Cash upgrade?

[*TheWigs*]

Brand new to DVC and wondering if this is possible...we have a LV Studio booked for 2 weeks in June...can I call MS and request a 1 br that we pay the difference in cash? We are staying for 2 weeks for a Birthday celebration for DD and would definitely pay a bit more rather than borrow a bunch of points for a 1 br. Thanks in advance for your help with a potentially silly question from a total newbie!

[Lynne M]

No, you can't upgrade a reservation with cash, because you can't pay for a night partly with cash and partly with points.

What you could do, is pay for some nights with cash and some nights with points.

[tjkraz]

Agree you could do the points / cash combo.

I tend to subscribe to the idea that it's better to borrow points whenever they are available. Why spend money out-of-pocket when the points are readily available for use? If you spend multiple years in a borrowed state and eventually find you've run out of points for a desired trip, only THEN does it make sense to pay cash, IMO. Over that time it's entirely possible that schedules will cause you to miss or shorten a trip, which can quickly get you out of that borrowed state.

FWIW, many people do not regard the "theme park view" as very worthwhile at BLT. There's a large parking lot between the resort and the Magic Kingdom. Sure you'll see the fireworks in the sky at night but during the daytime the view is dominated by a sea of asphalt & vehicles. And not everyone is going to get that 16th floor picturesque view.

And since you're new to this, bear in mind that DVC (timeshare) resorts are designed to be at 100% occupancy virtually year-round. For best results, plans need to be finalized as far in advance as possible--ideally 10-11 months. Last minute changes--like changing view--are often impossible. Free upgrades do not occur (you'll occasionally hear of one if there's a maintenance issue.) Making changes at the front desk is rarely possible.

Good luck!

[Deb & Bill]

With your group, you are going to feel crowded in a BLT studio. Borrow the extra points, cut down your number of nights and book a one bedroom at least for your group of four. No need to make your first DVC stay miserable.

Oh, and you won't get a free upgrade either. Those very seldom happen with DVC. If you were supposed to check into the very last villa of your category and it has to be taken out for maintenance, they might move you to a different category. But with a longer stay like you have, they'd move someone staying a lot fewer nights first.

Or book a different resort one bedroom that requires fewer points, like OKW or AKV

[KAT4DISNEY]

I'd borrow until I didn't have anything left to borrow. Then if I wanted another trip before I had more points available I'd then look at something with cash or to transfer in points from another member.

[*TheWigs*]

Originally Posted by Deb & Bill

With your group, you are going to feel crowded in a BLT studio. Borrow the extra points, cut down your number of nights and book a one bedroom at least for your group of four. No need to make your first DVC stay miserable.

Oh, and you won't get a free upgrade either. Those very seldom happen with DVC. If you were supposed to check into the very last villa of your category and it has to be taken out for maintenance, they might move you to a different category. But with a longer stay like you have, they'd move someone staying a lot fewer nights first.

Or book a different resort one bedroom that requires fewer points, like OKW or AKV

Thank you for your replies! We are a very tight family and although bigger would definitely be better in this situation, we will be just fine to be a bit cramped in order to spend two whole weeks with Mickey for DD #2 Golden Birthday! We definitely won't be miserable as our original plan before buying DVC was to stay at POP for those 2 weeks!

We are the kind of family that would never expect or even anticipate a free upgrade! We were upgraded to a MK view from a GV at CR a couple of years ago and still can't believe that happened...we seriously think of it as a once in a lifetime fun freebie! We love the location of BLT in relation to MK and will sacrifice days in park or just pay OOP to get what we want!

We are glad to be a part of such a great group!

[rentayenta]

I'd borrow and have borrowed until there was nothing left. That's what I'd do.