A point question

[christa112]

Ok, so I have been asking millions of questions and I just thought of another. I scanned through here and I haven't seen this come up yet, but I am sure it has.

I am looking into purchasing soon and was wondering if I purchase 160 and want to stay at the AKL in a room that is worth 205. Can I just pay out of pocket for the balance? Or would I need to either buy points off of someone else or use points from 2010?

TIA.

Christa

 

[Sandisw]

You can not combine points and cash for the same nights. It is possible to book some nights with points and then, if available for cash, book the other nights and have the reservation linked.

If there are no rooms available for cash, then you can do either of your suggestions--rent points from another member to book and link to yours, buy more points, or just borrow the additional points from the next year.

If the # of points you need is something you forsee needing regularly, then you may want to consider a bigger contract.

 

[christa112]

Thanks Sandi.

I don't see us going over in points often. We are possibly traveling with a larger group and we will need a bigger room. I was figuring I would use my points and have the other group pay the difference. I was just throwing #'s out there for arguments sake.

Thanks again.

Christa

You can not combine points and cash for the same nights. It is possible to book some nights with points and then, if available for cash, book the other nights and have the reservation linked.

If there are no rooms available for cash, then you can do either of your suggestions--rent points from another member to book and link to yours, buy more points, or just borrow the additional points from the next year.

If the # of points you need is something you forsee needing regularly, then you may want to consider a bigger contract.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You could get a transfer from another member and have your guests/friends pay for the cost of the extra points. Then you would fully control the reservation and be able to use points for the entire stay.

You might be able to get a cash reservation through MS for your extra nights, but you can't use both points and cash for a single night. It's either points or cash. And if you book through MS, it would be considered the same as a points stay and just added to your reservation. You might get your guests/friends to pay for the cash nights and you pay MS for those nights.

Or you could borrow from next year to get the 205 points.

 

[christa112]

You lost me. What is MS? Is that for DVC members. Sorry, I am still learning the lingo on the DVC boards.

You could get a transfer from another member and have your guests/friends pay for the cost of the extra points. Then you would fully control the reservation and be able to use points for the entire stay.

You might be able to get a cash reservation through MS for your extra nights, but you can't use both points and cash for a single night. It's either points or cash. And if you book through MS, it would be considered the same as a points stay and just added to your reservation. You might get your guests/friends to pay for the cash nights and you pay MS for those nights.

Or you could borrow from next year to get the 205 points.

 

[Sandisw]

You lost me. What is MS? Is that for DVC members. Sorry, I am still learning the lingo on the DVC boards.

MS is member services. That is who you will be calling, when you become a member, to make reservations at DVC resorts using your points.

 

[christa112]

Thanks

MS is member services. That is who you will be calling, when you become a member, to make reservations at DVC resorts using your points.

 

[kristenrice]

If you are travelling with a group (another family?) then maybe you can get creative with your reservation. One way, as previously mentioned, would be to book as many nights on points that you can and pay cash for the remaining nights.

Another way (and what we chose to do) is to vary your room type. For example, we have 206 points to use for our family of 4 plus my parents for April 2010. We were planning on a 2BR standard at AKV, but the charts got rearranged, leaving us 25 points short. Instead of forking over more money (via a transfer or cash reservation) we decided to book 2 standard studios for the first 2 nights and then move to a standard 2BR for our last 3 nights. This uses up exactly 206 points. We will be driving so we will have a car, but I don't think the moving will be that difficult. It also allows us to stay at both Kidani and Jambo on the same trip. We'll book our studios at Jambo and the 2BR at Kidani.

Take the points you have and see if 2 studios for a few nights will save you enough points. Personally, I decided to put our studio stays at the beginning of our trip since that is when we are all "gung ho" about getting to the parks. By day 3, we are ready to do some laundry and slow down a little bit. You can also try doing studios over the weekends to save a few points.

Good luck with your planning!

 

[christa112]

Thanks Kristen!!!

If you are travelling with a group (another family?) then maybe you can get creative with your reservation. One way, as previously mentioned, would be to book as many nights on points that you can and pay cash for the remaining nights.

Another way (and what we chose to do) is to vary your room type. For example, we have 206 points to use for our family of 4 plus my parents for April 2010. We were planning on a 2BR standard at AKV, but the charts got rearranged, leaving us 25 points short. Instead of forking over more money (via a transfer or cash reservation) we decided to book 2 standard studios for the first 2 nights and then move to a standard 2BR for our last 3 nights. This uses up exactly 206 points. We will be driving so we will have a car, but I don't think the moving will be that difficult. It also allows us to stay at both Kidani and Jambo on the same trip. We'll book our studios at Jambo and the 2BR at Kidani.

Take the points you have and see if 2 studios for a few nights will save you enough points. Personally, I decided to put our studio stays at the beginning of our trip since that is when we are all "gung ho" about getting to the parks. By day 3, we are ready to do some laundry and slow down a little bit. You can also try doing studios over the weekends to save a few points.

Good luck with your planning!