Taking over parents Marriott VC-should we switch to points system?

I know there are many posts about this subject but not a lot of recent ones and wasn't sure if the system has changed at all over the last 5-8 years. My parents have a Marriott week in a 2 bedroom at Newport Coast which is worth about 2700 "Destination Points" with Marriott. They are no longer using it and we are taking over the dues which are $1300 a year. They never switched to the new system. We will never stay at the Newport location as we live in SoCal. We are interested in using it for yearly vacations at different spots both in USA and other countries. We went to a presentation and were convinced we wanted to switch to the newer Destination program using points but after looking at the points calculator, it seems like we will often be short points and we also seem limited on places to go? If we deposit the week with interval international-we still get a whole week without having to pay more money and have more locations? Is this an accurate assumption? Are there any questions we should be asking? Can any current users of either system explain the pros and cons. Thanks in advance for your assist.

A few quick thoughts:

Enrolling the week - depending on when the week was acquired it may be eligible to enroll in the points program. Assuming it qualifies, you would pay a fee for enrollment. Call Marriott and find out if the week is eligible and how much it would cost (probably a couple thousand). If it is eligible, Marriott will try to sell you some points to add to your position and may agree to enroll your week as an inducement. Points have their advantages, but are the most expensive way to get vacations (for me).

Rent out the week - I think this is probably a "gold" week, thus the 2,700 point prospect. You could get a good reservation probably spring break, and rent out the week for $2,000+. You could then use the cash to rent something on Redweek (an alternative to the expensive point option).

Interval exchange - I've pretty much abandoned Interval as it is too tough to get good weeks. Interval relies on deposits of weeks and most owners seem to be depositing for points these days, thus few good weeks become available anymore. The unpredictable wait to get a week coupled with the lack of inventory has killed the Interval option for me.

Buy another good week at Newport - One can buy a "platinum" week at Newport for about $8,000 and rent it out for cash. Redweek reservations for cash are probably the best deal around with the least exposure as life changes.

Good luck!

Thanks for the input! We can enroll in the points system and all I actually have to do is watch a live webinar and they will waive the enrollment fee (I think this is what you were talking about-moving to the "Destination program". The information about interval international is good to know. I am leaning toward the newer "Destinations" point value system since it doesn't seem that easy to get weeks we will want at other locations. We still have kids in school for another 5 years so are stuck to their schedules for vacations which doesn't allow for a lot of flexibility. I just thought it seemed like a better value to keep the "week" for a "week" system but if we can't get much on interval it probably won't make sense.

I hope you realize that enrolling your week only adds another option, a good thing to do. You are not giving up your existing deeded week and the ways you can use it. And, it is wonderful that Marriott VC will enroll your week for free and without requiring a points purchase. I think they are treating you fairly. Good luck.