?? Banking and Borrowing

[TDERadulski]

Well, we recieved our "packet" in the mail. I am reading through it all...tons of information. Although I have to say I already knew about most things due to this discussion board!
I have a question on banking and borrowing. Our use year is June. We will not be using our 2003 points (300) this year, nor before June 2004. We are planning to return to WDW in early November 2004. I plan on booking our stay this December to take advatage of the 11 month booking window at our home resort. My question is, if I bank my 2003 points this November, can I use them to book my November 2004 stay? I am confused about the rules of when I can use banked points. Since we plan on making a reservation for November 2004, should I forego banking the 2003 points? I am really confused on how that aspect of the program works.
Thanks (again!) for your help.

 

[bobbiwoz]

By banking your June 03 points, you "make" them June 04 points. They can't be banked again, they have to be used by the last day of May 05.

That's my understanding.

 

[CarolMN]

Short answer: If you will not use your 2003 points for a stay before June 1, 2004, go ahead and bank them. Then they will be good for your November, 2004 stay and yes, you can still book your stay in December, 2003. Bank the 2003 points before you book your 11/04 trip and be sure to tell MS that you want to use the banked points first. As noted, the banked points will now expire on 5/31/2005 if they are not used before then.

A longer explanation: You do not need to have points actually in your account to call and make a reservation. You only need them to be in the account when your stay begins.

2003 points are good for stays that occur between 6/1/2003 and 5/31/2004.

2004 points are good for stays that occur between 6/1/2004 and 5/31/2005.

2005 points are good for stays that occur between 6/1/2005 and 5/31/2006.

Etc.

It helps to make this chart when you are confused. I still do it sometimes.

A November 2004 stay falls within your 2004 use year. So would a stay in March, 2005. You would need 2004 use year points to pay for either stay. You can also use points from your 2003 use year for that stay if you bank them. You can also use points from the 2005 use year if you borrow them.

remember - when you can call to make the reservation has no relationship to your use year. You can always call 11 months ahead of check out for a stay at your home resort and 7 months ahead if the stay is for a non-home resort.


HTH. Post again if you need more.

CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME HOME, TOO!

 

[TDERadulski]

Wow!
Thank you sooo much for that explanation! It cleared everything up.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Another simple thing to remember is that if you always booka trip for the banked into year that is at least as many points as you banked, you wont lose out. We are usually in a banking situation. I always make a side bar note so I know that I MUST use that many points the following year. It gives us lots of flexibility for longer stays and GV stays when we need them.