banking/borrowing points

[Ellie42699]

I am considering doing a small contract so that I can plan on a disney trip every other year. I am totally confused about how this whole banking/borrowing goes. If I want to go to disney every other year, stay in a studio, how many points should i purchase? We would mostly be traveling for 1 week in the magic season so I was figuring on about 140 points per week. We are already booked for our 2010 vacation so the next time we would plan on going is in 2012. Am I correct in assuming I should go for a 75 point contract? I would bank 2011 points to use with 2012 points for a trip in 2012? then in 2013 I would bank for a trip in 2014? Also if I plan on mostly traveling in April, what use year would I get?
Thanks in advance

 

[Deb & Bill]

Check the top of the page for "DVC Points Charts". What you need each year should be relatively static, with a few changes here and there. See what you need for the time of year you plan to visit. Or go for the worst case scenerio (ie. Christmas, Easter).

Then figure out if you want to go yearly, every other year or every third year. You can use current year points, borrow from next year and bank last years points to get three years worth of points max.

 

[DenLo]

Based on the 2010 point charts, it looks like 75 points would cover you as you plan for all of the DVC resorts except for VGC (45 more points) and at BLT only a standard view would work (it would take 3 more points than you'll have for a LV at BLT). However, if another reallocation on the point charts occurs your well made plans could fall apart. That's what many posters having been complaining about on an older DIS thread.

A February, March, April or even December use year would work for you.

Have you checked out this website? It has a a lot of good information.
http://www.dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-program/dvc-for-beginners

Also do you realize that you cannot buy a 75 point contract as your first contract from DVC direct? Disney requires a minimum of 160 points or sometimes they'll have a special of 100 points for an an initial contract. You'll have to buy resale.

 

[5forDiz]

Concerning your Use Year question, rule of thumb most follow is to pick a Use Year where you will not travel during the last 4 months of that Use Year because you will be beyond your banking deadline then (presently banking deadline is last day of 8th month of Use Year) should you need to cancel a trip.

Cancellations need to occur 31 days or more before check in for your CURRENT Use Year points used in the reservation to be bankable ( these are the points from the UY allotment during which your travel would take place & they are the only points that would be bankable)

If you cancel a reservation that also has banked and/or borrowed points then those points will need to be used by the end of the Use Year during which the travel dates were to take place -- and this is yet another reason to pick a UY during which you will not travel during the last 4 mos of UY so you may have at least those 4 mos to re-use those banked &/or borrowed points that were part of that cancelled reservation for a trip that would happen before the UY ends.

April Use Year bank by November 30

March UY bank by October 31

February UY bank by September 30

(January, November, July & May are not Use Years)

Best wishes