Club Wyndham vaction ownership (timeshare)

Club Wyndham is a point-based timeshare ownership that provides its owners access to resorts in the Wyndham Vacation Ownership network. As of December 31, 2011, Wyndham Vacation Ownership had developed or acquired more than 160 vacation ownership resorts throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and the South Pacific.

Before I go into details about Club Wyndham, I should share the source of my knowledge on the subject. Truth is, I love to travel. So the timeshare sales pitch is meant to woo people exactly like me. So as you may have guessed, I've had a number of exchanges with timeshare companies.

My first timeshare experience came in 2004. Following up on an offer for a free gift, I ended up in a timeshare sales presentation for Silverleaf Resorts. Anyone that has been to a timeshare sales presentation knows how 'good' they are at selling. Young and impressionable, I succumbed to it....but once I got home, I realized I had made a huge mistake. Thank goodness consumer law in the state of Texas provides a cooling off period. Despite the salesperson not returning my calls, I took it upon myself to drive back to the sales center and cancel the contract, before the cooling off period ended....problem averted.

My next timeshare experience came in 2009, during a visit to Las Vegas. I was again lured by the offer of a free gift (a free dinner to be exact) to a timeshare presentation for GeoHoliday. And once again, not as young but still impressionable, I succumbed to it...I became the interest owner of 15,000 points awarded every other year. I kept the GeoHoliday timeshare for a few years and actually used it to visit Costa Rica in 2011. However, I later realized that those points weren't worth much outside of the GeoHoliday network and the exchange value with RCI made me unhappy. I didn't want to spend more money to buy more points, so I decided to get rid of GeoHoliday. 


3 bedroom presidential floor plan

My most recent experience with timeshares was in 2012, where I proved to be a smart, educated consumer by purchasing a Club Wyndham ownership interest on ebay (849,000 annual points). I won't say how much I paid for ownership interest (let's just say I got a great deal), but I will say that my assessment fees are a little over $4,000 per year. To put everything into perspective, a 3 bedroom presidential unit at my home resort in Myrtle Beach, SC ranges from 425,000 to 625,000 points/week during prime season. A 2 bedroom deluxe unit for the same season ranges from 224,000 to 425,000 points/week.

Club Wyndham points can be used to book reservations using the Club Wyndham website or through a live agent. Owners have access to all resorts included in the Wyndham Vacation Ownership network, as well as other brands through RCI or Interval International Exchanges (II). Club Wyndham points can also be used in a number of other ways, including making arrangements for hotel stays, rental cars, airfare, cruises and entertainment packages. Options for unused points include conversion to maintenance dollars (to be used to pay maintenance fees) and depositing to RCI/II or the Club Wyndham credit pool for future use. Consistent with the timeshare theme, the units at Wyndham Vacation Resorts range from 1-4 bedrooms and most include a full kitchen and washer/dryer.

Like most others people, my vacation days have to be planned around my child's school schedule and work deadlines. And because of family life requires flexibility, I am sometimes afraid of planning/committing to a trip too far in advance. That said, I have found it difficult to plan my vacations using Club Wyndham because of high demand during prime seasons, as well as high demand within 3 months of travel. There have been several instances where the resort that I wanted to visit was not available on the week/weekend that I wanted to go. Resorts have to be booked as far in advance as possible.

My favorite feature of Club Wyndham is the Points Plus Travel program, which allows me use Club Wyndham points to make arrangements for hotel stays, rental cars, airfare, cruises and entertainment packages. And although, when you do the math, the Club Wyndham point value is more expensive than paying cash, this flexibility makes up for the unavailability of resorts.

Overall, I am happy with my Club Wyndham ownership interest. I have used it several times since acquiring it in 2012. In fact, I was able to book 2 stays and airfare before even making my first monthly maintenance installment. And I love being able to book vacations without paying at the time of purchase - its almost like my trips are already budgeted.

If you are considering timeshare ownership, I think that most people would be happy with the quality of the Club Wyndham resorts. As an alternative, I am also a member a travel club that offers weekly stays at timeshare resorts, in addition to other travel benefits. This membership is a great alternative to timeshare ownership. Although I keep and use both (the timeshare and the travel club) at the moment, the travel club seems like it offers more flexibility without maintenance fees, i.e. I only pay for what I use.