2nd contract use year questions

[ptlohmysoul]

We are thinking about buying a 2nd contract, but don't understand use year differences. We will most likely buy at a different resort. The questions we have revolve around making reservations at the 7 month point. Can the 2 contracts be easily combined at 7 months to make a reservation on-line (1 hour before member services opens)? What if they are different use years? What if they are the same? Anything else we should know?

 

[drusba]

If you get the same use year and inform Disney before closing of that fact, the contracts will be under the same member number and can be mixed together to reserve any room for any given night at 7 months out, and everything will be just like having your original contract, including banking date, except that you cannot mix points from two different resorts to reserve one at 11 months out.

However, if you purchase a different use year, your world will be substantially different. You will get a new member number for that second use year and for most purposes it is like being two entirely different members. As long as it is deeded to the exact same owner names as your original use year, the different member numbers and use years will show up in the same online account in the DVC member site but as separate member ownerships.

Each use year will have its own banking date. Each use year will have a separate annual bill and each needs to be paid separately. If you have automatic withdrawal from a checking account for dues, there will be two separate withdrawals per month.

The points from one use year cannot be mixed with the points from another use year when making a reservation. To be able to use them together at 7 months out, you will either have to first transfer points from one member number and use year to the other, or instead do separate sequential reservations: (a) you book some nights of the trip with one use year, (b) then book the other nights, with a different arrival date, and thus different 7 month out date, for the remaining dates with the other use year, and (c) then call or email MS and inform it of the two reservations and separate member numbers and have the two reservations linked so you do not have to change rooms.

 

[supersnoop]

WCan the 2 contracts be easily combined at 7 months to make a reservation on-line (1 hour before member services opens)? What if they are different use years?

No.

What if they are the same?

Yes.

Anything else we should know?

Only purchase a speparate use year if you plan to use the two contracts completely independently for different trips.

 

[com_op_2000]

I have different UYs with the same HR.
All you need is a simple spreadsheet to keep track of the point usage by contract.
MS has allowed me multiple transfers between contracts in one UY as needed to make reservations.

 

[LisaS]

I have different UYs with the same HR.
All you need is a simple spreadsheet to keep track of the point usage by contract.
MS has allowed me multiple transfers between contracts in one UY as needed to make reservations.

Can you book online with those transferred points? Usually you cannot see transferred points unless they are an exact match (UY and resort) to one of the contracts in that membership. If you can't see them, you have to call MS to make a reservation and lose that one-hour online booking advantage. Just curious what your experience has been when you transfer points from one of your memberships to the other.

 

[com_op_2000]

Can you book online with those transferred points? Usually you cannot see transferred points unless they are an exact match (UY and resort) to one of the contracts in that membership. If you can't see them, you have to call MS to make a reservation and lose that one-hour online booking advantage. Just curious what your experience has been when you transfer points from one of your memberships to the other.

I have always been on the phone when I transfer and book at the same time. We change out of our HR 95% of our trips. We usually find plenty of availability for when we want to go and where we want to stay. I have taken or planned 8 reservation this year, with all but one at other resorts than our HR.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you transfer points from one contract to the other, you also have to be sure you are doing it the right way. You cannot borrow transferred points, but you can use current and you can bank transferred points. They maintain their UY and home resort. I have Sept and Dec OKW points. If I transfer Dec points to the Sept contract, I have to make sure I am booking for Dec or later. They have to be the same year, like Sept 2017 and Dec 2017, but I can't use Dec 2017 points for a reservation in Sept 2017, Oct 2017 or Nov 2017.

 

[MrInfinity]

We are thinking about buying a 2nd contract, but don't understand use year differences. We will most likely buy at a different resort. The questions we have revolve around making reservations at the 7 month point. Can the 2 contracts be easily combined at 7 months to make a reservation on-line (1 hour before member services opens)? What if they are different use years? What if they are the same? Anything else we should know?

To combine them easily to make reservations at 7 mo, get the same UY. Then it will be all in one login and you can pick freely from either contract's points when making a reservation. If you split them, you will have 2 separate logins. 2 totally separate places to book things. You could theoretically book 1/2 of your trip in one account and 1/2 in the other or deal with transferring from one to the other, but what a pain! Since you're buying for you -- to use, for you -- get the same UY. Unless you have some very specific thing you're trying to accomplish by getting different UYs, for most guests the same UY will be better in every way.

 

[myzel]

The only advantage that I've seen of having two different UY and thus two accounts, is the opportunity to purchase one time points for each account. This is not an issue that crops up often but there are times I would like to be able to get more than my share of points. You can only purchase one time points once a UY for each account, so if you have multiple contracts under the same account then only once. Like I said this is not a big issue but could be part of your consideration, as well as they may change the one time use point program at any time. Just my $.02 worth. Not a large thing but in these types of purchases the little things are often overlooked.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

The only advantage that I've seen of having two different UY and thus two accounts, is the opportunity to purchase one time points for each account. This is not an issue that crops up often but there are times I would like to be able to get more than my share of points. You can only purchase one time points once a UY for each account, so if you have multiple contracts under the same account then only once. Like I said this is not a big issue but could be part of your consideration, as well as they may change the one time use point program at any time. Just my $.02 worth. Not a large thing but in these types of purchases the little things are often overlooked.

Another is the ability to have up to 4 waitlists.