After two or three years you learn how to maximize your entitlements. It comes down to not waiting until the end of your use year to figure things out. With Wyndham you have to plan ahead. You do your best early on to book the reservations you want so if you end up with a small amount of unused points at year end, you either borrow from next year, or rent the points (and maybe the Housekeeping Credits) you need, or you let them go. If you planned ahead, it really should never be an issue. With the points refund available until 15 days before your check in date, it would be unusual to lose points on a booking you can't use.
My personal experience is that I end my use year with all my points used up by the end on November. That may involve renting some points to complete that last rez, but it won't be a lot of points needed. I have rented points each of my three years as a Wyndham owner, but in all cases, it has amounted to less than $150 per year.
And that $150 was well spent. It may have gotten me a 4th or 5th night as opposed to a shorter stay where I would leave a few unused points on the table.
