Please help me understand use year!

[tater1206]

Hey guys!
We are considering purchasing at membership very soon. I have been doing a lot of research. We've considered resale and direct.
What is most confusing to me is the use year.
I can't seem to wrap my brain around what we would need to purchase if we normally vacation in June.

We are planning on taking a tour and doing some talking when we go this summer.

 

[DVC Mike]

http://www.disboards.com/threads/understanding-your-use-year.3443000/#post-54329290


http://i235.************************************************************* DVC Mike - *******.com

 

[chalee94]

I can't seem to wrap my brain around what we would need to purchase if we normally vacation in June.

short answer is june or april.

but read mike's link for details.

use year is based on when you "use" the pts for a stay - traveling early in your use year gives you more options if you need to cancel. (and it has nothing to do with when you can call to book.)

 

[tater1206]

Thank you both!

 

[Brian Noble]

Also, ask yourself "Why June and for how long?"

We've found that our travel patterns have changed over the years for various reasons. When the kids were younger, we tended to visit Florida sometime in the February/early March period, back when their winter break and my "spring" break aligned. Once they hit late grade school/early middle school, our breaks no longer lined up, so my wife and the kids would cruise for the kids' week, and I'd take a solo trip somewhere warm for mine, moving our "family" vacations to either the December holidays or summer. When the kids got into high school, the various sports schedules---including "optional" workouts---left us with only two weeks per year to play with: the week including July 4th, and the first full week of August. Once both are in college, I expect that my wife and I will tend to visit WDW during one or more of: UM's Fall Break (mid-October), UM's "spring" break (that late February/early March week again), or early/mid-May.

 

[Pigletpal40]

DVC use year is the month when your points are replenished. You then have one year to use that years points for a vacation if you choose not to bank those points. Banking them puts them into next use year. You will then have double points for that year to use, but can't use those points until then.
If you do bank points, you can do what I call the beg, borrow and steal, if you plan your vacation right on the split of your use year. Say you have a Dec. use year with banked and current points available (2X). If you plan your vacation for the end of November into the first week of December, you will have triple points available. If you choose to do this, you would not have current points available until the December two years from then, but could borrow points from the next year, that coming December, one year from your vacation.
If you know you'll want to vacation in the summer, get a June, July, August use year. If your vacations vary, it doesn't matter.

 

[chalee94]

DVC use year is the month when your points are replenished.

we talk like this sometimes but the points are all there every year through 2042. i just can't get to them until my home resort window opens up at 11 months out (and due to the rule that i can only borrow ahead one use year).

Banking them puts them into next use year. You will then have double points for that year to use, but can't use those points until then.

you can't use them for a stay until your next use year starts, yes. but people get confused so it's worth restating that use year is not related to when you can call to book - that is always based on home resort.

If you do bank points, you can do what I call the beg, borrow and steal, if you plan your vacation right on the split of your use year. Say you have a Dec. use year with banked and current points available (2X). If you plan your vacation for the end of November into the first week of December, you will have triple points available. If you choose to do this, you would not have current points available until the December two years from then, but could borrow points from the next year, that coming December, one year from your vacation.

you'd actually have four years worth of points available - a nov/dec 2016 trip could use pts from the 2014 (banked) + 2015 (current) for the nov 2016 dates and 2016 (current) + 2017 (borrowed) for the dec 2017 dates.

but i would NOT recommend that because traveling late in your UY (such as stays in november for a dec UY) makes things MUCH more risky if you have to cancel.

If you know you'll want to vacation in the summer, get a June, July, August use year.

an Aug UY is a terrible choice for trips in June or July, so i would have to say this is over-generalized to the point of being wrong. (also, there is no such thing as a july UY.) ideally, you never want to travel in the last 3 months of your UY.

 

[Sammie]

Totally agree with Brian. At first we went during the summer due to school schedules. Now however we never go then.

 

[com_op_2000]

OP, during your research, do as PP have suggested but I used a spreadsheet.
Lay out your estimated points and the kids schedules as they age, will you always have the same vacation periods over the years - most likely not.
I have two memberships with different UYs, cause I have found our vacation days have changed over the years.
This part of your research will be highly changeable as some of your work will be best guesses.
UY can be a form of insurance if you have to cancel a trip after your banking window has closed.

 

[Pigletpal40]

we talk like this sometimes but the points are all there every year through 2042. i just can't get to them until my home resort window opens up at 11 months out (and due to the rule that i can only borrow ahead one use year).



you can't use them for a stay until your next use year starts, yes. but people get confused so it's worth restating that use year is not related to when you can call to book - that is always based on home resort.



you'd actually have four years worth of points available - a nov/dec 2016 trip could use pts from the 2014 (banked) + 2015 (current) for the nov 2016 dates and 2016 (current) + 2017 (borrowed) for the dec 2017 dates.

but i would NOT recommend that because traveling late in your UY (such as stays in november for a dec UY) makes things MUCH more risky if you have to cancel.



an Aug UY is a terrible choice for trips in June or July, so i would have to say this is over-generalized to the point of being wrong. (also, there is no such thing as a july UY.) ideally, you never want to travel in the last 3 months of your UY.

Worked for us since 2003.

 

[chalee94]

Worked for us since 2003.

UY month is typically only really an issue if you need to cancel.

In that case, you would appreciate the additional options that come from traveling early in your use year.

If you never have to cancel, you are super lucky and your UY month will never be much of an issue.

 

[supersnoop]

Use year isn't just important if you need to cancel, but also if you ever want to book something in the last four months of your use year, or if you are trying to waitlist something that uses a different number of points during that time. A poorly chosen use year increases the risk of points going unused and expiring.

 

[msjprincess]

Also, ask yourself "Why June and for how long?"

We've found that our travel patterns have changed over the years for various reasons. When the kids were younger, we tended to visit Florida sometime in the February/early March period, back when their winter break and my "spring" break aligned. Once they hit late grade school/early middle school, our breaks no longer lined up, so my wife and the kids would cruise for the kids' week, and I'd take a solo trip somewhere warm for mine, moving our "family" vacations to either the December holidays or summer. When the kids got into high school, the various sports schedules---including "optional" workouts---left us with only two weeks per year to play with: the week including July 4th, and the first full week of August. Once both are in college, I expect that my wife and I will tend to visit WDW during one or more of: UM's Fall Break (mid-October), UM's "spring" break (that late February/early March week again), or early/mid-May.

ITA

Our favorite time to visit is in the Fall. But now that we have kids in Middle & High school we go in the summer. We have a September UY which isn't ideal right now. But it will work for us when the kids are done with school and we're back to our Fall trips.

Truthfully, I'm not too concerned with the UY. I've never canceled a vacation my entire life. The only reason I can ever see me canceling would be for a real emergency. And at that point my DVC points would be the least of my worries.

 

[jerseyduke]

Truthfully, I'm not too concerned with the UY. I've never canceled a vacation my entire life. The only reason I can ever see me canceling would be for a real emergency. And at that point my DVC points would be the least of my worries.

Consider yourself lucky. While I agree that in a real emergency, DVC points are not of a huge concern, Emergency also implies short notice = holding points, pain in the rear.
But also, why lose them if you do not have to. Given between loosing points, or having points go into holding for 8 months, I would prefer the later.

But there are other factors, that may not apply to all people. What if you switch jobs and your new employer will not let you take vacation at that time? Ear issues...can not fly.

You do not have to be fanatical about UY, but it can be a form of free insurance, why not take it.

For me, no kids = no working around school = i go when kids are IN SCHOOL. Plus, not a big fan of florida summers. FOR ME, i will probably never go in June, July or August. My first contract (bought direct by a version of myself that did not know better) has an April UY. That is not a good UY for me. August or September is a much better one for me. So much so that my newer contract has a different UY, and I know the hassle that is, but it was a bullet i decided to bite.

Bottom line is know enough about UY to decide for yourself if it is important or not. It may be. It may be irrelevant.

 

[msjprincess]

Consider yourself lucky. While I agree that in a real emergency, DVC points are not of a huge concern, Emergency also implies short notice = holding points, pain in the rear.
But also, why lose them if you do not have to. Given between loosing points, or having points go into holding for 8 months, I would prefer the later.

But there are other factors, that may not apply to all people. What if you switch jobs and your new employer will not let you take vacation at that time? Ear issues...can not fly.

You do not have to be fanatical about UY, but it can be a form of free insurance, why not take it.

For me, no kids = no working around school = i go when kids are IN SCHOOL. Plus, not a big fan of florida summers. FOR ME, i will probably never go in June, July or August. My first contract (bought direct by a version of myself that did not know better) has an April UY. That is not a good UY for me. August or September is a much better one for me. So much so that my newer contract has a different UY, and I know the hassle that is, but it was a bullet i decided to bite.

Bottom line is know enough about UY to decide for yourself if it is important or not. It may be. It may be irrelevant.

I was just talking about my situation and why I'm not too concerned with my UY. Yes, it may be an issue for some people. But for me it's not. I'm retired and DH is not changing jobs. If he picks a vacation at the beginning of the year, it's set in stone. So there's no chance of an employer telling us we can't go. If for some reason I couldn't fly, I would drive before canceling.

Like I said the only reason I would cancel would be an emergency and if that were the case I wouldn't care about losing the points.

I've traveled to WDW every month but June and December so no matter which UY I picked I could have the risk of losing points.