Multiple home ? for newbie

[Kent]

I have been lurking and reading alot on the boards and am thinking about becoming a member. This year I have rented points to go in december to see how it works out.

I expect to be going once a year and once in a while twice. I expect december to be pretty constant at least for the next 5 to 8 years. Only myself and my daughter will be going most of the time. So I have been thinking about getting points and was wondering where I would like to get them. Knowing myself one thing I think I would find enjoyable is trying out different resorts and not have one home.

So I would like to know pro's and con's of getting 3 homes. Each one would be a small point contract. I would go to one home each year and bank the point to the others.

This sounds like it would work for me but I'm sure I'm missing some downside.

One other question is there a way for a non-member to get the offical banking and trading policy on points?

Thanks for any help.

 

[wtpclc]

Downsides:
Tracking your points.
Separate small re-sale contacts means closing fees on each contract.

If you want all the details, call DVC and ask for the full kit with vDVD (not just the DVD). I *think* that had all of the details. They're not high pressure, s odon't worry about "getting on their list". Good luck with your decision!

 

[cruise-o-matic]

The downside to getting small contracts is that they tend to sell at a higher price per point than larger ones. Plus closing costs, etc. will push the price per point up quite a bit too. If you go this route, you may want to buy one small contract on the resale market, then add on the other 2 through Disney.

if you plan on going mainly in December, then contracts with a December UY, would probably be best.

The consensus is that VWL is most popular in December. BWV Standard and Boardwalk Views are tough to get unless you own there too. And BCV is popular too b/c of SAB and Epcot. BCV is hard to get on the resale market and there is a waitlist through DVC. If you have to do 3, these are the smallest resorts and the home booking advantage will be key as DVC membership grows.

OKW and SSR should be fairly easy to get at the 7 month window.

 

[RobDoc]

One other possible downside ... while it has never happened, DVC can suspend banking and borrowing at any time. Unless you have 3 "favorite" resorts, it may be just as wise to purchase one contract and not have to worry about managing 3 separate accounts.

Banking rules currently allow members to bank up to 100% of their points during the first 6 months of their Use Year, 50% until 9 months and 25% thru 10 months. No points may be banked during the last two mionths of the Use Year. The banking percentages are cumulative, so if you own 200 points and bank 75 points 6 months into the Use Year, you will only be allowed to bank another 25 points (bringing the total banked to 100 - 50% the your total owned) thru the ninth month and none after that time.

 

[CarolMN]

Another downside to 3 small contracts is making sure all the points get used from each contract. Yes, with banking and borrowing, you could go to each resort every third year. However, that means your annual accomodations must exactly equal 3 times the amount of your contract. If not, you will either have extra points (that willb e forfeited) or not enough points. Banked and borrowed points expire at the end of the use yer into which they are banked or borrowed.

If you are not already a member, contracts less than 150 points must be purchased via resale. You can only buy the number of points that are in the contract - can't break up a contract to buy less or add just a few. The smallest contract available will be for 25 points. Anyway, what are the chances of finding a contract that is exactly (or nearly exactly) 1/3 of what you think you will need at that resort? Wht are the odds that you will find 3 contracts?

Just something else to think about.

IMHO, you would be better off picking one home resort and then either use the 7 month window for the other resorts you want to try or trading reservations with someone.

Best wishes -

 

[spiceycat]

okay I am disagreeing.

I have 3 home resort - OKW (240 points), BWV (50 points), and VWL (60 points)

BWV 50 - is enough to get you a standard view studio in early Dec for 5 nights

same with VWL 60 points

I also like thanksgiving week BWV - 49 points for that Sun-thurs standard view Studio

Now while I can understand that everyone is saying about VWL, BCV and BWV. If you know it will be you and your daughter - then the 2 queen beds in OKW studio might come in hand.

OKW is the only studio that has 2 queen beds - all the other DVC resorts have a queen bed and a double sleeper sofa - which is fine. I just prefer a real bed.

 

[Kent]

Thanks for all the insight it's making me think a bit

I didn't realize that point had to be used in the year you bank. So in my scenario that would mean if I plan on using that resort in 2007 I would need to take this years and bank in 2007, not 2006 assuming a rollover to 2007? In 2007 when I use these point, do I need to specify that I am using the bank points or do they assume when making a reservation to take the banked points first. Also if I do have extra points can't I take the 2007 use year points and bank them?

One other question, would I be able to transfer points to one of the othe contracts? If I can do this would I be able to use these points in the 11 month window of the contract they are transferred to?

I really do appreciate all the help.

Thanks,

Kent

 

[wtpclc]

Kent, you can only bank points into the next year. But, it depends on your use year. For example:

I have an August UY.
My 2005 points are good from 8/1/05 to 7/31/06.
I can bank them and use them from 8/1/06 to 7/31/07.

However, they cannot be re-banked and I could not bank my 2007 UY.

I could bank tehm to my 2006 and borrow from 2007 in my 2006 UY and then have 3 years points in 1 year.

You can only bank to one year ahead or borrow from 1 year ahead.

 

[CarolMN]

Thanks for all the insight it's making me think a bit

I didn't realize that point had to be used in the year you bank. So in my scenario that would mean if I plan on using that resort in 2007 I would need to take this years and bank in 2007, not 2006 assuming a rollover to 2007? In 2007 when I use these point, do I need to specify that I am using the bank points or do they assume when making a reservation to take the banked points first. Also if I do have extra points can't I take the 2007 use year points and bank them?

To really understand this, you need to understand use year first. Let's say you buy a resale with am August use year. That means:

2005 use year points are good for stays between 8/1/2005 and 7/31/2006.
2006 use year points are good for stays between 8/1/2006 and 7/31/2007.
2007 use year points are good for stays between 8/1/2007 and 7/31/2008.
2008 use year points are good for stays between 8/1/2008 and 7/31/2009.
etc.

You can bank one use year ahead. You can borrow from one use year ahead. Once a point is banked or borrowed, it expires at the end of the use into which it was banked or borrowed.

Let's say you have a contract of 50 points and you want to vacation in January, 2007 and your vacation needs 125 points.

That date falls within your 2006 use year. Before January 31, 2006 (your banking deadline for 2005 use year points), you bank all 50 of your 2005 points into the 2006 use year. (You do need to plan ahead when you need more points than your contract gives you on an annual basis).

Now you have 100 points (50 banked + 50 from the 2006 use year) to use in the 2006 use year. When you make the reservation for your January 2007 stay, MS will borrow 25 points from your 2007 use year because your vacation needs more than the 100 you have available in the 2006 use year.

That means that you still have 25 points left in your 2007 use year - to use between 8/1/2007 and 7/31/2008. If you can't use the 25 left during your 2007 use year, you could bank them into your 2008 use year.

It also means that for your January 2007 reservation, there are there are 50 banked points from 2005 and 25 borrowed points from 2007 that will expire on 7/31/2007 if you are unable to use them before then.

One other question, would I be able to transfer points to one of the othe contracts? If I can do this would I be able to use these points in the 11 month window of the contract they are transferred to?

I really do appreciate all the help.

Thanks,

Kent

You can transfer points between contracts, but the points are supposed to retain their original home resort and use year. So no, transferring is not a way to get around the booking rules.

That said, there is a computer glitch that makes it hard for MS to track transfers right now. So you may be able to bypass the rules by transferring points around right now. However, the glitch is likely to be resolved with the next reservation ystem upgrade - rumored to be coming soon.


Best wishes -

 

[dianeschlicht]

SInce December is your preferred time of travel right now, do you have one resort that is possibly preferred over another? If your preference is OKW, you will likely be able to get something at exactly the 7 month window there, even if you own at SSR. If VWL or BCV are your favorites, then you would need the 11 month booking window for those. If you are most interested in BWV standard view rooms, the 11 month window would also be important (not so much for preferred). I guess I would choose one small contract at one of the smaller DVCs (VWL or BCV) if they are on your list and a second small contract at one of the larger DVCs (SSR,OKW,BWV). One scenario might be to purchase a small (50 point) contract at the smaller resort as a resale, and then, once you are in the Disney system, add on in small increments at SSR. You will likely save in the long run, because you wont have the closing costs with each small add-on like you would with a resale.

BTW, to use 3 years of points at once, you bank into one year, and that year (with 2 years worth of points), you borrow from the following year. I have a friend who does this regularily. The only problem is that she occationally has a few points left over that are difficult to dispose of because they aren't enough for a one night reservation.

 

[Kent]

Thanks everyone. I think I now understand this much better. And realize how complicated 3 could make it. Also I now have a better understanding why the use month is important.

At this point now I need to figure what would be my preference. Maybe later look for a second home.

Anyway one last question. When transferring points with another home resort owner would I be able to use thier 11 month window? Do you think it would be possible to just trade someone and get this advantage.

Thanks again.

Kent

 

[Cruelladeville]

Yes, you would get the home resort advantage with rented/transferred points. If you want 2 home resorts, you really need to think of each resort separately. For example, I own 60 OKW pts and 175 BW pts on one contract. When I want to stay at OKW I bank 60 OKW pts into next year and borrow back from the year after next, so that I have 180 OKW points next year to use at OKW in the 11 month window. I borrow next year's BW points into this year and have 350 for this year at BW. I alternate where I stay each year. You can work larger vacations with small amounts of points if you are careful.

 

[CarolMN]

...(snip)....Anyway one last question. When transferring points with another home resort owner would I be able to use thier 11 month window? Do you think it would be possible to just trade someone and get this advantage.

Thanks again.

Kent

Yes. If you get points transferred to your account from another resort, you can use those points to make a reservation at that resort when the 11 month booking window opens.

Yes. Members can trade reservations - it's a good way to get the 11 month booking advantage at a non-home resort during the more popular times.

Best wishes -