What do you do with just a few leftover points? Cancelation policy?

[Ashlotte]

What happens if you have borrowed and banked and you have 7 remaining points, or something small. Too small to book a room, but enough that you don't want it wasted. Does this ever happen? Can you rent away such a small amount of points? Or do you just have to be really strategic with your room selections to make sure this doesn't happen?

Also, is there a fee or deadline for cancelation? I know you have to bank or use your points in the last four months of your UY, but is there any other penalty?

 

[Marionnette]

What happens if you have borrowed and banked and you have 7 remaining points, or something small. Too small to book a room, but enough that you don't want it wasted. Does this ever happen? Can you rent away such a small amount of points? Or do you just have to be really strategic with your room selections to make sure this doesn't happen?

It's extremely difficult to rent small numbers of points. There just aren't many rooms that take as few as 7 points for a night.

If you had to borrow points, it was because you didn't have enough banked and current allotment of points to complete a reservation. If that reservation was modified later, the banked and borrowed points would have been used first before any current UY points. In that case, you should be able to bank the points into the next year.

Sometimes you just end up with orphaned points if you haven't planned your usage carefully. And in that case, you just have to suck it up and wave bye-bye to those lonely points and resolve to be more diligent in the future.

 

[DVChris]

At 7 months, you can get up to 24 OTU points for $19pp. Good for 1 night.

 

[CarolynFH]

Also, is there a fee or deadline for cancelation? I know you have to bank or use your points in the last four months of your UY, but is there any other penalty?

No fee for canceling a DVC reservation.

If you cancel more than 31 days before checkin, the points go back to the UY the reservation was in and can be used on another reservation. Any points that were from the UY the reservation was in can be banked, if you're within the banking window for that UY. Any points that were banked or borrowed to make that reservation must be used in that same UY as the original reservation was, or they'll expire.

If you cancel 31 or fewer days from checkin, all of the points go into holding status and can be used only for reservations in the same UY as the original reservation, and those replacement reservations can't be booked until 60 days or less from checkin for the new reservation. You might think of holding status as the penalty for canceling, but it only takes effect if you cancel 31 days or less from checkin.

If you cancel the day of checkin, all of the points are lost. That's the other penalty for canceling.

 

[Ashlotte]

No fee for canceling a DVC reservation.

If you cancel more than 31 days before checkin, the points go back to the UY the reservation was in and can be used on another reservation. Any points that were from the UY the reservation was in can be banked, if you're within the banking window for that UY. Any points that were banked or borrowed to make that reservation must be used in that same UY as the original reservation was, or they'll expire.

If you cancel 31 or fewer days from checkin, all of the points go into holding status and can be used only for reservations in the same UY as the original reservation, and those replacement reservations can't be booked until 60 days or less from checkin for the new reservation. You might think of holding status as the penalty for canceling, but it only takes effect if you cancel 31 days or less from checkin.

If you cancel the day of checkin, all of the points are lost. That's the other penalty for canceling.

Okay, now my brain is in a pretzel. Let's say I have March UY. Please let me know if these situations are correct.

Scenario 1) I have a reservation for June 2022, using March 2022 points. I cancel 20 days before check-in. The points go back to my account, but are frozen. I want to go in December 15, 2022 instead. I can't book it until 60 days prior, in October? I cannot book a summer reservation instead?

Scenario 2) I have a reservation for June 2022, using March 2022 points. I cancel in April. I can book any other reservation in that use year without waiting.

Scenario 3) I have a reservation for January 2022, using March 2022 points. I cancel in November, past the banking deadline, but before 31 days before check in. I can rebook something without the 60 day rule, but have to use my points somehow (using myself or renting), because it is too late to bank.

Scenario 4) I have a reservation for January 2022, using March 2022 points. I cancel in January. Since I am too late to bank, they must be used. Since I am within 60 days of them expiring, they can only be used for a reservation prior to Feb 28, 2023, but can be used immediately, since I'm within the 60 days.

Did I get these right? Still trying to figure out the best use year for us strategically. We would mostly be traveling in the summer, from June through September, with a possible occasional end of March trip. I don't want to be in a situation where I have points that need to be used immediately in a time we aren't likely to travel (Oct-Feb).

 

[Marionnette]

Okay, now my brain is in a pretzel. Let's say I have March UY. Please let me know if these situations are correct.

Scenario 1) I have a reservation for June 2022, using March 2022 points. I cancel 20 days before check-in. The points go back to my account, but are frozen. I want to go in December 15, 2022 instead. I can't book it until 60 days prior, in October? I cannot book a summer reservation instead?

Scenario 2) I have a reservation for June 2022, using March 2022 points. I cancel in April. I can book any other reservation in that use year without waiting.

Scenario 3) I have a reservation for January 2022, using March 2022 points. I cancel in November, past the banking deadline, but before 31 days before check in. I can rebook something without the 60 day rule, but have to use my points somehow (using myself or renting), because it is too late to bank.

Scenario 4) I have a reservation for January 2022, using March 2022 points. I cancel in January. Since I am too late to bank, they must be used. Since I am within 60 days of them expiring, they can only be used for a reservation prior to Feb 28, 2023, but can be used immediately, since I'm within the 60 days.

Did I get these right? Still trying to figure out the best use year for us strategically. We would mostly be traveling in the summer, from June through September, with a possible occasional end of March trip. I don't want to be in a situation where I have points that need to be used immediately in a time we aren't likely to travel (Oct-Feb).

I think you mean January 2023.

In scenario #1, you could book a summer vacation as long as the arrival date is no sooner than 60 out from the day that you're making the reservation. If you want December 2022 using the holding points, you have to wait until October 2022 to make the reservation.

Scenario #2, your points are returned with no restrictions. Banking deadlines still apply.

Scenario #3, your points are returned without restrictions but cannot be banked (although some members have had luck getting a one-time exemption prior to COVID). You can make a reservation that begins any time before your UY ends but all points are in "use it or lose it" status

Scenario #4, points go into holding and can be used until the end of your UY. Since you are less than 60 days from your UY, you have a very narrow window in which to use them.

 

[CarolynFH]

Still trying to figure out the best use year for us strategically. We would mostly be traveling in the summer, from June through September, with a possible occasional end of March trip. I don't want to be in a situation where I have points that need to be used immediately in a time we aren't likely to travel (Oct-Feb).

Marionnette covered your scenarios above. If you'll mostly travel in June-September but occasionally in March, a March UY would work. November through February reservations with a March UY would be dangerous, if you had to cancel in November or later.

 

[Ashlotte]

Marionnette covered your scenarios above. If you'll mostly travel in June-September but occasionally in March, a March UY would work. November through February reservations with a March UY would be dangerous, if you had to cancel in November or later.

Is it better to base the UY on when you normally travel, or when you could more likely travel last minute? I could pretty easily make a last minute June-Aug trip work, and not lose points, but it would be hard to do a last minute Nov-February reservation because of school. We are in Oregon, so there wouldn't be any opportunity to just pop over to the parks for a few days to use up points. I guess I could try to book something and rent it?

 

[PirateBrigade]

UY optimization based on your travel patterns was something that I didn't appreciate until about a year or two into DVC ownership, it's hard to fully wrap your head around it when you're on the outside looking in.

I had 7 orphaned AUL points die on me 2 weeks ago, it sucks and it happens, but this was balanced by the fact that I had (what I thought were) expiring points extended a whole year on my VGC contract.

I debated buying OTU points to pick up a night at VGC, but the availability is so constrained here, that any available reservation that pops up will be taken before you can get through to MS.

 

[CarolynFH]

Is it better to base the UY on when you normally travel, or when you could more likely travel last minute? I could pretty easily make a last minute June-Aug trip work, and not lose points, but it would be hard to do a last minute Nov-February reservation because of school. We are in Oregon, so there wouldn't be any opportunity to just pop over to the parks for a few days to use up points. I guess I could try to book something and rent it?

Base UY on when you normally travel, and try to have all the months fall within your banking window. That way if you do have to cancel, you have the choice of rebooking during that UY or banking, unless it’s a last-minute cancellation and the points end up in holding. And if you do end up with holding points, you’ll have longer to use them before your UY ends.