How can I get the most use out of a small contract?

[springandmac]

I'm waiting to pass ROFR on a small 50 point HHI contract and am wondering how I could work those points to get the most use.

This contract has 50 points coming in 12/06 and 50 points for 12/07 and thereafter.

For the vacation I'd like to take I would need about 130 points. Is that possible with banking and borrowing?

 

[RobDoc]

Yes, you could take a trip for dates between December 1, 2007 and November 30, 2008 by banking your 50 '06 points, using your 50 '07 points and borrowing 30 of your '08 points to make the reservation.

Good luck with your ROFR!

 

[Duckieluckey]

Not only can you bank and borrow, you can rent points. See the rent/trade board.

 

[mochabean]

One popular way to maximize the use of your points is to pay cash for weekends. Because weekends cost so many points it is usually cheaper to pay cash (with member discount) than to rent points (even as low as $8/pt) for Fri & Sat nights.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

There are a lot of ways to extend points if you dont have very many.

You can make a cash reservation for weekend nights tied to your DVC reservation or you could stay somewhere totally different and have your luggage transferred. You could do as Doc suggested but then you wont have enough points to repeat that process until 2010. However if you do follow that method you could use cash to extend your second trip either by cash nights or by renting points.

Another option is to only stay six nights dropping one of the weekend nights...say a Saturday to Friday reservation. Unless you are already doing that...I'm guessing from the 130 that its a studio reservation but of course it doesnt have to be.

 

[kdzgon]

One popular way to maximize the use of your points is to pay cash for weekends. Because weekends cost so many points it is usually cheaper to pay cash (with member discount) than to rent points (even as low as $8/pt) for Fri & Sat nights.

What is the member discount for DVC cash rentals through Disney?

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Consider planning trips early in your use year.

We have 100 points. We are currently planning a trip with family in April that takes 270 points. We are borrowing a 100 and had 70 points transferred.

As the trip gets closer, I think of all the things that could happen that would stop the trip at the last minute like measles, death in family, etc., which could roll all the points into a holding accounting.

If so, we have 9 or 10 months to plan something else.

 

[pj-atsea]

Yes, I too, am interested to find out what the member discount is all about..pj

 

[CarolMN]

If available, members can call MS and book nights for cash. The member discounted rate is 25% off rack rate.

Keep in mind that there is no guarantee that MS will have cash nights available. Sometimes they have them available but without the member discount. There is no waitlist for cash nights so if you want one and one isn't available when you first call, you have to call back periodically and hope to get lucky.

MS only has cash nights available if it determines (no one here really knows how) that not all of the rooms in the member inventory will be needed for points reservations.

If you book cash nights via MS, it is easy to link them to a points reservation (so you don't have to change rooms in between the cash and points reservations). The reservation will appear as one continuous reservarion to the resort.

 

[springandmac]

I was hoping to squeeze a 2 bedroom "Dream Season" Sun.-Thurs. vacation out of it with my husband, my two kids and allow each of them to bring a friend. (which I now see takes 140 points and not 130).

But maybe to start with I'll just do a Sun. - Thurs. studio with my husband (and no kids). If all goes well he'll like it so much that when we come back he'll give the thumbs up to purchase a add on.

Or maybe we won't pass ROFR and I won't need to be bothered with any of this. 30 days and counting.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Doc's method still works but you'd be borrowing 40 points from the far future rather than 30.

 

[weathernlu]

I think borrowing from one year is fine, but borrowing into the next year is beginning to defeat the purpose. If you're serious about wanting a 2BR, you need to consider more than a 50 point contract. 50 points is fine, if you want a couple of nights in a studio, but if you're looking for a 2BR when you go (as I am) you need to consider a 150 point contract. That's what I have and this is what we do:

We never go to Disney during the summer, too hot, even for a New Orleanian.

We always go between Dec. 1-14. We love it there that time of year and the Christmas decorations are out.

We go for five nights in a two bedroom at SSR, always Sunday to Thursday. Never ever use points for Friday and Saturday nights if you are on a small contract. The five nights in the 2BR are 135 points. Now we only do the 2BR if my wife sisters or someone else is coming. If it is just the four of us, we go with the one bedroom at the five nights cost 100 points. Either way we are well within our 150 point limit for the year. For the Friday and Saturday night we go over the the Nick Hotel, since a) my kids will not go to Orlando without going there, and b) even at $200 a night for the KidSuite (always get it around $160 or so) you're doing a lot better than the over $300 you're going to pay for a DVC resort on the weekend even with the discount (1 or 2BR).

That's the way I do it, we get our yearly trip to WDW at DVC and even have points to bank.

 

[keishashadow]

MS still permits transferring points into your account (1 transfer per year) if you can find a member so willing.

Of course, you could always add on , good luck.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Another down side to owning so few points is the lack of flexibility. If you get the 50 point resale, you could try adding on through Disney to get to a number that is exactly half of the amount of points you would need for a trip in a year. Then if you banked or borrowed so you would be using 2 years of points at once, it would make the bookeeping easier, and would give you far greater value. A 2 bedroom in Dream season for a Sun.-Thurs. stay at OKW is 135 points. If you divide by 2, that is 67.5 points. Since you can't buy half a point, you should aim for getting 68 points and by banking and borrowing, you would have a 2 bedroom stay at OKW in Dream season every other year.

 

[kdzgon]

...For the Friday and Saturday night we go over the the Nick Hotel, since a) my kids will not go to Orlando without going there, and b) even at $200 a night for the KidSuite (always get it around $160 or so) you're doing a lot better than the over $300 you're going to pay for a DVC resort on the weekend even with the discount (1 or 2BR)...

What/where is the Nick Hotel? (I know, I know - I can be pretty clueless sometimes.....)

 

[dianeschlicht]

I believe they are talking about Nickilodian

 

[CarolMN]

Check out DU's information on the Nick Hotel -


Nickelodeon Family Suites by Holday Inn

 

[weathernlu]

What/where is the Nick Hotel? (I know, I know - I can be pretty clueless sometimes.....)

They've given you some info to look at on it, it's basically a Residence Inn type hotel (suites) with all Nick themed stuff. They have a character breakfast with Dora, SpongeBob, Patrick, etc., the have a huge arcade, play areas for kids, pools, waterslides, a show, you name it. They have a food court with Pizza Hut also.

It's a pretty cool place and I just got a SMOKING deal. $298 plus tax for THREE NIGHTS!

 

[Disney Doll]

When we used to have fewer points than we do now, we used to stay in a moderate for the weekend, whenthe point costs were higher, and then move to the DVC on Sunday and checked out Friday AM

 

[Bribrittmom]

They've given you some info to look at on it, it's basically a Residence Inn type hotel (suites) with all Nick themed stuff. They have a character breakfast with Dora, SpongeBob, Patrick, etc., the have a huge arcade, play areas for kids, pools, waterslides, a show, you name it. They have a food court with Pizza Hut also.

It's a pretty cool place and I just got a SMOKING deal. $298 plus tax for THREE NIGHTS!

Where did you get that deal and when is it for? Thanks!