Switching resorts at 7mo; not enough points in current UY to make 2 reservations

[kboo]

We are currently about 8mo out, so trying to make my plan before the 7mo window opens:

I have a LV studio booked at BLT and am waitlisted for a std 1BR.

If there is a "cheap" 1BR (same or fewer points than 1BR std @ BLT) at one of the other EP or MK resorts, or at AKV, we'd like to try it but don't have enough points in the current UY to book it.

What's the safest way to book without losing my BLT reservation? Can I book with borrowed points and then cancel the BLT reservation? If I do that, will the borrowed points go into holding or do they go back into their original UY? Thanks!

 

[hakepb]

Borrowed points must always stay borrowed.

But if your BLT stay is booked with 2018 points, and you book BWV at 7mo with borrowed 2019 points .. you would be able to bank those 2018 (BLT) points after you cancel BLT...as long as you are within your 2018 banking window.

Points only go into holding if you cancel <31 days before check in.

(If you are using 2017 points for BLT you may not have banking time left, depending on your UY)

If your BLT stay is 7 days or less, you could use the 2 computer , device or browser "trick". On 1 computer start to book the new room. then on the other computer start to cancel the BLT stay.

After the new stay confirms availability, then you could cancel the BLT stay.

 

[kboo]

OK - here's where it gets a little more complicated, then:

Current BLT is booked with a combination of banked-from-2017 and regular 2018 points. I'm Feb UY traveling in Feb 2018, so using 2018 points. So far still not a problem except - we are also planning a trip in November 2018 with the remaining 2018 points. I'm only about 70 points short. I suppose I could book the Nov 2018 trip and then bank whatever's leftover? And then those points banked into 2019 would HAVE to be used in 2019, right? It should be under 100 points.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I wouldn't be worrying too much about switching a Feb reservation. If BLT LV studio is still available then it's easy. Cancel what you have and book the 1 br. If the 1 br disappears you can go rebook the LV studio.

Or you can do the two device method. On a PC you can search for and get to the page where you select points for the reservation. Then on a different device cancel your BLT and the refresh the page on your PC and the newly freed up points will be there to be used on the 1 br.

 

[supersnoop]

What's the safest way to book without losing my BLT reservation?

This:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/m...n-you-go-ahead-of-time.3461485/#post-54707122

 

[kboo]

I wouldn't be worrying too much about switching a Feb reservation. If BLT LV studio is still available then it's easy. Cancel what you have and book the 1 br. If the 1 br disappears you can go rebook the LV studio.

Or you can do the two device method. On a PC you can search for and get to the page where you select points for the reservation. Then on a different device cancel your BLT and the refresh the page on your PC and the newly freed up points will be there to be used on the 1 br.

There's no full LV studio availability even now (I got a day off the waitlist for one night of my reservation, so I'm assuming that if I cancel my week in the LV studio that it's going to immediately go to fill wait lists (or others jumping on at 7mo). Am I being paranoid?

I actually tried the 2 device method to try to book the full week when I saw that night available, and lost my original partial reservation and the full week - or so it seemed - when I called MS to try to fix, they said it was because the waitlist was trying to fill my 1 night request. So I'm a little leery of the 2 device method if I can help it (and it goes back to maybe being paranoid that I'll lose the week in the LV studio that I was already trying to book).

 

[kboo]

This:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/m...n-you-go-ahead-of-time.3461485/#post-54707122

Thanks - another complication - if you're using the booking window (instead of RAT), you have to search resort by resort, right? So, for ex, looking at BWV right at 8am, if there is no availability, moving on to BCV at 8:01 for example, and down the line?

Since I will be booking a second trip later in my 2018 UY, at worst I can book a parallel res for Feb 2018, including borrowing up to 70 points, then canceling the BLT reservation, using at least 100 points on the later reservation (2017 banked points) and the banking the remainder? Or calling MS and reallocating so that the Feb 2018 reservation uses all my 2017 banked points so that when I make my reservation for 2018 trip #2, I'm only using 2018 points and can bank any leftover points into 2019? Am I missing something here?

 

[Sandisw]

Thanks - another complication - if you're using the booking window (instead of RAT), you have to search resort by resort, right? So, for ex, looking at BWV right at 8am, if there is no availability, moving on to BCV at 8:01 for example, and down the line?

Since I will be booking a second trip later in my 2018 UY, at worst I can book a parallel res for Feb 2018, including borrowing up to 70 points, then canceling the BLT reservation, using at least 100 points on the later reservation (2017 banked points) and the banking the remainder? Or calling MS and reallocating so that the Feb 2018 reservation uses all my 2017 banked points so that when I make my reservation for 2018 trip #2, I'm only using 2018 points and can bank any leftover points into 2019? Am I missing something here?

The only problem with the RAT is that I have used it and saw that rooms were available and then clicked to book and when I got to the booking window, they weren't really there. So, sometimes that is a little off, IMO. What you can do, though, is the day before your actual window log on and use the RAT to get an idea of what is already booked at the different resorts, so that you can have plan a, b, c. of choices ready to go. Then, when your window opens, go right to the booking tool and start with your first choice.

Yes, if your current Feb 2018 trip includes banked 2017 and some 2018, and you know that you are going to travel in Nov 2018, then booking that second reservation for Feb 2018 at 7 months and having to borrow will be okay. Actually, once you do that, and then cancel the one with the banked points, you can immediately call MS and ask them to put the banked points in your new 2018 reservation and then you'd free up even more 2018 points to use for November. That would leave you potentially only 2018 points for November. Of course, this is providing that all your points are BLT points and you are not trying to use other points at the 7 month mark!

 

[kboo]

The only problem with the RAT is that I have used it and saw that rooms were available and then clicked to book and when I got to the booking window, they weren't really there. So, sometimes that is a little off, IMO. What you can do, though, is the day before your actual window log on and use the RAT to get an idea of what is already booked at the different resorts, so that you can have plan a, b, c. of choices ready to go. Then, when your window opens, go right to the booking tool and start with your first choice.

Yes, if your current Feb 2018 trip includes banked 2017 and some 2018, and you know that you are going to travel in Nov 2018, then booking that second reservation for Feb 2018 at 7 months and having to borrow will be okay. Actually, once you do that, and then cancel the one with the banked points, you can immediately call MS and ask them to put the banked points in your new 2018 reservation and then you'd free up even more 2018 points to use for November. That would leave you potentially only 2018 points for November. Of course, this is providing that all your points are BLT points and you are not trying to use other points at the 7 month mark!

Thank you! Using RAT the day before is a great idea, and thanks for explaining the points reallocating as well! I now have A Plan.