2 Different Use Years?

[simon50]

Apologies if this has been asked recently. Just wondering how important it is to have the same use year. If you have 2 different contracts with 2 different use years, can somebody explain how it works? Does it mean making a reservation is more difficult?
Many thanks.

 

[chalee94]

it means you have 2 different membership numbers.

it means you have 2 different banking windows to keep track of. (this can be a benefit if you are a good planner.)

it means you cannot pool pts from both contracts to book a single night stay (i.e. take 6 pts from one contract and 9 pts from the other to book a 15 pt night). you can book 2 nights with one contract and then 3 with the other and have MS link them, though.

if you transfer the pts from one contract to another, you can pool the pts - at 11 months if they are the same home resort or at 7 months out if they are for different home resorts - but it is an extra step and a hassle.

 

[shortypots]

I currently have 2 separate UY's for 2 different home resorts, but I have 2 completely different purposes for the points, so we do not find it a big deal. One of our contracts is for big family trips, and the other is for DH and I to use on our own for Christmas trips.

 

[Chuck S]

As the previous posters indicate, it would depend upon your intended usage of the contracts. If you want to use them completely seperately, it may work fine. If you want to simply add-on to your existing contract, and combine the points at 7 months, I would keep the same use year.

 

[disneynutz]

Twice the work and twice the headache IMHO. We have 2 memberships and as soon as the resale prices return to normal, , we will be sell one of them.

Bill

 

[JimC]

Just to give a slightly different spin. We have two use years and two resorts in each. There are times when I wish we had a separate use year for each resort (primarily when I am reconciling my control totals to Disney). The rest of the time I really don't think about it much.

 

[BroganMc]

I work with two use years and multiple resorts as well.

Dec UY has the bulk of our SSR points (430) and a smaller BLT add-on (60). It is the mega-family contract where we use points to take guests. The BLT add-on was something I got stuck with here because I had only the one master contract. My BLT points are for solo trips without family. 3 days a year in a studio.

Oct UY I bought as a BWV resale. The purpose was for a few days at Boardwalk for the start of F&W. This is not the family contract so has fewer names on it. I'm in the process of buying another 120 pt SSR resale for this use year. It's purpose will fund a trip in spring for us.

The way I work it is to create different use charts for each resort/UY. The 430 pt SSR (which is actually 3 contracts of 200, 110 & 120), BLT 60 ptr, BWV 50 ptr, and 120 ptr SSR. Each has a different purpose and is self contained in my charts. I could use BWV points to add on to the 120 pt SSR or 430 SSR pts for BLT at 7 mos. I could also do a one time transfer of points to supplement my SSR use years. But if I think of them as separate vacation pools I can have the advantages of 11 mos. booking windows for each resort.

With my contracts every year, I can do:

• 1 week in a 2 bedroom at SSR
• 1 week in a 1 bedroom at SSR
• 1 week in a studio at SSR
• 3-4 days in a studio at BLT
• 4-5 days in a studio at BWV

Or any combination thereof.

Our usual travel pattern is:
10 days in Disney for Spring (3 days BLT, 7 at SSR)
10 days in Disney for Autumn (3 days BWV, 7 at SSR)
7 days in Disney for Winter/Christmas/NYE (two weekends at SSR or a week)

 

[simon50]

Thank you to everyone for your replies. Can anyone tell me how difficult it is to transfer points from one contract to another. Can it be done online yourself, or is it not that simple?

 

[kid-at-heart]

it means you have 2 different membership numbers.

Since you have two different membership numbers, does this mean you will have two membership cards, one with each membership number?

 

[dcfromva]

Thank you to everyone for your replies. Can anyone tell me how difficult it is to transfer points from one contract to another. Can it be done online yourself, or is it not that simple?

I've only done it once. It was pretty easy except MS transferred the wrong number of points and had to do a manual correction--a good reason for watching the transaction while you are logged into your account.

We own at 5 resorts and have 4 UYs. I find it easier to keep track of the points that are in different UYs. (We also bought the majority of our points for a specific purpose.) Our 2 newest resort points are in the same UY and all the points clumped in together. I have to think about which points belong to which resort.
I've read on this board that at the less than 7 month window someone was having trouble designating which resort points were used... MS said they didn't have any control over which resort (in the same UY) the points were being pulled at the less than 7 month point... I haven't had that happen, yet. But, this problem does not crop up with different UYs.

 

[chalee94]

Since you have two different membership numbers, does this mean you will have two membership cards, one with each membership number?

yes.

 

[disneynutz]

Thank you to everyone for your replies. Can anyone tell me how difficult it is to transfer points from one contract to another. Can it be done online yourself, or is it not that simple?

MS can transfer your points but they retain their home resort status and UY. They also don't show up correctly in your account due to a software issue and can cause you problems.

Bill