a few more questions i didn't seem to find exact answers on...
I can bank points for 1 yr, correct
Correct
but how many yrs in advance can i borrow? only 1?
Correct. You can bank points once into the next use year. You can borrow only from the next use year. So for any given vacation, you can use up to three years worth of points. Previous use year points that have been banked, current use year points, and points borrowed from the next use year.
if i typically travel during july 4th week, what resorts will book fast? ie there would be slim to no chance of getting ___ resort at 7 months vs if it was my home and i could book at 11
There isn't a specific event that will cause one resort to be more popular than another during this time of year. (As opposed to SEP-NOV, for example, when BWV and BCV are difficult to book because of the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot.) July 4th is just a really busy time all over. Schools are out and it's a 3-day holiday. The smaller resorts will fill faster than the larger ones. You can check out the sticky called
DVC Resource Center. Post #3 has a list of how many rooms each DVC resort has.
There are also considerations of whether you want a particlar room type or view. For example, the Boardwalk view villas at BWV are hard to book at the 7-month window, while there may be availability for a Preferred view. Concierge rooms at AKV are very hard to book, and could probably never be obtained without the 11-month booking advantage.
i ask this because i read that SSR you can pretty much get rooms at 7 months all yr round so having that as home wouldn't be good in the aspect of booking time
Correct. It does have the advantage of having the lowest direct-from-Disney cost per point, though.
if i book at my home resort 11 months out, can i change the res at 7 months without losing points or paying a fee?
Yes you can. In fact, this is absolutely what you should do. If you have a particular timeframe that you want to travel, always book something at your home resort at the 11 month point. If you want to try for another resort at the 7 month point, you can cancel the first reservation and switch to the other one if there is availability. You can go on a waitlist if there is not. If the booking/waitlist at the other resort doesn't come through, you still have your original reservation.
For this reason, the best advise is to
BUY WHERE YOU WANT TO STAY MOST OFTEN!
There is not a fee for making a change to a reservation
at a DVC resort.
Several things to be aware of. Plan ahead for how you'll handle any difference in points between the two reservations. Keep an eye on when your use year falls in relation to the reservation, and when your banking deadline is.
If the new reservation is more points than the old one, they'll charge you the difference in points. You'll of course need to have those points available in the use year of the reservation, or in the following use year to be borrowed.
If the old reservation is more points than the new reservation, they'll return the unused points back to your account. If they were banked or borrowed points, they'll stay in the use year of the reservation. They can't be returned to the use year from which they were banked or borrowed. Be careful you don't wind up with points in a use year where you can't use them. If the points refunded are current use year points, and you're still within the banking deadline when you make the change, you can bank the points. However, if you're after that banking deadline (in the last 4 months of your use year), you have to use the points or lose them. For example, if you have an August use year and want to change a reservation for a July vacation from a resort that costs 150 points to one that costs 140 points, you'll get those 10 points back. If you call to make this change in April, though, you'd be past the March 31st banking deadline for an August use year. You'd need to use those 10 refunded points by July 31st or they'd be lost. On the other hand, if you called in January to make the change (inside the 7-month booking window for a July vacation, and also within the first 8 months of the August use year), you'd be able to bank the 10 returned points into the next use year.
Also keep in mind that there are penalties for canceling a reservation 30-days or less from your check-in date. Points returned to you during this period will go into a holding account, and there are restrictions on how they can be used. You are unable to bank points in holding, even if you're still within your banking window. So, using that same example, if you called 15 days before check-in to make the change, the 10 refunded points would go into holding. (Technically, all 150 go into holding, then you use 140 points from the holding account for the new booking.)
Sorry, complex answer to a simple question.
