Points Question: Book Now/Bank Later

[SamR]

Having been in DVC for three years now, I feel like I should already know this, but I don't see it clearly addressed on the member web site:

I have a March use year. Next week, I will begin making a day-by-day reservation for a March, 2006 stay. I still have all my 2005 points (have not banked any of them yet). I will most likely bank them, but would like to wait until closer to the 100% banking deadline (8/31 in my case) since banking is a non-reversible transaction.

My question is this: Since I haven't banked my 2005 points, my March, 2006 reservation will be flagged as coming out of the 2006 points allotment. If I decide in a couple of months or so to bank my 2005 points, will that reservation automatically end up using those banked points, or do I have to take some action to make that happen?

Thanks!

 

[RobDoc]

If you intend to reserve the March, 2006 stay using your 2005 points, you should just bank as many as you need for the reservation. If you reserve using the 2006 points and then bank at a later date, those points will NOT automatically be used for that reservation (it would take an addtional action by you) - but it can be done.

There is no harm in banking the points needed to make that reservation now- you will still have until late August to bank other points from that contract.

If you go ahead and bank all of your 2005 points now and later find you'll need some for a reservation prior to March- you can just borrow points from 2006.

You have several options here and any will work. Just don't forget to bank points you won't need or reallocate the 2006 points using later-banked 2005 points if that's what you decide to do. (I'd just bank the 2005 points now and reserve next March at the same time.)

Enjoy!

 

[ColoradoBelle1]

Hi not trying to hijack your thread , but I'm a DVC newbie and this subject confuses me.
I have 170 banked 2004 points and 170 Feb use 2005 points in my account.
I just transferred points and they came from the 2005 allotment.
I also made a ressie for October , 2005. Did I have to specify to use the 2004 points or do you think they did that automatically?

I need to use the 2004 points of course, cause I can always bank the 2005 if I do so by July 30. But I either have to use the 2004 points by Feb 2006 or rent them...right?

If you think I have actualy used 2005 for my ressie in Oct, could you tell me how to 'change' that ? THanks.

 

[SamR]

I'd just bank the 2005 points now and reserve next March at the same time.

Thanks, Doc for the quick reply. I agree that would be the simplest approach. There is a slight chance that I might want to use a few of those points later this year, so in that lies my hesitation on banking them. As you note, I could always borrow points if I did decide I needed them later this year. (Of course, borrowing is also a non-reversible transaction.)

I assume that if I book the reservation now using 2006 points, and then call back in August to bank my 2005 points, at that time I can ask Member Services to have the reservation updated to draw from the banked points?

Thanks!

 

[CarolMN]

Hi not trying to hijack your thread , but I'm a DVC newbie and this subject confuses me.
I have 170 banked 2004 points and 170 Feb use 2005 points in my account.
I just transferred points and they came from the 2005 allotment.
I also made a ressie for October , 2005. Did I have to specify to use the 2004 points or do you think they did that automatically?

You need to call and ask what was done. The CM should have used the banked points, but at this point, there is no way to be sure without asking. Now is a good time to get in the habit of asking the CM to give you a "points" status at the end of every call you make to MS. It's a lot easier to "fix" any misunderstandings when they occur than it is to deal with a problem later.

I need to use the 2004 points of course, cause I can always bank the 2005 if I do so by July 30. But I either have to use the 2004 points by Feb 2006 or rent them...right?

Right. If you do not use the banked points by 1/31/2006, they will expire.

If you think I have actualy used 2005 for my ressie in Oct, could you tell me how to 'change' that ? THanks.

You need to call MS and find out what was done for the reservation. If 2005 points were used and you wanted 2004 points used, ask the CM to reallocate the points so that the reservation uses the banked points and returns the 2005 points to your account as unused.

Best wishes -

 

[crisi]

I always make my reservation like this:

I'd like a 2 bedroom perferred view for XX/XX/XX checking out XX/XX/XX. That should be XXX points. That will be XX banked points, XXX points for the current use year, and we will borrow the remaining XX points from 2006. (Since my reservations are often banked/current/borrowed, I want to be crystal clear).