Use it or Lose it points

[mjfehl]

Hi all,

I'm sure a question that has come up before, so apologies for not finding it in search. We have 225 Abound points that will expire at the end of the year and no viable usage. I went to trade for Bonvoy points, forgetting the minimum is 250.

Any creative solutions on how to use these and not let them go to waste?

 

[jellen613]

Not sure if you can do this, can you borrow 25 points from next year, combine with the 225 and get the bonvoy points? I have also used points for car rental certificates with Avis and Budget (500 points for $150 certificate - so you could borrown 275 from next year). Also, do you live close to an MVC? If they expire the end of the year, you could do 2-3 nights at an MVC close to you (you may have to borrow from next year, however you could make it a nice getaway.

 

[dansimms]

Can you bank them for use in 2026?

 

[VacationForever]

Not sure if you can do this, can you borrow 25 points from next year, combine with the 225 and get the bonvoy points? I have also used points for car rental certificates with Avis and Budget (500 points for $150 certificate - so you could borrown 275 from next year). Also, do you live close to an MVC? If they expire the end of the year, you could do 2-3 nights at an MVC close to you (you may have to borrow from next year, however you could make it a nice getaway.

275 Abound points cost more than $150. Definitely throwing good money after bad.

 

[jme]

Not sure where you live, but 250 points would get you a nice off-season getaway to Hilton Head in December for 5 nights (Dec 7-12, Sunday to Friday)
at Harbour Pointe ..HH is actually a lot of fun at that time.....there is no longer an "off-season" there.

RENT THE EXTRA POINTS needed (for you, 25 points) for about 73 cents per point......TOTAL = $18.25.

 

[daviator]

I think the points system is sort of designed so that many owners will have small amounts of points expiring unused most years. It’s just another way that “the skim” works. Add up all those unused points, and those translate into many weeks of usage which MVC can then monetize in other ways.

 

[Hindsite]

Add up all those unused points, and those translate into many weeks of usage which MVC can then monetize in other ways.

How could they monetize unused points when they don't expire until all the weeks when they could have been used are passed?

 

[daviator]

How could they monetize unused points when they don't expire until all the weeks when they could have been used are passed?

They are constantly monetizing weeks and nights which go unreserved. Unused points just means there will be more of those throughout the year for them to monetize.

Remember that MVC “owns” all nights which are still unreserved 60 days prior to check-in. They can rent those out for cash and they keep all that, none of it flows back to the owners association.

 

[dioxide45]

Hi all,

I'm sure a question that has come up before, so apologies for not finding it in search. We have 225 Abound points that will expire at the end of the year and no viable usage. I went to trade for Bonvoy points, forgetting the minimum is 250.

Any creative solutions on how to use these and not let them go to waste?

Are these banked points? If they are elected points from a week, you can't convert them to Bonvoy anyway. If they are 2025 use year points you can still bank them. Depending on your Owner Benefit Level you may need to do this by June 30th. If they are 2025 use year you can also rent them out and transfer them to another owner.

 

[jellen613]

275 Abound points cost more than $150. Definitely throwing good money after bad

That may be true, however the original poster didn't want to lose the 225 points, so it may be worth it to them. For me it is all about balancing it out. When I can travel off season for 125-150 Abound points (about $101-121) per night for a 2 bedroom condo that I would be paying $256-330 per night for, then it balances out. I rarely use Abound points for anything but MVC stays, however I like that there are options.

( I edited the cash rate above, because the 195-264 was the prepay rate, the updated is the member rate. Also, I can't stand that the prepay rate is listed as the default rate until you get into the details..... it is like the basic economy air fares. 99% of the time I would not pay the prepay rate because I need flexibility with travel, and as my husband is disabled, we don't ever want basic economy).

 

[jellen613]

I think the points system is sort of designed so that many owners will have small amounts of points expiring unused most years. It’s just another way that “the skim” works. Add up all those unused points, and those translate into many weeks of usage which MVC can then monetize in other ways.

I own a deeded week and points. As a points owner you definitely have to pay attention to deadlines and use years to be sure that Marriott is not "skimming" back those points. We are fortunate to live within 1-6 hours driving or train of 5 MVCs, so have not had an issue with points going back to Marriott.

 

[igopogo]

They are constantly monetizing weeks and nights which go unreserved. Unused points just means there will be more of those throughout the year for them to monetize.

Remember that MVC “owns” all nights which are still unreserved 60 days prior to check-in. They can rent those out for cash and they keep all that, none of it flows back to the owners association.

I’ve seen this stated before. Is this true? I see a lot of low hanging fruit that they certainly could be renting but sits available for 60 days and then goes vacant apparently. Sometimes it looks like mispriced points, 3br on weekends that no owner would grab but could certainly be put on the Marriott site for a tidy sum.

 

[Hindsite]

I’ve seen this stated before. Is this true?

Their rental business is reasonably large per the MVW accounts and decent profit, and they do have the ability to extract inventory to find another use for it that might reduce waste. One way or another owners pay for waste, so its good they try to reduce it. Its similar to Destination Escapes, II getaways and even more so with II Accom Certs, the pricing is 20-50% of the maint fees for the weeks so they must be finding upside somewhere to balance the books.
I'd like to think that they have a way of multiple listing short notice availability across their channels to give leftovers maximum exposure, but perhaps not given the challenges of getting the basics right with the website.

 

[mjfehl]

Are these banked points? If they are elected points from a week, you can't convert them to Bonvoy anyway. If they are 2025 use year points you can still bank them. Depending on your Owner Benefit Level you may need to do this by June 30th. If they are 2025 use year you can also rent them out and transfer them to another owner.

They are banked points - didn't realize that I couldn't bank then convert either. So they are probably sunk cost.

Thanks

 

[goodbadugly]

I think the points system is sort of designed so that many owners will have small amounts of points expiring unused most years. It’s just another way that “the skim” works. Add up all those unused points, and those translate into many weeks of usage which MVC can then monetize in other ways.

No doubt!!

 

[Pamplemousse]

They are banked points - didn't realize that I couldn't bank then convert either. So they are probably sunk cost.

Thanks

My best advice- use the chat function on MVC and ask for a list of what you can do specifically with these points.
They can see your account and they have a “cut and paste” file at their disposal so they can give you your official options and you have them in writing.
Just type agent to get by sunny the bot and you’ll get a human.

 

[daviator]

I’ve seen this stated before. Is this true? I see a lot of low hanging fruit that they certainly could be renting but sits available for 60 days and then goes vacant apparently. Sometimes it looks like mispriced points, 3br on weekends that no owner would grab but could certainly be put on the Marriott site for a tidy sum.

It's absolutely true... the recorded agreements for all or nearly all of the properties give the developer full control of the inventory inside of 60 days. That means they can rent it for cash (to them) if they want to.

So I've always *assumed* (and we know what assume can mean... I could be wrong) that when they offer up discounted nights to owners as Destination Escapes, it's because they have so much unreserved inventory for those dates that they don't foresee being able to monetize it all, or perhaps it's a property or a time of year where there isn't much demand for cash bookings.

There is some benefit to MVC in having the properties as full as possible (they make money from incidentals like bars and restaurants) and offering Destination Escape probably helps with owner satisfaction. But I suspect their first preference is to turn that <60 day inventory into cash if they can.

 

[hangloose]

We have 325 banked points expiring end of month, with no path to use. It’s a bit frustrating.

 

[dioxide45]

We have 325 banked points expiring end of month, with no path to use. It’s a bit frustrating.

You can offer them up for free here. Though the utility is pretty bad given they expire in a few days.

FREE USAGE of Marriott Timeshares From Owners

As the expiration date of special COVID-affected Holding Account Abound Points was nearing, @TUGBrian allowed a thread in this forum where owners could voluntarily offer their expiring points for free to TUGgers. At that time we talked about the possibility of a permanent thread in the forum...

tugbbs.com

 

[Pamplemousse]

You can offer them up for free here. Though the utility is pretty bad given they expire in a few days.

FREE USAGE of Marriott Timeshares From Owners

As the expiration date of special COVID-affected Holding Account Abound Points was nearing, @TUGBrian allowed a thread in this forum where owners could voluntarily offer their expiring points for free to TUGgers. At that time we talked about the possibility of a permanent thread in the forum...

tugbbs.com

Can you transfer banked points?
Or he could book something for someone?

@hangloose I’d do a chat on MVC and make sure there is nothing you want to do with those points.

 

[dioxide45]

Can you transfer banked points?
Or he could book something for someone?

They would have to book something for someone. You can add the guest name at the time of booking which makes the guest name change form unnecessary.

 

[VacationForever]

I would buy some sort of certificate, in our case, we would buy a golf certificate.