by TUGGER GoofyHobbie

Key Points

Club Wyndham^SM Plus is a floating use program. A floating use program means that an owner of points within the program DOES NOT have the right to occupy a particular vacation unit. 

Whether you acquire your Wyndham points through re-sale or from the developer you are a member of Club Wyndham^SM Plus.  If you make a purchase of Wyndham points you will have purchased a Vacation Ownership Interest (VOI) with a floating use right at your home resort.

Wyndham Resorts is owned by the stock holders of Wyndham Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:WYN).

Unless you are a stockholder, you should not consider yourself a Wyndham owner after you acquire Wyndham points. You can, however, refer to yourself as an owner of Wyndham points.

The original purchaser of Wyndham points will have signed a vacation ownership contract agreement and an installment note if they financed the purchase through Wyndham.  The contract (“Agreement”) spells out what was purchased.

In most cases what you can expect is language that specifies the specific number of points being purchased divided by the total number of points available at the specific “property regime” that is to be the “home resort.”

For example, when an original (hypothetical), retail buyer purchases 105,000 points situate at Phase IV (Tower I) at Wyndham Ocean Boulevard, North Myrtle Beach, SC the agreement should spell out in words similar to those provided below what the seller was selling and what the buyer purchased:

“…a  105,000 / 456,510,000 undivided fee simple interest in Units 951-957, 1051-1057, 1151-1157, 1251-1257, 1451-1457, 1551-1556, having a Floating Use Right (‘Property’) in Wyndham Myrtle Beach At Ocean Boulevard IV Horizontal Property Regime, hereinafter referred to as “Regime,” located in Horry County, South Carolina according to the plat…filed of record in Horry County, South Carolina, subject to all provisions contained in the recorded Declaration of Horizontal Property Regime or Master Deed applicable to the…described Property.”

There should be a section of the agreement that spells out the annual assessment and a section that spells out use and occupancy.  In the use and occupancy section the agreement should clarify how many points (in this example we are using 105,000 points) the buyer is assigned and it should go on to say that the points “…are symbolic and are to be used by the Buyer in reserving occupancy in Buyer’s Floating Use Right as defined in the Declaration and the Reservation System Rules and Regulations of the Property Owners Association (POA)” or something along those lines.  In other words the agreement should point out that the points purchased represent the purchaser’s property interest as described in the agreement.

Wyndham, or its predecessor, will have or should have recorded a vacation plan use management trust agreement and use restriction (“Trust Agreement”).  At the time of original purchase of the Wyndham points the hypothetical Buyer would have signed a “Vacation Ownership Assignment Agreement and Use Restriction” which would have or should have incorporated the “Trust Agreement” by reference.  It is the “Trust Agreement” that   spells out the terms, conditions, and restrictions of the Club Wyndham^SM Plus Vacation Plan.

Club Wyndham^SM Plus, is a very flexible points system; but it has a lot of “nickel and dime” charges that can come into play depending on when and how you book your vacations.

Wyndham resorts are found throughout the US and in many desirable foreign locations. All of the Wyndham resorts that I have visited were comfortable, well maintained and usually loaded with amenities. New Wyndham resorts continue to open even through the current recession.

Though the Wyndham Vacation Resorts® brand has had a lot of success, there are hundreds, if not thousands of owners who have had their points for years and still have limited knowledge of the system. Many of these same folks are disgusted with the lack of unit availability during prime season, although they may have only attempted to make plans one to three months ahead of time.

Soak up the information provided in this series of articles in little bits or all at once; but keep coming back again and again as you climb your personal learning curve. Avoid some pit-falls while you gain an appreciation of the vacation ownership product called Club Wyndham^SM Plus.

In the end, you should agree that the flexibility and value of Club WyndhamSM Plus is extraordinary for the price of acquisition and maintenance. Take advantage of some of the TIPS provided and you should get a lot of bang for your buck.  

TIP:   Do Not Over Buy!   Prior to a purchase of Wyndham points you may find that you need far less than you might think to get vacations you will use. If your primary goal is to use your points at a location you can drive to and you can make your plans closer to the check-in date, the number of points needed to secure your vacation can, if inventory is available, be obtained through Wyndham at up to a 40% discount depending on the resort, demand and availability. However, during prime time periods, if you do not make your reservation well in advance, at the full point rate, you may get nothing. Many believe they must own more points and make internal reservations to get what they consider to be a great vacation. Others, who know how to work the system, can maximize their vacations using the resort’s exchange company RCI® or II. 

Selection of an External Exchange Company

Eligibility Requirements for “Weekly external exchanges through either RCI® or Interval International (II) are available to all Club Wyndham^SM Plus Members based upon the affiliation eligibility requirements disclosed at the time of…(the original)…purchase." Source: Club Wyndham Plus^SM Member’s Directory 2009-2010, page 295.

Once a Wyndham Points account (based on the original first "contract “of purchase) is set-up as a RCI®  affiliated account, any subsequently acquired Wyndham points (regardless of exchange company affiliation) will be considered Wyndham/RCI.  Conversely, once a Wyndham Points account (based on the original first "contract" of purchase) is set-up as an Interval International affiliated account, any subsequently acquired Wyndham points (regardless of exchange company affiliation) will be considered Wyndham/II. There are currently five Wyndham Resorts affiliated with Interval International:

Royal Vista, Pompano Beach, FL
Governor's Green, Williamsburg, VA
Star Island, Orlando, FL
Blue Beard's Beach Club, St. Thomas, U. S. Virgin Islands
Riverside Suites, San Antonio, TX

If an owner of Wyndham Points has a RCI® affiliated Wyndham account, any subsequent purchase of points at the above mentioned (II affiliated resorts) will be placed in the RCI® affiliated Wyndham account. The points can be exchanged through RCI® and only through RCI®

Note: If a family member other than the Wyndham/RCI affiliated account owner acquires points where the home resort is at any of the above mentioned (II affiliated) Wyndham resorts, that family member can set-up a NEW Wyndham account to receive the II affiliated points.  Any points later placed into the Wyndham/II account are exchanged through II and only through II. Be aware that points in a Wyndham/II account or a Wyndham/RCI account cannot be moved to increase the points in either account or to exchange through the other exchange company.

“Visual Deposit” or Generic Deposit with the Exchange Company

Unless, an owner of Wyndham points specifically contacts Wyndham and asks for a "visual deposit;” points that are used for the deposit with the exchange company will be generic points equal to a 7-night stay at a unit in the season that is symbolically represented by those points.

A “visual deposit” is defined as a specific week of Wyndham inventory selected at random

that equates to the number of points used to make the deposit. 

For example:  An owner may ask Wyndham to take 105,000 points and make a “visual deposit.”  Since 105,000 equates to a one bedroom Unit in the RCI® or II Red (Prime) season, the Wyndham Vacation Counselor can initiate a request on behalf of the owner to randomly grab a one bedroom prime time week from Wyndham’s inventory and deposit that week with the exchange company. Once the “visible week” is deposited in lieu of the points, the transaction is final and the owner can search at the exchange company website using that randomly selected week.

Make the Right Decisions Prior to a Purchase

As you consider the Wyndham point system an initial decision will involve your needs and where you choose to have your Home Resort(s). As you contemplate options consider:

LOCATION, LOCATION, and LOCATION

Where do you want to vacation, how do you want to vacation, and how do you intend to get there?  If you need Advanced Reservation Priority (ARP) get your points associated with a destination where you will have ARP.  Be aware that the initial Wyndham point purchase, whether it is from the developer or through re-sale, will determine the exchange company that you must use to deposit points for exchange.  For more on ARP see Article VIII of this series.

The Exchange Company

Wyndham allows you to exchange your points with the exchange company that is affiliated with the resort that your first contract identifies as your “home resort.” That exchange company becomes your exchange company when your Wyndham account is set-up.  You as an owner of Wyndham points may have a preference for II or RCI® because of the availability of resorts at RCI® or because of the cost associated with exchanges at either company. Subsequent contracts that you may add to the account, regardless of the resort’s exchange company affiliation,  must be exchanged with the exchange company initially set-up by Wyndham. The exchange company will remain the same throughout the life of your Club Wyndham^SM Plus membership, even if you trade-in the initial contract with Wyndham or sell/transfer the initial contract to someone else.

PlusPartners®

If you want more flexibility, such as “Nightly Stays” through RCI®, consider PlusPartners®; but be aware that you do not have to buy points from the developer to get access to the program. 

If you do buy points from the developer you may get the program benefits at no additional cost; but the upfront cost of the points should be considered in the equation. If you buy a point contract re-sale and later decide that you want PlusPartners® you can pay a fee, quoted as $2,395 as of June 4, 2010, for the extra benefits of the program; but if you are determined to get access to the benefits as RCI “Nightly Stays” paying the fee separately can lower your overall cost.

For more on PlusPartners® see the last TIP in Article V and review the program in more detail at the Wyndham Resort Forums:

 http://forums.atozed.com/viewforum.php?f=173  

To get information on how much PlusPartner® will add to your Club Wyndham^SM Plus program fees go to the following link and scroll down to my post of August 19, 2009 where what was then known as the FariShare Plus fee was discussed: 

http://forums.atozed.com/viewtopic.php?f=165&t=186

Footnote: If you have any inquiries regarding how to use Wyndham's product features or benefits, please consult Wyndham's written documents and materials including the resort directly for additional information about how to use the product.

Wyndham Forums on TUG