# Worldmark - thoughts?



## RX8 (Jun 19, 2012)

I've been studying TS for about a year.  Been looking hard primarily at a fixed summer week at an HGVC affiliate in San Diego.  I've got 3 and 6 year old boys who love Legoland and also thought that HGVC points would bring variety and options as they get older.  San Diego is also a relatively short drive.  However, I've been reading up on Worldmark and wondering if this might be a better fit in lieu of HGVC affiliate.

Although I feel pretty confident on how HGVC works, I am just starting the review of Worldmark (and lots more still to do).  What I do like right off the bat are the lower start up costs, lower MF, the higher number of resorts within driving distance, and the fact that I have yet to find a poster who stated that they did not like Worldmark.

I've got some questions that I am hoping some Worldmark owners can help me with.

*  I am thinking about a 5,000 or 7,000 point contract and renting points as needed.  However, this low number of points would be much less useful (and lower resale value if I decide to sell) if Worldmark ever decided to eliminate the ability to rent points from other owners.  Is this a legit concern I should have?  

*  If I don't rent additional points, since I don't have enought points for a full week reservation I would not be able to book any RED week reservation until 90 days to check-in (and it looks like San Diego is RED all year).  Correct?

*  I would assume that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to book 4 San Diego summer days within 90 days to check-in. 

*   If I want to book a week with more points than I have, I would need to rent those points in advance and have them in my portfolio before that reservation, correct?

*  A housekeeping fee is required for ALL reservations regardless of number of nights, correct?

*  Throw-away days aside, do all owners have the same reservation priviledges?  

*  Resort amenities for kids?

*  Any other important things I should know?

Thanks in advance for any comments!


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## ronparise (Jun 19, 2012)

I would post your questions in the wmowners forum for the more complete answer


*am thinking about a 5,000 or 7,000 point contract and renting points as needed. However, this low number of points would be much less useful (and lower resale value if I decide to sell) if Worldmark ever decided to eliminate the ability to rent points from other owners. yes  Is this a legit concern I should have? No. There is more separation here,  between the club and its manager than in Wyndham (where the ability to shift points from owner to owner has been eliminated) If ir possible? sure..Is it likely?  I dont think so

* If I don't rent additional points, since I don't have enought points for a full week reservation I would not be able to book any RED week reservation until 90 days to check-in (and it looks like San Diego is RED all year). Correct? Yes

* I would assume that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to book 4 San Diego summer days within 90 days to check-in. good assumption

* If I want to book a week with more points than I have, I would need to rent those points in advance and have them in my portfolio before that reservation, correct? yes but the credit transfer is quick and easy from what I understand...alternatively you could ask another owner to make the reservation and name you as their guest. There is no charge for adding guests..You could repay them with money or transfer credits later

* A housekeeping fee is required for ALL reservations regardless of number of nights, correct? yes

* Throw-away days aside, do all owners have the same reservation priviledges? yes

* Resort amenities for kids?  I dont know but worldmarkthe club.com gives a pretty good resort by resort description 

* Any other important things I should know? 

1) worldmark credits are good for two years and you can borrows next years credits, so it is possible to by a "fully loaded" contract. ie one with last years credits still available, this years credits , and next years available to borrow. That means you can buy a 6000 credit contract and have 18000 credits available to use right away

2) worldmark maintenance fees: each account pays a base fee plus a set fee for  each 2500 credit block or fraction.  So an account with 6000 credits will pay the same fees as one with 7000 credits. For the best fee/credit ratio buy in 2500 credit increments. ie 5000 credits or 10000 credits (there are no 7500 credit accounts


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## jdunn1 (Jun 19, 2012)

You really need to visit wmowners.com for the best answers to these questions.  I am a WM owner (5k points) and I love it.  I rent points all the time.  A 5k point contract is worth a small premium, just so you know.  A 6k point contract would be cheaper and easier to find.

I want to caution you on discounting the throw away nights which are needed to snag the most premium of reservations within the WM system.  For small point owners it is impossible to book a lot of the great WM reservations.  For example, I tried to get one of the 3 bedrooms units at Ocean Walk for next Easter or any week over the summer.  All the 3 bedrooms were gone nearly two weeks before the 13 month mindow.  For someone to reserve that far in advance takes a lot of WM points to book throw away nights.

Don't forget WM trades in II and RCI, unlike HGVC (though some of the affilate resorts if FL trade both), which only trades through RCI.

If I could only own one timeshare it would be Marriott, but WM comes in at a very close second place.  The HK tokens are a real pain and EXPENSIVE.  Renting extra ponts works like a charm but it is getting harder and harder to find points price at .06 a point to rent.  Last year .05 was more the norm, now that price is unheard of.  Many renters are asking (and getting) more than .06 a point on the rental market these days.


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## brigechols (Jun 19, 2012)

Here's another plug for www.wmowners.com

Go there and read the stickies. Tons of information is available. Learn about bonus time, Monday morning madness, how to book less than seven days during red season, how to wait list a reservation, etc.


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## cotraveller (Jun 19, 2012)

There is more WorldMark information at www.wmtsinfo.com, an independent WorldMark owners site, including 50 pages of Owner Education material.  Maintenance fees, housekeeping fees and rules, and much more information is also available there.

All of the material is indexed and accessible via menus so you do not have to wade through volumes of posts to find the specific information you are looking for.


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## DAman (Jun 19, 2012)

*Don't Forget Bonus Time( .052 a credit)*

Bonus time is another option available to WM owners.  

I am new to WM this year and already used BT at Windsor and Oceanside Harbor. For bonus time you don't need a HK token-it's included.

BT is good if you are able to travel on short notice. San Diego(Downtown) has BT available.  Right now I could book a studio for Friday-Sunday nights June 29, 30 and July 1 on BT.

From my research 3 bedrooms are tough without planning at the 13 month mark.  Marina Dunes and Pismo are hard to get into.

Hope this helps.


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## sue1947 (Jun 19, 2012)

Another vote for www.wmowners.com as the best source of info on Worldmark.  In particular, you should read the resort reviews at http://www.wmowners.com/worldmark/resorts/list/WM (ignore the star ratings; they all got screwed up and aren't accurate anymore).  

Your idea of getting a small account and renting credits is the best one.  It allows you to try it out and see if it works for your family.  Wyndham is the management company and developer, but does not own WM.  As a result, it has to abide by the bylaws, though they have packed the Board with their employees and flunkies to bend them.  They are also the largest renter of credits so as long as that is true, I don't see the ability to transfer credits between accounts going away.  However, even if it does, it is easy to buy another account and combine it into your older one.  

WM has a couple other advantages:  if you need to book a week, it doesn't have to be all at the same resort.   Depending on where you live, you might want a couple of days as a stopover on the way there.  OR you can share a reservation with another owner or another family member.  You simply put your guest name on the portion of the reservation you aren't using.  

It is an excellent trader.  The San Diego resorts aren't that high of quality.  Oceanside is the best bet especially for kids, but it's not on the beach.  There are usually a couple of activities for kids, but not much of use besides the pools.  The best resort for kids that I've been to is the Lawrence Welk in Escondido.  Really nice, large units and lots of things for kids to do.  Sprinkler pads, volleyball, craft stuff, video games, fishing pond etc plus lots of grass to run around on and get that pent up energy out.   It's also pretty convenient to Legoland.   It's a very easy trade off season but I don't know what it is in the summer.   I also don't know what the MF are.  

Sue


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## presley (Jun 19, 2012)

Read around on WMowners a lot before you buy.  I remember you wanting summer by the beach in San Diego area.  You'd really need to book that 13 months ahead of time.  If you didn't want a full week, you could rent your unused week to another WM owner, possibly.

The WMowners is a pretty tight knit group that helps each other out.  You could buy the smallest contract and have another owner make reservations for you with their own points.  They only charge the equivalent of the MFs and housekeeping.  It is a easy to work with community.  

Based on other posts you've made in the past, I still think Grand Pacific resorts might be a better fit for you until the kids are all grown up.  I know the annual dues are crazy high, but remember that you could still only buy an EOY, even a one bedroom to save on MFs and use their internal trading system.  Also, you will get owner rates for all the GP resorts for nightly stays through Resortime.  

All that said, WM does have a lot of great locations.  I was just in Seattle and Victoria and happened to see the WMs in those cities.  They are both in excellent locations.  I will stay at both of them someday.


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## easyrider (Jun 19, 2012)

Instead of buying a huge point package we bought some 6k and 7k point contracts. The pre-wyndhan resale contracts have usage at all Worldmark and affiliated resorts. Now when you buy resale you only get the 57 Worldmark locations. No WM South Pacific, just WM North America.

With multiple contracts you can stack up bonus time or flex time to make a longer reservation.

Worldmark has its own RCI link and you can find sweet deals for 4000 points + exchange fee. That figures out to about $360 for a week in any available unit which includes studio , 1,  2 and 3 bedroom units.

To book a popular destination like Seaside in August you need to reserve 13 months out.

We love our Worldmarks.....

Bill


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## Rent_Share (Jun 19, 2012)

cotraveller said:


> There is more WorldMark information at www.wmtsi nfo.com, .


 

Please note you only received One recommendation for this Wyndham Corp fan site.   

Hardly an unbiased supporter


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## LLW (Jun 19, 2012)

RX8 said:


> I've been studying TS for about a year.  Been looking hard primarily at a fixed summer week at an HGVC affiliate in San Diego.  I've got 3 and 6 year old boys who love Legoland and also thought that HGVC points would bring variety and options as they get older.  San Diego is also a relatively short drive.  However, I've been reading up on Worldmark and wondering if this might be a better fit in lieu of HGVC affiliate.
> 
> Although I feel pretty confident on how HGVC works, I am just starting the review of Worldmark (and lots more still to do).  What I do like right off the bat are the lower start up costs, lower MF, the higher number of resorts within driving distance, and the fact that I have yet to find a poster who stated that they did not like Worldmark.
> 
> ...


I would be concerned about it. Wyndham has done that for Wyndham Vacation Resorts (WVR) (allow rental of points from Wyn but disallow it amongst owners) and they will try their best to do it with WM.

Also, with larger accounts you may have more Weekend Only reservations for both bonus time and credit reservations, and more housekeeping tokens. You may read more about that on www.wmowners.com (WMO). Housekeeping charge for a 2BR is $81.

Another advantage of a larger account is you have more points to borrow (when you are trying to piece together a reservation you need lots of extra points), without cost, whereas if you have a smaller account, you would have to pay cash to have rented those points before you can make the reservations.



> *  If I don't rent additional points, since I don't have enought points for a full week reservation I would not be able to book any RED week reservation until 90 days to check-in (and it looks like San Diego is RED all year).  Correct?



No. You may still book stand-alone days more than 90 days in advance. Also, you may book grouped reservations totalling 7 nights or more, even though individually they may be of less than 7 days at different resorts, then let others use the resorts that you don't use.



> *  I would assume that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to book 4 San Diego summer days within 90 days to check-in.



Yes. BUT, you may use the waitlist to help, and because WM has a very liberal cancellation policy (up to 30 days from check-in with NO penalty) the waitlist works wonders.



> *   If I want to book a week with more points than I have, I would need to rent those points in advance and have them in my portfolio before that reservation, correct?



Yes. But you don't need the points to waitlist.



> *  A housekeeping fee is required for ALL reservations regardless of number of nights, correct?



Yes for all CREDIT reservations only. You don't need a HK token or fee for Bonus Time, Inventory Special, FAX, Monday Madness, and other special cash only reservations. But if you use one credit on a reservation, you need to pay for HK, with a token or a fee.



> *  Throw-away days aside, do all owners have the same reservation priviledges?



Yes for all WM resorts. Exceptions: WVR affiliates, Asia Pacific affiliates, Vacation International resorts, and any other resorts that are in reality on an exchange program. But those affiliates are very hard to book (2 units for all 250,000 owners), and you can find nicer and cheaper resorts on II and RCI. Most owners don't find those affiliates useful.



> *  Resort amenities for kids?



Almost all resorts have a game room and a pool, which is what most kids need. Some resorts have more facilities, e.g. lazy river, craft activities, but one of the reasons why WM maintenance fee is so much lower than most other nice timeshares is because there are not extensive fancy landscaping or koi ponds at most resorts. The cost of the resorts that do have fancy common facilities are lowered by the cost of the ones that do not, since WM has only one MF structure, because there is no home resort.



> *  Any other important things I should know?
> 
> Thanks in advance for any comments!



You can read about many more important things on WMO, regarding topics you haven't asked. There are also many more experts on all subjects WM there.


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## alwysonvac (Jun 19, 2012)

RX8 said:


> I've been studying TS for about a year.  Been looking hard primarily at a fixed summer week at an HGVC affiliate in San Diego.  I've got 3 and 6 year old boys who love Legoland and also thought that HGVC points would bring variety and options as they get older.  San Diego is also a relatively short drive.  However, I've been reading up on Worldmark and wondering if this might be a better fit in lieu of HGVC affiliate.



WM will be cheaper than trying to buy a fixed HGVC summer week but at least you know your week is guaranteed every year if you opt for a fixed summer week.

Here are my suggestions:

(1) I agree with the others that you should spend some time on wmowners.com for the latest strategies. Fred's website (TUG member cotraveller) is very organized and probably a good way of introducing you to WM but go over to wmowners.com as well.

(2) I strongly suggest reading the reviews and staying at the HGVC and WM resorts first before buying. The look and feel of the resorts and the amenities are going to be different. Only you and your family can determine what's more important to you.

(3) I've never been to Legoland but I've read it's great for young children. I would also considered renting a timeshare, house or condo for the next four to six years this way you're not locked into the Legoland area when your kids grow tired of it or learn about Disneyland.

Good luck with your decision


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## mcow2011 (Jun 19, 2012)

*Worldmark is well worth the money*

I own Worldmark and Marriott.

Worldmark is more flexible and easier to use and cheaper than Marriott.

Marriott is more luxurious but you pay for that with higher fees.

Worldmark trades into Marriott with ease. 

As others have mentioned read all you can on the WM site.

I would base my decision as what to buy based upon what resorts if any are close to where you live. If there are several I would buy WM in a heartbeat. The bonus time and waitlist will get you to where you want to go even if the unit you want is already booked most of the time. There are many more ways to book resorts than just using your annual credits. 

There are a lot more WM to choose from than Marriotts.

I started out with a smaller amount of credits to see just how WM worked and have to say I am EXTREMELY pleased with WM and have bought more credits over the years. Be sure and buy on the secondary market from a reputable seller.


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## RX8 (Jun 20, 2012)

*Thank you everyone!*

Thanks for taking the time to provide your input.  Looks like Worldmark has a lot of great features and benefits regardless of the number of points you own BUT as it is with just about any timeshare system, one needs to fully understand it to take full advantage of it.  Kind of like In-N-Out Burger (for those that know of it).  Anyone can order the cheeseburger but those that know to order it "animal style" (it is NOT on the menu) will get more pleasure from that same cheeseburger.  

I had previously found both wmowners and wmtsinfo websites and had started to check them out.  For me at least, wmtsinfo was a better place to start to get the basics of the program.  While I am sure wmowners is a great site, it was just too overwhelming since I really didn't know where to begin.  As I understand worldmark more, I am sure wmowners will give me the more advanced answers to my questions.

Thank you again!


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