How would this work with borrowing points?

[Bellex917]

Hi everyone! We are new(er) to DVC and are loving it. In the summer of 2025 we plan to take a longer trip and plan to use the remaining 2024 points (will be in that use year) and borrow all/most of our 2025 points. We have 86 remaining for 2024 and will have 210 for 2025.

We plan to do a split stay between our home resort (SSR) in a 1 bedroom and then another resort, 4 nights at each. With this plan, I have plenty of points to actually take the trip, but booking it is confusing me. Ideally I'd book at 11 months out a 1 bedroom at SSR for the first half, knowing I plan to keep that part, and then book the second half at SSR and modify it at the 7 month mark. I'm flexible where we go, but a VGF studio, or Boardwalk/Beach (ha, I know, not happening) 1bedroom would be my first choices.

How do I go about doing this, when I don't know for sure how many points I'd need for the second part? If I booked just the first part I'd still need to borrow, and if I understand correctly you can't borrow more than once, right? So do I just do the whole trip at 7 months when I know where we are def going for part 2, and therefore def know the exact amount of points needed to borrow, or is there something I'm missing?

Sorry if a silly Q, it's my first time in this situation.

 

[eticketplease]

Hi everyone! We are new(er) to DVC and are loving it. In the summer of 2025 we plan to take a longer trip and plan to use the remaining 2024 points (will be in that use year) and borrow all/most of our 2025 points. We have 86 remaining for 2024 and will have 210 for 2025.

We plan to do a split stay between our home resort (SSR) in a 1 bedroom and then another resort, 4 nights at each. With this plan, I have plenty of points to actually take the trip, but booking it is confusing me. Ideally I'd book at 11 months out a 1 bedroom at SSR for the first half, knowing I plan to keep that part, and then book the second half at SSR and modify it at the 7 month mark. I'm flexible where we go, but a VGF studio, or Boardwalk/Beach (ha, I know, not happening) 1bedroom would be my first choices.

How do I go about doing this, when I don't know for sure how many points I'd need for the second part? If I booked just the first part I'd still need to borrow, and if I understand correctly you can't borrow more than once, right? So do I just do the whole trip at 7 months when I know where we are def going for part 2, and therefore def know the exact amount of points needed to borrow, or is there something I'm missing?

Sorry if a silly Q, it's my first time in this situation.

1st what month are you planning this and will it span multiple months i.e. July 31-August 1st?
2nd what is your use year?
If your use year is August, September, October or December you will have at least 1 summer month of 2025 to use your 2024 points and then can borrow from your 2025 use year allotment.

If it is not one of those use years you would have had to bank your 2024 points into 2025. Then you would have 2024 points 2025 points and could borrow from 2026.

You can borrow as many times as you want but it is a final transaction so you would have to use the borrowed points, as they can not be banked and would expire at the end of the use year. i.e. it is today, 3/3/24 and you have a Feb use year. You borrow 20 points from 2025 into 2024. Those points will now expire 1/31/25 and are not bankable back to 2025. The good news is the booking tool will use banked and borrowed points before the current use year points.

 

[kilik64]

I’d just book the first half at ssr then the 2nd half at 7 months. 1br at 7 months shouldn’t be super hard to get if going outside fall frenzy.

Worst case scenario you don’t get anything at 7 months that’s not ssr, just book the rest at ssr as it’s basically guaranteed that 1br will still be there at 7 months.

 

[Bellex917]

1st what month are you planning this and will it span multiple months i.e. July 31-August 1st?
2nd what is your use year?
If your use year is August, September, October or December you will have at least 1 summer month of 2025 to use your 2024 points and then can borrow from your 2025 use year allotment.

If it is not one of those use years you would have had to bank your 2024 points into 2025. Then you would have 2024 points 2025 points and could borrow from 2026.

You can borrow as many times as you want but it is a final transaction so you would have to use the borrowed points, as they can not be banked and would expire at the end of the use year. i.e. it is today, 3/3/24 and you have a Feb use year. You borrow 20 points from 2025 into 2024. Those points will now expire 1/31/25 and are not bankable back to 2025. The good news is the booking tool will use banked and borrowed points before the current use year points.

Planning to go late June-early July 2025, use year Sept.

 

[eticketplease]

First off sorry as I missed "will be in that use year".

I semi agree with @kilik64 to book the first half at 7 months so you at least have a room.
However I would only book the first 4 nights in a studio at SSR so that way if something goes wrong you would not lose any borrowed points.

I just looked at David's cost calculator and picked dates that had a Fri & Sat and two other days.
It was showing studios for 60/68 points which would use only 2024 points.
It was showing 1 BRs for 122/138 points which would then require you to borrow the points from 2025.

I know you are going to have to borrow anyway but I just wouldn't borrow until needed so I didn't accidentally borrow too many. What happens if you end up with a vgf resort studio? That is entirely possible as 7 months they are generally available during your time frame for all 3 views. Those would top out at 120 (Assuming Fri, Sat and 2 other nights) so you would have over borrowed and can't bank them.

My advice is book the SSR Studio for the 1st four nights.
At Sevens months modify it to VGF resort studio or Garden Pool View Studio at BWV (Still be possible at 8 am).
Then I would at 7 months book at AKL instead of SSR if you are wanting the 1 br. The AKL Kidani Savanna would be 2 points more then SSR preferred (Assuming same Fri, Sat, and 2 other nights) or if you wanted standard it would be 8 points less. That would help with 2025 points supply and those are generally available as well at 7 months out during your time frame.

You can certainly end the trip with a 1 BR at SSR but as @bilik64 mentioned it is basically guaranteed that room will be available at 7 months out.

BTW you really don't want to go from 1BR to a studio so always finish with that if you can.

 

[Sandisw]

You can borrow as many times as you want during the UY in order to complete a reservation. So, if you book the first 4 nights and borrow points to complete it, you can then borrow more at 7 months for the other nights that you want elsewhere.

 

[CarolynFH]

As above, you can borrow as many times as you need to. So I’d do as you planned, book SSR in two parts, borrowing whatever you need for those two reservations. Then at 7 months try to modify one reservation to another resort, and if you need to borrow more, you can do that when you modify.

I agree with advice above not to move from a 1BR to a studio if you can possibly avoid it!

And if for some reason you can’t modify and have to stay at SSR the whole trip, just chat/email/call MS and ask them to merge the two reservations into one, with a single reservation number, so you don’t have to change rooms.

 

[Bellex917]

First off sorry as I missed "will be in that use year".

I semi agree with @kilik64 to book the first half at 7 months so you at least have a room.
However I would only book the first 4 nights in a studio at SSR so that way if something goes wrong you would not lose any borrowed points.

I just looked at David's cost calculator and picked dates that had a Fri & Sat and two other days.
It was showing studios for 60/68 points which would use only 2024 points.
It was showing 1 BRs for 122/138 points which would then require you to borrow the points from 2025.

I know you are going to have to borrow anyway but I just wouldn't borrow until needed so I didn't accidentally borrow too many. What happens if you end up with a vgf resort studio? That is entirely possible as 7 months they are generally available during your time frame for all 3 views. Those would top out at 120 (Assuming Fri, Sat and 2 other nights) so you would have over borrowed and can't bank them.

My advice is book the SSR Studio for the 1st four nights.
At Sevens months modify it to VGF resort studio or Garden Pool View Studio at BWV (Still be possible at 8 am).
Then I would at 7 months book at AKL instead of SSR if you are wanting the 1 br. The AKL Kidani Savanna would be 2 points more then SSR preferred (Assuming same Fri, Sat, and 2 other nights) or if you wanted standard it would be 8 points less. That would help with 2025 points supply and those are generally available as well at 7 months out during your time frame.

You can certainly end the trip with a 1 BR at SSR but as @bilik64 mentioned it is basically guaranteed that room will be available at 7 months out.

BTW you really don't want to go from 1BR to a studio so always finish with that if you can.

Thank you!! We did that in June- 1 bedroom at SSR to Poly- def get your point haha!

I do appreciate your advice to do the studio for the first half and avoid borrowing, that does make sense.

Just to clarify, I CAN borrow more than once if need be? They just stay in the year they're borrowed to? That part is fine, I just want to be sure I can potentially borrow for the first part and then again the second part if we went that way.

 

[Bellex917]

You can borrow as many times as you want during the UY in order to complete a reservation. So, if you book the first 4 nights and borrow points to complete it, you can then borrow more at 7 months for the other nights that you want elsewhere.

PERFECT. This is the info I needed.

 

[eticketplease]

Thank you!! We did that in June- 1 bedroom at SSR to Poly- def get your point haha!

I do appreciate your advice to do the studio for the first half and avoid borrowing, that does make sense.

Just to clarify, I CAN borrow more than once if need be? They just stay in the year they're borrowed to? That part is fine, I just want to be sure I can potentially borrow for the first part and then again the second part if we went that way.

Sorry I thought I had included in my reply but Yes you can borrow as many times as you wish as @CarolynFH and @Sandisw stated.

 

[eticketplease]

Just some more food for thought.

You are in better shape as a SSR owner than a point heavy resort like PVB for borrowing if you were to do a waitlist and it come through.

If you were an owner at PVB and borrowed 147 points for a lake studio for 6/23/24 to 6/29/24.
You then waitlisted a lake studio at VGF which is 137 points and it comes through you are now stuck with 10 borrowed points that must be used.

As a SSR owner you borrowed the 94 points for a preferred studio.
Only if the waitlist comes through for the VGF Lake View studio of 137 points would more points be borrowed and of course they would be the correct amount.

 

[Bellex917]

Just some more food for thought.

You are in better shape as a SSR owner than a point heavy resort like PVB for borrowing if you were to do a waitlist and it come through.

If you were an owner at PVB and borrowed 147 points for a lake studio for 6/23/24 to 6/29/24.
You then waitlisted a lake studio at VGF which is 137 points and it comes through you are now stuck with 10 borrowed points that must be used.

As a SSR owner you borrowed the 94 points for a preferred studio.
Only if the waitlist comes through for the VGF Lake View studio of 137 points would more points be borrowed and of course they would be the correct amount.

Thank you for this! We likely wont wait list- we are VERY flexible and want to try all of the resorts eventually, which is why we bought SSR. We went in June to SSR just so we'd have seen what we actually bought lol and my kids LOVED it. I really liked being able to walk to DS, so even though we bought there just for ease/price, we ended up really liking it. The kids wanted to go back on the summer 2025 trip (we are going next month actually but staying at Wilderness Lodge) so that part won't change, so I think I'll borrow and book the 1 bedroom preferred location for the first half, then just do the second half at the 7 month mark since we are willing to go just about anywhere else.

 

[eticketplease]

Thank you for this! We likely wont wait list- we are VERY flexible and want to try all of the resorts eventually, which is why we bought SSR. We went in June to SSR just so we'd have seen what we actually bought lol and my kids LOVED it. I really liked being able to walk to DS, so even though we bought there just for ease/price, we ended up really liking it. The kids wanted to go back on the summer 2025 trip (we are going next month actually but staying at Wilderness Lodge) so that part won't change, so I think I'll borrow and book the 1 bedroom preferred location for the first half, then just do the second half at the 7 month mark since we are willing to go just about anywhere else.

Just remember to do your laundry on your last night if you are moving to a studio!!!

 

[Bellex917]

Just remember to do your laundry on your last night if you are moving to a studio!!!

YES! We did that last time! We had separate bags for each part of the trip so it was so nice to have the SSR bag clean and folded when we got home and only have the Poly bag full of dirty clothes haha!