Reallocating Points

[keaster]

Try not to make this too confusing!

We have a February use year. We have 45 Points remaining for 2013 and our full allotment coming in February 2014. We are not banking those 45 points yet as we do not know if we'll sneak one more trip in before the banking deadline.

Tomorrow I'm going to book our March break trip for one week using 2014 points.

If in September we decide to bank those 45 points, can I call MS and have them swap out 45 of our 2014 points for those banked 45 points on our March ressie so they get used up first?

 

[rlovew]

They should be able to do it as long as they are all from the same home resort.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Try not to make this too confusing!

We have a February use year. We have 45 Points remaining for 2013 and our full allotment coming in February 2014. We are not banking those 45 points yet as we do not know if we'll sneak one more trip in before the banking deadline.

Tomorrow I'm going to book our March break trip for one week using 2014 points.

If in September we decide to bank those 45 points, can I call MS and have them swap out 45 of our 2014 points for those banked 45 points on our March ressie so they get used up first?

You could also go ahead and use the 2013 points for the March 2014 trip. And then, should you decide to go one more trip during this calendar year, you could borrow the points from 2014. That way you don't have to go through the hassle of having MS change the points around and maybe getting things messed up.

 

[Breyean]

This topic always confuses me. I've had MS do this for me in the past, but the last time I asked about it I was told it couldn't be done because there were no open rooms for the nights I already had booked and wanted to do teh reallocation for.

She said what they do is not what we call it - a reallocation - but is a cancellation of the existing reservation and rebooking using the desired points. And she said unless there's a room available they won't do it because when they cancel my existing reservation to free up that room, someone else could grab it before she could rebook it.

So she couldn't help me.

 

[cvjw]

This topic always confuses me. I've had MS do this for me in the past, but the last time I asked about it I was told it couldn't be done because there were no open rooms for the nights I already had booked and wanted to do teh reallocation for.

She said what they do is not what we call it - a reallocation - but is a cancellation of the existing reservation and rebooking using the desired points. And she said unless there's a room available they won't do it because when they cancel my existing reservation to free up that room, someone else could grab it before she could rebook it.

So she couldn't help me.

You should have asked for a supervisor - that can be done, and has been done for me numerous times. I would not trust a regular CM to do it though, I always ask for a supervisor. As long as you aren't trying to get around the 11 month window booking privilege, you are allowed to change around the points that you used for the reservation. I have to do it alot because we own points at 4 resorts, and are always changing our minds about where our next trip will be booked.

Just FYI, they don't cancel the reservation, they just go into the reservation system and change around the points used. Things can still go horribly wrong, even with a supervisor involved. I lost a reservation and 400 points last year, a week before the vacation. They were able to fix it, but it isn't a no-risk process.

 

[DebbieB]

You could also go ahead and use the 2013 points for the March 2014 trip. And then, should you decide to go one more trip during this calendar year, you could borrow the points from 2014. That way you don't have to go through the hassle of having MS change the points around and maybe getting things messed up.

That's what I would do. I did it once when I decided to add a trip to DL after I banked my points.

 

[Sandisw]

You could also go ahead and use the 2013 points for the March 2014 trip. And then, should you decide to go one more trip during this calendar year, you could borrow the points from 2014. That way you don't have to go through the hassle of having MS change the points around and maybe getting things messed up.

I agree with this...it is much easier to then borrow for a trip then reallocate later. Once I have a reservation set, I hate to have anyone touch it!!!

 

[keaster]

Thanks everyone I think I will bank now and use them for the march reservation. Maybe that'll stem the urge to sneak in another trip lol

 

[jekjones1558]

I agree with this...it is much easier to then borrow for a trip then reallocate later. Once I have a reservation set, I hate to have anyone touch it!!!

The only downside to this strategy is if the OP scheduled a reservation yet this year and then had to cancel. Those borrowed points would be stuck in the 2013 use year and could not be banked. If the reservation used current points instead and the banking window had not passed, the OP could still bank the points after canceling. We have had to cancel a number of reservations, so I would do the reallocation just to be safe. There is really no problem with reallocating. If an MS agent doesn't know how to do it, just get a supervisor.

 

[Breyean]

Reading these responses makes me wonder about some of the MS people.

As I said, I had done this a year or two ago with GV at OKW. No problem.

But last year when I asked about doing it with a VGC reservation I had (made with my VGC points at 11 months) I was told the POLICY was not to allow it. In fact, she told me she had been working at MS for years and recalled when it used to be OK to do it, but now they are no longer allowed to do it.

And I was trying to use VCG points from a recently acquired contract, so all that was different was the UY of the points, not the home resort.

She made it sound like I was really behind the times since the POLICY had changed years ago and I didn't know about it.

 

[Sandisw]

Reading these responses makes me wonder about some of the MS people.

As I said, I had done this a year or two ago with GV at OKW. No problem.

But last year when I asked about doing it with a VGC reservation I had (made with my VGC points at 11 months) I was told the POLICY was not to allow it. In fact, she told me she had been working at MS for years and recalled when it used to be OK to do it, but now they are no longer allowed to do it.

And I was trying to use VCG points from a recently acquired contract, so all that was different was the UY of the points, not the home resort.

She made it sound like I was really behind the times since the POLICY had changed years ago and I didn't know about it.

If they were a different UY, that could be why. A different UY is a different membership so it would require a transfer of points first in order to put them into the reservation you already had. If they were banked points already or no valid for the trip, it probably played a role.

 

[Breyean]

If they were a different UY, that could be why. A different UY is a different membership so it would require a transfer of points first in order to put them into the reservation you already had. If they were banked points already or no valid for the trip, it probably played a role.

I phrased it wrong. Same contract/membership #. Just that points from the two contracts were from different years, as in I booked using 2011 points and wanted to change to using banked 2010 points. Not the actual years involved, but that's what I meant to try to say.

 

[disneynutz]

There seems to be an issue if the reservation was booked at your home resort beyond the 7 month mark. I was told that MS would only let you reallocate the points for that reservation if there is available inventory at 7 months.

Getting different answers from MS has always been an issue for me. Many of the managers and leads know me by name.

Bill

 

[cwdefouw]

Getting different answers from MS has always been an issue for me.
Bill

I agree 100%. It almost seems like they don't know so they are just making it up as they go, otherwise known as "Guessing".

How hard can it be to have a set of policies that are written down and available to all cast members to check when there are questions. Now I know that there are always questions that fall outside of the policies, but that is what supervisors are for, to determine if the question can be answered positively while working within the stated guidelines, and if not then the answer is "No"

 

[Sandisw]

I phrased it wrong. Same contract/membership #. Just that points from the two contracts were from different years, as in I booked using 2011 points and wanted to change to using banked 2010 points. Not the actual years involved, but that's what I meant to try to say.

Okay...then, it seems like there should have not been a problem...they did that for me just a while back and the CM just said she had to modify things but it was no biggie...I guess it really does depend on the CM...

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

The only downside to this strategy is if the OP scheduled a reservation yet this year and then had to cancel. Those borrowed points would be stuck in the 2013 use year and could not be banked. If the reservation used current points instead and the banking window had not passed, the OP could still bank the points after canceling. We have had to cancel a number of reservations, so I would do the reallocation just to be safe. There is really no problem with reallocating. If an MS agent doesn't know how to do it, just get a supervisor.

I agree.

But I tend to live more dangerously with my points than others do and allow MS to try all kinds of things.

 

[Breyean]

Okay...then, it seems like there should have not been a problem...they did that for me just a while back and the CM just said she had to modify things but it was no biggie...I guess it really does depend on the CM...

You were right.

I got my points loaded today from my resale and called MS.

Told the CM I wanted to use the banked 2012 points from this new contract to replace those from my 2013 contracts I had used for the reservation.

All points are from VGC contracts. I had booked the reservation at the 11 month window using 2013 points, which will be the current UY for the dates or the trip.

Before I could even finish explaining what i wanted to do, the CM had done it!

I asked her why the last time I tried I was told no, it was against policy.

She said as long as all i was doing was changing points from contracts with the same home resort she didn't even have to cancel and rebook, which always makes me worried.

It took maybe a minute and it was done.

Thanks to those on this thread who replied because that gave me the spur to call and try again!

 

[disneynutz]

You were right.

I got my points loaded today from my resale and called MS.

Told the CM I wanted to use the banked 2012 points from this new contract to replace those from my 2013 contracts I had used for the reservation.

All points are from VGC contracts. I had booked the reservation at the 11 month window using 2013 points, which will be the current UY for the dates or the trip.

Before I could even finish explaining what i wanted to do, the CM had done it!

I asked her why the last time I tried I was told no, it was against policy.

She said as long as all i was doing was changing points from contracts with the same home resort she didn't even have to cancel and rebook, which always makes me worried.

It took maybe a minute and it was done.

Thanks to those on this thread who replied because that gave me the spur to call and try again!

Don't rely on your numbers being correct online. Make sure that you keep your own accounting of your member account.

On more than one occasion MS has messed up our points, sometimes human error, sometimes due to a software problem.

Bill

 

[Cargo905]

I agree they should be able to do it on the phone, but if you are borrowing you will nbot be able to put them back

 

[houseofduck]

I just tried to reallocate points from one reservation to another. In the past, it has not been a problem. They have just done it. This time, they told me that they were going to have to cancel and rebook the reservations.

In my case, I canceled a reservation that was using banked points to book a new reservation at VGF. The reservation for VGF is in January, but I have another reservation using regular use year points in September (booked within the 7 month window). I wanted to use the banked points first, in September. I was told that they had to cancel both reservations and rebook with the correct points.

I was tempted to hang up and call back, but let her cancel and rebook the reservations. In the end, it worked, but I was a little nervous for a few minutes.

I'm not sure what was different about this time. I have done this a few times before and they have never had to cancel the reservations. Is this something new or did I just get a CM that didn't know how to reallocate points?