Another UY Question...I just don't get the math!!

[Imagineer5]

Okay so, DH and I love early October and early December - basically my two preferrable months. I see some things regarding "don't get a UY that you'll be travelling within the preceding 3 months" which takes out Nov,Dec,Jan,Feb,Mar as UY - right?? so confused!!

Now, what about this whole "not being able to cancel in order to change resorts at 7 months" ?? No matter which resort we purchase at, I'm sure we'll want to stay elsewhere (we're thinking BLT for the extended timeframe) - but we'd probably do the whole "ressie at home resort at 11 mos, then try for the one we want at 7 mos" but - if we can't cancel at 7 mos at our home resort obviously that won't work.

So...pls help!! What would be a great UY for us??

 

[chalee94]

So...pls help!! What would be a great UY for us??

October might be best. but you're probably fine as long as you stay away from "Nov,Dec,Jan,Feb,Mar" as you are aware.

Now, what about this whole "not being able to cancel in order to change resorts at 7 months" ??

i think you misunderstood something somewhere along the line. you can cancel at 7 months with no problem. the only (small) risk is that they cancel the reservation at your home resort and then the other option is booked up within those 2 minutes it took to cancel the first reservation...which is pretty rare.

 

[drusba]

If you go usually anytime Oct through Dec, acceptable use years are in order of preference, Oct, Sep, Aug, June so that if you cancel trip you will still be within time frame to bank all points into next use year.

You can reserve home resort and then cancel that and switch to another at 7 months out. Prior issue some had is that they would call at 7 months, find something available, then take the time on the phone necessary to cancel prior ressie, and then by time they got back to actually reserving at the other resort, the reservation they wanted was gone, taken by someone else, leaving them with no reservation. I believe now they put temporary hold on a ressie while the cancellation of the other is being done.

 

[Imagineer5]

Thanks for the reply. Okay so what's the latest I CAN cancel if I have an Oct UY?? What would happen if I had an April UY? How would that change things?

I'm an engineer and still can't figure this out

 

[chalee94]

Thanks for the reply. Okay so what's the latest I CAN cancel if I have an Oct UY?? What would happen if I had an April UY? How would that change things?

first - UY tells you when you can use your pts: if you have an oct UY, the 2009 pts must be used to book a reservation starting on oct 1, 2009 through sept 30, 2010 (unless you bank them into 2010 or had previously borrowed them into 2008).

second - your UY tells you when you can bank your pts: if you don't want to use your pts during oct 1,2009 through sept 30, 2010, then you have to bank those pts within the first 8 months of that use year. if you bank the pts, they can be used to book dates from oct 1, 2010 through sept 30, 2011...or then they would expire.

that is it for use year. it's not used to calculate anything else.

if you cancel a reservation more than 30 days from arrival, the pts are put back in that use year. if you cancel closer than 30 days, they become "holding pts" and are more difficult to use. but none of that has anything to do with your use year.

edited to add:

 

[Imagineer5]

Thanks to both of you for helping me understand!!

So, one more question (I know, I know...!!) So say I have an October UY and want to travel in October...let's say I get 150 pts on Oct 1, 2010. For my home resort, can I call Nov 1, 2009 to make a reservation to use those 150 points, that I know I will be getting but do not have yet??

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Thanks for the reply. Okay so what's the latest I CAN cancel if I have an Oct UY?? What would happen if I had an April UY? How would that change things?

I'm an engineer and still can't figure this out

If you have an Oct 2009 reservation using Oct 09 points and you cancel more than 30 days in advance, thsoe points stay in your Oct 09 UY and can be used for another trip up til Sept 10 or banked by May 31 2010 to use for a trip from Oct '10 to Sept '11.

With an April UY and an Oct 09 reservation, if you cancel more than 30 days in advance, those points stay in in your April 09 UY and can be used for another trip up til March 2010 or banked by Nov 30, 2009 to use for a trip from April 2010 to March 2011.

So if you cancel an October trip in Sept, with an Oct UY, you have until the following May to decide to travel or bank, while with an April UY, you only have until Nov to decide to travel or bank. Either works, but an Oct UY givings you more breathing room.

Hope this helps -- Suzanne

 

[Imagineer5]

If you have an Oct 2009 reservation using Oct 09 points and you cancel more than 30 days in advance, thsoe points stay in your Oct 09 UY and can be used for another trip up til Sept 10 or banked by May 31 2010 to use for a trip from Oct '10 to Sept '11.

With an April UY and an Oct 09 reservation, if you cancel more than 30 days in advance, those points stay in in your April 09 UY and can be used for another trip up til March 2010 or banked by Nov 30, 2009 to use for a trip from April 2010 to March 2011.

So if you cancel an October trip in Sept, with an Oct UY, you have until the following May to decide to travel or bank, while with an April UY, you only have until Nov to decide to travel or bank. Either works, but an Oct UY givings you more breathing room.

Hope this helps -- Suzanne

This REALLY helps, thanks!! I'm trying to also think ahead to when we have kids & have to deal with school vacas, so that's why I was thinking April/May could work. Thank you for doing the side by side comparison of the two

 

[drusba]

Assume Oct use year. Points come Oct 1 of each year.

In Nov 2009, you can reserve Oct 2010 using points to come Oct 1, 2010, and those would be you "current" use year points for that trip (in trying to figure out what points you use and whether you need to bank or borrow you always ignore date you call to reserve and look only at dates you will be at WDW).

Now assume come August 2010 you have to cancel that Oct 2010 trip. If you used Oct 2010 points, you can still use them anytime between Oct 2010 and Sep 2011 and have until May 31, 2011 to bank them into the use year that begins Oct 2011.

Now assume Dec use year and you call in Nov 2009 for an Oct 2010 trip using points coming Dec 2009 (which would be the "current" use year points for that Oct 2010 trip). Now see what happens if you cancel in Aug 2010: all those points that were issued in Dec 2009 that you used for the cancelled trip can no longer be banked into Dec 2010 use year because banking deadline was July 31, 2010. Thus, all those Dec 2009 points will have to be used for a trip that ends no later than Nov 30, 2010, the end of the use year, or be forever lost.

The above is why it is recommended you have a use year that begins shortly before the usual time of year you go.

 

[Imagineer5]

Wow this detailed analysis with months is definitely what I need!! Okay so def. no later than October as a UY.

Let me see if I get this right - say Oct is our UY and we decide to brave the crowds one year and go in June. We call July 09 for a June 10 trip and use our upcoming Oct 09 points. As long as we cancel by May 10 (at least 30 days before the trip) we'd be ok? But in that same scenario, we wanted to go in August, we'd have to know by May to cancel or else we'd lose our points - correct??

 

[DebbieB]

Thanks to both of you for helping me understand!!

So, one more question (I know, I know...!!) So say I have an October UY and want to travel in October...let's say I get 150 pts on Oct 1, 2010. For my home resort, can I call Nov 1, 2009 to make a reservation to use those 150 points, that I know I will be getting but do not have yet??

That is a concept that confuses most new members. Your points don't "deposit" when your use year starts. They are already there. I have an April use year and if I look at my online account, it shows points for April 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. So any points I would possibly need for a future trip are there. I could call today for a June 2010 reservation at my home resort using 2010 points and also borrow 2011, the points are already in my account.

 

[chalee94]

Let me see if I get this right - say Oct is our UY and we decide to brave the crowds one year and go in June. We call July 09 for a June 10 trip and use our upcoming Oct 09 points. As long as we cancel by May 10 (at least 30 days before the trip) we'd be ok?

i think it's "more than 30 days before the trip."

edited to add:

Cancelling a reservation 31 or more days prior to check-in:
All Vacation Points used to make the reservation will be restored to your account in the Use Year in which the reservation falls.

Cancelling a reservation 30 days-1 day prior to check-in:
All the Vacation Points used to make the reservation will be placed in the "Holding Account" in the Use Year in which the reservation falls.

Cancelling a reservation on the check-in date:
All the Vacation Points used to make the reservation will be forfeited.

edited to add again: (sorry i'm tired - you meant the year 09...it's still useful information... )

But in that same scenario, we wanted to go in August, we'd have to know by May to cancel or else we'd lose our points - correct??

well, you wouldn't absolutely lose your pts, but if you waited till after may 31 to cancel, the points would be "locked in" that use year and would expire on sept 30. if you were able to book a reservation for a stay that completed before sept 30, you would still be able to use it or rent it...but it would be a lot tougher.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Wow this detailed analysis with months is definitely what I need!! Okay so def. no later than October as a UY.

Let me see if I get this right - say Oct is our UY and we decide to brave the crowds one year and go in June. We call July 09 for a June 10 trip and use our upcoming Oct 09 points. As long as we cancel by May 10 (at least 30 days before the trip) we'd be ok? But in that same scenario, we wanted to go in August, we'd have to know by May to cancel or else we'd lose our points - correct??

Yes, that's basically it. Except cancelling after May wouldn't necessarily mean you would lose the points. It just means that you need to reschedule and use them by Sept 30th or at that time they would expire.

We have the majority of our points in an Oct UY b/c we don't intend on ever traveling in the summer - and don't really care for the heat of Sept either. Early June is ok though but we figured unless it was an emergency we'd know before the end of May if we needed to cancel and then could still bank our Oct points.

We also have some Apr. points and those are the ones I would try to use if booking in June-Sept. That's more for DL though.

 

[LisaS]

So say I have an October UY and want to travel in October...let's say I get 150 pts on Oct 1, 2010. For my home resort, can I call Nov 1, 2009 to make a reservation to use those 150 points, that I know I will be getting but do not have yet??

As DebbieB said, your points don't drop into your account, they are already there. Each set of points has a set of dates associated with them. I always liked Caskbill's way of explaining it:

With an October Use Year:

Your Oct 2008 UY points are valid for stays from 10/1/2008 - 9/30/2009
Your Oct 2009 UY points are valid for stays from 10/1/2009 - 9/30/2010
Your Oct 2010 UY points are valid for stays from 10/1/2010 - 9/30/2011
Your Oct 2011 UY points are valid for stays from 10/1/2011 - 9/30/2012
and so on until the end of your contract.

You can book a stay at your home resort using home resort points starting 11 months prior to your check-in date. Let's say you want to book a stay with a check-in date of October 17, 2010. You could book that trip on Nov 17, 2009. Your Oct 2010 points are valid for that trip. You could also use Oct 2009 that are banked into your 2010 UY (making them valid for stays from 10/1/2010 to 9/30/2011). If you needed even more points for that Oct 2010 stay, you could borrow points from your Oct 2011 UY which moves those points into your Oct 2010 UY, making them valid for an Oct 2010 stay.

And FYI: Points that you bank or borrow cannot be put back into their original UY. If you cancel a trip made with banked/borrowed points, those points expire at the end of the UY into which they were banked or borrowed.

 

[DisneyWalker44]

Let me give a slightly different opinion. People are trying to be helpful, and are giving you factual information. But I honestly believe they are confusing matters with these complex scenarios. If you are using banked or borrowed points for a trip, all these banking-window scenarios don't even apply, as you can't bank those points no matter what.

The simplest way to view the situation is that if you make a reservation - you are probably going to have to find way to use those points during that use year. So if you reserve a trip for October 2010, and you have an September use-year, plan on using those points between September 2010 and August 2011. If you have a December use-year, plan on using those points between December 2009 and November 2010.

If you find out far in advance you have to cancel, you usually won't have a problem finding a way to use the points - it doesn't matter so much what your use-year is. But if you find out at the last minute, the September use-year is better in the above scenario, as it give you more time to find a way to use your points.

However, if you have a trip planned for anytime between January and August, the December use year is better. DVC is a 50-year purchase. Lots of things will change during those 50 years. If you stress about finding the perfect use year for the way you use DVC now, it might end up being a worse use year in the long run. Don't worry about it too much.

Sure, all thing being equal, try and avoid use-year that fall just after your current vacation timetable. Just don't go crazy trying to get the perfect use-year.

 

[Imagineer5]

Thanks SO much to everyone for their replies - all were helpful (I like those scenarios as examples but also hadn't thought about the borrowing/banking thing!!) BUT in the end my question regarding what would be an ideal UY was answered for what we do NOW So Thanks!! Hopefully we'll be able to be fellow DVCers at some point (prob after our 1st DVC stay at BCV next year!)

 

[DVCGeek]

Another hypothetical:

I have BLT points with an August Use Year. I like to rotate when I go on annual trips (different Disney events, birthdays, etc.). So this works great for my Aug. - Feb. (and maybe March) trips. However, I sometimes want to go in May & June for Flower & Garden & Star Wars Weekends (or maybe to treat my brother for his BD someday?). Since those are in my banking blackout window, if/when I add on next does anyone think it would make sense for me to try and get a February UY for those times?

There are some related questions to doing that-

1) Could I do it directly through Disney without having to buy a whole new membership?

2) How hard would it be to combine points (at 7 months?) from my two different UYs? Would that require formal transfers and take up my once per membership per UY?

3) If I bought resale, could I get it to go under my current membership to try and keep things easier to manage both online and when talking with MS?

 

[chalee94]

Another hypothetical:

I have BLT points with an August Use Year. I like to rotate when I go on annual trips (different Disney events, birthdays, etc.). So this works great for my Aug. - Feb. (and maybe March) trips. However, I sometimes want to go in May & June for Flower & Garden & Star Wars Weekends (or maybe to treat my brother for his BD someday?). Since those are in my banking blackout window, if/when I add on next does anyone think it would make sense for me to try and get a February UY for those times?

There are some related questions to doing that-

1) Could I do it directly through Disney without having to buy a whole new membership?

no. if you "add-on" directly, you would be required to take the same UY month. to get a new UY requires a new membership number - so you'd have to buy 160 pts or else go resale.

2) How hard would it be to combine points (at 7 months?) from my two different UYs? Would that require formal transfers and take up my once per membership per UY?

yes on the formal transfer and taking up your single transfer per year.

3) If I bought resale, could I get it to go under my current membership to try and keep things easier to manage both online and when talking with MS?

yes - as long as it is the same UY month and titled exactly the same way.

 

[DVCGeek]

Charles - thanks for the info. That is kinda' what I thought the case would be, but figured it wouldn't hurt to check! Don't have the $$$ yet anyway, so it's a mute point for now. MUST...WIN...LOTTERY!

 

[Sammie]

As DisneyWalker said, our use year can at times give us problems because we have an October use year and we book August trips.

If we had to cancel 30 days or less, or a reservation that has banked or borrowed points, that does not give us but one month, September, to use our points that went in holding when we cancelled.

I hate it, but nothing I can do it about it and yes banking and borrowing makes it more complicated.