Renting/Transferring points: How does it work?

[Kwaschitz]

I am hoping to get a large family trip to come together and we'd like to stay DVC (what can I say, we're spoiled and want to stay either Boardwalk area or monorail for the adults but maybe AKL for the kids). This is still a LONG way out but I need to figure out all of the details so that I can pull together the costs and start working to really make this happen!

Ideally, I would like to use some of the points that I already own and rent enough points to make the rest of the trip work out -- preferably leaving enough for a short trip for my family in a studio later in the year and not having to borrow for the following year.

We would then, need to rent 3/4 of the points necessary for this trip. Is it possible to rent from someone and have them transferred to my account? If so, do they maintain their home resort advantage or do they become my points and leave me eligible for my home resort?

Specifically, I own at VGF. If I rented from someone who owned at Boardwalk and they transferred those points to my account, would I have 3/4 of what I need eligible to reserve at Boardwalk at 11 months but the remaining 1/4 couldn't until 7 months? Or would none of those points be available for Boardwalk until 7 months but some/all available for VGF at 11 months?

 

[LisaS]

Yes you can arrange with another member to have their points transferred into your account. (This is different from renting points where a member makes a reservation for you using their points and you pay them for the reservation). You can transfer points into or out of your account once per UY. Transferred points retain their home resort and UY.

If you got a transfer of BWV points into your account you could use those points to book at BWV 11 months out. Since only BWV points can be used to book BWV in the 11-month window, you would have to wait until 7 months out to try to add additional nights to your reservation using your VGF points, subject to availability. The BWV points could not be used to book VGF until 7 months out.

Another issue with transfers is that the points also retain their UY so you must make sure you are transferring in points with a UY valid for your vacation dates.

 

[kristenrice]

We did this for our trip this year. We (my family of 4) own at AKV/HHI and we are bringing my parents and my sister's family of 4. We knew we'd have to transfer in some points and figured that AKV-Kidani would be perfect with the larger 2BR's and extra bathroom. When I looked for someone offering enough points for transfer (~235), we found a BWV owner that was offering the points at a very reasonable price. I knew that we (my family) would be stuck trying to get in at the BWV in the middle of October but I knew our odds were a little better than none since we wanted a 1BR. Unfortunately, the amount of points the rest of the family were willing to buy would only be enough for a STANDARD 2BR. I knew that it would be a tricky reservation but I offered to try. The back-up plan was either OKW or AKV. One thing to note...when you book with transferred points, you cannot do it online. You have to call and that means that you have to wait until 9am, whereas online bookings start at 8am. I had a feeling that would be a huge obstacle...and it was. I got lucky, though...the day the 11-month window opened, MS computers were down. Nobody was able to book until after noon so I was on equal footing. I did have to waitlist one day, but it filled within three days, presumably because walkers were dropping days. In the end, I was able to book 7 days in a standard 2BR at BWV for the rest of the family. At the 7 month window, the 1BR standards were completely booked. I didn't have enough of my own points for a full week in a pool/garden 1BR (I would have been almost 40 points short) so I ended up booking the first 5 in a 1BR P/G view at BWV and then the last 2 nights in a value 1BR at AKV, which I was able to snag at about 8 months out. I had to waitlist a few of those days at BWV, but it all worked out.

The points that I want to make with my experience are these...
1) Make sure you have a plan and at least one or two back up plans.
2) Make sure that you are able to transfer in ALL of the points you will need for your MOST EXPENSIVE option. You can only do ONE transfer so make sure that you transfer in enough points. In our case, we only needed 231, but we transferred in 232 so that we could book at either AKV (229) or OKW (232) if the BWV option didn't work out.
3) Make sure your family is kept in the loop and that they understand the process. My dad even remembered to call me at 8:30am on booking day to make sure I was up and ready to call. My sister called later in the day to check in on the results as well. They were very supportive and understanding when I told them that I had to waitlist part of their stay.
4) When looking at your options, remember to explain the probabilities of getting the reservation. From the get-go, my family was informed that getting ANY room at BWV in October was NOT a sure thing, even with the 11-month booking window. Prepare your group for the worst-case scenario and make sure that it will be acceptable to them BEFORE you do a transfer.