How important is UY?

[bravenyc]

After years of renting I am finally about to take the plunge of purchasing DVC via resale. We almost always travel in August, so from my research it seems that June, August, April, or March would be the best UY - but there are some great deals out there with UY that have me worried - such as SEPT, OCT and DEC. Is the risk not worth it? I would like to think we would never be canceling last minute but I also know that August is prime hurricane time. How much should I prioritize UY? Thanks a lot - UY are so confusing!!!

 

[Sandisw]

If you know you have a specific travel time, I’d choose one that gives you the most flexibility if to have to cancel or change

Sometime, reasons for canceling or changes are out of your control and even if DVC waived holding, being beyond a banking window can lead to lost points.

IMO, I would not go with Sept or October. Dec is also risky.

 

[davidhr]

The UY is like a car insurance. It’s not important 99% of the time. But you’ll regret not having the correct one if you happen to be in that 1% of the time you need it.

If you’re in no rush, there will be a contract with the use year you need at the right price. Probably sooner than you think.

 

[intamin]

Do not settle on use year just based on the price of the deals available. I’ve been tempted myself just because there seems to be a scarcity of April UY but that one time you end up being able to save points that otherwise would’ve been forced to expire makes getting the right UY worth it. Don’t step over dollars while bending over for nickels.

 

[bravenyc]

Do not settle on use year just based on the price of the deals available. I’ve been tempted myself just because there seems to be a scarcity of April UY but that one time you end up being able to save points that otherwise would’ve been forced to expire makes getting the right UY worth it. Don’t step over dollars while bending over for nickels.

what a great saying!

 

[bravenyc]

Thanks everyone - that helped. I will definitely avoid Sep, Oct, Dec, and Feb use years. Do you think it is worth spending a few thousand more on a June UY, or should March be okay with August trips?

 

[HIRyeDVC]

If August is your primary travel time, then I would buy August, or June. Just keep in mind, your travel habbits might change as your kids grow, or your life changes, which it often does. You're travel preference might also change as you use DVC more. No matter the UY, you could probably make it work. You just haveto be mindful of the danger period, if you ever haveto cancel your trip.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

Thanks everyone - that helped. I will definitely avoid Sep, Oct, Dec, and Feb use years. Do you think it is worth spending a few thousand more on a June UY, or should March be okay with August trips?

I have a March UY, and most of our major trip is in late August since my kids don't start school until labor day. It works out great. But it's also not ideal for fall and winter trips. All my contracts are March UY except for my Grand Cal, which is June. So I've adjusted my vacation habits to fit my differing UY. WDW in August, and Disneyland in Oct/Nov/Dec. It works out beautifully.

 

[Nursemanit]

October is also bad for adding on resale - not many Oct contracts compared to other months. People forget that the use years are not evenly divided - It hurts when you want 50 more and you have a small selection.

DVC news Use year Breakdown

 

[bravenyc]

I have a March UY, and most of our major trip is in late August since my kids don't start school until labor day. It works out great. But it's also not ideal for fall and winter trips. All my contracts are March UY except for my Grand Cal, which is June. So I've adjusted my vacation habits to fit my differing UY. WDW in August, and Disneyland in Oct/Nov/Dec. It works out beautifully.

Thanks so much - this is really helpful. My kids also start school post labor day - so we usually travel in late August too (super hot but low crowds).

 

[bravenyc]

October is also bad for adding on resale - not many Oct contracts compared to other months. People forget that the use years are not evenly divided - It hurts when you want 50 more and you have a small selection.

DVC news Use year Breakdown

Wow - I did not even know about this - I thought it was more evenly distributed. I wonder why it is uneven. It seems like March and April are also similar to Sept and Oct. Dec, August and June are the highest at the resorts I am interested in. Thanks so much.

 

[Noodlez]

Thanks everyone - that helped. I will definitely avoid Sep, Oct, Dec, and Feb use years. Do you think it is worth spending a few thousand more on a June UY, or should March be okay with August trips?

March shouldn't be a problem, but it's about buying what you're happy with. If you've seen similar sized contracts you could make an offer on the June one at the same price as the March one? There is no reason that June should be so much more, and you can always mention to the broker that you've seen contracts around the amount you're offering. If they're not willing to reduce it then it might be worth waiting for a reasonably priced one.

 

[intamin]

I have a March/April UY at different resorts. In hindsight I wish I had gotten my resale contract first and then purchased direct.

Wow - I did not even know about this - I thought it was more evenly distributed. I wonder why it is uneven. It seems like March and April are also similar to Sept and Oct. Dec, August and June are the highest at the resorts I am interested in. Thanks so much.

As someone with add-on-itis with an April UY I found this out pretty quickly . But yeah.. it's reallllly tempting to grab a different UY on another resort or even the same resort but I know in my mind if I were forced to strand say 100-150 points on a single reservation one year that alone would cut the savings I had. The only reason I have 2 use years right now is because my second one is an Aulani subsidized and those contracts aren't readily available and I can keep my Hawaii points separate from my WDW/DL points in the future.

 

[Travel60]

We have March year, originally bought when kids were in school.

They are out and married now and we generally travel to Florida for several weeks in January-early February to get out of northern cold. Several hundred points. Not ideal but we have never lost points due to having to cancel. I guess if we did have an emergency we would try to rent or just offer to family.

So, it just has to do with your risk tolerance.

 

[Pens Fan]

While the range of UY availability is definitely real, we have a Sep UY (only 9% of the UY's based on the chart referenced above) because we almost always travel in Fall and Winter. I can attest that we've had no issues adding on to our membership - multiple times. It may take a little longer to find that perfect contract, but we've had no problem finding ones that met our needs - and we've added on a lot!

I'd always recommend picking UY based on travel patterns, period. The little bit of savings you might find on a less than ideal UY is really just a drop in the bucket compared to years of vacations. The same can be said for waiting a few weeks or even months to find a contract in the UY you really need. DVC is a long term commitment. Take your time and get what will work best for you for years to come.

 

[CarolynFH]

I thought it was more evenly distributed. I wonder why it is uneven.

I don't think anyone here has insight into how DVD assigns UY when selling a new resort. UYs for OKW (the original Disney Vacation Club) are fairly evenly distributed, but the UYs for HHI and VB (the next two DVC resorts) look to me as if DVD might have been considering seasonal booking patterns and assigning UYs that started just before or during the months of highest booking (e.g. summer for HHI, Spring Break and summer for VB). Boardwalk's UY distribution sort of follows VB. Buying at BWV in November, we were assigned a September UY, which has been perfect for us because we almost never visit in the summer. I haven't looked at the other resorts to see whether there's any hint of such a distribution.

In recent years, it seems that the Guides try to sell a lot of December UY. My thought on that is because it's easy for them to use the "If you buy today, you'll get last year's points too!" idea when selling all year long (except in December).

 

[intamin]

I don't think anyone here has insight into how DVD assigns UY when selling a new resort. UYs for OKW (the original Disney Vacation Club) are fairly evenly distributed, but the UYs for HHI and VB (the next two DVC resorts) look to me as if DVD might have been considering seasonal booking patterns and assigning UYs that started just before or during the months of highest booking (e.g. summer for HHI, Spring Break and summer for VB). Boardwalk's UY distribution sort of follows VB. Buying at BWV in November, we were assigned a September UY, which has been perfect for us because we almost never visit in the summer. I haven't looked at the other resorts to see whether there's any hint of such a distribution.

In recent years, it seems that the Guides try to sell a lot of December UY. My thought on that is because it's easy for them to use the "If you buy today, you'll get last year's points too!" idea when selling all year long (except in December).

Is there a reason other than that why DVC tends to favor pushing certain UY? I noticed when I bought direct I had specifically told my agent I liked vacationing in May and September and she tried to put us on a June UY. I originally didn't think much of it but as I did more research I managed to get it changed to April within the 10 day period thankfully but they stated they were unwilling to do March without a prior DVC contract.

 

[CarolynFH]

Is there a reason other than that why DVC tends to favor pushing certain UY? I noticed when I bought direct I had specifically told my agent I liked vacationing in May and September and she tried to put us on a June UY. I originally didn't think much of it but as I did more research I managed to get it changed to April within the 10 day period thankfully but they stated they were unwilling to do March without a prior DVC contract.

I don't think any of us here have any insight into that, either. Or if they do, I hope they'll post it! It definitely is a mystery to me, especially when educated buyers like you have trouble getting the UY they want. I've read posts from more than one person here over the years who had to tell them they wouldn't buy if they couldn't get the UY they wanted.

 

[Flash_Sloth]

Thanks so much - this is really helpful. My kids also start school post labor day - so we usually travel in late August too (super hot but low crowds).

August is your target for your trips, but if you had to, would you be more likely do a trip a little earlier in July or a little later in September? If you get an August UY, it would be fabulous for August & September trips, but not so good for July trips. If you're constrained by the school year calendar, I'm guessing July would be a better back-up plan for a trip if August wasn't available? I'd recommend getting a UY that gives you enough wiggle room around the times you are most likely to travel.

 

[Prince John Robin Hood]

We have Feb and Dec UY and travel only during school breaks as we have two kids and DW is a teacher. If I could do it over again I would likely only do Dec UY as the way I look at it I need to cancel in July anyway (31 days) for an August trip to avoid points going into holding. I would say Sept and Oct are the only 2 UY you should avoid for sure.