For II trading, how does WM determine whether a week is red, white, or blue?

[JudyS]

I haven't actually traded my Worldmark through II yet. (In fact, I haven't added it to my II account.) So, I am confused about how "color seasons" work in II. The RCI website clearly shows what color (red/high; white/medium; blue/low) each week of the year is, but II does not. So, when planning a II exchange with Worldmark, how does one know what "color" a week is, and the corresponding number of points credits it costs?

 

[Xpat]

My understanding is that you need to look at the travel demand index for the property you're trying to exchange to. TDI 50-60 is low season, TDI 65-85 is mid, and TDI 90-150 is high, but I could be wrong...

 

[rhonda]

I haven't traded through II for several years ... but they had a similar High/Med/Low color scheme. I believe it was Green/White/Yellow?? If so, simply map their three colors to WM's Red/White/Blue on the exchange grid.

I'll try to sign in to II and will report back ...

UPDATED: Yeah, I see your point. II doesn't show seasons on the resort description or exchange pages. Sigh. How silly.

 

[tschwa2]

II has gotten rid of the color scheme in their directory and relies on tdi (trade demand index) on a scale of 50-150.

 

[gmarine]

Regardless of the season or resort, an exchange to a two bedroom unit is 10K credits, one bedroom 9K credits. Within 60 days of check in all exchanges 4K credits.

 

[JudyS]

Regardless of the season or resort, an exchange to a two bedroom unit is 10K credits, one bedroom 9K credits. Within 60 days of check in all exchanges 4K credits.

Oh, that's interesting! What about in RCI? Do all seasons cost the same, or does the number of credits required differ depending on the season?

 

[cotraveller]

WorldMark-RCI exchange credit values

Unit Size - Red Season - White Season - Blue Season
Studio - 8,000 - 6,000 - 4,000
One Bedroom - 9,000 - 7,000 - 5,000
Two Bedroom - 10,000 - 8,000 - 6,000
Three Bedroom - 12,000 - 9,000 - 7,000

Instant Exchange booked at 45 days or less before arrival is 4,000 credits for any size unit, any season.

The table formatting was lost when I copied it here but you should still be able to figure out what goes with what. Note that the RCI Red, White, and Blue seasons may not line up with the WorldMark seasons.

 

[rhonda]

Regardless of the season or resort, an exchange to a two bedroom unit is 10K credits, one bedroom 9K credits. Within 60 days of check in all exchanges 4K credits.

Seriously? II considers all exchanges to be high season except for last-minute exchanges (59-day rule)? Wow. Tsk, Tsk, II!

 

[PassionForTravel]

With II there is also a second strategy. I haven't tried it because my vacation schedule is tied to the school year (at least for one more year) but I plan to when I can travel more shoulder season. You can do a deposit first. You tell WM what you want to deposit and the number of credits is based upon the table below. i.e. blue 2 bd would cost 6K. You have no control over what resort gets deposited and some have much better trading power than others. However, if you have the flexibility to travel off season then it's a big credit saver. However, personally I wouldn't deposit a studio.

Studio - 8,000 - 6,000 - 4,000
One Bedroom - 9,000 - 7,000 - 5,000
Two Bedroom - 10,000 - 8,000 - 6,000
Three Bedroom - 12,000 - 9,000 - 7,000

Ian

 

[GregT]

With II there is also a second strategy. I haven't tried it because my vacation schedule is tied to the school year (at least for one more year) but I plan to when I can travel more shoulder season. You can do a deposit first. You tell WM what you want to deposit and the number of credits is based upon the table below. i.e. blue 2 bd would cost 6K. You have no control over what resort gets deposited and some have much better trading power than others. However, if you have the flexibility to travel off season then it's a big credit saver. However, personally I wouldn't deposit a studio.

Studio - 8,000 - 6,000 - 4,000
One Bedroom - 9,000 - 7,000 - 5,000
Two Bedroom - 10,000 - 8,000 - 6,000
Three Bedroom - 12,000 - 9,000 - 7,000

Ian

I am a big fan of this approach -- I will deposit 5,000 or 6,000 credits and get a Blue 1BR or 2BR. I have had good success trading into other properties and stretching 10K credits into two weeks. I also agree with Ian not to deposit a Studio....no trading power there.

Best,

Greg

 

[LLW]

Seriously? II considers all exchanges to be high season except for last-minute exchanges (59-day rule)? Wow. Tsk, Tsk, II!

The problem is not with II. It's WM that decides how many credits to take. II only gets the weeks, not the credits. II used to have seasons. WM still uses red, yellow and green seasons for II Deposit First. I don't use Request First much (mainly use DF), but I do believe WM is probably taking mostly high season points for almost all RFs. But then almost all RFs would be for high season. If WM mistakenly takes high season points for low season, I believe if we can talk to the Exchange Department directly, it can get straightened out, especially if you have an old II directory that has the seasons for each resort. But we have to go through Owner Care now - can't talk to the ED directly. So it takes extra time and effort.

 

[JudyS]

Lots of good information on this thread! Thanks to all who posted.

I have another question. Suppose that in January, you set up a Request First for a two-bedroom for the following July -- about 180 days later. It eventually matches, but not until 50 days before check-in. Will Worldmark charge you 10,000 credits (because it was a Request First), or will you get the last-minute 4,000 credit rate (because the trade was actually completed less than 60 days before check-in)?

The problem is not with II. It's WM that decides how many credits to take. II only gets the weeks, not the credits. II used to have seasons. WM still uses red, yellow and green seasons for II Deposit First. I don't use Request First much (mainly use DF), but I do believe WM is probably taking mostly high season points for almost all RFs. But then almost all RFs would be for high season. If WM mistakenly takes high season points for low season, I believe if we can talk to the Exchange Department directly, it can get straightened out, especially if you have an old II directory that has the seasons for each resort. But we have to go through Owner Care now - can't talk to the ED directly. So it takes extra time and effort.

It makes sense that Request First deposits would mostly be for high season, so Worldmark assumes the owner wants a high season week used for the search.

I seem to recall that when an Ongoing Search matches in Interval, owners can call in to Interval and ask if a lower-value deposit sitting in the owner's account can be used for the exchange instead. I believe Interval allows this (or at least used to), assuming the lower value deposit has enough trade power to qualify for the trade. I don't know if this would work with a Request First trade or not, and if so, whether it would work with Worldmark deposits.

Has anyone ever tried this? In other words, let's say you did a Request First for a two-bedroom. You also have a 8,000 credit deposit (mid-season two-bedroom) already sitting in your account. II notifies you that your Request First has found a match. You call II and ask if the 8,000 credit deposit can be used for the trade you just matched, rather than accepting the Request First trade. If II says yes, this would be easier than accepting the match, then going to Worldmark Owner Care and asking if they will refund your 2,000 credits.

 

[GregT]

Lots of good information on this thread! Thanks to all who posted.

I have another question. Suppose that in January, you set up a Request First for a two-bedroom for the following July -- about 180 days later. It eventually matches, but not until 50 days before check-in. Will Worldmark charge you 10,000 credits (because it was a Request First), or will you get the last-minute 4,000 credit rate (because the trade was actually completed less than 60 days before check-in)?

Yes, it would only charge you 4,000 credits for the FlexChange trade -- this is another great feature of Worldmark.

But this is partially why I like the 5,000 or 6,000 credit space bank so much -- it is kind of like of getting a FlexChange trade but months out....

Best,

Greg

 

[sue1947]

Regardless of the season or resort, an exchange to a two bedroom unit is 10K credits, one bedroom 9K credits. Within 60 days of check in all exchanges 4K credits.

This is incorrect. II no longer publishes the seasons, but does use seasons. I kept an old copy of the II directory for reference. I think they stopped including that info in the directory to save space and money.
The credits taken are according to the same scale as RCI. My 2 BR request first snagged online for the Hyatt at Lake Tahoe for early Oct was their white season and cost me 8K credits.

Sue

 

[LLW]

I seem to recall that when an Ongoing Search matches in Interval, owners can call in to Interval and ask if a lower-value deposit sitting in the owner's account can be used for the exchange instead. I believe Interval allows this (or at least used to), assuming the lower value deposit has enough trade power to qualify for the trade. I don't know if this would work with a Request First trade or not, and if so, whether it would work with Worldmark deposits.

Has anyone ever tried this? In other words, let's say you did a Request First for a two-bedroom. You also have a 8,000 credit deposit (mid-season two-bedroom) already sitting in your account. II notifies you that your Request First has found a match. You call II and ask if the 8,000 credit deposit can be used for the trade you just matched, rather than accepting the Request First trade. If II says yes, this would be easier than accepting the match, then going to Worldmark Owner Care and asking if they will refund your 2,000 credits.

I have never tried it. I think it depends on a lot of different factors, not the least of which is which vacation counselor you get. The WM Request First uses the collective trade power of all WM weeks and has superior trade power. Deposit First often has much less trade power - it depends on the resort and the check-in date; an 8K-credit deposit do not mean you have 80% of the trade power of 10K credits. (You may read more details about WM Deposit First on WMOwners.com.)

You would have to watch "My History" like a hawk and call within 24 hours. WM does not do credit refunds too well - even the straight 24-hour cancelation causes problems. This would be a cancelation and a rebook, and a good VC would tell you that you may lose the week after the cancelation and before the rebook.

Did you know you may do ongoing searches using your WM Deposit First?

 

[JudyS]

I have never tried it. I think it depends on a lot of different factors, not the least of which is which vacation counselor you get. The WM Request First uses the collective trade power of all WM weeks and has superior trade power. Deposit First often has much less trade power - it depends on the resort and the check-in date; an 8K-credit deposit do not mean you have 80% of the trade power of 10K credits. (You may read more details about WM Deposit First on WMOwners.com.)

You would have to watch "My History" like a hawk and call within 24 hours. WM does not do credit refunds too well - even the straight 24-hour cancelation causes problems. This would be a cancelation and a rebook, and a good VC would tell you that you may lose the week after the cancelation and before the rebook.

Did you know you may do ongoing searches using your WM Deposit First?

Thanks for the information. Yes, I realize WM Deposit First can be used for ongoing searches, and this would be a lot less risky. I wasn't actually thinking of using this Request First technique myself (doing an a Request first, then asking II to switch the trade to a different deposit.) I was just thinking it might be a useful technique for other owners. I agree that there would be hassles involved (and maybe a risk of losing the trade.)

Does II have some way of providing notification (email, text message) when an Ongoing Search matches, and if so, are they reliable about sending the notifications quickly? (This isn't a WM question, just a general II question.)

 

[LLW]

Thanks for the information. Yes, I realize WM Deposit First can be used for ongoing searches, and this would be a lot less risky. I wasn't actually thinking of using this Request First technique myself (doing an a Request first, then asking II to switch the trade to a different deposit.) I was just thinking it might be a useful technique for other owners. I agree that there would be hassles involved (and maybe a risk of losing the trade.)

Does II have some way of providing notification (email, text message) when an Ongoing Search matches, and if so, are they reliable about sending the notifications quickly? (This isn't a WM question, just a general II question.)

Yes, when you submit the request, you tell them what kind of notification to use. But it's not reliable, although if you can prove tat they didn't notify, they would reverse the transaction. And it's 24 hours from when it matches, not from when their offices open. They don't have online cancelation. You would have to do it by phone.

 

[JudyS]

Yes, when you submit the request, you tell them what kind of notification to use. But it's not reliable, although if you can prove tat they didn't notify, they would reverse the transaction. And it's 24 hours from when it matches, not from when their offices open. They don't have online cancelation. You would have to do it by phone.

Thanks for the information! (Sounds like it's an area where II could use some improvement.)

 

[judyp2530]

Thanks for the information. Yes, I realize WM Deposit First can be used for ongoing searches, and this would be a lot less risky. I wasn't actually thinking of using this Request First technique myself (doing an a Request first, then asking II to switch the trade to a different deposit.) I was just thinking it might be a useful technique for other owners. I agree that there would be hassles involved (and maybe a risk of losing the trade.)

Does II have some way of providing notification (email, text message) when an Ongoing Search matches, and if so, are they reliable about sending the notifications quickly? (This isn't a WM question, just a general II question.)

One time, they sent me an email notification that they filled my RF, but I got it too late to cancel. That was before e-plus.

 

[tonisimo59]

Yes, it would only charge you 4,000 credits for the FlexChange trade -- this is another great feature of Worldmark.

But this is partially why I like the 5,000 or 6,000 credit space bank so much -- it is kind of like of getting a FlexChange trade but months out....

Best,

Greg

I am also confirming that if you put in a RF way before 60 days with II, if the match comes through 59 days or less from the first date of the reservation, it will only cost you 4,000 points.

This happened to me, personally, twice: Once I got a sweet trade to a 5 star resort in Cabo for Christmas week (talk about high demand), and another time a got a great trade for my son and his wife to Hawaii.
Each was only 4,000 points. I absolutely love trading my worldmark points through II!

 

[JudyS]

I am also confirming that if you put in a RF way before 60 days with II, if the match comes through 59 days or less from the first date of the reservation, it will only cost you 4,000 points...

Thanks for the info!

Hey, this thread was featured in the TUG weekly weekly newsletter! I think this is the first time that has happened with a thread of mine. Thanks to everyone who posted!