Banking Question

[disneycrazed139]

I have a question about banking after reading over the documents I received. I'm sure all you experts know the answer to this one.

If I bank into the following year, I have to use those points up the next year.

Does reseravations AUTOMATICALLY use those banked points for your reservations FIRST before touching the new year's points?

My concern is this--I sort of compared to the scenario of using a credit card for a cash advance. If you do that, you need to pay off your regular balance first, before the cash advance would be paid off (there is more interest accuring on cash advances so this is advantageous to the credit card company)

Is this situation similar in that you need to use your current year's points up FIRST before you can make reservations with the past year's points you banked forward?

If that is the case, it seems to make the potential for losing current year's points and their value/banking ability lower.

Or can you specify that you wish to use current year's points FIRST and save the ones that you have for use that were banked into that current year until after you've used the banked ones?

I am sorry if this is confusing!

I don't know if the credit card analogy is a good one--basically I am trying to see what the advantage is for DVC by your banking of the points.

 

[disneycrazed139]

Sorry, I misspoke above--

"Is this situation similar in that you need to use your current year's points up FIRST before you can make reservations with the past year's points you banked forward?"


What I meant is, do you need to use your BANKED points first before you can make reservations with the CURRENT year's points.

Since banked can't be banked again, it would seem that you need to use/allocate your current point allotment first.

Do all these points get mixed up into one sum? Or do they keep track of them and whether they are current, past, or future use points?

What a juggling act!

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by disneycrazed139
What I meant is, do you need to use your BANKED points first before you can make reservations with the CURRENT year's points.

You do not need to use your BANKED points first, but MS usually recommends that you do. They are usually on the ball with using your banked points first, but I always make sure that MS is using the points I want then to. Depending on the reservation I may want them to use CURRENT points instead.

What a juggling act!

Get the DVC Point Manager by David Fredrickson. It rocks in keeping your points straight!

 

[disneycrazed139]

So you can use whichever points first that YOU want to? That is what I was looking for. That seems to be the way to go. If you had to use banked points first, it seems you could lose ability to bank current' year's.

Thanks for the recommendation about the point manager. I will take a look!!

 

[spiceycat]

the CM are to surpose to use the banked points first - but I also say exactly what points to use (I have a few DVC homes) for what reservations -

then you ask for how many points you have left after this reservations - then if you figures don't match there - ask what they did.

mistakes can happen.

Now you can't borrow until all your banked plus current points are gone.

once you have banked or borrow those points they can not go back to their use years. So be careful about cancelling if you use banked or borrowed points.

 

[disneycrazed139]

If you cancel reservations that use banked or borrowed, can you still use them the same year for a new reservations?

 

[Nette]

Originally posted by disneycrazed139
If you had to use banked points first, it seems you could lose ability to bank current' year's.

How so...? if you don't use your banked points you could/would lose them. If you know you will have current points left over you can bank them.

 

[disneycrazed139]

Nette-if CM makes a reservation using banked points first, it seems that, since you might only have current use year points left, you might save them and there is more opportunity for mistake in that time might expire before you would bank them.

If you use your current use year points first and decide on what you will and not bank from that allotment at the beginning of the year, you still have your banked points left to use for the year. They must be used that year anyway and can't be banked, so I don't see the point in "getting them out of the way." Use them for an end of year trip as an extra or beter room is what I am thinking.

I don't know. I am new at this, so anyone that can make more sense out of it here, please feel free.

I know you could still bank the current year's while at the same time making a reservation with your banked forward points, so I'm not sure why I am thinking this way.

 

[PamOKW]

The best thing to do is keep track of your points. Mark the banking deadlines. I think it is better to use the points that you know will expire first (banked or borrowed). Then you have time to decide to either use or bank the current points. You have options beyond letting them expire as long as you pay attention to the deadlines.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I usually make a note at the beginning of the use year as to how many points were banked into that year. If I am sure to use at least that many points, that year, I wont have to worry about losing them. I always assumed that MS used the banked points first.

 

[manning]

It can become complicated if you have bookings with banked and current points. Once points are used you cannot adjust them.

For example you have reservations in May on current points, July on banked points. sept on current points and Nov. on banked points

You cancel the Nov trip and used your May reservations.

You can replace current points with banked points for the Sept trip, but you cannot replace current points with banked points on the May trip because you have already used those current points.

Points are considered used when you have actually stayed on site.

I thought I had 27 banked points left over and found out I actually had over 100. I added on to an upcoming trip with wait list and got it down to 80. If the wait list doesn't clear by a certain date then I have to decide to book another DVC or on site hotel 60 days before the end of my use year to avoid the points going into the holding rule. If I don't use the banked points, they disappear.

 

[JerseyBob]

Robinb

In what situation would you want to use current points over banked points? Thanks.