booking 1 extra night outside of dvc points?

[ssr4me]

Hi everyone - we are dvc members and have been for a few year we have enought points for 2 weeks at SSR each year and usually go end august/sept, however this year due to other commitments only time we would be able to go is mid July and we are a little short of points for 14 nights. We are considering going for 13 nights or booking extra night and paying cash however its about 250pounds for the night - and cosidering we are already going to be paying about 700 pounds more for flight due to the date its making it really expensive. I seem to remember hearing something about DVC member being able to get cheaper rates for bookings outside of points, is this possible and how do i go about it? Please let me no cheapest way to do in. Also if we did this would we have to check and and swap rooms for a night?

 

[LauraLea]

How many points short are you? You can do a 1 time buy of up to 24 points for $15/pt.

You could also look for another member to transfer you the points or make you a reservation and link the reservations.

Or, as you asked, as long as there is a cash reservation from MS available the room is 25% off rack rate.

Laura

 

[ssr4me]

thanks Laura, can you give me a bit more info on how to do this please - always had enough points prev. How would i go about finding info on the rack rate option and how would i book this? also who do i speak to about buying one off additional points. Sister-in-law is only other person i no with points and she has used all hers this year taking a friend and parents. Which way have people found to be the cheapest?

 

[maburke]

You can book the cash room with member services, just like the points room. They can book it for full (rack) price, which is probably the 250 pounds you were talking about. Also, depending upon availability, they will discount some rooms 25%, so when you book with points, you can ask if any of your 14 nights are available for the discounted rate, and book that one for cash and link the reservations together so you don't have to move. You can also talk to MS about the additional 24 points. They handle all of these things.

How many points are you short? That will help us advise you on the cheapest option.

 

[ssr4me]

thanks very much for your reply!! i'm 20 points short

 

[LauraLea]

The 20 points would cost you $300, that should be less than 200 pounds. You cannot buy these points until the 7 month booking window. Just call MS and tell them you want to make a reservation and will need to purchase one-time-use points.

Your other option is watch the Rent/Transfer Boards here to see if someone has the points to transfer to you. The going rent is about $10 per point.

Laura

 

[andycat]

Since you're travelling "across the pond", how much do you really do on the first and/or last day? Would you consider staying off-property one of those days? We've gotten 3-star rooms near the airport for $40/night using Priceline, albeit not during high season. It should still be quite reasonably priced, though.

When we were coming from the other direction (US west coast) this worked very well for us. After a full day of traveling, we weren't all that much up for the parks anyway. We would pack a small suitcase and toiletries for the first night separately from the rest of our luggage.

We'd also rent a car for one day that we'd use to get to our room at WDW, then drop it off at the Swan and Dolphin. This allows for trips to the grocery, Disney outlet store, and any other errands before immersing ourselves in the World.

 

[Dean]

Lots of options including 13 days only, cash through CRO at ANY resort, cash through DVC hopefully with a member discount, rent the extra 20 points, stay off property, maybe others. I'd go 13 days but if I decided I wanted the extra night, I'd stay off property if I had a car and arrive early at Disney then to to the pool or parks or similar. If using ME, I'd get a cash reservation through either CRO or MS for the same unit size/type at the same resort then try to get the extra night on points by renting the 20 points at 7 months out.