Which resort to buy direct for sleep around points

[bp2412]

That's totally true.
But for the last year, I've seen extremely thin availability at the 7 month mark for most of the year. I booked a trip for September at the 7 month mark, the only studios available were SSR, OKW and AKV. (Yes, I know September is also popular for DVC.... but getting closer to the point where there is almost no time of year that isn't popular. You can get online at exactly 7am at the 7 month mark, possibly get lucky sometimes if you click fast. But availability has been very very limited for most of the year at the 7 month mark. It's not just early December.

Pre-Covid, I would see Poly studios often available at 7 months, now I rarely see them. I haven't seen a single CCV studio available at 7 months since Covid. At my home resort Riviera, I have very very rarely seen a studio available at 7 months. etc.

Do you think that's more because of extra points in the system still or the new normal? I was hoping by our next trip, probably May 2023, we'd be able to try a new resort as we are 3 for 3 so far with DVC at SSR (we only book studios). We like SSR and happy to stay there but was hoping to start seeing more of the resorts soon.

 

[havoc315]

Do you think that's more because of extra points in the system still or the new normal? I was hoping by our next trip, probably May 2023, we'd be able to try a new resort as we are 3 for 3 so far with DVC at SSR (we only book studios). We like SSR and happy to stay there but was hoping to start seeing more of the resorts soon.

I really don’t know..

 

[npatellye]

That's totally true.
But for the last year, I've seen extremely thin availability at the 7 month mark for most of the year. I booked a trip for September at the 7 month mark, the only studios available were SSR, OKW and AKV. (Yes, I know September is also popular for DVC.... but getting closer to the point where there is almost no time of year that isn't popular. You can get online at exactly 7am at the 7 month mark, possibly get lucky sometimes if you click fast. But availability has been very very limited for most of the year at the 7 month mark. It's not just early December.

Pre-Covid, I would see Poly studios often available at 7 months, now I rarely see them. I haven't seen a single CCV studio available at 7 months since Covid. At my home resort Riviera, I have very very rarely seen a studio available at 7 months. etc.

I think this may be related to room type. In the past year, I’ve been able to stay in a dedicated 2 br at VGF for 7 nights in May, Poly studio for 3 nights in late December (including NYE), BCV 1 bedroom for 7 nights during marathon week in January. We don’t have home resort advantage at any of those resorts but I think 1 br units definitely have much more availability across the system. Yes, I know it may not be a good value to book 1 bedrooms but it’s what we like.

I also booked 7 nights through Thanksgiving 2022 at BWV in a 1 br, Boardwalk view because we are doing 4 nights at Vero in addition. When I booked it a few days after the 7 month mark, BCV 1 br was open, AKL 1 br was open (standard and savanna), Poly studio was open, BRV 1 br was open, SSR 1 br (preferred and standard) was open, RIV 1 br preferred was open, and OKW 1 br was open.

Did we plan to use our points as SAP? No. We would be 100% content staying only at our home resorts all the time. But we like to see if we can switch elsewhere if possible. If we can, we switch our trips. If we can’t, then we stay where we’ve booked ourselves. So far, we’ve never “had” to stay at our home resorts, though we’ve certainly done so by choice a few times.

Getting back to the OP, I would say VGF or RIV. But that’s just me.

 

[hmccarter]

There are people though who really have no preference and if stuck at the place they own, they are fine with it. In those cases, it makes the best sense to buy the least expensive.

We bought SSR in 2017 for $72/pt for our 300 point contract. The goal was to use at 7 months to add to or upgrade to the 1 bedrooms at the resorts we booked at 11 months that were our favorite. It just made sense,

So, I book at 11 months using my RIV points..and my VGF points now…and then, at 7 months book anything still available with my SAP points to free back up the others for different trips!

I like this idea. Do you have to cancel the reservation with RIV or VFV points and re book with SSR points once you see it’s available at 7 months? Or is there a transfer of points to the reservation?

 

[Marionnette]

I like this idea. Do you have to cancel the reservation with RIV or VFV points and re book with SSR points once you see it’s available at 7 months? Or is there a transfer of points to the reservation?

When you make a reservation during the home resort booking period, you can only choose contracts from your membership that are from that resort. That contract (or contracts) become your first (second, third) priority for points to be taken.

At 7 months, you can add a non-home resort but it becomes a lower preference for points to be taken from that contract. So even if nights are available, you cannot just modify the reservation online and have points taken from the non-home resort first...unless that contract has banked, borrowed or holding points that can be used. Banked, borrowed and holding points are always automatically used ahead of current allotment points regardless of the order you list the contracts.

I believe that as long as nights are available, you can call MS and have the points reallocated to take from the non-home resort first. They have a way to do things that members cannot do online.

As an alternative, if all nights are available, and you have a sufficient number of non-home resort points, you can book the resort with those points. Then just cancel the original reservation.

 

[Sandisw]

I like this idea. Do you have to cancel the reservation with RIV or VFV points and re book with SSR points once you see it’s available at 7 months? Or is there a transfer of points to the reservation?

I never cancel anything until I have secured the nights with SSR points.

Having them as extra is what makes it easier Since I can go on at 7 months and just book what is still available and then I cancel the original booking.

 

[DaveNan]

I like this idea. Do you have to cancel the reservation with RIV or VFV points and re book with SSR points once you see it’s available at 7 months? Or is there a transfer of points to the reservation?

Sandi answered the first question. As far as the second question, no, you can't transfer the points from SSR at 7 months to your existing reservation made before 7 months using a home resort advantage. Even if you actually transferred the points from one contract to the other, home resort status does not change. The only way to book a reservation before 7 months and maintain a reservation made before 7 months is to use points from that resort.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

If you want bwv I would buy there. 20 years is still a long time.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

I never cancel anything until I have secured the nights with SSR points.

Having them as extra is what makes it easier Since I can go on at 7 months and just book what is still available and then I cancel the original booking.

We do something very similar with our ssr points for bcv.

 

[DonMacGregor]

If you want bwv I would buy there. 20 years is still a long time.

This is why I've built up a couple hundred points at BRV over the past year. I know it's a 2042 resort, but I'll be 78 when it sunsets so I'm fine with just riding it out. Not too many points, but enough to get an annual home resort ressie. The SSR points will continue to be used for SAP and an occasional stay there.