Help me understand Use Year

[krisnchris]

We're looking to buy DVC. Right now, we really like to travel in the fall when the crowds are great, and weather is also milder. In the future, we may have to do summers as children get older and school becomes more of an issue. What should we consider for Use Year?

 

[RobDoc]

If cancellation is ever an issue, it is best to have a Use Year that starts shortly before you would likely travel since that affords more opportunity to re-use or bank points returned to your account from the cancellation. For travel between June and Thanksgiving a June use Year would work well.

If you had a July Use Year and cancelled a June reservation, the points returned would still need to be used before the end of June. With a June Use Year, canceling the same trip would give you thru the following May to reuse or bank the points.

 

[krisnchris]

so they're offering me a May use year. Would that be terrible? Having a hard time wrapping my mind around the various scenarios. . .

 

[DebbieB]

so they're offering me a May use year. Would that be terrible? Having a hard time wrapping my mind around the various scenarios. . .

Are you sure they are offering you May? DVC does sell January, May, July or November use years. Maybe it's June, which would be June 1 to May 31.

For your scenerio, April or June would be good. April use year points can be banked by November 30.

 

[Sandisw]

With the possibility of summer vacations and your current visits being in the Fall, I would go with a June UY.

Having a UY that falls just before your typical travel gives you the most flexibility if you ever have to cancel or change a trip, especially if you have borrowed points.

We own June since I teach and travel in the summer. But, when DH and I retire, our plans our to visit in the fall, early December or January.

Now, if you think you would ever plan a Spring trip, you may want to have April UY as well.

You can bank points during the first 8 months of a trip so if you are traveling during that time and cancel a trip, or change the reservation to use less points, you can still bank those points.

If you had to borrow points for a trip and had to cancel, you would have time to re-book the trip when you travel toward the beginning of the UY since borrowed points must be used in the UY they are borrowed in to.

Good luck!!!

 

[RobDoc]

so they're offering me a May use year. Would that be terrible? Having a hard time wrapping my mind around the various scenarios. . .

I'd check again what Use Year you are being offered - as there are no May Use Years. (Also no January, July or November.)

I'd see about a June Use Year.

 

[CheetoGuido]

okay, can y'all help me too?
I am all screwed up. I thought i had this figured out but after reading your replies i see i am wrong. We plan on doing most of our WDW vacations right around when school lets out for Christmas, Dec 16-17 for 5-6 nights or maybe right before Thanksgiving, like leave the Thursday Night before Thanksgiving and stay until the night before Thksgiving. We thought on the years that we can't do that we would vacation in either February around the Presidents Day or the very 1st week in June. I know I am all over the board here !!! But basically most trips would be Nov & Dec and some in Feb & June. I thought this meant I should get a Feb UY, so i could book my Dec trip 11 months in advance, thinking it would be hard to get Christmas Time reservations. Based on the advise given, should I pick an October UY? Totally Confused again..

Thank you!

 

[Deb & Bill]

okay, can y'all help me too?
I am all screwed up. I thought i had this figured out but after reading your replies i see i am wrong. We plan on doing most of our WDW vacations right around when school lets out for Christmas, Dec 16-17 for 5-6 nights or maybe right before Thanksgiving, like leave the Thursday Night before Thanksgiving and stay until the night before Thksgiving. We thought on the years that we can't do that we would vacation in either February around the Presidents Day or the very 1st week in June. I know I am all over the board here !!! But basically most trips would be Nov & Dec and some in Feb & June. I thought this meant I should get a Feb UY, so i could book my Dec trip 11 months in advance, thinking it would be hard to get Christmas Time reservations. Based on the advise given, should I pick an October UY? Totally Confused again..

Thank you!

Your use year has no impact on when you can make a reservation. You just have the points available for the start of the reservation, not when you make the reservation. Your UY just lets you know when your pocket full of points is filled up again. Anyone with any UY can book Christmas at 11 months out at their home resort if they have the points to do it.

Your UY will let you know when any points you have left will expire or need to be banked. So if you have to cancel that vacation that was scheduled to start a few months before the end of your UY, you'll have to bank any points if it is still more than four months to the end of your UY or use those points somehow if you are less than four months to the end of your uY.

 

[RobDoc]

okay, can y'all help me too?
I am all screwed up. I thought i had this figured out but after reading your replies i see i am wrong. We plan on doing most of our WDW vacations right around when school lets out for Christmas, Dec 16-17 for 5-6 nights or maybe right before Thanksgiving, like leave the Thursday Night before Thanksgiving and stay until the night before Thksgiving. We thought on the years that we can't do that we would vacation in either February around the Presidents Day or the very 1st week in June. I know I am all over the board here !!! But basically most trips would be Nov & Dec and some in Feb & June. I thought this meant I should get a Feb UY, so i could book my Dec trip 11 months in advance, thinking it would be hard to get Christmas Time reservations. Based on the advise given, should I pick an October UY? Totally Confused again..

Thank you!

Use Year has nothing at all to do with when you can make a reservation. You can always reserve at your Home Resort 11 months in advance (based on availability) regardless of Use Year. As long as the points will be available in your account for use at the time of the reservation, you may reserve at 11 months.

If you primary concern is to travel in November/December, I'd look for an October Use Year (there is no November UY). Again, the real issue is when reservations might need to be cancelled since Use Year will determine your banking deadline and also the date points would expire.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[CheetoGuido]

Thank you Deb&Bill and Doc for setting me straight. I was completely off!! Thank you, thank you!!
Now back to the resales lists... now that i know what i am looking for!!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thank you Deb&Bill and Doc for setting me straight. I was completely off!! Thank you, thank you!!
Now back to the resales lists... now that i know what i am looking for!!

Excellent. Good luck finding the right contract. Glad I could be of help.

 

[krisnchris]

You called it. It was a June UY! I remembered wrong, then I looked and it was June. Sounds like that's not so bad. . . Now to figure out if we should go for it. . .

 

[Sammie]

If I could redo mine, I have Oct and hate it, I would want one early in the year.

Since my vacation time off is set to a calendar year and I would like to have my points in my account before I go on vacation.

With October my trips always fall before my use year as we very seldom go in Oct, Nov or Dec.