Buy a bad use year?

[KSR0330]

I found the perfect contract....except that it's an Aug use year and we travel early July. How bad would this be? The price is right and it has 80 points, which is perfect. Is it worth the bad use year?

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

That’s definitely not ideal. If you were to cancel for whatever reason you’d need to do it early to avoid the points going into holding, and borrowed points can’t be re-banked. I would be patient and keep looking, especially because 80 points isn’t going to go that far.

 

[KSR0330]

That’s definitely not ideal. If you were to cancel for whatever reason you’d need to do it early to avoid the points going into holding, and borrowed points can’t be re-banked. I would be patient and keep looking, especially because 80 points isn’t going to go that far.

It's not going to go far, but it's exactly what we need for the additional yearly long-weekend trip that we take. I don't feel like there are a lot of 75 or 80 pts contracts (in this specific resort that we want), which is making me consider it.

 

[Sandisw]

The issue will be that those points will be lost if something happens after March 31st, which would be your banking window

No one expects to cancel or need to change but sometimes things happen that are not in your control….so, keep that in mind.

It would be too risky for me, especially if I ever wanted to borrow points…those would be stuck no matter what.

But, as long as you understand the risks and are willing to gamble, it can make sense.

Good luck.

 

[aceshigh73]

I found the perfect contract....except that it's an Aug use year and we travel early July. How bad would this be? The price is right and it has 80 points, which is perfect. Is it worth the bad use year?

That’s a pass for me. In fact as we shop for contracts to add on, I just filter on our UY to not get tempted. We already have 2 UY, but they have specific purposes and are 6 months apart.

 

[AwfulWaffle]

I guess I’m the minority here. It’s not like most of us got to “pick” a use year. One day we signed some contract and Disney gave us whatever and we were forced to make it work (assuming you were direct on contract one). I do like keeping it the same, ideal or not, but just because I’m lazy and don’t want to call member services to transfer points around but if you don’t mind the inconvenience and know that you could loose points due to a cancellation then I say do what’s best for you and your family. Luckily I went resale on contract one so I wasn’t forced to play Russian roulette with Disney direct but most members get whatever and they make it work so I wouldn’t look at it as “bad” but rather not ideal for your vacationing pattern. Good luck either way and cheers.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

If you have an option, and you normally travel in July, I think you might want to reconsider the Aug UY. Things happen and there are times you want/need to adjust your plans. Having the ability to bank could be important. Ironically, we have only Aug UY! But we're more snowbirds and travel Dec-Feb, so it works perfectly for us. And yes, we have cancelled trips and saved points that we otherwise might've lost if we had perhaps a March UY (if there is a March UY - I know not all months have them!). But you understand.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

80 point contracts they don’t come up to office so if you want to wait for one you may be waiting a while but then again you could purchase this one and then a whole bunch could pop up you just never know it all boils down to do you wanna take the risk or do you want to wait those are your questions and then you need to ask yourself those questions and decide which one is more important to you if you feel you can’t wait then by the contract but if you feel it’s going to be a major inconvenience and an issue to you then you need to wait it may be the perfect contract will just happen to come along talk to the agent and ask him how often they have the months you were looking for the number of points that you exactly want to buy for the use your you want if he tells you we don’t get those very often that may help you make your decision I had a use year that didn’t come out very often so it was really hard to find reseal contracts i’m currently shopping for one now but I don’t want a lot of points and so far I’ve only seen zero but I don’t mind waiting but that’s just me
Good luck with your decision!!

 

[AstroBlasters]

Given that smaller contracts are usually priced at more per point, I’d just look for a more common 100 pointer and make aggressive offers in a use year that works better with your travel schedule.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

It’s very easy to find a use for extra points!

 

[CarolMN]

The August use year will only be a problem if you have to cancel the July trip. If you are willing to self-insure, are able to rent the reservation if you can't use it or purchase trip insurance, the risk could be quite minimal.

If the contract is one you want and one you think difficult to find on the resale market, I would go for it - but we have yet to cancel a trip in over 20 years of membership. I know we have been lucky and YMMV, of course.

Good luck!

 

[gmi3804]

I found the perfect contract....except that it's an Aug use year and we travel early July. How bad would this be? The price is right and it has 80 points, which is perfect. Is it worth the bad use year?

You definitely have to be sure you'll travel during those previous three months if you fail to bank. Our VGC contract is August UY (hey, we paid $95pp way back when), and we still like to travel to CA May-July. But we make sure that those trips are set in stone. It's always a crapshoot, and takes more planning and commitment to travel in those three months, but don't beat yourself up over it.

 

[Sandisw]

I guess I’m the minority here. It’s not like most of us got to “pick” a use year. One day we signed some contract and Disney gave us whatever and we were forced to make it work (assuming you were direct on contract one). I do like keeping it the same, ideal or not, but just because I’m lazy and don’t want to call member services to transfer points around but if you don’t mind the inconvenience and know that you could loose points due to a cancellation then I say do what’s best for you and your family. Luckily I went resale on contract one so I wasn’t forced to play Russian roulette with Disney direct but most members get whatever and they make it work so I wouldn’t look at it as “bad” but rather not ideal for your vacationing pattern. Good luck either way and cheers.

Disney will give you the UY you want if you ask for it…they do have one they focus on as a priority, but everyone who wants a different one as a new owner can get it…sometimes it takes a manager approval, but I have yet to hear of anyone being denied it.

 

[KSR0330]

Thanks so much, everyone. I think it's a good idea to start looking for 100 pt contracts at a better use year. It's not like I won't be able to use the additional points!

 

[gmi3804]

Thanks so much, everyone. I think it's a good idea to start looking for 100 pt contracts at a better use year. It's not like I won't be able to use the additional points!

Good idea. All else being equal, you should get the UY that's going to be best for you. Good luck!

 

[MICKIMINI]

Not a good choice. IMO you will regret it at some point in the near future. Better to hold out for another UY that fits your travel style. Good luck!

 

[MouseyMin]

Another reason to look at larger contracts is that sometimes Disney changes the points per night. It might not always be 80 points for your trip.

 

[intamin]

Personally I wouldn't do it given the time of your trips but I especially wouldn't do it if you own OKW in a different use year. Having those 80 points alone in it's own use year will be a hassle and I'd rather pay a little more to be able to use all of my points together and avoid having to do transfers and etc. altogether.