VIP and WorldMark

[cbyrne1174]

If you intend to own in both systems, does it even make sense to ever make a developer purchase? VIP benefits do not apply to WorldMark locations (no upgrades, discounts) and you have to pay a $99 Club Pass reservation fee at 9 months out. I was thinking of owning 500,000 Wyndham points and 30,000 Worldmark credits (similar to about 400,000 points), which is enough to be VIP Gold if I only owned Wyndham retail.


The WorldMark ownership for me is (mostly) because they have super sexy Ocean Walk 2 Bedroom Penthouses that have a double ocean front balcony that CWS doesn't have, and Reunion is $600 a week cheaper during springbreak/summer/christmas compared to CWA cost. Also it gives me an excuse to actually see more than just the Eastern side of the US.


I see that one of the VIP benefits reads "Advance Reservation Priority – Select Associate Locations" out to 13 months. Does that mean a Wyndham VIP member can book a Worldmark room the exact same time as a WorldMark owner? If not, I see no incentive of getting VIP benefits if they only apply to half the locations I want to go. Resale WorldMark + CWS seems like the best ownership idea for maximizing the number of locations you can go to, while still getting decent booking advantages. Also, I never realized until a few days ago how much CHEAPER maintenance fees are for WorldMark vs Wyndham and you don't have to sit there and stalk Ebay for months on end finding that "perfect" contract....they're all the same!!! You just need to make sure that your points are a perfect multiple of 10,000 for housekeeping.

 

[tschwa2]

You never get Wyndham VIP benefits including APR when booking Worldmark
.

 

[ecwinch]

As noted above, none of the VIP benefits apply when making a Club Pass exchange. And rarely does it make sense to make a developer purchase to obtain VIP benefits, in particular if you dont have an existing developer purchase to start with.

Now it is rumored that at the new top VIP level (1.4mil points) that Wyndham is introducing will be a VIP discount for Club Pass exchanges. But only a rumor and without any detail on how that works.

I own both WM and Club Wyndham, and it works well for me.

 

[cbyrne1174]

It's ridiculous that VIP benefits don't apply to WorldMark. VIP members shouldn't have to pay the $99 fee and their benefits should apply to WM. As I've researched even more this week, I'd rather own resale in both systems and have II and RCI access, as well as WorldMark 13 month ARP.

I just booked DVC through RCI this morning for 105,000 points at Saratoga. That just saved me over $500 bucks vs owning DVC and I didn't even need a VIP account to do so. With WorldMark, I can pull the same thing with a little luck and get into Lakeshore Reserve for half the price of an owner. That would save me another grande. That's saving $1500 in one year and not using any of my points on a "Wyndham Managed Unit". The only developer prices I would personally pay are 75 DVC points to get Moonlight Magic and discounted AP because I know I would make the $4000 difference in price back through the benefits if my husband and I stay living in Alabama since Disney is still 7 hours away from me, so I could do 2-3 trips a year since my whole family is in Tampa.

VIP benefits do not equal their purchase price through PIC plus UNLESS you use at least 75% of your points in "Wyndham Managed Units" during the "Upgrade/Discount Window", which translates to people who work remote/are retired/have no kids.