Holding Res at 11 months and then change at 7 months

[MARY-IN-OH]

If you have your vacation dates set, and wanted to stay at a resort that is not your home resort, do you book your home resort at 11 months (so you have a res to fall back on) and then see if you can get another at the 7 month window - and then cancel your 1st reservation at your home resort?

For Example, if your home resort is SSR but wanted OKW - do you hold SSR at 11 mos and then see if you can get a res at OKW at 7 mos?
-thanks
mary

 

[JimMIA]

That's a good strategy to use if you are booking during a popular time of the year.

If you are going to do that, keep in mind that the points are encumbered when you make the reservation. That can cause you problems two ways -- by causing you to borrow points, and by causing you to miss banking deadlines.

Borrowing points -- you must have enough points to pay for a ressie when you make it. If you don't have current year points, MS will borrow enough points from your next UY to cover the reservation. Once borrowed, points can't be "unborrowed." So if you borrowed points for either ressie, you would not be able to put them back if you cancel that ressie.

Banking deadlines -- In your example, if you book first at SSR the points for that ressie are tied up and you can't bank them. Later, you book the OKW ressie. Then you cancel the SSR ressie, but find that your banking deadlines have passed and you can't bank the points from that ressie and have to "use them or lose them" by the end of your UY.

There might be "fixes" for both of these situations, but you need to be aware that these issues exist.

 

[johde]

I do that when I know I want to travel at a specific time that is popular. When I travel early December, I book OKW at 11 months and then try to change when the 7 month window rolls around. I enjoy OKW so If I stay there it's good and If I end up changing it's good as well.

You've got the right idea about booking at during the 11 month window to make sure you have a reservation.

 

[beardedbil]

Banking deadlines -- In your example, if you book first at SSR the points for that ressie are tied up and you can't bank them. Later, you book the OKW ressie. Then you cancel the SSR ressie, but find that your banking deadlines have passed and you can't bank the points from that ressie and have to "use them or lose them" by the end of your UY.

I thought that you could just call at 7 months and check availability and if they have something open as long as your staying in the same accomodations (for example still staying in a studio when you change resorts) you can just cancel the 11 month, those points will go back into your account, and then book what you really wanted at 7 months and you wont have to worry about "Banking deadlines" since you'll be using the points anyways...

I hope this makes sense, am I correct in stating this? So instead of having 2 reservations, you just call and if its available, cancel and then book using same points...?

 

[crisi]

I thought that you could just call at 7 months and check availability and if they have something open as long as your staying in the same accomodations (for example still staying in a studio when you change resorts) you can just cancel the 11 month, those points will go back into your account, and then book what you really wanted at 7 months and you wont have to worry about "Banking deadlines" since you'll be using the points anyways...

I hope this makes sense, am I correct in stating this? So instead of having 2 reservations, you just call and if its available, cancel and then book using same points...?

Yep, as long as the points used are the same for both reservation. However, there can be problems when you are returning points to your account - if, for instance you move from BCV to OKW - where the rooms are less per night.

 

[MARY-IN-OH]

Yep, as long as the points used are the same for both reservation. However, there can be problems when you are returning points to your account - if, for instance you move from BCV to OKW - where the rooms are less per night.

If you return points because the resort takes less points as stated above, what is the problem(s) in returning the points to your account?

 

[LisaS]

If you return points because the resort takes less points as stated above, what is the problem(s) in returning the points to your account?

As JimMIA pointed out, it's all in the timing. If you change your reservation 7 months out to a resort requiring fewer points for the same villa type, then the excess points from the first reservation are returned to your account. If you happen to be in the last 2 months of your Use Year, you cannot bank those points and would have less than 2 months to use them for something else before they expired.

Another problem is if at the 7-month mark, you had to go on a waiting list for that non-home resort and the wait list came through 30 days or less from your check-in date. In that scenario, the excess points points are put in the "holding" account. Points in "holding" cannot be banked no matter where you are in your Use Year, and can only be used for stays booked within 60 days of check in.

 

[JimMIA]

If you happen to be in the last 2 months of your Use Year, you cannot bank those points and would have less than 2 months to use them for something else before they expired.

Or...if you are in the last 5 months of your use year and you've already banked 50% or more of your points. Or the last 3 months, and had banked 75%. You'd be past your banking deadline.

 

[JimMIA]

I thought that you could just call at 7 months and check availability and if they have something open as long as your staying in the same accomodations (for example still staying in a studio when you change resorts) you can just cancel the 11 month, those points will go back into your account, and then book what you really wanted at 7 months and you wont have to worry about "Banking deadlines" since you'll be using the points anyways...

I hope this makes sense, am I correct in stating this? So instead of having 2 reservations, you just call and if its available, cancel and then book using same points...?

Yes, you are correct...in a perfect world. If there is abundant availability, no problem.

But what happens if you check availability and the CM says there is some availability. You tell the CM to cancel your existing ressie and use those points for the new ressie.

The CM goes click-click-click for about three minutes and tells you the ressie is canceled.

Then, the CM goes click-click-click for another three minutes. You hear, "Hmmm..."

Click, click, click. "Ummm."

Click, click, click. "Okay, I don't know what's happening here, but now I'm not showing any availability for those dates. There were two units available, but I guess someone got them while I was canceling the other ressie. I can get two nights, but not the other seven...including your arrival night. Wanna waitlist?"

That's why people book the preferred ressie before canceling the backup. It ties up points for a few minutes (which can cause the problems I mentioned above), but it's a sure thing.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Everything that I have heard from MS recently says that ressies shouldn't be lost when changing from 1 ressie to another. The computer will allow them to hold a room while the change is being made. This is my understanding. I know when I changed from a Standard view to a Value room at AKV a few weeks ago, they were trying out the new procedure...did not get back to me until everything was done.

Now, I'm a person who had the ressies lost...the one I had and the one that they were trying to book...is that on my "record" and so the CM really wanted me to know that it shouldn't happen again. I don't know, but the supervisor "Ted" who fixed us up at Vero Beach told me that the computers were definitely getting improvements.

Bobbi

 

[Dean]

If you have your vacation dates set, and wanted to stay at a resort that is not your home resort, do you book your home resort at 11 months (so you have a res to fall back on) and then see if you can get another at the 7 month window - and then cancel your 1st reservation at your home resort?

For Example, if your home resort is SSR but wanted OKW - do you hold SSR at 11 mos and then see if you can get a res at OKW at 7 mos?
-thanks
mary

Always if I know I want to go that far out. That is one of the reasons I encourage people to buy at WDW if that's where they want to stay and not at VB or HH unless they want to stay there routinely. Overall things are getting more difficult to reserve and this strategy seems to be needed more and more.

As for losing points, if you chose a good use year, you will have a lot less risk in that area. IMO, it's really only a major issue when you're trying to hold one reservation while booking a portion of another one such as if you have to wait list or you are booking day by day at 7 months out.

 

[lisareniff]

.... the computers were definitely getting improvements.

Well.... IT'S ABOUT TIME!!

Think they will fix the point morphing while they are at it too??

 

[MARY-IN-OH]

Thanks everyone!

When I am able to buy DVC (I am trying for "by 2009"), I kind of picture myself buying OKW as a resale, (somewhere around 110 - 150 pts) but would like to try a stay at every resort at some point. But, if I were unable to get a reservation somewhere else, I would have that OKW locked in (stayed there this past Dec w/rented pts and fell in love with it!). Also, my preferred vacation dates (at this point in my life) are during the first half of December. (what would be the best use year to have in that case?).

You guys are awesome.
-mary