DH just gave me the green light!!!!!

[KAT4DISNEY]

So I have it narrowed down to SSR,BLT or AKV but leaning more towards BLT or AVK. Cant figure out how to narrow it down any further.
Can someone explain the 4 month rule (I think that's what its called) I tried to research it but it just confused me

If you are referring to "the rule of 4" that means that in the last 4 months of your UY you are unable to initiate or book a trade for the Disney Collection or Concierge collection with the exception of Disneyland Resort in California, campsites at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground in Florida, and Tokyo Disney Resort. You are however able to travel in the last 4 months of your UY using those collections but you have to have reserved it more than 4 months out.

However - new resale buyers cannot trade into those collections so it really doesn't come into play unless you were buying direct.

For booking a DVC resort you could in theory book a DVC night for the last night of your UY if there was availability by calling in that same morning - the rule of 4 does not apply to DVC resorts nor the World collection which resale purchasers do have access to.

 

[Holly Quinlan]

If you are referring to "the rule of 4" that means that in the last 4 months of your UY you are unable to initiate or book a trade for the Disney Collection or Concierge collection with the exception of Disneyland Resort in California, campsites at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground in Florida, and Tokyo Disney Resort. You are however able to travel in the last 4 months of your UY using those collections but you have to have reserved it more than 4 months out.

However - new resale buyers cannot trade into those collections so it really doesn't come into play unless you were buying direct.

For booking a DVC resort you could in theory book a DVC night for the last night of your UY if there was availability by calling in that same morning - the rule of 4 does not apply to DVC resorts nor the World collection which resale purchasers do have access to.

Yep that was it thanks!

 

[Holly Quinlan]

I want to make sure I have this figured out. Lets say I have a UY of September that means I "should" try and travel between September and April? This gives me more time to use my points if I need to cancel. If not using my current use year points I need to bank them by the end of June to use for the following year? this is the part that I think I'm really confused on, If I have to cancel at the last minute and have banked or borrowed points I have to use the points within 60 days?

 

[CarolMN]

I want to make sure I have this figured out. Lets say I have a UY of September that means I "should" try and travel between September and April? This gives me more time to use my points if I need to cancel. If not using my current use year points I need to bank them by the end of June to use for the following year? this is the part that I think I'm really confused on, If I have to cancel at the last minute and have banked or borrowed points I have to use the points within 60 days?

Have you read this thread yet?

Understanding Use Year

It should help answer your questions about banking, borrowing, use year and making reservations. If you get confused, make yourself a chart like the one in the thread - it will help clarify things.

To answer your specific questions -

The banking deadline for a September use year is the end of the following April. You cannot bank at all in May, June, July or August.

If you cancel a reservation less than 31 days prior to the check-in date, the points used for the reservation go back into your account, but they go back in a restricted status. These points are known as "Holding Account" points. They cannot be banked and will expire at the end of your use year. They can only be used to make a reservation that is no more than 60 days away. Availability is very often limited when you get within 60 days, so it's very possible that holding points will expire before you can use them. We all try to avoid late cancellations for that reason (but sometimes, life just happens).

 

[mcap2004]

I want to make sure I have this figured out. Lets say I have a UY of September that means I "should" try and travel between September and April? This gives me more time to use my points if I need to cancel. If not using my current use year points I need to bank them by the end of June to use for the following year? this is the part that I think I'm really confused on, If I have to cancel at the last minute and have banked or borrowed points I have to use the points within 60 days?

Having a UY of september means that's when your points will be available. Every year, your points will be available to use in September. So Sept. 2015, Sept. 2016, Sept. 2017 and so forth. You just have to use your points before your next UY or you lose them unless you bank them which is when that 4 month rule applies that was mentioned in the post above.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I want to make sure I have this figured out. Lets say I have a UY of September that means I "should" try and travel between September and April? This gives me more time to use my points if I need to cancel. If not using my current use year points I need to bank them by the end of June to use for the following year? this is the part that I think I'm really confused on, If I have to cancel at the last minute and have banked or borrowed points I have to use the points within 60 days?

With a Sept UY, you need to bank your points by April 30, not the end of June. At the end of June you are two months out. Banking must be completed by four months out.

If you cancel 30 days or less out, your points become holding points and cannot be banked. They will expire at the end of the UY.

 

[Holly Quinlan]

I thought I had it figured out. I will have to read it again and again... is September even a good UY for me if I like to travel October-January

 

[mcap2004]

I thought I had it figured out. I will have to read it again and again... is September even a good UY for me if I like to travel October-January

September is a good UY for you since you travel within those months. A Sept UY just means your points become available in Sept. so you have from, lets say Sept. 1, 2015-August of 2016 to use your points. Sept. 2016-August 2017 and so forth. As long as you travel anywhere between those months, you are fine. If you have unused points you know you're not going to use, then you bank them for use the following year but you have to bank them during that 4 month window which in your case would be April with a Sept. UY

 

[Holly Quinlan]

so I bank points by April 2014 to use for a trip November 2015. I cancel the trip last minute my point go back into my account I have until august 2016 to use the points or I lose them assuming I have a September use year BUT I can only make a reservation 60 days in advance.

 

[Holly Quinlan]

Everyone has been so helpful thank you!

 

[mcap2004]

so I bank points by April 2014 to use for a trip November 2015. I cancel the trip last minute my point go back into my account I have until august 2016 to use the points or I lose them assuming I have a September use year BUT I can only make a reservation 60 days in advance.

Well April 2014 has come and gone....lol but if you had points NOW with a UY of Sept. 2014 and are not going on vacation until Nov. of next year, then yes, you bank them in April of 2015 or anytime before that as long as they get banked before the "banking points" deadline. When Sept of 2015 comes around, you'll get a whole new set of points to use again. So for example, say you buy into DVC with 100 points, you'll have your banked points from Sept of 2014 and now your new points for Sept 2015 making it a total of 200 points to use in your Nov trip of 2015. Also keep in mind, once you bank your points for that certain year and then last minute decide you wanted to take a trip, you can't! Once points are banked, they can't be used until the following year.

 

[mcap2004]

I cancel the trip last minute my point go back into my account I have until august 2016 to use the points or I lose them assuming I have a September use year BUT I can only make a reservation 60 days in advance.

And in reference to this... ok let's do an example. You have 100 points with a UY of September. We are in Sept. now, so your points would be available from now until August of next year. You make reservations for BLT for, let's say January of next year, and you have to cancel and it's within 30 days or less of your arrival date. Your points then get put back in your account but get put on hold for 60 days. So 60 days from the date they get put on hold is when they become available. Remember, someone mentioned in another post that your points can now only be used on a reservation that is no more than 60 days out and by this time availability is limited.

Another example... if you have reservations for say mid July, and cancel within 30 days or less, again they get put on hold for 60 days but by this time around the 60 day hold may fall into Sept so those points will be lost.

 

[DizBub]

I've been at this DVC thing for 5 years now and Use Year has been the hardest concept to wrap my mind around. Our guide did not offer us a specific UY just gave us Feb. Since we regularly travel in late Sept or early Oct this is NOT a good UY for us but now that we travel multiple times a year it really doesn't seem to matter.

Last winter while on a trip we decided to cancel our last couple of days due to impeding bad weather between WDW and home (bad ice storms). So we had points go into holding. Then we had to move our family Oct trip to June because my DD is due to have a baby (any minute now ) Cancelled BLT and moved to OKW for June and since there was availability and it was within 60 days was able to apply those holding points to the OKW reservation thus putting the same amount of points back into my BLT account. Since Feb is my UY my banking deadline is Sept 30 and I just banked those points yesterday. Banked 128 points total.

If we should want to travel between now and Feb 1 I will have to borrow points from 2015. The 128 banked points will be used first when I book any trip for after Feb 1.

I know this is confusing....but it really does get easier. I do feel fortunate that our UY is Feb since it's early in the year. It just feels right since the new year is just starting.....what really blows my mind is that people with Dec UY still haven't "officially" received their points......

 

[Msmithmd]

And in reference to this... ok let's do an example. You have 100 points with a UY of September. We are in Sept. now, so your points would be available from now until August of next year. You make reservations for BLT for, let's say January of next year, and you have to cancel and it's within 30 days or less of your arrival date. Your points then get put back in your account but get put on hold for 60 days. So 60 days from the date they get put on hold is when they become available. Remember, someone mentioned in another post that your points can now only be used on a reservation that is no more than 60 days out and by this time availability is limited. Another example... if you have reservations for say mid July, and cancel within 30 days or less, again they get put on hold for 60 days but by this time around the 60 day hold may fall into Sept so those points will be lost.

Not correct.

Holding status means you must book something with those points inside sixty days from when you book. You can book something else immediately, but only sixty days away. For example if I today cancel a room for next week, the points would go into holding status. I could book something else with them today, but I could only book something as far out as November 20th.

Holding status doesn't go away at sixty days from your cancellation. You just have a rolling sixty day look-forward window for those points. So, carrying on my example above, if I waited to book with those holding points until December 15th, on that day I could book a trip up until February 15th. And so on and so forth.

Holding points cannot be banked and expire at the end of the UY that they originally went into holding. Hope this clarifies.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I thought I had it figured out. I will have to read it again and again... is September even a good UY for me if I like to travel October-January

Yes, September would be a good UY for your dates of travel. Overall your UY doesn't make any difference because everyone can still book 11 months in advance at their home resort and 7 months in advance at any other DVC resort. But by choosing a UY that starts just prior to your normal time of travel you are getting a little extra "insurance" so to speak if you have to cancel on short notice because by having trips early in your UY you would then have several months to reschedule or even rent your points if necessary after a cancellation or will still be within your banking window if the cancelled points are eligible to be banked.

. Your points then get put back in your account but get put on hold for 60 days. So 60 days from the date they get put on hold is when they become available.

As has been mentioned this is incorrect.

Holding points happen when you cancel less than 31 days prior to arrival. (and note that if you cancel on the day you are to check in you will forfeit all points on the reservation). So if you cancel 30 days or less ahead the points go into holding and are restricted to booking a new reservation on similar short notice of 60 days ahead of the date you would check in. They also cannot be banked and will expire at the end of the UY they were used for a reservation. If you wanted to you could re-book on the same day you cancelled but you could only book for sometime in the next 2 months. So say you cancel a reservation for Nov 15th on Oct 20th. That is less than 31 days in advance. On that same day (Oct 20th) if you can find availability you can rebook a stay for anytime between Oct 20th and Dec 20th. But now assume that you're schedule allows you to go March 7th-15th. In that case you will have to wait to see if there is availability and to book 60 days ahead of those dates which would be in January.

 

[Holly Quinlan]

Not correct.

Holding status means you must book something with those points inside sixty days from when you book. You can book something else immediately, but only sixty days away. For example if I today cancel a room for next week, the points would go into holding status. I could book something else with them today, but I could only book something as far out as November 20th.

Holding status doesn't go away at sixty days from your cancellation. You just have a rolling sixty day look-forward window for those points. So, carrying on my example above, if I waited to book with those holding points until December 15th, on that day I could book a trip up until February 15th. And so on and so forth.

Holding points cannot be banked and expire at the end of the UY that they originally went into holding. Hope this clarifies.

As has been mentioned this is incorrect.

Holding points happen when you cancel less than 31 days prior to arrival. (and note that if you cancel on the day you are to check in you will forfeit all points on the reservation). So if you cancel 30 days or less ahead the points go into holding and are restricted to booking a new reservation on similar short notice of 60 days ahead of the date you would check in. They also cannot be banked and will expire at the end of the UY they were used for a reservation. If you wanted to you could re-book on the same day you cancelled but you could only book for sometime in the next 2 months. So say you cancel a reservation for Nov 15th on Oct 20th. That is less than 31 days in advance. On that same day (Oct 20th) if you can find availability you can rebook a stay for anytime between Oct 20th and Dec 20th. But now assume that you're schedule allows you to go March 7th-15th. In that case you will have to wait to see if there is availability and to book 60 days ahead of those dates which would be in January.

so I bank points by April 2014 to use for a trip November 2015. I cancel the trip last minute my point go back into my account I have until august 2016 to use the points or I lose them assuming I have a September use year BUT I can only make a reservation 60 days in advance.

So my previous post was correct. I'm aware April has already passed but was just using it as an example

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

so I bank points by April 2014 to use for a trip November 2015. I cancel the trip last minute my point go back into my account I have until august 2016 to use the points or I lose them assuming I have a September use year BUT I can only make a reservation 60 days in advance.

Yes, this is correct.

My simple run down on UY. Pick a UY that starts shortly before your most likely period of travel so that if you cancel you would still be within your banking period. That gives you cheap travel "insurance" that your points can be used prior to expiring.

Second - you can always book your home resort 11 months in advance of your check in and 7 months ahead of check in at other DVC resorts. The points that are used for that trip must be valid for the actual dates of the stay and can be banked, current or borrowed points.

So for your above November 2015 stay with your Sept UY you could use banked 2014 points, current 2015 points and borrowed 2016 points and you would be able to call or go online to book that stay in Dec of 2014 for your home resort or beginning in April 2015 for a non-home resort. Banking and borrowing are final transactions and you can't put the points back into their original UY if you cancel. So once you bank or borrow those points will remain in the UY you have banked or borrowed them into and must be used by the end of that UY or they will expire. You can bank points into the next UY anytime during the first 8 months of your UY. And you aren't restricted to only one banking transaction so if plans change and you end up having more points to bank that is allowed. Borrowing however only happens when you need them to complete a reservation and you could borrow at anytime as long as you have points available to borrow.

 

[Holly Quinlan]

Yes, this is correct.

My simple run down on UY. Pick a UY that starts shortly before your most likely period of travel so that if you cancel you would still be within your banking period. That gives you cheap travel "insurance" that your points can be used prior to expiring.

Second - you can always book your home resort 11 months in advance of your check in and 7 months ahead of check in at other DVC resorts. The points that are used for that trip must be valid for the actual dates of the stay and can be banked, current or borrowed points.

So for your above November 2015 stay with your Sept UY you could use banked 2014 points, current 2015 points and borrowed 2016 points and you would be able to call or go online to book that stay in Dec of 2014 for your home resort or beginning in April 2015 for a non-home resort. Banking and borrowing are final transactions and you can't put the points back into their original UY if you cancel. So once you bank or borrow those points will remain in the UY you have banked or borrowed them into and must be used by the end of that UY or they will expire. You can bank points into the next UY anytime during the first 8 months of your UY. And you aren't restricted to only one banking transaction so if plans change and you end up having more points to bank that is allowed. Borrowing however only happens when you need them to complete a reservation and you could borrow at anytime as long as you have points available to borrow.

Thank You!

 

[mcap2004]

Not correct.

Holding status means you must book something with those points inside sixty days from when you book. You can book something else immediately, but only sixty days away. For example if I today cancel a room for next week, the points would go into holding status. I could book something else with them today, but I could only book something as far out as November 20th.

Holding status doesn't go away at sixty days from your cancellation. You just have a rolling sixty day look-forward window for those points. So, carrying on my example above, if I waited to book with those holding points until December 15th, on that day I could book a trip up until February 15th. And so on and so forth.

Holding points cannot be banked and expire at the end of the UY that they originally went into holding. Hope this clarifies.

Thank you for clarifying that. I was going about it the wrong way. Now I know for future reference otherwise that would have been points lost.

 

[mcap2004]

As has been mentioned this is incorrect.

Holding points happen when you cancel less than 31 days prior to arrival. (and note that if you cancel on the day you are to check in you will forfeit all points on the reservation). So if you cancel 30 days or less ahead the points go into holding and are restricted to booking a new reservation on similar short notice of 60 days ahead of the date you would check in. They also cannot be banked and will expire at the end of the UY they were used for a reservation. If you wanted to you could re-book on the same day you cancelled but you could only book for sometime in the next 2 months. So say you cancel a reservation for Nov 15th on Oct 20th. That is less than 31 days in advance. On that same day (Oct 20th) if you can find availability you can rebook a stay for anytime between Oct 20th and Dec 20th. But now assume that you're schedule allows you to go March 7th-15th. In that case you will have to wait to see if there is availability and to book 60 days ahead of those dates which would be in January.

Thank you for clarifying that. I was going about it the wrong way. Now I know for future reference otherwise that would have been points lost. I am so very sorry for the misinformation