Tracking banked points when you have multiple contracts?

[Isamar]

A major complaint I have with DVC’s website is that when I look at a reservation I can’t see whether the points used were banked, current, or a combination of both. I know it’s clear when I make the reservation, but later the information is harder to get - the only way I’ve found is to go through the points history, which has a terrible layout, and piece it together by matching reservation #’s to Use Years. We have 4 different contracts with 2 Use Years, and we usually have 3 or 4 reservations in place, so keeping track of banked points to make sure we use them first is driving me nuts.
Does anyone know of an easier way to track that info on the site?
OR: has anyone created a good chart to track it yourself?
Related complaint: Some of this would be easier if we could take points from multiple contracts (when they’re the same resort & use year) when making a reservation.

 

[Sandisw]

I have gotten used to taking a screen shot of the points summary when I first make the reservation to know for sure what was used. I know there is a way to do it on a computer as well. At least, I have it.

If I have made changes over time and forget, I just do the modify, don't change a thing, and rebook it and get an updated points summary for that trip. In terms of taking points from each contract for a reservation, MS has that ability. So, if you want current UY points from different ones vs. the order they are checked, you can call after booking.

 

[Isamar]

I have gotten used to taking a screen shot of the points summary when I first make the reservation to know for sure what was used. I know there is a way to do it on a computer as well. At least, I have it.

If I have made changes over time and forget, I just do the modify, don't change a thing, and rebook it and get an updated points summary for that trip. In terms of taking points from each contract for a reservation, MS has that ability. So, if you want current UY points from different ones vs. the order they are checked, you can call after booking.

Thank you! The modify option is a great tip!

 

[Robbie Cottam]

When I purchased My contract at RR I wanted a separate use year for estate planning purposes..... This was an example they used to try and talk me out of it..

Although you can't directly use points from multiple contract for a single stay, you can transfer point between contracts. You however, can only have one out going or incoming transfer per year, so it is somewhat limiting. Another reason Disney used to try and talk me out of two contracts.

In the end my estate planning was more important that these speed bumps so I have two separate contracts.

I totally agree the website is set up for a single use year. It does handle multiple contracts fairly well, but only if they are all in the same use year. I don't think Disney ever intended for third party sale, people pricing together multiple contracts to get the number of points and or resort they wanted or people have multiple contracts with multiple use years.

There are work arounds you just need to find them:

When I rent points I keep a running spread sheet in my computer, Maybe that could help?

 

[GoingSince1990]

I keep track of all my points myself using an Excel spreadsheet, which makes it easy to separate out by use year, banked or borrowed status, and so on. Excel itself is not necessary for this, there is a free Google spreadsheet (Sheets) which should work just as well. Of course I regularly check that my spreadsheet tallies with the Disney site.

 

[Sandisw]

When I purchased My contract at RR I wanted a separate use year for estate planning purposes..... This was an example they used to try and talk me out of it..

Although you can't directly use points from multiple contract for a single stay, you can transfer point between contracts. You however, can only have one out going or incoming transfer per year, so it is somewhat limiting. Another reason Disney used to try and talk me out of two contracts.

In the end my estate planning was more important that these speed bumps so I have two separate contracts.

I totally agree the website is set up for a single use year. It does handle multiple contracts fairly well, but only if they are all in the same use year. I don't think Disney ever intended for third party sale, people pricing together multiple contracts to get the number of points and or resort they wanted or people have multiple contracts with multiple use years.

There are work arounds you just need to find them:

When I rent points I keep a running spread sheet in my computer, Maybe that could help?

Just to clarify some important but sometimes confusing language.

Contracts are a set number of points and can never change. Even when adding on, you are adding to a membership a new contract.

So, contracts that are in the same membership can be used for a single trip. Same resort points can be combined at 11 months….different resorts at 7.

Transferred points occur when they go from one membership to another. A temporary contract is created in the receiving membership.

Once down, they can then be used along with an owners other contracts to book a single trip.

People will sometimes say transfer between contracts and it can be confusing so just wanted to clarify that small but important distinction for those new and still learning!

 

[Isamar]

Just to clarify some important but sometimes confusing language.

Contracts are a set number of points and can never change. Even when adding on, you are adding to a membership a new contract.

So, contracts that are in the same membership can be used for a single trip. Same resort points can be combined at 11 months….different resorts at 7.

Transferred points occur when they go from one membership to another. A temporary contract is created in the receiving membership.

Once down, they can then be used along with an owners other contracts to book a single trip.

People will sometimes say transfer between contracts and it can be confusing so just wanted to clarify that small but important distinction for those new and still learning!

Sorry, although we’ve been DVC owners since 2010, having multiple contracts in the same membership is brand new to me. It’s great to have them together but I’m still figuring out the best ways to manage it.
Re. using points from multiple contracts, I meant that when making a reservation online there’s no option to use ‘X’ points from one contract and ‘Y’ points from another contract (unless there’s a way I don’t know about?), so that I could use just the banked points from each contract. There IS the option to choose which contract(s) they take the points from first, second, etc., but they’ll take all the points from your first choice (including current year allotment) before going to your second choice.

I assume I can call MS to change this, but it seems like something they could easily make available online and save us and them some time, especially with MS so overwhelmed lately.

Another question for the more experienced members out there: We have an October Use Year membership that contains 3 contracts. 2 of the contracts are BLT, and I’m wondering whether it makes sense to just transfer the points from one BLT contract into the other at the beginning of each Use Year, to make things simpler. Does anyone see a downside to that?

Edit:…as I posted this I realized that I don’t know whether a transfer would mean the points can’t be banked (an obvious downside) so I’ll have to check that.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

Re. using points from multiple contracts, I meant that when making a reservation online there’s no option to use ‘X’ points from one contract and ‘Y’ points from another contract (unless there’s a way I don’t know about?), so that I could use just the banked points from each contract. There IS the option to choose which contract(s) they take the points from first, second, etc., but they’ll take all the points from your first choice (including current year allotment) before going to your second choice.

Not quite. If you have banked or borrowed points in both contracts, it will use the 1st choice banked, then the 2nd choice banked, then 1st choice borrowed, then 2nd choice borrowed, then 1st choice current, then 2nd choice current.

Or stated more simply, they will still use banked first, then borrowed, then current points from each of the selected contracts.

The trick is that you have to know if you have banked or borrowed points in both contracts. If you choose only one contract, but have banked or borrowed points in the other, it will only use points from your selected contract and you might end up having banked or borrowed points that don't get used in the other one.

 

[Sandisw]

Sorry, although we’ve been DVC owners since 2010, having multiple contracts in the same membership is brand new to me. It’s great to have them together but I’m still figuring out the best ways to manage it.
Re. using points from multiple contracts, I meant that when making a reservation online there’s no option to use ‘X’ points from one contract and ‘Y’ points from another contract (unless there’s a way I don’t know about?), so that I could use just the banked points from each contract. There IS the option to choose which contract(s) they take the points from first, second, etc., but they’ll take all the points from your first choice (including current year allotment) before going to your second choice.

I assume I can call MS to change this, but it seems like something they could easily make available online and save us and them some time, especially with MS so overwhelmed lately.

Another question for the more experienced members out there: We have an October Use Year membership that contains 3 contracts. 2 of the contracts are BLT, and I’m wondering whether it makes sense to just transfer the points from one BLT contract into the other at the beginning of each Use Year, to make things simpler. Does anyone see a downside to that?

Edit:…as I posted this I realized that I don’t know whether a transfer would mean the points can’t be banked (an obvious downside) so I’ll have to check that.

If all your contracts are in one UY, there is no such thing as a transfer. when wanting to use points from more than one, you check them off in the order to use them.

Any points borrowed or banked from an individual contract that is checked, no matter the order, will always be used first. It then goes back and use current UY points from contract 1, then two, etc.

So, if your two BLT contracts are there, you just check both and they function as though they are one big one. You can’t move points into a different contract as these are deeded ownerships.

The more complicated the website is, the more chance an owner can make a mistake and sometimes a mistake that is not fixable. So, I get why they take all current UY points from a contract …after using all banked and borrowed from all…online.

Now, for contract 3, if making a reservation 7 months or less, you just check them all and it will still take any banked or borrowed points from all 3.

If you borrow, it does let you choose which resort to borrow from. The only thing that requires a call is if you want to use say 50 points from BLT and 50 points from your other resort If booking at 7 months. Then MS has to. However, you can still make it online first and call to have them reallocate.

 

[Isamar]

Not quite. If you have banked or borrowed points in both contracts, it will use the 1st choice banked, then the 2nd choice banked, then 1st choice borrowed, then 2nd choice borrowed, then 1st choice current, then 2nd choice current.

Or stated more simply, they will still use banked first, then borrowed, then current points from each of the selected contracts.

The trick is that you have to know if you have banked or borrowed points in both contracts. If you choose only one contract, but have banked or borrowed points in the other, it will only use points from your selected contract and you might end up having banked or borrowed points that don't get used in the other one.

If all your contracts are in one UY, there is no such thing as a transfer. when wanting to use points from more than one, you check them off in the order to use them.

Any points borrowed or banked from an individual contract that is checked, no matter the order, will always be used first. It then goes back and use current UY points from contract 1, then two, etc.

So, if your two BLT contracts are there, you just check both and they function as though they are one big one. You can’t move points into a different contract as these are deeded ownerships.

The more complicated the website is, the more chance an owner can make a mistake and sometimes a mistake that is not fixable. So, I get why they take all current UY points from a contract …after using all banked and borrowed from all…online.

Now, for contract 3, if making a reservation 7 months or less, you just check them all and it will still take any banked or borrowed points from all 3.

If you borrow, it does let you choose which resort to borrow from. The only thing that requires a call is if you want to use say 50 points from BLT and 50 points from your other resort If booking at 7 months. Then MS has to. However, you can still make it online first and call to have them reallocate.

Hmm…I checked off both BLT contracts, each of which has banked points, but the reservation took all the required points from the 1st contract (all the banked + some current) instead of using banked points from contract 2. But no worries, I must have done something wrong, and I’ll just have to get MS to fix it and be more careful next time .

Thanks for all the help and advice!

 

[Robbie Cottam]

It is possible to move points between contract or even between owners.

this is a points transfer. You are aloud ONE inbound or outgoing transfer per use year.

you need to call member service to effect a transfer.

 

[Sandisw]

It is possible to move points between contract or even between owners.

this is a points transfer. You are aloud ONE inbound or outgoing transfer per use year.

you need to call member service to effect a transfer.

I think it can be confusing when you say you can move points between contracts because you can’t.

Points can only go from a membership to another membership. Once they move, they are put in their own temporary contract that will show up.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

You are correct you can transfer between memberships…..
if the contract are in the same membership you don‘t need transfer, provided both contracts are at the same resort or you are inside the 7 month booking window….