My dashboard is a mess, I need help.

[VGCgroupie]

I have 15 reservations, 2 memberships and 9 contracts. My dashboard is crazy. I need to spend time figuring out all my points and how they were allocated. Is the only way to see what contract and what UY points were used to book a specific reservation by going in and modifying? Im always afraid I will mess up a reservation by doing this.

I looked under activity statement and wow.. not easy for me to understand.

Once I get the mess sorted out I will start being better about tracking things, but I have actually made reservations a couple times on the fly which doesn't help me stay organized at all.

 

[Sandisw]

I always just do the modification element. I do try to screenshot the points summary when I book…but I don’t always remember!!

 

[VGCgroupie]

I always just do the modification element. I do try to screenshot the points summary when I book…but I don’t always remember!!

ohh screenshotting is a great idea!

 

[eticketplease]

I have 15 reservations, 2 memberships and 9 contracts. My dashboard is crazy. I need to spend time figuring out all my points and how they were allocated. Is the only way to see what contract and what UY points were used to book a specific reservation by going in and modifying? Im always afraid I will mess up a reservation by doing this.

I looked under activity statement and wow.. not easy for me to understand.

Once I get the mess sorted out I will start being better about tracking things, but I have actually made reservations a couple times on the fly which doesn't help me stay organized at all.

That is the only way I know of.
That is unless you want to comb through all of the activity per contract. That of course would take some time if you are like me and you snag a reservation but go back and cancel it a few days later and repeat.

You shouldn’t mess anything up by modifying if you just keep clicking continue and not changing anything. The only time this can cause an issue is if your reservation is 30 days or less as then the points will be placed in holding. However if you are going on the trip for sure it won’t really matter.

I was in your shoes but then I started a log with the use year of trip, dates of trip, Resort, Room Type, Room Category, reservation #, total points used and then listed all of the banked, current and borrowed points for the contracts used to book including OTUP.

 

[VGCgroupie]

That is the only way I know of.
That is unless you want to comb through all of the activity per contract. That of course would take some time if you are like me and you snag a reservation but go back and cancel it a few days later and repeat.

You shouldn’t mess anything up by modifying if you just keep clicking continue and not changing anything. The only time this can cause an issue is if your reservation is 30 days or less as then the points will be placed in holding. However if you are going on the trip for sure it won’t really matter.

I was in your shoes but then I started a log with the use year of trip, dates of trip, Resort, Room Type, Room Category, reservation #, total points used and then listed all of the banked, current and borrowed points for the contracts used to book including OTUP.

Yes I have quite a bit of cancelling / modifying so the activity summary is confusing.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I only have 2 contracts and 1 membership (1 UY) so a lot easier to keep straight but I do use a spreadsheet and I try to colour code my contracts. That might not work as well with 9 of them although if you don't own at 9 different properties it might work... I don't know.

 

[Dobermanns]

Modification is the only way to try and untangle.

I track points usage with a spreadsheet (6 UYs, 9 resorts). Each resort has its own tab, with different UYs color coded. I have columns for date of booking, dates and type of villa for the stay, current UY points and use by date, banked points and use by date, next UY points and banked by date. Plus additional columns for discounted cash rate to track whether I have broken even on that contract.

So each time I make a reservation, it’s a new row. Showing what poibts are used and how many remain. And banking is a new row. Etc. oh whenever I cancel or modify it is also a new row showing points returned to their appropriate bucket/column (current vs banked or borrowed).

I do this on my laptop. Then pdf the excel file and keep it in books on my iPhone. So if booking on the fly on my phone, I make sure to update spreadsheet. If I forget once or twice it’s easy to backtrack. if I cancel then I make sure to modify the next one to use up any banked points first.

Yeah the spreadsheet gets big. But I hide the rows of past trips, and rows in between (modified trips) when not needed. I usually need 2-3 future years shown cuz I plan a few years out. Keeping tabs by resort works cuz I tend to stay at home resorts. Only exception is VDH. I use them at AUL so I make notes in the comment section cross referencing each other.

 

[JulieBeeRN]

I second the spreadsheet. We have 13 contracts and I'm always making/modifying reservations. It took some time to set it up, but has been a great way to keep track of my points.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I only have 2 contracts and 1 membership (1 UY) so a lot easier to keep straight but I do use a spreadsheet and I try to colour code my contracts. That might not work as well with 9 of them although if you don't own at 9 different properties it might work... I don't know.

We have 4 properties but it's split into 9 contracts. Color coding is a good idea.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Modification is the only way to try and untangle.

I track points usage with a spreadsheet (6 UYs, 9 resorts). Each resort has its own tab, with different UYs color coded. I have columns for date of booking, dates and type of villa for the stay, current UY points and use by date, banked points and use by date, next UY points and banked by date. Plus additional columns for discounted cash rate to track whether I have broken even on that contract.

So each time I make a reservation, it’s a new row. Showing what poibts are used and how many remain. And banking is a new row. Etc. oh whenever I cancel or modify it is also a new row showing points returned to their appropriate bucket/column (current vs banked or borrowed).

I do this on my laptop. Then pdf the excel file and keep it in books on my iPhone. So if booking on the fly on my phone, I make sure to update spreadsheet. If I forget once or twice it’s easy to backtrack. if I cancel then I make sure to modify the next one to use up any banked points first.

Yeah the spreadsheet gets big. But I hide the rows of past trips, and rows in between (modified trips) when not needed. I usually need 2-3 future years shown cuz I plan a few years out. Keeping tabs by resort works cuz I tend to stay at home resorts. Only exception is VDH. I use them at AUL so I make notes in the comment section cross referencing each other.

My husband made me a spreadsheet but it was just so confusing to me and I stopped looking at it. I think the different tab for each resort might help.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Thanks all! I will for sure get myself a spreadsheet thats easy for me to take care of. Was hoping there was an easy way to see it all in the website, but that is asking too much of DVC IT Now Im off to "modify" all these reservations to see what they are booked with.

 

[Disdreaming479]

I also screenshot the booking confirmation activity page, then just list it with pen and paper.

 

[RuntheMouse]

We have 7 contracts across 3 UY. I just have a note on my iPad with each contract listed under its UY. I then list reservations planned/made under each contract. I delete the info when all the reservations are complete for that UY.

For example:
February UY
BWV 100 points (100-68=32)

• 3/18-3/22 RV studio 68 points

March UY
Riviera 200 points (200-187=13)

• 6/10-6/17 PV studio 187 points

 

[VGCgroupie]

I also screenshot the booking confirmation activity page, then just list it with pen and paper.

Screenshotting is such a great idea, Im not sure why I didnt ever think of it. Its possible that I was so happy to get the reservation I just click click click thinking I needed to lock it in.

 

[ehh]

+1 to going through your reservations and using Modify to find how your points are currently used.

More longterm, I'll advocate for spreadsheets. Everyone has their own approaches here!

While I do have spreadsheet tabs for each contract to track more of a financial aspect (which has basic usage data), I don't love them for 'what's the state of my points' type of tracking.

I also have a 'Stays' tab that lets me track, in a single tab, all the usage across all contracts. But it's more focused on enabling analysis of how points are used (room type, home resort vs. not, rack rates at various resorts for the same dates, etc.). Still not great for 'what's the state of my points' type of tracking.

I also have a 'future planning' tab that lets me map out usage for multiple years ahead, making sure I don't run out or let points expire. It has a condensed version of the Stays tab (as it's important to know the history to build off of) plus per-contract points availability.

As I also have many contracts, this 'future planning' tab ended up being my best version of a condensed view of where points went in the past, what points are available 'now', and what points will be available in the future. This is my go-to tab for 'what's the state of my points' type of tracking.

Here's a screenshot from my 'future planning' tab of some of my prior stays and 7 of my contracts (max I could fit in the window width, even at 75% zoom):

Other than the color coded cells in the middle, it has basically no formulas and I find pretty easy to maintain once you get your baseline built. Building the baseline might be a chore, though...

 

[VGCgroupie]

+1 to going through your reservations and using Modify to find how your points are currently used.

More longterm, I'll advocate for spreadsheets. Everyone has their own approaches here!

While I do have spreadsheet tabs for each contract to track more of a financial aspect (which has basic usage data), I don't love them for 'what's the state of my points' type of tracking.

I also have a 'Stays' tab that lets me track, in a single tab, all the usage across all contracts. But it's more focused on enabling analysis of how points are used (room type, home resort vs. not, rack rates at various resorts for the same dates, etc.). Still not great for 'what's the state of my points' type of tracking.

I also have a 'future planning' tab that lets me map out usage for multiple years ahead, making sure I don't run out or let points expire. It has a condensed version of the Stays tab (as it's important to know the history to build off of) plus per-contract points availability.

As I also have many contracts, this 'future planning' tab ended up being my best version of a condensed view of where points went in the past, what points are available 'now', and what points will be available in the future. This is my go-to tab for 'what's the state of my points' type of tracking.

Here's a screenshot from my 'future planning' tab of some of my prior stays and 7 of my contracts (max I could fit in the window width, even at 75% zoom):

Other than the color coded cells in the middle, it has basically no formulas and I find pretty easy to maintain once you get your baseline built. Building the baseline might be a chore, though...

This is gorgeous! My husband is great at building spreadsheets, often it's my brain that needs something simple to look at to be able to use. I will show him this.

 

[JulieBeeRN]

+1 to going through your reservations and using Modify to find how your points are currently used.

More longterm, I'll advocate for spreadsheets. Everyone has their own approaches here!

While I do have spreadsheet tabs for each contract to track more of a financial aspect (which has basic usage data), I don't love them for 'what's the state of my points' type of tracking.

I also have a 'Stays' tab that lets me track, in a single tab, all the usage across all contracts. But it's more focused on enabling analysis of how points are used (room type, home resort vs. not, rack rates at various resorts for the same dates, etc.). Still not great for 'what's the state of my points' type of tracking.

I also have a 'future planning' tab that lets me map out usage for multiple years ahead, making sure I don't run out or let points expire. It has a condensed version of the Stays tab (as it's important to know the history to build off of) plus per-contract points availability.

As I also have many contracts, this 'future planning' tab ended up being my best version of a condensed view of where points went in the past, what points are available 'now', and what points will be available in the future. This is my go-to tab for 'what's the state of my points' type of tracking.

Here's a screenshot from my 'future planning' tab of some of my prior stays and 7 of my contracts (max I could fit in the window width, even at 75% zoom):

Other than the color coded cells in the middle, it has basically no formulas and I find pretty easy to maintain once you get your baseline built. Building the baseline might be a chore, though...

I want to be @ehh when I grow up.....

 

[VGCgroupie]

So I somehow cannot figure this out. I go through modify and cant identify what points were used and if they were banked etc. I will call them and hopefully they aren't too frustrated with me. I did cancel a reservation so now I only have 14!

 

[ehh]

So I somehow cannot figure this out. I go through modify and cant identify what points were used and if they were banked etc. I will call them and hopefully they aren't too frustrated with me. I did cancel a reservation so now I only have 14!

Couple of ways:

1. Look for the little "How are my Vacation Points taken?" link (screenshot below) as you go through the modification process but well before you make any 'changes'. It'll open up a modal with a breakdown of the comings/goings of the points.
2. Essentially rebook the entire thing via Modify, there's a breakdown after booking.

 

[Disdreaming479]

So I somehow cannot figure this out. I go through modify and cant identify what points were used and if they were banked etc. I will call them and hopefully they aren't too frustrated with me. I did cancel a reservation so now I only have 14!

this is what the point activity link looks like. You can only access it from the booking confirmation page.
Missing from the top is the reservation number and contract number that the points came from.
Does this help?
ETA this is from my phone.