different use year, pros and cons?

[garylpn]

need feedback, looking to add on to bcv, use year is dec, may just grab big point purchase through resale, but nothing available right now bcv, and most of other resorts has different use year
we usually go in early may and 1st week december
thanks for input
gary

 

[stacy6552]

I would think the only con would be keeping your points straight for banking, especially in a situation where you are cancelling part of a trip. You want to make sure the cancel with the specific points you want to bank......

The pro would be that if you get a different use year that is convenients for your May trips, at the resort you want to add onto, then therw qould be minimal confusion potential with a contract you can actually get your hands on.

 

[Granny]

We have two contracts: two different resorts and two different use years.

I don't know that there's any particular advantage to having two use years, but it does take a bit of figuring to keep the banking and borrowing straight. We find David Frederickson's DVC point tracking software to be invaluable for this.

It can be downloaded at this site: http://hometown.aol.com/dmfredrick/Download.html


It's hard enough to find the right resale with the right amount of points at the right resort. Adding in the "right use year" just makes it that much harder. For us, it's no big deal to have two use years.

 

[beacher]

We have BCV Feb use year and are currently awaiting ROFR for BWV Feb use year. We tried to keep it all in the same use year for ease in tracking points, but if we lose the BWV contract to Disney, I just might seek out a different use year. I'm really buying the BWV points for annual December trips, and that is rather close to the end of a Feb. use year. If I ever had to cancel a Dec. trip less than 30 days before, I'd have very little time left in the use year to use the points. If I have to look for another BWV contract I think I'll stay away from February and do the extra work tracking two sets of banking deadlines (I'm a chronic point borrower, anyway... banking, what's banking?)

 

[mickeymom629]

I think the only problem would be if you reserved your week in December and then needed to cancel. If you had borrowed any points to make the reservation, they could not go back into the year you borrowed them from. You would have to make sure that you could book another trip before your next use year started.

Our use year is June and if I book for spring break, I have to hope I don't have to cancel because, with four kids in school, I can't plan another trip before June unless I take them out of school. Of course, that is if I have to cancel after my within 30 days of our arrival.

Curiously, the guide book says borrowed points can't be returned to their use year, but on the page about cancelling reservations, it says that if you cancel at 31 or more days, all points will go back into their use year, but they don't say that that doesn't apply to borrowed points.

 

[Caskbill]

Contractswith same use year will combine points for making reservations or for banking. Contracts with different use years will not.

Situation A: 150 point OKW June and 150 point BWV June.
Situation B: 150 point OKW June and 150 point BWV July.

Banking. "A" is treated as a 300 point contract for banking purposes. Suppose you used all 150 OKW points, none of the BWV points, and were at your 50% banking window. You could still bank all 150 BWV points because it's only 50% of your total of 300 points.

"B", same situation. You could only bank 75 of your BWV points because that's 50% of your 150 point contract. The OKW contract is totally separate.


Making reservations: Situation "A": You want to make a 5-night reservation that requires 35 points/night or 175 points total. At 7-months you can use points from any account. (11-month window would be different). You can use all 150 of your OKW points and 25 of your BWV points to make this reservation.

Situation "B". You cannot combine points to make the reservation. You cannot use points from two accounts to make a reservation for a single day. You would have to reserve 4-days using the OKW points (140 points) and 1-day using the BWV points (35 points) and then link the two reservations together to get your 5-day vacation.

The difference between "A" and "B" is that in "A", when done, you have zero OKW points left and 125 BWV points left, while in "B" you have 10 OKW points left and 115 BWV points left.

As you can see, two separate use years requires a higher degree of account management and planning.

 

[Caskbill]

Curiously, the guide book says borrowed points can't be returned to their use year, but on the page about cancelling reservations, it says that if you cancel at 31 or more days, all points will go back into their use year, but they don't say that that doesn't apply to borrowed points.

When you borrow points, the use year changes to a new use year. If you cancel prior to 31 days, the points go back into their use year. So for borrowed points they go back into the use year they were borrowed into. They do not go back into their original use year.

You borrow some 2005 points to make a reservation. These points are 'reassigned' as 2004 points. You later cancel the reservation prior to 31 days out. Those points are returned to your 2004 use year, not to your 2005 use year. You cannot 'bank' those points into 2005 either. They must be used before the end of your 2004 UY.

 

[mickeymom629]

 

[Zurg]

Hey Garry

Glad you are here!