Hassle or Difficulty Managing Multiple Contracts?

[Xalthon]

I am considering adding on (add-on-itis is real!). Logistically, how will it work with multiple contracts? I do know from reading that it is highly preferable to get the same use year, which would be my plan. But other than that, what is the process for making reservations? Do I select which bank of points (i.e., contract) I want to draw from and how many for each reservation?

Thanks!

 

[erionm]

If the same UY, you select which contracts you want points pulled from and the order that they are to be used. It will used any banked/borrowed points first and then use current points in the order specified.

 

[CWTC]

We have 9 contracts, all the same UY, spread over 4 home resorts. It’s honestly really easy. When we book at 11 months, we essentially treat the contracts as 1 pool of points using banked, current UY, and then borrowing (and for us it really doesn’t matter which contract is used 1st or for borrowing). It gets a little complicated at 7 months - we have a pool of SAP+ points that we use first (BLT) and then usually a few left overs here and there from other contracts. The booking system lets you select the contracts you want to use and in what order - it pulls banked first, then current, etc.

I did learn a good trick from the disboards on booking at 7 months - we needed about 1200 points for 8 nights in a bungalow. I wanted to use the BLT and any left over points from our other contracts but did not want to touch a specific number of banked/current/future BCV points (because we wanted to book 1 1br for 9 nights 11 months). A dis’er suggested I make a booking with the exact number of BCV points i wanted first to “shelter” those points. And THEN make the poly booking. After the bungalow was booked, I released the “dummy” BCV booking which then left me with the banked/current points I wanted/needed for that booking.

I know a lot of people have different UYs and manage them just fine. We very much have purchased contracts with the goal of keeping them all in 1 UY.

 

[BigOnDis]

I only have two contracts, for now, both at the same home resort and same use year, and I find it very easy to manage. As the previous poster mentioned, I just treat them as one group of points, but we only go once a year and bank any points that are left over, so I might be the outlier.

 

[Patsaizan]

It is easy (keep same UY). We have 10 total contracts over 4 home resorts. When you make a booking you get a list of which contract to pull from 1st, 2nd, etc. I do use a spreadsheet to map out what I want to do for the year, which contracts to pull from, making sure I use banked points first.

 

[Xalthon]

Thanks for the info, everyone! We likely were also just going to add at the same resort, which sounds like will make it even easier! But good to know that even multiple resorts is doable.

 

[intamin]

Thanks for the info, everyone! We likely were also just going to add at the same resort, which sounds like will make it even easier! But good to know that even multiple resorts is doable.

Yep as long as you keep everything in the same use year it is very easy. Even with multiple resorts the system will simply lock out the points that are not eligible for the 11 month booking window on its own. With multiple it's really not THAT bad as long as you have a solid understanding of use year.

 

[CarolMN]

It's possible to manage multiple memberships, but there is no doubt that having everything in one membership (all use years the same and all contracts titled exactly the same) is a whole lot easier. Different resorts under the same membership is very seldom a problem.

While it's not 100% true all the time, most of the website booking issues involve multiple memberships. That's just something to keep in mind as you consider add-on contracts. IMO, owning multiple memberships is for experienced members. (And many of them got that way due dealing with some of the frustrations associated with using multiple memberships to book a single vacation). All that said, there are some advantages to multiple memberships, and many who post here will gladly tell you about them.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Instagramhusband]

I wouldn't recommend multiple use years if you are looking to book one trip with the combined points. It can be done but complications can occur.

The drop down menu to change memberships makes it pretty easy to manage. We have two different use years with 3 contracts and 2 different resorts.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I would say that even having more than one contract CAN be confusing/require more thought at times. For example I want to book a stay at Aulani 11 months out but not all my points are from Aulani so even though I have enough points in total, I have to consider whether the 11 month booking is important enough that I borrow from the next Aulani UY or whether to take my chances at 7 months with my non-AUL points. And then if I do borrow, I need to remember to do something with my non-AUL points - either bank them into the next year or rent or have another stay, etc. It's not a problem, it's just that you have to plan pretty far ahead sometimes.

 

[Genie+]

Multiple contracts is not too tricky. Multiple memberships is when it can get complicated.

Multiple contracts in the same membership can easily be combined at 7 months, book their home resorts at 11 months and would all have the same the UY.

Multiple memberships happen when contracts have different use years and/or owner names do not exactly match. Trying to use different memberships for a single reservation requires some extra work either by transferring in points from one membership to another, or setting up a split stay (which couldn’t merged). But if the intention is to use different memberships separately for different trips, then it maight nt matter much. Like for someone owning AUL MAR UY and BLT AUG UY, if they plan to only AUL at Aulani and BLT for all WDW trips, then it’s not likely going to cause more work or complications.

 

[NVDISFamily]

Having two UYs/memberships becomes less of a pain when each membership is of sufficient size to stand on it's own. This will vary from family to family and what size room you want and how long you need to book for. If you are fairly sure you will always travel in a specific time of year keeping your points in one membership will make 7 month booking into other resorts a lot less stressful.

 

[disneylandtour]

It's easier to have one UY. But you get two waitlist spots for each UY you have. So there's a perk. I'd say, if you only go a couple of times a year, get one UY. But if you go often--and are on the DVC site a lot--you'll probably be fine with two or three UY. Just set an annual alert a few days before the banking deadline for each UY. I have six contracts and three UYs presently.