Question re: banking points

[PixiePop]

Hello all~

I have a question regarding banked points and was hoping some of the experts could help me.

I have 136 points left for this year that I want to bank for next year (my use year is June). We will definately be taking a vacation next October to celebrate my son's birthday, but we are also planning on going in June as well.

Here is my question: If I bank my points now into next year and then call to schedule our vacation next June....will they be using our banked points first? What happens if we are unable/decide to skip the June trip and just go for the trip in October? Will we be unable to cancel the June trip if they used our banked points? Can you tell them which points to use for the trip?

I hope this is somewhat understandable.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[bicker]

You can tell them, however, there are a lot of obstacles to them getting it right. The system will typically use the banked points first, apparently even if they try to get it not to. You really need to check up on this, a few times, to ensure they've recorded everything properly, and be prepared to work through some hiccoughs because you're asking them to do something counter to the way the system is supposed to work.

 

[CarolMN]

You can (and should) tell MS which pouints to use when you have banked or borrowed points to use.

I assume you are banking points from June 2005 use year and want to travel in June 2006 and Octboer 2006.

If you book the June trip, use some or all of your banked points and then cancel the trip, the points will be returned to your account. If you do not use them by 5/31/2007, they will be lost.

Let's say you booked the October trip with your 2006 points and then cancelled your June trip. You could call MS and ask to have the points reallocated to use the banked points for the October trip. That way you could bank the 2006 points into 2007 if you wanted to do so.

All that assumes that any cancelling occurs at least 31 days prior to arrival and that you bank according to the deadlines.

Best wishes -

 

[btrim]

I believe that if you are within your 2006 use year, you can requet that they use your banked points for the June reservation. However, if you make the reservation for that June trip say in December, or before your 2006 use year starts, they will borrow from 2006 to make that reservation. In other words, your banked points will not be available to you until your 2006 use year. You could request them to use the banked points for the October trip. With you use year being in the same month you are taking the vacation, it could be confusing. Sorry I can't be more clear. I am sure someone here can give you a definite answer, or I would call MS on Monday and have them tell you what would happen. Good Luck.

 

[RobDoc]

If you use banked points for the June trip and later cancel- MS can reallocate the banked points for your October trip. You will not need to lose the points at all.

As bicker pointed out, it's always wise to ask the CM to recap your point totals and any banked points on every phone call to make sure your points were applied as you intended.

The banked points from this year will likely be used for th first reservation you make in the next Use Year (and there is no reason to insist otherwise). If plans change for that trip, they can reapply the banked points for the next trip (as long as it still falls within that Use Year).

Enjoy!

 

[DebbieB]

I believe that if you are within your 2006 use year, you can requet that they use your banked points for the June reservation. However, if you make the reservation for that June trip say in December, or before your 2006 use year starts, they will borrow from 2006 to make that reservation. In other words, your banked points will not be available to you until your 2006 use year. You could request them to use the banked points for the October trip. With you use year being in the same month you are taking the vacation, it could be confusing. Sorry I can't be more clear. I am sure someone here can give you a definite answer, or I would call MS on Monday and have them tell you what would happen. Good Luck.

That's not correct. For a June 2006 stay with a June use year, the stay is within his 2006 use year dates (6/1/06 to 5/31/07) so he would not have to borrow 2006 points to make the reservation in December 2005 (or even now at 11 months). All points usage is based on date of stay, not date of reservation. For a June 2006 stay with a June use year, 2006 points would be considered current year regardless of when the reservation is made. He could also used banked 2005 and borrowed 2007. I think this is a point that confuses new members the most. They tend to look at the date of reservation rather than the date of stay when making a reservation. They also think that points are not "deposited" until the first day of the use year, therefore cannot be used to make a reservation before then. There's no "points deposit date", they are available whenever needed based on the date of stay and use year.