Did I make a big mistake?

[Disney Freak Numero Uno]

We had a trip planned during the week following Memorial Day. I used points form 2018 to book this room. I still had these points because a previous trip was cancelled due to whatever hurricane happened in the fall.

I assumed that WDW will not be opening by the end of this month. Even if they did open, we would not be scheduling a trip out of fear of this virus. So I cancelled. I then attempted to bank these points along with my Dec 2019 use year points. I was able to bank my 2019 points but not the 103 points from 2018. Should I have let Disney cancel my reservation hoping that they will extend the period in which to use these old points? I was told I can transfer them to RCI but I really wasn't planning any trips to other destinations. What do you think?

 

[Dracula]

We had a trip planned during the week following Memorial Day. I used points form 2018 to book this room. I still had these points because a previous trip was cancelled due to whatever hurricane happened in the fall.

I assumed that WDW will not be opening by the end of this month. Even if they did open, we would not be scheduling a trip out of fear of this virus. So I cancelled. I then attempted to bank these points along with my Dec 2019 use year points. I was able to bank my 2019 points but not the 103 points from 2018. Should I have let Disney cancel my reservation hoping that they will extend the period in which to use these old points? I was told I can transfer them to RCI but I really wasn't planning any trips to other destinations. What do you think?

It is unlikely Disney would have let you extend the December 2018 points any further. However, you banked the 2019 points prematurely - they could still have been useful in 2020, and now you may need to borrow. Maybe DVC member services would make an exception and let you unbank the points? You have nothing to lose if you call, the worst thing they can say is "no". It would be best to try to use, gift or rent the 2018 points by the end of November but, if these are not good options for you, transfer them to RCI by mid-October.

 

[LAX]

We had a trip planned during the week following Memorial Day. I used points form 2018 to book this room. I still had these points because a previous trip was cancelled due to whatever hurricane happened in the fall.

I assumed that WDW will not be opening by the end of this month. Even if they did open, we would not be scheduling a trip out of fear of this virus. So I cancelled. I then attempted to bank these points along with my Dec 2019 use year points. I was able to bank my 2019 points but not the 103 points from 2018. Should I have let Disney cancel my reservation hoping that they will extend the period in which to use these old points? I was told I can transfer them to RCI but I really wasn't planning any trips to other destinations. What do you think?

You have a Dec UY, right? I have read that only banked points from April and June UY will be extended if the original reservation is affected by the closure. Thus, it won't make a difference in your case. Now, this policy may be modified should the closure be extended beyond this month (there appears to be growing optimism that at least DVC resorts will be able to open on June 1 even if parks may not), but it's no guarantee. However, you were able to bank your current UY points, which at least helped salvage some points from that reservation.

LAX

Edited to reflect the correct UYs affected.

 

[Disney Freak Numero Uno]

It is unlikely Disney would have let you extend the December 2018 points any further. However, you banked the 2019 points prematurely - they could still have been useful in 2020, and now you may need to borrow. Maybe DVC member services would make an exception and let you unbank the points? You have nothing to lose if you call, the worst thing they can say is "no". It would be best to try to use, gift or rent the 2018 points by the end of November but, if these are not good options for you, transfer them to RCI by mid-October.

Hi. Thanks for your reply. I thought that I had to bank 2019 points by July 1 . If I didnt do this and wasn’t able to use them by the end of the use year, I would lose those points? Am I correct? I don’t anticipate traveling anywhere at all this year.

 

[drusba]

You actually had until July 31, the end of the 8th month of your use year, to bank those Dec 2019 points. Those points can now be used for any trip during your Dec 1, 2020 to Nov 30, 2021 use year. Unless you can use those Dec 2018 points banked into 2019 use year for a trip that ends by Nov 30, 2020, you will lose them absent trading into RCI or renting them. You did not do anything wrong and it appears highly unlikely, based on actions already taken, that DVC has any plans to allow one to use already banked Dec use year points beyond Nov 2019.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Hi. Thanks for your reply. I thought that I had to bank 2019 points by July 1 . If I didnt do this and wasn’t able to use them by the end of the use year, I would lose those points? Am I correct? I don’t anticipate traveling anywhere at all this year.

Point can only be banked once - that rule so far hasn't really changed. So your 2018 points were already banked from your 2018 UY into your 2019 UY to be eligible for a stay over this Memorial Day. They will expire Nov 30, 2019 if not used by that time. Your 2019 points were current and eligible to be banked for the first time - you had until July 31st, 2020 to do that although could be done before that as you did.

During the Disney closure DVC has made an exception for Apr and June UY's and their banked 2018 points and are giving them an additional 6 months to be used. So they've been extended but no banked again. That was mostly due to the timing of the closures where the owners would have had no ability to use their already banked points. Later UY's have not been giving that extension, or at least not yet. I'd only expect it to happen if the resorts continue to be closed for several months. Otherwise the later UY's will still have the time to use their banked points. Then it's up to the owner if they want to use them or not.