Banking/Borrowing question

[jamstew]

I'm not a DVC member (yet), but am considering it. I was wondering how long you have to use banked points and how far ahead you can borrow. In other words, how many years' points can you aggregate before you have to use them?

Here's what I'm trying to do, if someone can tell me how (or if) I can do it: I want to have 300 points by May 1, 2010, but I can't buy that many points at one time. Is there any way to accomplish this by buying 100 points and banking/borrowing? If so, when would I need to try to buy a 100-point contract and what should I be looking for in a use year?

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Yes there is a way to do it. You can use current year points, borrow next year's points and have the year before's points banked. If you had a 100 point contract and did all that you would have the 300 points you need. At any time you can have up to three year's worth of points (as in this example) for a reservation. (Actually there is a tricky way to use four years worth of points for a single trip but it is rare to be able to do it).

Good luck finding a 100 point contract.

HBC

 

[MrsNick]

HBC, I assume that your sneaky way of using four years' points must mean that your trip would have to straddle the end of one use year and the start of another, no? Then borrowing from the year ahead, right?

 

[jamstew]

Yes there is a way to do it. You can use current year points, borrow next year's points and have the year before's points banked. If you had a 100 point contract and did all that you would have the 300 points you need. At any time you can have up to three year's worth of points (as in this example) for a reservation. (Actually there is a tricky way to use four years worth of points for a single trip but it is rare to be able to do it).

Good luck finding a 100 point contract.

HBC

That's what I was hoping to hear, but here's what I'm having trouble getting my head around:

If I bought, say, a 100-point May use year contract starting in May 2009, I'm assuming I would get those points on May 1. I would bank those points and get another 100 points on May 1, 2010. Then I would borrow the 2011 points for a May 10, 2010 trip (we actually don't know the exact date yet). Wouldn't the 2009 points expire on May 1, 2010, or do you have the whole month of May? I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense

Would anything other than a May UY work? This is all so complicated

 

[CarolMN]

That's what I was hoping to hear, but here's what I'm having trouble getting my head around:

If I bought, say, a 100-point May use year contract starting in May 2009, I'm assuming I would get those points on May 1. I would bank those points and get another 100 points on May 1, 2010. Then I would borrow the 2011 points for a May 10, 2010 trip (we actually don't know the exact date yet). Wouldn't the 2009 points expire on May 1, 2010, or do you have the whole month of May? I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense

Would anything other than a May UY work? This is all so complicated

Let me try to help. First of all, there isn't a May use year, so let's say you get an April use year instead. Let's say your first points come to you on April 1, 2009.

Those points are good for stays that occur between 4/1/2009 and 3/31/2010. In other words you have a whole year to use them before they expire.

Let say you need 300 points for a stay in May, 2010. You bank the 100 points from your 2009 use year. That makes them good for stays that occur between 4/1/2010 and 3/31/2011. You can also use the 100 points from your 2010 use year - those points are already good for stays between 4/1/2010 and 3/31/2011. You can also borrow 100 points from your 2011 use year. Originally, those would be good for stays between 4/1/2011 and 3/31/2012. When you borrow them, they become good for stays between 4/1/2010 and 3/31/2011.

So by banking, borrowing and using current use year points, you have the 300 points you need for your May 2010 vacation.

Of course you have no points to use during your 2009 use year (4/1/2009 - 3/31/2010) and no points to use during your 2011 use year (4/1/2011-3/31/2012), but you do get to enjoy that 300 point vacation in May, 2010.

PS. If you decide to stay at your home resort for that vacation, you can call to make the reservation in June of 2009 (11 months prior to check out). You do have to bank the 2009 points before you actually make the reservation, though. MS will take automatically care of borrowing the points you need when you are making the reservation.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

HBC, I assume that your sneaky way of using four years' points must mean that your trip would have to straddle the end of one use year and the start of another, no? Then borrowing from the year ahead, right?

That's it.

HBC

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Would anything other than a May UY work? This is all so complicated

Pay attention to what Carol says but any use year will do the trick. Use year doesn't matter at all in your idea to bank and borrow.

HBC

 

[MBELSANTI]

That's it.

HBC

HBC,
Can you explain how this can be done?

 

[jamstew]

Let me try to help. First of all, there isn't a May use year, so let's say you get an April use year instead. Let's say your first points come to you on April 1, 2009.

Those points are good for stays that occur between 4/1/2009 and 3/31/2010. In other words you have a whole year to use them before they expire.

Let say you need 300 points for a stay in May, 2010. You bank the 100 points from your 2009 use year. That makes them good for stays that occur between 4/1/2010 and 3/31/2011. You can also use the 100 points from your 2010 use year - those points are already good for stays between 4/1/2010 and 3/31/2011. You can also borrow 100 points from your 2011 use year. Originally, those would be good for stays between 4/1/2011 and 3/31/2012. When you borrow them, they become good for stays between 4/1/2010 and 3/31/2011.

So by banking, borrowing and using current use year points, you have the 300 points you need for your May 2010 vacation.

Of course you have no points to use during your 2009 use year (4/1/2009 - 3/31/2010) and no points to use during your 2011 use year (4/1/2011-3/31/2012), but you do get to enjoy that 300 point vacation in May, 2010.

PS. If you decide to stay at your home resort for that vacation, you can call to make the reservation in June of 2009 (11 months prior to check out). You do have to bank the 2009 points before you actually make the reservation, though. MS will take automatically care of borrowing the points you need when you are making the reservation.

Thank you! That made it so much clearer Just a couple more questions (promise )

The trip we want to take actually requires 314 points (1 week in a 2BR). Assuming I'm able to do this at all, I was hoping to be able to get another member to transfer the pesky 14 points but am now wondering if that would be allowed. I read somewhere that you can't have more than 3X the number you own in your account at one time--a total of banked, allotted & borrowed points--but it didn't say anything about transferred points. Is this treated differently, or am I going to have to bite the bullet and buy more points?

Unrelated to banking/borrowing: Does anyone know where I could find the square footage of the various accommodations at BCV and VWL?

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

HBC,
Can you explain how this can be done?

Lets say your use year is October.
And you want to travel to WDW from September 24 to October 8, 2008 for two weeks.

You have banked your October 2006 points into 2007. You can now use those points anytime between October 1, 2007 and Sepetmber 30, 2008. So you have two years worth of points, 2006 and 2007 for the September 24 through September 30 portion of your trip.

On October 1 you get your 2008 points and you can borrow your 2009 ponts for the final week of the trip. In total, 4 years worth of points. The trip doesn't have to be for two weeks, it could be for as little as two days, it just has to cross from one use year to the other. For example, someone with a 50point contract could get two nights in a grand villa if one night is the last night of the use year and the other night is the first night of the next.

As always it's dangerous to travel on the final days of your use year becasue they are gone forever if you have to cancel at the last minute but this method allows you access to four years worth of points.

HBC

 

[CarolMN]

Thank you! That made it so much clearer Just a couple more questions (promise )

The trip we want to take actually requires 314 points (1 week in a 2BR). Assuming I'm able to do this at all, I was hoping to be able to get another member to transfer the pesky 14 points but am now wondering if that would be allowed. I read somewhere that you can't have more than 3X the number you own in your account at one time--a total of banked, allotted & borrowed points--but it didn't say anything about transferred points. Is this treated differently, or am I going to have to bite the bullet and buy more points? ......

My understanding is that transferred points do not count for the "3 year calculation" rule. You will have to transfer the points into your account before you make the reservation and you can't borrow points until/unless you make a reservation, so I don't think it will be a problem. Verify with MS before you arrange the transfer.

FWIW, if you buy less than 160 points, you must do so via the resale market (I'm assuming you are not a member at this time). It may be difficult to find a 100 point contract that meets your other criteria (like use year, not stripped, price, etc.) You may want to be open to contracts slightly larger - for example, there are probably quite a few 120 SSR contracts out there because it was the minimum amount of an add on to get a "free" AP as an incentive to buy. Many members decided to sell the add on after a year or two.

Unrelated to banking/borrowing: Does anyone know where I could find the square footage of the various accommodations at BCV and VWL?

The info you want is in this thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1559886&highlight=square

Look for the post by Webmasterdoc.

 

[Dean]

Pay attention to what Carol says but any use year will do the trick. Use year doesn't matter at all in your idea to bank and borrow.

HBC

But it does matter if you later have to cancel and in the situation for the OP it matters A LOT in case they must change or cancel.

Thank you! That made it so much clearer Just a couple more questions (promise )

The trip we want to take actually requires 314 points (1 week in a 2BR). Assuming I'm able to do this at all, I was hoping to be able to get another member to transfer the pesky 14 points but am now wondering if that would be allowed. I read somewhere that you can't have more than 3X the number you own in your account at one time--a total of banked, allotted & borrowed points--but it didn't say anything about transferred points. Is this treated differently, or am I going to have to bite the bullet and buy more points?

Unrelated to banking/borrowing: Does anyone know where I could find the square footage of the various accommodations at BCV and VWL?

allearsnet.com has most of the room sizes listed under accommodations. In this situation you'd be better off buying a few more points than trying to get the min you can get by with plus trying to do a transfer. It's not likely many will be willing to transfer just 14 points unless at a real premium since they only get one transfer per use year. You'd have to find someone simply trying to be nice, not one who truly was interested in the financial aspect of it. Carol is correct, the transferred points don't count. It's not actually a rule about having more than 3 years points, merely a statement of reality under the normal situations.