Points in holding, nothing available...

[FreeTime]

I knew it would be difficult to get a room for December, but I was hopeful since I am looking for a Thurs & Fri night stay. I was flexible, any DVC or cabins, but still nothing. Next trip is scheduled for March. My question is, can I use holding points in the last 60 days of my use year? However, doing that concerns me because if nothing is available again, I will lose them. Other alternative that we are considering is cancelling March ressies and adding that to the holding points and inviting some relatives on our Dec cruise. The have availability.

I learned my lesson about cancelling last minute! What can I do?

 

[CarolA]

Keep trying to use your points in December. I have great success, but I think one trick is that lots of cancellations occur just BEFORE the 30 day window. So try again in a few weeks.

 

[married@wdw]

I believe you can use them in your last 60 days. There's NOTHING available with the Disney Collection either? Wow! We have 29 points in holding and we're trying to upgrade to a one-bedroom at BWV Nov. 6-9, but time is starting to run out for us. If that doesn't come through, we'll upgrade the one night after our cruise -- Nov. 12 -- to a Deluxe resort. GF Garden View or AKL Savannah View are both still available and I've been trying to decide when to give up on the waitlist and switch the one night to deluxe. The DVC CMs I've talked to all thought AKL would probably be available last minute, but I'd really like to stay at GF as we'd never stay there on cash!

I'd keep waiting though and see what happens. I've had success at the 30-day mark before (just not this time!)

Good luck!

 

[Dean]

You can rent them for transfer to another member. You can use them for DVC stays in the last 60 days of the use year but not for some other options. This is one of the reasons why I personally think Use year is more important than many people seem to think.

 

[FreeTime]

I believe you can use them in your last 60 days. There's NOTHING available with the Disney Collection either?

Good luck!

Sorry if I worded it wrong. Nothing at FW. We have 3 adults and 2 kids in our party so I really wanted something with space. I am going to try CR or AKL. But if lots cancel at the 30 day mark, should I wait until then to see if any DVC rooms come available?

 

[FreeTime]

You can rent them for transfer to another member. You can use them for DVC stays in the last 60 days of the use year but not for some other options. This is one of the reasons why I personally think Use year is more important than many people seem to think.

Dean-I have always thought use year was important if you typically travel say in Dec, you probably wouldn't want a use year close to then if you have to cancel. I am not sure I am following you though. We don't normally travel in March. Are you suggesting that one should not make a reservation near the end of their use year? Thanks!

 

[spiceycat]

Are you suggesting that one should not make a reservation near the end of their use year? Thanks!

yes, because you never know when you need to cancel - and the points will be lost.

I am with CarolA - lots of last minute cancelation before the holding period starts - so wait.

 

[Dean]

Dean-I have always thought use year was important if you typically travel say in Dec, you probably wouldn't want a use year close to then if you have to cancel. I am not sure I am following you though. We don't normally travel in March. Are you suggesting that one should not make a reservation near the end of their use year? Thanks!

I'm simply saying one should consider all the factors. Saying one should not travel late in the use year is a little strong. What I'd say is that one should consider their usual travel habits in conjunction with use year before buying then decide what's best. I think a good use year is worth about $10 per point ON AVERAGE to most members over the life of the contract. As for traveling late in use year and taking the chances associated, that's a person decision. But it's foolish to not at least think about the risks.

 

[LisaS]

Sorry if I worded it wrong. Nothing at FW. We have 3 adults and 2 kids in our party so I really wanted something with space. I am going to try CR or AKL. But if lots cancel at the 30 day mark, should I wait until then to see if any DVC rooms come available?

Just keep an eye on how close you are getting to the end of your use year since you would have to book CR or AKL more than 60 days before the end of your use year due to the "60-day rule".