One Point Short of Greatness...

[JeffCD]

Hi All,
Finger-crossed, made the plunge and have an offer in. Annual points (100) are enough to cover our typical one week visit, and the contract comes with an additional 50 banked points fro 2023 UY. I've already got this year's (2024) vacation covered (thank you so much wonderful DisBoard folks who rented me points) so my plan is to bank the 100 points from the upcoming Use Year (2024) for the vacation that will be in Winter 2025. My understanding is that since the 50 additional banked points are coming from UY2023, I will need to use them before the start of my 2025 Use Year. So, that means I'll just have to go ( ) for another trip. My issue is that I'll be one point shy of being able to book a three night stay (at 17 points a night; 51 total points needed). I've read about "transferring" points, but my understanding is that this isn't really "okay" with DVC, and I'm not sure how likely I'd find someone who would want to transfer just a point. I did think that maybe I could try to see if someone would want to transfer more points (Yah! Let's make it four or five nights...) but not sure about the possibility of that either. I also read about buying "One Time Use Points" directly from DVC, but my understanding is that I won't have the "Home Resort" 11 month booking, the "One Time Use Points" only allow booking at 7 months.
Any advice or direction would be greatly appreciated!!!
Jeff

 

[Genie+]

I've read about "transferring" points, but my understanding is that this isn't really "okay" with DVC

Transferring points is OK with DVC. They just don’t want money involved. More specifically, they don’t want to HEAR about involved. Do not mention that part on the MS call to transfer. Most important is transactions are final and there is no recourse if as an owner you transfer out points to somebody and they don’t pay you. That is why most want the money upfront before transfer.

This is a bit different than their stance on rentals, which are allowed to involve money and require a contract. What is not allowed is renting as a business. The occasional rental is fine.

At least if somebody doesn’t get paid for their rental, they can cancel or put the reservation in someone else’s name. They’d still have control of the points, unlike a transfer. And this is likely why DVC has the policy about transfer.

 

[JeffCD]

Thank you Genie+! That makes me feel better about the transfer. So, the best strategy would be to try to find someone willing to transfer points?

 

[mort1331]

If its just 1 point,,transfer will be tough,,but just bank 99 points and keep 1 back, you dont need to bank all the points

 

[Genie+]

Thank you Genie+! That makes me feel better about the transfer. So, the best strategy would be to try to find someone willing to transfer points?

That could work. It might be a challenge though as a membership is allowed only one transfer per year, either in or out (not both). But some people have multiple membership (different use years or different names on contracts result in separate memberships, even for same person involved). So you could ask around on the rent/trade board seeking someone willing and might succeed.

OTUP has a much higher risk of no availability, though there is some risk even with the transfer that a high demand studio/date might not available at 11 months.

There are these little conundrums where DVC is concerned. Sometimes there’s a bit of risk involved trying to maximize points. What you could do in either 7 or 11 month case is put the night on waitlist if you run into issue. You’d at least still have a shot.

 

[JeffCD]

Thank you both Genie + and Mort1331! Genie +, I'll look at the transfer strategy. Mort1331, issue is that I'll need all 100 points for a November 2025 stay, so I don't really want to do that. What would happen if I made a three night reservation at the 11 month mark for the stay in the 2023 Use Year, and then bought "One Time Points" at the 7 month point? Can I use the "One Time Points" for the stay in the 2023 Use Year?

 

[Genie+]

Thank you both Genie + and Mort1331! Genie +, I'll look at the transfer strategy. Mort1331, issue is that I'll need all 100 points for a November 2025 stay, so I don't really want to do that. What would happen if I made a three night reservation at the 11 month mark for the stay in the 2023 Use Year, and then bought "One Time Points" at the 7 month point? Can I use the "One Time Points" for the stay in the 2023 Use Year?

OTUP are locked into the use year they are purchased. They can be moved to a different trip only as long as those dates are inside the same use year. These points can’t be banked or borrowed. The only way to buy them is by selecting a reservation/date(s) you want to use them. Sometimes people will buy them for a ‘dummy’ trip so they have them in their account before the actual 7 month window opens for their dates. This way they can make the reservation asap when their 7 month window opens giving them best shot at the room.

The risk of only making a 3 might reservation at 11 months is chance that room is not available for the other nights at 7 months. That risk is different depending on resort and dates. If you’re will to accept a back-up plan of needing a split stay to find availability at 7 months, that strategy could work. What room are you looking to book? That makes a bit of difference in likelihoods.

I should add the OTUP can only be applied to reservations made at 7 months; they can’t be swapped out for points that made an 11 month reservation.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Hi All,
Finger-crossed, made the plunge and have an offer in. Annual points (100) are enough to cover our typical one week visit, and the contract comes with an additional 50 banked points fro 2023 UY. I've already got this year's (2024) vacation covered (thank you so much wonderful DisBoard folks who rented me points) so my plan is to bank the 100 points from the upcoming Use Year (2024) for the vacation that will be in Winter 2025. My understanding is that since the 50 additional banked points are coming from UY2023, I will need to use them before the start of my 2025 Use Year. So, that means I'll just have to go ( ) for another trip. My issue is that I'll be one point shy of being able to book a three night stay (at 17 points a night; 51 total points needed). I've read about "transferring" points, but my understanding is that this isn't really "okay" with DVC, and I'm not sure how likely I'd find someone who would want to transfer just a point. I did think that maybe I could try to see if someone would want to transfer more points (Yah! Let's make it four or five nights...) but not sure about the possibility of that either. I also read about buying "One Time Use Points" directly from DVC, but my understanding is that I won't have the "Home Resort" 11 month booking, the "One Time Use Points" only allow booking at 7 months.
Any advice or direction would be greatly appreciated!!!
Jeff

Just bank 99 points instead of 100. If you need to borrow one point next year from the following year… no big deal. Model it out in excel.

 

[kmill99]

Yes. Multiple options here. Easy and fast thing to do is only bank what you don't immediately need. Then you have enough for NOW. Next booking, you can borrow from the future use year to pad out the points. I don't think I saw an exact point total needed for your trip... but assuming it's 100 pts you just borrow 1 point each year going forward.
Also, you could book your reservation. When within 7 months buy a One Time Use point and swap it out, bank the last point then.
Or, you later do a point transfer before needed, and look at home resort advantage for the 11 month window (this is how we booked Grand Cali last October... transferred points from 2022 use year, banked, and booked for 2023 - awesome since you need that 11 month advantage to hopefully get a room the days you want. And we own resale at Poly and AKL.)
This is where people also point out the contagion known as add-on-itis... but transferring blocks of points (which can be done once a USE YEAR, not just once a year. This can be a great help or a hindrance, depending on the situation) from someone at a fair rate can be a fantastic option.

 

[JeffCD]

Wow, as always, I'm so grateful for the "magical" folks here who are willing to take the time to help!! So, kmill99, your second scenario is the one I'm asking about. I'll have an October use year, and I'll have 150 points as of October 1st. I'll want to book a stay costing 51 points (let's say September 15, 2025) at the 11 month window (October 15, 2024) so I can be as sure as possible to get the 17 point rate. I also want to stay in November (let's say November 17, 2025) of 2025 (for the holiday overlay), and that stay is 100 points which will want to book at the 11 month window (December 16, 2024). Can I buy "One Time Use" points on February 16, 2025 (seven month window for the September trip) and "swap" the one point from the original 51 point September reservation so that I'll have my full one hundred points I'll need for the November trip.
Sorry if I'm not grasping everything; I'm reading everything I can, and watching the Youtube channel, but I haven't read or heard anything like what I'm describing.
Thank you, Thank you!!
Jeff

 

[mommyk8]

So you going to book your sept trip with the banked points plus 1 point. You are going to have to bank the rest into 2025 uy for your November trip. At seven months you are better buying the one use point and swapping for the November trip point with a 2025 it point.

 

[AstroBlasters]

So you going to book your sept trip with the banked points plus 1 point. You are going to have to bank the rest into 2025 uy for your November trip. At seven months you are better buying the one use point and swapping for the November trip point with a 2025 it point.

I don’t think you can swap a OTUP at 7m if you used your home resort to book prior to the 7m window.

 

[Sandisw]

So you going to book your sept trip with the banked points plus 1 point. You are going to have to bank the rest into 2025 uy for your November trip. At seven months you are better buying the one use point and swapping for the November trip point with a 2025 it point.

OTU points can only be bought when booking a reservation so there would still need to be rooms available to book at 7 months in order to use.

 

[Judique]

I don’t think you can swap a OTUP at 7m if you used your home resort to book prior to the 7m window.

That's my understanding. It would work if there were availability to book a new reservation at 7 months for one night, ie, canceling a night on the original. We can't project these because we don't know what you bought?

Borrowing is not a dirty word. Lots of us do a lot of borrowing. There may be times you have to bank or cancel going forward as a member. Life doesn't stay the same and wants change. I'd bank 99 and borrow if needed on the next reservation you plan to make.

 

[Paul Stupin]

One other element to think about. You might be a point short now, but it’s pretty much an inevitability that sooner or later Disney will reallocate point charts in such a way that you might be more points short, or even have a surplus, for the time of year in which you travel.

 

[kmill99]

Agree with the statements "borrowing is not a dirty word" (ha!) and the possibility about point charts changing down the line.
Brings me back to my choice in your shoes: borrow against the following year to make the rezzies. You can always figure out what you MIGHT need to do down the line. I for one have found it fairly easy (as a newer dvc owner) to find needed points to transfer to achieve upgraded vaca goals.
Side note question: where do you own, where are you looking to book at, out of curiosity, in terms of trouble getting what you desire?

 

[JeffCD]

Hi All,
Didn't think about the potential change in the points chart, fingers-crossed for the future on that one. Really really hope that if there's a change, I'll still be able to make the trip when the winter holiday decoration are up. Not an owner yet, made an offer and now waiting for the Mouse to decide whether they'd like it back. I'm a DLR, not a WDW, and the offer I made was for VGC, which from what I've read, you have to book at the 11 month mark rather than at seven months if you want a studio during the lower point seasons. I think I understand the bank and borrow, but I'd rather try to keep the "mousekeeping" at minimum, e.g. just remember to bank my 100 points every year so I can make the reservation for the following winter rather than having to bank 99 points every year, and then borrow the one point. I might be making too much of a big deal about it, but DVC is complicated enought (at least for me!!) without having to make multiple changes every year, at the right time, or "bad things will happen".

 

[intamin]

Hi All,
Didn't think about the potential change in the points chart, fingers-crossed for the future on that one. Really really hope that if there's a change, I'll still be able to make the trip when the winter holiday decoration are up. Not an owner yet, made an offer and now waiting for the Mouse to decide whether they'd like it back. I'm a DLR, not a WDW, and the offer I made was for VGC, which from what I've read, you have to book at the 11 month mark rather than at seven months if you want a studio during the lower point seasons. I think I understand the bank and borrow, but I'd rather try to keep the "mousekeeping" at minimum, e.g. just remember to bank my 100 points every year so I can make the reservation for the following winter rather than having to bank 99 points every year, and then borrow the one point. I might be making too much of a big deal about it, but DVC is complicated enought (at least for me!!) without having to make multiple changes every year, at the right time, or "bad things will happen".

If you're 1 point short each year that just means you'll have to skip a Disney trip every 100 years You know what, you better add on so you don't have to skip that trip

In all seriousness though yeah we usually recommend a 10-15% buffer on points since point charts can and do change. Usually not by a significant amount but the charts do change based on member booking patterns. I imagine eventually on the WDW side of things we'll see early December become more expensive and summer cost less points just because it's become such a popular time for DVC members to book. I am curious to know if cash bookings affect how DVC makes the point charts. Like maybe December is cheaper for members because the parks are emptier during that time and the charts are more expensive during summer because obviously it's summer break and that's when the vast majority of kids are free to go but shrug

 

[CarolynFH]

If you're 1 point short each year that just means you'll have to skip a Disney trip every 100 years You know what, you better add on so you don't have to skip that trip

In all seriousness though yeah we usually recommend a 10-15% buffer on points since point charts can and do change. Usually not by a significant amount but the charts do change based on member booking patterns. I imagine eventually on the WDW side of things we'll see early December become more expensive and summer cost less points just because it's become such a popular time for DVC members to book.

They just recently finished a 3-year reallocation process doing just that, making early December more expensive and summer less, based on member booking patterns over the previous 25 or more years. That reallocation was long overdue.

I am curious to know if cash bookings affect how DVC makes the point charts. Like maybe December is cheaper for members because the parks are emptier during that time and the charts are more expensive during summer because obviously it's summer break and that's when the vast majority of kids are free to go but shrug

The original DVC points charts were almost duplicates of the cash hotel rate charts - same seasons, same relative costs. As you said, summer was the most expensive because that's when most guests came, and early December was cheap because parks and resorts were nearly empty then. For many years the first two weeks of December have been the most popular with DVC members due to cheap points costs, better weather, and less-busy parks. Thus the frequent advice given to newbies that the most popular DVC times aren't the same as the most popular cash resort times. I wouldn't be surprised if we see some more reallocations in future, making early December even more expensive and summer less expensive.