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Options for small number of expiring points?

r-travel

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I have 150 Banked Trust Points set to expire Nov 2020. Having given up on travelling to any resorts this year, are there any options to still extract some value from these few remaining points? Thanks for any suggestions!
 

n777lt

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Sounds like an opportunity to use them for Marriott's travel insurance for 2021 (you can buy it now, or could when I did this a couple years ago). It may be a few points more than 150, but if you can borrow from next year, that will work.
 

tshd

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I think the insurance is quite a bit more and wasn't really a help to many owners. I don't think there is anything you can do with just 150 points but you could book a room for one night somewhere for someone else. Give to a friend/rent it
 

Steve Fatula

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You could book 1 night at a resort on a weekday where 1 night costs 150 points or so within 60 days. Then, you can't make it, so, you cancel it. The points should be extended to end of 2021, albeit restricted to reservations with checkin 120 days in the future.
 
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Big Matt

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You would need some extra points, but you can use it for resort credit. I think it is something like 325 points gets you $100.

I agree with Steve's strategy
 

Dean

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If you can book then cancel under the current Covid extension that is likely best but that assumes it works out under that policy and it may not at this point. If it doesn't, you end up with holding account points and you still have the other options of cash type usage with the Nov expiration. You then could use them later for cash type options or to book rooms subject to your MVC status. Cash type options might include resort credit, ticket credit, golf options, travel insurance, airline tickets, etc. I think the resort and similar credit is $110 per 325 but to be honest, I suspect it'd have to be used by the expiration of the points though I am not certain.

Personally I'd make a reservation hoping to cancel and have holding account points out to the end of 2021. If that didn't work out, and I canceled getting holding account points, I'd do the resort credit IF it'd be good during my stay OR I'd d the travel insurance. If one normally gets the travel insurance anyway, I'd favor that over resort credit.
 

Pamplemousse

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Resort credit does need to be used before the points expire.
I was told you can’t buy resort credit with holding account points.

Some of the golf options listed under explorer collection can be used after the points expire- I don’t golf so I didn’t listen well to the details there.

Booking a reservation with points and cancelling inside of 60 days to get points into the holding account with booking 120 days in advance and expiration 12/21 does not have an end date listed on MVC so could be implemented now.
 
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Dean

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Resort credit does need to be used before the points expire.
I was told you can’t buy resort credit with holding account points.

Some of the golf options listed under explorer collection can be used after the points expire- I don’t golf so I didn’t listen well to the details there.

Booking a reservation with points and cancelling inside of 60 days to get points into the holding account with booking 120 days in advance and expiration 12/21 does not have an end date listed on MVC so could be implemented now.
I know last year you could use holding account points for resort credit as I did so. I went back to my Points transaction history and confirmed this was the case. My point about the possibility that it might or might not be an option to reserve then cancel and be good through 2021 is that this is subject to change and it likely will change soon. Good to know about the expiration of the resort credit as I did not recall the specifics and couldn't find it on the website. But IIRC, it needs to be designated to a specific stay so I'm not sure one can just generically do this and then use it in a later year, maybe the OP has a 2021 reservation they can tie it to if they have that requirement.
 

Steve Fatula

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I know last year you could use holding account points for resort credit as I did so. I went back to my Points transaction history and confirmed this was the case. My point about the possibility that it might or might not be an option to reserve then cancel and be good through 2021 is that this is subject to change and it likely will change soon. Good to know about the expiration of the resort credit as I did not recall the specifics and couldn't find it on the website. But IIRC, it needs to be designated to a specific stay so I'm not sure one can just generically do this and then use it in a later year, maybe the OP has a 2021 reservation they can tie it to if they have that requirement.

I was also told (this year) you can't buy resort credits with holding points. There is really no risk with book and cancel. Book today (as my post said within 60 days), cancel today. I did this in March or April and it worked perfectly.
 

Dean

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I was also told (this year) you can't buy resort credits with holding points. There is really no risk with book and cancel. Book today (as my post said within 60 days), cancel today. I did this in March or April and it worked perfectly.
 

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Pamplemousse

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I was also told via mvc chat this winter that the holding account points couldn't be used for resort credit- I hope that is wrong because it would be a great use for those points.


The point cancellation policy could very well change, but I doubt it will be before 6/1 which is the current end date for the ownership week policy. OP could book something today for less than 60 days ahead and cancel in a day or 2. I was able to cancel by chat- very easy procedure.
 

Dean

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I was also told via mvc chat this winter that the holding account points couldn't be used for resort credit- I hope that is wrong because it would be a great use for those points.
IMO holding account or similar points are about the only time it makes sense to do so. Most of my communication at the time was verbal which is why I was unsure the expiration. The points I used were received by rebooking a stay under 60 days out so they were in a sense extra points and would have expired the end of 2019 anyway. Even when/if it works out, not all resorts allow their usage and all restrict it to some degree. There is a list of which resorts allow it and the options it covers. You can't use it for taxes, parking or resort fees. It's basically targeted for things you might charge to your room that are optional like activities, bars, restaurants, spa's and the like. While I can't confirm it, I'm thinking at Grande Ocean I had the option of getting the dining vouchers that covered the same places as the tour vouchers did but I had to chose which to take. If you go into the MVC account and click on the explorer collection/resort credit, there's a drop down to look at which resorts allow their usage and what options are available (potentially-coved) for the usage. Each resort credit must be activated by the concierge and is use or lose once done so.
 

r-travel

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Thanks, all.

I decided to go with the Book & Cancel option to have the points placed in a holding account.

It was quite straightforward. I found a one-night for 150 points within 60 days. Booked it this morning and requested a cancellation one hour later using online chat. The points showed up in a 120-day holding bucket immediately. Initially it showed them set to expire Dec 2020, but a few hours later I checked back and saw it was changed to Dec 2021. :)
 

Steve Fatula

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Thanks, all.

I decided to go with the Book & Cancel option to have the points placed in a holding account.

It was quite straightforward. I found a one-night for 150 points within 60 days. Booked it this morning and requested a cancellation one hour later using online chat. The points showed up in a 120-day holding bucket immediately. Initially it showed them set to expire Dec 2020, but a few hours later I checked back and saw it was changed to Dec 2021. :)

Yep, that's exactly how it works and glad you took the advice.
 

turkel

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You would need some extra points, but you can use it for resort credit. I think it is something like 325 points gets you $100.

I agree with Steve's strategy
So $100 resort credit costs $195 in MF at .60 cents per point? I knew it wasn’t a good deal but that borders on outrageous. What am I missing?
 

Dean

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So $100 resort credit costs $195 in MF at .60 cents per point? I knew it wasn’t a good deal but that borders on outrageous. What am I missing?
It's $110 credit but the principles are the same. Applicable only to point that are Use or lose IMO so their not worth the underlying fees for routine points. Points fees vary though, mine are more in the 42¢ per point range.
 

pedro47

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Suggestion only maybe book a one night week stay at hotel in your area and cancel. I forgot to hit the enter key several days ago on this topics..
 

rthib

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Just so I am clear. If I have some banked points that expire this year. I can book now, cancel and then they become 2021 restricted points?
 

csalter2

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Just so I am clear. If I have some banked points that expire this year. I can book now, cancel and then they become 2021 restricted points?

Yep!
 

Steve Fatula

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Just so I am clear. If I have some banked points that expire this year. I can book now, cancel and then they become 2021 restricted points?

2021, and, 120 days instead of 60.
 

Big Matt

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Just to be overly clear......your points go into a holding account that restricts use to within 120 days. They expire at the end of 2021, but you can use them any time this year also.
 

Big Matt

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So $100 resort credit costs $195 in MF at .60 cents per point? I knew it wasn’t a good deal but that borders on outrageous. What am I missing?
Before we could use/cancel/extend a holding account to 2021, you were missing nothing. It was a terrible value, but let's say that you weren't traveling anymore than year, but had a trip planned for November or December. It's a better use than flushing them down the proverbial toilet.

Of course a lot of people stay 7 days wasting their points on the weekends when they could just stay 5 for about 55% of the points. In other words you pay 55% to stay 71% of the time. Math related to points is fun, isn't it?
 

pedro47

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The key if you can stay four or five nights. Do not stay Friday or Saturday nights to save some points.
 

rthib

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So $100 resort credit costs $195 in MF at .60 cents per point? I knew it wasn’t a good deal but that borders on outrageous. What am I missing?
Enrolled owners who don't pay .60/point but may have extra points banked points at end of the year.
 

turkel

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I hear you all. But as an enrolled owner on only 1 of my weeks I have yet to see the value for our travel needs. We don’t travel for 5 days. Shutter the thought personally. Minimum 1 week but our preference is 2 weeks at a time.

Maybe living in California is the problem. There are only 3 MVC properties in driving distance from us. Which I imagine might make a 5 day stay an option. But NCV is 20 minutes from my house so although I have heard wonderful things about it I will never stay there.

I get 2 weeks in II or a measly 2300(approximately) points. So maybe I could turn those points into 2, 5 day stays in off season. Still not the same value to me.

Not trying to hijack the thread. The advice on how to use a small amount of points was good for the OP and interesting and informative for me.
 
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