Use Year question..

[heathrow42]

Any pro/con against different use year months? We did the tour on 12/31 and would have a use year of December if we decide to do it.

Thanks,
--H

 

[Scratch42]

I have a December Use Year and love it!

I have a DD who is now in High School, so most trips have to be during her breaks. This works well with the December UY since most trips are near the beginning of the year or at Christmas time, so IF I have to cancel, plenty of time to use those points.

j

 

[DebbieB]

Any pro/con against different use year months? We did the tour on 12/31 and would have a use year of December if we decide to do it.

Thanks,
--H

Is there a particular time of year you usually travel?

 

[senecabeach]

You are voicing a common concern but it's one that you don't need to worry about. Use Year and the ability to use points or make reservations are not related. You just need to follow the 11/7 month rule for that and know that you can't use more than 3 years' worth of points in any one 12 month period.

The Use Year months are: February, March, April, June, August, September, October and December.

UY is important mainly when banking and borrowing pts.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Use year is of little concern unless you are in the habit of cancelling trips close to the time of the trip. If that's the case, then you should have a use year shortly before your usual trip dates, since cancelling will not negetively affect the ability to bank. That being said, in 10 years of membership, we have NEVER had to do this, so I don't consider use year to be of much importance at all. It has NOTHING to do with WHEN you can book, just when you get new points and can bank. The only problem I can see with a December use year, is that it is confusing for some, because you appear to be using points a year behind, but once you get that concept straight, there should be no difference.

 

[Starr W.]

The only problem I can see with a December use year, is that it is confusing for some, because you appear to be using points a year behind, but once you get that concept straight, there should be no difference.

I have found that out! DH & I start discussing plans and one of us is usually slightly confused.

We have an Oct UY, I copied the banking schedule from the planning book and have it stuck in my planner.

 

[kathy carleton]

We were offered several choices of use year by our guide when we were going through the process in December.... 3 weeks ago, we were offered Sept, Oct and Dec., and i believe several other months earlier were offered. Give your guide a call, and discuss with him/her when you travel the most. At that time he/she will suggest the best use year for you. We chose a resale for several reasons, as well as Feb. use year.. enjoy whatever you choose!!

 

[heathrow42]

We go all throughout the year.. Usually 2-3 times between Jan and May - and then Sept, Oct, Nov and twice in Dec. Don't know yet, how many of those trips we'll use DVC..

So, if we have a Dec use year, can we make ressies in Feb for Dec or March for Jan. In other words do we have to have the points available at the time of the reservation?

Thanks,
--Heather

 

[LisaS]

We go all throughout the year.. Usually 2-3 times between Jan and May - and then Sept, Oct, Nov and twice in Dec. Don't know yet, how many of those trips we'll use DVC..

So, if we have a Dec use year, can we make ressies in Feb for Dec or March for Jan. In other words do we have to have the points available at the time of the reservation?

Thanks,
--Heather

You can make reservations at your home resort 11 months prior to your checkout date regardless of your Use Year, and at 7 months prior to checkout at the other resorts. So if you want to go in December, you can book that trip at your home resort in January no matter what Use Year you own, and you can book the January trip in February.

You need to have enough points available in the Use Year in which your trip dates fall. For example, if you had a Dec Use Year:

your Dec '06 points are valid for stays from 12/1/06 through 11/30/07
your Dec '07 points are valid for stays from 12/1/07 through 11/30/08
your Dec '08 points are valid for stays from 12/1/08 through 11/30/09
etc.

So if you want to book a stay for Dec '07 or Jan '08 you would need enough points in your '07 Use Year to "pay" for your trips because those trips fall within your '07 UY. In addition to '07UY points you can also use banked '06UY points and you can borrow from your '08UY points for both the Dec '07 and the Jan '08 stay.

 

[macman752]

You can make reservations at your home resort 11 months prior to your checkout date regardless of your Use Year, and at 7 months prior to checkout at the other resorts. So if you want to go in December, you can book that trip at your home resort in January no matter what Use Year you own, and you can book the January trip in February.

You need to have enough points available in the Use Year in which your trip dates fall. For example, if you had a Dec Use Year:

your Dec '06 points are valid for stays from 12/1/06 through 11/30/07
your Dec '07 points are valid for stays from 12/1/07 through 11/30/08
your Dec '08 points are valid for stays from 12/1/08 through 11/30/09
etc.

So if you want to book a stay for Dec '07 or Jan '08 you would need enough points in your '07 Use Year to "pay" for your trips because those trips fall within your '07 UY. In addition to '07UY points you can also use banked '06UY points and you can borrow from your '08UY points for both the Dec '07 and the Jan '08 stay.

Lisa,

Thank you so much helping me understand the Use Year concept!!

DW and I closed on a December use year contract at SSR yesterday. Your explanation of how the '06 and '07 points work was far easier to understand than the way our guide explained it.

Thanks again.

 

[LisaS]

Lisa,

Thank you so much helping me understand the Use Year concept!!

DW and I closed on a December use year contract at SSR yesterday. Your explanation of how the '06 and '07 points work was far easier to understand than the way our guide explained it.

Thanks again.

You're welcome! When I was first learning about DVC, I read posts by CarolMN and Caskbill explaining it that way and it really helped me to understand how it works.

Congratulations on your purchase and welcome home!