Do you borrow your own WM credits?

[DaveNV]

So, today is my WM anniversary date. (Happy WM Anniversary to me! ) And as I expected, my 2018 allotment of 12K credits popped into my account, right on schedule. I now have that available to borrow, as well as a new HK token. I still have 1100 credits available from 2017, now showing in my Current Balance, and the 12K and HKT as Available to Borrow. So things look to be in good shape.

Thing is, I already have five reservations in place for the next year, (Leavenworth, San Francisco, Las Vegas, New Orleans, and West Yellowstone.) I doubt I'll be needing to use any of these new credits until I make a reservation for a time after my next year's anniversary. If things work out that way, I'll have to book the 1100 credits before August 31, 2019, and the 12K will drop into the Current Balance slot on August 1, 2019. Then another 12K will be Available to Borrow as of August 1, 2019. I'm good with all that.

Since I'm still pretty new to this WorldMark stuff, this all has me wondering if others borrow their own credits for future reservations, or do you work off the Current Balance number, and leave the Available to Borrow amount till next year? Is my experience typical, or am I under-using the account? What is the typical owner's experience?

I'm trying to decide if I bought just enough credits, too many, or ?

Dave

 

[VacationForever]

I am think I was similar to you in that my 10K always left me with using past year points and this year's points going on to the following year. I had never borrowed points but I had always used the following year's token up.

 

[rhonda]

Happy WM Anniversary Month, Dave! Feels great, huh?

As to your question: I often book out a year (+/-) in advance and may be booking these on next year's credits. Somehow, I don't consider that 'borrowing' as I was booking a reservation into the same year as the underlying credits. Beyond that use, I rarely 'borrow' to fill a current year reservation.

For a quick snapshot, my Anniversary Month is Oct, still two months out. I still have 8800+ credits in my current year and the full allotment available to borrow from next year. So I'm not borrowed and will likely carry a balance into next year ... but I book plenty of reservations on cash (Monday Madness, Bonus Time, etc).

 

[geist1223]

If you have current Points or carried over Points (awarded on August 1, 2017) you do not and can not borrow from next Year's Points (to be awarded on August 1, 2019) for a Reservation. The Computer Booking System will alway draw from the Points soonest to expire. Remember the Points have a life time of about 25 months for Booking. The Points that just dopped into your Account (August 1, 2018) have to be used for a Booking by August 31, 2020. But that Booking can be 13 months out. So on August 30, 2020 you could use these currently fresh Points for a Booking starting September 30, 2021.

We frequently Book using Borrowed Points from next year. Yesterday we had no Current Points and no Current HKC but 25,705 Points to Borrow and 8 HKC to Borrow. Today we have 25,705 Current Points, 8 current HKC, 89000 Points to Borrow, and 8 HKC to Borrow. We have Bookings through August 2019.

 

[DaveNV]

Happy WM Anniversary Month, Dave! Feels great, huh?

As to your question: I often book out a year (+/-) in advance and may be booking these on next year's credits. Somehow, I don't consider that 'borrowing' as I was booking a reservation into the same year as the underlying credits. Beyond that use, I rarely 'borrow' to fill a current year reservation.

For a quick snapshot, my Anniversary Month is Oct, still two months out. I still have 8800+ credits in my current year and the full allotment available to borrow from next year. So I'm not borrowed and will likely carry a balance into next year ... but I book plenty of reservations on cash (Monday Madness, Bonus Time, etc).

It does feel great, thanks. I have always had a Weeks account before this, and it was never so visible when the week became available. In this case, I checked my WM account last night and it was a lot of zeroes. This morning, there is 12K there, and a HKT as well. Kind of cool that they were so prompt.

I know you have been at this awhile now, and I'm not surprised you book a lot of Monday Madness and such. So not surprising that you have so many credits left in your account. I haven't tried Monday Madness yet, so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

So it sounds like I'm not doing anything "wrong," and since I have no burning reason to use the 12K Available to Borrow at this time, I probably own enough credits, for now. After I retire, that may change. But while I'm working, it's okay with me.

Dave

 

[DaveNV]

If you have current Points or carried over Points (awarded on August 1, 2017) you do not and can not borrow from next Year's Points (to be awarded on August 1, 2019) for a Reservation. The Computer Booking System will alway draw from the Points soonest to expire. Remember the Points have a life time of about 25 months for Booking. The Points that just dopped into your Account (August 1, 2018) have to be used for a Booking by August 31, 2020. But that Booking can be 13 months out. So on August 30, 2020 you could use these currently fresh Points for a Booking starting September 30, 2021.

We frequently Book using Borrowed Points from next year. Yesterday we had no Current Points and no Current HKC but 25,705 Points to Borrow and 8 HKC to Borrow. Today we have 25,705 Current Points, 8 current HKC, 89000 Points to Borrow, and 8 HKC to Borrow. We have Bookings through August 2019.

Thanks. I used those terms because that's the names on those boxes on my account page at WM. I understand the 1100 credits from 2017 will expire at the end of August 2019 if not booked into a reservation somewhere. I'm giving thought to a nice trip in Spring or Summer of 2020 for more than a week, so I'd likely use those credits, and some/all of the 12K I just got for that. Alberta sounds kind of cool for that. So we'll see.

If you have all those credits left, you obviously have a really large account. 89000? That's huge! I also have reservations through August 2019, (I fell into West Yellowstone, so couldn't resist. ) So I think we're good for now.

It's good to know that borrowing from your own account isn't a bad thing. I just didn't want to fall into a situation where I'd run out of credits early on, and have to wait and wait till the anniversary date, and then use all the new credits right away. That would make me feel like I don't own enough, and I'd have to go buy more somewhere. I don't want to have to do that.

Dave

 

[geist1223]

If you get short of Points remember you can Rent In 2X the number of Points you own at about the Maintenance Fee per Point or slightly over. These DO NOT come with a HKC. There is an active Rental Market on www.wmowners.com. There are many people that own 6,000 to 10,000 Points and either Rent In Points or extensively use the Money Options - Bonus Time, Monday Madness, or Inventory Specials.

I know of several folks with multiples of 100,000 Points that are not Megarenters. We are also looking at Canmore.

 

[DaveNV]

If you get short of Points remember you can Rent In 2X the number of Points you own at about the Maintenance Fee per Point or slightly over. These DO NOT come with a HKC. There is an active Rental Market on www.wmowners.com. There are many people that own 6,000 to 10,000 Points and either Rent In Points or extensively use the Money Options - Bonus Time, Monday Madness, or Inventory Specials.

I know of several folks with multiples of 100,000 Points that are not Megarenters. We are also looking at Canmore.

Thanks. I keep forgetting about renting from other owners. I know you’re very active at wmowners. I need to spend more time there. My education continues.

So Canmore is an option? I’m thinking of combining it with that Canadian train ride thing. Not sure of the specs yet. Has anyone ever done that?

Dave

 

[bizaro86]

Canmore is a very nice option. I go there all the time. It's a great base for the area. I've never done the train through the mountains. Depending on your budget, Via rail (from Edmonton/Jasper) might be a better option than the Rocky Mountaineer (from Calgary/Banff). It's much cheaper. It also does the main part of the rockies during daytime and travels through the night in the far west. Rocky Mountaineer stops for the night so you don't miss any scenery, but you definitely pay extra for the privilege. They sometimes have deals for the Rocky Mountaineer (usually for shoulder season) that include a few hotel nights in Calgary or Vancouver, but I've never seen an actual cash discount.

I also am always using my to-borrow credits. I often use my "to-borrow" credits, and then rent in credits to cover them. The "credit-shuffle" will re-arrange your credits. As an example - I booked a WM Mission Valley 2 bedroom for next spring using my "to-borrow" credits. Then, I just rented in some credits that arrived today. Today, my account (20k) shows

15,000 assigned vacation credits
2,000 to borrow vacation credits

tomorrow, it will show:

0 vacation credits
17,000 to borrow vacation credits.

The older assigned vacation credits will shuffle into my reservations already made, putting the "to-borrow" credits back for use later.

 

[taterhed]

Also, in case you're booking with 'stale' credits some of the time....

If you cancel a reservation that is booked with expired/expiring credits, make sure you pay close attention to the dates and, if necessary, use the phone to conduct the transaction to prevent a loss of credits....or possible loss of credits due to a bad/slow shuffle. Just a thought.

 

[Marathoner]

[QUOTE="bizaro86, post: 2172994]

I also am always using my to-borrow credits. I often use my "to-borrow" credits, and then rent in credits to cover them. The "credit-shuffle" will re-arrange your credits. Then, I just rented in some credits that arrived today. Today, my account (20k) shows

15,000 assigned vacation credits
2,000 to borrow vacation credits

tomorrow, it will show:

0 vacation credits
17,000 to borrow vacation credits.

The older assigned vacation credits will shuffle into my reservations already made, putting the "to-borrow" credits back for use later.[/QUOTE]

Starting earlier this year, the WM agents and systems will no longer credit shuffle credits which were transferred into my account after I booked my reservation. They are only doing this for me if the rented credits were in place before I made the reservation

Sent from my LG-H932 using Tapatalk

 

[bizaro86]

Interesting. My credit shuffle has been working automatically, but this is the first credits I've rented in since April. I'll try to remember to update the thread with whether they shuffle tomorrow.

 

[rhonda]

I know you have been at this awhile now, and I'm not surprised you book a lot of Monday Madness and such. So not surprising that you have so many credits left in your account. I haven't tried Monday Madness yet, so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

My thinking is this: Cash reservations are a bit fickle where as my credits are King. If I can grab a reservation on cash, I'll do it ... while hoarding my credits for a more difficult reservation (like a 4BR Presidential over a major holiday). This year, we didn't book our traditional family gathering over New Years ... so I have extra credits to play with until that pattern resumes.

 

[bizaro86]

@Marathoner my assigned vacation credits shuffled into existing reservations last night, freeing up my to-borrow bucket.

It sounds to me like the shuffle is broken for you, and they're giving you an excuse because they don't know how to fix it. I couldn't book online for months and they were no help at all, so I know how frustrating that can be.

I would suggest, if you have the credits to make it work, booking something with regular credits (not assigned) and something with to-borrow. Then cancel the regular one and see if it shuffles. If it doesn't, you can call and ask them to fix it, and at least there's a chance someone will look into it.