Points Question

[GoofyDad_STL]

I am currently working on talking my DW into buying into DVC. I think I am getting close and am now thinking about how many points we will need. I have a points question that I have never seen an answer to. The question is this. If you bank points this use year, in the next use year can you use the banked points, the current use year points and borrow points from the following year?

This normally would not be an issue, but I might inivite my parents to join us and my brother's family and we would need quite a few points. Any help is appreciated.

 

[ncligs]

GoofyDad_STL,

"Welcome to the DIS", yes you can do exactly as you stated. You can use up to 3 years points at 1 time(.banked,current, and borrow)

 

[loveswdw]

Just asked my DVC guide this question last week. Her answer was YES! You can bank all your first years points, then use all current years points then borrow all next year's points at one time. Of course that would mean only one trip for 3 years!! I couldn't do that!!

loveswdw

 

[Maistre Gracey]

The answer is.....YES, you can use three years at once (banked, current, and borrowed)

.....And WELCOME to THE DIS!!!!

I see Nick beat me to the answer

 

[DebbieB]

You do have to watch your use year when talking about banking & borrowing. The dates of your stay vs the use year you are in.

For example, if you want to go in June 2004 and have an August use year, you would still be in your 2003 use year (your August 2003 use year would be August 1, 2003 to July 31, 2004), you could use banked 2002, current 2003, borrowed 2004. If you want to go in August 2004, you would be in your 2004 use year (August 1, 2004 to July 31, 2005), you could use banked 2003, current 2004, borrowed 2005.

 

[crisi]

We do this constantly, going every other year, we have 150 points and try to keep our trips around 250-300 points.

So I had a contract with 7 points on it, banked them, combined them with the 150 for 2003 and 125 borrowed from 2004 and take the trip. Skip the trip in 2004, bank the 25 extra points and (assuming the point value for the next trip is consistant - if we stay in the same sized unit for the same amount of time and travel at the same time, it should be, be we can elect to stay longer, or use our points at OKW and save a few or get a standard view BWV room (we are BWV owners)), use the 25 banked points plus the 150 from 2005 and 107 points from 2006. Bank the extra 43 points from 2006 into 2007 and do it again for the 2007 trip. Eventually, there will be a year where we have a ton of points to bank and won't need to borrow, that's the family reunion year.

 

[Verandah Man]

GoofyDad_STL,

Since your question has already been answered, I'd just like to say Hi and Welcome to the DISboards!!!

BTW, we did just as you asked for our cruise this August!!!

It's the only way we could have done a cruise at this point.

 

[Caskbill]

Remember you can only borrow points to make an actual reservation.

Unlike banking where you can just plop all your points into the next year, you cannot just borrow all of a years points and plop them into the previous year.

You may only borrow at the time you make a reservation, and you may only borrow as many points as are necessary to make that reservation.

Example: You own 150 points. You plan a vacation that requires 400 points.

You bank year 1 into year 2, giving you 300 points into year 2.

You borrow from year 3 into year 2. You may only borrow 100 points (not all 150) because you only need 100 points to complete the total 400 point reservation. (150 + 150 + 100).

This would still leave you 50 points in year 3.

 

[Disney Doll]

Yes. Say for example you bought a 200 point contract. You could actually have access to a total of 600 points, if you banked one year's points, used the current year's points, and borrowed the enxt year's points.

Go for it!!! DH and I bought our 1st contract in 1997...a 200 point contract at OKW. They cost less than the BWV at the time(which was also the only other resort they were selling then...the others hadn't been built yet), and when we saw the resort we loved it. Well, used those 200 points to take at least 2 vacations to WDW every year until this year, when we were finally able to buy a second contract(again at OKW as a resale). What we would do is arrive on a Friday, stay Friday,Saturday, and sometimes Sunday night in a regular hotel(usually a moderate), and then move to the DVC for the remainder of our trip. It's a great way to get a little "taste" of the different regular resorts on property, still get the benefit of the DVC, and have a GREAT vacation. I do recommend if you go that route to stay in the hotel at the beginning of the trip and finish with the DVC.

 

[GoofyDad_STL]

Thanks everyone for the welcome and the great information. It seems that I can get away with an initial purchase of just 150 points (which will help the discuss with DW about making this purchase). I am pretty sure we would add on in the future (especially since my wife just loved the Wilderness Lodge and would like to buy into VWL) but I definitely want to get in with the BCV before they sell out.

Thanks for the advice about just using the points S-Th. I was kind of thinking the same thing myself. Spend Fri-Saturday at some place like WL (or gasp, maybe even a Universal Stuidios Property) and then DVC.

Well only 23 more days until I get to return to Orlando (thats what happens when the boss lets me plan a business metting - my family is jealous). Thanks again.

 

[Disney50]

GoofyDad_STL,

I feel your pain when it comes to convincing the significant other. The way it finally happened for me was DW wanted to stay at one of the resorts prior to buying into it, so she would realize what she was getting (I know... I told her it was Disney, but I was not the one that needed convincing). After staying, she told me that we were absolutely buying DVC. I said thanks and that I wish we had the money back from this trip so we could afford the down payment!?!?!? We had to wait another year so we didn't extend ourselves past my comfort level after paying for it.

I do not recommend my approach... just tell her about my story and save your money.

Just like many other DVCers will tell you , they too wish they had all that money back they had spent on Disney trips prior to joining.