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Maximize Your Vacation OwnershipFall 2011
 Greetings!

The holidays are nearly upon us indicating 2011 is coming to a close. I hope you enjoyed some great trips over the past year. Have you finalized your travel plans for 2012? If not, this is the time to do it. Consider joining us on our next River Cruise through Provence--the Danube cruise was so much fun! Read all about it.

River Cruise 2011 Success

Join us for Provence 2012 


In September, I hosted 40 Marriott Vacation Club owners and their friends on a trip including Prague, a Danube River Cruise, and Budapest. The trip was a success! Everybody had a wonderful time seeing the sites, eating the local foods and drinking wines of the region. The Marriott owners all used Marriott Rewards points to fly over to Europe in Business Class or coach and use their points to stay at the Marriott hotels in Prague and Budapest, both wonderful hotels.

Nancy and Dick Scherer had this to say:

"We were thrilled with the trip and all of the details you put together to make the trip exciting, enjoyable and personalized for some 40 people. Your ability to organize and book all of the various itineraries for so many people was absolutely AMAZING!! It was as if the group was hand-picked - we enjoyed spending time with everybody." 

 

Check out Pam's Travels to see pictures and an overview of the trip.

Eiffel Tower  

Provence, France in May 2012 is the next Art of Vacationing group river cruise. Two Cabins are still available for this 7-night cruise, May 17-24. We are touring Paris and then heading to Lyon to start the cruise down the Rhône River through Provence. As an optional extension, You can choose to go on to Barcelona with AMA Waterways.

 

Click here for an itinerary. CONTACT us today for more information. 

Destinations Club Program Update 

 

The new deadline date to enroll in the Destinations Club program at the current rates of $595 (for 1 ownership week) or $695 (for multiple weeks) is December 31, 2011. Marriott is still offering 800 bonus points for enrolling. Will Marriott raise the price after this date? I doubt it.  

 

Multiple week owners are enrolling due to the cost savings on fees (oh yes, Marriott raised all of their fees $5-$10 in July) such as lock-off fees (now $80) and turn to Marriott Rewards points fees (now $119). And the benefits of booking timeshare reservations direct with Marriott using Vacation Club points.   

 

Owners with 1-2 weeks are still on the fence as to the benefits of enrolling--as they should be. There is no clear cut answer as to whether enrollment is a wise decision. An analysis of how you travel and use your ownership and the fees you incur will help determine the answer. 

  

Most owners have decided that purchasing the new Trust points is not beneficial. Trust points work exactly the same as Enrolled or Deeded points. The fear of not being able to book resorts in the "trust" inventory pool or the belief that being in a higher Club tier will offer more benefits to you, should not be a reason to purchase Trust points. The ONLY reason to purchase Trust points is if you would like additional timeshare time which is the same reason that you purchased your original deeded weeks. When you are at a Marriott sales presentation, keep this in mind: Purchase Trust points out of NEED--not FEAR! 


I hope you found this newsletter valuable. As always, we are here to offer unbiased advice to our clients should you have questions about the Destinations Club program and Trust points. If you have interest in the next Art of Vacationing River Cruise please call us today as few cabins are available.

 Pam Keystone Pam's Photo
 The Art of Vacationing
 Office: (480) 629-5559
 Cell: (480) 363-2875
 Fax: (602) 467-3181
 Pam@TheArtofVacationing.com
 www.TheArtofVacationing.com

    "Ownership Simplified"


The Art of Vacationing is not affiliated with or endorsed by Marriott Vacation Club®.
Club Points Expiring?
Do you have Club points or Bonus points that are going to expire by the end of December? Purchase Marriott travel insurance! Protect your vacations and those maintenance fees from unexpected cancellations due to medical reasons. There are several plans to choose from starting at 250 Club points. Contact Marriott Vacation Club at 800-845-4226 to purchase.

 

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Deadline Date

December 31

Last day to turn in for Marriott Rewards points

800 Bonus Club points expire if you enrolled in 2010
 

 

 

Credit Card Idea

Last month AMEX and Continental parted ways. This is a big blow to those with AMEX points as Continental was one of the best partners for obtaining award seats internationally. I have been asked by many clients as to what credit card I would recommend as an alternative.  

 

Chase now offers the Sapphire Preferred credit card that allows you to transfer points instantly to United/Continental/BA and Marriott on a 1:1 ratio. This is a good option to earn airline miles and Marriott Rewards from the same card. Plus you get 50,000 points when you enroll.    

 

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