Booking before points are available

[NYmickey]

The question for all of you very helpful people is, can you, and how do you book 11 months in advance if the points aren't available yet? I hope that makes sense.

 

[arthur06]

the points are based on the dates of your stay! You can make a reservation even if you have no current points or even points to borrow. As long as you have points available when you check in.

 

[disneynutz]

You can only book if you have the points in your account.

 

[NYmickey]

ok arthur06 and disneynutz those those two statement don't seem to add up. If points don't become available until June and I want to book for July can I book before June? Still not sure.

 

[Disney Doc]

The points for every year of your contract are already in your account - they become useable on the first day of your use-year. You can reassign them to adjacent use years through banking and borrowing. Check your points on the member website - they are already listed for the next couple of years. There is no deposit of points that takes place on June 1. Use year has nothing to do with when you can make reservations - think about having enough current points at the time you check in. (Member services will bank or borrow for you at the time of reservation, if necessary.)

 

[disneynutz]

Let me try this again. The points have to be in your account and available for use during the dates of your reservation.

 

[LisaS]

ok arthur06 and disneynutz those those two statement don't seem to add up. If points don't become available until June and I want to book for July can I book before June? Still not sure.

I always liked Caskbill's way of explaining this. With a June Use Year:

Your 2009 UY points are valid for stays from 6/1/09 - 5/31/10
Your 2010 UY points are valid for stays from 6/1/10 - 5/31/11
Your 2011 UY points are valid for stays from 6/1/11 - 5/31/12
and so on until the end of your contract.

As Disney Doc said, all of those points are already in your account. Each set of points has a date range associated with them. If you want to book a stay for July 2010, your June 2010 UY points are valid for that stay. You could also bank June 2009 UY points into your 2010 UY and use them to book that stay. And if you needed even more points, you could borrow points from your June 2011 UY and use them for the July 2010 stay as well.

You can book your home resort using home resort points starting 11 months from your check-in day. You must have enough points in your account in the same UY as your travel dates to cover the reservation at the time you make the reservation because Member Services will deduct the points from your account at that time.

 

[CarolMN]

If you are up for a long explanation with some examples (just like school, LOL), then take a look at this thread:

Understanding Use Year - Updated 9/5/08

Here's the last paragraph:

Remember, use year has nothing to do with when you may call to make a reservation. All of your points are actually "in your account". You don't have to wait until your use year begins to have access to your points - you just have to match your vacation dates to the use year it falls within, and then make sure you have enough points in that use year to make the desired reservation.

 

[Helene]

I'm thinking of buying in and have been trying to make sense of this as well.

So, hypothetically speaking, let's say I but into SSR, use year June. If I'm planning a vacation for July, 2011, I can call in August 2010 to reserve @ SSR or in December 2010 for a resort other than SSR??

Also, can I book @ the 11 month window to guarantee my stay @ "home" but change the reservation @ the 7-month window if there is another resort I would like to try and it's available?? Are ther fees involved in changing reservations?

I've been on thses boards since our trip in May and I am so ready to buy in. I just want to make sure I understand it completely before I commit.

 

[DebbieB]

ok arthur06 and disneynutz those those two statement don't seem to add up. If points don't become available until June and I want to book for July can I book before June? Still not sure.

If you look at your account online, you will see points for June 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. There is no "waiting" for availability.

 

[Sandisw]

I'm thinking of buying in and have been trying to make sense of this as well.

So, hypothetically speaking, let's say I but into SSR, use year June. If I'm planning a vacation for July, 2011, I can call in August 2010 to reserve @ SSR or in December 2010 for a resort other than SSR??

Also, can I book @ the 11 month window to guarantee my stay @ "home" but change the reservation @ the 7-month window if there is another resort I would like to try and it's available?? Are ther fees involved in changing reservations?

I've been on thses boards since our trip in May and I am so ready to buy in. I just want to make sure I understand it completely before I commit.

Yes, that is how it would work. When you call at the 7 month window, there is no fee to change from your home resort to another DVC resort, providing there is availability to do so.

In your example, your July 2011 trip, would fall in your June 2011 UY. To "pay" for that trip, you can use points from June 2010 UY that you have "banked", any of the current 2011 UY points, and can also "borrow" from your June 2012 UY.

Many members do book at 11 months at their home resort first and call right at 7 months to change. This way, you know you have something if what you want is not available.

Good luck!

 

[Helene]

Yes, that is how it would work. When you call at the 7 month window, there is no fee to change from your home resort to another DVC resort, providing there is availability to do so.

In your example, your July 2011 trip, would fall in your June 2011 UY. To "pay" for that trip, you can use points from June 2010 UY that you have "banked", any of the current 2011 UY points, and can also "borrow" from your June 2012 UY.

Many members do book at 11 months at their home resort first and call right at 7 months to change. This way, you know you have something if what you want is not available.

Good luck!

Thanks! That was just the clarification I was looking for.