Question on Online Reservation Page

[dougef]

When I look online at my MVCI units for each week I own I see for 2013 buttons for "use my week" and "elect VC points". If I click "elect VC points" what happens? Is this final or does it give me a view of what might be available. I don't want to click it and have it be a done deal.

I know if I click "use my week" it then gives a variety of options and nothing is final and you can view the reservation calendar as one possibility.

Thanks.

 

[dougp26364]

Good question and I don't have a definitive answer but, I feel pretty confident there's a confirm page after you click the initial option.

 

[dougef]

I'm going to bump this back up. Surely someone must have clicked that button and knows what happens next.

 

[SueDonJ]

I checked for a 2014 Week figuring it was so far in advance I could always call if it went through and tell them I made a giant mistake. (Wouldn't be the first time. ) This is representative of what you'll see:

Thank you for choosing to elect your week for Vacation Club points.
Location Points
Barony Beach Club
Floor Plan: 2BR + 2BA
View Type: Ocean Front View
Deeded ID: [blahblahblah]
3725
By choosing to elect you are relinquishing all reservation options using your Marriott Vacation Club week. You will now have the flexibility to use Vacation Club points for unforgettable and flexible vacation experiences.
A confirmation will be sent to this e-mail address:

- followed by your email address and two buttons, "CANCEL" or "ELECT." Canceling will bring you back to the Portfolio page. I logged out and back in again, no changes made in error.

 

[dougef]

Thanks. I was hoping there would be the capability to then see what was available for various locations and dates, but apparently you have to "finalize" your election before that can be done. Thus a phone call is still required to check availability. I really hate the inability to explore my options on line.

 

[SueDonJ]

Thanks. I was hoping there would be the capability to then see what was available for various locations and dates, but apparently you have to "finalize" your election before that can be done. Thus a phone call is still required to check availability. I really hate the inability to explore my options on line.

Yep, back in December when the reservation system went online we talked about that limitation, that you can't search for inventory unless you have un-reserved Points sitting in your account. Somebody mentioned that maybe this is just the first generation of online capability; someone else mentioned that if we have Points we can search and then use the TUG Sightings board to let other DC Members know what's currently available. Should be interesting to watch ...

 

[dioxide45]

I checked for a 2014 Week figuring it was so far in advance I could always call if it went through and tell them I made a giant mistake. (Wouldn't be the first time. )

Not sure how successful you would have been getting the electing transaction reversed. Heck, there have been people who have reported that VOAs converted weeks in error and it was impossible to get it reversed.

 

[SueDonJ]

Not sure how successful you would have been getting the electing transaction reversed. Heck, there have been people who have reported that VOAs converted weeks in error and it was impossible to get it reversed.

Always a possibility that they can't help you, especially when you're the one who screwed up! But in the back of my mind I'm planning ahead and it looks like either 2013 or 2014 we'll be converting to Points anyway, so if they couldn't fix it if I broke it then I'd have to look at it as fate. (They did fix things once, though, when I mistakenly converted a week to MR Points.)

 

[curbysplace]

Not sure how successful you would have been getting the electing transaction reversed. Heck, there have been people who have reported that VOAs converted weeks in error and it was impossible to get it reversed.

Dougef,

Best thing to do is to call a VOA and walk through the website with them. I have a short history if there is a mistake--VOA mistakenly converted a 2013 unit to points instead of the 2012 unit when making a point reservation. Theoretically could not get it reversed in the record however her supervisor put it in writing in my Marriott Vacation Club record and I received an email from the VOA that acknowledged the mistake by the VOA saying that I still had the unit available for any purpose: convert to DC points, reserve at my home resort, trade for MR points or deposit with II. It all worked out.

 

[dougp26364]

Thanks. I was hoping there would be the capability to then see what was available for various locations and dates, but apparently you have to "finalize" your election before that can be done. Thus a phone call is still required to check availability. I really hate the inability to explore my options on line.

I would prefer to shop before I commit a week to points as well but, at least they finally have online reservations for points.

I'm still not thrilled about the conversion rate going from weeks to points (aka the skim) but, I'm more inclined to think I might eventually use the points option now that I can search for options online.

Who know, maybe someday. I will say that I absolutely LOVE the points based reservations with HGVC and DRI. The ability to choose the unit style, view/location and number of days adds flexiblity that we've really come to enjoy. The problem is I'm frugal enough to want to get the most out of our ownership and weeks still gives us the best value.

The other issue is we often like to lock-off our three bedroom units, stay in the master suites and exchange the lock-off portions. One of the reasons we purchased a three bedroom at Grand Chateau was the lock-off was a full one bedroom, which would be less work to exchange than trying to trade up from our studio lock-off at Ocean Pointe. With points, I don't have enough to reserve the week we want in our master suite and have points left over for a second vacation as we would utlizing the weeks option.

For 2013 we're planning on using the master suite of both our Marriott owned units. The points option just doesn't work out for us if that's what we want to do. I'd be throwing value away vs getting good exchanges for the lock-off portions.