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by morkalork 628 days ago
The crazy thing to me is always going to the same place for vacation. Really? No variety, ever?
4 comments

Some of them are “points-based” and you can spend your points at different resorts that they own and hypothetically have some flexibility in time but “points” should be a bad smell, see

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razzle_(game)

Where they actually cheat to help you get enough points that you think you could win them when they stop cheating the game is unwinnable. If the cops show up they will see the carnie playing ‘honestly’ and not see anything wrong. In terms of psychology it is the king of scams.

In the case of the timeshare schemes you will find all sorts of problems and limitations when you try to redeem your points, it is like the limitations on airline frequent flier points but raised to the Nth power.

They cover that in their sales pitch. There's supposedly a market for trading timeshares, so you can trade in your timeshare for someone else's, specially if you have a highly coveted one

Of course none of it is as easy as they make it sound.

Right. "Supposedly." I've always avoided options that more or less locked me into a single location.

I do go up to my dad's--now brother's--place in Maine a few times a year but that's as much for family as having a need to go to a specific location. Absent family, I'd probably even vary that a bit.

It’s pretty sweet if you’re on the west coast and you have young kids. Extremely high chance of a good, relaxing time for everyone, and it’s a non stop flight for most people. Plus, many people take multiple vacations in a year.

Obviously, not every worth buying a timeshare.

Idk, as a canadian, going to a tropical island twice a year in the middle of winter sounds pretty nice, even if its the same island.
All things equal, sure. But is the cost of the hotel really the thing stopping you from doing that?