I’ve been pleasantly surprised as I’ve begun my research on Vacation Tours with the value of this option. No, you won’t get $1.50 per point value that many of the owner reservations receive when reserving a MVC resort. But these tours have higher value than many of the other Explorer Collection options – and look AMAZING!!!! They’ve moved way up on my “I want to do that” list, and I’m as frugal as it gets!!
Anyone who follows me knows that I focus a lot on VALUE of your Club Points. So what about the options Marriott owners have with the Explorer Collection? If you have enough Club Points, you should at least learn more about the tours and decide if Vacation Tours is something for you. The EXPERIENCES provided is what makes it worth it!!! How does Northern Lights in Iceland sound? Or Discover Ireland? There’s even an African Safari tour – WHOA!!
Before I get into the numbers, let me make sure you understand the basics about these tours. All Vacation Tours are through Collette Tours. When reserving a Vacation Tour, you are actually connected to Collette Tours through an Owner Advisor through the phone. You provide Collette the information they need, and the Owner Advisor will provide the information Collette Tours needs from your owner portfolio – easy shmeazy!!
One of the nice things that Collette does is provide pricing for single travelers – something that will be helpful for some Marriott Owners. Currently there are 176 tours listed on Collette Tour’s website – both domestic (in US) and international, but only about 50 tours are specifically provided for Marriott owners. Any owner status can participate in Vacation Tours, but only Executive, Presidential, and Chairman level owners qualify for the tour package promotion.
Tour Package Promotion:
Chairman Owners receive up to $400/couple or $200/single
Presidential Owners receive up to $300/couple or $150 single
Executive Owners receive up to $200/couple or $100 single
This promotion can be used on every Vacation Tour towards anything Collette provides – staying longer or arriving earlier, or tour excursions during your tour. It is common to have the option of adding an experience on the tour such as attending a play, or having a private tour at a museum. It’s possible you could experience these types of activities with no out-of-pocket cost to you!!
There are other tour categories to help you understand the types of experiences you will have.
Owner Exclusive – Only Marriott owners will be allowed to reserve this tour.
Chairman Only – these tours are available only to Marriott Owners at the Chairman level AND is not limited to Marriott owners.
Discovery Tours – These tours will focus on cultural experiences, local food, and popular tourist attractions, and typically require less Club Points than the comparable Treasures Tours.
Treasures Tours – These tours also focus on cultural experiences, local food, and popular tourist attractions, but the accommodations and travel arrangements are at a higher level and typically require more Club Points than the comparable Discovery Tours.
Exploration Tours – These tours are limited to smaller group sizes and focus on individual experiences, such as an African Safari.
Classic Tour – These tours are typically a larger group, and thus can be a better value.
You don’t have to go through the MVC website to access these tours. If you go to MVC Vacation Tours — Collette Tours, you will be able to browse the Vacation Tours for Marriott Owners. The website is very user friendly and has wonderful resources to learn about the various tours! You can read the reviews, and realize that almost every tourist loved their experience and are planning on doing more. Check it out!! Oh, and did I mention, you do not attend a Sales Presentation — (a chest bump may have just occurred)!!!
I’m working on a list of the Travel Tours with pertinent information for Marriott Owners for your reference – it will be coming soon.
Thank you for this info. We just finished the Magnificent Cities of Central & Eastern Europe. It was amazing. Question, you mention about the Chairmen only tours and state Not limited to Marriott owners. So, it’s open to public?
WOW — how cool would that tour be!! Yes, that is correct. It is open to other tourists who are non-Marriott owners. They are high-end tours, and groups will be small. The newest Chairman tour is “Patagonia: Edge of the World” for 24000 Club Points. It would be a premier experience.
Is there a way to combine MVC Destination Points and Bonvoy Points to take advantage of Collette Tours. We don’t want to purchase more points but are just shy of the number needed for a Collette Tour. Is it even possible to use “real live dollars”! to make up a difference?
Great question! How exciting that you are considering a Collette Tour — I’ve heard they are amazing!
I checked with the Marriott Owner Services Advisor who is responsible for Collette Tours to verify I give you correct information. Unfortunately, you cannot combine Bonvoy Points or even “real live dollars” to make up the difference in paying for tours. You must pay the entire amount using Club Points. Having said that, you have some options. You can Borrow from the following year of your travel to acquire the needed points, or Bank from the previous year. Another tip I would recommend you make sure to do is to check the travel dates of the tour you want. Most tours have fluctuating point requirements, depending on the date you choose. Perhaps there is a date that requires a few less Club Points that works for your schedule.
I hope that helps! Thanks for your question.