Any info on when they will change the borrowing rules?

[kathi]

Just wondering if there has been any discussion or messaging from Disney on when they might remove the 50% restriction on borrowing points? Trying to game out a wait list that I'm 15 points short on due to the 50% restriction.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Nope.

You could always OTUP.

 

[kathi]

Sorry - can you translate?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Sorry - can you translate?

One-time use points. You can buy up to 24 extra points each year for $19 per point to close the gap if you're short.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

OTUP are often an excellent option over borrowing, but keep in mind you can only use the OTUP at 7 months (in case that might matter).

Also agree that there has been no real conversation about the borrowing rules changing back.

 

[CarolMN]

Just wondering if there has been any discussion or messaging from Disney on when they might remove the 50% restriction on borrowing points? Trying to game out a wait list that I'm 15 points short on due to the 50% restriction.

Call MS and plead your case. There have been reports of a few Members granted an exception. (Wouldn't use that in the conversation though, for fear of coming across entitled/demanding). The worst outcome.would be "Sorry, no".

Good luck!

 

[RoseGold]

This is really tough in the context of a waitlist, because you can't even plead your case and hope they book it for you. They just won't fill the waitlist.

 

[DisneyOutsider]

Don't expect it any time soon. We're really just in the beginning of feeling the availability crunch caused by the shutdown.

 

[TomorrowlandOfYesterday]

Since no on has chimed in. One-Time Use points cannot be used for a waitlist match. The points have to already be purchased for them to work on a waitlist. And you can only purchase them at the time of making a reservation.

 

[Sandisw]

Since no on has chimed in. One-Time Use points cannot be used for a waitlist match. The points have to already be purchased for them to work on a waitlist. And you can only purchase them at the time of making a reservation.

The way around it is to call, make a fake reservation in the UY of the trip, buy them, and then cancel it.

The OTU points can be in your account available for the waitlist. Or, if what you have booked was done within 7 months, you modify thst after buying the points to free up your own points for the waitlist, so if it doesn’t match, you could still bank.

 

[tjkraz]

Don't expect it any time soon. We're really just in the beginning of feeling the availability crunch caused by the shutdown.

It's probably true that the backlog hasn't lightened a whole lot. But if you scan the booking site, there's a surprising amount of availability left in July, August and into the fall of 2022. SSR and OKW have Studios available for 95% of nights from July - November, plus larger rooms too.

If a lot of owners are sitting on a personal backlog, they can't expect to all hold out for early December at BCV, GF, Riviera, etc. Gotta start meeting half way and taking what's available, or risk losing those points.

Keeping the borrowing restriction in place prevents people from accessing points they would otherwise use to book those rooms for July onward. If a member is prevented from borrowing points they would use to book July 2022, it's also causing problems. (True story: In December 2020 I was prevented from borrowing points and forced to book a Studio instead of 1BR. When I arrived, I was upgraded to a 1BR.)

Above all, DVC should want to see all of the rooms filled.

I don't think DVC will lift the restriction until the VGF Resort Studios open for general booking. Let members gobble up that added capacity with (mostly) banked and current points. Beyond that, if there are still a lot of unbooked rooms in late summer and into the fall, I'm not sure what purpose the restriction serves anymore.

 

[kathi]

Thanks everyone - appreciate all your information and input. The trip is at the end of June, so I think we are just going to have to suck it up in the 1BR we have currently unless a BWV 2BR std opens up - which seems super unlikely.

 

[Sandisw]

It's probably true that the backlog hasn't lightened a whole lot. But if you scan the booking site, there's a surprising amount of availability left in July, August and into the fall of 2022. SSR and OKW have Studios available for 95% of nights from July - November, plus larger rooms too.

If a lot of owners are sitting on a personal backlog, they can't expect to all hold out for early December at BCV, GF, Riviera, etc. Gotta start meeting half way and taking what's available, or risk losing those points.

Keeping the borrowing restriction in place prevents people from accessing points they would otherwise use to book those rooms for July onward. If a member is prevented from borrowing points they would use to book July 2022, it's also causing problems. (True story: In December 2020 I was prevented from borrowing points and forced to book a Studio instead of 1BR. When I arrived, I was upgraded to a 1BR.)

Above all, DVC should want to see all of the rooms filled.

I don't think DVC will lift the restriction until the VGF Resort Studios open for general booking. Let members gobble up that added capacity with (mostly) banked and current points. Beyond that, if there are still a lot of unbooked rooms in late summer and into the fall, I'm not sure what purpose the restriction serves anymore.

Great points and I agree. If we are starting to see rooms open in the 3 to 4 month range, then it may be time to lift it. We are already though the 11 month window for the busy fall time so no impact on that as owners have had a chance to get what they wanted.

 

[BamaGuy44]

Great points and I agree. If we are starting to see rooms open in the 3 to 4 month range, then it may be time to lift it. We are already though the 11 month window for the busy fall time so no impact on that as owners have had a chance to get what they wanted.

So I guess the purpose of the restriction was to spread out the bookings and not have so many points flooding the system at once? I wasn’t following DVC when this went into effect. Is this the first time they’ve done this?

 

[Sandisw]

So I guess the purpose of the restriction was to spread out the bookings and not have so many points flooding the system at once? I wasn’t following DVC when this went into effect. Is this the first time they’ve done this?

With 3 months of closure, that built up a huge number of points in the system that could not be used. People couldn't travel and then banked points at a higher than normal rate.

To combat that, they put the restriction in so points could not be brought forward since so many points were moved ahead with banking. The banking/borrowing system of 100% only works well if they have some level of balance...and all those lost nights during the closure through it way out of whack.

So, this was meant to help with that, and I am sure that it has. When DVC first started, borrowing was 50% and then it changed sometime later to the 100%. Now that we are starting to see some level of shorter term availability again (and the travel restrictions are no longer in place the way they were in 2020 and 2021), it may be time for DVC to consider amending the rule.

As I mentioned, since we are already beyond the 11 month window for the very busy DVC time (mid September to mid January), owners have had a chance to get their bookings in then using the extra points they might have had, so any lift now would not seem to cause a major issue for those who still have banked 2020 or 2021 points.

 

[PurdueTodd]

I’ve exceeded the 50% rule. I asked nicely, was but on hold…..pixie dust was sprinkled. It wasn’t a couple of points either. It was closer to 30.

 

[asunutgirl]

I was on the phone with my guide about a month ago and asked this very question. He told me that there is no timeline to bring back the 100% borrowing but the guides are still being told that the 50% restriction isn't permanent. I sure hope that they get rid of it at some point.

 

[han22735]

Thanks for this post. I just had an issue with southwest changing my flights to terrible times this coming August.