Adding RIV resale to direct : Does UY matter???

[Like2Detail]

Looking for some advice so that I can buy when resale contracts that fit come available. We have 250 direct @ RIV (SEP UY) and absolutely love staying there. Those 250 go pretty quickly even on studios. I'd like to add on points and am considering resale. We really don't plan on staying elsewhere so the resale restrictions don't bother me. SEP UY doesn't seem to come up often. Would it matter if I have a resale with another UY? How would that work when trying to time the 11 month booking window? Can't seem to get my head around it.

Also, if I find a SEP resale contract would the points all work together like one contract? I would assume if I wanted to stay elsewhere I could but only at the 7 month window using just the original 250 bought direct.

Any advice would be great! Thanks in advance!

 

[crazywig]

You would not be able to just simply combine the points at 11month, since they are different use years, they would be different contracts. You'd have to transfer one to the other and I am not sure you'd be able to book online after the transfer, you might have to call and be an hour behind online booking.

Or, you could book days with each contract.

If you buy same use year, everything is seamless. I would search for your current use year to make it easier. You could book elsewhere at 7m with all the points because right now only Riviera is restricted to direct points.

 

[Like2Detail]

You would not be able to just simply combine the points at 11month, since they are different use years, they would be different contracts. You'd have to transfer one to the other and I am not sure you'd be able to book online after the transfer, you might have to call and be an hour behind online booking.

Or, you could book days with each contract.

If you buy same use year, everything is seamless. I would search for your current use year to make it easier. You could book elsewhere at 7m with all the points because right now only Riviera is restricted to direct points.

Would it be better to look at other resorts with a September use year? If I understand it then I'd still have issues because I couldn't use both contracts to book RIV at the 11 month window. I'd be able to book two resorts at 11 months but not all points at RIV.

We bought last year when things seemed to be really busy with pent up demand after covid. Might the availability at 7 months get better?

 

[crazywig]

I have two resorts in same use year but I generally alternate years using them. At 7 months they combine no problem but 7 month availability from Sept to Feb can be slim pickings especially if you are looking for a studio.

I guess it depends on what time of year, and room size you're looking to book.

 

[crazywig]

I realize I forgot that Riv resale points are only for Riv! Sorry about that so you were correct in that you can only use your direct to book at 7m.

 

[intamin]

I had considered this as well but later decided if I were to add on RIV resale, it would have to be the same UY as my direct. As the PP mentioned you would not be able to combine those points at all, you could book part of the stay under one reservation and then book the other part under another but they would also have separate banking deadlines, expirations and etc. and it quickly becomes messy. Obviously not impossible but IMO it's not worth the little bit of savings to have a separate UY at the same resort. Also like was previously said RIV resale can only be used at RIV so if RIV gets booked out for whatever and you're not able to use all of the points you had previously banked before then, then you're out of luck. As more and more time goes on, it will be harder and harder to book at RIV because of RIV resale owners only being able to use their points there. RIV is still actively selling so we're not even at full capacity yet. This is why I'd recommend pairing the RIV direct and resale in the same UY.

 

[Like2Detail]

I had considered this as well but later decided if I were to add on RIV resale, it would have to be the same UY as my direct. As the PP mentioned you would not be able to combine those points at all, you could book part of the stay under one reservation and then book the other part under another but they would also have separate banking deadlines, expirations and etc. and it quickly becomes messy. Obviously not impossible but IMO it's not worth the little bit of savings to have a separate UY at the same resort. Also like was previously said RIV resale can only be used at RIV so if RIV gets booked out for whatever and you're not able to use all of the points you had previously banked before then, then you're out of luck. As more and more time goes on, it will be harder and harder to book at RIV because of RIV resale owners only being able to use their points there. RIV is still actively selling so we're not even at full capacity yet. This is why I'd recommend pairing the RIV direct and resale in the same UY.

Thank you, that makes complete sense. It's crazy how fast the points go. We booked a 2BR in January to take family that have never been to WDW and now I only have 18 pts left for 2023. With the return of AP's I'll likely borrow from 24 but wow does 250 go quick at RIV. I'd love to be able to continue to add to make 1BR stays make sense.

 

[D-Trick]

Generally speaking, all contracts for the same resort should always be the same UY. This is both common sense and the most practical.

Only in specific use cases in which you're looking at a different resort to be used independently from your other(s) can you consider a different UY-- but even then the same UY is always recommended for simplicity and ease of use.

 

[pianomanzano]

One minor con about having same UY for your direct and resale RIV points. When you waitlist and need to borrow points you can’t specify which contract for the waitlist (only the home resort). Presumably since your first contact is the direct one and not the resale, it will borrow from the direct points. It has done that for me on two occasions now which is annoying because I try and use up as much of my RIV resale first before using any RIV direct for my RIV stays. MS won’t reverse it either and they basically said there’s no workaround since they can’t specify which contract or will pull from when borrowing for a waitlist.

Sounds like this issue shouldn’t bother you as much since you seem to stay there exclusively, but just something to be aware of.

 

[intamin]

Thank you, that makes complete sense. It's crazy how fast the points go. We booked a 2BR in January to take family that have never been to WDW and now I only have 18 pts left for 2023. With the return of AP's I'll likely borrow from 24 but wow does 250 go quick at RIV. I'd love to be able to continue to add to make 1BR stays make sense.

Yeahhh RIV is definitely an expensive resort but ugh skyliner and those rooms <3. I only have 150 direct at RIV but I have another 300 resale at other resorts to fill out my stays because I still do like staying at other resorts and at heart I’m a cheapo so I still do book SSR/OKW. I might actually end up buying another 300 direct RIV so that way I can switch to another resort at 7 months if RIV is fully booked out already.

 

[intamin]

One minor con about having same UY for your direct and resale RIV points. When you waitlist and need to borrow points you can’t specify which contract for the waitlist (only the home resort). Presumably since your first contact is the direct one and not the resale, it will borrow from the direct points. It has done that for me on two occasions now which is annoying because I try and use up as much of my RIV resale first before using any RIV direct for my RIV stays. MS won’t reverse it either and they basically said there’s no workaround since they can’t specify which contract or will pull from when borrowing for a waitlist.

Sounds like this issue shouldn’t bother you as much since you seem to stay there exclusively, but just something to be aware of.

That is really annoying.. can you call into MS and specify to them that you want to use all of the resale points first and not touch the direct points and book it online? This seems like another point for me to add more direct RIV as opposed to resale even though its such a significant savings.

 

[pianomanzano]

That is really annoying.. can you call into MS and specify to them that you want to use all of the resale points first and not touch the direct points and book it online? This seems like another point for me to add more direct RIV as opposed to resale even though it’s such a significant savings.

For the waitlists that went through, I explained to them that I want to use the resale points first, but they keep saying borrowing is a one way transaction and that they can’t reverse it. Next time I set up a waitlist I might call in to see if they can specify the contract on their end.

 

[Sandisw]

I think it depends on how many resale points at RIV you want as that can make a difference in how it will play out.

We have both direct and resale there and they are in different memberships but I have other points in each that can supplant at 7 months to upgrade rooms sizes and view.

Any other resort you buy resale won’t be good at RIV and it won’t be good with your direct points for all other resorts until 7 months.

Ideally the same UY would work the best for stays at RIV…but if you have enough in the new one, you can just book some nights on one and some on the other. Or, do a transfer but then you have to call to use them at 11 months as transferred points tend not to work well online during the home resort period.

 

[Nursemanit]

Instead of trying to find your use year - I recommend getting one of the bigger agents to hunt one down for you. Remember they know before it is listed.

Just checked and wow - nothing but one 250-pointer for September - I thought October was the worst. It is funny how our restricted points were going to be "worthless" and yet they are holding value even in this downturn.

 

[Like2Detail]

I think it depends on how many resale points at RIV you want as that can make a difference in how it will play out.

We have both direct and resale there and they are in different memberships but I have other points in each that can supplant at 7 months to upgrade rooms sizes and view.

Any other resort you buy resale won’t be good at RIV and it won’t be good with your direct points for all other resorts until 7 months.

Ideally the same UY would work the best for stays at RIV…but if you have enough in the new one, you can just book some nights on one and some on the other. Or, do a transfer but then you have to call to use them at 11 months as transferred points tend not to work well online during the home resort period.

I would love to understand the 7 month upgrade part a little more... that's exactly what we are hoping to add points for. We've stayed in the studios a few times and they are fine but spreading out more in a one bedroom sounds amazing. I'm surprised at the jump in points from a studio to a 1BR, not as big a jump from a 1BR to a 2BR. I knew that RIV resale wasn't good at other resorts but didn't realize that it didn't work the other way. That's good to know for sure and I won't look at other resorts.

 

[Sandisw]

I would love to understand the 7 month upgrade part a little more... that's exactly what we are hoping to add points for. We've stayed in the studios a few times and they are fine but spreading out more in a one bedroom sounds amazing. I'm surprised at the jump in points from a studio to a 1BR, not as big a jump from a 1BR to a 2BR. I knew that RIV resale wasn't good at other resorts but didn't realize that it didn't work the other way. That's good to know for sure and I won't look at other resorts.

I use my RIV points to book what I can and my Aug UY points that are direct are used for fall and into winter trips….and my Dec UY points are used for winter into spring…

But, each of those has points thar can be used at RIV…so, I might book a split stay at 11 months with RIV and SSR…my Aug UY…and then at 7 months, I use those SSR points to change my nights to RIV in the 1 bedrooms. In that sense, I get what I want.

Granted, this requires rooms to be available, but so far, it works. I did buy points at BLT in 2020 thinking having some restricted ones would be no big deal.…but I hated it because RIV is my favorite resort and it is always part of our trips….which is usually split with VGF…I own those with my resale RIV..

I sold the BLT a year later because it was frustrating to have RIV eligible points, find something open up there, and realize I could not book it because part of what I had to use couldn’t book it.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

I personally don’t think a restricted resale should be by itself in a UY… bc I did this, and regret it enough to continually be on the lookout for a better RIV resale

I had 2 UY & for the most part really liked it! So when we bought RIV resale, I thought- who cares? Hardly any RIV contracts were on the market & none in either of my UY. They’d be used exclusively at RIV anyway, so I’d never be combining them… Right?!?? Wrong. Bc they’re restricted & alone in a 3rd UY, it makes it harder to use the points up exactly (or exactly how I want to). I have even considered adding on just a few RIV direct points into that UY to simplify my life, but I already have ~200 RIV resale, and that’s enough for us there (for now).

If those 2 are your only 2 contracts, I would highly recommend keeping them in the same UY… especially if you have plans to combine the points for bigger rooms/stays.

 

[PatricioATX]

More RIV Sept UY questions:

I recently bid on a 175 point contract to add to my 375 direct points same UY. (If Disney doesn’t Kill the deal) how do I make sure the resale points are used first when making future reservations?

 

[D-Trick]

More RIV Sept UY questions:

I recently bid on a 175 point contract to add to my 375 direct points same UY. (If Disney doesn’t Kill the deal) how do I make sure the resale points are used first when making future reservations?

It's very simple. When making the reservation you specify which contract to pull from first, second, third (if applicable) etc.

Please note though that borrowed, banked, or holding points are always used first, regardless of your contract order.

 

[intamin]

It's very simple. When making the reservation you specify which contract to pull from first, second, third (if applicable) etc.

Please note though that borrowed, banked, or holding points are always used first, regardless of your contract order.

I could’ve swore I read for Riviera resale it does something a little weird and didn’t let you prioritize which contract to take from first and that it would pull points from the first contract of that resort purchased and essentially the way to fix this was to call MS. I know when borrowing it lets you specify which contract to pull from for the remaining points but idk if it does in this case? Can someone with RIV resale chime in?