Original Message:
Re: Marriott Vacation Club "Destinations" - What I Like and What I've Done (by Den):
First, I'm no expert in this and just keep trying. I have had good experience by just asking the vacation reps to help me. They are much more creative than I and have all the resources at hand. They also take delight in offering great ideas. I suggest that you also ask a rep to walk you thru the online dest points reservation section where you can select a property and days wanted and see the cost in points. Please note the difference in points required for non-weekend days. Also, check the "flexible" box.
With respect to the use of points. I think there are some good values in points. An example, I'm in California and have found that I can get 5 nights, Sunday afternoon thru Friday morning at Newport Coast during the "best" summer weeks for 2,375 dest pts. This coupled with a Marriott hotel stay using rewards points for the weekend days near a resort (LegoLand, Disneyland, etc.) works nicely. I also note that for an immediate vacation you can pick up a few days at a discount in points - seems like about 20%.
I'm sure there are others on this forum that can offer better suggestions. It might be helpful for us to know which "state" you live in, then they can offer suggestions for resorts near you.
Renting points - I haven't done this either way, buying or selling.
One other point - The most success seems to come to us by planning way out with either scheduling our weeks, trading thru Interval, etc. It has also helped to allow some flexibility in our resorts and date ranges.
I hope this helps - and others can add too....
Dennis
PS - You mentioned you could get 5,000 points for your weeks. A rough example: You could get nearly two weeks at Newport Coast for this by getting two 5 day reservations (2,375 X 2 = 4,750)and using rewards points for two weekend days in the middle during the best summer period. I suspect the same would apply to a resort closer to you or maybe to two resorts that are not too far apart. Incidentally, my example used two bedroom units - you probably only need 1 bedroom at a lower cost in points.