Banking and Booking

[disney junky]

I have until the end of January to bank this year's points. I have 152. I'm planning on booking a trip for the beginning of December 2015 which will use all of those points. Is there any reason for me to bank those points? Or not bank them? I can't think of any reason to bank them, but I just want to make sure I'm not missing something.

 

[drusba]

Your June 2014 points must be banked by Jan 31, 2015 if you want to use them for a Dec 2015 trip.

 

[jerseyduke]

If you do not Bank them, they will expire at the end of your UY and will not be available for you to use for December 2015. If your plan is to use them for that trip, you HAVE to bank them.

 

[disney junky]

Your June 2014 points must be banked by Jan 31, 2015 if you want to use them for a Dec 2015 trip.

Right. I guess my point is, if I make a reservation the beginning of January (11 month) for a December 2015 trip, is there any reason to bank the points because at that point, they will be used for that reservation? Would that not just be adding a step?

 

[jerseyduke]

You still have to bank them, as they are not being used until your 2015 UY. When you make the reservation is irrelevant, It is the dates of the reservation that matter.

The only way to use 2014UY points in your 2015UY is by banking them. If you do not bank them, you will end up using your 2015UY points for the December reservation.

Now, a good(knowledgeable)CM may ask you if you want to bank them, but I would not rely on that.

 

[chalee94]

Right. I guess my point is, if I make a reservation the beginning of January (11 month) for a December 2015 trip, is there any reason to bank the points because at that point, they will be used for that reservation?

you can bank them when you make the call to reserve, but they have to banked into the correct "use" year before they can be "used."

 

[disney junky]

I just banked them. Then next month when I go to make reservations, those will be the first used.

 

[drusba]

Yes, both the online system and MS via phone will use those banked points for a Dec 2015 trip before using any June 2015 points. Now that I see your original question was simply referring to banking before reserving in Jan 2015, for future reference be aware that there is no automatic banking done when you go to reserve a trip. Thus, to reserve online or by calling MS, you must first carry out a separate transaction to bank points before even beginning to make a reservation using them.

 

[disney junky]

Back when all transactions were done by phone, MS always guided me through which points to use and when.

 

[BobH]

I have never booked online and need to make reservations for a 2 bedroom and a separate studio at the 7 month window for a July 2015 reservation at Hilton Head. Since it appears that I can do that at 8am online vs 9am by phone I thought I might try it, but I have concerns regarding what is possible with complicated online bookings since I have a June use year and will need to use all my 2015 year points and borrow from 2016 use year. Plus I don't want to get started with all the borrowing while making reservations for a 2 bedroom only to find out there is no availability for the second reservation (studio) for my son & his wife. Would anybody have any advice regarding a complicated booking and what is available online vs giving up the 1 hour advantage on the first booking date at 7 months out?. I read all the comments on walking a reservation and don't really want to get involved in that but I am unfamiliar with the online booking process.

 

[supersnoop]

I have never booked online and need to make reservations for a 2 bedroom and a separate studio at the 7 month window for a July 2015 reservation at Hilton Head. Since it appears that I can do that at 8am online vs 9am by phone I thought I might try it, but I have concerns regarding what is possible with complicated online bookings since I have a June use year and will need to use all my 2015 year points and borrow from 2016 use year. Plus I don't want to get started with all the borrowing while making reservations for a 2 bedroom only to find out there is no availability for the second reservation (studio) for my son & his wife. Would anybody have any advice regarding a complicated booking and what is available online vs giving up the 1 hour advantage on the first booking date at 7 months out?. I read all the comments on walking a reservation and don't really want to get involved in that but I am unfamiliar with the online booking process.

Book the studio first; that shouldn't require any borrowing. Then try to book the two-bedroom. If it's available, the reservation process will walk you through the borrowing process.

 

[drusba]

That time of year at HH you have a real risk that the studio, 2BR, or both may be unavailable absent waitlist. On line you will need to do one reservation and then the other, when one will require borrowing, and agree with above that you should do that studio first so you do not borrow until the last reservation and thus know you have both.

 

[BobH]

Supersnoop thank you very much that is a sensible way to approach it. If I fail to get the 2 bedroom the number of points that I will use to get the studio will still remain available for that use year (2015) if I cancel the reservation and I am certain I would use that many in 2015 anyway.
Thanks to you as well Drusba.

 

[dboules]

Thanks for the reminder about banking! I just banked my remaining points so I dont have to worry about nonuse.

Diana