Questions about how points are used for reservations?

[RLRDA]

Next month (7 month window) I will be calling to make reservations for a stay in May '08 that should consume 170 points. Right now for 2008, we have some banked points from '07 and some current points that will begin April '08. When I call MS to book the trip, do they automatically use the banked points 1st, or do I have to bring it to their attention? I will be 2 points shy (after using banked + 2008 SSR points remaining) of 170. I will still have 2008 AKV points but I'd rather borrow the 2 points from my 2009 SSR contract. As it is, I would like to bank my AKV add-on points for '08 into '09 to maximize the points I'll have available for an 11 month booking preference in 2009 (i.e bank 2008+2009+borrow 2010). Will MS let me borrow the 2 points from 2009 when I have usable 2008 (AKV) points? I'm assuming that I cannot bank these 2008 AKV points until the UY begins in April and when I call in October they'll still be in my 2008 allotment of points.

I hope this makes sense....I know the 2 points won't really make or break my future AKV reservation. If the booking rules say I need to use them, I will, but I figured I'd ask. I might find myself in a similar situation needing to use/borrow more points than two in the future.

Any feedback would be appreciated!

 

[bobbiwoz]

I do not think there are any booking rules that say you can't borrow if you still have points from another resort in the UY that you are booking the ressie in. So, I think you'll be fine, but be sure to tell the CM what you want because, probably they would use those "available" AKV points to make up the difference.

I feel the same way about my BCV points. They get used for BCV...not as add on points for a different resort's ressie!

Bobbi

 

[LisaS]

When I call MS to book the trip, do they automatically use the banked points 1st, or do I have to bring it to their attention?

They should use the banked points first, but it doesn't hurt to remind them that you have banked points available.

I will be 2 points shy (after using banked + 2008 SSR points remaining) of 170. I will still have 2008 AKV points but I'd rather borrow the 2 points from my 2009 SSR contract. As it is, I would like to bank my AKV add-on points for '08 into '09 to maximize the points I'll have available for an 11 month booking preference in 2009 (i.e bank 2008+2009+borrow 2010). Will MS let me borrow the 2 points from 2009 when I have usable 2008 (AKV) points? I'm assuming that I cannot bank these 2008 AKV points until the UY begins in April and when I call in October they'll still be in my 2008 allotment of points.

I've run into this exact situation twice recently and MS would not let me borrow points when I had current UY points from another resort available. In my case, I wanted to borrow a few BWV points rather than use VWL points which I am saving to use at the 11-month window for a VWL reservation. She did offer to let me bank the VWL points early but I wasn't ready to do that yet so I declined. I ended up calling back to get a different CM and making a temporary reservation that used up exactly the number of VWL points I had, then I made my real reservation, borrowing the BWV points. Then later I called back and cancelled the temporary reservation. It was a waste of my time and MS' time, but there was no other way to do what I wanted to do.

A few weeks ago I had to reschedule that reservation. That original reservation used both banked and borrowed points from two different resorts. But when the CM made the new reservation, the system would not allow the CM to use both the banked and borrowed points for the new reservation and again she told me I would have to use some VWL points. I asked if I could just bank my VWL points now and she said "No, it's too early." (I wish now I had taken up the other CM on her offer to let me bank early.) When I insisted that I needed to use up both the banked and borrowed points, she had to get a supervisor to do it.

So... as much as I like having the 11-month booking window at more than one resort, MS' computer system doesn't really support all of the options we need to be able to preserve points from certain resorts for future trips. I hope you have better luck! Please let us know how things turn out.

 

[CarolMN]

You should be able to specify the points you want used for a particular reservation. If your CM says it can't be done, ask for a Supervisor.

LisaS - sorry you had to go to all that trouble. I think yo just got an inexperienced CM.

To RLRDA - As Lisa posted, MS should used banked and borrowed points before dipping into current use year points. However, not all CMs are created equal, LOL. I always tell the CM which points I want used (if there's any opportunity to do things more than one way). Before you hang up, make sure you ask for a status of your points - some CMs will automatically give you one. Ask if they don't. If the CM's status doesn't match your expectations, it's a whole lot easier to fix then than it will be later!

 

[LisaS]

You should be able to specify the points you want used for a particular reservation. If your CM says it can't be done, ask for a Supervisor.

LisaS - sorry you had to go to all that trouble. I think you just got an inexperienced CM.

I really hope that you are right about that. I'm "0 for 3" on this particular issue and have wasted a lot of time trying to do something that makes perfect sense to me, but seems to cause the MS CMs a lot of grief. I'm very anxious to see how things go for the OP.

 

[RLRDA]

I'll make sure to post what actually takes place. I'm not calling until 10/9. Thanks for your responses! Sometimes I think I over analyze things but it's good to know others have had similar situations.