For years we've gotten post-card invitations to timeshare presentations: stay for three days and two nights for very little money and get a gift certificate at a nice restaurant -- and all you have to do is attend a 2-hour presentation. Yeah, right. We've always thrown those away.

But not too long ago, we noticed an offer that included a certificate for dinner at our favorite restaurant in Sedona, AZ -- that's the Heartline Café, which we highly recommend -- so we thought, okay, why not? Mind you, we were all set not to be interested in a timeshare.

Well, we went to the presentation, and darned if we weren't interested after all! Didn't buy anything on the spot, of course, but we got some new information to think about. We thought timeshare was all about the same time and place every year -- and it ~can~ be, if that's what you want. But it doesn't have to be!

There's a points system, which varies slightly among the developers, but basically lets you go to any of a given company's resorts, whenever you want to, for any length of time. Of course, you still have to make reservations, but you use your points instead of cash. You buy a certain number of points, which are distributed to your account every year (every two years in some programs), and use them where- and whenever you want to.

We came home and went on the Internet to research all this, and here's what we've concluded:

* Wyndham (whose presentation we heard) is the best deal for us. (Other developers are Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt; and there are other providers as well, vacation clubs sponsored by an assortment of companies. A friend of ours is with the Shell Vacation Club, for instance.)

* Resale points are the way to go. You don't get the "VIP" status that the developers offer, but users seem to agree that -- in any system -- the lower price of resale points more than makes up for the perks (none guaranteed in the contract, apparently) that come with VIP status or the special deals that are offered to owners who buy new points.

We're still researching and trying to understand all the details. Our sales rep gave us almost nothing in writing, but we've found a ~lot~ of help on the Timeshare Users Group forums. (Just google TUG or Timeshare Users Group and you'll get there. It's a great site.) And we've decided that unless we learn something really horrible, we're going to go ahead and get ourselves some timeshare points. We're gonna wait till the end of this year, beginning of next, though, because we need that much time to get used to the idea.

Is this an investment? Well, no, not in the portfolio sense. It's true that the cost of new points keeps going up, while the number of points you need to reserve your time doesn't (for now, anyhow). In that way, yes, you save buying-new money -- and it's all cheaper than just booking hotel rooms, the rates for which definitely rise over the years. But resale points are fairly inexpensive, and nobody's going to get their money back if they need to sell after buying new.

On the other hand, it ~is~ an investment in your vacation life. If you were going to take vacations anyway, and stay in hotels, you'd pay way more, and your vacation "home" would be, well, a hotel room. Timeshare places are more like suites or apartments.

Some people like the system because it "forces" you to take a vacation. You can save your points for a couple of years (how long varies with each company), but eventually, yes, you have to lose 'em or use 'em. For people who need that motivation to get away from it all, it's gotta be effecive. But ... you can also rent your points to other people, thus making a little money back, so if you just really ~can't~ go somewhere, you might be able to "use" your points that way.

From our perspective, another advantage is that you can share the arrangement with friends. You book, they stay. And maybe pay you a little something, less than they'd spend on hotels, for a nicer place. The units we saw had kitchens -- there's cutting your dining bill in half, right there -- and washer-dryer units, which means you don't have to pack as many clothes. (Hotels charge a lot to do laundry, and you can't always find a laundromat, not to mention that it's not much fun to hang out in one watching your clothes soak and spin.)

We haven't put out money down yet, but right now, at least, we feel like we've decided to do so. (Our financial adviser, by the way, likes the idea. He might be checkin' it out himself, too.) I'll keep you posted.





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