# Cost of Worldmark Membership



## Robert D (Jun 1, 2008)

I'm thinking about buying a Worldmark membership to be able to use at Estes Park.  Would need 8-10K pts for this resort.  I noticed you can buy memberships that have anywhere from 5K to over 10K points per year.  Few questions:

What is the best level to buy from an upfront cost and annual M&T point of view? 

What is the range of resale prices you should expect to pay per point?

I've heard that it's easy to rent (or buy) more points from other members so is it true that it's no big deal if your membership doesn't have enough points you need each year?

Are all Worldmark memberships the same, or do I need to be careful about what I buy? I assume they aren't tied to a home resort?

Appreciate your input.


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## roadsister (Jun 2, 2008)

I can answer some of your questions:

1. Not tied to a home resort
2. You can rent credits but you will need to pay a housekeeping on them. You need to be careful that you do not get scammed.
3. For the most part, memberships are the same...there are a few standard memberships that only last 40 years but doubt you would ever run across one of those.
4. Buy at the top of the maint fee schedule - in other words, if the MF for 9,000 is the same as 10,000, might as well buy at the top.

There are many resalers out there.  The one amount you are charged by Worldmark is $150.00 transfer fee.....anything above that (broker fees, closing fees) is money the broker adds on and pockets.
redseason.com does not charge broker fees, just the $150.00 transfer fee. I have purchased 3 memberships from Erick at redseason...very honest guy.

Good luck...I really enjoy my membership!


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## cotraveller (Jun 2, 2008)

Concerning the number of credits (points), I'd recommend that if you know that your primary use would be at Estes Park, or any other single resort, you buy an account size that would allow you to book the size unit you need without renting any additional credits.  You can then use your account for that booking and supplement it with credit rentals for additional bookings you decide to make.

Renting credits is fairly easy, I do it on a somewhat regular basis, usually once or twice a year and usually through listings on the credit rental board of the WorldMark web site.  That offers some protection against scams since you have to be registered as a WorldMark owner to access that board and only WorldMark owners can rent credits.  I've dealt with some owners who were somewhat confused about the rental process but have never had a deal turn out bad.


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## richardm (Jun 2, 2008)

Isn't it amazing how so many broker's and companies can stay in business without charging a fee! Makes you wonder how their salespeople feed themselves.... 

They all make money- regardless of the marketing hype!


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## mshatty (Jun 2, 2008)

roadsister said:


> I can answer some of your questions:
> 
> 1. Not tied to a home resort
> 2. You can rent credits but you will need to pay a housekeeping on them. You need to be careful that you do not get scammed.
> ...





richardm said:


> Isn't it amazing how so many broker's and companies can stay in business without charging a fee! Makes you wonder how their salespeople feed themselves....
> 
> They all make money- regardless of the marketing hype!



I think the resellers charge a fee to the seller or purchase the WM credits themselves at a lower price.  No one involved with the transaction is altruistic.


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## spatenfloot (Jun 2, 2008)

Robert D said:


> What is the range of resale prices you should expect to pay per point?


You should pay no more than 75 cents per credit for a fully loaded account (2 years worth of points available for use with none borrowed) but if you shop around you should be able to find better prices. So pay no more than $7500 for a 10k account with 20k points in it (none borrowed from next year).

Try timeshare angels or redseason.com and you can haggle a little even with resellers.


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## Cathyb (Jun 2, 2008)

roadsister:  Exactly how does renting credits occur?  Do you just send money to the owner and they phone in credits to your account or what?


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## roadsister (Jun 3, 2008)

Cathyb said:


> roadsister:  Exactly how does renting credits occur?  Do you just send money to the owner and they phone in credits to your account or what?




You can find many owners wanting to rent or buy one time credits on the Worldmark forum.

Contact people advertising credits for rent. ASk for info about the credits - when they expire, whether you can check with owner services regarding their account, etc. Both parties should agree on a price and payment arrangements (Paypal, check, pay maint. fees, etc.) and whether you want a housekeeping token. their account must be in good standing (all dues etc. up to date).
Give them your name, account, and a contact phone number.
They should fax all of this information over to Owner Services with their name, account #, contact phone number, and a notation asking that the credits be transferred from their account to yours.

I have a simple form that I use if you need it.  Let me know.


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## LLW (Jun 4, 2008)

Cathyb said:


> roadsister:  Exactly how does renting credits occur?  Do you just send money to the owner and they phone in credits to your account or what?




Here's an explanation of the whats and hows and a form:

http://www.wmowners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3977


You can also see offers of rental credits and prices on that forum.


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## Robert D (Oct 20, 2008)

Someone mentioned that the cost of a fully loaded WM account would be about $.75 per credit, or $7,500 for a 10K membership.  I just looked at the completed listings on Ebay and it looks like the cost is now around $.45 - $.50 per credit but this was for accounts that you don't get any unused credits but are not paying M&T's until your credits are awarded.  Would this be considered a good price for a Worldmark membership at this point - i.e. a 10K annual membership would cost about $4,500 with the M&T's being about $550per year and a $150 transfer fee?  What's the lowest price that you've seen per credit on a recent sale?  Is the price trend stable or down on WM memberships?  I appreciate your input and advice.


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