One transfer a year???

[PKS44]

Just waiting to close and I have a few procedural questions that I know this board will have answers to:

I notice people talking about only having one transfer a year. Is that bank/borrow or transfer to another member? I mean if you bank does than mean you can't borrow til the next year? If you transfer points to someone else is that it? No banking? Or is it only for transfers between members...and if that is the case then why do it? Why not just make reservations for the other person rather than actually make the transfer? And what about working out deals with VB or HH people for them to make an 11 mos. reservation for you (a BWV member) and then you make an 11 mos out reservation for them (assuming both are at popular times? Is it really hard to get what you want if you only plan 7 months in advance at a Magic time, say, rather than a Premiere time?

Thanks for any help showing me the ropes...

Paul

 

[Dean]

You can bank and borrow as many times as you want subject to the other rules. If you banked 50% early in your use year and at 4 months in want to bank more, you can't because you already banked 50%. There's one Tranfer per contract, that means one in or one out. That usually precludes swapping points with another member just to get the priority. You can still agree between you and make the reservations in each others name to get the same effect.

Some times are hard to get at 7 months, like early Dec and mid summer at HH. I suspect others will have more info in this area.

 

[drusba]

The one "transfer" rule has very limited application. The restriction applies only to the actual transfer of points from one member's account to another member's account. Thus, you can only transfer to or receive points from another member once per year. The rule is inapplicable to:

1. Banking or borrowing -- you can do that as many times as you want as long as you meet applicable dates for banking. Note, as to borrowing you only do that when making a reservation (there is no reason to do it otherwise).

2. Renting to or reserving for another. As long as you use your points to make the reservation for another you are not making a "transfer of points" as that term is used in the documents. Though many look at renting as transfering "points," if what occurs is you rent and then you make the reservation for another using your points, what you have really done is rent your legal interest to use a room and have not engaged in any "transfer" of points that is covered by the single transfer rule. Thus, as long as you make the reservation for another using your points, you can do so as many times per year as you want.

Obviously with the restriction, an actual transfer of points may not be the preferred method to allow for one member to get a ressie using points of another. However, there are many situations where a member has maybe a handful of leftover points and another member needs just that handful to add to his own points to reserve another full day; transfers make sense there because the one who has the few points can't make a ressie for the other using them.

Getting reservations with the 7 month window can be difficult but it just depends. At HH, highest demand time is summer and thus it is more difficult to get ressies there with the 7 month window during summer. At OKW which has a huge inventory of rooms, we have found it is fairly easy to get ressies almost any time of year with the 7 month window. At BWV in the last few years, many have found it difficult to get ressies with the 7 month window for many times of year (and in fact the more difficult times have been the lower point off-seasons not the peak seasons--DVC high demand times are not necessarily Disney in general high demand times). VWL has been fairly easy to get with the 7 month window thus far. That may become more difficult as the resort sells out. VB in peak seasons and summer can be difficult (particularly for 1 and 2BR units because there just are not many of them at VB). Those who have more flexibility in their dates (e.g, if they cannot get one week, try for the next or the one after) will have more success than those who don't.