Does UY matter?

[Kurby]

I know you can't get January UY dates but what are they months you can?


and - does it matter which one you choose?

is it better to wait for one that falls closer to the calendar year or does it make any difference as long as you can remember physical year.

 

[Delaware Mike]

I know you can't get January UY dates but what are they months you can?


and - does it matter which one you choose?

is it better to wait for one that falls closer to the calendar year or does it make any difference as long as you can remember physical year.

The UYs are: February, March, April, June, August, September, October and December.

Assuming a purchase via resale, I'd try for a UY when you'd normally travel to WDW. For us, we always go during October to celebrate the anniversary of my wife's 29th birthday. So we purchased a contract with an October UY.

Our UY begins October 1 each calendar year, and ends the following September 30.

This provides us ample opportunity to use our points within the remainder of our UY, in case we have to cancel our ressie for some reason. And since we would still be within the first 6 months of the UY, we have the option to bank all points if the need arises.

But, this is only my opinion. Let others offer their opinions too, then make the choice appropriate for your particular situation.

Good luck!

 

[drusba]

Use year is irrelevant to when you can go (anytime of year) or to when you can call to reserve (always 11 months out at home resort and 7 at others).

Use year determines when points are put into your account -- the first day of the use year -- and by when they need to be banked -- by end of sixth month of use year to bank all, ninth month to bank half, and 10th month to bank a fourth. It is the banking rule that leads some to choose certain use years. Assume you usually go in October every year. Now assume you have a December use year. You call in November 2007 11 months out and use the points you will get in December 2007 to make a ressie for October 2008. In August 2008 something happens to make you cancel the October trip. You now have all those December 2007 points back in your account but you can bank only half of them because of the banking rules and thus must use or lose (or rent) for a trip by the end of November 2008 the other half. It is that possibility that leads some to determine that they should have a use year that begins about six months or less before the time they usually go every year, and thus provide the opportunity to bank all points even if they have to cancel two months out. That is the only factor that might dictate a choice of use year and even then it ultimately will likely make no difference -- people who go the same time every year when they begin with DVC may change to going other times of year (you may believe you have to go spring break every year because of kids now but eventually the kids will be older and give you the opportunity to go early December, January or other times).

 

[Figment2]

When I bought, they were selling Dec. so that's what I have. If I had thought about it or did some research I probably would have asked for a different one. Why? Because I tend to travel the end of October, begining of November. If I cancel within my banking deadlines and haven't borrowed points, I'm okay, but if something were to happen right before the trip, there's a good chance I'd lose my points.

In fact, a friend of mine (Marge) lost points for a Sat. night this past Nov. (she, too, has a Dec. use year). There was a whole group of us staying at different DVC resorts. She was in a studio at SSR. Other friends had a 1BR at OKW and had to leave one day early so they offered the 1BR to Marge. Since it was Nov. the points could not go into a holding account and she lost the studio points. It was worth it to her, though, once she saw the jacuzzi!

Cyn

 

[dwelty]

If you like to go to WDW in the fall, winter, and Spring. An October use year is great. We usually have all of our travel finished for the year before the banking deadline. If we planed an August trip, and then had to cancel at the last minuite, we would be screwed, because we could not bank at that time. WDW is sweltering in the summer, so we knew we would never go there at that time, we decided on an October use year for that very reason. So in my opinion it does matter.

 

[DisneyHumbug]

I never gave use year a thought til this year. I have September and we are booked for August. If something comes up and we have to cancel, I'll probably lose those points!

 

[3DisneyKids]

Some on these boards will say that UY does not matter, but I disagree...I say that it is definitely important. True...it does NOT matter for when you travel at all...you can go in any month. You can also book in any month--that has nothing to do with UY.

UY becomes important if you ever have to cancel a booked trip and end up with points in holding. Do you have kids or an erratic work schedule or any health issues which might cause you to cancel a trip close to your travel dates? If so, then pay close attention to your UY. You definitely want a UY close to when you usually travel. That way, if you cancel, you still have the entire year left to use up those points, as others have said.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I have always felt which use year is not of great importance. If you are in the habit of cancelling trips last minute and tend to always travel at the same time of the year...then maybe. In that case, a use year shortly before the time you always travel will give you plenty of time to bank and/or reuse those points. That being said, in 10 years of membership, we have NEVER had to cancel late enough to worry about it, and our trips are usually right BEFORE our use year, so it could be an issue. For that reason, I don't think I would worry about use year. As others have told you, it has nothing to do with when you can book...just when your points get renewed.

 

[MECH8T7]

We are DVC newbies from Toronto and just purchased an AKV contract with an October UY, which is the UY I wanted.

My reasoning was this: I'm anticipating that we will usually want to travel to WDW to get away from the cold, with most of our trips occuring during March school break when our three kids are still young as has been the case for the past three years. So, I wanted to pick a UY year that started during the fall where the 6 month window for banking 100% of current year points into the next year included March, in case we ever had to unexpectedly cancel a trip planned for the March break. I could also see us planning quickie trips down to WDW during Canadian Thanksgiving in October, so I would want October to be included in the 6 month window for banking 100% of current year points. An October UY met those requirements because both October and March are within the first 6 months of the Use Year.