Transfering points

WiggleWorm

Earning My Ears
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May 19, 2009
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Not sure if this is the best place to post this, but I need some advice. I want to book a trip in May 2013. My parents want to join us, so we are hoping to get a 2-bedroom. Problem is we are short points. I'd like to just get a transfer of points from another DVC member, rather than rent. We need an odd number of points, so if we rented we would end up having to get more than we need because it would be a separate reservation and then we would have un-used points we would need to sell, so obviously this would not be cost-effective. Then we would also need to try to match up our reservation and the rented reservation so we wouldn't have to switch rooms, which would be quite inconvient for us, but especially for our two kids who will be 5 and 1 1/2. Plus, on the rent/trade board there's no way to indicate what I am looking for, so I just don't know what to do. Sorry this is rambling, but any advice would be great. Thanks!
 
Not sure if this is the best place to post this, but I need some advice. I want to book a trip in May 2013. My parents want to join us, so we are hoping to get a 2-bedroom. Problem is we are short points. I'd like to just get a transfer of points from another DVC member, rather than rent. We need an odd number of points, so if we rented we would end up having to get more than we need because it would be a separate reservation and then we would have un-used points we would need to sell, so obviously this would not be cost-effective. Then we would also need to try to match up our reservation and the rented reservation so we wouldn't have to switch rooms, which would be quite inconvient for us, but especially for our two kids who will be 5 and 1 1/2. Plus, on the rent/trade board there's no way to indicate what I am looking for, so I just don't know what to do. Sorry this is rambling, but any advice would be great. Thanks!

Options:

1. Borrow points from your subsequent use year unless you are already borrowing all of them.

2. Seek a transfer of points which takes some work to find particualrly if you want them for home resort and 11 month window. Since one can transfer only once per use year, those desiring to transfer often have a set amount they want to transfer and often do not really want to transfer fewer points or the exact number that you want.

3. Reserve what you can 11 months out and then at 7 buy up to 24 one-time per use year points from Disney for $15 a piece and complete the reservation if you need 24 or less. May is one of the easiest times of year to get things at 7 months out.

4. Reserve some nights with your points and rent from another who can give you the 11 month reservation for the rest of the nights and link the reservations so you do not have to change rooms. They are not hard to link and it just takes a call to MS. A rental can be easier to find than a transfer. If that process leaves you with some leftover points in own account, you just bank those.
 
I agree w/the "lay-out" of options Drusba provided--but one additional option is to pay cash (a member discount, if you reserve on cash through MS, may be available--I think it's 25%) for the night(s) for which you don't have enough points...

I have a little bit of experience with both renting and transferring--both procedures have their pro's and con's...but all things being equal, I think I'd opt for points transferring...especially since you plan to use those transferred points right away (you have to call MS to use transferred points; they don't show up online, and some CMs aren't so good at dealing with them--if you get one who seems unfamiliar with them, either hang up and take the next CM when you call back, or ask to talk to a supervisor)...

It's true that you can do only one points transfer per use year (in or out, not one of each), so it might be more of a challenge to find an owner willing to do his/her one transfer in the exact amount you need/want...but if you find an owner who wants you to take more points than you really need, you could consider using all transferred points for your reservation, and banking your own current year points...this is, of course, more expensive, since the usual transfer is based on a cost per point...but may be worth considering...

Also, look around the internet for other Disney sites, and perhaps also talk to David's Service, or the Timeshare Store (both sponsors of this board)...the rent/trade board rules here are very restrictive...and I don't believe we're allowed to refer to other sites...but there are others that might be worth looking at if you don't find what you need on the DIS' rent/transfer board...

Good luck!
 
A better option for your situation might be to rent or transfer your points to someone else. Then book your entire trip by renting points from another owner. Takes a little more work but you end up with one unified reservation at what should be little or no incremental cost.

Griz
 

As others have said, it would be very difficult to find someone looking to transfer the exact number of points you need. DVC's one transfer rule really restricts what can be done. Someone who's looking to rent out 150 points, for example, isn't likely to use their one and only transfer to send you 6-7 of them.

I've had success with purchasing a single night from Member Services for cash. (You can do this at the 11 month point.) If you're booking that far out, there's a pretty good chance the member discounted rate (25% off) will be available. It will be a little more expensive to book the night with Member Services (even with the discount) than it might be to get it from CRO using another discount (like the annual pass discount or other room-only offers), but the benefit of getting it from DVC MS is that it can be linked directly to your points reservation. You won't have to check out and back in again between the cash nights and the points nights. The down side with this option is that, yes, you'll have a few points left over in your account that you'll need to bank.

If you think you'd have luck getting the needed nights at the 7-month point, you can purchase the exact number of one-time-use points from DVC you need to make up the difference between the points you have available and the points needed to book the night. The one-time-use points are $15 each, and you can buy up to 24 of them in a use year. If you're more than just a few points short of booking the night, this can add up pretty quickly. At a certain point, depending on the room and season, it becomes more cost effective just to pay for the whole night with cash. Make sure you do the math to figure out which is the better deal.

You could also try for a combination of the two. You could book the night with cash at the 11-month point, then check to see if it's available for points at the 7-month point. If so, you could change it out, using your points plus one-time-use points. Keep in mind, though, that cash rooms and points rooms are two separate inventories. There's no guarantee that, just because you cancel the cash night, there will be availability for a points booking. Make sure the room is available to be booked with points before you allow them to cancel your cash reservation.

Another option not yet discussed would be to change your travel plans to stay at a resort that requires fewer points. OKW and SSR require fewer points than other resorts. There are also a limited number of value rooms at some resorts you could try for. Or, if your heart is set on a particular resort, consider doing a split stay. Stay there for part of your trip, then move to one of the less expensive options for the remainder of your trip.

Assuming you're flying to Orlando, what time does your flight arrive? If you arrive in the late afternoon or evening, you could stay somewhere else for your first night. I've never personally understood this option, but some people chose to stay in an inexpensive hotel near the airport (or a Disney value resort) on their arrival date, then move to DVC the next day.
 
You could also try to find somebody who has points to transfer out the right *neighborhood* of what you want to transfer, then transfer that amount in then whatever is leftover of your own points, bank. If someone is looking to sell 50 points and you need 39, just use them all and keep 10 of your own.

I lucked out in that I wanted ~135 points and found somebody who wanted to transfer 160 but was flexible and ended up selling me just 135 since they were looking to just cover their MFs and happy to keep the extras. I would have taken 160 then banked forward the additional 25 if I'd needed to since the amounts were *close enough*. Not every transaction is going to fit perfectly, but who can't use a few extra points for next year? ;)
 
Depending on how many points you'd need another option would be to purchase (up to) 24 points from DVC at $15 per point. This can only be done 7 months before, but for a trip in May you might still be OK. If you need more than 24 points you already have some great suggestions.

Good luck! :)
 
I transferred in points and then "rented " the points to a family member. We both made out because I got a good deal on the transferred points - 10 / point- and my brother got to stay at a DVC resort that I booked for him.
 











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