If you added on 200 points recently

[global_mom]

What was the incentive? I know that you can buy 200+ and get the 270 developer points and get the point price discount of $8 or $10 (AKV vs. SSR) but was there anything else? At one point they were offering the $500 Visa reward dollars and on our latest cruise they were offering the $500 onboard credit.

We, once again, have an overwhelming case of "addonitis" but are in no real rush. We are a Dec UY.

If those with more DVC experience think that there might be something better around the corner then we can wait.

What do ya'll think? Weaker economy = more incentives?

Thanks!

 

[Aurora1959]

What was the incentive? I know that you can buy 200+ and get the 270 developer points and get the point price discount of $8 or $10 (AKV vs. SSR) but was there anything else? At one point they were offering the $500 Visa reward dollars and on our latest cruise they were offering the $500 onboard credit.

We, once again, have an overwhelming case of "addonitis" but are in no real rush. We are a Dec UY.

If those with more DVC experience think that there might be something better around the corner then we can wait.

What do ya'll think? Weaker economy = more incentives?

Thanks!

We bought 200 points in August while on the med Cruise. We got 200 pts for the current use year, which we immediately banked because our use year starts in Sept. Plus we got 400 Incentive points. So I have 600 pts that I MUST use this year (400 before August 7th) and the other 200 before Aug 31st.

I hope that helps answer your question.

And for anyone else that might be a newbie to some of this (like me) - when you book a reservation, be sure to tell them that you want to use the incentive points. I made a reservation after inquiring about the incentive points, and just assumed that because we had just spent 20 minutes trying to find them and double check the details, that she would have booked using those. I had never used any before so I didn't know all the right things to say. This was my fault for not asking more questions, and due to the fact that she told me I was only her 3rd reservation that she had booked. It doesn't really matter in the end because we are going to use 313 of those incentive points on Presidents Day weekend at DGC. That's a vacation I wasn't going to get, and wouldn't if it wasn't for the use them or lose them policy.

The nice CM that helped me book the Feb vacation gave me some great tips. I pass them along here for the others that are new at this.

• Ask about your incentive points. Get exact dates on when you must use them by.
• They don't appear online. So don't let your hubby or wife freak out when they can't see them.
• If you put in the request online, don't check the radio button for 'borrow from next year'. And be very clear in the comments box that you want to use up your incentive points first, and only use regular pts if you don't have enough.
• If you call to make a reservation, ask to use your incentive points. Be firm on that one.
• If you use incentive points, realize that it goes to an 'incentive team' for review. I have no further details about that, it's just what I was told.

 

[global_mom]

Thank you for the reply! Do you recall if you also recevied the price discount for the points ($8 or $10). We did not buy on our cruise when the offer was similar to what you mention. I hope that we did not make a big mistake!

 

[JimMIA]

You might want to research the developer points to be sure you can actually use them. They have extensive limitations -- much more restricted than regular points!

Some people are saying they wouldn't even consider developer points as an incentive in the future, based on the problems they've had using them.

 

[SanDeeKath]

You might want to research the developer points to be sure you can actually use them. They have extensive limitations -- much more restricted than regular points!

Some people are saying they wouldn't even consider developer points as an incentive in the future, based on the problems they've had using them.

If you are clever and have a tricky situation planned, you can make that a contingency of the sale. We needed to book New Year 08 so when we added on, I made it clear that we would need Dev points to book this expensive New Year trip at AKV. My guide took care of it even though it had the supposed restriction of booking 7 mo in advance only. Just negotiate. The important thing though is to plan ahead and give them a concrete thing you'd like ot accomplish. You can't just go to sales and say hey, I want my bonus points to be able to book out 11 months. That woudl never work. But if you need a specific favor done, it will get done just to get the sale through. That's just savvy business practice on their part and a good deal for the purchaser. I know I am happy and will be going back for more.

K

 

[global_mom]

You might want to research the developer points to be sure you can actually use them. They have extensive limitations -- much more restricted than regular points!

Some people are saying they wouldn't even consider developer points as an incentive in the future, based on the problems they've had using them.

Thanks Jim! We got developer points for our first add-on and used them to book a cruise. We had no problem using them but we were also very flexible and had several dates that would work for us. We were lucky in that we were able to book our first choice but I have read of many people having a hard time with the points.

The next poster made a really good point about enlisting the guide's help if you need to make the points "contingent" on a certain booking date.

We are flexible with our home resort preferences (we are not picky) and already own SSR and HHI but we would love to add AKV to the mix so that we could get the 11 month advantage for Grand Villas for our extended family.

Elizabeth

PS - Jim: I always love reading your responses on various threads. You have so much DVC knowledge and I tend to seek out your "wisdom" when researching heated topics. Thanks for being on the boards!

 

[kdzgon]

If you are clever and have a tricky situation planned, you can make that a contingency of the sale. We needed to book New Year 08 so when we added on, I made it clear that we would need Dev points to book this expensive New Year trip at AKV. My guide took care of it even though it had the supposed restriction of booking 7 mo in advance only. Just negotiate. The important thing though is to plan ahead and give them a concrete thing you'd like ot accomplish. You can't just go to sales and say hey, I want my bonus points to be able to book out 11 months. That woudl never work. But if you need a specific favor done, it will get done just to get the sale through. That's just savvy business practice on their part and a good deal for the purchaser. I know I am happy and will be going back for more.

K

Our developer points were good for 11 months - we did not ask for anything special. As the OP said, be sure to find out the specific restrictions on the offered developer points.