Transferring points

[DisKneeDad]

I've read a number of posts on this and it seems there is some conflicting info on this. Or maybe I'm just not following.

If I own only a FEB UY at AKV and someone transfers APR BLT points to my account, how can I use those points?

1. Can I use them to book BLT at 11 months out?
2. At what point can I combine them with my AKV points (if ever)?
3. Can I bank them?
4. If they can be banked, do I still retain the 11 month booking advantage at BLT?
5. Do any of these answers change if I were to get FEB BLT points transferred instead?
6. What happens if I sell my contract while I possess these BLT points? What does the buyer get?

Thanks.

 

[LisaS]

If I own only a FEB UY at AKV and someone transfers APR BLT points to my account, how can I use those points?

1. Can I use them to book BLT at 11 months out?

Yes but you will have to call MS to make the reservation. The transferred points will not be accessible to you for online booking. Also, transferred points retain their UY as well as their home resort so you would need to be sure that April 201x UY points will work for your travel dates.

2. At what point can I combine them with my AKV points (if ever)?

If booking more than 7 months from check-in, the BLT points can only be used to book BLT and the AKV points can only be used to book AKV. If you are booking either BLT or AKV, you could use the home resort points to book as many nights as possible 11 months from check-in, then at 7 months out use the other points to try to add additional nights, subject to availability. If you want to book a resort other than BLT or AKV, you have to wait until 7 months or less from check-in and could use both the BLT and AKV points. As mentioned above, you would have to call MS when booking with the transferred points.

3. Can I bank them?

Yes, transferred points can be banked.

4. If they can be banked, do I still retain the 11 month booking advantage at BLT?

They should but I believe transferred points are tracked manually so the more things you do to them, the more opportunity there is for something to go wrong.

5. Do any of these answers change if I were to get FEB BLT points transferred instead?

Transferred points retain their home resort and UY so again, you would just need to be sure that Feb 201x UY points would work for your travel dates.

6. What happens if I sell my contract while I possess these BLT points? What does the buyer get?

Since transferred points may be tracked manually, I think it's likely they are tied to your DVC account, not to your contract. If that is true, if you sell your contract I doubt the transferred points would transfer to the new owner.

 

[DisKneeDad]

Yes but you will have to call MS to make the reservation. The transferred points will not be accessible to you for online booking. Also, transferred points retain their UY as well as their home resort so you would need to be sure that April 201x UY points will work for your travel dates.If booking more than 7 months from check-in, the BLT points can only be used to book BLT and the AKV points can only be used to book AKV. If you are booking either BLT or AKV, you could use the home resort points to book as many nights as possible 11 months from check-in, then at 7 months out use the other points to try to add additional nights, subject to availability. If you want to book a resort other than BLT or AKV, you have to wait until 7 months or less from check-in and could use both the BLT and AKV points. As mentioned above, you would have to call MS when booking with the transferred points.

Yes, transferred points can be banked.

They should but I believe transferred points are tracked manually so the more things you do to them, the more opportunity there is for something to go wrong.

Transferred points retain their home resort and UY so again, you would just need to be sure that Feb 201x UY points would work for your travel dates.

Since transferred points may be tracked manually, I think it's likely they are tied to your DVC account, not to your contract. If that is true, if you sell your contract I doubt the transferred points would transfer to the new owner.

Thanks so much for the reply!

 

[disneynutz]

I've read a number of posts on this and it seems there is some conflicting info on this. Or maybe I'm just not following.

If I own only a FEB UY at AKV and someone transfers APR BLT points to my account, how can I use those points?

1. Can I use them to book BLT at 11 months out?
2. At what point can I combine them with my AKV points (if ever)?
3. Can I bank them?
4. If they can be banked, do I still retain the 11 month booking advantage at BLT?
5. Do any of these answers change if I were to get FEB BLT points transferred instead?
6. What happens if I sell my contract while I possess these BLT points? What does the buyer get?

Thanks.

Do yourself a favor and don't include transfers in your ownership strategy. If you think that you or other owners are confused about transfers, so are many MS CM's.

Bill

 

[DisKneeDad]

Do yourself a favor and don't include transfers in your ownership strategy. If you think that you or other owners are confused about transfers, so are many MS CM's.

Bill

Thanks. I am trying to do this as a "poor mans" way of owning multiple resorts without actually owning them. Sounds like it is more trouble than it is worth.

 

[crisi]

Thanks. I am trying to do this as a "poor mans" way of owning multiple resorts without actually owning them. Sounds like it is more trouble than it is worth.

The easy way to do that is not to transfer, but to rent - then rent yours out in return. Transfers have a lot of limitations - like you can only transfer in or out once per year - and because of that "just once" requirement, finding points to transfer is less easy than finding points to rent.

There aren't a LOT of situations where you NEED to have the eleven month window - there are a few. Renting is a way better alternative - even maybe just renting and not owning at all - if you want to try a lot of different resorts and want to do it at popular times.

 

[Dean]

Thanks. I am trying to do this as a "poor mans" way of owning multiple resorts without actually owning them. Sounds like it is more trouble than it is worth.

I believe it is far more trouble than it's worth. As I understand it, if you sold all of your points, the transferred points would go with the sale though I don't ever recall seeing anyone post they they sold with transferred points to deal with. I'm not sure where you are in the process but I think for most people that aren't already ingrained in the system, the best approach is to spend enough time learning so you can make a better decision as to the resort(s) and number of points that'll best fulfill your needs. I feel this normally takes a good 6 months of active investigation and some base knowledge of the resorts themselves. Maybe it's SSR and try all the resorts over time or maybe it's VGF and stay there most of the time or possibly a little of both or any variation in between. One of the mistakes we sometimes see with new buyers is they get caught up trying to get the next trip out of a purchase and don't end up making the best decision for them. In general I think it's best to underbuy on both resort and number of points for WDW assuming that's the destination goal. Exceptions include specific destination goals and very small contracts. For almost all options resale is best by far but there are a few exceptions.

 

[DisKneeDad]

The easy way to do that is not to transfer, but to rent - then rent yours out in return. Transfers have a lot of limitations - like you can only transfer in or out once per year - and because of that "just once" requirement, finding points to transfer is less easy than finding points to rent.

There aren't a LOT of situations where you NEED to have the eleven month window - there are a few. Renting is a way better alternative - even maybe just renting and not owning at all - if you want to try a lot of different resorts and want to do it at popular times.

The reason that I prefer a transfer is that I want to be in control of the reservation. VGF points don't come up that often, and the odds of them being available for rent at exactly the 11 month window I would need are slim. If I transfer, I can sit on the points until I need them. Then I can be on with MS at 9am the day I want to book. I have rented points before, and even in the best of cases, there is a lot of back and forth and the renters may not have the same sense of urgency that I do.

 

[DisKneeDad]

I believe it is far more trouble than it's worth. As I understand it, if you sold all of your points, the transferred points would go with the sale though I don't ever recall seeing anyone post they they sold with transferred points to deal with. I'm not sure where you are in the process but I think for most people that aren't already ingrained in the system, the best approach is to spend enough time learning so you can make a better decision as to the resort(s) and number of points that'll best fulfill your needs. I feel this normally takes a good 6 months of active investigation and some base knowledge of the resorts themselves. Maybe it's SSR and try all the resorts over time or maybe it's VGF and stay there most of the time or possibly a little of both or any variation in between. One of the mistakes we sometimes see with new buyers is they get caught up trying to get the next trip out of a purchase and don't end up making the best decision for them. In general I think it's best to underbuy on both resort and number of points for WDW assuming that's the destination goal. Exceptions include specific destination goals and very small contracts. For almost all options resale is best by far but there are a few exceptions.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'd like to avoid buying into VGF, but I'd like to stay there on occasion. I'd rather not pay Disney cash rates. I don't mind renting at all, but I do not know how easy that will be to do at VGF. I figured the next best thing to owning is to transfer in some points so I can be a temporary owner there in effect.

As far as selling my points while I own transferred points, I was more just curious. I don't actually plan on doing that.

 

[crisi]

The reason that I prefer a transfer is that I want to be in control of the reservation. VGF points don't come up that often, and the odds of them being available for rent at exactly the 11 month window I would need are slim. If I transfer, I can sit on the points until I need them. Then I can be on with MS at 9am the day I want to book. I have rented points before, and even in the best of cases, there is a lot of back and forth and the renters may not have the same sense of urgency that I do.

They will come up LESS often for transfer than for rent. If you want VGF, buy points there.

 

[DisKneeDad]

They will come up LESS often for transfer than for rent. If you want VGF, buy points there.

Yes, less often, but timing is everything. If I get a transfer now, I can wait a year to use those points at any 11 month window. If I am renting points, they need to be available that day I want to rent. That is a huge difference to me.

Let's say I want to book VGF May 1, 2015. I would have to hope that on June 1, 2014 someone has points for rent. With a transfer, I can get the transfer any time between now and June 1. Then make my own reservation.

 

[Dean]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'd like to avoid buying into VGF, but I'd like to stay there on occasion. I'd rather not pay Disney cash rates. I don't mind renting at all, but I do not know how easy that will be to do at VGF. I figured the next best thing to owning is to transfer in some points so I can be a temporary owner there in effect.

As far as selling my points while I own transferred points, I was more just curious. I don't actually plan on doing that.

It really is an "it depends" type of discussion. While it will likely be possible for some to get in occasionally, it's not something one should count on, esp if you can't travel the lowest demand seasons of say May/Sept. One could buy less points and rent occasionally for VGF, you'd have to run the numbers to see how it'd work out for your exact situation. Likely at once every 4 to 5 years it would be cheaper and with less risk to to so depending on villa size. One option would be to buy in somewhere cheaper such as SSR knowing it was a gamble then for each and every trip, try for VGF including wait listing. A potentially cheaper but higher risk option still would be to buy a non DVC timeshare and try to trade in at times, likely not the best option for a trip most every year but for every few years might be the best for some giving better non DVC type options.

I try to look at this type of situation as if I didn't own and were buying in. There's not a given trip I have to be in a specific resort or a specific time so even though we own a fair number of points, I generally use them to supplement other trips and most of our stays are trading in. Enough so that we normally have more villas available than we do times we plan to head that way. Plus while we prefer to stay on property, we're very comfortable staying off, esp at one of the top Marriott, Hilton, Wyndham or Bluegreen properties. For example, we're staying off in a month in a Presidential 3BR suite for $79 a night (4 nights) with family for my son's USF graduation.

 

[crisi]

Yes, less often, but timing is everything. If I get a transfer now, I can wait a year to use those points at any 11 month window. If I am renting points, they need to be available that day I want to rent. That is a huge difference to me.

Let's say I want to book VGF May 1, 2015. I would have to hope that on June 1, 2014 someone has points for rent. With a transfer, I can get the transfer any time between now and June 1. Then make my own reservation.

No.

You can find a Grand Floridian owner willing to rent you 2016 points and be on the phone 11 months from your 2016 vacation today if you want to. There is nothing that says you need to find an owner right when you want the points. A lot of people line up owners for F&W a few months before the reservation needs to be made.

What you'll lose is the ability to make the phone call/ecommerce transaction right at opening - you become dependent on the owner to do that.

But I think you don't realize how few people are willing to do transfers. Adding to the restrictions (one per year) - technically any transfer for cash is against the terms of the contract. Which means if I transfer you my points and expect a paypal payment, and it doesn't come, I'll really up the proverbial creek. At least if I rent you points and you don't pay me, I can cancel. (The inverse is true as well, if you pay someone to transfer and they don't follow through with the transfer - you are the one without a paddle).

 

[LisaS]

The other problem with transfers is getting exactly the number of points you need. Let's say you want 120 BLT points and manage to find someone with points available but they have 160 points they want to transfer. They may be reluctant to use their one transfer for only 120 of those 160 points, forcing you to buy more points than you need. You can bank the leftovers and use them for a future trip but it still means spending $400-$500 more than you had planned.

The reverse is also a problem. Say you need 160 and can't find anyone with more than 100 or so. If the timing of your trip works out you might be able to find someone with points from a prior UY that you can bank and find someone else with points in the same UY as your trip so that you can do two transfers in (one for each UY) and combine them for the trip. But again, finding those two members with BLT points valid for your travel dates is not going to be easy.