Swapping developer points for regular points?

[vicki_c]

I have 10 developer points remaining in my account - they must be used by February xx, 2009 and can't be banked. They can't be used more than 7 months out (the other developer points we received are being used for a June trip).

I have a reservation using all my regular August 2007 points and 150 of my 160 August 2008 points (borrowed) for December 2008. (So I currently have 10 points remaining in my 2008 UY, but I don't think that's relevant to this question anyway.)

When the 7 month window opens (in late May), I want to call MS and have them take those 10 developer points and put them towards my December reservation and return 10 of my other points to my account.

So, the question is: what do I have to be careful of here, relative to which points they return to my account at that time? I want to be clear on what I'm expecting them to do, and to be able to verify the right thing was done.

Thanks - these are the first DVC trips I've planned and some of the banking/switching nuances are still a little fuzzy to me.

 

[disneynutz]

I have 10 developer points remaining in my account - they must be used by February xx, 2009 and can't be banked. They can't be used more than 7 months out (the other developer points we received are being used for a June trip).

I have a reservation using all my regular August 2007 points and 150 of my 160 August 2008 points (borrowed) for December 2008. (So I currently have 10 points remaining in my 2008 UY, but I don't think that's relevant to this question anyway.)

When the 7 month window opens (in late May), I want to call MS and have them take those 10 developer points and put them towards my December reservation and return 10 of my other points to my account.

So, the question is: what do I have to be careful of here, relative to which points they return to my account at that time? I want to be clear on what I'm expecting them to do, and to be able to verify the right thing was done.

Thanks - these are the first DVC trips I've planned and some of the banking/switching nuances are still a little fuzzy to me.

At 7 months if the same accommodations are available, you can reallocate your points.

 

[vicki_c]

Thanks, but my question is: are the 10 points being put back in my account my 2007 points or my 2008 points? Do I need to tell them which ones to use? Now that I'm giving it more thought, I'm thinking it needs to be my 2008 points, because then I will still be able to bank them up to March 2009? Or will that not work because they're already borrowed at this point?

If they put my 2007 points back, they would be expiring at the end of July 2008 and I would have no way to use them.

See why I'm confused? Worst case is - I'm out 10 points somewhere and since I basically received 260 "free" points with my DVC purchase, it's not the end of the world, but I want to get all the benefit I can out of those points!

 

[Chuck S]

If they are borrowed ponts, they can not be returned to the use year they were taken from. Once borrowed, they can not be banked. Banking and borrowing are final transactions.

 

[vicki_c]

Can I recap here, just to make sure I'm getting it?

When I do this mythical "swap" --

1) my 10 developer points will be used for my Dec. 08 ressie.
2) my 10 (let's assume) August 08 points (which are right now borrowed, correct, because I made my ressie in March, even though the trip is not until December), will be returned to ... where?

You say they can't be returned to where I borrowed them from (2008), so does that mean they're getting returned to my 2007 use year? So it really doesn't make a bit of difference whether they swap for my 2007 points or my 2008 points because they're now all considered 2007 points, which expire July 31?

If that's the case, I won't bother doing anything, because I'm going to be out 10 points of some kind no matter what!

Thanks - I really thought I had a good grasp on this, but the developer point restrictions make it a little complicated. That's a problem I won't have after this year, though!

 

[DMKEDM]

I'm not going to pretend to understand which of your points are being used when & where...but I can tell you that the time you make the reservation is NOT what controls as to whether points are current year or borrowed...it's the time of the reservation...

So, if you made a reservation that will start in your next use year, it will be your next use year's points that are used for that reservation (unless you tell MS to bank current year points into the following year, in which case then those banked points could be used)...

There I go, confusing myself again...

The only point I'm trying to make here is that if you made your reservation during your current use year, but for a trip that will take place in your next use year, it will be your next use year's points that are used for the reservation (unless YOU actively do something to change this year's points into next year's points--i.e., bank)...bottom line: it's the time of the reservation, not the time that you make the reservation, that determines the use year of the points to be used...

That may solve your problem???

Good luck...

 

[vicki_c]

Thanks that does help a bit! That means my Aug 2008 UY points (which are holding a December reservation) are not actually borrowed the way I thought they were. I thought they were borrowed because I made the reservation in March.

What I actually have going on then is:
160 2007 points that have been banked into 2008
+160 2008 points that are being used in 2008

So I will swap my 10 left over developer points for 10 2008 points (not the banked ones) and I should be able to then bank those 10 returned points by next March.

Thanks so much for indulging my questions! If anyone sees any flaws in my new logic, let me know, but hopefully not!

 

[Chuck S]

That sounds correct, assuming they can swap the points due to availability.