Booking Summer 1st Welcome Home Trip AND Booking Spring Break 2023 Trip Points Question

[Little E]

Hi Disfriends!

My DH and are SO excited to finally be DVC folks! We just purchased two 200 point contracts at the Grand Floridian with a February use year. I did my MS orientation today, and we are toying with the idea of booking a short first "welcome home" trip for sometime this summer. But, I also want to book a trip for spring break, 2023.

I know that I will most likely not be able to secure GF for a summer 2022 welcome home trip as we are way beyond the 11 month and 7 month booking marks. We would be open to using our points at another resort for a short trip this summer, and we plan to bank the remainder of our 2022 points. As an added "twist" I'm within days of being able to book at the 11 month mark for GF for spring break next March. If I call member services and have them help me book our first trip, can I then book my spring break trip at GF when I reach my 11 month window? In other words, with my February use year, will the system "know" that I will have another 400 points as of February 2023, so that I can book at the 11 month mark asap with my banked points and my 2023 400 points from my February use year?

Any clarity you could offer to this DVC newbie would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to call MS asap to start booking trips! Thank you so much!

 

[Sandisw]

Everything is based on the time of the trip and not when you call. So, a spring break trip will fall in your Feb 2023 UY, and you book it using all of the 400 2023 points you have.

If you have banked the 2022 UY points before booking that trip, the system will use those first,

If you bank after you book it, you have to go in and modify it to reallocate the newly banked points or call and ask MS to do it.

 

[Little E]

@Sandisw thank you so much! This is exactly what I wanted to know. It sounds like it's in my best interest to 1) book our quick welcome home trip this summer 2) bank the remainder of those points 3) book my spring break trip right at the 11 month window?

Correct me if I didn't get this right.

 

[Little E]

@Sandisw and also-correct me if I'm wrong-I won't need to borrow up to 50% of my 2023 use year points when I book at my 11 month window, because I have a February use year? I could use all 400 points if I needed to from my 2023 points?

 

[Sandisw]

@Sandisw and also-correct me if I'm wrong-I won't need to borrow up to 50% of my 2023 use year points when I book at my 11 month window, because I have a February use year? I could use all 400 points if I needed to from my 2023 point

Correct. It’s all about when the trip happens. That trip is in your 2023 UY so those 2023 can be used. You would only be borrowing if you needed more and wanted to use 2024 points.

 

[Little E]

@Sandisw thank you!!!

 

[pixieprincess925]

Hi Disfriends!

My DH and are SO excited to finally be DVC folks! We just purchased two 200 point contracts at the Grand Floridian with a February use year. I did my MS orientation today, and we are toying with the idea of booking a short first "welcome home" trip for sometime this summer. But, I also want to book a trip for spring break, 2023.

I know that I will most likely not be able to secure GF for a summer 2022 welcome home trip as we are way beyond the 11 month and 7 month booking marks. We would be open to using our points at another resort for a short trip this summer, and we plan to bank the remainder of our 2022 points. As an added "twist" I'm within days of being able to book at the 11 month mark for GF for spring break next March. If I call member services and have them help me book our first trip, can I then book my spring break trip at GF when I reach my 11 month window? In other words, with my February use year, will the system "know" that I will have another 400 points as of February 2023, so that I can book at the 11 month mark asap with my banked points and my 2023 400 points from my February use year?

Any clarity you could offer to this DVC newbie would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to call MS asap to start booking trips! Thank you so much!

Sounds like you bought direct. Make sure you call member services to help you book your summer trip before doing anything else. They can sometimes "find" time for welcome home trips inside the 7 month window, but you only get that privilege of it's your first booking...

 

[Little E]

@pixieprincess925 you are correct, we did buy direct. Thanks for the advice. I'll call MS today for help with booking our first trip. The gal who did my orientation yesterday hinted at this first time booking "perk", but she said it's not possible at Grand Californian or Grand Floridian, because they are the smallest DVC resorts. Even though Grand Floridian is our home resort, I figured we don't have much hope for a welcome home trip this summer. We'll be happy with another DVC resort this summer, and I'm hoping I can book a great trip for next spring break at the Grand Floridian.

 

[CarolynFH]

The gal who did my orientation yesterday hinted at this first time booking "perk", but she said it's not possible at Grand Californian or Grand Floridian, because they are the smallest DVC resorts.

If you want to book a Resort Studio (the new ones in Big Pine Key), you shouldn’t have any difficulty with availability unless the dates you want to visit are before that building opens. Any other villa type or size would be in the original VGF building, and as you were told, they’re probably booked up for this summer.

 

[Little E]

DH and I toyed around with a summer welcome home trip, and then we started noodling on a Thanksgiving or Christmas trip. We have been to WDW in the summer, but we've never been at Thanksgiving or Christmas. We have a DS in high school and a DS in college, so their calendars rarely match. However, it was clear we wouldn't get our home resort at GF, so we decided to take a different approach. I just got off the phone with MS; I booked our welcome home trip for March of 2023. It will be our youngest DS's high school senior year spring break trip. We booked a two bedroom villa at GF, and we are so excited!