another consideration - airfare

[disdad19]

I recently purchased with DVC, still waiting on closing. I wanted to point out another potential factor that may affect whether DVC makes sense for buyers. This past January when my family and I visited Yacht Club (cash reservation), we picked the days of our vacation based on when the cheapest airfare was to and from MCO. There was a vast difference in ticket prices, so by doing this we saved quite a bit.
One potential concern I have with DVC is that reservations are made so far in advance, possibly before the best airfares are released? For those with experience, do you typically book your airfare before DVC or vice versa? Any other thoughts on whether this is a valid concern or not? Thanks!

 

[bumbershoot]

I book airfare about two months out. That's worked well for us most times.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I'm also booking approx 2 months out. If the airfare were that drastically different then I'd look at what was available with DVC to make a switch of dates but we like things about all the resorts and while we have our favorites any of them are on the table for us.

 

[mustinjourney]

Practically speaking, with DVC, it's highly unlikely to book airfare before the hotel, since most DVC reservations are made 7+ months in advance -- and many airlines don't even have published airfares at that time.

I've also found that airfares tend to be high farther out than four or five months -- with prices falling until about 6 weeks out...so I generally almost never book airfare more than 2 or 3 months out anyways.

 

[disdad19]

Thanks all. So it does seem like this is a potential downside to DVC - the inability to schedule your vacation (assuming you care about which resort you get) based on when the best airfares are. May not be a big deal to those driving or those with frequent cheap airfare to MCO, but for those who fly from smaller airports or from further away, it may make a financial difference (in the range of ~ $750 for my family of 5 this past year).

 

[mustinjourney]

Thanks all. So it does seem like this is a potential downside to DVC - the inability to schedule your vacation (assuming you care about which resort you get) based on when the best airfares are. May not be a big deal to those driving or those with frequent cheap airfare to MCO, but for those who fly from smaller airports or from further away, it may make a financial difference (in the range of ~ $750 for my family of 5 this past year).

That's accurate.

I fly from Houston -- so airfares are pretty consistent since there are so many flights each day from a few different carriers.

 

[kniquy]

If you are looking at trying to plan your DVC vacation (which you technically should do 7+ months out) to then get the best airfare rates you should look at the pattern of the airfare. So we have typically noticed that Tuesday or Wednesdays and sometimes Saturdays are the least expensive for southwest, but if you are looking to travel during a holiday then that throws that theory out the window. I am trying to plan ahead for our trip next April and have been eyeing the current SW flights -- for us it would be cheaper to either to a Tuesday - Tuesday or to go from Saturday to Tuesday (10- days). I think there are probably plenty of people/websites that analyze that sort of info.

Over all i believe Monday, Thursday and Friday are more expensive because of business travelers. You may want to look at other possible nearby airports. It really depends on where you are located, but sometimes a couple hour drive to a bigger airport might save you a bundle.

 

[icc2515]

We always fly Southwest to Florida. I book the flight immediately upon Southwest opening up the flights. Then I keep an eye on the flights. If Southwest lowers a fare I can simply rebook at the lower price at no cost. Plus no charge for the luggage.

 

[BillPA]

Just book a extra week or 2 then when you get airfare, call MS and drop the days/week you don't need. Works every time.

 

[gharter]

i think the issue of airfare depends on where you live and can fly from. For us, unless we want to travel 3 hours, if we don't book our flights early on, there are no seats left. We have a small local airport that fills quickly. I wish we had a large airport close so we had better options, but that not the case.
So, we do as others do, book our reservations for DVC, then get our airfare when we can.

 

[LAX]

Just book a extra week or 2 then when you get airfare, call MS and drop the days/week you don't need. Works every time.

So if I book a Sunday through Friday stay and end up getting plane tickets for a Monday arrival, I can just drop the Sunday night and the Monday night through Thursday night part will stay intact? How would this work if I have to borrow points for said reservation? If I cancel one night, can I ask to have the current UY points returned so that they can be banked?

LAX

 

[BillPA]

MS can reallocate your points, but they can NOT un-borrow points. They can use any borrow points first, and if you are still in your banking window, and you don't need any 'current' year points you can bank them. Also you need to cancel more than 30 days ahead or the points will become holding account points.

 

[ScubaCat]

If you can fly on Tuesday or Wednesday, you'll generally get the cheapest airfare.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

So if I book a Sunday through Friday stay and end up getting plane tickets for a Monday arrival, I can just drop the Sunday night and the Monday night through Thursday night part will stay intact? How would this work if I have to borrow points for said reservation? If I cancel one night, can I ask to have the current UY points returned so that they can be banked?

LAX

You can cancel off either end of a reservation - just not a date in the middle. The system should return current points before banked or borrowed. If for some reason it didn't you could as MS to reallocate.

 

[bumbershoot]

Thanks all. So it does seem like this is a potential downside to DVC - the inability to schedule your vacation (assuming you care about which resort you get) based on when the best airfares are. May not be a big deal to those driving or those with frequent cheap airfare to MCO, but for those who fly from smaller airports or from further away, it may make a financial difference (in the range of ~ $750 for my family of 5 this past year).

I'm in WA. Hardly close to FL. And I have literally NEVER scheduled a vacation based on when airfares will be cheapest*. That's just not how I do it. I'm aware of when things travel-related might be cheaper (like "shoulder" season for going to Ireland), but vacations are based on when we want to or can travel.

I can just drop the Sunday night and the Monday night through Thursday night part will stay intact? How would this work if I have to borrow points for said reservation? If I cancel one night, can I ask to have the current UY points returned so that they can be banked?

You cannot bank points that have been borrowed. (or borrow points that have been banked)



*How can you even know that, really? I generally book flights 2 months out, and I've still gotten price drops through Southwest and Alaska (the two airlines that give fee-free credit back).

 

[LAX]

MS can reallocate your points, but they can NOT un-borrow points. They can use any borrow points first, and if you are still in your banking window, and you don't need any 'current' year points you can bank them. Also you need to cancel more than 30 days ahead or the points will become holding account points.

Thanks. I know borrowed points cannot be reversed "unborrowed" (if there is such term!) or banked. Thus, I asked about returning the current UY points so that the borrowed points get used first while allowing those returned points to be banked.

You can cancel off either end of a reservation - just not a date in the middle. The system should return current points before banked or borrowed. If for some reason it didn't you could as MS to reallocate.

This is good info. I actually use the same strategy when requesting vacation time from work so that I can take advantage of the best airfares I can find within that timeframe. Sometimes flying on the weekend is much more expensive than weekday to the point that it's not worth it, especially when multiplying by a family of 5.

LAX

 

[Dean]

Thanks all. So it does seem like this is a potential downside to DVC - the inability to schedule your vacation (assuming you care about which resort you get) based on when the best airfares are. May not be a big deal to those driving or those with frequent cheap airfare to MCO, but for those who fly from smaller airports or from further away, it may make a financial difference (in the range of ~ $750 for my family of 5 this past year).

This is another reason where having a cushion of points is helpful and to not have banking/borrowing as a major part of each trip, you just book extra days and cancel where you don't need them. It's also a good reason to have your home resort for WDW (or the desired destination) so at least one can get something 11 months out then change subject to availability.

 

[pmaurer74]

This is the bad thing. I make reservations for mid week to mid week knowing the fares are likely lower. Lately I have been buying airfare when it comes out and then get the credit when it lowers. I fly SW.

 

[Kim Gillihan]

We always fly Southwest to Florida. I book the flight immediately upon Southwest opening up the flights. Then I keep an eye on the flights. If Southwest lowers a fare I can simply rebook at the lower price at no cost. Plus no charge for the luggage.

Wow! I didn't know you could rebook at lower fare! do you call in, how do you actually do that?

 

[lovin'fl]

We have added on a night due to cheaper airfare... about three times now. We can find something available for that night but may not be same resort or room type we have for the rest of the trip. Always seems to be at the beginning of trip so we arrive and don't unpack since we will be moving the next day. We kind of like it. Another thing I do is look at airfare typical costs on certain days. So soon I will book for March 2018 at WDW...I can look at airfare for, say, August or Sept and see what days and times are cheaper to plan on that. And I will book airfare as soon as it's out... Southwest is about 5-6 months out when released. I book right away.

Another thing some folks do if they need to add on a day to their trip to get the cheaper airfare... and no DVC is available or they are out of points...is to stay at the MCO airport hotel and then grab the ME the next morning.