# How and Where do you buy points



## whoohoo (Jun 25, 2016)

I'm interested in buying into Worldmark because we usually only take weekend trips and I see quite a few that are within a few hours of where I live.  I'm thinking that if we are able to book at a few resorts a year for just the weekend, I need about 8,000 points.  I see people talking about not going crazy and buying alot of points right off the bat because it's possible to buy additional points.  Where is that done?  Privately with other Worldmark owners?


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## DeniseM (Jun 25, 2016)

There are many timeshare classified websites - TUG, eBay, and Redweek are frequently mentions here.


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## VacationForever (Jun 25, 2016)

wmowners.com site - This is the main Worldmark owners site - people post their points for sale here.

There are many brokers that specialize in Worldmark.  I bought mine directly from timeshareangels.com. 

Ebay - Timeshareangels also advertises on eBay, as well as many other resellers/brokers who specialize in Worldmark.

You want to pick a point value that provides the best MF.  Maintenance Fees are on a step system - pick the points at the top of the step for each block so that it has lower MF/point ratio. 

I own 10K points and find that number ideal, for me.


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## CO skier (Jun 25, 2016)

whoohoo said:


> I'm interested in buying into Worldmark because we usually only take weekend trips and I see quite a few that are within a few hours of where I live.


How far in advance do you plan your weekend getaways?  The summer weekends book up a year in advance as part of weeklong vacations.  Most other weekends book up months in advance.  You might get lucky with a short notice cancellation here and there.

Too many WorldMark owners, unfortunately, think it works like a hotel and a weekend trip may be booked within a month of arrival.  Soon, they are unhappy owners because "nothing is ever available."

If you were an owner today, where and when would you like to go?  I will look up the next available weekends to give you an idea for whether WorldMark might work for what you want.

Some examples:

Next available weekend at Angel's camp is Sept. 10th in a 1 bedroom.

Next available weekend at South Shore is Nov. 5 in a 2 bedroom twin, then some units for the first two weekends of December.

In WorldMark, maintenance fees are divided into channels.  One of the channels is for 7501-10000 credits, mf=$752.43 for the channel or about $0.094/ credit at 8,000 credits or $0.075/credit at 10,000 credits owned.

Since you would be paying the same mf for 8,000 or 10,000 credits, the 10,000 credits would offer the better mf efficiency; the purchase price would, of course, be higher for the 10,000 credits.

There is also a Housekeeping (HK) charge for each stay.  One HK is included with every membership plus an additional one at 20,000 credits and an additional one for every 10,000 credits owned beyond that.  After the included HKs are used, each stay requires an additional charge based on the unit type (1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, chalet, Presidential, Penthouse, many others).  The 1 bedroom HK is $83.00 and the 2 bedroom is $93.00.  These rates increase every year.  (Unhappy owners discover all these HK details after the fact.  Now you know ahead of the fact).

As you may have noticed, Fri. and Sat. nights have the highest credit costs.  Putting these higher credit costs together with the additional HK charges and the availability of weekends (or lack thereof) in WorldMark may reveal that hotel stays for weekends may be a better value for what you want to do.  

I do not want to discourage anyone from becoming a WM owner, just go in knowing everything there is to know.

For me, if I can stretch out in a spacious timeshare unit with a kitchen versus a hotel room, anything beyond one night is most definitely "timeshare'" not "hotel" and money is no object.  And more often than not, the timeshare is a better value per night, anyway, all costs considered.


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## whoohoo (Jun 25, 2016)

I live in the Bay Area, California so I would be open to pretty much anything in California with the exception of Palm Springs.  I would be most interested in Angel's Camp, Bass Lake, Big Bear, Solvang, and Queen Mary Hotel. Most of the time I would need a 2 bd because I would bring my mother along with us.  If you have time to look up availability, that would be awesome.  I have kids in school (oldest is in middle school) so I would be looking for summers, Thanksgiving and Winter breaks.


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## VacationForever (Jun 25, 2016)

Those are not difficult locations to book 7 or more days at 13 months.  The issue is that if you want to book fewer than a week, you can only start booking 10 months out.  If you are looking at this summer, without checking, I can tell you that there is most likely to have no availability for weekends at the locations that you have listed - too short a notice.  Timeshares don't function like hotels, they take planning a year ahead. 


10K points will get you a 2BR for a week at most locations.  Also, going off my memory, MF is the same for 8K and 10K.

For most locations, a 2BR villa for a Fri-Sat  stay(2 days), you need 4,400 points, Fri-Sun stay (3 days), you need 5,600 points. You only get 1 Housekeeping token for a contract under 20K.  Every stay requires use of 1 Housekeeping token, otherwise you need to pay which comes up to around $100 for housekeeping.  Timeshares are not designed for weekend stays.


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## CO skier (Jun 25, 2016)

whoohoo said:


> I live in the Bay Area, California so I would be open to pretty much anything in California with the exception of Palm Springs.  I would be most interested in Angel's Camp, Bass Lake, Big Bear, Solvang, and Queen Mary Hotel. Most of the time I would need a 2 bd because I would bring my mother along with us.  If you have time to look up availability, that would be awesome.  I have kids in school (oldest is in middle school) so I would be looking for summers, Thanksgiving and Winter breaks.


I can tell you without looking it up that these popular times book up in the 10-13 month times when a minimum of 7 days is required.

Sorry to say, but if you want weekends or long weekends during these times, hotels will better serve your needs.  You will have difficulty finding availability in WorldMark.

If you can plan at least a full week once every other year 13 months in advance, then a 10,000 credit WorldMark ownership could work for you.


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## uscav8r (Jun 26, 2016)

Angels Camp does not book up too early and short stays are not a problem. There is generally availability for weekends at the start of the 10 month period.

Bass Lake will be tough and requires a 7 day booking early in the 13 month period. 

Big Bear is also tough in summer, but weekends can often be gotten in the 10 month period (but very early) for the Spring and Fall months. 

I'm not sure on Solvang, but my first stay there was a long weekend for the New Year booked only a couple months out. 

Other options for OP include Windsor and South Shore. Weekends at Windsor can be found well into the 10 month window. South Shore is very popular year-round. 

So it really depends on the resort. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ronparise (Jun 26, 2016)

CO skier and  uscav8r  bring up a good point.. Timeshares work best for folks that can plan ahead (way ahead) and they also work well for folks that can pick up and go on a moments notice. (to take advantage of a last minute cancellation)

I dont think I would consider a timeshare unless I fit in one of those two categories.. and if I had kids and a school schedule to worry about or a job or business, where I had to be somewhere at certain times to work... I dont think I would even consider a timeshare

So from where I sit, timeshares are for people that have no kids and no job


To answer your question about where to buy credits

here are three brokers I can recommend highly

Mike Murphy. Henri Moreau, Marc Talley

Ebay also works, or the facebook group devoted to buying and selling (and renting) Worldmark or the Worldmark owners Forum. You might even find something for sale posted here on TUG


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## whoohoo (Jun 26, 2016)

Thanks to everyone for their replies.  After really thinking about this, I don't think having a TS will work for me.  We normally don't plan out vacations more than 6 months in advance and I think I will be unhappy because I will never be able to book a place when I want to.  A hotel works fine for us because we really don't need to have a kitchen because we eat out all the time.  I think the only attraction was being able to rent 2 or 3 bedroom condos so that I can invite my mom and brother's family along.


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## uscav8r (Jun 26, 2016)

As a person with school-aged children, I have to disagree that this is a negative for TS ownership. In fact, I think it is a situation for which TS ownership works very well. 

The school schedule creates known vacation weeks over a year in advance, and so this creates a perfect situation around which to plan vacations. I am already considering destinations for October 2017 for one of the long weekends on the school schedule!!

The only time that has some uncertainty is the summer period since it is 3 months long and many activity and summer camp things pop up. But even here,, one can generally plan out the next summer based upon the current and recent summer schedules. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## uscav8r (Jun 26, 2016)

whoohoo said:


> Thanks to everyone for their replies.  After really thinking about this, I don't think having a TS will work for me.  We normally don't plan out vacations more than 6 months in advance and I think I will be unhappy because I will never be able to book a place when I want to.  A hotel works fine for us because we really don't need to have a kitchen because we eat out all the time.  I think the only attraction was being able to rent 2 or 3 bedroom condos so that I can invite my mom and brother's family along.



Owning TS is a mindset. The reason you wait until 6 months to plan is because you have no incentive to do so earlier. All it takes is changing the paradigm to 10-13 months, depending on system and location. If you adapt, you'll be fine. 

I use timeshares because it is a much cheaper proposition than hotels (especially if you buy your TS resale). I will often splurge for the 3BR even though I can get away with a 2BR since the rates are still almost always cheaper than getting multiple hotel rooms. That gives me flexibility if my mom or other family want to join us at little extra cost. 

WorldMark is one of the most flexible systems around, and the risk of trying it out for a few years is extremely low since you can pretty much sell it for what you paid, as long as you buy resale. WM memberships are always in demand since it is a very flexible system and the maintenance fees are relatively low.


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## cayman01 (Jul 4, 2016)

*rent*



whoohoo said:


> Thanks to everyone for their replies.  After really thinking about this, I don't think having a TS will work for me.  We normally don't plan out vacations more than 6 months in advance and I think I will be unhappy because I will never be able to book a place when I want to.  A hotel works fine for us because we really don't need to have a kitchen because we eat out all the time.  I think the only attraction was being able to rent 2 or 3 bedroom condos so that I can invite my mom and brother's family along.



I think another option for you would be to rent from an owner. There are all kinds of rental options for TS's right here on TUG. Look to see what fits for you in the bargain section of the rental forum. All rentals there are within the next couple of months. And there are deals to be found.


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## CCR (Jul 11, 2016)

whoohoo said:


> Thanks to everyone for their replies.  After really thinking about this, I don't think having a TS will work for me.  We normally don't plan out vacations more than 6 months in advance and I think I will be unhappy because I will never be able to book a place when I want to.  A hotel works fine for us because we really don't need to have a kitchen because we eat out all the time.  I think the only attraction was being able to rent 2 or 3 bedroom condos so that I can invite my mom and brother's family along.




I usually book way in advance for something I think our family may want and then with the flexible cancellation options with Worldmark, I know that I can cancel that reservation (by the deadline) if needed and get all my credits/money back.  

I booked Spring break for 2017 and now I will cancel as we will probably go on a cruise instead.  Luckily, Worldmark allows me to cancel where other timeshares have a fee to cancel/change.

Also Worldmark has the option for wait lists.  I have been able to grab holiday weekends & prime summer time by accepting waitlist offers that come along and piece together what I need.  I think some of the mega-renters cancel their reservations about 30 days out if no one has rented their prime unit.

Having a great place to stay with a 2 or 3 bedroom instead of a hotel room is worth all this trouble.  We eat out typically but love having the kitchen.


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