OK, put your thinking caps on for this one!

[phorsenuf]

We just bought 150 points. Its something we've been planning to do, just waiting for the right time financially for us. F&F was a good incentive for us to buy. The other reason is my son is in Afghanistan. Sometime in the next 6-8 months he will be home for R&R. We plan to take a trip to disney and stay in a nice 2 bedroom place, the other reason we bought now.
Here's the confusing part,

We have to either use our 2005 points we just got or bank them by months end. Our use year is August. We don't know exactly when my son will be home so planning ahead of time is tricky. I'm figuring if we do a sun-thurs 2 bedroom during the summer months it is 180, so most I need is 180 points.

However, if I bank these 150 now and then find out he will be home in July now I will only have 150 points to borrow against 2006 points since I can't get my 2005 banked points back until August, right? If I don't bank my 2005 points and he doesn't come home by August then I will lose them or would have to do something with them.

So, my question is how would you experienced DVC'ers handle a situation like this? I hope I explained this without being confusing. Thoughts???? Thanks!

 

[dtndfamily]

What I would do in your situation is to bank all but 30 points. If your son gets R&R before August you can borrow your 150 points from '06 and add them to your 30 '05 points you did not bank, giving you 180. If your son comes home after August, you would then need to rent out those 30 points or use them yourself. This way you are covered either way, and the most you would loose if you choose not to rent would be 30 points. You would, however, need to use your banked '05 points by July 31, 2007, or rent them out before that time. Not sure if that would cause an issue. Hopefully this helps. I am sure someone else will provide other options for you to consider. Best of luck with your decision.

 

[phorsenuf]

I should add that 180 figure is based on the busier time in the summer and at SSR. The figure could be higher if it was a different resort or of course lower if his times are more towards the fall.
I thought 180 was a "safe" figure tho.

 

[paults]

if you bank your 05 pts now ( you save them all) then if you need to borrow 06 pts because of trip in July (150) you could rent the rest from these boards. That way you won't lose any pts.

 

[WOW]

Since your son is in the Military, I would certainly hope that DVC would accommodate your family in any way that they can. If I were you, I would contact Member Services or your Guide and ask them to see how you could make this work without stressing out over the situation. Especially since you are not really sure when he will be coming "Home".

I would honestly think that they would do all they can and make exceptions for our Military Families. WE LOVE, RESPECT AND THANK ALL OF YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO TO KEEP OUR COUNTRY SAFE.

 

[phorsenuf]

Since your son is in the Military, I would certainly hope that DVC would accommodate your family in any way that they can. If I were you, I would contact Member Services or your Guide and ask them to see how you could make this work without stressing out over the situation. Especially since you are not really sure when he will be coming "Home".

I would honestly think that they would do all they can and make exceptions for our Military Families. WE LOVE, RESPECT AND THANK ALL OF YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO TO KEEP OUR COUNTRY SAFE.

Thanks! I appreciate that.

I asked our guide when we were going over everything for the purchase, but he didn't have many ideas to offer. I guess I was too hopefull that MS would make some kind of exception or let us squeek something by since this is kinda extenuating circumstances. I'll talk with MS before banking the points to see what they may think.
It's a tricky situation needless to say. When I talked with my son today he said he was gong to try to find out what he can a soon as possible because if they say July then I will not bank the points. Of course it is the military and anything can happen at the drop of a hat, so any situation is basically written in pencil! LOL

hopefully we can figure something out by months end.

 

[WOW]

If you don't get any alternatives from Member Services, I would ask to speak to a supervisor and explain your situation. I am sure that if you speak to the right people they will accommodate you with "pixie dust". Sometimes you need to speak to someone who has been working there for a while and knows the ropes. Your guide may also be a newer cast member and isn't aware of some things.

I honestly in my heart believe that the Cast Members and WDW do have a heart and will try their best to make this easy for you. Keep trying!!!! Good Luck!!!!

 

[WOW]

Another thought.....I know they used to have a resort named Shades of Green that was exclusively for Military and their families. I do not know if this still exists, but it would be worth a try to look into this.

 

[phorsenuf]

Another thought.....I know they used to have a resort named Shades of Green that was exclusively for Military and their families. I do not know if this still exists, but it would be worth a try to look into this.

But I can't use points there.

Hopefully he'll know something by months end......

Has anyone been in a situation like this before?

 

[dianeschlicht]

It's really hard for MS to really do anything, since the points rules that govern the 90,000 plus members must be followed. I would bank all but the 30 points at the end of the month, and if you need them earlier, borrow from your next use year. That way, a stay before August will still have 180 points available, and the worst case scenario would be that you would have to rent out those 30 points if you didn't need them by August, and couldn't bank them.

 

[phorsenuf]

It's really hard for MS to really do anything, since the points rules that govern the 90,000 plus members must be followed. I would bank all but the 30 points at the end of the month, and if you need them earlier, borrow from your next use year. That way, a stay before August will still have 180 points available, and the worst case scenario would be that you would have to rent out those 30 points if you didn't need them by August, and couldn't bank them.

That probably does make the most sense. I'm thinking too we'll need a weekend night thrown in there but I don't want to use points for that so if I did have to rent my points that money could go to a cash night. Can I mix cash and points like that? Also, how much is a 2 bedroom cash price during the summer....and yes, I am sitting down! LOL

 

[shari2shop]

I don't know the rules very well (or at all for that matter) but I was thinking I read somewhere something about at 6 months you could bank all your points, at 9 months you could bank a different percentage, like 50%. Could you not bank 120 points at 6 months then bank the 30 points at 9 months beacuse they would be less than the 50% total points? I'm sure I'm probably wrong about this but the differnet dates and percentage of points might have some type of loop hole or something.

Maybe someone could clue you in more of this rule.

I'm clueless, I admit!
Shari

 

[btrim]

Our son was in Iraq and when he came home we wanted to send him and his family to Disney for a vacation. We had banked our remaining points, our guide was a big help in getting MS to let us unbank them to use for our son. We also talked to Jim Davis at the Member Homecoming that DVC had on property that year and told him how wonderful the CM's and our guide had been in making the trip possible. He said that he was about to say if we had had trouble to please contact his office because he would have worked something out for us. They even suggested letting us use Developer Points until our points were available. Good Luck! Our son has had two deployments to Iraq and when they come home they deserve some R&R. I know Disney and DVC will help you out if you just explain your situation.

Tell your son thanks for all that he is doing.


Binnie

 

[dianeschlicht]

Our son was in Iraq and when he came home we wanted to send him and his family to Disney for a vacation. We had banked our remaining points, our guide was a big help in getting MS to let us unbank them to use for our son. We also talked to Jim Davis at the Member Homecoming that DVC had on property that year and told him how wonderful the CM's and our guide had been in making the trip possible. He said that he was about to say if we had had trouble to please contact his office because he would have worked something out for us. They even suggested letting us use Developer Points until our points were available. Good Luck! Our son has had two deployments to Iraq and when they come home they deserve some R&R. I know Disney and DVC will help you out if you just explain your situation.

Tell your son thanks for all that he is doing.


Binnie

That is GREAT information, and good to know!

 

[phorsenuf]

Our son was in Iraq and when he came home we wanted to send him and his family to Disney for a vacation. We had banked our remaining points, our guide was a big help in getting MS to let us unbank them to use for our son. We also talked to Jim Davis at the Member Homecoming that DVC had on property that year and told him how wonderful the CM's and our guide had been in making the trip possible. He said that he was about to say if we had had trouble to please contact his office because he would have worked something out for us. They even suggested letting us use Developer Points until our points were available. Good Luck! Our son has had two deployments to Iraq and when they come home they deserve some R&R. I know Disney and DVC will help you out if you just explain your situation.

Tell your son thanks for all that he is doing.


Binnie

Thank you so much for that info! I will definately call and talk with someone. We got all our documents today so I have the phone number and member # so maybe I'll see what we can figure out. Thanks again!

Best wishes to your son, thank him for me too!

 

[WOW]

I am so glad that you got posts from other Military Families. Now you know of someone who you can contact in case MS isn't able to do anything. That sure warms my heart and I am sure the Disney people are glad to do it for our Military. Good luck to you and your family and please let us know how it works out!!!!!

MAY GOD BLESS ALL OF OUR SOLDIERS AND KEEP THEM OUT OF HARMS WAY.