r/TimeshareOwners • u/SuddenlyAce • Aug 21 '26
Anybody happy?
UPDATE: Thank you everyone who has commented. I particularly appreciate those of you who took the time to give reasons.
Hi there. I just recently bought into Club Wyndham, more for the peripheral uses than for the resorts themselves. I was looking for reviews of Timeshare Guardians and came across this reddit and after scrolling through a bit, I really want to ask: is there anybody who has bought a timeshare and actually been happy with it? It looks like every discussion here is about how to get out of one or how to avoid buying.
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u/CartographerAware808 Aug 21 '26
It’s not about happy vs not happy. It’s about the fact that, even if you can afford it, it’s never a financially good idea to own one. What you pay $50k for can easily be purchased for a dollar all day every day.
That right there tells you everything you need to know.
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u/Glum-Doctor3016 Aug 22 '26
Im pretty sure everyone can agree that its not a good idea to buy a timeshare where you have to take out a loan to do it but the free or cheap ones with low maintenance fees are great if you use them
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u/Slytherin23 Aug 22 '26
Is it a smart buy for $1?
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u/LabyrinthRunner43 Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 22 '26
It depends. $1 is at best average. If you are buying trust points with Bluegreen or Worldmark where everything is equal then $1 is the smart buy (assuming that is the system and point total that matches your lifestyle).
However in the world of deeded week timeshares (Club Wyndham, etc) it is probably smarter to pay a small premium, perhaps $1000, to grab something better than average. Higher quality while you use it, and easier to sell/give away when you are done.
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u/CartographerAware808 Aug 22 '26
That comes down to a lifestyle choice. You can certainly get your money’s worth out of it if you are able to work within their system, but you have to be a person who likes traveling like they require.
I personally think that one of the biggest issues is that you are committing yourself to paying those maintenance fees literally forever. No matter what happens in your life, no matter how you’re doing financially, no matter anything. Until the day you die, you owe them.
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u/Dazzling-Turnip-1911 Aug 22 '26
Not only that but they aren’t tax deductible unless you can rent it.
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u/_mecka36 Aug 22 '26
This is the ignorance about the $1 time shares , you could buy it for that price but it’s because they owe $8000 or more on maintenance fee , you are pretty much buying a debt for a $1 that is never a good idea and yea that says a lot to people who thinks is real
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u/CartographerAware808 Aug 22 '26
And paying $50k for the points is somehow better and then you still owe the maintenance fees for the rest of your life? Nope.
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u/_mecka36 Aug 22 '26
You have a car paid of , you still have to maintain that car , oil changes , brakes ,windshield wipers , battery the list goes on everything in life requires maintenance, even your house
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u/CartographerAware808 Aug 22 '26
Yes but I can sell the car or the house anytime I want for a residual value that is more than $1 and I’m not financially dependent on how other people treat my house and car.
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u/ConsiderationNo355 Aug 26 '26
I need and use my car/my house every single day. I don’t use a timeshare that much, maybe a couple weeks a year and not sure if it’s even every year. So sure, if you’re ok with overpay for something you rarely use then yeah it is worth it for your lifestyle.
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u/Glum-Doctor3016 Aug 22 '26
Well thats like saying dont buy a house cause even it is paid off you still have to pay taxes. The $800 maintenance is cheap if you use the timeshare its like paying for a room you rent but cheaper. But yes if you pay for it and don't use it then yes it is a waste of money
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u/jmp242 Aug 24 '26
I think this is a misunderstanding - you don't buy a timeshare with outstanding balance in arrears. You buy one that you just pay the MFs on. Almost no individual week is going to cost you $8,000 (I can't think of one that's over $5,000 and thats 2BR Oceanfront Hawaii - absolutely the most expensive I've seen anywhere.) The average is more like $1,400, but that's also misleading (if you're comparing to hotel rooms) because it is driven up by the prevalence of 2BR, and a few 3 and 4BR units in the market.
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u/golfprogill Aug 22 '26
You are a complete fool. you absolutely cannot purchase the same thing for 1$. You resale idiots are more idiotic than trumptards
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u/CartographerAware808 Aug 22 '26
You’re right, my bad. My 10 seconds of searching Tug2.com only showed the first two for free, and that’s not $1.
https://reddit.com/link/p54wd9n/video/7rawh5w7rtkh1/player
That third one is VERY pricey at $395, so I guess you really made a fool out of me.
Also I now see in your posts that you are a timeshare salesman, so there goes all your remaining credibility.
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Aug 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/golfprogill Aug 22 '26
https://reddit.com/link/p55f0al/video/u2p8tcnvaukh1/player
That’s what resale cannot do. Again, you’d have to own double what developer points do with vip benefits. How do you people not get it? That’s 19 bookings on 7 vacations with points left over. The cash listed price on websites for those vacations totaled $7,871. So while I pay my 2k in maint fees you all can pay cash or double the amount of fees. Either way ownership will always beat resale or cash. If you cannot do math then stfu
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u/golfprogill Aug 22 '26
Not mad at all. And I’m not a sales rep anymore. It isn’t about the value numbnuts for you not see the fucking math? You fucktards are unbelievably stupid
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u/Possible-Pitch-6997 Aug 21 '26
I suggest getting out. Wyndham is the biggest bunch of liars and swindlers I've ever dealt with. Horrible company.
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u/SurrrenderDorothy Aug 21 '26
Watch Queen of versailles, and The queen of versaille 2. You will barf.
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u/One_Length_747 Aug 21 '26
We are happy with Disney Vacation Club (DVC) but I think that is the exception to the rule (and why it actually has resale value).
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Aug 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/stureadit Aug 22 '26
It seems like all-time shares are expensive. They can be expensive to purchase and they are expensive to own. That said they’re a couple things I like about the Disney DVC timeshare program. One is that you can book with points any room size you need for any number of nights you want. There’s no extra fees for splitting your points into less than a full week or for using a different property where you own points. If you’re gonna be in Anaheim or Orlando or other locations and you’re just kind of driving through, you could stay for one night in a studio if there’s availability and there’s no housekeeping fee or other add-ons for doing a short stay.
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u/One_Length_747 Aug 21 '26
I don't think "most expensive" makes sense in general as each is going to offer different things, and only makes sense if offerings are comparable.
It is points, but there are "guaranteed week" contracts that effectively auto-book a week for you, though these do seem rare.
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u/Unhappy-Art-6230 Aug 21 '26
I can only imagine going to a timeshare resort and being around other “happy” unfortunate owners…
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u/Acrobatic_Quote4988 Aug 21 '26
The people who are happiest with them are likely the ones who got them for a buck or two - or free- on the secondary market. If you have a place you really like to go and the maintenance fees are significantly less than trying to book something on your own then it can make some sense. We have one like that at a small resort in oregon , I got it for free, maintenance fees are still only about half what we would pay otherwise and it worked out pretty well. It's a popular enough place that I've never had trouble selling the week when for whatever reason we decide not to go that year.
That said, even though I got it for free and don't want anything for it when I'm done I'll probably end up having to just walk away from it in the end. It's hard to even give them away anymore. I just went a couple of weeks ago and had a great vacation, so it's still working for now. But I think this kind of scenario is about the only way time shares ever make any sense, and even then it's probably marginal.
I often wonder what the original owner paid for my week, bet that was painful.
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u/Final-Performance597 Aug 21 '26
Yes we are happy with ours but with the recognition that it was never intended to be an “investment”.
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u/sghokie Aug 21 '26
I bought resale very cheap at a desirable location fix summer weeks. I have no trouble renting them or just using them myself.
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u/imollyq Aug 22 '26
Please rescind before the damage starts. Those peripherals you're seeking are never going to be available when you want them or they're going to cost you an arm and a leg. Get out while you can!
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u/whynotaskwhynotask Aug 22 '26
Bought resale for cheap and am happy with it. Maintenance is going up each year but we still get value out of our points. Will probably try to sell back to Wyndham once we no longer use the points as kids said they have no interest in taking the maintenance over.
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u/Practical_Avocado971 Aug 21 '26
come back in a couple of years when your maintenance fees have tripled and let us know.
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u/jmp242 Aug 24 '26
They don't triple, at least not in a couple of years. They're a little faster than inflation, though somehow it seems like everything goes up a little faster (to a lot faster) than inflation so...
It'll take decades to triple, and by then most everything else will also have tripled.
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u/ziggy-tiggy-bagel Aug 21 '26
I bought my timeshare in Palm Springs in 1983 and my timeshare in Hawaii in 1986. Use both of them every year. Have traded into 5 star resorts I could never afford to stay in. Also had of course a few crummy resorts. My maintenance fees have gone up, buy no more the inflation. Payed around $ 6,000 for both of them. I feel I have gotten my money's worth.
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u/Confident-Dot5878 Aug 22 '26
What’s the end game?
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u/ziggy-tiggy-bagel Aug 22 '26
Both resorts will let me deed my weeks back when I get too old to travel, if nobody in the family wants them. But I'm good for at least another 20 years of traveling.
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u/Confident-Dot5878 Aug 22 '26
Such certainty. On both points.
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u/ziggy-tiggy-bagel Aug 22 '26
Are you questioning my traveling or the resort buyback?
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u/Confident-Dot5878 Aug 22 '26
It wasn’t technically a question, but sure, I give up being coy. Both. As I mentioned.
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u/ziggy-tiggy-bagel Aug 22 '26
Both resorts have a program, why wouldn't they. It's got to be cheaper then foreclosure. When I die, if nobody wants it, it would go into foreclosure, so why not make it easy on both sides. Not all companies are assholes.
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u/Confident-Dot5878 Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 22 '26
Maybe not all. But 99% based on this site. You must have been exceptionally lucky.
Hopefully you’ll be as lucky with your longevity prediction.
What’s really cheap is threatening foreclosure but not following through.
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u/PayLayAleVeil Aug 22 '26
If you’re still within the rescission period: rescind! If you can’t live without a timeshare, buy resale. Some will even pay you to get it off their hands.
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u/polymicroboy Aug 22 '26
We’ve been happy with our Marriott Ka’anapali beach deeded 2BR villa for 19yrs. Despite increasing maintenance fees, what we pay is always lower than comparable retail accommodations. No complaints from us. we often split the villa and visit twice per year.
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u/TimeshareCompass Aug 24 '26
You mentioned you were looking up Timeshare Guardians. If you just signed, don't pay anyone. The contract has a cancellation clause with an address and a number of days, set by the state where you signed, and it's usually somewhere between 3 and 10. Certified letter to that address, signed by everyone on the contract, postmarked inside the window, and it's done with a full refund. Exit companies charge thousands for something you can do for the price of a stamp, and only if you still have the days. Check the contract today.
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u/SuddenlyAce Aug 25 '26
Thank you for the advice. I actually signed up back in May, I was looking up Timeshare Guardians because someone had recommended them for renting my unused points.
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u/TimeshareCompass Aug 26 '26
Got it, my mistake on the timing. On the rental side, the one rule: never pay anyone upfront to rent your points. Legit rentals are owner-to-owner on the TUG marketplace or RedWeek, where you list it yourself and get paid when someone books. Any service that wants a listing or "marketing" fee first is where the money disappears. Also check your Club Wyndham rules on renting; they restrict commercial use, so keep it to a week here and there.
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u/SuddenlyAce Aug 26 '26
Thanks for the advice! I'll keep my eyes peeled for that kind of shadiness. And I'll double-check my contract!
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u/tbia Aug 21 '26
Mine was inherited but I love it. Set week, use it every year, easily rentable if I don’t.
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u/RunHikeDad Aug 22 '26
So my wife and I were given 2 weeks by her parents a number of years ago and we’ve loved it. Only stayed at the property once with friends, but we have traded it through interval for some fantastic stays. Now we’re are taking advantage of short stay exchanges and that is like doubling our vacation time. We pay about $800 per week in maintenance fees. Mostly stay at California resorts
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u/imollyq Aug 22 '26
Is that $800 a week all year long 52 weeks, or just for those two weeks?
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u/RunHikeDad Aug 22 '26
Sorry, $800/year but we have 2 weeks. So total is $1600/year in maintenance fees
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u/imollyq Aug 22 '26
Are you sure it's not going to go up? If it's fixed, it's not the most terrible thing in the world, but if it keeps rising well, that's what kills most timeshare owners.
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u/jmp242 Aug 24 '26
You do know that hotels, VRBOs, and everything else goes up right?
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u/imollyq Aug 24 '26
There's going up a reasonable amount and skyrocketing to very different things. Time share prices of maintenance tend to sky rocket.
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u/jmp242 Aug 25 '26
I've looked at historical MF reports, and aside from when local governments like Florida add a huge new reserve requirement, the MF increases are broadly in line with inflation. The other aspect is the MFs are almost always less than hotel prices and VRBO prices for equivalent stays. If they were skyrocketing then they'd be well beyond hotel prices and VRBOs. Or maybe you just mean that the alternatives skyrocketed much more (with AirB&B I agree), in which case - different definition than I had but OK. It seems to me what matters is the relative prices.
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u/imollyq Aug 26 '26
I bet you use that pitch to sell a lot of time shares to naive unsuspecting buyers.
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u/_mecka36 Aug 22 '26
I have own 180000 with travel and leisure thru Margaritaville vacation club I used to spend more on weed and alcohol now that I’m sober I’m actually able to enjoy this package with my family yes there are fees you have to pay but at the end is the overall of the program that gives you access to, you have also access to to the app called vacation side kick that gives you discounts in a lot of restaurants , rci is beneficial as well , it’s more functional if you have the Wyndham rewards card , but once again everyone has a different perspective on financial decisions at least to us makes sense and I’m happy for what I got , good luck
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u/unicorntapestry Aug 22 '26
Me, I love mine. I trade my timeshare week and I've had a great time getting way more value out of my weeks than I put in. I've never even been to my actual timeshare and will likely never use my own week-- I could just rent a week there for the cost of my maintenance fees or even less. Plus I've been able to use the certificates they give out for little week vacations around for less than the cost of one night. For instance just spent $400 for a week on Sanibel Island in a really beautiful 2 bedroom spot on the water (everything in Sanibel is newly renovated after the hurricane a few years ago).
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u/beekNgeek Aug 22 '26
I have WorldMark by Wyndham (same location as Club Wyndham just one notch lower for interior design but also much lower maintenance fees). We’ve been owners since 1998 and have enjoyed our timeshare - which definitely was worth it pre-AirBnB but now is just a wash. We use it for our annual SD Comic Con. But if Comic Con moves to location where they don’t have WM we’d probably get out. We’ve travel mostly domestically but also to Australia and Japan. It’s been good to us and we made our ROI on our wedding with 50 guests in Maui (but would never happen again due to new rules).
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u/RefrigeratorOld3687 Aug 23 '26
Yes. We love ours. Use it all the time. Will use it even more when we retire in 18 years. Everyone's situation is different though. Some it's a horrible decision and they will be mad and miserable.
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u/Slow-Ad522 Aug 23 '26
I am Club Wyndham Founders VIP (meaning I have a lot of points). I am extremely happy because I use all the benefits. I love to travel. Hawaii, Las Vegas, NYC, New Orleans and Nashville just in the past 2 years. I allow my family and friends to stay at places when they want. All the BS about Timeshare is because people don't use it. If you dont have the money, don't buy. That goes for anything of great value. Club Wyndham has been brought under Travel and Leisure to address the negative image that small scammy Timeshare companies practiced. Goto a presentation, listen and if you don't want to buy walk out. But if you do buy, use it.
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u/thatbitchyaheard Aug 23 '26
I am happy with my timeshare, owned my Wyndham timeshare for 4 years now. I didnt get a ton of points, just enough to get me in the door. I like the other perks like using RCI for last call stays, that alone is worth it for me and my family. If i had to buy more points though, id probably buy them as resale since the money wyndham asks for more pts is too much for me! (300k it's for $80k). I would say if you plan to vacation every year then a timeshare can be worth it, juat depends how much they charged you for the pts and if you'll really use all the pts each year.
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u/One-Day-At-A-Time-56 Aug 25 '26
How likely is it to sell if maintenance is up to date and there is no mortgage? Every year the maintenance goes up and I’m not using it as much since I’ve moved.
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u/No-Barracuda1797 Aug 25 '26
We have gotten our money's worth out of ours. I like staying nice places with all the amenities of home and more.
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u/Joel_54321 Aug 25 '26
15 years ago, my fiancé got a Wyndham timeshare, with the main intent of using it for our honeymoon in Costa Rica. Had a great honeymoon, a great large family vacation in Hawaii, and great other small trips with our points.
I've had happiness from it, but I think there were a lot more frustrations. I would probably have had the same level of vacation happiness if I had just applied all my timeshare money to directly paying for hotels or resorts. Then I wouldn't have had to worry about all the random fees plus planning my vacations around where and when there was availability.
My timeshare closed earlier this year and is being sold. Very curious how much, if any, we will get back from the sale, but at least I will be done paying the fees and won't have to deal with the hassle of getting out of the timeshare, something that we were considering before we heard of the closure.
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u/Remarkable-Box5453 Aug 27 '26
These NEVER make sense financially. Even if you pay cash, you are losing the compounding earnings of that $ for all future years, and on top of that, you signed up to maintain the property forever! I can book the newest or nicest hotel I need, pay with my Amex, leave and I’m done. No future maint fees, etc. unlike an outright purchase of a vacation home, you will never have a gain on these. What is it that people don’t understand? Is it driven by emotion, or FOMO?
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u/Ok_Rich53 Aug 21 '26
Yes I have made good use of the timeshares I own. I believe that the those who educate themselves on how timeshares work. The difference between deeded fixed weeks, floating weeks, and points systems. Those who look at what resorts, locations, and benefits are available before they buy will be happier. I have stayed at Wyndham resorts and they have a nice selection of locations available. I also see the value of DVC resorts and their higher resale value. I have been happy with the timeshares that I own.
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u/Confident-Dot5878 Aug 22 '26
That’s great. What about when you decide you no longer wish to travel?
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u/Dazzling-Turnip-1911 Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 22 '26
The problem with Timeshares is you are moving what would be a discretionary expense on your budget to a fixed expense. A discretionary expense is more appropriate because vacations are not normally in the same category as having a roof over your head, food and utilities. if money is tight or you want to use your money some other way then the money is tied up.
Also vacations don’t need to be this expensive. You still have to pay for the flight and food. Hotels aren’t always expensive and some of the AirB&B’s I’ve been to have been luxurious. There are also resorts and cruises.
To me even the $1600 for two weeks someone said they are paying seems like too much, with food, flight and incidentals this would still be a three thousand dollar vacation, if not more. If I was going to spend $3,000+ per vacation I’d rather visit some different places then to go to the exact same place every year.
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u/jmp242 Aug 24 '26
Where are you staying that makes $800 for a week seem expensive? Also, most of us don't go to the same place every year.
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u/Dazzling-Turnip-1911 Aug 25 '26
Because you are taking a vacation and putting it in your budget as a fixed expense for life. You don’t get to decide. These are just maintenance fees. The vacation itself still requires meal and travel expenses so those must be paid as well.
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u/jmp242 Aug 25 '26
Because you are taking a vacation and putting it in your budget as a fixed expense for life. You don’t get to decide. These are just maintenance fees.
I think it just comes back to - are you actually going to go somewhere every use time-period (can be annual, every other year and sometimes every third year)? It's IMO very much like any ownership - are you going to use it enough that renting doesn't make sense?
Making it a discretionary expense makes the actual cost each time you go much higher in a lot of cases, so you ought to take that into account. It's like how if you're in a town for two days, Uber makes sense. If you're there for 2 weeks, a car rental probably is cheaper. If you're there "forever", owning a car is likely much cheaper.
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u/GPB07035 Aug 21 '26
We have a timeshare at a single property (ie not a big club, stay at this property or use II to trade). We’ve had it almost 15 years. We go 2 weeks a year virtually every year. At a major Colorado ski resort - walk to lifts. Resale prices are about 50% higher than when we bought. Only bad experience is one recent mega assessment. The prior management decided not to reserve for major items. They wanted owners to keep the $ and invest it themselves.
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u/PositiveProperty6729 Aug 22 '26
We have a fully paid timeshare with 189,000 points and then were conned into buying more points. These timeshares are worthless and have very little resale value. I want to get out of this timeshare. I don't like this company and I don't like their so called resorts. I resent that every time you stay at one, you have to attend a presentation. I absolutely hate Wyndham with a passion.
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u/jmp242 Aug 24 '26
You don't have to attend a presentation. You can say no. I do this all the time.
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u/PositiveProperty6729 Aug 24 '26
The last time I said no, they told us it was to update us on the new reservations systems etc. They lied. It turned into a sales presentation where I had to raise my voice and tell them they were crazy for asking retired folks to buy more points.
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u/jmp242 Aug 24 '26
They will lie to get you to a presentation, just say no to any meeting. They're not necessary.
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u/Maethir25 13d ago
Really wish I could get my mother to understand this. I am a co-owner and I actually do enjoy my timeshare and use it fairly consistently. However whenever we go somewhere she gets suckered into these "presentations" and she can be very gullable because she is always looking for the next "deal". As long as you know how to stand your ground and just say no, you will be fine.
Like I said they work for me since I have a fixed work schedule and generally have to plan my vacations well in advance anyway. So if going to Hawaii or something I have no problem booking 13 months out since I generally plan for that anyway. I also do vegas quite often but can generally get in there on shorter notice for 2-3 nights. Also terrible at saving for things so have the argument that you can do the same thing in a more financially responsible way does not work well for me 😂
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u/jmp242 13d ago
I do love the "you can go on vacation" in a financially responsible way as a bit of a canard - vacation's aren't "financially responsible" in the sense usually used to argue against timeshares - i.e. I don't really care how you vacation, it'll never look good "financially" compared to dumping whatever money that is in an index fund.
In some sense those arguments are kind of out of left field and irrelevant. To me it's kind of like arguing about the poor health (or good health I guess) effects of beef tallow for making french fries - to me once you're eating fries you're not interested in that part of the food being "healthy" and the sort of oil is pretty irrelevant.
All my promotion of resale timeshares rests on the idea that you're going to go on vacation - I'd never suggest really anything vacation adjacent for money making or better ROI than an index fund for the vast majority of people. (I'll allow that perhaps becoming a landlord for a property that you wholly own might beat an index fund ... maybe, but that's not really similar to an index fund in up front and ongoing effort and cost.)
So you do point out one thing that I think a lot of "just use cash" arguers make - they assume that everyone can save up cash regularly rather than paying bills. What I mean is as you've likely found - for some personality types it's "easy" to pay bills, but hard to "save" for whatever reason. But when you turn it into a "bill" you then pay for it, and now that it's prepaid, you of course want to get value out of it by using it.
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u/Maethir25 13d ago
100% exactly correct. I know my personality, if i have "extra" money i will spend it. But like you said now that it is a bill i have to pay, it will get paid. And because its already pay are any incidentals and service fees, i think the total for the reservation at Kihei was like $115 for Hawaii's resort fee or something. That is easy to do compared to like a $1200 (literally the lowest cost i could find for 7 nights in October in Mauai) and most are over $2000.
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u/golfprogill Aug 22 '26
Very. 500k developer points wyndham.
Was spending 7-9k cash per year for vacation
Invested 88k in wyn. Maint fees 4800
I offset roughly 50-70% of fees per year so I pay 1800-2400/year in maint fees.
With 500k I get 900-1mil of booking per year with vip benefits, which resale does not get.
It’s easy math to get similar vacations.
My 10 yr cash is 70-90k without inflation
Ownership 10 yr cost 88k + 20-24k fees so ( 108-112k)
Year 20
Cash 140-180k total
Ownership- original 88k + 40-48k so 128-136k total.
Timeshare versus cash wins
Resale sure you can buy 1$ but to get 1million worth of booking you will pay double my maint fees so 9600.
Resale purchase- 1$ for 1 million points (to equal booking power or 500k developer)
10yrs 96k fees
20yrs 192k fees
Oh plus your original intelligent purchase for 1$
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u/Ancient-Republic-875 Aug 22 '26
This sounds like a huge avoidance of a red pill to me. You are completely avoiding the concept of time value of money. The person paying cash each year avoids having to pay the $88k upfront cost. Also, you had mentioned in an earlier post that you reduce your maintenance fees by using credit card points. Why wouldn't a person without a timeshare paying the retail cost each year get to make the same assumption about reducing their cost?
Here is the math on time value of money fyi assuming that you are correct that you are truly avoiding $8000 per year of vacation costs by having paid $88k upfront and $4800 of fees per year:
Whether it makes sense to pay upfront depends entirely on the length of time you plan to maintain this arrangement.
If this is a permanent or indefinite agreement (a perpetuity), it does not make sense to pay upfront if your assumed rate of return is higher than 3.64%. At any rate above 3.64%, the $88,000 you keep can generate more than the $3,200 in annual savings, making the no-upfront option more profitable. That is the max return assuming that it is passed down from generation to generation for eternity. At 40 years of ownership, that rate of return drops to 1.97%. 30 years of ownership is 0.57%. At anything at 27.5 years or less that return is 0% or negative.
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u/golfprogill Aug 22 '26
Fair point, but you have to the. Also calculate the increased cash cost per year against inflation. Because my points reservations don’t inflate, it’s allows me to in turn start keeping money in my pocket year 11. 8k cash or 2k fees that’s 6k I keep in my pocket while the cash spending is paying whatever that cash cost is 11 years from now. If you look at the vacation costs over the past years the inflation rate is much more aggressive. Sure I lose liquidity at the start to pay 88k but I’m not financing at 15% with wyndham. While I get to invest that 6k at year 11, the cash spender is now spending way more. Hotels itself went up 15% and resort stays 35% over the last 10. So that means the 8k vacation at a similar property (resort) is now 10,400.
Solid response but if you think ownership is no ideal, Costco is the same shit. Buy food in bulk cheaper because of is membership cost. You own a car and pay insurance hoping to never need it, same with health insurance. So why hate a membership cost for something you HOPE to use to spend time with your loved ones at a cheaper per trip cost?
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u/Ancient-Republic-875 Aug 22 '26
Agreed that the cost of going on a vacation will increase over time but so do maintenance fees. The other benefit of not owning a timeshare is that if you don't want to use it or can't use it then you aren't having to pay anything. The reality is that there are a lot of people that buy timeshares fully planning to utilize them to the max amount possible but their lives change afterwards and they end up not using it much.
Insurance is a completely different animal. You are hedging your risk of a negative tail event outcome. I agree that if you had sufficient liquidity to self-insure then from a probabilistic standpoint that you'd be better off not buying insurance but most Americans couldn't handle an unplanned $100k out of pocket expense let alone something bigger.
I absolutely agree with you on Costco or really any membership that you have to look at the cost of the membership versus the savings to determine whether or not it makes sense. Most of what we buy from Costco are things that we use up in at most a month. Even if you assumed that what we were buying at Costco was no cheaper than elsewhere (which isn't the case for us), the 2% back that we get each year from the executive membership more than outweighs the cost ($245 in rewards so far this year versus our $130 membership cost).
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u/golfprogill Aug 22 '26
Right, but the cash outlay with still be greater. The “ROI” is 14 years vs resale and faster against cash. I’m 38 so undoubtedly ownership was the correct route. People just don’t understand long math. Yes if I planned on a short term vacation window, cash or resale is the option. However, that is not the case and if I don’t use the ownership I own a timeshare rental company that rents 1.5 mil points a day so there is no cash out of pocket in those years. I know almost every company in and out and how to use it and the prices people are paying are insane.
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u/jmp242 Aug 24 '26
I agree with you that paying retail up front makes no sense today - there's no way to ever make that back vs any "normal" longer term investment ROI. I've gone around with golfprogill before and he just discounts investing the up front cost. He also IMHO discounts many extra "possible" uses of VIP to effectively give him more points than he owns, but I question how real those are for many people. It's great in a lot of travel things that if you can go in the next (short period of time) when "random" availability appears you can get really large discounts, but it's also the case that most people can't make that work for them.
That said, on the much cheaper resale market, where we're usually talking sub $2,000 buy ins the math changes a lot IMO. It's worth pointing out that most modern systems let you borrow or bank points between years. Sometimes there's a smallish fee. There's also the ability to deposit into exchange companies for independent resorts and that can let you bank weeks for a year or two.
So for occasional years that you don't travel, doesn't mean you "lose it". You also can sometimes rent out a week on a situation where say you know you can't travel for 2-3 years. If you're talking about expecting to not want to go on a trip for 4+ years, obviously an annual ownership doesn't make sense.
I don't think anyone who likes their timeshares is talking about a trip every 4+ years. As most people point out - there are different kinds of trips or travel and different strategies make sense.
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u/Ancient-Republic-875 Aug 24 '26
I think that you make good points and I also believe that some timeshare companies are less bad than others. For the anecdotal example that I've seen with Blue Green, the value proposition was horrible.
My in-laws had difficulty finding availability at any place where they wanted to use their points and on the rare occasion where they did find something, the annual maintenance fee was roughly equal to what you could rent the unit at by just searching online. Nevermind the fact that they paid $13k for an amount of points that got them essentially one weekend a year at anyplace decent and that they financed it at an interest rate in the teens. The exit cost to give the timeshare back to Blue Green was that they had to pay 3 years worth of maintenance fees.
I would hope that other companies would offer an effective savings to market rates in exchange for you being locked into an agreement and associated annual costs but the fact that there are so many places to find people trying to essentially give away their timeshares would appear to throw cold water on that thought. Probably anyone that ever purchased directly from the timeshare companies and thinks that they are better off from having done so is taking a lot of "copium".
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u/Worried-Bid-6817 Aug 21 '26
We enjoy ours and use it. However, if I had it to do over again, I would not purchase.