A few questions related to using Double Developer Points

[donaldsgal]

Hi all,

We added on 100 points at AKV about two weeks ago. Everything was finalized about a week ago - yippee!!!

Today was the 7-month window for our reservation window. I called and got a reservation for a 1 BR at our chosen resort, which was very exciting. Now just 4 more days to call to get the whole reservation!

A few questions arose, though, during the call.

1)The CM at MS said someone would call me with a confirmation number for the reservation. She confirmed the number of points the reservation took and how many we had left out of 200. I feel pretty confident that she correctly used our DDP points, but can someone explain to me why they couldn't give me a confirmation number at the time like they do with a reservation under our contract?

2) Since I need to call back each day to add on another night, how will I accomplish this? I have no confirmation number to reference when I ask them to add another night. Is the reservation in the system somewhere? Am I going to have to start over each day and explain that, yes, I DO have a reservation confirmed for me (just no #), or will they assume I have no reservation and make me start back at the beginning?

3) Why do the DDP NOT show up in your account on My DVC at the member website?

4) I thought I read somewhere that someone had an email confirmation of reservations made under the DDP. Is this something others have heard of?

I appreciate any help someone can offer on this. I hope I don't call tomorrow and find out that there really isn't a ressie in my name yet and I have to start over by making a ressie for 2 nights instead of adding another on. This means that I'd basically need to wait until next Tuesday, which is the check-out day for the whole trip, and I don't want to take that risk of waiting till booking window for the entire trip since we're going in a busy season.

Sorry for such a long post! I tried using the search function to look this information up but could only get posts on the booking window of the DDP, which I already know.

Thanks!

 

[Pooh&Minnie]

Hi donaldsgal,

Congrats on your AKV add-on. We just became DVC members earlier this month. We recently just booked our 1st trip using DDP points - and this is what MS told me when I made our reservation.

1) They said they can "hold" the reservation, but that they don't technically make the reservation for you. The MS CM told me the DDP reservations are done manually somewhere else, and therefore they don't have access to a confirmation # at the time you make your reservation.

2) The MS CM also told me that I would receive a confirmation letter (with a confirmation number) about 7-10 business days after I made the DDP reservation by phone. In fact, I did receive this letter (with a confirmation number) 9 business days after I made my ressie.

3) Furthermore, I was told my DDP reservation will not show up on the member's website. She said the DDP aren't real "points" and that only ressie's made with your regular points would show up on the member website. In fact, the member website doesn't even say you have DDP (I guess because they come from somewhere else).

4) I also read a post about someone who got an email confirmation for a DDP ressie, but I did ask about this when I made our ressie. I asked why they couldn't email me a confirmation # (or give it by phone), and again (this was a different CM this time), she said the points are manually deducted elsewhere, and they don't have access to them to even give you a confirmation number at the time you make your reservation.

5) Finally, I needed to add another night to our stay after I had already made our original DDP ressie. When I called MS, I told the CM that I had a ressie using DDP points, and she said it shows up under "comments" when they pull up your account using your membership number. So, when I added on the additional night, she said I would receive a separate confirmation letter in the mail, but that she would have them "link" the reservations together since we're staying at the same resort, and in the same type of room. I was able to confirm that this had been done because I called MS a 3rd time to ask them to put on my reservation that I would like the Congress Park bldg when we're at SSR. Without me even telling her, she said, I see you have a reservation for Oct 31-Nov 6. My original ressie was for Nov 1-6, and then Oct 31 was the night I added - so, they did in fact "link" my 2 reservations together to make it one.

Sorry for my long-winded response, but I hope this helps. Most importantly, have a GREAT trip!!

 

[donaldsgal]

No, no, no Pooh&Minnie, that post was EXACTLY what I was looking for! Thank you so much for such a thorough response.

So what I learned from your post is that I'll get 4 confirmation letters since I'm adding on to the reservation 3 times (the original night plus 3 more). I wouldn't do it this way if we were going during a less busy time of year. (We're going March 23-28, the week after Easter.) For each confirmation letter, do you know if it will it show one night or will it show all nights up until the point of that particular confirmation number (1 night on the first letter, 2 nights on the second, etc.)?

I'm just a little nervous, I guess. I'm grateful to have the DDP and I'm excited these points allow us to take a second vacation next year. I just want it to work out and not get the run-around or grief from the MS CMs that I've read others have gotten when they tried to book a reservation with their DDP.

 

[Pooh&Minnie]

Well, you might not need to get a confirmation letter for each reservation. I say this because since I've made my ressies, I've seen a few posts where people who are booking day by day (like you are) just tell the MS CM that they're doing this and to hold off on the confirmation letter until you're done with your entire reservation. I didn't realize you could do this, so that's why I'm getting 2 letters. But, I bet when you call again you could tell the CM this and see what he/she says about it. Good luck with getting all the dates you want!

 

[pyrxtc]

I got the confirmation letter twice for the stay I have in January. As far as the stay I have in April/May, I got an e-mail staing I was guaranteed the room and the name of the person who helped me and verified that the reservation is in there and I only have 6 points left to use by next August. Good luck wiht your ressies!

 

[Pooh&Minnie]

I got the confirmation letter twice for the stay I have in January. As far as the stay I have in April/May, I got an e-mail staing I was guaranteed the room and the name of the person who helped me and verified that the reservation is in there and I only have 6 points left to use by next August. Good luck wiht your ressies!

Did you use your DDPs for the stay you have booked in April/May? We also became DVC members on 8/2/07, but it says in our contract that you have to use the 7 month booking window for DDP ressies, and of course, you have to use them by the 1 yr anniversary of your contract date. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that the 7 month booking window for an April/May DDP ressie wouldn't be until Sept/Oct?? If your April/May trip is booked using DDPs, how did you do this? TIA for any advice!

 

[donaldsgal]

I made the call today and spoke to a CM named Brian. He put me on hold while he took care of it, and when he came back on he asked when our check-out day would be. He then made a note of this so that, when the manual ressie is made, they know how many nights total we will have. He also explained that we won't get a confirmation letter until the entire stay is booked. But he was able to tell me I'm down to 120 points, which is right for the number of nights we're staying.

Thanks again for your help!