Why Buy Timeshare Resale Points?

Timeshare Resales are my all-time favorite travel hack! People often ask how Brian and I afford as much travel as we do. One of the ways we accomplish as much travel as we do is to own a timeshare. And we purchased a timeshare resale. That’s right! A timeshare resale, as you all roll your eyes in shock and horror at that dirty concept.  Most importantly,  let me entice you with the cliff notes:

• We paid $207 for our timeshare resale.
• The total cost, including closing costs, was $1,097.50
• It is owned outright, paid cash, and has no payments.
• I never had to sit through a presentation or visit a resort.
• Our maintenance fees are only $425 a year.
• Ironically, this year after fourteen years of owning it, we had a special assessment for $200
• At least twice a year, we use our timeshare and often much more.
• You do not have to trade weeks or deposit weeks.

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Are you interested in understanding? Let me explain why buying a Timeshare Points Resale is a good idea!

Several years ago, a friend purchased a timeshare following a tour, as many do. As a result, she was promised luxury accommodation, flexible dates, and so on. She was met with the frustrating experience of not booking and could not figure out the different options. My friend asked me to read the paperwork and figure it out. Little did I know that we were talking about ~500 pages worth of terms and conditions. I was able to narrow it down to some key points. This is how I understood the process and how to maximize it. After this, and once I understood the process, our experience with timeshare began!

Back then, timeshares were sold as a week and technically still are because it’s deeded property. The old system had you locked in the same week, same unit, and exact location unless you could trade that specific week with someone else—a thing of the past for most new sales and, in the case of most resales.

Today, most people have upgraded their old fixed week to what’s known as points. For example, while you always have “that week” at the beginning of each year, choose if you want “that week,” or you can have points.  Above all, points are still the way to go unless you want “that week.” We own July 4th at Oyster Pointe, but our account is set up to take the 45K points automatically. Once you own points, knowing how to use them is critical, but I will discuss this later.

Here is an example of the one we used in Bali: Karma Royal Jimbaran

Timeshare Uses

If you own a timeshare, you can use it in various ways!

Fixed Week Owners

• You can use it yourself – this is traditionally why people buy one – to use it.
• Deed it to family members (list as owners), so they can make their reservations and use it without having you check them in or buy a guest certificate.
• Leave it to family members in your will.

Note: Most timeshares will allow you to have up to 5 people listed as owners on the deed

• You can book a week and rent the week out. Many people are not in the points system and have a fixed week to rent their week.
• You can gift the Usage. In other words, you can book a week and let friends or family members use the week.
• You can donate your week to any charity like you would with friends or family.

Note: When renting or gifting a week to someone not on the deed, you typically have to buy a “guest certificate” if they check in without you.

• Exchange your week for another week within your timeshare network.
• Deposit and exchange your week through RCI or other exchange networks.
• If you do not use it, then you can sell it. However, if you sell it and pay retail, you will lose significant money.

Points Converted Owners

The beautiful thing about points-converted timeshares is that you can enjoy all the benefits of a fixed week or pick points. For those who own points-converted timeshares, you want all the benefits listed above and:

• You can rent for weeks with your points and then sub-lease. In other words, use your points to book a week, then “rent” this to someone else. This is a popular tactic people use when popular weeks become available—for example, Bike Week in Daytona or Spring Breaks in Mexico.
• Use your points in exchange for cruises, airline tickets, hotels, car rentals, travel packages, and even amusement park tickets.
• You can roll points over and borrow from upcoming years. This gives you the flexibility of having more points on hand.
• You can renew expired points.
• You can rent or buy additional points if you need more to cover a trip.

If you are looking to get rid of your timeshare, then you can:

• Sell it, give it away or donate it to a charity. The key here is that you must be up to date on all fees before the sale, and the receiver must pay the maintenance fees.

It is still a real estate transaction if you sell or give it away! You must use a licensed broker and be prepared to lose most, if not all, of your investment.

Timeshare Resale Buying Process

To buy timeshare points for resale, you should look for the maximum amount of RCI points with the least maintenance fees. You can buy them on eBay or any timeshare resale site. We purchased our timeshare on eBay. It would be best if you did not care where the timeshare is deeded (located). It could be in Tim Buck Two. What you care about is the cost per point to maintain. To compare apples to apples, you will divide the annual maintenance fee by the total number of points to calculate the yearly cost per point. How many points should you be looking for? It depends.

We have 45k per year and never needed more as there are four ways to use your timeshare, and two modes don’t require points. Before we go further, let’s look at some terminology you will need to understand. To maximize your use, you are looking for annual Usage. Anything less means you will pay a yearly maintenance fee but only get your points every other year. I should stress that the approach I used focused on RCI-converted properties. There are many independent point systems like Bluegreen, Hilton, and Marriot. All allow you to trade via RCI, but the points are not apples-to-apple trades, making the comparison challenge. I have friends that own Bluegreen and Hilton. They pay way more in fees and have fewer options.

Common Terminology used in Timeshare Resale Listings

The RCI Timeshare Buying Process

1. Look at timeshare resales.
2. Calculate the annual cost per point (maintenance/points).
3. Add up the closing costs.
4. Asses the asking price or bid.
5. Ask all the questions you need to before bidding or buying.
6. Demand a title search be included (even at your cost) before you bid or buy. The last thing you want is to take on someone else’s debt.
7. Buy!

Typical Timeshare Resale Closing Costs

For current and accurate RCI costs, check RCI’s website.

Comparing Timeshare Resales Apples to Apples When Buying

Here are some examples so you can see how to compare. For these examples, let’s assume the closing costs are the same. RCI costs will be the same.  We will examine the cost per point:

a) 79K annual points deeded to a resort in Branson, MO, the yearly maintenance fee is $800. Cost per point: $0.0101
b) 45K annual points deeded to resort in Orlando, FL, the yearly maintenance fee is $950. The cost per point is $0.021
c) 85K annual points deeded to resort in Little Rock, AK, the yearly maintenance fee is $670. The cost per point is $0.0078
d) 65K annual points deeded to resort in Dallas, TX, the yearly maintenance fee is $550. The cost per point is $0.0084
e) 40K annual points deeded to resort in Dallas, TX, the yearly maintenance fee is $465. The cost per point is $0.0116

Forget location. Which of the 5 is the best deal? Option C because it’s the lowest cost per point. You might want to consider option E because while not the cheapest point-to-fee ratio, and it is the lowest overall maintenance fee, which is also a long-term consideration. You don’t want to over-commit to annual costs. Something else that’s important here is that most maintenance fees are due in January. Less than ideal time for most, so plan.

Maximizing Your Timeshare Resale Investment

Let’s assume your maintenance fees are $500 a year, and your RCI membership is $124. This means annually, and the timeshare costs you $624. Add to this any RCI transaction has a booking fee unless you book “that week,” free. For this example, booking Cabo is 30K points, with a booking fee of $239. You are now at $863 for the year. This is good for a week, but if you book another trip for 15K points and a booking fee of $239, you are at $1102 for 14 nights! For us, having one is not worth the maintenance fee unless we use it at least twice a year. Naturally, the more you use it, the lower the overall costs are annual.

Making RCI Timeshare Reservations

I have found the key to almost every timeshare booking is to go with what’s available and when vs. X location on Y date. This approach is the opposite of how most people try to book. Most people book about six months out of a specific time with the location in mind. You can achieve this but using a planning approach. For example, we wanted to go to Oktoberfest sometime in the next couple of years. I searched which year was available in the location we wanted. I secured us a week in 2019 for 21K points and $219.

Once you are set up with an account with RCI, make sure your account is set to default to points vs. the resort you own.

RCI Search Types

#1 Exchange Vacation RCI Reservation

This search is based on points. You merely search a region and dates. The system will show what’s available and the number of points needed.  I strongly advise you to take advantage of what’s available vs. a specific location on a particular date.  Book as far ahead as you can. If you are married to July 4th in Key West this year, it’s not going to happen. We used our timeshare in Key Largo to take a group of friends. I booked two years in advance by searching what was available and when. Just know the points booking is the premium route. In my experience, there are more options with point usage. We have also scored some super fancy digs (2/2 2000 sq. foot condo beachfront in Cabo with a plunge pool) using points! Four of us went on this trip, and all we paid for was flights.

#2 Extra Vacation RCI Reservation 

You can be out of points or not want to use points and pay to stay at a resort. We did this in Vermont. We got a 3-bedroom 2-bath townhouse with a sauna for $500 for seven nights. Cheaper and more extravagant than any deal you will find online. This option does help with going to a specific location on a particular date but only marginally. If you are set on a particular time or place, it can get expensive.

#3 Last Call RCI Reservation 

Last Call is an excess inventory not booked. You can score a deal on a 90-day countdown ticker for $199 – $239 without using a point. All the last call options are for seven nights, but guess what, you can leave anytime you want. We have used this many times for random trips. Sometimes we use this for a weekend and check out early. The last call is also a favorite of ours for all things Florida. I have used this for friends that are traveling and issue the guest certificate. Sometimes, RCI has sales, and you can score one of these as cheap as $99 – we have several times.

#4 Nightly Stays RCI Reservation 

We have used this twice. It’s the equivalent of making a hotel reservation but at a resort in a condo. The challenge is it often requires high points, high fees, and a cleaning fee that would not apply to a week’s reservation.

If I didn’t already convince you that you could save a lot of money with a timeshare resale, here are some other things to consider:

• Timeshare is an investment, but only if you use it as outlined above.
• Gift weeks to friends or family by using a guest certificate. *Note, guest certificates cost $89.
• Bank your points, roll them over (save them) and borrow from next year.
• Combine many timeshares. For example, you can buy two and roll both into one RCI account.
• A timeshare is a deeded property. Assuming you do not default on maintenance fees, you can transfer it, gift it, or leave it to the next generation.
• You can sub-lease weeks out using the same process as a guest certificate. I have never tried this,  so I can’t give you the specifics. I have read that people have made some money. People do this in years; they cannot travel to offset the maintenance fees. Some sites specialize in this, like Redweek.

Terrible Timeshares

I’ve shared some great examples. However, hotels, resorts, and Airbnb‘s timeshares are unequal. As such, I’ve had some terrible experiences with some.

Here is a recent example: Laguna Thermal Resort & Spa, Turkey – RCI Resort DH79

FAQs

Closing Thoughts

An industry study by EY (Ernst & Young) revealed that 56 percent of reclaimed timeshares stem from foreclosure. Any research you do will tell you that this stems from financial hardship. If you buy a timeshare and cannot afford to maintain it, you could end up being the person trying to sell one or, worse foreclosing. The article is for those looking to take advantage of a foreclosed or resale timeshare to afford the maintenance fees.

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• 20 Best Ways to Earn Lots of Credit Card Rewards Points
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• Eight Travel Hacks That Are Bull
• Multi-City Flights – A Travel Hack You Need to Know!
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