Original Message:
Re: Marriott Vacation Club "Destinations" - What I Like and What I've Done (by Den):
Purchase of Marriott Vacation Weeks in the aftermarket:
We purchased two Platinum weeks at Newport Coast Villas last year for under $8,000 each knowing that we "could not" trade for Rewards pts and/or for Dest pts. We also retained our old pre-Destinations Interval membership to enable trades of these units thru Interval. We hold regular family reunions at Newport Coast Villas so the absence of the point options doesn't matter. These weeks can be used, rented out, traded thru Interval, used in conjunction with other weeks purchased thru Marriott, etc. and they were purchased at bargain prices.
We own 5 weeks at Newport Coast (2 purchased privately), 1 Custom House in Boston, and 1 Grand Chateau in Las Vegas. We chose to enroll the 5 eligible weeks in Destinations and feel this program adds worthwhile options to our vacation program.
In summary, I would not hesitate to buy good weeks in the aftermarket as there are some super deals out there. My suggestion is that you buy high quality tradeable weeks or weeks at locations you will use.
Dennis
PS - I appreciate the useful suggestions I've read from others on this forum.