Have you used points from a holding account?

[disney dumbo]

Unfortunately... I've got points in holding account. The one time I can go in the next 60 days... is not available.

So... I'm wondering how successful will I ever be in using these points?

Probably my next time period I can go would be June or July... would you think that is possible booking 60 days out?

I tried to do a search on the boards... but doesn't seem to be working for me.

Thanks for posting your experience!

 

[emmababy]

We had some in a holding account. We ended up staying at the poly for a few days. Why does it have to be 60 days out? I am pretty sure we booked ours 4 months or so out.

 

[CarolMN]

It should be easier to get a short notice reservation in June or July than it is in February or March. Hope it works out for you.

 

[zumbergc]

I would keep calling and I'm guessing your being really flexible in accepting OKW or SSR as a place to stay. If your expecting to stay akl, vwl, bcv, bwv, then you most likely don't have a chance because wait lists will be filling those rooms.
Are you just looking for a certain size room, or are you willing to squeeze into like 2 studios, or one studio, you didn't mention which room type you are looking at.

We've got some points in holding too. My best advice is to keep calling. We used our holding points and got some days mid december. They weren't available the first couple times we called, but someone else must have cancelled, and we squeezed in.

We called a few weeks ago to get a studio in ssr and the whole month of march was available. So, we took a studio at ssr and canceled a regular point reservation we had over at the bcv because we didn't want to loose those holding points.

How flexible are you in waiting until the last minute to book your vacation. Inside the 30 day window might be your best chance since because the regular wait list is gone. People have to cancel w/in that window due to emergencies all the time.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Why does it have to be 60 days out?

One of the restrictions for points in holding is that the reservation can only be made 60 days in advance. The normal 11 month/7 month booking window doesn't apply when using these points.

 

[JimMIA]

A friend of mine had a blonde moment a couple of months ago and ended up in holding account. However, within just a couple of weeks, they'd been able to use the points.

I think the key is how long you have left in your UY and how flexible you are. Some times of the year are easy and some are impossible. If you have time to be patient, you'll be fine.

 

[disney dumbo]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes... I'm picky... that's why I love DVC!

Unfortunately... date flexiblity is impossible until summer for us ... but I was afraid summer would be booked. Sounds like it might work. Our UY is Sept... and Aug we can't go. So, if I hold out and June and July is book...

Sounds like SS or OKW might be the winner for holding points. I haven't tried to do one really close... like within 30 days... that's good thought too.

I just don't want to lose them!!!

Thanks again for your thoughts.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Don't forget the "rule of four." It makes holding account points even more difficult to use.

The rule has no applicability if you're going to be staying at a DVC Resort. But if you want to use points to stay at a Disney Collection resort (other than those at DisneyLand), you have to book them more than 4 months before the end of your use year. (You can stay in the last 4 months of your use year, but you can't book and stay in this period.) This also applies to the concierge collection and the adventure collection.

So, since holding account points can only be booked inside 60 days of the reservation, it essentially means you can't use holding points for a reservation at a WDW Disney Collection resort, concierge collection, or adventure collection for the last two months of your use year.

So, if you were thinking maybe you'd use the points at Grand Floridian, for example, if you can't get into a DVC resort, you won't be able to do this in July or August.

 

[Chim Chiminy]

I was able to rent out points I had in holding. We wouldn't have been able to use them before our use year was up.
It took several tries, before we were able to find a date that worked at such short notice but we did and it went smoothly.

 

[castleri]

Was able to book my March 11 and 12 dates the other day with holding points for a 2 bedroom at OKW so it is possible to use them. SSR was also available for then. I was changing reservations around also to be able to do it as my daughter needed a room for March 28 and that was more than 60 days out at the time. I used my some of my current use year points that had been reserving the two nights I needed after cancelling my reservation for her reservation and then used the holding points plus a few current UY points for ours. As someone else said you need to be open to trying to get any resort or you may have a problem. These holding points expire March 31 so we were cutting it very close.