First Timer Help

[matt_in_nh]

Your target trip is Fall 2026. For September 2026 for example you would book October 2025 for it.

You would use points that at in the UY covering that trip. (If have a June UY, it is 2026 points. If you have a December UY, it is 2025 points.)

Also you look at how many points you have that can be banked from the prior UY or borrowed from the next for the reservation.

When I bought I thought I wanted Oct use year because I do t want to go when Orlando is on fire. I settled for September because the contract was kind of what I wanted. Turns out I am happy with that and have a trip booked for the end of Sept which is the cheapest time to use DVC points. Nevermind Orlando will still be on fire.

 

[airjay75]

For your UY, you've identified the months you are MOST LIKELY to travel to WDW - September and mid-summer (I'll just say July and August for that). That is part of picking the best UY. To pick the best UY for you, you also need to consider the months you are LEAST LIKELY to travel to WDW. You want those months to come just before your UY begins.

So, if you think you will almost never travel during November and December, then I'd probably look at a February UY.

If you think you might want to travel around the holidays or the winter months, but you're definitely not going in late spring (April/May), then you might want to look for a June UY.

What you want to avoid is (1) ever having to cancel within 30 days of a reservation no matter your UY, or (2) canceling a reservation in the last 3 months of your UY, but even with 30+ days notice. If you do #1, no matter when, those points go into "holding." If you do #2, they won't go into holding, but you will only have to the end of that UY to use them or lose them which can be as bad or worse than points going into holding.

 

[Jtbick01]

So if I buy a contract with a UY in February, and no points left in 2025, will I be able to book my September trip before the February points are available? Like I would want to book my trip in October of 2025 for September 2026.

 

[eticketplease]

So if I buy a contract with a UY in February, and no points left in 2025, will I be able to book my September trip before the February points are available? Like I would want to book my trip in October of 2025 for September 2026.

Yes.

If you choose a February use year the 2025 points would cover trips between 2/1/2025 - 1/31/26.
September 2026 would use the February 2026 points. If any points were banked from 2025 it would use those first.

It doesn’t matter if you have points at booking only that they are available when your trip occurs.

If you wish to book somewhere that requires 100 points to stay on 9/1/26 you can book it on 10/1/26 if it is at your home resort and you have a total of 100 points in the Feb 2026 use year. It doesn’t matter if you have a 100 point contract, or a smaller contract that you have banked/borrowed points into as long as you have the 100 points in the Feb 26 use year you would be able to book the reservation. If this trip was not at your home resort you could book it subject to availability on 2/1/26.

 

[Wedgeout]

So if I buy a contract with a UY in February, and no points left in 2025, will I be able to book my September trip before the February points are available? Like I would want to book my trip in October of 2025 for September 2026.

With Feb UY (in fact any UY wanting to book Sept 2026, books Oct 2025) would be using 2026 points. If there are no 2025 points, you would only have the 2026 and points from 2027 to borrow.

 

[eticketplease]

With Feb UY (in fact any UY wanting to book Sept 2026, books Oct 2025) would be using 2026 points. If there are no 2025 points, you would only have the 2026 and points from 2027 to borrow.

October and December use years would be using 2025 points

 

[Wedgeout]

If looking to purchase a Feb UY contract with the Sept 2026 date in mind, it would be beneficial to have as many 2025 points as possible. (With the length of time it takes from ROFR, closing, and membership established, I’d ask seller to bank those 2025 points since you most likely will miss the Sept 30 banking deadline).

 

[Chili327]

So if I buy a contract with a UY in February, and no points left in 2025, will I be able to book my September trip before the February points are available? Like I would want to book my trip in October of 2025 for September 2026.

Yes.

It’s a 11 month window for your trip. It only matters that the points will be available for the trip, no matter when you do the booking.
But you will want to book as close to 11 months ahead as possible for your home resort, and 7 months ahead for any other eligible resort.

 

[Cyberc1978]

Your points would be allocated on 12/1/2041 for trips from 12/1/2041 until 1/31/2042.
You could also borrow those points to make them useable between 12/1/2040 and 11/30/2041.

Many of us believe that DVC will limit your banking and borrowing rights during the last few years of the contract.

Having a December UY could be challenging during the last year of the contract as you can't book before 12/1.

 

[matt_in_nh]

you also need to consider the months you are LEAST LIKELY to travel to WDW. You want those months to come just before your UY begins

I think this is the correct way to determine what your use year should be.

 

[airjay75]

So if I buy a contract with a UY in February, and no points left in 2025, will I be able to book my September trip before the February points are available? Like I would want to book my trip in October of 2025 for September 2026.

There are two things to keep in mind. What UY you are in (and how many points you have in that UY) and when your 11-month booking window opens up. If your planned trip is in your Feb 2026 UY, yes, you can use those points to book as long as you are 11 months or less from the planned first date of travel (and there is availability).

Let's say you're planing to travel September 1-7, 2026 and have a February UY. On October 1, 2025, you will be able to book your home resort for that stay using points from your UY that begins Feb 1, 2026. You would also be able to borrow points from your 2027 UY for that stay if you wanted to (and use any points that you banked from your 2025 UY).

If you are planning your next trip in September 2026 and thinking of going with a Feb UY (and we're talking resale), I think you need to keep two additional things in mind.

One, the time from having an offer accepted to actually having the points loaded in your account can take 2-3 months (even without a delayed closing) and there are some aspects of it that are just completely outside of your control (how long the sellers take to return their docs, how soon the title company records the deed after getting all docs, and how long Disney takes after that to create your DVC account and/or load your points). Check out the Closing Time thread to get a sense of how long it takes for some people. This could have some implications for your 2026 trip because, if you don't yet have the points to book at the 11-month window, at some resorts/rooms, you may not have your pick by the time your points load. I think you'd be in better shape if your trip is toward the end of September rather than the beginning, but still no guarantee. Also, if you're planning to book a 1 BR villa with your points, you're probably ok too because those tend to be the rooms with the most availability - studios, in particular, and some 2 BRs are a different story.

Two, if you make an offer on a Feb UY contract and they have any 2025 points that have not been banked, insist that they do that as part of the sale. They need to be banked before October 1st, and I don't think you will have your points loaded onto a DVC account before then, even if everything goes as fast as can be.

Good luck!