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Let’s try doing the math another way: I just rented my Whistler week for $1500 net and with that money (+ $62 dollars), I rented a comparable week in Jackson Hole. (No exchange company was involved, which might have made me leary in the old days--ie. not being assured of the resort’s quality—but the internet and travel review services have changed all that.) Essentially, for the price of my maintenance fee (about $500), I received $1500 worth of accommodations. A penny saved is a penny earned, so…that’s $1000 earned on my $15K Whistler “annuity.” Or, a return this year of 6.7%. An aside on maint fees: Yes, I agree, these fees often go up, but check this out: My 2008 maintenance fee for Whistler was $493 Can last year, which at the time equaled $508 US. THIS year, the fee will be $532 Can (an 8% increase), but given the Loonie’s recent dramatic fall against the US dollar this year, that’ll just be $409 US. My effective fee thus dropped over 20%!