Does DVC use banked points first?

[jar]

I just encountered this problem and am wondering if people have suggestions on getting it fixed. The #'s are hypothetical, not actual in order to illustrate the situation.

I banked 100 points from Dec. 2008 to Dec. 2009 UY.

I then made a reservation for September 2010 using 80 points. I later made a reservation for January 2010 using 50 points. My account history merely shows that I had 100 extra points put into my 2009 UY and that I have used 130 points (100 banked and 30 from 2009). It does not give any indication as to which points are which.

My assumption had always been that the first points used come out of the banked points. Therefore, if I want to cancel 30 points of nights from my Sept. 2010 reservation, I can bank them into the 2010 UY since I will have completely used the 100 points I banked. Nothing on my dvcmember account info site gives any indication to the contrary.

However, when making a Feb. 2011 reservation yesterday, DVC would not let me cancel nights from my Sept. 2010 reservation and bank them. They said that the entire reservation consists of banked points. Thus, my January 2010 reservation used 20 banked points and 30 2009 UY points instead of getting rid of 50 banked points.

This doesn't seem right or fair. I monitor my account pretty vigilantly and everything DVC tells me on the website is simply that in 2009, I had my full point allotment plus 100. At the end of these reservations, I am left with less than my full point allotment for 2009 with nothing from DVC even implying that I can't bank all of those points merely because of the order in which the reservations were made. It would be different if the reservations actually listed the UY that the points came from (in which case I would have made sure they re-allotted them), but DVC chooses to lump them together in what they tell the members until it comes time to bank.

Any thoughts on whether this can be rectified and how best to do it? I am trying to make a Feb. 2011 reservation and the amount of points I need (after borrowing my full 2011 allotment) is precisely the amount for one night I want to cancel and bank from September 2010, which wouldn't be a problem but for the manner in which DVC allotted that vacation vis a vis my January 2010 vacation.

Again, these numbers are illustrative only.

Thanks.

 

[Chuck S]

They used the points in the proper order, using banked points first for September 2010, as that was the first reservation you actually booked.

They may have been able to reallocate the points before the January trip, if you would have asked them...but now that the trip has been completed, and the points used. I don't think it is possible.

 

[Sandisw]

Points get used up in the order that you book them. Since you booked the Sept 2010 reservation before the January 2010 reservation, they used up the banked for that.

Once you booked January, the used the remaining banked, and then finished off your reservation.

As PP said, MS will reallocate current UY points for banked points and/or borrowed points, if changes or cancellations are made prior to those points being used.

However, you used up the current UY points for the Jan 2010 reservation, and thus, they were gone by the time you went to book your Feb 2011 trip. Had you called MS prior to the Jan 2010 trip to cancel 30 points off the September reservation (or simply asked them to reallocate at the time you booked your Jan 2010 trip) they would have allowed you to move those banked points to the January trip and put back your 2010 points for future use.

Unfortunately, at this point, it is too late.

 

[Muushka]

I have had a situation when they did not use banked points first. But they fixed it when I asked about it.

 

[jar]

What seems wrong is the DVC doesn't tell you on your account page (or anywhere else on the website, as far as I can tell) what points they used. They lump them together and just tell me how many points remain this year, without giving any idea that they aren't actually from this use year given how they booked the reservations. If I knew I could have fixed it quite easily.

It seems that if Disney is going to report points in this way, the easiest and fairest banking method would be that you can bank (within the first 8 months of the UY) up to the greater of one year's worth of points and the points you have left in your account. Why should we have to worry about which points in your account are banked, which are borrowed and which are current UY when that's not how DVC reports your account to you? In other words, allocate banked/borrowed points first when a reservation actually gets used, not when it is made. I see no administrative difficulty at all because DVC is currently reporting points in a lumped fashion to members anyway.

 

[cvjw]

When I make a reservation, I always specify that any banked points be used first. Every CM that I have dealt with was using the banked points first anyway, before going on to current years points.

 

[Crystal_27]

What seems wrong is the DVC doesn't tell you on your account page (or anywhere else on the website, as far as I can tell) what points they used. They lump them together and just tell me how many points remain this year, without giving any idea that they aren't actually from this use year given how they booked the reservations.

I actually have always had the opposite experience when booking trips that used banked points - MS has always explained how they were using my points step-by-step and they have always used banked points first. Now, I understand that once the vacations are booked there's no way to go back and see what points were used for what dates, but I am confident, given the communication I had as I was booking the trip(s), that it was done to best benefit me should I need to make a change.

 

[Chuck S]

In a way, this info is online. While it will not show which reservation used which points, you can check the area that tells you how many points you have remaining in the current use year that are eligibale to be banked. If you check that every time you make a reservation, you can calculated which points were used for that reservation.

 

[dcfromva]

What seems wrong is the DVC doesn't tell you on your account page (or anywhere else on the website, as far as I can tell) what points they used. They lump them together and just tell me how many points remain this year, without giving any idea that they aren't actually from this use year given how they booked the reservations. If I knew I could have fixed it quite easily.

Actually, you may be able to follow along in the Points Activity Statement. There, the banking and borrowing is posted by date as well as the reservations you have made tied to a specific contract.

Go to "My Vacation Points"
Click on "View Activity Statement"
Using the drop down menu options, choose Use Year Range
and click on "Go"

 

[kenny]

I just had an issue with banked points as well. Banked 2009 points to 2010. When I made my reservation they used my 2010 pts instead of 2009. I had them make the change but in general I always ask them to tell me how many points I have left (per use year) if I have banked points and am making a reservation.

This way I can catch it right away.

 

[dmoore22]

Theoretically they are supposed to use the banked points first. However we have encountered situations where that did not happen. We called MS and got it corrected immediately. If we had waited until the 30 day reservation timeline passed we would not have been able to get the situation fixed. It appears that the CMs rely on the computer system to allocate the points properly rather than input the data manually. One must be vigilant in watching their points.

 

[CarolMN]

Respectfully, it is the member's responsibility to be sure that MS uses the points the member wants used.

Everyone should get into the habit of asking for a points status after every transaction (before you hang up). That way, if the CM gives you a status that doesn't match your records/expectations, you can get it fixed right then. Much easier to fix a misunderstanding when it happens than several days, weeks, or months later.

Sorry for everyone (including me, LOL) who had to learn the above tip the hard way.

 

[paults]

Respectfully, it is the member's responsibility to be sure that MS uses the points the member wants used.

Everyone should get into the habit of asking for a points status after every transaction (before you hang up). That way, if the CM gives you a status that doesn't match your records/expectations, you can get it fixed right then. Much easier to fix a misunderstanding when it happens than several days, weeks, or months later.

Sorry for everyone (including me, LOL) who had to learn the above tip the hard way.

I totally agree, why is it always MS fault if the wrong pts are used. Keep track of your pts and tell MS what you want used first and then you can only blame yourself if it's wrong. With all the calls they handle everyday they might make a mistake but it's our job to manage our pts.

 

[jar]

I think the question is -- why is it this way?

As I see it, there is no downside to the members and no administrative difficulty in applying banked/borrowed points to the first-used reservations rather than the first-booked reservations. I can't see why any member wouldn't be better off with this (since it uses the current UY last, which are the points that have the most flexibility) and DVC can administer it so, so easily -- all they need by just making sure I can never bank more than that year's allocation of points when I call to bank.

 

[oct2014]

I think the question is -- why is it this way?

As I see it, there is no downside to the members and no administrative difficulty in applying banked/borrowed points to the first-used reservations rather than the first-booked reservations. I can't see why any member wouldn't be better off with this (since it uses the current UY last, which are the points that have the most flexibility) and DVC can administer it so, so easily -- all they need by just making sure I can never bank more than that year's allocation of points when I call to bank.

I have had the same concerns because I booked my definite December 2010 trip before my possible August 2010 trip. I think the problem with your suggestion is that the points would need to be re-allocated every time an intervening reservation was made because the "first-used" reservation would not be definite until the trip actually took place. If they waited for the trip to happen, then the allocations online would be really confusing until all current reservations were completed. Because of that, I think the current system makes sense (although more details online would be great). Still, even if the process it makes sense, it would not be obvious to someone that has not been in the situation.

I do think the burden is on us, but unfortunately watching your points is not enough. Even if you noticed that the points went down for a particular use year when you made the reservation, you (and I) would have assumed they were replacing the other points being moved from your first-booked reservation to your first-used reservation. Going forward, I plan to figure out how I want the points re-allocated before I make an intervening reservation so I can direct things more. What's that about hindsight?

Caroline

 

[Sandisw]

I think the question is -- why is it this way?

As I see it, there is no downside to the members and no administrative difficulty in applying banked/borrowed points to the first-used reservations rather than the first-booked reservations. I can't see why any member wouldn't be better off with this (since it uses the current UY last, which are the points that have the most flexibility) and DVC can administer it so, so easily -- all they need by just making sure I can never bank more than that year's allocation of points when I call to bank.

Because when you book the reservation, you are "paying" for it with the points. Once those points are used up and tied up for a reservation, they can not be switched to another reservation unless you specifically ask that they do.

When you went to book that 2nd reservation, you could have had all the banked points assigned to that trip, but unless this is what you told MS to do, they simply booked your trip using what was available (and points holding a reservation are no longer available).

MS is not going to switch points around that have already been booked without permission from the owner. There may be a specific reason that an owner is using certain points with certain reservations and I don't think any of us would want MS playing with that on their own.

Think of it as paying with two different credit cards. Unless you tell them to change which card should be used to pay for which trip, once you pay, it is a done deal.

 

[dmoore22]

Respectfully, it is the member's responsibility to be sure that MS uses the points the member wants used.

Everyone should get into the habit of asking for a points status after every transaction (before you hang up). That way, if the CM gives you a status that doesn't match your records/expectations, you can get it fixed right then. Much easier to fix a misunderstanding when it happens than several days, weeks, or months later.

Sorry for everyone (including me, LOL) who had to learn the above tip the hard way.

Unfortunately we are dealing with a human being and a computer database. We always check and verify our point status prior to ending the call and getting our confirmation number. In spite of the double-checking with the CM, and the online account, we will find a discrepancy in the banked/current points allocations reported online a day or two later. In spite of Steve Jobs being the largest Disney shareholder WDW is still using a Windows-based system. I've noticed a few onsite are still running DOS based apps.

 

[toniosmom]

It gives me peace of mind to ensure that the CM is allocating the points correctly when I am making the reservation. Then a day or two later, I double-check.