Timeshare Scam - Wyndham

[Blackhawk Dave]

I'm sure you've all seen a Wyndham resort in your travels. Well, Wyndham has embarked on a timeshare scam and this is how it works.

First, they bought RCI, which was the granddaddy of the timeshare exchange companies. You would join, and "bank" your week with RCI to travel elsewhere. Fees were low, and reasonable for the exchange program. There were big timeshare scams, where they would sell timeshare at $15K, but could buy them on resale at $500, but these were individual timeshare developers, not RCI.

Well, Wyndham realized that there was a limit to how many timeshare weeks you could sell in a resort. At 52 weeks per unit, you were capped. So they came up with the idea of "points". You don't have an actual ownership, but own "resort points" where you can bank your "points" to travel. They are selling the points for $20,000 for what would be a prime week. Now, remember, you are not buying anything other than the right to use the points. Plus, you still have the $800 m/l maintenance fee on top of the $20K purchase price.

So, now that Wyndham has bought RCI, they're pushing people to convert their weeks to points. But Wyndham wants you to buy an additional $20K in points to convert. You just can't pay $500 for a paper transfer fee. So, you have to buy the additional points to convert what you already own to points, or they'll freeze you out of the exchange program (they own RCI). And you have to pay $20K for the privilege.

Just for giggles I sat through their presentation and was amazed at the people falling for the scam, especially as the points were presented as increasing in value. Wife had gone out on the internet and found you could buy these same $20K points for about $10 plus a transfer fee of about $400.

Points from Wyndham or any other developer are a scam. Yes, they're moving the timeshare industry in that way, but you can buy the points for virutally NOTHING.

DONT BE TAKEN IN BY A SMOOTH TALKING RESORT SALESMAN. BE INFORMED.

[woolleyworm]

Yep, ANY timeshare that you pay full price for is going to be a huge disappointment when you find out that there are tens of thousands of them readily available on the secondary market for pennies on the dollar. I will still go sit through the presentations though, I've gone on a few pretty decent vacations that way; ya just gotta be able to say No!

[Cinders]

I want to know where you can go to convert weeks to points and not through Wyndham paying thousands and thousands of dollars>

[Blackshirts]

Originally Posted by woolleyworm

I will still go sit through the presentations though, I've gone on a few pretty decent vacations that way

Sat through one for a week in San Carlos, Mexico. Another for 3 days on Catalina Island. The best was 2 nights in Daytona, then 2 nights in Orlando, then a cruise to the Bahamas to spend the day there then cruise back, then 2 nights in Key West. Just had to sit through an hour presentation at each resort. That one wasn't free, but for $75 each for the whole trip it was well worth it. Also done a bunch of others for 1 night stays in local resorts here.

[Bobitis]

The only time I sat thru one of those 'presentations' was about 35 years ago in Vegas. I got a clock with 12 dice on it.

[bamajoey]

I sat through one several years ago to get a 1 carat uncut diamond. It looked like a small booger, threw it in the trash on the way out.

[76Highboy]

Originally Posted by woolleyworm

Yep, ANY timeshare that you pay full price for is going to be a huge disappointment when you find out that there are tens of thousands of them readily available on the secondary market for pennies on the dollar. I will still go sit through the presentations though, I've gone on a few pretty decent vacations that way; ya just gotta be able to say No!

10-4 on that.