Anyone enjoy having multiple use years?

[bk2019]

I see a lot of people cautioning others about having multiple use years. Does anyone see an upside to multiple use years?

 

[sethschroeder]

People think if it's always used seperate that it can be of benefit for trips at different times of the year.

For me just a pain and sold my other UY because of it but at most we would have 2 trips in the year spread out between July to Jan time periods.

 

[RoseGold]

I have two and it's a non-issue. I think it helps to think of them as two different people making the bookings.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

I'm still leaning toward keeping the same UY, but I've toyed with the idea of a second UY (at a different resort) to use during May-August (after our banking deadline). Especially after the closures, I'm reluctant to EVER book a reservation for after our banking deadline. Maintaining a separate contract with a different UY could be used for those May-August visits without the risk of having missed the banking deadline if we have to cancel.

Having said all that, I'm still 95-99% certain that we'll just stick with the same UY (SEP) and avoid trips after our banking deadline. We typically would prefer to avoid July and August anyway (TOO HOT!), so we only have to "give up" May or June visits to always be able to bank if we cancel.

I'm not sure it's worth the hassle of maintaining two separate accounts as PP mentioned above.

 

[ElizabethG]

I think it depends on your travel patterns. We go the Disney every year or every other year. So, I would not want different UYs. If you have multiple trips, it probably doesn’t matter as much. It is still more to keep track of.

 

[TCRAIG]

4 Use Years - not a problem at all - and yes, I use them for bookings at different times if the year. April is for May trips, June for the fall, Oct is for December and December is HHI to go anytime

 

[LilyJC]

I have three and actually considered adding a fourth. We own two separate VGC contracts in different UYs for year round use (as well as Aulani trips), and then one UY (August) for WDW trips as we will never do Florida in the summer. It’s really not a hassle, and I appreciate having extra waitlists!

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

4 Use Years - not a problem at all - and yes, I use them for bookings at different times if the year. April is for May trips, June for the fall, Oct is for December and December is HHI to go anytime

This is confusing to me. How does December allow you to go anytime? It seems to be that fall trips would be risky. I am considering selling my June UYs at HHI and purchasing an April UY since we want to start traveling to HHI in the spring.

 

[CarolMN]

Having said all that, I'm still 95-99% certain that we'll just stick with the same UY (SEP) and avoid trips after our banking deadline. We typically would prefer to avoid July and August anyway (TOO HOT!), so we only have to "give up" May or June visits to always be able to bank if we cancel.

You really only have to avoid trips in June, July & August. May would still be OK most of the time, because if you cancel it less than 31 days prior to check in, the points go into holding. That's pretty much the same risk you run if you cancel any trip 30 days or less before arrival. Holding points can't be banked.

Of course, you'd still have more time to use the holding points if they were from a trip originally scheduled early in your use year, but given the 60 day availability issues, that's probably not much of an advantage. IMO, if you really like going in May (it's a pretty time to go, IMO), the risk isn't as great as it might first appear.

Just something to consider as you look for your next contract(s), and maybe enough to push that 95%-99% in favor of the same use year, a little higher..

 

[TCRAIG]

This is confusing to me. How does December allow you to go anytime? It seems to be that fall trips would be risky. I am considering selling my June UYs at HHI and purchasing an April UY since we want to start traveling to HHI in the spring.

I live in SC - so I can go anytime - I don’t have a set schedule like I do for WDW

 

[Deeleebaker]

I live in SC - so I can go anytime - I don’t have a set schedule like I do for WDW

Question about HH. I’m thinking of maybe getting my addonitis fix there and wondering what there is to do in the fall and winter.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

One other benefit to having the same UY is so you can more easily COMBINE points from your contracts for a single reservation. If I'm not mistaken, with different UYs, you have to transfer points in order to combine them for a reservation.

 

[EM Lawrence]

One other benefit to having the same UY is so you can more easily COMBINE points from your contracts for a single reservation. If I'm not mistaken, with different UYs, you have to transfer points in order to combine them for a reservation.

I have a question about this. Couldn’t you also just reserve some nights with one contract and the other nights with a different contract and then call member services and request not to change rooms during your stay? Is there a downside to doing it this way that I’m missing?

 

[WDWEPCOT]

I have two wasn’t my intention or choice just ended up that way - pain in butt !! But alas it is what it is - all bought direct - I’m learning to adjust - I just use up all the points then I don’t have to worry about banking haa haa

 

[JETSDAD]

I have a question about this. Couldn’t you also just reserve some nights with one contract and the other nights with a different contract and then call member services and request not to change rooms during your stay? Is there a downside to doing it this way that I’m missing?

A couple of issues with this would be trying to use up all the points in a UY (you could have a few extras in multiple contracts kicking around) and also if you are trying to book a harder to get room category. You would then have to get 2 reservations started which can be hard for certain bookings.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

I have a question about this. Couldn’t you also just reserve some nights with one contract and the other nights with a different contract and then call member services and request not to change rooms during your stay? Is there a downside to doing it this way that I’m missing?

Also, you're not guaranteed that they will properly link the reservations and it's possible you would have to change rooms mid-stay.

 

[Matty B13]

Also, you're not guaranteed that they will properly link the reservations and it's possible you would have to change rooms mid-stay.

I always check in at the front desk and make sure that my reservations are linked if I'm using 2 different contracts for the same reservation. Always best to check with the front desk about something like this, and also you might find out that your room is ready, since most of the time the Disney App doesn't always let you know.

 

[disneynutz]

I prefer to keep things simple to avoid surprises and extra work.

Bill

 

[RoseGold]

Couldn’t you also just reserve some nights with one contract and the other nights with a different contract and then call member services and request not to change rooms during your stay?

Yes, I usually do this. It's technically a split stay, but they will do what they can to avoid cleaning your room, because it costs them money. This might be harder in a limited room category, but I had no issue at AKL.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

I see a lot of people cautioning others about having multiple use years. Does anyone see an upside to multiple use years?

Yes!! I do! I currently have 2 UY & am in the process of adding a third. Let me qualify by saying that I do not own at the same resort with different UY’s... that could be quite the headache! However, having different UY at different resorts is something I really enjoy. First off, I travel at different times throughout the year & can leverage which contract I use to my advantage. Second, I can purchase resale without worry of finding “the right” UY! I can simply buy whichever contract works best for me and my family without feeling locked into a small block of listings... which, can be kind of a big deal to people feeling bound by their UY. Obviously, it’s a trade-off & some prefer the simplicity of having only one banking deadline to remember and never having to think about transferring points to use together at the 7-month mark. I, however, do not mind and am very happy to do the extra work (which is minimal) in order to have greater flexibility with my DVC points

One other benefit to having the same UY is so you can more easily COMBINE points from your contracts for a single reservation. If I'm not mistaken, with different UYs, you have to transfer points in order to combine them for a reservation.

You are correct that they must be transferred in order to be combined, however, it’s super easy and you can do it multiple times per year even though the transfer rules would seem to say you can’t (there are a small handful of stories where people are told no to multiple transfers between their own contracts- but that’s where you hang up and try again, as most CM’s agree that it doesn’t “count”).

I have a question about this. Couldn’t you also just reserve some nights with one contract and the other nights with a different contract and then call member services and request not to change rooms during your stay? Is there a downside to doing it this way that I’m missing?

You can always use 2 sep contracts to make your bookings. As long as you talk to the front desk about your 2 res’s after checking in, you shouldn’t need to move rooms (I never have had to). The only thing I think you’re missing is if you’ve got 5 points unused & expiring on one contract, you’d need to actually combine more points with it to make that booking... and again, you’d just call and transfer some other (not banked or borrowed) points into that contract to work with the expiring points and complete your booking