Automatic Pin Updates?

I'm going to Europe for 3 weeks and therefore received a rental berry from VZW since my curve does not work over there.

The lady on the phone said that if I backed up my phone using DM (which I do often) and then restored it to the new berry (which is a storm if it matters), my BBM contacts will automatically be updated on their contact lists of the PIN change without them having to do anything or even noticing.

Is this true? It seems a little too convenient for me to believe. And, if this is true, do I need to activate the phone before or after restoring the phone from DM?

Yes it is true.
It is best to activate first.

Thanks! 10char