Resale Question

[bonzie1]

I need your input...

We're thinking of adding on 150 points through resale (the current incentives through Disney don't help us (we are March use year)... resale is a much better option for us. My question. If we buy at another resort,and end up with 2 contracts and 2 use years (March + April), can we combine our points for the same vacation without having to book from one account for one room, say Mon - Wed and then the other account for Thurs - Sat... while still staying in the same room? I heard that you can combine your points once a year, but am not familiar with this. Would I even have to formally combine points?

Thanks for your help!

 

[RobDoc]

Points from different resorts can only be combined to for use at 7 months. Points retain their Home Resort status at all times. The Use Years won't matter for making reservations, but the different home resort issue will dictate the timing allowed.

Of course, you can use points at each Home Resort 11 months ahead.

Enjoy!

 

[drusba]

To make a ressie, you can: (a) make ressies for some nights from one and then rest of nights from other account and then have the ressies linked, which assures not having to change rooms; (b) transfer points from one account to the other and make the ressie from the account to which transfer was made. They generally do not follow strict transfer rules when you do this among your own accounts, but current rules, where, in relation to any one account, you can transfer out as many times as you want in a year or, alternatively, transfer in as many times as you want per year, but not both transfer in and out from the same account in a use year, easily allows you to do what you will want to do anyway. Note, though, that if your points are at two different home resorts, then you cannot change their feathers by transfering to achieve 11 month ressie advantage at one resort --if you have, for example, both OKW and BWV points, the OKW points can be used at 11 months out at OKW but only 7 months out at BWV and the BWV points can be used at BWV at 11 months out but only 7 months out at OKW, and transfering points does not change that as transfered points retain their home resort identity for the purpose of when you can make a ressie.

 

[Cruelladeville]

Yes, you can combine points for a room, but what you can't do is take 3 pts from one contract, and the rest from the other contract. Now, if you physically ask MS to move the points from one contract to the second contract, you could get around the example I used above, but it's often not a good idea to combine points, because you then can't bank your points, if you need to. You would do better, I think, to get a notebook, and chart each contract separately, making reservations for Mon, Tues, Wed, from one contract, and the other days from the other contract. This gives you more flexibility for your points, so if you decided to bank the points one year, you could do so. I know it seems easier to combine those points, but actually it's not. I have 3 contracts, and found out the hard way, when I had to cancel a vacation when my Dad became very ill. I couldn't bank the points, couldn't take a vacation before the use year of the points(which stays the same), so I had to rent those points at a somewhat distressed rate of $8 per point in order not to just lose them.

 

[bonzie1]

Thanks to everyone. Your replies shed light on things. We still need to decide between BWV and Hilton Head. Since our home resort is BWV, it would make sense to buy there again even though it would be a separate contract, but the deal is better,(and maintenance points lower) at HH.

Thanks for clearing up the issue of using points from 2 contracts. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

 

[maburke]

I bought a resale at a different home resort and co-incidentally the same use year, and it has been VERY simple. Home resort rules still apply, but I can use points from both contracts easily in the same reservation, and my banking percentages are based on the total number, not each individually. It turned out to be a lucky thing! Some people purposely want two different use years, like summer and winter, but March and April are pretty close!

Meghan

 

[Dean]

It's no big deal to use combined points from different resorst. You can bank transferred points now. You can also transfer banked and borrowed points in this scenario to finish out a nights reservation.

 

[maburke]

Whaat?? Are these new rules? Where do we find out about them? Maybe I didn't read my new Members book closely enough. We can still only transfer once per year, though, right? And the original resort and use year stays with the points?

Thanks,
Meghan

 

[Dean]

The rule change to allow banking of transferred points went into effect at the same time the use window for holding account points went from 30 to 60 days, I believe that was early fall of 2000. It was never produced in writing that I can tell. It's also been reported that the one in or one out has been changed to allow unlimited one direction per year. I haven't documented that one but it's been reported a number of times without any dissenting views. I don't know that I've ever seen either of these changes in writing though other than posts on this board.