What to do with leftover points?

[Pete Buckler]

I am a new Wyndham owner, I took over two contracts from my grandparents late last year. I just made my vacation reservation for 2019 and have 11,000 points remaining. I don’t think I will need them for a reservation What are my options to do with them?

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

I am a new Wyndham owner,..... have 11,000 points remaining. I don’t think I will need them for a reservation What are my options to do with them?

Welcome to TUG / a great place to learn how to best use your ownership .


I will let Wyndham owners fill in all the blanks .
You can deposit them into RCI - so they don’t expire / but that is generally done as a last option .

Are these (brand new) 2019 points ?

 

[cbyrne1174]

You need to start making 1 express booking per year to use up your remaining points and dip into your next use year to complete it. I like Bonnet Creek in Sept as an example. It's still warm, it's in the value season and the perfect time for a weekend getaway!

 

[shorts]

Depending on your maintenance fees, 11,000 points are not worth very much, but if you’d really like to save them you can deposit them into either 2020 use year or 2021 (have to choose) for a fee of $39 (I think). This must be done before the end of March unless you are VIP of some type, then you have extended dates.

If there is a possibility of having to cancel any of your reservations, you may want to wait a while to do the deposit until you know for sure how many points you need to move. You would have to pay the fee each time you make the deposit.

 

[paxsarah]

If you have any thoughts of using RCI, I’d just deposit them to RCI at the end of the use year. We generally do a Disney exchange every year or so, so in your situation we know we’d use them within two years. I don’t know with that few points if it would be worth $39 to me to deposit in Wyndham, when we’re regular RCI users anyway.

 

[Eric B]

The points deposit deadline to move them into a different year depends on whether you have VIP status as well as when your year ends; they aren't all 12/31. If it is, then the end of March is the deadline without VIP status.

RCI deposit for the points isn't a bad option, but it's not your only one. Other, smaller exchanges like SFX, Trading Places, and Platinum Interchange will accept deposits of Wyndham weeks. I tend to deposit the points I'm not using with SFX, planning ahead to do that based on my vacation plans. They work well if you are interested in going to Mexico and take most of the Florida resorts. Their exchange fees are lower than RCI, but you typically don't have the same inventory to choose from with them. I prefer saving my points this way because it doesn't cost the $39 and the deposits are valid for a longer amount of time.

 

[paxsarah]

it doesn't cost the $39

Just to clarify for the OP (and others), RCI deposit doesn’t cost $39. It takes a reservation transaction.

 

[Pete Buckler]

When the two contracts transferred late last year the full 231k points were all still there so we put them into RCI. We don’t have enough points for VIP at this time.

But for the remaining 11k points I was considering banking them for use with Wyndham in 2020. I’m not that experienced in RCI yet to feel comfortable putting more points in there yet.

But I wasn’t sure if that was the best option.

 

[uscav8r]

When the two contracts transferred late last year the full 231k points were all still there so we put them into RCI. We don’t have enough points for VIP at this time.

But for the remaining 11k points I was considering banking them for use with Wyndham in 2020. I’m not that experienced in RCI yet to feel comfortable putting more points in there yet.

But I wasn’t sure if that was the best option.

Think about the underlying MF cost of the points first. If they are CWA points, they are worth roughly $6.60/1000 points. That means the 11k points are worth about $72. Not sure it is worth it to pay $39 to deposit to a future year.

It’s not really going to be worth depositing to RCI unless you need that amount to combine with other RCI points for a particular booking. You have until the last day of the Use year to do this in any case, and it does cost a reservation transaction.

Personally, I would recommend what has been mentioned earlier: make a short booking (say a 3 day weekend) during the Express Reservation Period and borrow some points from next year. That will use up the 11k points at no extra charge.

If that doesn’t work out, then move them to RCI at the end of the year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[55plus]

Donate them.

 

[Cyrus24]

Personally, I would recommend what has been mentioned earlier: make a short booking (say a 3 day weekend) during the Express Reservation Period and borrow some points from next year. That will use up the 11k points at no extra charge.

AND, if you do this, you've got a nice 3 day getaway!!!!

 

[Pete Buckler]

The contracts are CWP UDI

To keep them for use in Wyndham next year would cost $39?
I was considering doing that because renting points costs $12/1,000

 

[uscav8r]

The contracts are CWP UDI

To keep them for use in Wyndham next year would cost $39?
I was considering doing that because renting points costs $12/1,000

Yes, it will cost you $39 online or $59 over the phone.

Do you know you really need the points in 2020? If it is a sure thing, then it makes sense to deposit forward, but if it is only a “just in case” situation, chances are you’ll have leftover points yet again in 2020 and will be in the same predicament, PLUS you’d have to make this same decision before the end of March.

For me, 11k points will never make or break being able to make a booking. 50k or 100k, perhaps. I think I’ve paid to borrow from Wyndham once in over 14 years of ownership.

Take a bird in the hand and use them this year for a weekend getaway using some borrowed points from 2020.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Cyrus24]

The contracts are CWP UDI

To keep them for use in Wyndham next year would cost $39?
I was considering doing that because renting points costs $12/1,000

Borrowing from 2020, once inside the Express window costs nothing. I'm in the court of planning a 3 day getaway weekend. Another option, use the points for a 1 night stay as you travel. I've done 1 night stays in the Poconos, Nashville, Bonnet Creek, Sevierville. They can be booked inside 14 days. My stays were less expensive that paying to stay in a Hotel. There are many resorts along routine travel routes where you could use the points.

But, then again, depositing to 2020 is a solid idea, as well, it's better than losing the points. Very happy to see that you are taking advantage of your new ownership!!!

 

[Pete Buckler]

How do we book a 1 night stay? Would it be at a Wyndham hotel property? Would it be through the club Wyndham login?

 

[uscav8r]

How do we book a 1 night stay? Would it be at a Wyndham hotel property? Would it be through the club Wyndham login?

No, it can only be at Club Wyndham resorts, subject to availability. You book online just like anything else, but it must be within 14 days of check in.

I’ve done this a few times, but can be difficult to find at certain popular resorts.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Cyrus24]

No, it can only be at Club Wyndham resorts, subject to availability. You book online just like anything else, but it must be within 14 days of check in.

I’ve done this a few times, but can be difficult to find at certain popular resorts.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The 1 night check-in works best when you already have a planned trip with a hotel stay, that is near a Wyndham Resort. Make your hotel reservation (watch cancellation clauses) and then at 14 days check for the night you want. If it's available, compare the costs of the points consumed to the total cost of your reserved hotel. If nothing is available, keep checking as time gets closer to trip departure. Availability is always a concern but since Wyndham went to the any day check-in process, there seem to be a lot of orphaned nights.