Best UY for me and BCV v BWV

[Deb & Bill]

BCV is better for parking, especially parking close to the villas. BWV is harder for parking, especially during F&W. BWV only has lock off two bedroom villas, no dedicated. BCV has both dedicated and lock off. BWV has the BW view and the standard view (that is good for saving points). BCV has pretty much no view.

 

[motherof5]

Think of UY (Use Year) as really Use Month, Your UY is the 1st day of the Month that you can use your Points.

A September UY for example, you would get your points for 2018 on September 1st, and have till the end of August 2019 to use those points.
These points can be Banked into your 2019 UY, and then would be usable from September 1st 2019 till the end of August 2020. The points could
also be Borrowed into your 2017 UY and be used for trips from now till the end of August 2018.

Currently the only UY that are in their 2018 UY are February and March, all the other UY's are in their 2017 UY.

Hope this helps.

So my UY is Feb and I like to vacation in Feb does that mean I should have a diff UY? Sorry but I'm still a little confused. I'm new to DVC. Just bought last month.

 

[Matty B13]

So my UY is Feb and I like to vacation in Feb does that mean I should have a diff UY? Sorry but I'm still a little confused. I'm new to DVC. Just bought last month.

If you like to vacation in February, a February or December UY are best.

 

[thelionqueen]

All UY's have the same ability to book at 11 months and 7 months. The only difference is that for a particular date different UY's will be able to use different "years" of points. But everyone can book exactly at 11 months from check in at their home resort. As was mentioned the benefit of a good UY is the banking deadline and amount of time one could have to use the points in the case of a last minute cancellation.

That’s right. And since we generally go in winter, our UY works perfectly for both. Sorry if my response was confusing

 

[Dean]

So my UY is Feb and I like to vacation in Feb does that mean I should have a diff UY? Sorry but I'm still a little confused. I'm new to DVC. Just bought last month.

Feb is best by far if you vacation mostly in Feb assuming it doesn't start in Jan part of the time but Dec isn't bad either. I wouldn't go beyond 2 months out if you vacation at a specific time. It's less important where one vacations at different times of the year but they ARE taking more risk by doing so.

 

[motherof5]

Feb is best by far if you vacation mostly in Feb assuming it doesn't start in Jan part of the time but Dec isn't bad either. I wouldn't go beyond 2 months out if you vacation at a specific time. It's less important where one vacations at different times of the year but they ARE taking more risk by doing so.

If you don't mind please explain further, I don't fully get the UY. Thanks

 

[Dean]

If you don't mind please explain further, I don't fully get the UY. Thanks

I'll start at the beginning so please forgive me if I'm giving you a lot of info you're already comfortable with.

UY is when your points renew but since points for a reservation are taken as if you were at the check in day, you don't have to actually have them in your hand early. UY has essentially nothing to do with when you can actually book. So if you plan a Feb vacation with a Feb UY for next year, but have no current points, you would still be using next Feb's points anyway. Thus as you get closer if you had to change or cancel you'd have the ability to bank them or to reschedule. With a great UY you'd have the potential to reschedule using the 11 month window. The better your UY, the less potential risk there is for canceling or changing if you have to do so and the MORE time you have on the calendar to do so. Thus if one travels throughout the year, there will be times when the UY offers less protection than other times thus more risk. IMO getting a good UY is worth waiting or paying a little more for many situations.

 

[kboo]

Thanks everyone for the they input so far, please keep it coming.

At the present time, I only foresee us going the resale route.

Perhaps I have a misunderstanding on preference when it comes to UY, please feel free to correct my ignorance. I figure that I want my final four months, (where I cannot bank) to match up to when I am least likely to travel. DS is 10. We are not necessarily beholden to the school calendar (in fact, we pulled DS from school for our Dec 2017 trip). We will avoid June, July, and August for sure. I would lean towards a September visit for F&W then May, but I suppose that could change. That had led me to identify a September UY as most preferable. This would afford me a window from Sept - April to schedule my trips. I'm probably over-thinking this.

In reading around the boards, I see many suggestions to buy where you want to stay. That was what had me targeting BWV or BCV. I am trying to balance my desire for the best possible deal (which would naturally steer me away from BCV/BWV) with the reality that this is a luxury purchase and we are doing this to make family memories (so buy where we want and not worry about remaining length of contract). It would not surprise me if we add points down the road (may even buy direct) but will only buy as money allows.

Considering 1BRs are reported to be the easiest to get at the 7 month mark, perhaps I should reconsider going in towards a DVC with a longer contract? Would be somewhat difficult to convince my DW on SSR, but AKV, which she also likes, could be a possibility?

We bought BLT last year for a very good price, and then thought we wanted BWV or BCV to have walking access to EP and HS. We actually made a few offers on contracts last fall just before prices really went crazy (could have gotten BCV for $117 pp). Ultimately, though, we realized that we could go outside of fall frenzy and stay pretty easily in 1BR (our February President's week stay was booked at 7 months in a 1br BWV P/G before I moved it to BLT std). So once we figured we didn't HAVE to be able to stay there ALL the time in a standard (our kids are still young too), we ended up getting a much better deal for us - VGF is actually our favorite resort, and it's so small that the 11 mo booking window seems to matter all year round. We ended up paying $18 more per point, so $3600 more total, and lower dues, for a much longer contract length and a resort we really loved. We love EP and HS, but figure that we'll either plan to go outside of fall frenzy or rent points or use our SPG points at the Swan/Dolphin for the time being. Not ruling it out, but if you are happy to stay in 1BR P/G on less hard-to-get times (outside of fall frenzy and winter holidays) you may be ok.

 

[disneynutz]

Points need to be banked during the first 8 months of your UY. Your UY is not a calendar year. Points need to be available during the dates of your stay, not when you make the reservation. Banking moves points one UY forward, borrowing moves points one UY back. Banking and borrowing are final transactions and can not be reversed.

Select the best UY for your vacation patterns.
Buy where you love to stay.
Book at 11 months.
Buy resale if you can.
If you buy additional contracts, keep the same UY and names on deeds.
If you intend to buy a small direct contract for the perks, buy now before the minimum increases again.
DVD/DVC marketing can change the perks at any time.
Perks and policies tend to change when management changes.
Expect to spend more on Disney vacations after you buy DVC.

Bill

 

[motherof5]

I'll start at the beginning so please forgive me if I'm giving you a lot of info you're already comfortable with.

UY is when your points renew but since points for a reservation are taken as if you were at the check in day, you don't have to actually have them in your hand early. UY has essentially nothing to do with when you can actually book. So if you plan a Feb vacation with a Feb UY for next year, but have no current points, you would still be using next Feb's points anyway. Thus as you get closer if you had to change or cancel you'd have the ability to bank them or to reschedule. With a great UY you'd have the potential to reschedule using the 11 month window. The better your UY, the less potential risk there is for canceling or changing if you have to do so and the MORE time you have on the calendar to do so. Thus if one travels throughout the year, there will be times when the UY offers less protection than other times thus more risk. IMO getting a good UY is worth waiting or paying a little more for many situations.

Thank you I am starting to get a better understanding.

 

[motherof5]

We bought BLT last year for a very good price, and then thought we wanted BWV or BCV to have walking access to EP and HS. We actually made a few offers on contracts last fall just before prices really went crazy (could have gotten BCV for $117 pp). Ultimately, though, we realized that we could go outside of fall frenzy and stay pretty easily in 1BR (our February President's week stay was booked at 7 months in a 1br BWV P/G before I moved it to BLT std). So once we figured we didn't HAVE to be able to stay there ALL the time in a standard (our kids are still young too), we ended up getting a much better deal for us - VGF is actually our favorite resort, and it's so small that the 11 mo booking window seems to matter all year round. We ended up paying $18 more per point, so $3600 more total, and lower dues, for a much longer contract length and a resort we really loved. We love EP and HS, but figure that we'll either plan to go outside of fall frenzy or rent points or use our SPG points at the Swan/Dolphin for the time being. Not ruling it out, but if you are happy to stay in 1BR P/G on less hard-to-get times (outside of fall frenzy and winter holidays) you may be ok.

when you bank you have 2 years to use those points correct? So if my UY is Feb and I bank them this year 2018 I have til Feb 2020 to use? Is this correct?

 

[Deb & Bill]

when you bank you have 2 years to use those points correct? So if my UY is Feb and I bank them this year 2018 I have til Feb 2020 to use? Is this correct?

If you bank Feb 2018 points, they will be good from Feb 1, 2019 through Jan 31, 2020.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

when you bank you have 2 years to use those points correct? So if my UY is Feb and I bank them this year 2018 I have til Feb 2020 to use? Is this correct?

Banking just moves them into the next use year and gives you one extra year (that follows your use year) to use them. It doesn't give you 2 extra years to use the points.

 

[motherof5]

Banking just moves them into the next use year and gives you one extra year (that follows your use year) to use them. It doesn't give you 2 extra years to use the points.

So it ends up being two years timeframe to use them correct? So you can take 2018 points and bank them you can still borrow and use them in 2018 or wait and use them in 2019. Can you use them in 2020? I haven't used points yet as I only became a member in Feb and just looking at what everyone is saying to figure it all out.

 

[kboo]

So it ends up being two years timeframe to use them correct? So you can take 2018 points and bank them you can still borrow and use them in 2018 or wait and use them in 2019. Can you use them in 2020? I haven't used points yet as I only became a member in Feb and just looking at what everyone is saying to figure it all out.

NO - banking them is just what it sounds like. If you have 200 Feb 2018 points, that means you have 200 points to "spend" between 2/1/18-1/31/19. Banking and borrowing are final transactions. So if you aren't taking a trip between 2/1/18-1/31/19, you can BANK your 2018 points into 2019. You can never take them back to use in your 2018 UY. And you canNOT move banked points forward another year. Once points are banked or borrowed one time, they are "stuck" in that year and can NOT be moved again.

So now suppose you bank 200 2018 points because you want to take a trip in April 2019. You have 200 points that were BANKED from 2018 that MUST be used between 2/1/19 - 1/31/20. You also now have 200 2019 points that MAY be used in the same time period, or the may be banked into 2020 UY, to be used between 2/1/20-1/31/21.

So now, if you've banked 2018 points into 2019, you have 400 points (200+200) to use in your 2019 UY. 200 of those you HAVE to use, 200 of those you can save for the following year. Now suppose you want to go all out and get a grand villa for 600 points for your April 2019 trip. You currently have 400 points available, but you also have 200 points in your 2020 UY that you can BORROW. Then when making that reservation for the grand villa in april, you would use your borrowed, banked and current points in 2019.

Borrowing is also a final transaction. So if you borrowed 200 points to make that gv reservation, and then plans change so you end up changing that reservation to a 400 point 2-br villa instead. You have 200 BORROWED points and 200 BANKED points that HAVE to be used in your 2019 UY. Your 2019 points actually can be banked, so you would call member services to use the 200 BANKED (2018 points) + 200 BORROWED (2020 points) for your 2019 trip, and then bank the 2019 points into 2020. Does that help?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

So it ends up being two years timeframe to use them correct? So you can take 2018 points and bank them you can still borrow and use them in 2018 or wait and use them in 2019. Can you use them in 2020? I haven't used points yet as I only became a member in Feb and just looking at what everyone is saying to figure it all out.

Your "year" with a February UY is now Feb 1 to Jan 31. So with a February UY the current 2018 points are valid to be used for stays from February 1, 2018 to Jan 31, 2019. If you bank the points you move them into your next February use "year". After being banked those same 2018 points would then be eligible to be used for stays that start anytime between Feb 1, 2019 and Jan 31, 2020. If they are not used by Jan 31, 2020 they will then expire.

 

[motherof5]

thanks

 

[David Petersen]

We bought BLT last year for a very good price, and then thought we wanted BWV or BCV to have walking access to EP and HS. We actually made a few offers on contracts last fall just before prices really went crazy (could have gotten BCV for $117 pp). Ultimately, though, we realized that we could go outside of fall frenzy and stay pretty easily in 1BR (our February President's week stay was booked at 7 months in a 1br BWV P/G before I moved it to BLT std). So once we figured we didn't HAVE to be able to stay there ALL the time in a standard (our kids are still young too), we ended up getting a much better deal for us - VGF is actually our favorite resort, and it's so small that the 11 mo booking window seems to matter all year round. We ended up paying $18 more per point, so $3600 more total, and lower dues, for a much longer contract length and a resort we really loved. We love EP and HS, but figure that we'll either plan to go outside of fall frenzy or rent points or use our SPG points at the Swan/Dolphin for the time being. Not ruling it out, but if you are happy to stay in 1BR P/G on less hard-to-get times (outside of fall frenzy and winter holidays) you may be ok.

Thanks for this insight. Contract length for the resort has definitely refocused our search a bit. We have started to look at AKV as well. For now, Spring is our most likely travel time. From what I read on the boards, it seems while this is a more expensive time for points, the demand would likely allow us to get a 1BR at BCV or BWV at the 7 month mark.