Buying at different resort questions

[ZebraDomeCrazy]

Hi all,

We have points at AKL for August. We purchased some new, then added more as resale. All points are August. We were thinking about purchasing another resale with August dates at a different resort to give us another option. My question is this... Are all of the points in the same “bank” to use at either home resort at the 11 month mark?

 

[CMNJ]

No they retain their home resort advantage. They can only be combined at 7 months or less.

 

[ZebraDomeCrazy]

Oh, ok. That’s what I was afraid of, lol. Was hoping to purchase a smaller amount of points this time. Now I need to figure out how many points for a typical trip for us, and make sure we buy that many points. I’ve read it can be tough to book at the 7 month window sometimes. That would negate the purpose of buying at a different resort. Thank you for you quick response. Much appreciated!

 

[CMNJ]

Oh, ok. That’s what I was afraid of, lol. Was hoping to purchase a smaller amount of points this time. Now I need to figure out how many points for a typical trip for us, and make sure we buy that many points. I’ve read it can be tough to book at the 7 month window sometimes. That would negate the purpose of buying at a different resort. Thank you for you quick response. Much appreciated!

Booking studios at the 7 month window can be tough especially in the fall, whenever there is a holiday weekend or run Disney event, and at any time of the year for a special category like BLT/BWV standard, AKL value, etc.

 

[disneynutz]

Disney set the rules to make you buy more contracts and to only let you combine at 7 months. For years the significance of their rules really didn't hit home. We are now at a time where there is competition at 7 months for availability and as a result the resale and direct markets are strong. I expect this to continue as more buyers are added to the system.

Bill

 

[Whositsgalore]

What if I had a large SSR contract and purchased a small BLT contract (same UY), and I want to book a long stay at BLT but after the 7 month mark. Can I use my home resort 11 month booking window for BLT reservations and my combined points for the stay?

 

[Marionnette]

What if I had a large SSR contract and purchased a small BLT contract (same UY), and I want to book a long stay at BLT but after the 7 month mark. Can I use my home resort 11 month booking window for BLT reservations and my combined points for the stay?

You can book BLT with BLT points at 11 months. You can add on to the BLT reservation at 7 month using SSR points if there is availability. The lack of availability at the 7-month mark is the problem.

 

[Dean]

Oh, ok. That’s what I was afraid of, lol. Was hoping to purchase a smaller amount of points this time. Now I need to figure out how many points for a typical trip for us, and make sure we buy that many points. I’ve read it can be tough to book at the 7 month window sometimes. That would negate the purpose of buying at a different resort. Thank you for you quick response. Much appreciated!

Just decide what you most want to book consistently then look at the points charts to see the minimum number of points that'll work. Usually one doesn't want to cut it too close not the # of points. Things that will suggest you need to buy more than you're looking at include if you're looking at studios, lower seasons and cheaper room types (like value at AKV which you own, or standard at BLT/VGF). Generally one should not look at too small on the contract size. For those that just need more points and want to try things, I normally suggest SSR because it's cheaper both up front and in dues with a 2054 ending date but for your situation BLT is likely the cheapest long term option that gives you diversity at WDW or you might want to look at a non WDW property if there's something you'll use every 2-3 years.

 

[Whositsgalore]

You can book BLT with BLT points at 11 months. You can add on to the BLT reservation at 7 month using SSR points if there is availability. The lack of availability at the 7-month mark is the problem.

So you have to have the number of points required for your stay at the time of booking in your account?

 

[CarolMN]

So you have to have the number of points required for your stay at the time of booking in your account?

When you book, you have to have points that will be available based on the dates of your stay. Points are deducted when you book. For more info on this, spend sometime with this thread:

Understanding Use Year

 

[Marionnette]

So you have to have the number of points required for your stay at the time of booking in your account?

You can borrow points from the next UY to complete a reservation but if you don't have enough points, you would need to drop some nights. Point availability is based on the UY in which the reservation is being made and not the calendar date when the 11-month window opens.

It's confusing. You should read the Understanding Your Use Year post to get an idea of how it works.

 

[CMNJ]

So you have to have the number of points required for your stay at the time of booking in your account?

The points have to match the home resort for a stay booked during the 7-11 month window. If I understand correctly you are thinking you can book the stay at 11 months because you own BLT but use SSR points to “pay” for the stay (or most of it) at 7 months or less. That is not how it works. You can book BLT during the 7-11 month window using only BLT points, you can wait until 7 months and combine all points or you can book as many nights as you have BLT points for and then wait until 7 months to attempt to add on nights with the SSR points. You can not get around the home resort advantage by having a small number of BLT points and the rest SSR

 

[Marionnette]

You cannot get around the home resort advantage by having a small number of BLT points and the rest SSR

Fixed it for ya! (Just don't want to confuse the OP.)

ETA - I see you already edited it. Carry on...

 

[CMNJ]

Fixed it for ya! (Just don't want to confuse the OP.)

Lol I realized I somehow typed it wrong and edited it immediately-which is why your quote says cannot not lol

 

[Cyberc1978]

The points have to match the home resort for a stay booked during the 7-11 month window. If I understand correctly you are thinking you can book the stay at 11 months because you own BLT but use SSR points to “pay” for the stay (or most of it) at 7 months or less. That is not how it works. You can book BLT during the 7-11 month window using only BLT points, you can wait until 7 months and combine all points or you can book as many nights as you have BLT points for and then wait until 7 months to attempt to add on nights with the SSR points. You can not get around the home resort advantage by having a small number of BLT points and the rest SSR

It would have been nice though if you could buy 10 points at each resorts and then one big contract at SSR and have home resort advantage with all points at all resorts

 

[Whositsgalore]

The points have to match the home resort for a stay booked during the 7-11 month window. If I understand correctly you are thinking you can book the stay at 11 months because you own BLT but use SSR points to “pay” for the stay (or most of it) at 7 months or less. That is not how it works. You can book BLT during the 7-11 month window using only BLT points, you can wait until 7 months and combine all points or you can book as many nights as you have BLT points for and then wait until 7 months to attempt to add on nights with the SSR points. You can not get around the home resort advantage by having a small number of BLT points and the rest SSR

Thank you, yes, that's where I was getting confused. In my mind I was thinking if all the points are there after 7 months anyway what's the difference but you answered that for me perfectly. Thanks again.

 

[iheartglaciers]

It would have been nice though if you could buy 10 points at each resorts and then one big contract at SSR and have home resort advantage with all points at all resorts

Well it seems “nice,” but would be a nightmare booking certain resorts at 11 months!

 

[CarolMN]

It would have been nice though if you could buy 10 points at each resorts and then one big contract at SSR and have home resort advantage with all points at all resorts

Maybe, but that would conflict with the timeshare laws that forbid "overselling" - and pretty much guarantee that all the resorts would end up costing the same. DVC would end up being just a "points" club with no home resort advantage for anyone.

 

[Dean]

It would have been nice though if you could buy 10 points at each resorts and then one big contract at SSR and have home resort advantage with all points at all resorts

It's not feasible. Would you want someone who owned at OKW or SSR to reserve your entire resort if you owned at a more expensive resort, say VGF, which would be the effect. What some points systems do is just sell points and don't have a home resort priority. That way you're competing against ALL owners for each reservation. There's a thread on TUG right now referencing that very issue and how some prefer the HGVC system which is similar to DVC in terms of having a home resort priority.

 

[BillPA]

I don't get why one would buy points at a resort they know they will never stay in. Are that really that cheep?