If you had a do-over would you pick the same UY?

[Mtnman44]

I have no desire to travel to WDW from April to Sept, so our Oct UY seems like a winner for us.

Let's hear it OCT people! "We're number one!"

 

[floatinourboat]

Does anyone know if its possible to change your use year. I am not sure why I would even want to do that but was more curious if it can be done.

 

[DVCconvert]

Does anyone know if its possible to change your use year.

No. You could sell your contracts and buy ones with the UY you desire but that's it.


I started out with 1 UY. Then it become 2. Then it became 3. Recently it's become 4. This is because of the large number of points I have spread over 3 Home resorts. It really isn't that difficult to manage and I've never lost more than say 10 points (and I don't rent). I'd say as long as you intend to use points within 5 months of the month you're allocated them, you'll be fine.

 

[Greysword]

... I have yet to figure out how use year makes a difference. For us, a trip to Disney is a big deal and it is non-negotiable.

...all kinds of situations will change and we will either have to have creative planning or bank...

THIS is the main reason members agonize over UY. Once we are within the 4 month window, no banking is allowed. Any unused points have the possibility to expire. This would be especially tragic if a large trip is canceled within the window costing hundreds of points.

 

[ORD2KOA]

I REFUSE to lose points, so we worked it out.

My thing about losing points isn't so much about losing the points as it is about giving DVC the opportunity to sell space that I've already paid for.

I had a huge problem last year with our June UY (I wanted to do a cruise in May, but my d/h couldn't get approval for any vacation until after February 1st, and by then it's too late to make a reservation on a cruise for May when you have a June UY), but I worked some of it out, and DVC banked some of my points on a "we'll do this once for you" goodwill thing, but with what I had left, I did a ressie in CA for a friend in San Diego and booked around Memorial Day at WDW not really wanting to be there when it's so crowded and not knowing if my d/h would be able to get the time off work. In the end I rented it, but if it hadn't worked out, I wasn't going to cancel the space and just give it to them.

 

[ORD2KOA]

We have an October UY and it works just fine for us. To be honest - I am not sure how a UY would affect us. I have never understood agonizing over use years. With proper planning it isn't a big deal to me.

I think it's only a problem for those of us who either don't want to or are unable to plan trips well in advance.

 

[disneydenisel]

We have a Feb UY and have always traveled in November. I think February is not a good UY for us, but it was the resale that we found at the time, so we bought it. Luckily, we haven't had to cancel a trip and have usually been in borrow mode, so I think it works fine for us. If I had to do it over again, I would get an October UY, maybe.

We are trying to buy a June UY resale right now. That will work out for our summer vacations and holiday travel. If it works out, then someday I would consider selling my Feb UY and buying a June UY, but what a hassle to sell and buy...closing costs, broker costs, etc. Keeping what we have seems like the best plan .

 

[Buckeye Fan]

I think it's only a problem for those of us who either don't want to or are unable to plan trips well in advance.

I generally plan trips 7-11 months out. Only 7 if at a non-home resort. The once a year trips are what killed us, because we were up against that darn end of July expiration date with banked points and wanted to go in Aug!

You know, it's one of those "you live and you learn" lessons for me. Had I known more when I joined, I would have done it differently. No regrets, just differently! I guess the easiest way to say it is the less you travel and the more restrictions you have when you do travel, the more important UY becomes.

 

[libgirl1]

Just sold two contracts because of it. It became an issue with banking, as it would force us to travel June or July since any banked points expired at the end of July. If you travel often, it's not as big of a deal, but it isn't always a reality for us. Plus, no matter what, if you resort hop and change the size of your accommodations like we do, we always have an odd number of points remaining that we bank.

When we repurchased, we went with a Dec UY because that was the UY for our other 2 contracts. With DH being a teacher, if I was buying for the first time and was fully educated, I would choose February or March UY (if March is a valid UY - can't remember). But, Dec is SOOO much better than Aug for us!

We have a similar situation. I feel as if there aren't as many March UY on the resale sites. Maybe this is a possible reason?

 

[rpk1951]

we have Dec and never think about it. We have made all reservations at 11 months and never cancelled. I would be more worried about cancelling a flight than anything.

 

[ORD2KOA]

You know, it's one of those "you live and you learn" lessons for me. Had I known more when I joined, I would have done it differently.

We bought at OKW in 1994 and I don't think there was any sort of choice as far as UY. I think we closed in May and wound up with the June UY. I don't remember there being an option, or if there was, had no clue that it would be an issue. With no kids, we've always liked being able to pick up and take off when we feel the need to take a trip.

 

[Sammie]

If I had it to do over, no I would not pick October.

 

[disneylover1959]

I have a December use year and have children in school, which does limit the time that we can take our vacations. With careful planning, it doesn't seem to be too much of a problem for us with the December U/Y.

 

[Disneypubgal]

Definitely not! When I bought I was single and didn't really care!! Now I have a husband who is a teacher and a kindergartener and our big vacation is in February (Pres Week) every year and we have a March use year...

We added on with another contract with a Sept Use year and we try not to use our March use year points in February!!

 

[mikron]

We have 5 memberships in Feb, 1 in Dec and 1 in March. Hate the Dec & March. I can keep track of Feb easyer.

 

[marx]

We have a June UY and our vacation times over the past few years have been August, Xmas/New Years and Spring Break (usually Easter week). If I had done my DVC homework better I would have requested a December UY as that better fits my vacation schedule.

 

[disneybirds]

We have an April UY for BCV and it works out great for us. We also bought a Dec UY for HHI and that works since we mainly travel in the summer. The biggest pain has been when we tried to combine the points for a cruise - took absolutely forever and involved lots of supervisors!!! If we had to do it all over again, I would have bought an April UY for HHI as well.