How Can I Offset Timeshare Maintenance Fees?

In this article you will learn how you can offset your timeshare maintenance fees.

Well at least some of your fees. We know from personal experience that offsetting all of your maintenance fees is almost impossible, but a few folks do manage to do it. Don't rely on your sales person to give you pointers. These are the only ways you can reliably and repeatedly reduce your timeshare costs .
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Here are three main ways to offset your timeshare costs

1. Renting out your timeshare -

This is the go-to method that you hear about when you sit down with your timeshare salesperson. What they don't tell you is that unless you are in the upper tiers of VIP (for most timeshare companies) you will inevitably pay for reservation fees and guest certificates that will drastically reduce your chances of making a profit (or breaking even).

However, if you own a tremendous number of points and are in the upper status levels of your company then this process can work. The downside is you would have had to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to achieve those status levels.

Most often - we recommend if you do plan on renting to use a third-party that can assist you tremendously with all the rigorous planning that it takes. Make sure you do your homework and have plenty of time to monitor their activity. Check their reviews thoroughly and make sure they don't take your points and run!​

Looking for a good timeshare rental company? Our recommendation is ResortShare.com.

2. Loyalty & Rewards Programs -

These are the second most popular programs we hear about regarding timeshares. Often times you can move your timeshare points in a matching hotel loyalty program. What they don't mention during the sales pitch is that you are restricted to doing this every other year and have to do it before you receive your points in most cases.

And on top of that - they usually don't convert 1:1. So when your timeshare salesman says you could take your 100,000 points and put them into rewards. They leave out that they won't convert 1:1.

The accompanying credit card gives you some points for dollars spent on purchases, but often times they aren't as great as competing non-affiliated cards (Chase Sapphire, AMEX Platinum , Etc.). The truth is unless you own a small business and can run thousands and thousands of dollars through their rewards credit card, you are HIGHLY unlikely to offset a substantial amount of your maintenance fees.

So what are the pros? These programs can be great if you need to save points for longer than 2 years. Some programs will allow you to save your rewards points for up to four years. That's longer than all the exchange programs and developer roll-over options.

3. Timeshare Points Savings Programs -

These are the least popular programs to reduce your timeshare costs. They are usually a purchase incentive and come with VIP benefit packages from developers. They often have an annual accompanying fee which is in the small print of your purchase contract.

And what's not disclosed it that most of these programs are White Labeled to be your timeshare company's name, although it's an independent third party (google your savings app or plan to see who provides fulfillment).

Once more when they showed you it on the Pitch Deck it looked incredible. Now in practice you figure out those savings aren't really much compared with what's available on the open market. In fact- most of what's on the app is scraped from the internet and repackaged to look exclusive....meaning you could have had the same discount coupon without the app.

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Check out much your timeshare really costs here

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Want to know if you have a better option than running the gambit trying to offset your maintenance fees?

Meet Cancel Timeshare - The #1 Timeshare Exit Firm

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