Downside to transferring all points to one membership?

[francoAlbertan]

i’m planning ahead for a trip that will use points from my two separate memberships with different use years. Will be using almost 3 years worth of GFV points for a two bedroom for 6 nights, but will need a few points from my BLT contract under a separate membership to hopefully snag the last night at 7 months.

To make sure they can be merged together once i get the last night, i know i need to transfer some points from one to another… but this has made me wonder: why not just do this on a regular basis and transfer all my points to the same membership every year? Seems it would keep planning simpler, but is there a downside i’m missing?

Appreciate any advice. I thought i was getting the hang of DVC until i started trying to navigate two memberships…

 

[Marionnette]

i’m planning ahead for a trip that will use points from my two separate memberships with different use years. Will be using almost 3 years worth of GFV points for a two bedroom for 6 nights, but will need a few points from my BLT contract under a separate membership to hopefully snag the last night at 7 months.

To make sure they can be merged together once i get the last night, i know i need to transfer some points from one to another… but this has made me wonder: why not just do this on a regular basis and transfer all my points to the same membership every year? Seems it would keep planning simpler, but is there a downside i’m missing?

Appreciate any advice. I thought i was getting the hang of DVC until i started trying to navigate two memberships…

The downside is that transferred points cannot be used to book online during the 11-7 month home resort window. You have to call MS in order to use them. So if you were to transfer your BLT points to your VGF membership, you would have to call in order to book BLT villas before the 7-month window.

Since transferred points retain their original UY, you have to keep track of banking and expiration dates for two sets of points under the same membership. It might not sound any more complicated than handling two memberships with different UYs but it's just one more downside to transferred points in general.

 

[Stargazer65]

You also can't borrow from the membership you transferred from if that's a consideration.

 

[RoseGold]

The downside is they can't be banked. So if you don't get the reservation, womp womp. And they're stuck in Disney IT, which no one wants. You don't want to transfer the points unless you know you can use them.

I would book the first segment at open, then call MS when it opens and get them to book the last days. If the points work correctly between seasons/weekends, I would do it a day before and walk it ON THE PHONE. If you mess with this, you need to do it on the phone. It's too easy to mess up allocation even when your points/contracts all show up.

EDIT: I'm wrong, you can currently bank but not borrow them. Those rules can change, even more risk.

 

[Sandisw]

The downside is they can't be banked. So if you don't get the reservation, womp womp. And they're stuck in Disney IT, which no one wants. You don't want to transfer the points unless you know you can use them.

I would book the first segment at open, then call MS when it opens and get them to book the last days. If the points work correctly between seasons/weekends, I would do it a day before and walk it ON THE PHONE. If you mess with this, you need to do it on the phone. It's too easy to mess up allocation even when your points/contracts all show up.

Transferred points can be banked, just not borrowed.

 

[Stargazer65]

Concur, you can bank them. I have transferred points currently banked.

 

[francoAlbertan]

Ah! Thanks so much for the helpful replies. I had not considered the fact I wouldnt be able to borrow to complete bookings in future years, which is important to keep in mind. Losing some visibility on the points and having to call, rather than book online, is no fun either.

Overall, I will be about 75 points short for booking the 7th night, so plan to transfer over 60 2022 points from one contract to another - and then bank them into the 2023 use year when the trip will occur. I will then be short roughly another 15 points, so was wondering whether to transfer just the amount needed for the last night - or to just transfer them all.

Based on your advice, I will transfer over the exact amount and book or waitlist the last night at 7 months.

Really appreciate all your help. I honestly dont think I would have bought into DVC without knowing the community was here to help with using it!

 

[CarolynFH]

Ah! Thanks so much for the helpful replies. I had not considered the fact I wouldnt be able to borrow to complete bookings in future years, which is important to keep in mind. Losing some visibility on the points and having to call, rather than book online, is no fun either.

Overall, I will be about 75 points short for booking the 7th night, so plan to transfer over 60 2022 points from one contract to another - and then bank them into the 2023 use year when the trip will occur. I will then be short roughly another 15 points, so was wondering whether to transfer just the amount needed for the last night - or to just transfer them all.

Based on your advice, I will transfer over the exact amount and book or waitlist the last night at 7 months.

Really appreciate all your help. I honestly dont think I would have bought into DVC without knowing the community was here to help with using it!

One last thing - if transferring doesn't work, as a last resort you could book that last night with your BLT points from your BLT membership and then email/chat/call MS and ask them to put a "continuing stay" notification on both confirmation numbers. That note lets the room assigners know it's all one stay, so they'll book you into the same villa and you won't need to change. And when you check in for the first part, talk to the front desk to be sure the room is assigned that way. They're happy to keep you in the same room, because it saves on housekeeping between the two stays.

 

[Sandisw]

Ah! Thanks so much for the helpful replies. I had not considered the fact I wouldnt be able to borrow to complete bookings in future years, which is important to keep in mind. Losing some visibility on the points and having to call, rather than book online, is no fun either.

Overall, I will be about 75 points short for booking the 7th night, so plan to transfer over 60 2022 points from one contract to another - and then bank them into the 2023 use year when the trip will occur. I will then be short roughly another 15 points, so was wondering whether to transfer just the amount needed for the last night - or to just transfer them all.

Based on your advice, I will transfer over the exact amount and book or waitlist the last night at 7 months.

Really appreciate all your help. I honestly dont think I would have bought into DVC without knowing the community was here to help with using it!

Just remember that the points you transfer retain their own UY so when they can be used would be the same as if you never transferred them. Be sure that the trip is indeed in the 2023 UY for both of your memberships.

For example, If I transferred my Dec 2022 UY points into my Aug 2022 UY, and wanted to use them for a trip in September 2023, I would not want to bank them. While a Sept 2023 trip falls in my Aug 2023 UY, it falls in my Dec 2022 UY..

You didn't mention what your UY's are, so it may not be an issue if they are close together.

 

[francoAlbertan]

Just remember that the points you transfer retain their own UY so when they can be used would be the same as if you never transferred them. Be sure that the trip is indeed in the 2023 UY for both of your memberships.

For example, If I transferred my Dec 2022 UY points into my Aug 2022 UY, and wanted to use them for a trip in September 2023, I would not want to bank them. While a Sept 2023 trip falls in my Aug 2023 UY, it falls in my Dec 2022 UY..

You didn't mention what your UY's are, so it may not be an issue if they are close together.

Thanks again. They are Aug and Sept use years, so easy to plan around that way as you suggest. Fingers crossed it all works out in… March 2024! We’ll see what curve balls life throws at us between now and then.

 

[RoseGold]

I'd walk this for a week with the days you can afford without transfer, so you can just do it all on the phone on the 7 month day, and you aren't worried about missing out on the whole thing.