Buying one time use points

[ellenmiele]

So I want to book 3 nights at OKW over Easter but I'll need to buy 7 onetime use points to cover all 3 nights. But one of the nights is not available so I'll need to create a wait list. An I buy the one time use points for the second night and use the rest of my points to cover the wait list ? I've never had a wig list a vitally come thru before so I don't really know what happens if I don't have nough points to cover that night without buying the extra 7. (hope this makes sense to someone!)

 

[AllieV]

I had this experience recently. It differs from what people say the rules are, but this is how it went down. Short story: I did exactly as you mention here, but I had to push it with MS.

Longer story: I was short 4 points for what I wanted to book. If the room was available, they could have easily sold me the 4 points and booked it But one night was not available, which meant I was short 4 points for that night. I was able to book the rest of the days but was told that I could not do a waitlist unless I had enough points for it to auto-fill. The woman helping me recommended that I cancel a different night so that I'd have the points for my waitlist, wait for this to become available, then go back and rebook that other night I'd cancelled and buy the points then. She was assuming that the night I was cancelling would still be available later. To me, that was a ridiculous idea. (I was booking standard view at BLT mid week.)

She insisted they could not waitlist me without enough points available and they could not sell me the points without a confirmation number. Catch 22. I asked if they could sell me the 4 points for one of the other nights I was booking and they said no, that they could only sell points out of need, not want. I then asked her to go ask someone else. A loooong time later, she came back on with someone else on the line and they sold me the 4 points for one of my available nights (which they were still in the process of booking) then waitlisted the unavailable night with exactly enough points left to do it.

 

[Sandisw]

I was not allowed to buy one time use points in 2011 when I had current UY points available. I wanted to save them for an 11 month booking and was told that you could only buy them as an alternative to borrowing points.

Now, as PP said, she was able to get them to bend and have had heard of others possibly having luck. Best thing is to call and hope for the best.

You are correct, though, that you can't use them to fill wait lists.

 

[AllieV]

That's interesting what Sandi said. I was borrowing my 2013 points to finish the reservation. They were not yet borrowed as the reservation was still underway on the phone. So that may have been why they let me buy the 4 points for the rez then waitlist the night with enough points left to borrow and book when it became available. Initially, though, she said no.

 

[zavandor]

Isn't it possible to book an extra useless night (with the same point requirements) buying the extra points, then cancel it and wait list the night you are interested in?
Since this loophole exists, that's probably the reason the manager allowed you to buy the 4 points anyway.

 

[auralia]

i booked an extra night once just so I could buy the one time use points so i had enough points for my waitlist, but I never canceled the extra night I figured if the waitlist didn't come through I'd just stay an extra day. Also I had no current use year points available when I did this. They were already banked into the next year I believe.

 

[AllieV]

Isn't it possible to book an extra useless night (with the same point requirements) buying the extra points, then cancel it and wait list the night you are interested in?

That's a pretty good idea. I'll have to remember this.

 

[Pete W.]

Isn't it possible to book an extra useless night (with the same point requirements) buying the extra points, then cancel it and wait list the night you are interested in?

I did this exact thing because we're staying for 3 nights in Vero Beach at the end of March, then 2 nights off-site in Orlando because we're going to Discovery Cove, then 4 nights the first week of April in our home resort of BWV. We were 5 points short to complete the VB ressie but the last night wasn't available and I couldn't wait list without enough points, so MS suggested I make a 1-night ressie at any WDW resort (I chose AK). Once the points were bought and the ressie made, they immediately canceled it and applied the necessary points to my VB waitlist.

The only risk (which MS fully disclosed) was that IF my wait list didn't come thru, I would lose the 5 points (and thus $75) if I couldn't use those points anywhere else (which I couldn't because we're using all of our points on this trip and won't be back again for 2 years).

I thought it was a reasonable risk even though I was trying to add March 31st (Easter night) and as it turned out, the wait list came thru a few weeks ago so we're all set.

 

[maburke]

I did this exact thing because we're staying for 3 nights in Vero Beach at the end of March, then 2 nights off-site in Orlando because we're going to Discovery Cove, then 4 nights the first week of April in our home resort of BWV. We were 5 points short to complete the VB ressie but the last night wasn't available and I couldn't wait list without enough points, so MS suggested I make a 1-night ressie at any WDW resort (I chose AK). Once the points were bought and the ressie made, they immediately canceled it and applied the necessary points to my VB waitlist.

The only risk (which MS fully disclosed) was that IF my wait list didn't come thru, I would lose the 5 points (and thus $75) if I couldn't use those points anywhere else (which I couldn't because we're using all of our points on this trip and won't be back again for 2 years).

I thought it was a reasonable risk even though I was trying to add March 31st (Easter night) and as it turned out, the wait list came thru a few weeks ago so we're all set.

Okay, it seems like you could do this in a way that puts your purchased points in the reservation, and only have regular points on the waitlist. It wouldn't have mattered for you, because you wouldn't be able to use banked points next year, either. But how about this: You make the (dummy) reservation that uses the same amount of points as your waitlist FIRST. Then buy the one-time use points for your regular reservation, because you do not have enough points -- they are tied up in your dummy reservation. THEN cancel your dummy reservation and waitlist. Then your waitlist only uses regular points.

 

[Pete W.]

Okay, it seems like you could do this in a way that puts your purchased points in the reservation, and only have regular points on the waitlist. It wouldn't have mattered for you, because you wouldn't be able to use banked points next year, either. But how about this: You make the (dummy) reservation that uses the same amount of points as your waitlist FIRST. Then buy the one-time use points for your regular reservation, because you do not have enough points -- they are tied up in your dummy reservation. THEN cancel your dummy reservation and waitlist. Then your waitlist only uses regular points.

Good idea, and I'm sure that would work for some. But in our case the unavailable night was the 3rd night and I already had the first 2 nights in a 2BR booked and I didn't want to risk canceling either of the first two nights just to wait list the third. I actually DID have a studio and Inn Room reserved the 3rd night as a back-up plan, so at least I knew we had a place to sleep the 3rd night. Now of course it is much better because I have all 3 nights in a 2BR.