Banking Points Question

[*NikkiBell*]

Member Services is closed, but I want to find this out now, if possible. When I called to book my April trip on incentive points, they said I should receive a confirmation letter in the mail and gave me the confirmation number. I still have not received it and it's been over a month. Should I bet concerned?

Also, can someone explaining banking points to me? I think I was told that we need to bank 2007's points by November 30th. Does this sound right? Once I bank them, how do I use them?

 

[RobDoc]

I would contact MS and verify your reservation, letting them know you have not yet received the confirmation letter. The Developer points have to be manually applied for reservations, so they are handled differently than reservations made using "regular" points.

Once points have been banked they are still used the same way - except that they can only be used for a reservation during the Use Year into which they were banked.

If you have a June Use Year, you can bank up to 100% of your 2007 points thru the end of November, 2007. However, due to the changes taking place on January 1, 2008 - you will still be able to bank your June points thru the end of January, 2008.

The November date is based only on a June Use Year. Currently, you could still bank up to 50% of your 2007 points thru the ninth month of the Use Year and then 25% thru the end of the tenth month - but that changes on January 1 when we can bank 100% or our points thru the end of the eigth month (thus the January date for a June Use Year).

If you have banked all of your current points and later decided you want to make a reservation for the current Use Year , you would need to borrow points from the next Use Year since banked points cannot be returned to their original Use Year.

 

[drusba]

A month seems long. You might call to have another sent. (Note, on a couple of occassions before, they failed to send me a confirmation letter; it just happens.)

Do you have a June use year? Under rule currently in effect, you would have until the end of your sixth month, meaning November 30, to bank all your 2007 points into June 08 use year. That would be the safest course.

However, effective January 1, 2008, the banking rules change. You will be able to bank all of your points at any time through the eighth month of your use year, and for June that is the end of January.

That leaves the question: if you wait until January will you be able to bank all even though under old rule you had only until Nov 30?

I asked that very question via email of MS and the offical answer I got was yes.

Which raises the next question: Should you trust what you are told by MS?

That is an area that has led to a lot of debate and varying views on this site since there have been times when people contact MS reps and realize some don't know what they are talking about.

Thus, if you want to wait until January to bank, you might want to make the same email request I made and get the same answer so you will have something later in writing to prove you were told you could wait until January.