Wyndham Vacation Timeshare Calculations

Wyndham Vacation Timeshare

Background

While we were in Vegas, Wendy and I got lured in by $150 in free casino play to listen to a timeshare presentation by Wyndham. We had been to a timeshare presentation before (Marriott Timberlodge in Lake Tahoe), so fully expected to not bite at all. But six hours later, we walked away with a 1 year trial - oops.

Discovery Vacation (1 yr trial)

Cost

• 308,000 points for 1 year trial period
• Purchased for $2,495 at Las Vegas in June 2010
• Purchase price could be applied to future timeshare purchase

Trips

• 3 nights (Fri-Mon), 2 bd @ Lake Tahoe / South Shore, value ~ $750-900 [126,000 pts]
• 4 nights (Sun-Thurs), 2 bd presidential suite @ Waikiki, value ~ $1,600 - $2,000 [180,000 pts]

Wyndam Vacation 210,000 Point Biennial Plan

Cost

• 210,000 points every 2 years
• Plus Special offer while in Lake Tahoe in Apr 2011: 195,000 bonus points to enable VIP status for 2 years (2012 and 2013)
• Purchase price: $14,253 (after $2,495 credit from Discovery package) + closing costs of $550
• Monthly maintenance fee: $35 / mo = $425 / yr (had increased $0.02 / month in last 2 years)
• Deed to timeshare can be passed on to future generations

Decision Factors

• Value: 105,000 points per year ~ $900 / year in travel. Good for 1 out of 3 annual trips (1 family trip to Vegas for Christmas, 1 Wyndham trip, 1 non-Wyndham California trip).
• Destinations: Very likely (Tahoe, San Diego, Pismo Beach, Solvang), once in a while (Hawaii, Vancouver, Seattle, Sedona, Big Bear), if needed (Monterey, San Francisco).
• Pros: Nice properties, known locations, relatively fixed cost, might travel to places that we would not normally go (e.g. Hawaii, Vancouver), can pass on to children, saves time and hassle of trying to find and book nice places to stay.
• Extra Pro: VIP status for 2 years allows for "discounted" booking - free upgrades within 30 days (can triple book to get this), 25-50% discount within 60 days.
• Cons: Less flexibility in choosing locations, pre-paying all vacation costs.
• Perspective #1: $425 / year fixed cost + $475 / year amortized cost = 30 year payback on the purchase price. Pay money that we would spend anyway on travel to places we would already go, and then pass on discounted travel to our children.
• Perspective #2: One-time payment to get discounted travel (i.e. $900 value at $425 / year) in perpetuity.

Example Use / Trips

Example 1

• Tahoe, 2 bd, Fri/Sat during "Quiet" period (e.g. Fri/Sat of Thanksgiving) = 55,000 points ($400-500 value)
• San Diego, 1 bd, Sun/Mon "Prime" period = 56,000 points ($250-500 value)

Example 2

• Tahoe, 2 bd, Fri-Mon during "Value" period (e.g. April/May) = 107,000 points ($750-900 value)