First Time Using Points - Walk Me Through It

[Disney_Alli]

I'm just waiting to get my member number for a resale purchase and almost as soon as I get it I'll be able to make my reservation for my fist ever DVC trip for my wedding August 8th to August 16th 2015. (Not that I get to actually use this reservation my fiancé and I are putting his parents and 3 brothers up for the week of our wedding)

Before I go to book this I want to be sure I fully understand the process - yes I'm one of those crazy people who likes to know all the steps ahead of time and if I can do a dry run of something so much the better. We bought and Wilderness Lodge and our first thought was to put them up there for all 8 nights in a two bedroom however our contract is for 150 points and only came with 38 2014 points. We will bank the 2014 points, use our 2015 points and borrow our 2016 points for a total of 338 points. The week we are looking at in august will be 350 points and the additional night will be 44 points. Obviously I don't have enough points to cover all of this even with one time use points so I'm looking at trying to find a transfer for enough additional 2015 points to cover the trip and any others we will either bank into 2016 or use for ourselves at some point during our trip.

1) Obviously I need to bank and borrow my points first. At that point I believe I will only be able to make a reservation for the first 6 nights of the trip with our available points. To complete the 7th night if I use one-time use points must I wait for the 7-month window or can I do it at the 11-month window since this is my home resort?

2) If I am able to arrange a transfer of points from another VWL owner I'm assuming I can complete my reservation all at one time. Is this correct?

3) If I get a transfer from an owner at another resort what are the chances I'll be able to get the 8th night (Saturday August 15th) in a 2-bedroom at VWL at 7 months?

4) At seven months what are the chances of getting a standard view 2-bedroom at BWV (as we'll hopefully be getting married at SeaBreeze) for the Wednesday-Saturday at least so his family would only have to move once (and doing so would put them closer to the wedding location)?

Thanks for all the feedback you guys have been so awesome so far as we wait anxiously for our membership to be complete.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[zavandor]

One time points can only be used at 7 months, even if the rest of the reservation is made at 11 months using your home resort advantage.
August is not a busy period for DVC, so your chances to get a 2BR at 7 months for a VWL I think are high to almost certain, but why to risk?
One time points cost 15$ each, you can probably find a member willing to transfer points for a little less than that. Look for your resort points, so you can combine them at 11 months.
You can transfer in 2014 points and then bank them or get 2015 points, it would be the same.

BWV Standard view are very difficult to get any time of the year. In august you might be lucky to find a few nights and then use a WL, but I wouldn't count on that.
If you are looking to save points, OKW or AKV standard are easier to get. If you are not set for a specific resort, chances to get something at 7 months are very high (SSR will certainly be open at 7 months), if you really want VWL, better to transfer points.

Transfered points appear online only if they match your resort and your Use Year, otherwise to use them you need to call MS to make the reservation.

 

[Disney_Alli]

One time points can only be used at 7 months, even if the rest of the reservation is made at 11 months using your home resort advantage.
August is not a busy period for DVC, so your chances to get a 2BR at 7 months for a VWL I think are high to almost certain, but why to risk?
One time points cost 15$ each, you can probably find a member willing to transfer points for a little less than that. Look for your resort points, so you can combine them at 11 months.
You can transfer in 2014 points and then bank them or get 2015 points, it would be the same.

BWV Standard view are very difficult to get any time of the year. In august you might be lucky to find a few nights and then use a WL, but I wouldn't count on that.
If you are looking to save points, OKW or AKV standard are easier to get. If you are not set for a specific resort, chances to get something at 7 months are very high (SSR will certainly be open at 7 months), if you really want VWL, better to transfer points.

Transfered points appear online only if they match your resort and your Use Year, otherwise to use them you need to call MS to make the reservation.

Thanks! That's very helpful!
I'd love to be able to put the family up in one of the lower point resorts but as they've never been to WDW before and I can tell they can't grasp how big the resort is or that the transportation is relatively easy to use I can't see sending them to one of those resorts especially as they will not have a car - they are from fairly rural Alberta and don't drive anywhere on vacation.