Worldmark Combined Contracts & MF Chart

[IAMBIGK]

Hi,
Sorry I normally research more and dig through the forums for an answer but I just have a quick question...

If I buy TWO SEPARATE ACCOUNTS...will I pay two different MFs...or will the Points Combine on the MF Chart to pay a slightly lower fee?

Basically...is there an advantage to buying a larger account for a lower MF? OR can I buy one smaller account now...and one smaller account later to combine points for a lower MF in the long run?

Thanks!

 

[HudsHut]

You will pay two separate MF unless / until you "combine" the two small accounts.
The advantage of two accounts is 4 waitlists for each account, a bonus time reservation on each account, 3 FAX reservations per account, etc

If/when you decide to combine , you will pay another $299, but then the MF will be that of the combined total.

 

[IAMBIGK]

Purchasing Resale...

If I buy a smaller account now...and then when I purchase the second account/contract let them know that I want to combine accounts when I purchase the second account...will I still have to pay an additional $299? Or is that just the $299 Transfer Fee and if I provide my member/account number...they will combine during the purchase/transaction.

I like larger units for separate rooms for kids and adults. We have other timeshares. Trying to figure out how many points would be good. It sounds like 12,000 is probably what I need?

 

[HudsHut]

The $299 is the transfer fee. You will pay it to buy the first account (buyer usually pays), and later you will pay it to "combine" the new account into the existing account.

12K is reasonable.
I would choose either 10K for lower MF cost, and rent in credits when necessary, or 20K because you get 2 HK tokens (worth approx $120 - $140).
In addition, there are many opportunities to use cash to make a reservation, which includes the HK, so the price is very competitive with that of a larger account size, without the MF liability. You could start with 10K. Use the cash options when possible, learn the system, and then decide if you need 20K.

 

[IAMBIGK]

The $299 is the transfer fee. You will pay it to buy the first account (buyer usually pays), and later you will pay it to "combine" the new account into the existing account.

12K is reasonable.
I would choose either 10K for lower MF cost, and rent in credits when necessary, or 20K because you get 2 HK tokens (worth approx $120 - $140).
In addition, there are many opportunities to use cash to make a reservation, which includes the HK, so the price is very competitive with that of a larger account size, without the MF liability. You could start with 10K. Use the cash options when possible, learn the system, and then decide if you need 20K.

Great Info! Thank you!

 

[jrb916]

If you have two resale accounts, you get 2 housekeeping tokens with slightly more maintenance fees until your total is over 20,000 & you get the 2nd HK token. If you have a 5000 & 8000 credit account, you will get 2 HK tokens & can transfer credits between them for a lot less than a 20k account. You’ll also have double the items listed above instead of restrictions of 1 account.

You can ‘rent’ credits from other owners to get the 2br places & keep your costs down. Lots of options with smaller accounts or if you want to test the WM waters!

 

[CO skier]

If you have a 5000 & 8000 credit account, you will get 2 HK tokens & can transfer credits between them for a lot less than a 20k account.

Not sure what you mean by "transfer credits between them for a lot less than a 20k account". The maintenance fees on a 5k membership are $618.11; the mf on an 8k membership is $993.91 for a total of $1,612.02 or $0.115/credit

The mf on a 20k membership is $1,745.51 or $0.087 per credit. The 20k account is 32% cheaper than the separate 5k + 8k memberships, on a per-credit basis. That is significant, imo, even considering the extra 4 waitlists, extra bonus time reservation, etc.

Plus, the initial per-credit purchase price would be higher on the 5k and 8k membership versus one 20k membership, and there is the extra $299 transfer fee for two memberships versus one.

 

[kozykritter]

Hi,
Sorry I normally research more and dig through the forums for an answer but I just have a quick question...

If I buy TWO SEPARATE ACCOUNTS...will I pay two different MFs...or will the Points Combine on the MF Chart to pay a slightly lower fee?

Basically...is there an advantage to buying a larger account for a lower MF? OR can I buy one smaller account now...and one smaller account later to combine points for a lower MF in the long run?

Thanks!

The annual fee you pay each year on a contract has two components: a fixed program fee (~$243 for 2022) to cover the annual operation of the program and a fixed maintenance fee rate per credit (7.5 cents for 2022) to cover the annual operation of the properties. Everyone pays the same amount for both components regardless of the size of their contract (not sure about huge contract like 300K+ but that's not the range you are looking at).

The reason that smaller contracts cost more in annual fees per credit (when you divide total credits by total annual fee) than the larger ones is the program fee component is spread out over more credits in the larger ones when you average it all out, not because they are charged less in the maintenance fee component per credit. You can verify this by first deducting $243 from any contract's annual fee and then dividing the remaining fee by the number of credits in the contract. It will come out to 7.5 cents per credit.

If you have two contracts versus one, you are paying two program fees. There are some upsides to having two contracts like other posters have mentioned so you have to decide which economics and practical realities work for you and go from there in your purchasing and combining.

 

[Huskerpaul]

If you have two contracts versus one, you are paying two program fees. There are some upsides to having two contracts like other posters have mentioned so you have to decide which economics and practical realities work for you and go from there in your purchasing and combining.

I think another advantage of two contracts is being able to make overlapping reservations at 13 months out that can later be modified to the length you desire.

 

[Mongoose]

If you have two resale accounts, you get 2 housekeeping tokens with slightly more maintenance fees until your total is over 20,000 & you get the 2nd HK token. If you have a 5000 & 8000 credit account, you will get 2 HK tokens & can transfer credits between them for a lot less than a 20k account. You’ll also have double the items listed above instead of restrictions of 1 account.

You can ‘rent’ credits from other owners to get the 2br places & keep your costs down. Lots of options with smaller accounts or if you want to test the WM waters!

I think you get a HK token for every 10K credits. So in your example you do lose one by combining the two. For me combining a 14K account and 6K account I maintain the same # of HKP tokens, but save quite a bit on MFs/credit.

 

[morexplore]

If I was to purchase say a 9000 point contract to start, would that not have any HK token, and what is that worth? I'm considering a Worldmark resale purchase, but not totally familiar with how it works. I'd be most interested in using the properties in Southern Florida- such as Sea Gardens and Royal Vista in Pompano. It looks like 9000 or slight more points would get a week's use.

 

[Mongoose]

If I was to purchase say a 9000 point contract to start, would that not have any HK token, and what is that worth? I'm considering a Worldmark resale purchase, but not totally familiar with how it works. I'd be most interested in using the properties in Southern Florida- such as Sea Gardens and Royal Vista in Pompano. It looks like 9000 or slight more points would get a week's use.

I don't know for sure, but I would assume it does. I would go for 10,000 credits (they are not points ). They have the same MF's as 9,000.

 

[MCLRenoNV]

If I was to purchase say a 9000 point contract to start, would that not have any HK token

Any account below 20,000 credits will get one HK token.

would go for 10,000 credits (they are not points ). They have the same MF's as 9,000.

@Mongoose is right. 10,000 credits would be a better bang for your buck since MF fees are the same. Also, it would be much easier to find a 10k credit account available on resale. Good luck!

 

[WManning]

Hi,
Sorry I normally research more and dig through the forums for an answer but I just have a quick question...

If I buy TWO SEPARATE ACCOUNTS...will I pay two different MFs...or will the Points Combine on the MF Chart to pay a slightly lower fee?

Basically...is there an advantage to buying a larger account for a lower MF? OR can I buy one smaller account now...and one smaller account later to combine points for a lower MF in the long run?

Thanks!

Housekeeping is also a factor when considering combing smaller credit ownerships.

 

[geist1223]

If you combine a newly purchased resell at the time of purchase/acquiring it there is only 1 $299 fee. If you decide to combine later there is a 2nd $299 fee.

 

[JohnPaul]

A couple of things to consider.

Unless the two accounts have the same anniversary month, WM has made it considerably harder to combine. They used to combine at any time and just prorate things so it was fair. Now they will only do the combine at a very specific time if they aren't the same month. When they did my last one, they did a bunch of mistakes - some in my favor and some not. Overall I was out a few hundred dollars and decided to just eat it.

I currently have one account with 30,000 credits (one developer purchase and 3 resale combined). Our friends gave us their 8,000 credit account. I decided to keep it separate as I would get 4 HK (vs 3 with 38,000) and as we are getting older and may want to scale back at some point and a separate account will be easier to get rid of than having to split credits out. As noted, you also get more waitlists etc. Note that I do pay slightly higher MF than if I combined which I think is more than offset by the extra housekeeping.

One thing I didn't consider is this. I'm always in borrowing state since I plan our travels (a lot) out for the next year. Although you can move credits between accounts, I don't think you can do that with borrowed credits. As such, I have sometimes found myself with enough credits for what I want overall but not all in one account. I was 500 credits short for one reservations and found out that I could pay for the extra 500 credits fairly inexpensively. Of course, that requires calling and getting a rep that knows how to do it.

 

[JohnPaul]

If you combine a newly purchased resell at the time of purchase/acquiring it there is only 1 $299 fee. If you decide to combine later there is a 2nd $299 fee.

They wouldn't allow me to combine my last purchase right away due to the anniversary months (see above). However, since I asked for the combination at the time of transfer (I assume) they didn't make me pay a second $299.

 

[WManning]

Not sure what you mean by "transfer credits between them for a lot less than a 20k account". The maintenance fees on a 5k membership are $618.11; the mf on an 8k membership is $993.91 for a total of $1,612.02 or $0.115/credit

The mf on a 20k membership is $1,745.51 or $0.087 per credit. The 20k account is 32% cheaper than the separate 5k + 8k memberships, on a per-credit basis. That is significant, imo, even considering the extra 4 waitlists, extra bonus time reservation, etc.

Plus, the initial per-credit purchase price would be higher on the 5k and 8k membership versus one 20k membership, and there is the extra $299 transfer fee for two memberships versus one.

I figured someone would have the exact Monthly fee numbers. I could not find chart when I posted. Housekeeping is a big factor if booking shorter stays, personally I find it more costly to have a smaller ownership of less then 20k. It's cheaper to pay HK fee on multiple short stays after the 2 free. Then again I m sure some one will make a case for a 5k ownership and utilize the cash options available with no HK fee and a minimal monthly maintenance fee.

 

[Mongoose]

I figured someone would have the exact Monthly fee numbers. I could not find chart when I posted. Housekeeping is a big factor if booking shorter stays, personally I find it more costly to have a smaller ownership of less then 20k. It's cheaper to pay HK fee on multiple short stays after the 2 free. Then again I m sure some one will make a case for a 5k ownership and utilize the cash options available with no HK fee and a minimal monthly maintenance fee.

That is one of the nice things about Worldmark. Everyone has different needs and the system allows you to own and/or pay cash to meet your needs. I wish Hyatt had a cash option.

 

[Mongoose]

A couple of things to consider.

Unless the two accounts have the same anniversary month, WM has made it considerably harder to combine. They used to combine at any time and just prorate things so it was fair. Now they will only do the combine at a very specific time if they aren't the same month. When they did my last one, they did a bunch of mistakes - some in my favor and some not. Overall I was out a few hundred dollars and decided to just eat it.

I currently have one account with 30,000 credits (one developer purchase and 3 resale combined). Our friends gave us their 8,000 credit account. I decided to keep it separate as I would get 4 HK (vs 3 with 38,000) and as we are getting older and may want to scale back at some point and a separate account will be easier to get rid of than having to split credits out. As noted, you also get more waitlists etc. Note that I do pay slightly higher MF than if I combined which I think is more than offset by the extra housekeeping.

One thing I didn't consider is this. I'm always in borrowing state since I plan our travels (a lot) out for the next year. Although you can move credits between accounts, I don't think you can do that with borrowed credits. As such, I have sometimes found myself with enough credits for what I want overall but not all in one account. I was 500 credits short for one reservations and found out that I could pay for the extra 500 credits fairly inexpensively. Of course, that requires calling and getting a rep that knows how to do it.

I have a 14K account I pay monthly. If I combine a 6K account I pay quarterly what happens?

 

[CO skier]

I have a 14K account I pay monthly. If I combine a 6K account I pay quarterly what happens?

You would pay the mf for 20k according to the monthly or quarterly terms of the surviving account.

 

[Mongoose]

You would pay the mf for 20k according to the monthly or quarterly terms of the surviving account.

Which account takes priority? The larger of the two?

 

[CO skier]

Which account takes priority? The larger of the two?

When combining accounts, the owner must choose which account "survives." Either account may be the "survivor." That is they way it worked the last time I combined accounts a couple years ago.

 

[Mongoose]

When combining accounts, the owner must choose which account "survives." Either account may be the "survivor." That is they way it worked the last time I combined accounts a couple years ago.

Not to beat a dead horse, but is there any reason to pick a specifc account other than the frequency you pay the MFs?

 

[CO skier]

Not to beat a dead horse, but is there any reason to pick a specifc account other than the frequency you pay the MFs?

I believe the rule is that accounts may not be combined until both accounts received the credits for the (calendar?) year. So if combining a June membership with an August membership, choosing the June membership as survivor would mean that what would have been the next August award is awarded 2 months earlier.

I cannot speak from experience, because the two accounts I combined had the same anniversary month.