In what order are points used up?

[AllieV]

Hi, about to buy a small contract and banking/borrowing/transferring will be big for me.

If I bank points, are they the first ones used for a reservation? And if I cancel a day of the trip, would those returned points be my latest points and latest UY?

If I [buy] transfer points from another member into my account, are those the first ones used for a rezzie since they can't be banked by me? Or does it go by the earliest/latest UY? Or can you request which points are used for a rezzie if you have different UYs because of a transfer?

The restriction to one in/out per UY, does that mean that if my UY is June I can transfer in 100 points today from one member and 100 more next month from a different member (since it's now May)? It's always MY use-year that applies, right?

And just to clarify, I cannot bank points that are transferred to me? (If they are bankable, is it my UY or are they banked to the UY that the points originally belonged to)?

Thanks for any info. I didn't see this stuff specifically in my search.

 

[luckyman_apd]

Hi, about to buy a small contract and banking/borrowing/transferring will be big for me.

If I bank points, are they the first ones used for a reservation? And if I cancel a day of the trip, would those returned points be my latest points and latest UY?

If I [buy] transfer points from another member into my account, are those the first ones used for a rezzie since they can't be banked by me? Or does it go by the earliest/latest UY? Or can you request which points are used for a rezzie if you have different UYs because of a transfer?

The restriction to one in/out per UY, does that mean that if my UY is June I can transfer in 100 points today from one member and 100 more next month from a different member (since it's now May)? It's always MY use-year that applies, right?

And just to clarify, I cannot bank points that are transferred to me? (If they are bankable, is it my UY or are they banked to the UY that the points originally belonged to)?

Thanks for any info. I didn't see this stuff specifically in my search.

Banked points from the previous year are always used first, then current year, and then you can borrow. This is how the online system works. You cannot use transferred points online, so you have to call member services to make a reservation with transfered points. If you are speaking to someone live on the phone with member services, you can tell them how you want your points used if in a different order. Typically, they will use whatever points are expiring first, and go in that order.

Transferred points can be banked, but never borrowed. So you could transfer in 2013 points now, but you can't use them until 2013, and you can transfer in 2012 points and bank them to 2013.....and they retain the UY and resort of the account they were from. So if you have a June UY from SSR, and transfer in Nov UY points from OKW, they are still Nov OKW points.

You can only transfer points 1 time per UY. So you could call today and make 2 transfers. You could transfer any leftover 2011 pts (but they expire this month for a June UY and are past the banking date), and you could transfer 2012 points. Next month when you are in your 2012 UY, you can transfer 2012 points and 2013 pts. But again, you can only do 1 transfer for each UY....in or out

 

[AllieV]

You can only transfer points 1 time per UY. So you could call today and make 2 transfers. You could transfer any leftover 2011 pts (but they expire this month for a June UY and are past the banking date), and you could transfer 2012 points. Next month when you are in your 2012 UY, you can transfer 2012 points and 2013 pts. But again, you can only do 1 transfer for each UY....in or out

Thanks so much for the info. Quick question on the above: it's one transfer DURING each UY or one transfer PER UY? The difference being that you describe 4 transfers. A 2011 and 2012 during the 2011 UY; and a 21012 and 2013 during the '12 UY. Sorry if this is confusing.

 

[drusba]

You can transfer points once per use year and you can actually transfer two use years worth of points, your current use year and your next use year points, in one phone call.

 

[wdrl]

Banked points from the previous year are always used first, then current year, and then you can borrow. This is how the online system works.

My experience with the online system was different. When I booked in February 2012, it used Borrowed points first, Banked points second, Transferred points third, and the Annual Allotment last. Here is a screen shot from the Online System showing how points were taken from my deeds:

 

[kristenrice]

I believe the "one transfer per UY" rule applies to the UY of the points being transferred. In July, 2011, I transferred in 200 2011 points AND 200 2012 points from a member with a June UY. I then banked the 2011 points and made a reservation using the 400 points for a trip in June 2012.

We have a Feb UY at AKV and the points we received were June UY at OKW. It did take a while for the CM to wrap her brain around transferring 2012 points in 2011. She kept thinking that I was trying to transfer borrowed points. I had to explain that the points were being used to book a reservation at OKW for June 2012. If we had to wait until the 2012 UY started, we'd have to book within 2 weeks of our travel dates.

 

[AllieV]

Kristen, that's perfect info, thanks. So did that take up your ONE allowed transfer for 2011 and your ONE allowed transfer for 2012? Or would you have been able to transfer more after Feb 2012?

I am also having trouble wrapping my head around the transfer. If it was July 2011, the seller already had their June 2011 points as "current". The only way to access June 2012 points in order to sell/transfer them to you would be to borrow them, right? Or was it more of an earmark to transfer them to you come June 2012 but with a footnote that you could use them to book?

 

[chalee94]

Kristen, that's perfect info, thanks. So did that take up your ONE allowed transfer for 2011 and your ONE allowed transfer for 2012? Or would you have been able to transfer more after Feb 2012?

that used up both the 2011 and 2012 transfers. no additional transfer allowed in 2012.

Or was it more of an earmark to transfer them to you come June 2012 but with a footnote that you could use them to book?

use year has nothing to do with when you call to book, remember?

my 2014 pts are already listed in my account (although i'm pretty sure i can't transfer them yet.)

so you have one set of pts that can be used for a stay between june 1, 2011 and may 31, 2012 (or banked ahead one year) plus one set of pts that can be used for a stay between june 1, 2012 and may 31, 2013 (or possibly banked ahead for a stay between june 1, 2013 and may 31, 2014, if you wanted.)

oh, and for the original post, remember to always check and make sure MS has used the pts in the order you expected. you are responsible (and sometimes they screw it up.)

 

[luckyman_apd]

My experience with the online system was different. When I booked in February 2012, it used Borrowed points first, Banked points second, Transferred points third, and the Annual Allotment last. Here is a screen shot from the Online System showing how points were taken from my deeds:

Unfortunately, my work network is blocking the picture, but as far as I know you cannot use transferred points to make a reservation online. My Nov reservation had to be done in three sections due to waitlist and all. It used all the banked 2011 points first, then it dipped into 2012 points. Then when the waitlist came through it borrowed from 2013 when the 2012 were all used up. This is what I was told would happen and how they are used online by Member services.

 

[taaren]

You cannot use transferred points online, so you have to call member services to make a reservation with transfered points.

Just as a clarification, most of the time this is true. However, if you transfer in points that are the same home resort and Use Year as your own, then they will appear online the same as your regular points. I did this a few months ago (UY by coincidence, home resort not) and was able to book a reservation with the transferred points combined with my own points online.

I know its a bit but in case anybody was wondering if its ever possible, in very specific instances, apparently it is.

 

[murphyjh]

You can transfer points once per use year and you can actually transfer two use years worth of points, your current use year and your next use year points, in one phone call.

In setting up a transfer, you must also be mindful of the other party's UY situation. Each inward transfer must be of points from their UY to your same UY. You can't transfer someone's 2102 UY points to your 2013 UY.

In addition, the other person's points have to be their current or next UY. You also must be in your current or next UY. If the UYs are 6 months apart, this can be a problem.

 

[AllieV]

In addition, the other person's points have to be their current or next UY. You also must be in your current or next UY. If the UYs are 6 months apart, this can be a problem.

A few people have mentioned something like this and I'm trying to wrap my head around it. Does that mean that a late-in-year UY is harder to find a good transfer? If I had an August UY, I'd be in 2011 now. So someone with an April UY (who would now be in their 2012 year) could not transfer points to me? Or they could but we'd have to wait until August?

 

[murphyjh]

A few people have mentioned something like this and I'm trying to wrap my head around it. Does that mean that a late-in-year UY is harder to find a good transfer? If I had an August UY, I'd be in 2011 now. So someone with an April UY (who would now be in their 2012 year) could not transfer points to me? Or they could but we'd have to wait until August?

You may transfer your Aug11 or Aug12 points. The other person can receive only 2012 or 2013 points. You could transfer only the Aug12 points to this person (to his or her Aug12 transferred account). Likewise that person could transfer his or her Apr12 points to your Apr12 transferred account.

I don' think it depands on the lateness of your UY. Rather, it depends on how close your UY is to that of the other person. In your example, you and the other person are now in different current years. This situation lasts for four months (Apr, May, Jun, Jul). For the other eight months you will be in the same current year, so two transfers would be possible.