Anyone else having trouble with their March reservations and points?

[tanner]

I have a reservation for March 21 -26. I used DVC points to book at the Boardwalk Inn. I borrowed from my 2020 use year so I could book during March. I was told that if I cancelled the reservation that the points would go back into 2019 instead of 2020 and that I would have to use them by May 31, 2020. The only other time I can travel this year is the week after Christmas or spring break of 2021. I requested that they put the points back into my 2020 year so I would not lose them. I was told by Max that was not possible. He told me that I knew the rules when I transferred the points and that there was not any other options. I told him I knew the rules when I transferred the points but I didn't know that a virus was going to cause a pandemic and that the President was going to call a national state of emergency and that Disney was going to close the parks which is the reason most people go to Disney. He said that many people just come to stay at the resorts and I could do the same. It doesn't matter that resort services cannot be guaranteed. He said that was what the senior admin agreed upon and that they would not change it. I asked to talk to his supervisor (he was the second person I talked to) and he told me that there was no one over him I could talk to. I told him there had to be someone. He finally told me he could get someone to call me back but he would not give me a name or number. He said they would not change anything. I said I thought Disney said they would help everyone out that had reservations but it seems that is not true. He told me that he could get me rooms in Chicago or Colorado. I even told them if they would just change my reservation to December or later that I would be fine with that. He told me no that if I didn't use points or stay by May 31, 2020 I would lose them. I am upset with Disney and don't know what to do. If I knew who to call I would. Has anyone else had this experience?

 

[BlakeNJ]

I hope this is not the case. I canceled online for a trip scheduled for 3/17-3/20. I see those points in 2019 but they were borrowed from 2020. I have zero travel plans for the near future. Especially not by the end of my use year, Oct 2020. I will be extremely angry that this is not forgiven.

 

[BlakeNJ]

Adding—I can not even get through to MS to speak to someone.

 

[tanner]

I hope this is not the case. I canceled online for a trip scheduled for 3/17-3/20. I see those points in 2019 but they were borrowed from 2020. I have zero travel plans for the near future. Especially not by the end of my use year, Oct 2020. I will be extremely angry that this is not forgiven.

I just called again and was told that I could not bank my points (148 which came from my 2020 use year) and I could not make a reservation after May 31, 2020 using those points. My use year is June. They said if I did not stay before 5/31 that I would lose my points. They said it was because I used points to book a Disney hotel. It should not matter if I booked a DVC resort or a Disney hotel. The points should go to the use year they came from which is 2020

 

[jlb727]

Adding—I can not even get through to MS to speak to someone.

Keep trying. Yesterday, it took me and my husband both trying on and off from 8 am until 4 pm to get past a busy signal. Then I got through and was on hold until 5, and I finally was able to talk to someone about my March 22 reservation.

 

[Sandisw]

I just called again and was told that I could not bank my points (148 which came from my 2020 use year) and I could not make a reservation after May 31, 2020 using those points. My use year is June. They said if I did not stay before 5/31 that I would lose my points. They said it was because I used points to book a Disney hotel. It should not matter if I booked a DVC resort or a Disney hotel. The points should go to the use year they came from which is 2020

The problem is that the Points are different, Once you change DVC points to reservation points, they stay reservston points. They can never be converted back,

Reservation points are only good for the UY you booked and do indeed expire at the end of the UY.

I get it frustrating, but once you agreed to convert them, they lost the ability to be used for DVC. When you made the move, DVC took your points and rented them out for cash to pay Disney for your room.

It sounds like the offered you another option in the collection and I’m sure they will waive the typical $95 fee.

Again, I am sure there are people who have booked Disney cruises with points and are now going to find themselves in the same situation.

Yes, DVC is doing it’s best to accommodate owners as best they can, but not all options will be acceptable

 

[Marionnette]

I just called again and was told that I could not bank my points (148 which came from my 2020 use year) and I could not make a reservation after May 31, 2020 using those points. My use year is June. They said if I did not stay before 5/31 that I would lose my points. They said it was because I used points to book a Disney hotel. It should not matter if I booked a DVC resort or a Disney hotel. The points should go to the use year they came from which is 2020

Therein lies your problem. You traded your points to book a Disney Collection hotel room, not a DVC villa. The rules may not have been modified for them at this time.

It sounds as if they are toeing the line with their responses. The official rule for booking a Disney Collection hotel is the following:

• Returned Reservation Points will be deposited into the Use Year in which the cancelled reservation falls. Returned Reservation Points may not be used for Disney Vacation Club Resort reservations or for World Collection exchanges and will expire at the end of your Use Year. Returned Reservation Points cannot be banked.

You may want to email member satisfaction about your issue. Front line CMs can only follow the rules that they have been given. Someone in member satisfaction may be able to do something for you.

 

[tanner]

The problem is that the Points are different, Once you change DVC points to reservation points, they stay reservston points. They can never be converted back,

Reservation points are only good for the UY you booked and do indeed expire at the end of the UY.

I get it frustrating, but once you agreed to convert them, they lost the ability to be used for DVC. When you made the move, DVC took your points and rented them out for cash to pay Disney for your room.

It sounds like the offered you another option in the collection and I’m sure they will waive the typical $95 fee.

Again, I am sure there are people who have booked Disney cruises with points and are now going to find themselves in the same situation.

Yes, DVC is doing it’s best to accommodate owners as best they can, but not all options will be acceptable

I understood all of the rules when I changed them over but we now have a pandemic with the president declaring a national emergency, Disney has closed its parks, and they can't guarantee that the resorts will be full service. Rules are being modified everywhere to help people deal with the issues caused by all of this. DVC is on some things. It should be all or none. My other option was Chicago or Colorado and the people on the cruises should not be in the same situation if Disney would do what is right. It is easy to say something is acceptable when you are not the one that is having issues. I think you are missing the point that this is not normal so rules and ways of doing things cannot be normal at this time. I am sure everyone that is in the same situation as me wasn't thinking that there might be a possible pandemic. If we had, we would have not converted points.

 

[Sandisw]

I understood all of the rules when I changed them over but we now have a pandemic with the president declaring a national emergency, Disney has closed its parks, and they can't guarantee that the resorts will be full service. Rules are being modified everywhere to help people deal with the issues caused by all of this. DVC is on some things. It should be all or none. My other option was Chicago or Colorado and the people on the cruises should not be in the same situation if Disney would do what is right. It is easy to say something is acceptable when you are not the one that is having issues. I think you are missing the point that this is not normal so rules and ways of doing things cannot be normal at this time. I am sure everyone that is in the same situation as me wasn't thinking that there might be a possible pandemic. If we had, we would have not converted points.

I do understand and I too had to cancel a trip. I was perfectly prepared to have holding points and did not expect them to return my borrowed points. Did I allow them to? Of course, but I also think that it was a can of worms that was opened that shouldn’t and if this lasts longer than just The few weeks, it is going to cause an issue.

Do you realize that your DVC points that were converted are gone? They were used to book a room and rented for cash. technically, they are consider used. It is why they have the rule of 4 for these types of reservations. So, they can convert your points to cash to pay the hotel side.

They are not penalizing you for canceling. They are not restricting the use and giving you everyone you paid back to you, Just like a cash guest who got their money back,

As mentiuoned, contact Disney and express frustration, but none of us should be upset if rules are enforced,

Having said that, I think if they actually close the Inn before you have to check in, and you haven’t canceled it, then I can see having a case because they are not delivering you the room.

 

[Coffee66]

I do understand and I too had to cancel a trip. I was perfectly prepared to have holding points and did not expect them to return my borrowed points. Did I allow them to? Of course, but I also think that it was a can of worms that was opened that shouldn’t and if this lasts longer than just The few weeks, it is going to cause an issue.

Do you realize that your DVC points that were converted are gone? They were used to book a room and rented for cash. technically, they are consider used. It is why they have the rule of 4 for these types of reservations. So, they can convert your points to cash to pay the hotel side.

They are not penalizing you for canceling. They are not restricting the use and giving you everyone you paid back to you, Just like a cash guest who got their money back,

As mentiuoned, contact Disney and express frustration, but none of us should be upset if rules are enforced,

Having said that, I think if they actually close the Inn before you have to check in, and you haven’t canceled it, then I can see having a case because they are not delivering you the room.

Ouch. Did I just feel a chill. On a side note. I fly SWA a lot. We had a situation years ago regarding expiring travel funds. SWA made them reappear. I hope it works out for all.

 

[Sandisw]

Ouch. Did I just feel a chill. On a side note. I fly SWA a lot. We had a situation years ago regarding expiring travel funds. SWA made them reappear. I hope it works out for all.

Not trying to sound harsh but the Reality is that these types of points are completely different and can’t be easily just changed back,

On my side note, SW did not restore travel funds for me last year, no matter now hard I tried via phone and email. They would not extend them, even when I said I could provide documentation about my dad being hospitalized and not being able to use them. I even only wanted them extended 2 weeks. So, I lost over $200.

Things happen, and even in this crisis, people are losing out. Members who have banked points are not getting them extended. Unfortunately, not every person affected by this crisis is going to be happy with the solutions being offered.

 

[Coffee66]

Not trying to sound harsh but the Reality is that these types of points are completely different and can’t be easily just changed back,

On my side note, SW did not restore travel funds for me last year, no matter now hard I tried via phone and email. They would not extend them, even when I said I could provide documentation about my dad being hospitalized and not being able to use them. I even only wanted them extended 2 weeks. So, I lost over $200.

Things happen, and even in this crisis, people are losing out. Members who have banked points are not getting them extended. Unfortunately, not every person affected by this crisis is going to be happy with the solutions being offered.

I feel so sorry for these people. I really hope someone is trying to figure out something to try to take the sting out of this situation. I'm sorry SWA didn't help you. I guess this is not a good time for a lot of people. God Bless everyone

 

[bridgemanva]

While it may not be what you want I had a situation where I had to cancel last minute due to an extended family crisis and would not be able to bank or otherwise use the points. I was able to put them in RCI and had 2 years to use them. we did a beach getaway to Virginia Beach with them just before they expired. You may want to ask about that. It is unlikely they can implement such a rule waiver to restore so many members points equitably without creating a point imbalance. Particularly given we are in such uncharted territory.