How hard is it to manage points?

[AmyAnne]

How hard is it to use your points but not need more than you have? For example, we are thinking seriously about purchasing a small contract, as we are fairly certain we will be at WDW at least one weekend every year, probably in late February. Looking at the points chart, a one-bedroom is about 35 - 45 points per night. So we would need 70 - 90 points. Looking at the resale listings, I have seen mostly multiples of 25, so it seems that we should look for either a 75 or 100 point contract. Am I correct in thinking that if we had 75 points but needed 90, we could borrow from the next year? And what about the next year -- we would be at 60 points; could we borrow 30 points from the year after that? At some point we would run out of points to borrow and would have to make other arrangements for one year (like just pay for a room). And if we had 100 points but only needed 90 -- we would bank the 10 points and use them the next year? But then we would have 20 extra points, and at some point we would have to use those points or lose them?

So far, it seems better to own slightly fewer points than you will need in a year, at least in terms of managing points. Or is my thinking flawed?

 

[disneynutz]

If you have to many points you just keep banking, you always use the banked points first. Eventually you can stay a extra day which is better than paying cash if you use your borrowing plan.

Pick the correct UY to make sure that you have time to bank.

Bill

 

[Disneypapa]

It's actually not to difficult to do, manage the points that is. The hardest thing for me has been to remember to bank unused points. You will not get a reminder from Disney to do so. It is entirely on you to keep up with that.

 

[AmyAnne]

Pick the correct UY to make sure that you have time to bank.

I understand in theory how banking works but if we are typically going to be using our points in Feb., which UY would be best?

 

[gripp35]

I understand in theory how banking works but if we are typically going to be using our points in Feb., which UY would be best?

You are allowed to bank until 4 months prior to the new UY. If you had a February UY, you would have to bank before Oct 1st of the preceding year. A February UY would be ideal for a February vacation. You can decide how much buffer you'd like to give yourself. You could get a December UY which would easily allow Jan-Mar trips with the banking deadline being Aug 1st.

 

[jstarcze]

I understand in theory how banking works but if we are typically going to be using our points in Feb., which UY would be best?

A february UY would be ideal if you were always going travel in February. Your points would become available Feb. 1st each year and you would have until Sept. 30th to bank any unused points. In case you don't know UY and when you can make a reservation have nothing to do with each other. For instance you could make a reservation for Feb 2014 in March 2013 using your Feb 2014 UY points and any banked pts. if you were making a reservation at your home resort.

 

[chalee94]

I understand in theory how banking works but if we are typically going to be using our points in Feb., which UY would be best?

ideally, you want to travel as early in your UY as possible and you never want to travel in the last few months of your UY BUT it only becomes an issue if you need to cancel.

my UY is october, so if i booked a reservation for august 2013 and needed to cancel 45 days out, i would already be past my may 31 banking window and that would mean i would be more likely to lose pts if i couldn't figure out how to use them before they expire on sept 30, 2013. but if you never cancel, UY will likely never be an issue.

you may want to read (and bookmark) this for more info:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1942668

 

[drusba]

February, December, October, and September would be acceptable use years for an annual Feb trip with Feb the best. It is as noted above an issue of being able to bank and how long you still have to use the points if you have to cancel.

You can by eighth month of use year bank any points from your current use year into the next. You can when calling to reserve use banked points, any and all of your current use year points (and "current" use year for purpose of reserving is determined by when you will be at WDW not much earlier date you call to reserve), and can borrow any or all of the next use year's points (again the "next use year" and whether you can borrow is determined by date you will be at WDW not date you call to reserve). Points once banked or borrowed cannot be returned to the use year from which they came and must be used by end of use year they are in after banking or borrowing. Thus, for example if you had 100 points with a February use year, you could call in March 2012 or after to make reservation at your home resort for February 2013 and on that call (a) use for the trip any Feb 2012 points that you received, and still have, by banking them into the Feb 2013 use year, (b) use your Feb 2013 points as the "current" use year points for that trip since your trip falls within your Feb 2013 use year, and (c) if needed borrow any and all February 2014 points for the trip.

 

[k3chantal]

It's actually not to difficult to do, manage the points that is. The hardest thing for me has been to remember to bank unused points. You will not get a reminder from Disney to do so. It is entirely on you to keep up with that.

DVC is now sending out reminders to bank your points through email. I just got an email reminder last week. The funny thing is that I don't have any points to bank into 2013. In fact I have already spent most of 2013's points.

To the original poster, the hardest thing about managing your points is wanting more. I am always borrowing. I have 24 points left in my 2013 allotment which means I probably will bank them into 2014. Keep in mind, I get 280 points a year so it's not like I don't have enough points to begin with.

 

[DVCanadian]

To the original poster, the hardest thing about managing your points is wanting more.

+1000
Truer words have not been written.

 

[dvcterry]

The funny thing is that I don't have any points to bank into 2013. In fact I have already spent most of 2013's points.

To the original poster, the hardest thing about managing your points is wanting more. I am always borrowing.

wow, this sounds like me

 

[333disneymom]

To the original poster, the hardest thing about managing your points is wanting more. I am always borrowing. I have 24 points left in my 2013 allotment which means I probably will bank them into 2014. Keep in mind, I get 280 points a year so it's not like I don't have enough points to begin with.

So true. This is what we kept doing, and then we finally bought more points - just waiting to close now.