What's the Rationale Behind The One Time Only Purchase of Extra Points from DVC?

[tjkraz]

What do you think the chances were of a 1BR villa at the Beach Club opening up in early December less than two weeks out? Are you suggesting I should have just spent $75 randomly in the unlikely event that were to occur?

As I said, all we can do as owners is understand the rules which exist and decide how best to operate within those boundaries.

If you new that there was a limit of one purchase per year, then you knew you wouldn't be allowed to buy any more points if something more expensive opened up. If you were not aware of the rule, chalk this up as a learning experience and decide if you want to handle it differently in the future.

If you had spent the extra $75, you'd have BCV booked now. And if the room hadn't opened up, you'd have had 5 points left in the 2013 Use Year which could have been banked to '14 and used for a stay as late as 2/28/2015.

We may not be able to make any sense of the limitation but DVC included that clause for some reason of their own. Selectively granting exceptions is a slippery slope I'm not surprised they were unwilling to bend the rules.

 

[DVCLiz]

As I said, all we can do as owners is understand the rules which exist and decide how best to operate within those boundaries.

If you new that there was a limit of one purchase per year, then you knew you wouldn't be allowed to buy any more points if something more expensive opened up. If you were not aware of the rule, chalk this up as a learning experience and decide if you want to handle it differently in the future.

If you had spent the extra $75, you'd have BCV booked now. And if the room hadn't opened up, you'd have had 5 points left in the 2013 Use Year which could have been banked to '14 and used for a stay as late as 2/28/2015.

We may not be able to make any sense of the limitation but DVC included that clause for some reason of their own. Selectively granting exceptions is a slippery slope I'm not surprised they were unwilling to bend the rules.

Or we could occasionally point out an inconsistency that might possibly be beneficial to future discussions of DVC rules and regulations. There's no possible legitimate reason to say no to this exception other than to rigidly adhere to a rule and there's every good reason to allow it. What slippery slope are they heading toward? "Sorry, but if we allow you to get what you want and spend more money on it then EVERYONE would want that?"

As I said, it's a dumb rule and "some reason of their own" isn't a plausible explanation. It's more likely to be a computer issue or a time saver with DVC staff but that doesn't make it a good rule or one I would suggest fighting to keep.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

If you had spent the extra $75, you'd have BCV booked now. And if the room hadn't opened up, you'd have had 5 points left in the 2013 Use Year which could have been banked to '14 and used for a stay as late as 2/28/2015.

I did not think those points were bankable but of course can't find the notice on the member website right now.

But I also do not think you are allowed to buy them without booking with them immediately so it wouldn't have been possible for the OP to buy any extra beyond what she was needing for the AKV reservation - at least I think someone had posted about trying that and they weren't allowed to buy extra.

I do remember thinking that there are a lot of restrictions with them and that I'd want to be very certain I wouldn't have any changes if I ever thought about doing this.

FWIW I still think that some of this is about having to adhere to the one transfer per year per contract. The slippery slope would be if it's entirely legitimate for them to even offer this with the transfer limitations they have set up but since they can divy up point pools they probably feel ok as long as they stay within one transfer to any specific membership per UY.

 

[tjkraz]

As I said, it's a dumb rule and "some reason of their own" isn't a plausible explanation.

But it's the only explanation that matters.

I'm not trying to sound unsympathetic. I completely understand that allowing the extra point purchase would have made more money for DVC and perhaps made your stay more enjoyable.

But that clause didn't get inserted by accident. Whether it's due to some computer limitation or other motivation on DVC's part, all we can do as owners is adjust our habits in order to comply.

Why can't owners bank any points after 8 months?

Why can't I borrow 2 or 3 years in advance?

Why can't a college-aged child with a different address on his/her driver's license get a discounted AP?

Why can't I bring more than 4 friends or family members to a DVC Mixer?

We could go on and on with this. The one time use points have been available for 3-4 years now and I'm sure this sort of situation has come up many times. For whatever reason, DVC chooses to keep that limitation in place.

You're certainly welcome to share feedback with DVC but unless they decide to change, it is what it is.

I did not think those points were bankable but of course can't find the notice on the member website right now.

But I also do not think you are allowed to buy them without booking with them immediately so it wouldn't have been possible for the OP to buy any extra beyond what she was needing for the AKV reservation.

Correct on both counts. However, OP borrowed all of her 2013 points with this reservation. Borrowing all available points is not a prerequisite for buying the one time use points.

What she could have done was bought the 5 extra OTU points from the start and had them applied to the AKV reservation. That would have left five 2013 points which could have been borrowed when/if a BCV room came available.

If the BCV room had not opened-up, the five 2013 points would have remained for a future reservation, eligible to be banked if necessary.

When guidelines surrounding the one time use points were announced, I remember one poster suggesting that if he ever had to buy ANY, he would just get the full 24 permitted for maximum flexibility. It's an expensive approach but still valid.

 

[dvcterry]

When guidelines surrounding the one time use points were announced, I remember one poster suggesting that if he ever had to buy ANY, he would just get the full 24 permitted for maximum flexibility. It's an expensive approach but still valid.

I don't think it is permitted. I don't have the guidelines available but do remember when we used them we could only get the number needed complete the reservation, not a retroactive reservation, and no waitlist reservation. We called, MS completed it for the reservation wanted, and reviewed it as being our "one time" use restriction for the UY. We could not get additional points in the event we wanted another reservation for the remainder of the year, nor purchase the maximum allowable points just to keep on hand.

 

[tjkraz]

I don't think it is permitted. I don't have the guidelines available but do remember when we used them we could only get the number needed complete the reservation...

Correct but you are not required to borrow all of your available points before buying the one time use points. The only requirement is that you use all of your current year points first.

If you've used all of your current year points and are still 24 short, your options would include:

- Borrowing all 24
- Buying the 24 OTU points
- Any desired combination of borrowing and OTU

 

[Sandisw]

Well, I'm ASSUMING that OP has used all available current and borrowed points.

The rules do not require that you be completely borrowed-out before buying the one time use points. If needing an additional 5 points was a possibility, she could have bought all 11 OTU pts on the first pass and left 5 points un-borrowed for use when/if the alternate accommodations became available.

If the more expensive accommodation had not opened-up, OP would still have paid $15 x 11 points. But those 5 (unborrowed/unused) owned points would remain available for use in the future.

Last year, they would not let me buy them when I still had current UY points available. They told me that you can only get them to prevent borrowing. I had wanted to save my points for an 11 month booking but wasn't allowed.

 

[dvcterry]

Yes, you do not have to borrow in order to buy the required points.

MS would not allow us to buy all 24 points, only the 6 we needed to complete the reservation at the time. MS told we us could only buy what we needed at that time for the reservation.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Correct on both counts. However, OP borrowed all of her 2013 points with this reservation. Borrowing all available points is not a prerequisite for buying the one time use points.

What she could have done was bought the 5 extra OTU points from the start and had them applied to the AKV reservation. That would have left five 2013 points which could have been borrowed when/if a BCV room came available.

If the BCV room had not opened-up, the five 2013 points would have remained for a future reservation, eligible to be banked if necessary.

When guidelines surrounding the one time use points were announced, I remember one poster suggesting that if he ever had to buy ANY, he would just get the full 24 permitted for maximum flexibility. It's an expensive approach but still valid.

Gotcha now. I thought it was in this thread but it was a different one the OP had about how they initially got this reservation. Anyway it was last minute with different rooms and a couple other switches so I was thinking the borrowing occurred long before and I wasn't thinking of it as a "do I borrow or do I buy?" scenario but that borrowing had already happened before the buying ever became necessary.

But you've definitely pointed out another option in how to take advantage of the points for purchase and still have flexibility if the owner is hoping to make a change. Personally I would also have borrowed every last point before buying additional points but I was also aware it was a one time per UY even if you haven't bought 24 pts so I wouldn't have gone thru continuing to look at other options and then gotten the surprise news.

 

[DVCLiz]

Actually, I didn't borrow any points for this reservation - they were all previously borrowed and as such were in holding status.I used all my current holding points and bought a few extra ones I needed.

Really, I do understand your point but the question I asked was not "What is the rule?" It was "What is the rationale?" for this particular scenario and really, there isn't one. It's just a weird assortment of circumstances that should have been able to be accommodated easily and instead fell under a broad rule for which there are no exceptions. I understand I have to follow the rule - what I don't agree with is the absolute nature of the rule. Which is why I was asking about it on the DIS.

 

[LisaS]

Really, I do understand your point but the question I asked was not "What is the rule?" It was "What is the rationale?" for this particular scenario and really, there isn't one. It's just a weird assortment of circumstances that should have been able to be accommodated easily and instead fell under a broad rule for which there are no exceptions. I understand I have to follow the rule - what I don't agree with is the absolute nature of the rule. Which is why I was asking about it on the DIS.

I agree with CarolMN that it's likely a software issue. To allow you to buy up to 24 points in multiple installments they would need to track each purchase. To avoid spending money on software changes, they may be using something simple like an existing flag in your account or maybe a comment field to indicate whether you've exercised your option to buy OTU points or not. If so then they may not know if you bought just one or your limit of 24.

If they want to limit us to 24 points per UY and they don't have a way to track multiple purchases, then the simple solution is to limit members to one purchase per UY. They are leaving money on the table but perhaps not enough to justify the cost of implementing new software.

 

[LauraLea]

Last year, they would not let me buy them when I still had current UY points available. They told me that you can only get them to prevent borrowing. I had wanted to save my points for an 11 month booking but wasn't allowed.

And this is when you need to make a dummy reservation to hold the points you want for the 11 month window. After the point purchase and before your 11 month booking, you cancel the dummy reservation. This also works if you want to buy all 24 points.

Laura

 

[Judique]

And this is when you need to make a dummy reservation to hold the points you want for the 11 month window. After the point purchase and before your 11 month booking, you cancel the dummy reservation. This also works if you want to buy all 24 points.

Laura

So, next question- if you buy the 24 points and then you have to cancel the reservation in which the 24 points were used, what happens? Are they bankable? I am constantly juggling reservations as my schedule changes and I've thought about using this feature but have borrowed instead.

 

[wdrl]

So, next question- if you buy the 24 points and then you have to cancel the reservation in which the 24 points were used, what happens? Are they bankable? I am constantly juggling reservations as my schedule changes and I've thought about using this feature but have borrowed instead.

No, the one-time use points are not bankable. They expire at the end of your Use Year.

 

[LauraLea]

So, next question- if you buy the 24 points and then you have to cancel the reservation in which the 24 points were used, what happens? Are they bankable? I am constantly juggling reservations as my schedule changes and I've thought about using this feature but have borrowed instead.

Your borrowed points are not rebankable either, so you really need to be sure you have options to use either the purchased points or the points you borrow before you make the transaction. Being retired and living less than an hour from WDW makes this not that risky of a deal for us.

Laura

 

[lisaviolet]

No, the one-time use points are not bankable. They expire at the end of your Use Year.

And if they were cancelled during your UY they wouldn't show up online to book again- just like transferred points. Correct?

Ie. only accessible by using MS/phone to rebook with, yes?

 

[LauraLea]

And if they were cancelled during your UY they wouldn't show up online to book again- just like transferred points. Correct?

Ie. only accessible by using MS/phone to rebook with, yes?

That is true. But when I start to pull together the real reservation I make sure MS uses those points first. If there is a portion of the trip that I know our plans are firm, I will segment the reservation using those points so I can tweak the rest of the reservation online if needed. Then either call MS or send a secure email to have them link the reservations.

Laura

 

[Sammie]

Or we could occasionally point out an inconsistency that might possibly be beneficial to future discussions of DVC rules and regulations. There's no possible legitimate reason to say no to this exception other than to rigidly adhere to a rule and there's every good reason to allow it. What slippery slope are they heading toward? "Sorry, but if we allow you to get what you want and spend more money on it then EVERYONE would want that?"

As I said, it's a dumb rule and "some reason of their own" isn't a plausible explanation. It's more likely to be a computer issue or a time saver with DVC staff but that doesn't make it a good rule or one I would suggest fighting to keep.

How would you know there is no plausible explanation.

 

[DVCLiz]

How would you know there is no plausible explanation.

Why do you care whether I think the explanation is plausible? Of course there is a reason for this rule - I just happen to disagree with it because it seemed to me to be counter-productive when applied in this case. I didn't get the villa I really wanted and DVC didn't get more money from me. In my view "some reason of their own" isn't a plausible explanation. You don't' have to agree - no reason for you to even comment on this thread, either.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I think the analogy of only 1 transfer per year could play into the just one buying opportunity. However if you can transfer AND then buy then I also don't see why they don't allow you to buy the 24 even in more than one transaction. But it's not up to me! Make a suggestion to management. Let them look at it.

Bobbi