HELP!!! "Late" year points problem!!!

[jcduk]

I called DVC yesterday to check on the number of points I needed to use by the end of my year. (I'm in the Sept-Aug group.) I haven't been able to get to FL for a while, so I thought I'd use my "lose 'em or use 'em points by the end of August for a trip to Paris.

First call to DVC I asked for the total points I had left. I knew how much points I needed per night for the hotels in DL Paris, but reconfirmed this. I then asked what dates were available and got my list.

Called my airline and booked flights. Called DVC back, only to be told I couldn't use my points, as it was too late in my "year" to do this!

Has anyone else run into this problem. I'm still trying to find the small print that explains this! When I banked my points earlier this year, I was told I had until the end of August to use my points. I am very confused and out of pocket for 3 flights to Paris!
(Though DVC is going to ask my airline to refund my flights. LOL!)

Advice would be gratefully received.

JD

P.S. I'll be soooooo happy when DVC get an online system of tracking/booking in place. DVC hotels are great, but customer support/tracking is dire...........

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I believe your are a victim of the 60 day rule.

I think the rule states that you can't book AND travel within the last 60 days of your use year (for trades outside DVC resorts). If I'm not mistaken, all you can use these points for now is a DVC resort. Of course, you could rent them for a DVC resort if you could find someone willing to travel on short notice.

Good Luck!

 

[Richyams]

Yes, that is the rule. You can not book AND travel to non-DVC things within the last 60 days of your use year.

The reason for this is pretty good. Disney has to get value back for the points you use elsewhere, obviously. If you were able to use the points like this it would only give Disney a short amount of time to get value for your points. They do need a reasonable amount of time to use your points. Your points expire, the fact that they would be in Disney's hands and far beyond any banking window can not be changed. If they expire unused, Disney has givin you a vacation and recienved no value for it.

Sorry.

 

[Beth]

Not to pour salt in the wound, but there's a recap of what Maistre Gracey and Rich said on page 134 of the Member Guidebook...

 

[jcduk]

Thanks for the feedback. I just wish they had told me this on my first call. Then I wouldn't have made the flight reservations and I would have put it down to ANOTHER lesson learned with DVC.

Just a tad frustrating........

JD

 

[Doctor P]

Maybe I am hallucinating, but I thought I remembered a post from a ways back that indicated that (sometimes) there is an exception to the rule if you are strictly using banked points because, in theory I guess, the banking means that they can actually sell the accomodations in the original use year from which the points were banked. This seemed kind of odd to me, and this is the reason it stuck in my mind (I think). It might be worth another call to MS to inquire whether it matters that they are banked points you are going to use (if it is, indeed, strictly banked points). I suspect the answer will still be no, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by Doctor P
Maybe I am hallucinating, but I thought I remembered a post from a ways back that indicated that (sometimes) there is an exception to the rule if you are strictly using banked points because, in theory I guess, the banking means that they can actually sell the accomodations in the original use year from which the points were banked. This seemed kind of odd to me, and this is the reason it stuck in my mind (I think). It might be worth another call to MS to inquire whether it matters that they are banked points you are going to use (if it is, indeed, strictly banked points). I suspect the answer will still be no, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

I do not think there is any exception for banked vacation (DVC) points.

Maybe you are thinking about points in reservation status. The "60 day" rule doesn't apply to points that are in reservation status. Makes sense because Disney would have recovered the value of the points when the original reservation was made, thus Disney has already gotten the value from the points. So a member can book and use points in reservation status at any time before the points expire.

 

[Doctor P]

That could very well have been the information that I saw and I misinterpeted or didn't remember correctly.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Originally posted by Doctor P
Maybe I am hallucinating, but I thought I remembered a post from a ways back that indicated that (sometimes) there is an exception to the rule if you are strictly using banked points because, in theory I guess, the banking means that they can actually sell the accomodations in the original use year from which the points were banked...

This may not be the rule, but it seems that it would be totaly logical.

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by Maistre Gracey

This may not be the rule, but it seems that it would be totaly logical.

It doesn't seem logical to me because I've always assumed that banked points are used to offset borrowed points (on a total resort basis or maybe on a total DVC basis). I'm not sure what happens when banking and borrowing don't exactly match, but I think that allowing an exception to the 60 day rule for banked points would only make "the gap" harder to manage.

I do know that our contracts say that banking and borrowing can be suspended if Disney deems it necessary - probably to take care of situations where banking and borrowing really get out of sync.

I could be wrong, of course. Wouldn't be the first time and probably wouldn't be the last!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Originally posted by CarolMN


It doesn't seem logical to me because I've always assumed that banked points are used to offset borrowed points (on a total resort basis or maybe on a total DVC basis)...

Good point, Carol

 

[PamOKW]

I think the "hallucination" was probably the reservation points being able to cancel and then re-book in the 60 day period.

Banked points being exempted wouldn't make sense. If you bank points from May 2001-April 2002 and then are using them at the end of the April 2003 period, they have been sitting for two years and are now expiring. "Maybe" if you had borrowed points back into your Use Year MS could theoretically take longer to use them to pay for a non-DVC trip. But, I think the "balance" needed between banked and borrowed would probably prevent that as well.

This 60 day rule is something to keep in the back of your mind. It doesn't really sink in until the first time you are faced with the problem. Been there, done that and now live in fear of wasting points.

 

[DebbieB]

From the latest DVC e-mail I just received:

**Member Services Question Of The Month:**

Why can't I book and travel on a Member Getaways vacation in the
last 60 days of my Use Year?

Member Getaways vacations involve converting your Vacation Points
into rental inventory offered to non-Members. However, inventory
submitted within the last 60 days of a Use Year is difficult to
fill, making it less likely for us to recoup the costs paid for
your Member Getaways accommodations. You can, however, travel in
the last 60 days of your Use Year, as long as you've booked your
stay more than 60 days before the end of your Use Year.