Linking cash/point reservations?

[squirrlygirl]

Why can't you link cash and point reservations? I am so confused right now.
Last week, I booked a points/cash/free night stay for August and everything was linked together in the system so we don't have to move. So I assumed you could do it.

I asked this morning if it was possible to link a cash stay through CRO with a points stay and was told it's impossible to do. Why is that? I was thinking I could change my weekend reservation to the same place I'm staying on points, but it appears I will have to move, anyway, so there goes that bright idea. Why on earth would they not allow that? Now I have no incentive to stay DVC for the weekend.

Ugh. I thought I could avoid moving twice (once because a waitlist didn't come through, and then once over to Pop for the weekend). Ok, I could do it if I'm willing to pay the DVC rate for the room, but it's much cheaper to use the AP rate. And member services can't apply a different discount to the room, either.

 

[Donald is #1]

Hmmm, I just made a cash reservation yesterday and I think that I was able to link it to the rest of my reservation. However, I booked my cash reservation through MS. I don't know if that matters.

 

[squirrlygirl]

Well, I called back, figured I'd take my chances with having to move rooms, and now there's suddenly no AP rates with or without dining available anywhere, after the previous cast member told me there was plenty of availability so he wasn't going to change my reservation until I talked with member services.

Yes, as I said before, I could link the cash reservation if I wanted to pay an extra 40 or so dollars a night for the room.

 

[Claire L]

I think you can only link points and cash if booked through MS if cash booked through CRO then no you cannot link. I think is because the room allocations come from different inventories or something like that.

Claire

 

[squirrlygirl]

I think I just need to buy more points and avoid this nonsense! One and a half hours later, I was able to book a cash reservation for what I was looking for online. I may have to move, of course, but we'll check with the front desk when we check in to see if there's a way to avoid it.

but this way I'll get a fresh supply of styrofoam every day, right?

 

[CarolMN]

The points and CRO cash reservations systems are different and not compatible. That's why you can link cash reservations to points reservations when you book the cash portion through MS.


FWIW, it is rare to hear of someone forced to move/change rooms between a CRO & MS reservation as long as the reservations are for the exact same thing. (Some DVC room types are not available for cash). The resorts do try to avoid it if they know about the situation (thus the advice to cross reference reservations numbers).

Again, it is possible, but not probable. You will have to check out and back in again between the cash and points portions of your reservation, but that isn't nearly the problem that moving could be! Anyway, I'd probably risk it - a chance of having to move is better than FOR SURE having to move.

 

[squirrlygirl]

Well, I'm curious how it's being done for my August stay? Though this was a "free" night, and while I was told it was being done through CRO, perhaps it actually wasn't. I was told member services would not see the information, but it was manually in the computer, complete with an adjusted T&T day based on the entire reservation.

I was perhaps already just a bit pre-irritated this morning since I asked DH about booking a studio instead of a value several months ago, and he didn't think it was worth it. Then last night he decided he wasn't about to stay in a value resort with 3 kids (one a baby) and I should book the studio. Oh, and while he earlier said he didn't want to eat at sit-down restaurants, now that he thought about it, boy he enjoyed Coral Reef, and he really like San Angel Inn, and do I think there might be any room at Liberty Tree Tavern....so I was also making and rearranging our ADR's as I only had Crystal Palace for the kids in place ... but I won't complain (to him ) as I'm thrilled he loves Disney as much as me.

And in the end, I think CRO CM#2 irritated me more than anything. When I called back to cancel my Pop reservation, I was told that there was availability and they had no idea why person #2 told me there wasn't I have never in my life entered how many vacations I've been on so many times in one morning! And, of course, I was not offered the option of staying on the line for a survey for CM#2.

So, anyway, perhaps we'll have to move, but perhaps not. But at least we won't be guaranteed the move, and at least we'll have a way to warm and wash the baby's bottles easily. Provided I pack my own dish soap.

 

[Donald is #1]

I was perhaps already just a bit pre-irritated this morning since I asked DH about booking a studio instead of a value several months ago, and he didn't think it was worth it. Then last night he decided he wasn't about to stay in a value resort with 3 kids (one a baby) and I should book the studio. Oh, and while he earlier said he didn't want to eat at sit-down restaurants, now that he thought about it, boy he enjoyed Coral Reef, and he really like San Angel Inn, and do I think there might be any room at Liberty Tree Tavern....so I was also making and rearranging our ADR's as I only had Crystal Palace for the kids in place ... but I won't complain (to him ) as I'm thrilled he loves Disney as much as me.

Argh!!! That would have put me over the top.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Sometimes you can't book a room for cash, either through MS or CRO, that you can get for points. Like the BW view rooms or the AKV concierge rooms or the dedicated two bedroom with two queen beds in the second bedroom at BCV.

But if you didn't get any of these categories, just make sure that each reservation has a note about the other reservation. Plus, it helps to have the reservation in the same name. Then when you get to the resort, you can ask the CM if you were blocked into the same room for your entire stay. You will have to check out of the points stay and check back into the CRO cash stay, but you should be able to stay in the same room.

We did this once at SSR in a one bedroom. I got a good rate on an AP room at SSR and we already had the points stay reserved. When we got there we were NOT blocked into the same room for the entire stay because one reservation was in my name, the other in Bill's name. But the CM was able to block us into the same room for the entire stay. Just had to check out and check back in.