Advice for a dvc newb

[Jambojumbo]

So here’s the situation I just got past rofr on two contracts. Nice year end surprise.

I have two December use contracts with full 2025 points. 70 at akv and 160 at ss.

I’m planning a family trip at akv from nov 27-dec 6, 2026. So I know that crosses from my 25 to 26 use year. Ok… I’ve got all that and I understand my 11 and 7 month windows.

Question is… what’s my best strategy on point use ? I need somewhere between 338-438 points (depending if I can get a Savana view or not). Feeling like I need a plan once my points all get loaded.

 

[Sandisw]

Your trip is going to be in two UYs, so you will have different points eligible for the November days vs the December days.

The bigger problem is that no matter what points you use for end of November they will be at risk of loss if you have cancel after the July banking deadline.

If it were me, I would not borrow any 2026 points for the November days. But that means you won’t be able to book much of AKV at the 11 month make for those November days.

My strategy would be to book it as a split stay with the Nov days at SSR, assuming thr 160 will cover those 4 nights.

Bank 70 AKV, which then gives you 140 with 2025 and 2026 points to book those December days at 11 months.

If you need more than that, you can borrow your 2027 ALV points.

Then, at 7 months, change the SSR nights to AKV, if you can and use waitlisting if needed.

 

[Jambojumbo]

Your trip is going to be in two UYs, so you will have different points eligible for the November days vs the December days.

The bigger problem is that no matter what points you use for end of November they will be at risk of loss if you have cancel after the July banking deadline.

If it were me, I would not borrow any 2026 points for the November days. But that means you won’t be able to book much of AKV at the 11 month make for those November days.

My strategy would be to book it as a split stay with the Nov days at SSR, assuming thr 160 will cover those 4 nights.

Bank 70 AKV, which then gives you 140 with 2025 and 2026 points to book those December days at 11 months.

If you need more than that, you can borrow your 2027 ALV points.

Then, at 7 months, change the SSR nights to AKV, if you can and use waitlisting if needed.

That’s really helpful thanks. I think I have most of it down. I would need to borrow some of the 2027 points to make the December dates work. So just so I understand you’d suggest I use as many akv points in 2026 use year as possible (2025-2027 points) and then replace the ones I can with Saratoga points later ? (The 25 and 27 points would be stuck in 2026 use year I think?)

 

[Sandisw]

Yes…that is what I would do. The biggest piece is to avoid having borrowed points in November 2026 if you can.

So, if you use 2025 UY SSR points for the November dates and then try for AKV at 7 months, at least you only risk those if something happens.

Keeping all AKV in your 2026 UY, at least gives you until end of November 2027 if something were to happen!

 

[Jambojumbo]

Thank you so much. I was overwhelmed with the math but when I broke it all down that way it makes sense and works out really well actually. I won’t have to borrow any 2026 points for my 2025 portion of the use year for the Saratoga stay. It’s all coming together nicely! Thank you for the advice !

 

[sndral]

I’d just note that there’ll be competition for a 7 month booking for a late Nov./early Dec. stay.
W/ that in mind if your goal is to stay at AKV for the entire stay & you intend to book the Dec. part at 11 months w/ your AKV points & later at 7 months try to switch your SSR place holder Nov. booking to AKV, think seriously about which building/view you choose for the AKV 11 month booking to hopefully increase your chance of matching it at 7 months when you modify the SSR booking.
W/ AKV for next Nov/Dec I’d go w/ Kidani since there are a lot more villas in that building & savanna views will likely last longest. Also Jambo may still have some villas out of service for their refurb next Nov./Dec. - so even less inventory than usual. I like to reference DVC field guide to get a general idea of how easy/hard a booking may be.
https://dvcfieldguide.com/availability-tables
I’ve never had success w/ waitlisting, likely because of when I usually go (the holidays) & the number of days I’m seeking, but worst case scenario is you do a split stay & get to enjoy both of your home resorts. SSR is right next to Disney Springs which is really nicely decorated for the holidays.