how difficult is it to juggle contracts at two different resorts in WDW...

[CMedley78]

My DH and I currently own 160 pts at SSR and I am contemplating buying into AKV. I always figured I would add another 160 pts SSR, but I with all the incentives for AKV, I think we may add on there instead. We typically go to WDW every year and like to stay in a 1BR or 2BR villa. Within a few years, we will most likely always just stay in a 2BR. My question is how do people who have two separate contracts manage them each year? Do you bank and borrow so that you stay at each resort every other year? Do you find it difficult to manage? Do you ever regret not getting all the points at one resort? We do have a small contract at HHI in which we bank and borrow to go every other year, but I think of that separate from my WDW vacations and I wonder if I would just complicate things by adding a third resort to mix. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[PSC]

I'm sure you will get a mix of responses on your question. Some members report that multiple contracts at different resorts is no problem and some prefer everything to be all in one package. It gets a little more exciting if you mix different use years with different resorts. My feeling is that everything can be managed with proper planning, and if you are a good planner now, it won't be much harder. Caskbill has some wonderful tools to help you manage your points from 1 contract to many. Check out http://www.caskbill.com. Good luck!

 

[DVC Mike]

I don't have any problems managing my points, which are spread across 4 home resorts. I prefer this approach, as I can schedule each of these resorts at the 11-mo window.

 

[gobofraggle]

There's no reason why it should be a problem - we have points at AKV and OKW - so we can either bank and borrow to do a vacation at one and then at the other (collecting bundles of points in two piles, like piles of swept leaves, or piles of candied fruit peels on a baker's table) - or we can (more likely) use the ability to book a split-stay at both resorts at the 11-month window.
Having somewhere be a home resort allows you that 11 month access. If you want to be able to spend some nights there without piling in with the hungry crowds at 7-months, get a foot in that AKV door too by buying points.

Basically, if you couldn't cope with having two home resorts, that would be the least of your problems. Tying shoelaces would be problem number one.

 

[Minnie824]

We just bought our 2nd contract. One is AKV the other is BCV. They both have the same use year. Our plan is to bank one contract, borrow on the other and have double pts at each resort every other year...so one year we stay at AKV the next at BCV. However, just reading the post above gave me a good idea. Because if we end up having any 'extra' pts for one, we could just do a split stay in one year. Haven't tried any of this yet, but it makes sense on paper so far.

 

[Caskbill]

There's a big difference in what's needed to manage a contract depending if it's an Add-On contract, or a totally new one.

Unless there's some compelling reason to get a different use year, your best bet is to get an Add-on contract. That way everything is under the same membership number, and at 7-months all the points can be pooled in any manner you choose to make any resort reservation.

If you purchase a different use year, it becomes a new Master Contract, and each has to be managed totally separately.

 

[Cap]

We've had contracts at three locations, BWV, VB, and HH for several years. I made sure they were all the same use year, so they could be under one Master Contract. We have no issues with managing points. I run a simple spreadsheet of unused reservations, current balances for each subcontract, and planned future use, including which subcontract I intend to pull points to use. I also include a date to make the planned reservation so I can either take advantage of the 11 month window or start as soon as allowed if I am not using Home Resort points. I then put those "reservation dates" in my calendar, so I'm reminded.

I suspect this would be much more difficult if I had different use years.