question about being short 42 points

[martin33]

Hi there,

We are looking to book for our spring trip soon, and I am short 42 points (I will be using all my Aug 2017 points and fall short) for our stay. I don't want to compromise on room type and location, so what would be the best course of action to get these extra points, in your opinion - should I call member services and pay out of pocket for some one time points, or would I be better to book some rack rates for a night or two and add them to our reservation (assuming i can do that?). Alternatively would you rent those from someone and then add them to my existing reservation (again assuming i can do that )This is the first time we are short on points - any advice appreciated

Cheers
Martin
PS we are also AP holders if this helps in terms of discounted rooms

 

[BillPA]

With an AP you an expect 35% discount on rooms. Or you could look to rent points from someone like David's, for a night or 2 and link your reservation to that one.

 

[DizBub]

We ran into this issue of our trip last June. I needed to buy the one time use points AND needed 48 points for an extra night. Of course, got the OTU points from MS and looked on the rent/trade board here and found a nice owner to book that extra night for us.

MS was able to link the separate reservations and when we checked in at the front desk we made sure that they were aware of it and they made sure we did not have to change rooms. We basically had to re-check in on that last day tho. If you don't you run the risk of your MBs not working.

Since you can't combine the one time use points and rented points you will have to rent individual night(s) from an owner.

 

[ziravan]

Transfer in 42 points. Look on the rent/trade board for somebody willing to do a transfer.

That way, you control all the points in the reservation.

 

[starry_solo]

Transfer in 42 points. Look on the rent/trade board for somebody willing to do a transfer.

That way, you control all the points in the reservation.

Not sure any owner would transfer in so few points with the one-time per use year limit on transfers. You might have to look at transferring more (like 100 points).

 

[martin33]

ok will look into transferring points on boards- if not then I can buy at 35% off as AP holder.

Thanks for the tips everyone

 

[tjkraz]

If you're booking before 7 months, you'll need to transfer Home resort points which match your desired destination.

DVC's one time use points are only valid for bookings after the 7 month window, and you can only buy a maximum of 24 per year.

AP rates may be an option but you need to make sure the room types match exactly or you may end up having to move.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

The resorts with 35% discount are pretty limited in recent offers I thought. Most Deluxe and DVC I've seen are either 20 or 25% tops so a member cash booking might be just as good of an offer if available.

 

[martin33]

Hi tjkraz,

My 7 month window actually opens in 3 days. So just to make sure I understand you if I need 42 pts then I can't buy them as one time points from Disney. Presumably I can still transfer points from a private rental/transfer? Any idea what the turn around time is to transfer points if the stars align (best case scenario?)
Thanks for your insight

 

[BillPA]

You can only get 24 one time use points. So you will still need to cover the other 18.
Good luck, I hope you can get what you need.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Hi tjkraz,

My 7 month window actually opens in 3 days. So just to make sure I understand you if I need 42 pts then I can't buy them as one time points from Disney. Presumably I can still transfer points from a private rental/transfer? Any idea what the turn around time is to transfer points if the stars align (best case scenario?)
Thanks for your insight

If you can find an owner willing then the transfer can be done as quickly as a phone call can be made to MS.

 

[Dean]

Hi tjkraz,

My 7 month window actually opens in 3 days. So just to make sure I understand you if I need 42 pts then I can't buy them as one time points from Disney. Presumably I can still transfer points from a private rental/transfer? Any idea what the turn around time is to transfer points if the stars align (best case scenario?)
Thanks for your insight

But you'll likely have to call to make that reservation and not be able to book online. I'd look at all of the options. A transfer is likely the best if you can get it done. I'd look at the AP discounts but also see if there's a DVC discount through MS which is 25% if available. A simple rental and linking should work also. Of course you can consider multiple options since some of these could be done now and you might find a better one later. Off site a night or 2 or even trying a different resort are also options to stretch points. Remember that no all booking categories can be booked on points.

 

[ktmo]

Umm, you can also just buy more points. Add on 25 points and then you could get your one time use points.

 

[SnazzyCMB]

I am in the same exact situation, Martin. I am trying to book a 2BR at BCV in June 2017. My DVC home resort is AKV so I can't book until November. I am using all of my 2016 points, as well as borrowing all of my 2017 points, but am still short 43 points...too many to buy one-time from DVC. Rental doesn't seem to make sense because then I, as the member, don't have control of the reservation (am I wrong here?) and it's a different reservation. I'm struggling because I've never done any sort of renting/transferring points before...Am I correct that it doesn't matter what the "home resort" is for the 43 points I need to transfer in, because I have to book at the 7 month window anyway? Any advice would be appreciated...also, where the heck can you get transferred points if you don't know someone with DVC to buy from? Thanks!!!

 

[DizBub]

Am I correct that it doesn't matter what the "home resort" is for the 43 points I need to transfer in, because I have to book at the 7 month window anyway? Any advice would be appreciated...also, where the heck can you get transferred points if you don't know someone with DVC to buy from? Thanks!!!

Correct that at 7 months all points are equal.

You can look on the rent/trade board here to find a member that is willing to transfer points into your account. You might have to be logged into the site to see it.

Some members don't want to bother transferring so few points because they only get 1 transfer in or out per year. You may have to take more than you need so then you must make sure that the extra points are current years' points and can be banked.

 

[tjkraz]

Another thing to bear in mind is that transferred points cannot be used to book online. Online reservations begin at 8am Eastern daily. If you want to book something with transferred points, have to wait until 9am when Member Services opens.

Booking at 7 months is never a certainty. Even if the online booking tools are showing availability now, it could be as little as 1 or 2 villas for your desired accommodation & dates. Those could be quickly snatched-up by other members as soon as the booking goes live at 7 months. My personal recommendation would be to hold off on any transfer until the majority of the trip has been secured. If you're successful in securing most of the reservation using your own points, THEN find a transfer partner and add on the missing 1 or 2 nights.

Worst case scenario is you invest time an money into a transfer, only to find that the room you sought isn't even available.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Another thing to bear in mind is that transferred points cannot be used to book online.....

Unless one happened to get a transfer from the same home resort and UY. Then, by all reports, they are visible in your online account.

 

[starry_solo]

At the 7 month window, book what you can (how many ever days you can book with your own points + the 24 one-time use points you can buy from DVC) at the resort you want. Then start looking for an owner to transfer points (since it's the 7 month window, any resort is fine). The only way I can think of anyone willing to transfer few points is if they are at the end of the use year anyway, but that will probably be rare.

As I said above, you are going to have to think about possibly transferring in more than you need. As another poster said, make sure they are current user year that can be banked to the next year. If not, you might be able to get MS to switch out the points so you can bank your own?

 

[abner1776]

If I were in your situation, I would forget the transfer option because of the many issues PP'ers have mentioned. I would check the rent board and fine someone who is willing to book for one night(or how many nights the 42 points represents) and go with a rental. I am sure you can find a rental for less than the cost of the one time points and even with one time points...you would still be short points, so why complicate your life.

 

[mustinjourney]

If you have the money, you could also purchase an additional 25 point add-on contract to one of your home resorts. Depending on the UY you buy, you might be able to get 75 points immediately from it. For example, if you buy a BWV right now with a DEC UY, you get 25 points for 2015. Assuming your trip is next year, you simply bank those points into 2016 UY, and now you have 50 points available for 2016 UY (75 if you borrow 2017 points).

If you no longer need the points after the trip, you can always sell the contract via resale. Best way to do that though is to sell it stripped, which means you use 25 2015 points + 17 2017 borrowed points for your 42 point allotment. Then sell 25 of the 2016 points via transfer (might be able to get around $15 for F&W use), and then sell the contract stripped (8 points coming 2017). there's a good chance someone will buy it quickly...and likely for around $110. Minus fees, you'll get around $100 +/- $5.

Direct contract costs about $4400 including closing costs from Disney.

If you sell it stripped, you'll probably net around $2500. You'll get another $375 or so for the 25 transferred points ($15 a point -- this could be more or less obviously), so those 42 points cost about $2125 (~$50 a point).

Obviously, $50 a point is way worse than rental prices -- so this option is more about having control over the process -- and it gives you the option to keep the contract and have those extra points in the future (since you're already tapped out on 2017 points, it might be worth it in your situation). Also -- if you keep this contract for a while, then the cost per point drops dramatically.

That said, if you can get someone to do it, transferring points from another member would likely be the least expensive way to go in your situation.