indefinitely without depleting the based amount. And you can stay at nice places in Orlando and possibly even exchange into DVC at times with Wyndham. So obviously there's more to the issue than $$. Bluegreen would be even cheaper, and better in some ways, not in others. One could get into BG for around your purchase and fees on 20K points would be around $1500. Marriott could be cheaper yearly depending but more going in than Wyndham or BG though less than DVC. The flexibility of DVC adds some value compared to some of the other choices. Not that it's necessarily more flexible overall (it isn't) but that it is more flexible in some situations than others and vice versa. IMO the bottom line is to educate oneself going in, decide what they want AND can afford, then position themselves accordingly. IF there is sufficient volume (at least a 2 BR or equivalent yearly on average non DVC), using both to work to the strengths of each system is often the best approach.

Obviously cheaper to buy Wyndham resale than DVC. But. If we sold Wyndham today, we'd have to pay marginally to dump points, but not much. So, net net that's a break even deal, not much in, not much out.

If we sold DVC, we'd come really close to breakeven. Sure, we'd take a hit on the $165 per point Poly fixed week, but we'd make money on the $84/point BCV, which comprises most of our points.

So. With DVC, we adopted the philosophy of buy where you want to stay, and while the buy in was steep to stay at BCV during F&W and to have a MK view at Poly, the value of the buy in is currently holding for us.

It might have been cheaper to buy in at SSR and work the points at 7 months and via RCI, but I'm not currently educated on RCI and the more DVC grows, the more competitive the 7 month window becomes for monorail and near EPCOT resorts. We bought where we wanted to stay and that strategy worked for us.

For each system, the buy in is a wash compared to retained value and we get an equivalent number of nights for the MFs. (Although with Wyndham those nights are always at least 1 BR and DVC includes about 50-70% studio time - we are trading 1BRs for theming and access).

We don't think it's a matter of which system is better. They complement each other very well.

For example, we are planning a trip to Hawaii coming up. The combination of systems will allow us to stay on multiple islands.

 

[keishashadow]

We are going to try a new place, Wyndham bonnet creek, in April.

We own dvc (bwv and BLT) and go every year. This year we are staying at bwv, BLT (2bd with friends) for a week and poly by ourselves for a week- a 13 day trip in December.

Going back to Orlando in April- and trying out Wyndham bonnet creek. Found a ridiculously good rate via a timeshare rental called vacation strategy. It was a 2bd that's LESS than the maint fees for a std studio at bwv!!!!

Although I booked a room over Easter week at bwv, just in case, I'm probably cancelling it bc it's soooo point intensive... And Wyndham BC is so much less.

I'm wondering... Will I catch the timeshare bug? Will I find bonnet creek nicer than dvc? Am I starting to lose that lovin feeling about Disney? My kids are 3 and 6.... Sea world? Universal? Water parks? Gator land? I fear I may no longer be all about dvc after April....

Vacation strategy will price match offer from other 'reputable' companies. Just need to call and ask if it's one they match, then send copy of quote. Note this must be done pre booking, not as a price adjustment after the fact. We have a 1 BR for 6 nights booked for our anniversary over Valentines Day @ $650 (likely less than any rate I'd find for a value). 2 BR was under $800.

really like WBC as to the various pools that are available and think the accommodations are very nice.

We rent a car typically, not a fan of ME, and have APs so no parking fees @ parks.

always unplug the phone in any TS, easy-peasy solution to nagging sales calls.

Haven't had huge issues booking FP later when staying off-site, even snagging 7DMT a few days prior to trip.

never felt 'tied' to only visiting WDW when staying @ DVC, step on out lol.

wouldn't dream of buying there when it's so easy to rent via reliable companies that specialize in Wyndham rentals. Would not feel comfortable renting from an individual (eBay) that I would for DVC.

 

[Dean]

Obviously cheaper to buy Wyndham resale than DVC. But. If we sold Wyndham today, we'd have to pay marginally to dump points, but not much. So, net net that's a break even deal, not much in, not much out.

If we sold DVC, we'd come really close to breakeven. Sure, we'd take a hit on the $165 per point Poly fixed week, but we'd make money on the $84/point BCV, which comprises most of our points.

So. With DVC, we adopted the philosophy of buy where you want to stay, and while the buy in was steep to stay at BCV during F&W and to have a MK view at Poly, the value of the buy in is currently holding for us.

It might have been cheaper to buy in at SSR and work the points at 7 months and via RCI, but I'm not currently educated on RCI and the more DVC grows, the more competitive the 7 month window becomes for monorail and near EPCOT resorts. We bought where we wanted to stay and that strategy worked for us.

For each system, the buy in is a wash compared to retained value and we get an equivalent number of nights for the MFs. (Although with Wyndham those nights are always at least 1 BR and DVC includes about 50-70% studio time - we are trading 1BRs for theming and access).

We don't think it's a matter of which system is better. They complement each other very well.

For example, we are planning a trip to Hawaii coming up. The combination of systems will allow us to stay on multiple islands.

For the sake of others who might read this thread and are considering DVC and/or other timeshares, here are a few thoughts. Break even or lose a little bit with no real investment is dramatically different that the same situation with zero's on the end. Thus the best case scenario for either one bought today is break even on a resale purchase but the risk to DVC is dramatically more because of the amount of the investment. And while it is unlikely that DVC prices will decline rapidly, if DVD is successful in creating a larger divide between qualified and unqualified points, it could be in the same boat as many of the other systems. IMO one shouldn't go in to ANY timeshare unless they are well educated, can afford it (to me that's pay cash and no consumer debt) and don't plan to resell. But it's good to consider the possibility if something changes. Certainly one will lose money on a retail purchase done currently with DVC if they need to sell. IMO contracts bought years ago aren't a good representation for today because retail prices have escalated rapidly and can't sustain that rise, IMO. Personally I feel the real value of DVC points is more in the range they were in 2010/2011 and that they are artificially inflated right now but time will tell and YMMV.

If one makes a decision, either knowingly or not, that is based on not having all of the information; that increases the chances they'll make a less than great decision and/or cost them money. IMO DVC is great for those that feel staying on property is worth the premium, can afford it, can plan ahead at least 7 months and only plan to use for DVC resorts. If I knew then what I know now I would have made different choices but not that dramatically different. However, I've made very good choices with timeshares and positioned myself with several systems to take advantage of their strengths and to avoid their weaknesses. I've got to say that trading timeshares into DVC has been my best option over the years but it's high risk and high reward.

I agree it's not which is better but rather which is better for a given situation and what the costs AND risks are with each. Using each to it's strength and avoiding the weaknesses where possible is a great approach.

 

[ziravan]

Vacation strategy will price match offer from other 'reputable' companies. Just need to call and ask if it's one they match, then send copy of quote. Note this must be done pre booking, not as a price adjustment after the fact. We have a 1 BR for 6 nights booked for our anniversary over Valentines Day @ $650 (likely less than any rate I'd find for a value). 2 BR was under $800.

really like WBC as to the various pools that are available and think the accommodations are very nice.

We rent a car typically, not a fan of ME, and have APs so no parking fees @ parks.

always unplug the phone in any TS, easy-peasy solution to nagging sales calls.

Haven't had huge issues booking FP later when staying off-site, even snagging 7DMT a few days prior to trip.

never felt 'tied' to only visiting WDW when staying @ DVC, step on out lol.

wouldn't dream of buying there when it's so easy to rent via reliable companies that specialize in Wyndham rentals. Would not feel comfortable renting from an individual (eBay) that I would for DVC.

In general, there is such a glut of timeshares in Orlando that it's very easy to rent in most systems for near the price of MFs. DVC is the exception with rents demanding far above MF cost.

Deciding to rent is certainly a reasonable alternative to being tied down to a timeshare, especially for the Orlando area.

In our case, we decided that the benefits of owning (next to nothing buy in, ability to control reservation, variety of location, ability to cancel up to 15 days out without penalty) made buying in a better move for us. Especially true since we plan on using the Wyndham system about half of our time in Orlando but also wanted flexibility for the times we use elsewhere.

I don't think you can go wrong renting Wyndham in Orlando as a strategy. I don't think you can go wrong bottom fishing a cheap Wyndham contract.

Yes. Unplug the phones and refuse any offer to meet with sales weasels. If you didn't agree to meet with them for a free few nights (don't do that), then you're not obligated to meet with them.

 

[ziravan]

For the sake of others who might read this thread and are considering DVC and/or other timeshares, here are a few thoughts. Break even or lose a little bit with no real investment is dramatically different that the same situation with zero's on the end. Thus the best case scenario for either one bought today is break even on a resale purchase but the risk to DVC is dramatically more because of the amount of the investment. And while it is unlikely that DVC prices will decline rapidly, if DVD is successful in creating a larger divide between qualified and unqualified points, it could be in the same boat as many of the other systems. IMO one shouldn't go in to ANY timeshare unless they are well educated, can afford it (to me that's pay cash and no consumer debt) and don't plan to resell. But it's good to consider the possibility if something changes. Certainly one will lose money on a retail purchase done currently with DVC if they need to sell. IMO contracts bought years ago aren't a good representation for today because retail prices have escalated rapidly and can't sustain that rise, IMO. Personally I feel the real value of DVC points is more in the range they were in 2010/2011 and that they are artificially inflated right now but time will tell and YMMV.

If one makes a decision, either knowingly or not, that is based on not having all of the information; that increases the chances they'll make a less than great decision and/or cost them money. IMO DVC is great for those that feel staying on property is worth the premium, can afford it, can plan ahead at least 7 months and only plan to use for DVC resorts. If I knew then what I know now I would have made different choices but not that dramatically different. However, I've made very good choices with timeshares and positioned myself with several systems to take advantage of their strengths and to avoid their weaknesses. I've got to say that trading timeshares into DVC has been my best option over the years but it's high risk and high reward.

I agree it's not which is better but rather which is better for a given situation and what the costs AND risks are with each. Using each to it's strength and avoiding the weaknesses where possible is a great approach.

I agree. The OP was talking about adding on to Wyndham after already being a DVC owner. That's the path we took.

If someone is reading this thread and considering DVC and Wyndham as an either/or option then what you say makes tons of sense.

I was commenting from the perspective of owning both. As you say, utilize the advantages and marginalized the weaknesses of the systems. In that regard, I think DVC and Wyndham compliment each other well, especially with Bonnet Creek being on property as far as location goes.

Bonnet Creek's limitations are transportation and parking fees. If, like us, you normally drive or rent a car, and have annual passes for free parking, then those are non-issues. And. Until DVC/Disney creates a real perk with booking FPs (extra FPs for onsite guests), booking FPs at 30 days is workable for all but Frozen Ever After.

 

[JimMIA]

Wyndham has a new program that is pretty interesting as an exit strategy.

It's called Ovation, and the exit strategy is basically that they take it back for nothing. So, rather than having to pay to get rid of the timeshare (NOT an unusual situation with many timeshares), as Ziravan mentioned, you simply sign it back to them and you are done. Phone call, notarized signatures on some paperwork, and no more MFs.

True, you are getting nothing for your contract, but if you got in for nothing, that's really a pretty easy, graceful way out. LOTS of people are taking advantage of that program from what I see on TUG, including many who bought direct, paid top dollar, and are taking a substantial loss.

The reason Wyndham can do this is that they are remarkably nimble at reacting to changing market conditions. As the market has changed, Wyndham has created several new product lines, and these Ovation takebacks will end up in one of those.

So the owners get an easy out, and Wyndham gets free points without having to build new resorts, which they repackage into direct sale packages that actually have some real advantages over resale -- like home-resort booking windows at 70+ resorts instead of just one, for example.

 

[ziravan]

Wyndham has a new program that is pretty interesting as an exit strategy.

It's called Ovation, and the exit strategy is basically that they take it back for nothing. So, rather than having to pay to get rid of the timeshare (NOT an unusual situation with many timeshares), as Ziravan mentioned, you simply sign it back to them and you are done. Phone call, notarized signatures on some paperwork, and no more MFs.

True, you are getting nothing for your contract, but if you got in for nothing, that's really a pretty easy, graceful way out. LOTS of people are taking advantage of that program from what I see on TUG, including many who bought direct, paid top dollar, and are taking a substantial loss.

The reason Wyndham can do this is that they are remarkably nimble at reacting to changing market conditions. As the market has changed, Wyndham has created several new product lines, and these Ovation takebacks will end up in one of those.

So the owners get an easy out, and Wyndham gets free points without having to build new resorts, which they repackage into direct sale packages that actually have some real advantages over resale -- like home-resort booking windows at 70+ resorts instead of just one, for example.

Right.

Wyndham is dumping those ovation points into their access program.

2 types of Wyndham points, club plus and access.

Club Plus comes from converted weeks at a specific resort and gives you a 13 month booking advantage at that resort and 10 months elsewhere, similar to DVC booking windows.

Access is where Wyndham is dumping the points from 70 resorts into a pool and if you belong to the pool, you get 13 month advantage at any of those resorts.

Now. The downsides of Access:

1. Points are in a different pool than Club Plus. So if 25% of total resort points are in Access pool, then only 25% of points can be booked by Access members.

2. You are competing with far more people at 13 months for fewer rooms at popular places. Mardi Gras at New Orleans in Access is like VGF in early Dec. same for prime summer weeks at ocean resorts and ski seasons at ski resorts.

1 serious positive about Access: special assessments are spread over a far larger ownership group.

At 10 months Access and Club Plus are exactly the same. The difference is how the 13 month booking window is treated.

The ovation program is feeding Access.

We stayed with Club Plus for our points. What that means is that instead of being an owner in the 70 resort pool (Access), we own 3 points contracts at 3 specific resorts and our 13 month booking Windows are for those specific resorts.

There are also still fixed weeks out there that aren't converted to points. Avoid those if you're looking for points.

 

[Dean]

In general, there is such a glut of timeshares in Orlando that it's very easy to rent in most systems for near the price of MFs. DVC is the exception with rents demanding far above MF cost.

Deciding to rent is certainly a reasonable alternative to being tied down to a timeshare, especially for the Orlando area.

In our case, we decided that the benefits of owning (next to nothing buy in, ability to control reservation, variety of location, ability to cancel up to 15 days out without penalty) made buying in a better move for us. Especially true since we plan on using the Wyndham system about half of our time in Orlando but also wanted flexibility for the times we use elsewhere.

I don't think you can go wrong renting Wyndham in Orlando as a strategy. I don't think you can go wrong bottom fishing a cheap Wyndham contract.

Yes. Unplug the phones and refuse any offer to meet with sales weasels. If you didn't agree to meet with them for a free few nights (don't do that), then you're not obligated to meet with them.

For Orlando often the best strategy for timeshares is to own elsewhere and trade in due to the dramatic number of nice options.

I agree. The OP was talking about adding on to Wyndham after already being a DVC owner. That's the path we took.

If someone is reading this thread and considering DVC and Wyndham as an either/or option then what you say makes tons of sense.

I was commenting from the perspective of owning both. As you say, utilize the advantages and marginalized the weaknesses of the systems. In that regard, I think DVC and Wyndham compliment each other well, especially with Bonnet Creek being on property as far as location goes.

Bonnet Creek's limitations are transportation and parking fees. If, like us, you normally drive or rent a car, and have annual passes for free parking, then those are non-issues. And. Until DVC/Disney creates a real perk with booking FPs (extra FPs for onsite guests), booking FPs at 30 days is workable for all but Frozen Ever After.

We always have a car and while we prefer staying on property, we're more than ok when off. And to be honest, the main reasons we prefer on are emotional and restaurant access.

 

[suebeelin]

Thank you for all the tips! These comments are awesome....

We are about a year away from making a decision on a non dvc timeshare resale property. If we do decide to have both dvc and a non dvc timeshare, I will want to sell one of my two dvc contracts (200 pts each at bwv and BLT-- we won't need 400pts/year).

If we do sell one of our dvc contracts in exchange for a non dvc timeshare, I'm thinking we will sell our BLT (something about the boardwalk area just speaks to me).. And we will look seriously at Wyndham or marriot .

Thank you again!!

 

[Dean]

Thank you for all the tips! These comments are awesome....

We are about a year away from making a decision on a non dvc timeshare resale property. If we do decide to have both dvc and a non dvc timeshare, I will want to sell one of my two dvc contracts (200 pts each at bwv and BLT-- we won't need 400pts/year).

If we do sell one of our dvc contracts in exchange for a non dvc timeshare, I'm thinking we will sell our BLT (something about the boardwalk area just speaks to me).. And we will look seriously at Wyndham or marriot .

Thank you again!!

It is my opinion that one needs at least a 2 BR a year or similar equivalent with most timeshares to make it worthwhile financially. There are exceptions (mostly weeks only options) but few exceptions for points systems. The reasons are several but include that most systems charge more for smaller contracts, that you need enough volume to exchange, most exchanges are 2 BR, and that one needs sufficient usage to justify the risk, learning curve and educational effort. It's a little work getting there but it's worth it to me and it's really not as much work as some here seem to think it is. And the rewards can be great, the upside done well is far more than DVC.

 

[carlbarry]

Very good advice. I bought Wyndham first, and then DVC. I've stayed at Bonnet Creek a few times.
It is a very nice resort. However, the time I stayed there for 3 nights and then AKL for 7 nights was revelatory; I had a much, much better time staying "on property."
IF you decide to take the timeshare tour for the gift they will give, as stated above, go in knowing it will NOT be like a DVC sales pitch. The sales weasels have no hesitation telling you that you are stupid for turning down such a great deal.
The great deal? Well, on ebay right now there is a 308,000 point contract up for auction, starting at $1, with no bidders.
Now, the sales weasel will tell you that if you buy that directly through Wyndham at, oh, maybe $35,000, you get great benefits---like a credit card, or USA Today delivered right to your door.
Also know that Wyndham nickles and dimes its owners. There are "housekeeping points," transaction fees for booking or changing a reservation, a fee to bank points (although the banking is for 2 additional years BUT must be done BEFORE the points are issued!), etc.

 

[Dean]

Very good advice. I bought Wyndham first, and then DVC. I've stayed at Bonnet Creek a few times.
It is a very nice resort. However, the time I stayed there for 3 nights and then AKL for 7 nights was revelatory; I had a much, much better time staying "on property."
IF you decide to take the timeshare tour for the gift they will give, as stated above, go in knowing it will NOT be like a DVC sales pitch. The sales weasels have no hesitation telling you that you are stupid for turning down such a great deal.
The great deal? Well, on ebay right now there is a 308,000 point contract up for auction, starting at $1, with no bidders.
Now, the sales weasel will tell you that if you buy that directly through Wyndham at, oh, maybe $35,000, you get great benefits---like a credit card, or USA Today delivered right to your door.
Also know that Wyndham nickles and dimes its owners. There are "housekeeping points," transaction fees for booking or changing a reservation, a fee to bank points (although the banking is for 2 additional years BUT must be done BEFORE the points are issued!), etc.

IMO it's more pay to play than nickel dime. With all, esp Wyndham, you have to seriously consider the dues more than most.

 

[JimMIA]

Also know that Wyndham nickles and dimes its owners. There are "housekeeping points," transaction fees for booking or changing a reservation, a fee to bank points (although the banking is for 2 additional years BUT must be done BEFORE the points are issued!), etc.

I heard these comments prior to buying Wyndham, but frankly have never had to actually pay one penny extra except the credit pool charge. That fee is $39, which I am happy to pay to get three full years of use from up to 100% of my annual points!

The use of "reservation transactions" is, as Dean stated, a "pay to play" fee. If you make a normal number of reservations and watch what you are doing, you should never have to pay a fee. But if you are one of those people who ties up MS with constant bookings and cancellations, you will pay for the privilege. If DVC had something like this, I suspect you would see far less speculative booking and probably zero reservation "walking."

The one Wyndham fee that can be restrictive is the Guest Confirmation. For any reservation where an owner is not present, you have to have a Guest Confirmation. If you don't put a GC on the reservation prior to 15 days out, they may cancel the reservation. The catch is that resale owners get only ONE GC per year. That hasn't been an issue for us -- we've never had to pay, despite only having one per year. But it certainly stops people from buying a zillion resale points and using them for rentals -- or more accurately, it forces those mega-renters to buy enough direct points to qualify for a high VIP status.