Booking over 2 different use year question

[wdw4rfam]

I have an October UY. We want to book September 29-October 8. Will it let me book this all in one reservation by borrowing to cover the first 2 nights?

 

[TinkAgainU]

I would “try” to avoid borrowing. Once you bring those points into that use year, if you cannot make the trip you’ll have almost no time to use the points before they expire. You can book rooms in the same category in two use years, then have customer service link them so you don’t change rooms. You can buy One Time Use points up to 24 per use year for $22 each too - Pricey, but helpful if only need a few. Although they also expire at the end of the use year you borrowed them for.

 

[Sandisw]

You will have to call MS to complete a reservation that crosses a UY. We can’t do it online. But, yes, you can borrow 2024 points into the 2023 UY to cover the September days.

As shared, be careful because if you had to cancel, or change the trip to later dates, those points will be lost as borrowing is a final transaction.

 

[Sandisw]

I would “try” to avoid borrowing. Once you bring those points into that use year, if you cannot make the trip you’ll have almost no time to use the points before they expire. You can book rooms in the same category in two use years, then have customer service link them so you don’t change rooms. You can buy One Time Use points up to 24 per use year for $22 each too - Pricey, but helpful if only need a few. Although they also expire at the end of the use year you borrowed them for.

OTU points though are only available for 7 month booking. So, it’s not always going to work if one wants a hard to get room.

 

[ldo]

So, it is not possible to book a reservation spanning UY online if you have points in both 2023 and 2024? Can MS us points for 2023 for 2023 UY portion and then 2024 for 2024 portion? It's a high demand time, so I don't want to "wait" until the 2024 half opens. I'd like to already have the room already blocked from the 2023 portion of the stay.

 

[TinkAgainU]

Hopefully, someone with more experience than me can answer. But at a minimum I would book the 2023 portion you can at 8am EST, and then call MS at 9am to add the 2024 days - they can link them at that time.

One easy approach at high demand times, but assumes you have the points, is to go up one room or view category - that often puts you in a less competitive group, then waitlist for a lower point room immediately (since they are filled first-come-first-served). Then you have a room and can make other plans for the trip like airfare and dining, and hopefully the lower point option comes thru, if not I just enjoy my "upgrade."

 

[Sandisw]

So, it is not possible to book a reservation spanning UY online if you have points in both 2023 and 2024? Can MS us points for 2023 for 2023 UY portion and then 2024 for 2024 portion? It's a high demand time, so I don't want to "wait" until the 2024 half opens. I'd like to already have the room already blocked from the 2023 portion of the stay.

You can not do it online. You need to call. What you can do is book the nights in your 2023 UY at 8 am and then call at 9 am for MS to finish the booking.

They have a way of overriding the system to allow it.

 

[sndral]

So, it is not possible to book a reservation spanning UY online if you have points in both 2023 and 2024? Can MS us points for 2023 for 2023 UY portion and then 2024 for 2024 portion? It's a high demand time, so I don't want to "wait" until the 2024 half opens. I'd like to already have the room already blocked from the 2023 portion of the stay.

I’ve booked across my use year the last two years & was a bit concerned since I have a December use year & my reservations included the extremely popular first week of Dec., even though I knew that logically my villa was safe because those couple of Nov. days I booked at 8 a.m. online right at 11 months were blocking anyone else from getting my villa.
Here’s what you do, on Oct. 29, 2023, you go online at 8 a.m. and book 9/29 & 9/30, 2024. Now no one else can book your villa because you’ve blocked the first 2 nights right at 11 months. You wait an hour until 9 a.m. and call MS & ask them to book 10/1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 for you - now you have your first 7 nights booked. Because you are staying 10 nights & you can only book 7 nights right at 11 months you’ll need to add the extra 3 nights a few days later. I’m not sure if you could modify & add your last 3 nights online since by then you’d be in your new use year, I just called MS a second time a few days later to add my last couple of nights, so, in your case on 11/2/23 you’d call MS and have them add the nights of 10/6, 7, and 8.
And yes, MS will use your 2023 points for the 2023 portion (banked 2022 points + current 2023 points) & they’ll also borrow some 2024 points if you need to - just like you can if you’re booking those first 2 days online at 8 a.m.. When you call at 9 a.m. they’ll use points you have available for your 2024 use year to book your October days, so any banked 2023 points, current 2024 points, & they can borrow from 2025 if needed. My situation was even more complicated since I have 2 contracts for the resort I was booking & had to sort out which points from which contract I needed to use, the MS person was quite helpful w/ that especially since 9 a.m. EST is 6 a.m. my time & I’m quite groggy that early in the morning.

 

[LadybugsMum]

The one time I booked across my UY, I booked both parts as it was well within the 11-7 month window and then used chat to have the reservations merged.