I had that same thought earlier ...considering 1 night in a studio and 5 nights in a 1BD to save a bit on points. It would be nice to see this represented in one view on this site, agree with your feedback!
I feel like that is the way to do it, book something you might want to do then just keep modifying. Like right now I’m planning on booking Halloween, but depending on how that works out, I may modify to November and then maybe again to Dec, and if all else fails modify to Jan when it’s the cheapest and the coolest weather.
I feel like sometimes it's the only way to do it. Southwest doesn't usually have their flight schedules out that far so I guess as best as I can. This year I modified a Sat-Sat trip to Sun-Sun to accommodate cheaper fares.I feel like that is the way to do it, book something you might want to do then just keep modifying. Like right now I’m planning on booking Halloween, but depending on how that works out, I may modify to November and then maybe again to Dec, and if all else fails modify to Jan when it’s the cheapest and the coolest weather.
Is there any down side to that? (besides not being able to go back once you let go of possibly hard to get rooms)
One of the nice things about DVC is if you are 60+ days out, there's no penalty for changes or cancelations. That has allowed us to speculatively book holidays at the 11 month mark then we can modify or cancel as the dates get closer.When looking at your points...how far ahead do you tentatively "plan" your trips?
I honestly feel like this would be easier if A) we had a LOT of points and B) we went more often. (Two things that won't be happening at this point.)
We plan to go to WDW 2 years in a row and then skip a year. And then likely continue that pattern for a while. For DLR, we plan at least once every 18 months. But sometimes trips may be only 6 months apart. Sometimes 12 months. It just depends. And because of that, it's making my head explode a bit trying to plan things out so that we don't end up short one year or have too many extra.
So I've basically written out different options/ideas from now until about 2031. But I KNOW it will all change so it's probably pointless. But it helps my anxiety to have some ideas on paper anyway. Though I'm kind of running into a "too many points" situation some years with our BRV points.
Anyway....do you guys just plan a year at a time? Do you think ahead a few years? Or are you a completely normal person who just flies by the seat of their pants?
I keep a master spreadsheet, too. Four use years, multiple contacts for each. Sadly, unlike the early years when I would obsessively track each point, I know sometimes forget to update the spreadsheet. My goal is to go to the site and reconcile quarterly. It's a goal not always attained.
Would be amazing if Disney supplied a way to track, & plan 2 years in advance, then you could just hit "activate" or "make live" when the 11 month window opened (or 7month).
Actually, it's even better than that - there are no penalties until you're at 30 days or less from checkin when you cancel (or make changes that use fewer points than the original reservation did). The only other thing that can cause problems is if you're past the banking deadline for any points that are freed up by canceling.
Always far enough in advance to use our 11 month booking window.
I'm old school and still use a notebook and pen! I love writing things out! Pages and pages of planning!
