Where do cancelled reservation WM expired credits go back to?

[DaveNV]

If you book a reservation with a previous year's credits, and need to cancel the reservation after this year's anniversary date, where do those credits go back to?

Here's the deal: I booked WM Leavenworth for a wedding for the third weekend in August. I used the last of my credits from 2016 for that. My Anniversary date is August, so my understanding is that this August 1st, when I receive my 2018 credits, any remaining 2016 credits will expire. (Isn't that how it works?)

I learned last night the wedding may not happen, (bridal couple having issues, and looks like they're calling it off), so I may be cancelling the reservation. I've been asked not to cancel it yet, just in case they decide to go ahead with things.

If I do cancel it after August 1st, what happens with those 2016 credits? Can I get them added back to 2017? Not sure how this works.

Dave

 

[JohnPaul]

It's my understanding that if you call and cancel and book something else at the same time (explaining about the expiring credits) that they will move to the new reservation. However, if you just cancel they will be gone.

 

[bizaro86]

That is my understanding as well.

I would call in with the reservation number and ask when the credits associated with that reservation expire so you have all the information before deciding.

Worldmark credits always expire at the end of a month, but I'm unsure whether yours will expire 7/31 or 8/31, which potentially matters quite a bit here.

 

[geist1223]

Points issued on August 1, 2016 do not expire until August 31, 2018. They are in reality good for about 25 months. If you cancel this Wedding Reservation but you have some upcoming Reservations that used your Points issued on August 1, 2017 then the Point shuffle at midnight (behind the scenes) should shuffle the August 1, 2016 Points into these Reservations and return the August 1, 2017 Points to your Account. This should be what happens even if you cancel in mid August 2018.

Remember also it is not a must be actually used approximate 25 months but be placed into a Reservation within the approximate 25 months. You can Book out 13 months. So Points expiring on August 31, 2018 can be Booked for a Reservation not occurring until some time in September 2019.

 

[VacationForever]

If you have no other reservations beyond what you are cancelling for August, the best way to "park" the to be expired points as of Aug 31, 2018 is to book something else beyond that date for the next 12 months, even if it is not a place that you will go to. That buys you time while you decide where you would like to use those points. When you are ready for the swap, the easiest/safest way is to call WM and tell them that you want to book at XYZ so that they can cancel the temporary reservation and rebook the XYZ resort for you. In the past there was a risk that you may lose those park points if done in the wrong sequence. Someone said you can now do it the cancel and rebook on your own without losing the points if done on the same day. I had always called an agent to do that to be safe.

 

[DaveNV]

Thanks! You're right - it should expire August 31. I hadn't considered there would be a shuffle behind the scenes. I do actually have three other future reservations currently on the books. (The Canadian in Vancouver, BC, later in August, WM San Francisco in October, and New Orleans next Spring.) So what you're saying is if I cancel Leavenworth, the subsequent reservations will shuffle around, and the excess credits will drop back into my account, in this case as part of my 2017 allotment. I haven't borrowed from 2018, and still have a few credits left from 2017. So I'd expect the 2017 balance would go up. So this may not be a biggie just yet.

Dave

 

[VacationForever]

Thanks! You're right - it should expire August 31. I hadn't considered there would be a shuffle behind the scenes. I do actually have three other future reservations currently on the books. (The Canadian in Vancouver, BC, later in August, WM San Francisco in October, and New Orleans next Spring.) So what you're saying is if I cancel Leavenworth, the subsequent reservations will shuffle around, and the excess credits will drop back into my account, in this case as part of my 2017 allotment. I haven't borrowed from 2018, and still have a few credits left from 2017. So I'd expect the 2017 balance would go up. So this may not be a biggie just yet.

Dave

Yes.