Different Use Years - is it a hassle?

[2binak]

Is it difficult to have different use years? We have a SSR contract with a March UY and are looking at buying a small BWV contract. Should we be picky about UY or will it really not matter? If it will matter, could you please tell me why? Thanks!!!! (we've had DVC for 8 years but I suddenly feel like a newbie now that we're looking to add on via resale )

 

[chalee94]

it's a hassle.

if you buy 2 contracts under the same member number (titled the same and with the same UY month), they would function as one contract (at least at the 7 month window since you are looking at different resorts.) you could pool pts from both to book a single night at SSR at the 7 month window, for example.

with 2 UYs, you have 2 separate contracts with separate banking windows. so it's more to keep track of, for one.

if you want to book 4 nights with SSR pts plus 2 nights with your BWV contract, you would have to rely on MS to link 2 separate reservations so you wouldn't have to move. if you wanted to book a 7th night by combining pts from both contracts, you can't do it without a transfer.

if you transfer, you would technically use up both contracts' once-per-year transfer. also, remember that transferred pts cannot be borrowed, so that can limit how you can use the transferred pts.

having 2 UY months can be done, but it's definitely more to keep track of...

(keep in mind that you can never combine SSR pts and BWV pts during the home resort window at 11 months out - regardless of whether the UY is the same or not.)

 

[ELMC]

I'm going to weigh in with a different opinion and say that it's no big deal and shouldn't deter you from snatching up a good deal if you see it. I have four contracts with three use years and two different membership numbers (contracts titled differently) and although it is more to keep track of, it's really not that big of a deal. Plus, if you want to book longer stays you could always use banking/borrowing for one contract so that you probably won't need to mix points from two different contracts.

Charles is correct, it is more to keep track of, and if you can get everything in the same use year you certainly should. But if you can't, having two different use years isn't that big of a deal.

 

[disneynutz]

All it takes is one mistake, not banking when you should or using points from the wrong contract to make you wish that you had one membership, one master contract, one UY.

Can people make different UYs work, sure they can but why complicate things if you really don't need to.

Bill

 

[Sandisw]

I own two UY 's now and the only reason I think that it won't be a huge hassle is they are both bigger--180 and 150--so having two memberships isn't a big deal because I use them for different purposes. But I would say that If I could have found the same one I would have gone that route. The only real benefit right now has been that I may start doing a memorial day weekend trip each year which wouldn't do well with my original June UY. Now that I also have a December one as well, I can use those points for that trip.

Good luck!!

 

[Deb & Bill]

it's a hassle.

if you buy 2 contracts under the same member number (titled the same and with the same UY month), they would function as one contract (at least at the 7 month window since you are looking at different resorts.) you could pool pts from both to book a single night at SSR at the 7 month window, for example.

with 2 UYs, you have 2 separate contracts with separate banking windows. so it's more to keep track of, for one.

if you want to book 4 nights with SSR pts plus 2 nights with your BWV contract, you would have to rely on MS to link 2 separate reservations so you wouldn't have to move. if you wanted to book a 7th night by combining pts from both contracts, you can't do it without a transfer.

if you transfer, you would technically use up both contracts' once-per-year transfer. also, remember that transferred pts cannot be borrowed, so that can limit how you can use the transferred pts.

having 2 UY months can be done, but it's definitely more to keep track of...

(keep in mind that you can never combine SSR pts and BWV pts during the home resort window at 11 months out - regardless of whether the UY is the same or not.)

I have two different UYs and I agree with everything Charles says.

 

[DougEMG]

The same UY is much easier to deal with. Typically I'm willing to even pay $1-2 more to get the same UY.

With your existing one contract and looking for a small add on I would definitely stick with the same UY.

 

[RobDoc]

We have 3 different Use Years and had four at one time. We've never lost a point, missed a banking deadline or had the need to transfer points between contracts. In addition, the multiple Use Years give us a lot more flexibility when scheduling trips since we can match the travel dates with the best Use Year.

We like having multiple Use Years. I'd certainly never avoid a good deal on a contract just because it has a different Use Year.

 

[Caren90]

We have 3 different Use Years and had four at one time. We've never lost a point, missed a banking deadline or had the need to transfer points between contracts. In addition, the multiple Use Years give us a lot more flexibility when scheduling trips since we can match the travel dates with the best Use Year.

We like having multiple Use Years. I'd certainly never avoid a good deal on a contract just because it has a different Use Year.

I agree with WebmasterDoc. I have three different UYs and have very little trouble keeping track of my points and contracts. we also travel at many different times of the year, so different UYs work very well for us.

Stephen

 

[fmer55]

Is it difficult to have different use years? We have a SSR contract with a March UY and are looking at buying a small BWV contract. Should we be picky about UY or will it really not matter? If it will matter, could you please tell me why? Thanks!!!! (we've had DVC for 8 years but I suddenly feel like a newbie now that we're looking to add on via resale )

One other point to consider is what you are buying and how long you are willing to wait. What do you consider small? IMO if you are looking for 100 pts or less at BWV you should take what comes along, they are few and far between. I also think it depends on how you plan to use them that matters. If you are looking to add on specifically for BWV stays then I see no reason a different UY would be a problem.

 

[TSMMANIAC]

No hassel at all. We have OKW contract with a December UY and use it for summer and spring vacations. And we have a BWV August UY which we use for fall and New Years vacation. It works perfectly well for us. Never have to worry about scheduling late in the use year and canceling a vacation.

 

[sweetdana]

2 UY means 2 sets of "waitlists"... you could wait with 2 diff sets of points for a total of 4 rooms.

If they were not small contracts I would go for 2 different no sweat.

If they were 50 points or more, you can bank/borrow and get full trip. plus the benefits of waitlisting, and 2 UY in case you travel at more than time.

 

[JimC]

We have two use years. Never had a problem with it. My only mistake was putting the VGC contract in the December use year. All of our OKW points are in that use year and those are the ones we use at seven months. All other contracts are used at 11 months. We did have one issue where they pulled VGC points for a seven month reservation that I had to get corrected when is discovered. Overall I am quite happy with the two use years.

 

[2binak]

Thank you all so much for the responses You've given us alot of great information to consider.

 

[Meggysmum]

As someone else has said if you are after a small contract you may well just have to grab what is going. I wanted a March UY BLT contract and March definitely seems to come up a lot less often than the other UYs so I had to wait a while to find what I wanted.