Is 1 month difference in use years easy to navigate?

[JPKnapp]

I hear and trust everyone that use year is an underrated and very important element in deciding on contract. My plan is to accumulate smaller contracts over time waiting for the "perfect" fit. Should my definition of "perfect" be the exact use year or can I take a month on either side as easily manageable?

 

[Spartan86]

If you plan to combine the points from smaller contracts for stays it will be far easier to keep them in the same UY. Different UY points will be under different memberships which cannot be combined “on the fly” for a booking. You would need to transfer the points first, then you can’t see the transferred points online, then you have to call MS to book at 0900 instead of 0800. Not an insurmountable problem, but you don’t want that process to be the norm IMHO.

With that said, we have two use years but only find ourselves in a transfer situation about every 4th year (by our estimate) for point balancing as we utilize the memberships separately which again IMHO (as suggested by many here) is the best practice generally for multiple UY utilization.

 

[JPKnapp]

If you plan to combine the points from smaller contracts for stays it will be far easier to keep them in the same UY. Different UY points will be under different memberships which cannot be combined “on the fly” for a booking. You would need to transfer the points first, then you can’t see the transferred points online, then you have to call MS to book at 0900 instead of 0800. Not an insurmountable problem, but you don’t want that process to be the norm IMHO.

With that said, we have two use years but only find ourselves in a transfer situation about every 4th year (by our estimate) for point balancing as we utilize the memberships separately which again IMHO (as suggested by many here) is the best practice generally for multiple UY utilization.

That helps a ton. I do plan on combining. If it was all the same use year, would all the points show up immediately upon transfer?

 

[CarolMN]

Agree with Spartan86. Disadvantages of multiple use years are the same, no matter how close the use years may be.

If you plan to combine points from different use years for a reservation, you will end up frustrated because you will not be able to do it online. You will have to call MS. That means those who can book online, will have at least an hour's head start. (MS hold times are longer first thing in the morning). That could be the difference between getting what you want and waitlisting.

Get the same use year, and make sure the contracts are titled exactly the same so that they end up in the same membership.

 

[Great3]

That helps a ton. I do plan on combining. If it was all the same use year, would all the points show up immediately upon transfer?

No need to transfer if all the same UY. It’s all already in the same membership id, so you can combine the points to make a reservation.

Great3

 

[Spartan86]

No need to transfer if all the same UY. It’s all already in the same membership id, so you can combine the points to make a reservation.

Great3

Good info, just a follow on for example. We have 3 contracts. 2 June and one February. @JPKnapp, because our 2 June are same UY and titled the same -happen to also be same resort - even though they are separate contracts, as they are under the same membership they largely function as one entity for points use. Definitely easier.

 

[Sandisw]

To add, if you decide to add on different resorts, even if they are the same UY, you can not combine them until the 7 month window.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

One month or many apart, keep the same UY if you want to use them together.

 

[sndral]

I hear and trust everyone that use year is an underrated and very important element in deciding on contract. My plan is to accumulate smaller contracts over time waiting for the "perfect" fit. Should my definition of "perfect" be the exact use year or can I take a month on either side as easily manageable?

When I was planning to spread my purchases over time I chose my first contract use year to be one with a high % of points figuring it would be easier to match than some of the lower % of points sold use years. See: https://dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-p...ear-distribution-charts-updated-february-2018

 

[JPKnapp]

When I was planning to spread my purchases over time I chose my first contract use year to be one with a high % of points figuring it would be easier to match than some of the lower % of points sold use years. See: https://dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-p...ear-distribution-charts-updated-february-2018

This is really great information. Made me rethink entierly. I'm now aiming for Feb only. Thank you.

 

[10CJ]

I would try to keep them all the same UY. If you did go with different UY I would want them at different times of year to better cover different months of travel.

One month apart is not worth the hassle.

 

[TonyaG83]

I am one of the few who ended up doing two different use years. I travel at two different times of year (spring/fall) and needed use years that reflected that. I also own at AKV and just passed ROFR on a small Poly contract. I would never use my Poly points to stay anywhere but a Poly studio in the fall (my solo trips usually). My AKV points are for my spring trips over Easter, which need to be done in a 1bed because I bring a few family members.