Before 2010, Marriott sold fixed and floating weeks at a home resort. Marriott no longer sells fixed and floating weeks directly. However, most resales are sold through this previous system. On the resale market, owners may purchase a fixed week to be used on the same dates every year or a floating week to be booked within a season.
Currently, those who buy a new timeshare directly from Marriott are members of the Marriott Vacation Club (MVC). In this new program, owners buy Vacation Club Points and do not have a home resort. Club Points are used to book weekly or nightly stays at Marriott’s 50+ timeshare resorts or at one of 3,500 Marriott-brand hotels.
Fixed and floating week resales do not have access to Vacation Club Points. They may not opt into the new program. Those who purchased resold points must pay several additional fees in order to use them. Owners of fixed or floating weeks may exchange their weeks to stay at Marriott’s resort network through an external exchange company, such as Interval International.
Marriott ownership works through two usage systems. Its current program is points based and allows owners to stay at Marriott hotels and resorts throughout Marriott’s four resort collections. This system is available to those who purchased a set of points directly from the Marriott Vacation Club (MVC). Marriott’s previous program was based on fixed and floating weeks.
Before adopting the current points system, Marriott sold timeshares on a fixed and floating week basis. All timeshares were deeded weeks purchased at a home resort. In this program, Marriott members purchased a residence type for a fixed week or a residence type to be used within a season. Most Marriott timeshares on the resale market are still sold as fixed and floating weeks.
Members of MVC who purchase a timeshare directly from Marriott are part of a point system that does not have a home resort. Owners can use their Destination Club Points to reserve a residence at any of Marriott’s 50+ timeshare resorts. MVC members purchase a set of Club Points and also have access to a Rewards Point program. The purchase of points is considered a beneficial interest held in the MVC Trust.
Currently, members must purchase a minimum of 1,500 Club Points from the developer to become owners at MVC. Club Points are purchased in blocks of 250, known as beneficial interests. As the minimum purchase is 1,500 Club Points, owners must purchase six beneficial interests to join the vacation club.
The number of Club Points required to book a residence depends on the time of year and residence type (size and view). MVC does not specify season names, but does separate the time of year into different point costs. Reservations can be made for a full-week or split into any number of nights. MVC members may also use their Club Points to exchange with Interval International or book cruises, flights and tours.
MVC members earn Rewards Points for every dollar spent at Marriott Hotels and Resorts. Rewards Points can be used towards stays at 3,500 Marriott-brand hotels, in addition a number of gift options. Reward Points can also be converted to frequent flyer miles.
MVC points owners have access to four resort collections, each offering a different set of hotels or travel opportunities. Owners use their points to access the offerings at each club.
The main Vacation Club Collection features all of MVC’s 50+ timeshare resorts. Owners can use their Club Points to make nightly or 7-day reservations at these resorts.
The World Traveler Collection is Marriott’s system of external exchange and is handled through Interval International (II). Through The World Traveler Collection, MVC members may use their Club Points to make a reservation at 2,500 non-Marriott resorts.
The Explorer Collection allows members to use their Club Points towards cruises, airfare, tours and other travel opportunities.
The Marriott Collection is a larger network of 3,500 Marriott-brand hotels. The Marriott brand includes several partner hotels, such as JW Marriott, Autograph Collection Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club and many more. Owners must use their Rewards Points for stays within this collection.
Each use year lasts from January 1 through December 31. Owners may make a reservation up to 12 months prior to their visit.
The amount of Club Points needed to book a reservation varies by the week and resort. There are nine hotel categories, each requiring a different number of points to make a reservation. Each week number also has its own point value.
It costs 1,950 Vacation Club Points to reserve a one-bedroom oceanside suite at Marriott’s Ocean Pointe for a full-week, from November 7 to December 18. However, reserving a full-week at the same resort from February 14 through 20 requires a total of 2,775 Club Points.
Owners of a fixed or floating week may reserve as early as 12 months in advance of arrival. Fixed owners have their weeks automatically booked, but must still call Marriott to confirm their reservation.
Club Points owners can make nightly reservations with no required minimum number of nights. Floating week owners may split their week into three- and four-night stays. Reservations for three-night stays can be made for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Four-night reservations can be made for Monday through Thursday.
Club Points can be saved for later use during the next year. Owners must elect to bank their unused points six months after the end of the use year. Banked points expire one year after the end of their original use year.
Owners may share their Club Points with other MVC members. Transferred Club Points may not be banked, borrowed, transferred again, or redeemed for Rewards Points. These Club Points retain the usage parameters of their original owners.
Club Points may be borrowed from future years for use in the current year. Future Club Points can be borrowed 25 months ahead of the current use year.
Fixed and float owners may bank their weeks by depositing them with Interval International (II). Owners have two years from the date of deposit to use their deposited week. Weeks may also be borrowed from the next year for use in the current use year.
Making a reservation at any Marriott or Marriott-brand resort is handled through the Vacation Club Collection and the Marriott Club Collection. Residences at any of Marriott’s 50+ timeshare resorts can be reserved using Destination Club Points. Rooms at 3,500 Marriott-brand resorts can be reserved with Rewards Points.
Owners may use their Club Points to book a reservation at 2,500 hotels available through Interval International. These resorts make up the World Traveler Collection. Further travel opportunities, such as wine tours, cruises, safaris and airfare exchange can be accessed through the Explorer Collection.
Club Point owners do not need to deposit their points in a separate exchange account with Interval International (II). MVC handles internal and external exchange through the MVC point system.
Week owners do not have access to Marriott’s exchange collections. These owners must deposit their week with II to stay outside of their home resort.
Cancellations made more than 61 days before arrival will be returned to the owner without restrictions. Cancellations made less than 61 days prior to arrival will be placed in a holding account. These points can only be used within a reservation window of 60 days prior to arrival. Cancelling a reservation on the day of arrival will result in a loss of all Club Points used towards that reservation.
Floating week owners who cancel their reservation may only rebook 59 days in advance. Availability at a home resort is typically limited during this time frame. Floating owners may instead bank their cancelled week for exchange through Interval International for a better chance of availability.
Reward points are earned by spending money on hotel services, such as dining, massages and gifts. Each dollar spent earns owners 2.5, 5, or 10 points, based on the specific Marriott-brand hotel in which the transaction is made. Every use year, owners can convert up to 50% of their Club Points to Rewards Points at a rate of 1 Club Point to 32 Rewards Points. These points do not expire. Week owners only have access to Rewards Points if they purchased their week from Marriott directly.
Reward points may be redeemed for nightly hotel reservations, room upgrades, merchandise, electronic downloads, events, travel, cruises, spas, golfing, dining and tours. Owners may also opt to receive two frequent flyer miles per dollar spent at qualifying Marriott properties.
Owners with 6,500 to 12,999 vacation club points gain Premium Status. Those with 13,000 points or more are awarded Premium Status Plus. These premium memberships guarantee owners priority on reservations, as well as a variety of discounts.
Those who purchased a Marriott timeshare week on the resale market do not have access to MVC’s four collections. These owners may not convert their week to Club Points.
Those who purchased Club Points on the resale market must pay a number of penalties in order to use them in MVC.
Resale owners may still exchange their week through II. Once an owner has deposited their week with II, they may make reservations at a number of MVC Resorts. However, they may not convert their fixed and floating week into MVC Points. All conversions are handled through the external exchange company, in this case II.
* Vacatia has compiled details about each club from multiple sources of information, such as member guides and owner manuals. Please note that details regarding any club, such as use rights, reservation policies, exchange privileges, etc., are subject to change from time to time. Please contact clubs@vacatia.com if you have suggested edits.
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