Update and Thank You/The Swan/Bonvoy Points

[DfromATX]

UPDATE: (Not that anyone asked ha ha) - May 15, 2022
We booked The Dolphin!! We booked for January 2023 so we were only able to book the hotel directly through them and no tickets or airfare yet of course. My husband had questions so we wanted to call Mariott/Bonvoy and they were extremely helpful. Long story short, we have 3 nights free! We are taking my mom and my nephew and staying a total of 5 nights - only had to pay $734! That seems like a pretty good deal to me. We priced it without his points and it was just under $3,000!!

Later when available, I'll purchase our tickets and link them with our hotel. I also wanted to thank everyone who helped me here. This will be our first time not staying at an official Disney hotel and having to link the tickets, etc.

Hopefully this trip will happen. We were supposed to go January 2022, but my dear MIL fell and broke her hip so we cancelled. (She's doing fine btw.) Now we've rescheduled and taking my mom, who will need a scooter (another first for us) and my nephew, who is a major Star Wars fan. Crossing our fingers and very excited! Anyway, thanks for all the information!

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Hi - has anyone booked the Swan (or Dolphin) using Bonvoy Points? I was hoping someone could tell me how that works with Disney. I have a few questions...

I'm assuming you have to book directly with the Swan. How do you link your tickets? You still get all the same perks (early entrance, etc.) doing it that way, right? (I guess my worry was if I bought tickets only from Disney then they wouldn't know I was staying at The Swan and therefore not get the perks.)

Sorry if these are dumb questions. We've never stayed at the Swan and my husband recently signed up with Mariott Bonvoy. He travels a lot for work and we should have a lot of points by the time we go again (hopefully next year). And speaking of the points, would it be possible for the whole stay to be free or is it for like one night only? Or does all that depend on how many points we have?

Thank you!

 

[JaxFLBear]

If you purchased theme park tickets from a 3rd party, you manually link them to MDE. If you purchase tickets from DisneyWorld.com, the purchase process will prompt you to link them to individuals in your MDE Family & Friends list.

Early Entry and/or Extended Hours is not connected to your park admission, it's a benefit of where you are staying.
When staying at the Swan/Dolphin or any other eligible off-site hotel, you show your room key for early entry/extended hours.

 

[Raxel7851]

It all depends on how many points you have. When you look at the availability, it should give you the points per night rate. Then you just multiply by the number of nights you’ll be there. I have used points for a 3 nites stay. You can also do a combination of points/$$$$. I’m glad you asked the question about linking your tickets. I’d like to know about that as well.

 

[DfromATX]

If you purchased theme park tickets from a 3rd party, you manually link them to MDE. If you purchase tickets from DisneyWorld.com, the purchase process will prompt you to link them to individuals in your MDE Family & Friends list.

Early Entry and/or Extended Hours is not connected to your park admission, it's a benefit of where you are staying.
When staying at the Swan/Dolphin or any other eligible off-site hotel, you show your room key for early entry/extended hours.

I know early entry is based on hotel, but I was wondering if I book through the Swan/Mariott (instead of Disney) since I'd be using points, would that cause any issues? I would definitely be buying the park tickets from Disney. I've always stayed on property so I wasn't sure how to go about linking everything. Thank you!

 

[Sans Souci]

I know early entry is based on hotel, but I was wondering if I book through the Swan/Mariott (instead of Disney) since I'd be using points, would that cause any issues? I would definitely be buying the park tickets from Disney. I've always stayed on property so I wasn't sure how to go about linking everything. Thank you!

I haven't used points to stay at S/D, but I have booked my rooms directly through Marriott to stay there. You will get a confirmation number when you book at Marriott. You will link that in MDE, like you would if you were staying on property. It can sometimes take a day or two for it to show up in Disney's system.

 

[DfromATX]

I haven't used points to stay at S/D, but I have booked my rooms directly through Marriott to stay there. You will get a confirmation number when you book at Marriott. You will link that in MDE, like you would if you were staying on property. It can sometimes take a day or two for it to show up in Disney's system.

Thank you!

 

[Epcotfan21]

We use points to stay at the swan/dolphin quite often and the process couldn’t be easier. You can use points for your entire stay if you like, depending on if you have enough points and they have the availability for you to use points.

Remember that hotels only block so many rooms to be used via points.

Typically swan and dolphin have a minimum of 60k Bonvoy points for a free night and surprisingly, I’ve seen the new swan reserve lower at 50k points per night.

 

[DfromATX]

We use points to stay at the swan/dolphin quite often and the process couldn’t be easier. You can use points for your entire stay if you like, depending on if you have enough points and they have the availability for you to use points.

Remember that hotels only block so many rooms to be used via points.

Typically swan and dolphin have a minimum of 60k Bonvoy points for a free night and surprisingly, I’ve seen the new swan reserve lower at 50k points per night.

The other day we went online and did a pretend trip for 5 nights and it was 250,000 points! Right now he only has about 26,000. Hopefully he will accrue enough for a few free nights by the time we book. I'll have to check out the reserve. I hadn't even considered that one.

 

[Epcotfan21]

The other day we went online and did a pretend trip for 5 nights and it was 250,000 points! Right now he only has about 26,000. Hopefully he will accrue enough for a few free nights by the time we book. I'll have to check out the reserve. I hadn't even considered that one.

If your husband really wants to maximize his Bonvoy points/status he should consider getting one of the Bonvoy credit card offerings. I’d recommend either one of the Amex options, as they really can allow you to build up a lot of points and come with Bonvoy status benefits.

 

[DfromATX]

If your husband really wants to maximize his Bonvoy points/status he should consider getting one of the Bonvoy credit card offerings. I’d recommend either one of the Amex options, as they really can allow you to build up a lot of points and come with Bonvoy status benefits.

We saw that - 100,000 points! He didn't like the annual fee, but he's deciding if he wants to do that or cancel his Southwest card. He also uses Southwest rewards too. One year all 7 of us flew free to Orlando! He really racks up the points.

 

[monorail81]

We saw that - 100,000 points! He didn't like the annual fee, but he's deciding if he wants to do that or cancel his Southwest card. He also uses Southwest rewards too. One year all 7 of us flew free to Orlando! He really racks up the points.

The annual fee isn’t bad in our eyes. You get a free night certificate, so we look at it as pre-paying for a night…

 

[Raxel7851]

The annual fee isn’t bad in our eyes. You get a free night certificate, so we look at it as pre-paying for a night…

We have the annual fee card as well. We have used the free night certificate each year. Most of the hotels we stay are more than the annual fee charge. Also during the pandemic, we used it for all of our food shopping, and ended up with a ton of points. Before that we used to pay cash for most things.

 

[DfromATX]

The annual fee isn’t bad in our eyes. You get a free night certificate, so we look at it as pre-paying for a night…

Hmmm I didn't know about the free night certificate. I think the annual fee was only $95 or something like that, so that's not too bad.

 

[Minthorne]

The free night voucher won’t be valid at the Swan. When marriot took over from Westin/Starwood they increased the category level for the resorts. What used to be 10-15k Starwood points is now 25-35k bonvoy points.

 

[Epcotfan21]

The free night voucher won’t be valid at the Swan. When marriot took over from Westin/Starwood they increased the category level for the resorts. What used to be 10-15k Starwood points is now 25-35k bonvoy points.

SPG used to have the best value when it comes to point values and rewards and it all went to junk when Marriott took over and moved to Bonvoy. This is why I primarily use Hilton now and we stay at either the Waldorf or Signia in Bonnet Creek.

 

[lewisc]

You link your Swan reservation on DME. During EEH your magic band, ticket or other media is scanned on MICKEYS head. It lights green if your staying at an eligible resort, including Swan

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Hi - has anyone booked the Swan (or Dolphin) using Bonvoy Points? I was hoping someone could tell me how that works with Disney. I have a few questions...

I'm assuming you have to book directly with the Swan. How do you link your tickets? You still get all the same perks (early entrance, etc.) doing it that way, right? (I guess my worry was if I bought tickets only from Disney then they wouldn't know I was staying at The Swan and therefore not get the perks.)

Sorry if these are dumb questions. We've never stayed at the Swan and my husband recently signed up with Mariott Bonvoy. He travels a lot for work and we should have a lot of points by the time we go again (hopefully next year). And speaking of the points, would it be possible for the whole stay to be free or is it for like one night only? Or does all that depend on how many points we have?

Thank you!

1. More or less.
2. I book via Marriott. you can call, and there is a swan/dolphin webpage, but it links to Marriott.
3. You link your reservation number via MDE. It is same as if you booked WDW hotels. They don't always show up right away either. It is easy to link a booking.
4. You can book multiple nights if you have enough points. Marriott also allows some combo options (part pay+ part points). I don't know how much he plans to travel, but it takes a fair amount of travel to get 50,000 points. (which I think is current S/D SR points costs? maybe that's just high season points price. Spring break is a high point season at WDW.)

With Marriott, I'm not sure how to explain, but the value of points is VERY variable. Just looking now, two random hotels that are both 25,000pts/night, one would be $131 and the other $149. Sometimes it makes more sense to pay cash over using points. In some cases, it REALLY pays to get AAA. Like the savings on just a short stay more than pays for AAA. Also, AAA stays get generous cancelation terms. Cancelation terms, IMO are very important.

One time when points make a ton of sense is if you want only 1 night at a hotel that has a 2night minimum. It happens during high season at beachfront hotels on weekends. Typically, points are a good option during high seasons and often on weekends. Other times, Marriott offers discounts and deals no the cash price, but the point price is not discounted. Once in a while, there are pointsaver deals = more or less a sale point price. (A lower price when using points).

If you stay 2 nights, but one is on points, and the 2nd is cash, they can link them.

One more time points are a plus is point stays have generous canel policies. Just make sure if you cancel that your points are ACTYALLY returned to your account. Soemtimes they forget.

Another thing is the more points/stays he accrues, then he'll reach a higher status, and then you get extra perks on every stay. Like if a hotel isn't full, the hotel might upgrade his room for free at some hotels.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I know early entry is based on hotel, but I was wondering if I book through the Swan/Mariott (instead of Disney) since I'd be using points, would that cause any issues? I would definitely be buying the park tickets from Disney. I've always stayed on property so I wasn't sure how to go about linking everything. Thank you!

1. No. You get EE.

2. You also have the option of buying tickets through Undercover Tourist. You can save a little $, and UT has better terms. there are limits, but they will in some cases, refund tickets- where WDW won't.

 

[DfromATX]

1. More or less.
2. I book via Marriott. you can call, and there is a swan/dolphin webpage, but it links to Marriott.
3. You link your reservation number via MDE. It is same as if you booked WDW hotels. They don't always show up right away either. It is easy to link a booking.
4. You can book multiple nights if you have enough points. Marriott also allows some combo options (part pay+ part points). I don't know how much he plans to travel, but it takes a fair amount of travel to get 50,000 points. (which I think is current S/D SR points costs? maybe that's just high season points price. Spring break is a high point season at WDW.)

With Marriott, I'm not sure how to explain, but the value of points is VERY variable. Just looking now, two random hotels that are both 25,000pts/night, one would be $131 and the other $149. Sometimes it makes more sense to pay cash over using points. In some cases, it REALLY pays to get AAA. Like the savings on just a short stay more than pays for AAA. Also, AAA stays get generous cancelation terms. Cancelation terms, IMO are very important.

One time when points make a ton of sense is if you want only 1 night at a hotel that has a 2night minimum. It happens during high season at beachfront hotels on weekends. Typically, points are a good option during high seasons and often on weekends. Other times, Marriott offers discounts and deals no the cash price, but the point price is not discounted. Once in a while, there are pointsaver deals = more or less a sale point price. (A lower price when using points).

If you stay 2 nights, but one is on points, and the 2nd is cash, they can link them.

One more time points are a plus is point stays have generous canel policies. Just make sure if you cancel that your points are ACTYALLY returned to your account. Soemtimes they forget.

Another thing is the more points/stays he accrues, then he'll reach a higher status, and then you get extra perks on every stay. Like if a hotel isn't full, the hotel might upgrade his room for free at some hotels.

Thanks! We did a test run and I wanna say for 6 nights it was 250,000 points! That's ok though. I wanted to stay at the Swan anyway, so even if we get only one night free I'd be thrilled. (We already fly free because of his Southwest awards.) He's been travelling every other week so he ought to be collecting lots of points!

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Thanks! We did a test run and I wanna say for 6 nights it was 250,000 points! That's ok though. I wanted to stay at the Swan anyway, so even if we get only one night free I'd be thrilled. (We already fly free because of his Southwest awards.) He's been travelling every other week so he ought to be collecting lots of points!

At some point then he will reach tier status. At 50 nights (within a year), he'll reach Platinum status, and that is when some great perks kick-in.