August Use Year Question - Help!

[DizGirl20]

Help! I thought I was becoming quite the DVC Expert but now I am second guessing myself. I see a resale contract that I would like to bid on but it has an August Use Year. It is a small contract that means we would go every 3 years via banking and borrowing. But does that mean we can't go in April/May/June/July to make this happen?!?!

Thanks so much!

One more additional question... would I be crazy to have 2 different use years, 6 months apart?

 

[Sandisw]

Having an August UY does not preclude you from traveling to any DVC resort during those months.

You are thinking about the rule of 4 and that never applies to DVC resorts. It would apply to the Disney Collection, World Passport and Concierge Collection. And, even with those, you can travel during the last four months of the UY as long as you book it prior to the four months.

With DVC reservations, however, there are no restrictions. You can book and travel any day you want as long as you have the points and there are rooms available.

 

[disneynutz]

I will caution you that having more than one UY can be a pain to monitor and manage. It also increases the possibility of additional mistakes by MS.

We have 2 different UY's and if the resale market wasn't doing so poorly, I would sell off one in a heart beat.

Bill

 

[chalee94]

I see a resale contract that I would like to bid on but it has an August Use Year. It is a small contract that means we would go every 3 years via banking and borrowing. But does that mean we can't go in April/May/June/July to make this happen?!?!

you can go in july or whatever...it's just that you should think about what happens if you have to cancel.

if you have to cancel less than 30 days out (in june), the pts become holding pts and you would still have to use them by the end of july - you'd have less than 2 months to make adjustments and that's potentially 3 years of pts that would go to waste.

even if you cancel a july reservation in april, you are past your banking window and would need to rebook or else rent your reservation as-is before the end of july. still a big risk IMO.

but if you travel early in your UY and have to cancel...say a september reservation...you'd have 10-11 months to figure out how to use your pts before they expire - and you could still bank the current year's pts if you wanted.

but there's no restriction from booking DVC resorts at the end of your UY...it's just riskier (especially with a small contract - since you will always have banked and borrowed pts that are stuck in that UY and limit your options).

 

[CNPHILLY]

Help! I thought I was becoming quite the DVC Expert but now I am second guessing myself. I see a resale contract that I would like to bid on but it has an August Use Year. It is a small contract that means we would go every 3 years via banking and borrowing. But does that mean we can't go in April/May/June/July to make this happen?!?!

Thanks so much!

One more additional question... would I be crazy to have 2 different use years, 6 months apart?

Maybe I am missing something that the other posters know (or the other posters may be misinterpreting what OP said), but under OP's scenario you would not be able to go for the four months you specified in the calendar year you want to go. For example, you would bank all of your August 2010 points (8/10-7/11) into your 2011 use year (8/11-7/12), and borrow all of your 2012 points (8/12-7/13) into your 2011 use year as well. If you have to use all of these points for your trip, it necessarily means you can't use all of the points for a trip during April, May, June, or July of the 2011 calendar year. Can the others who have responded please correct me if I am wrong. My understanding is that OP can only use all three years worth of points for a trip from 8/11-7/12.

On a side note, I would never ever recommend adding a contract with a different use year. If you look around, I am sure you can find a small contract with your use year.

 

[DizGirl20]

Wow, you have all made some excellent points I hadn't quite thought of yet, esp the "what if I have to cancel" point of view! I think I have decided to be patient and wait for the same Use Year contract... if I can hold out!

As always, thank you for sharing your DVC Wisdom.

 

[RobDoc]

Maybe I am missing something that the other posters know (or the other posters may be misinterpreting what OP said), but under OP's scenario you would not be able to go for the four months you specified in the calendar year you want to go. For example, you would bank all of your August 2010 points (8/10-7/11) into your 2011 use year (8/11-7/12), and borrow all of your 2012 points (8/12-7/13) into your 2011 use year as well. If you have to use all of these points for your trip, it necessarily means you can't use all of the points for a trip during April, May, June, or July of the 2011 calendar year. Can the others who have responded please correct me if I am wrong. My understanding is that OP can only use all three years worth of points for a trip from 8/11-7/12.

On a side note, I would never ever recommend adding a contract with a different use year. If you look around, I am sure you can find a small contract with your use year.

This is correct. Any trip planned from August, 2010 - July, 2011 falls in the August, 2010 Use Year and only points banked from 2009, points current from 2010 and borrowed from 2011 could be used for that stay. In order to use points from the 2010, 2011, 2012 Use Year, the trip would need to be any dates from August 1, 2011 thru July 31, 2012 (which is the August, 2011 Use Year).

You can even use 4 years of points if the trip straddles two Use Years. With an August Use Year, you could have a trip from the end of July into early August, 2011 using banked points from 2009, current points from 2010, borrowed points from 2011 and also points borrowed from 2012 for the dates in August, 2011.

I would not be hesitant in the least about having multiple Use Years. This can offer some protection from cancellation at various times of the year and truly eases the challenge of finding a contract in the size you really want without the need for a specific Use Year. We have had as many as 4 different Use Years and with the member website and a simple checkbook program have easily been able to account for our points over the years.

Good luck with your hunt for more points!