Let's play the Pro/Con game with Use Year....

[biochemgirl]

Looking to add a small resale contract. If I already have a February UY at Saratoga, what would be good and bad about purchasing a resale contract with a September UY?

I'll start. I'm a planner and always worry about what if I have to cancel. I see the benefit of managing my points to book a trip at essentially any time of the year and allot points from a contract that still has bankable points. That way if I cancel and can't travel, I can bank the points.

 

[skippytx]

Just going to cause headaches.

I would never buy a different UY contract at my main resort.

They only way I would consider a different UY if it was at a second property and I was planning to use the points independently for distinctly different trips than the points at my first resort.

I have Feb UY at BLT. I'd never add anything but another Feb UY contract there. We generally travel in the Feb/March timeframe so it works perfect for us.

I would however pick up a June or August Beach Club contract for a separate Fall trip.

Now if you plan on keeping the contracts separate and traveling 2 times a year without commingling the points, yeah it could work.

 

[aoconnor]

I second saving yourself the headache and waiting to find one with the same UY, unless you're in a rush for some reason. If it's at a different resort than SSR then it really doesn't matter and you can buy whatever UY you want.

I had two UY at AKV at one point and it was a pain. The worst part is trying to book at another resort at the 7-month mark... you pretty much have to call since you can't make the reservation online using two different memberships.

 

[gluestickgirl]

if you’re planning to use them for separate trips at different times of year or split stays, i’d say it’s absolutely worth the small amount of extra tracking. we have 2 use years and are in ROFR for a third. it suits how we use them.

if you want to combine them for one trip, probably not.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

If you'd be able to use it as a stand alone - ie not in conjunction with your Feb contract then it can work. It will be easier management and allow more booking flexibility with combing if they were in the same UY though.

 

[princessbride6205]

We have Feb and Oct UYs. Most of our points are in October because it can be used for our annual big January trip. We use our Feb for Star Wars race weekend in April. Those are our usual trips each year, but we also like the occasional trip every few years to Food & Wine, Aulani, or a random other time of year. It's been a little bit of a hassle a few times when I wished I could combine points more easily, but for the most part it has worked well for us.

 

[Daisybell911]

So, I think I'm reading that if you are buying points for the same resort, look for the same use year. If you are buying another resort, it doesn't really matter. Is that correct?

 

[CarolMN]

So, I think I'm reading that if you are buying points for the same resort, look for the same use year. If you are buying another resort, it doesn't really matter. Is that correct?

Not really. If you will be combining points at 7 months to make a reservation, owning contacts under the same membership is an advantage. (Same membership means the contracts have the same use year and are titled exactly the same - you actually have a Master Contract and one or more "add-on" contracts. So for example, if your Master Contract number is 123456.000, your add-on contracts will be numbered 123456.001, 123456.002, etc.). Home resort can be different, and points can easily be combined for a reservation at 7 months. If the contracts have the same resort as well as the same use year, points can easily be combined at 11 months. As far as use goes, the contracts operate as one big contract.

Different use years automatically mean different memberships. Points from different memberships cannot easily be combined to make a reservation. (There are ways to make it work, but there is additional time & effort involved, including at least one call to Member Services). As mentioned by others, different memberships can be an advantage, depending on how you plan to use them. For example, perhaps you like to travel to WDW in March and October. You prefer to stay at BLT in March and BCV in October. A BCV contract will give you home resort booking priority at BCV for the October trips and a BLT contract will give you home resort priority for BLT. You use the contracts separately and do not need to combine points from both contracts for a stay.

 

[Daisybell911]

Not really. If you will be combining points at 7 months to make a reservation, owning contacts under the same membership is an advantage. (Same membership means the contracts have the same use year and are titled exactly the same - you actually have a Master Contract and one or more "add-on" contracts. So for example, if your Master Contract number is 123456.000, your add-on contracts will be numbered 123456.001, 123456.002, etc.). Home resort can be different, and points can easily be combined for a reservation at 7 months. If the contracts have the same resort as well as the same use year, points can easily be combined at 11 months. As far as use goes, the contracts operate as one big contract.

Different use years automatically mean different memberships. Points from different memberships cannot easily be combined to make a reservation. (There are ways to make it work, but there is additional time & effort involved, including at least one call to Member Services). As mentioned by others, different memberships can be an advantage, depending on how you plan to use them. For example, perhaps you like to travel to WDW in March and October. You prefer to stay at BLT in March and BCV in October. A BCV contract will give you home resort booking priority at BCV for the October trips and a BLT contract will give you home resort priority for BLT. You use the contracts separately and do not need to combine points from both contracts for a stay.

Thanks! I think I have a better grasp now. One of these days, I'll be an expert!

 

[aoconnor]

Not really. If you will be combining points at 7 months to make a reservation, owning contacts under the same membership is an advantage. (Same membership means the contracts have the same use year and are titled exactly the same - you actually have a Master Contract and one or more "add-on" contracts. So for example, if your Master Contract number is 123456.000, your add-on contracts will be numbered 123456.001, 123456.002, etc.). Home resort can be different, and points can easily be combined for a reservation at 7 months. If the contracts have the same resort as well as the same use year, points can easily be combined at 11 months. As far as use goes, the contracts operate as one big contract.

Really? I did not know that. So if you own two different resorts but the UY is the same, you can combine the points at 7 months and make a booking online as if it was one membership? I thought you had to call. Interesting.

 

[FFMickey]

Really? I did not know that. So if you own two different resorts but the UY is the same, you can combine the points at 7 months and make a booking online as if it was one membership? I thought you had to call. Interesting.

Yes, at 7 months it's all in the same bucket.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Really? I did not know that. So if you own two different resorts but the UY is the same, you can combine the points at 7 months and make a booking online as if it was one membership? I thought you had to call. Interesting.

Yes. At a 7 month or less booking all your contacts show up as options to select to use. You then check which one to use 1st then 2nd etc.

 

[DarkSideDad]

Correct me if I’m wrong but UY only really matters if you need to cancel correct? Since you can only bank points within the first 8 months. So for exampleI would not go jun-sep so the best possible choice would be October?

 

[Disneykate605]

Correct me if I’m wrong but UY only really matters if you need to cancel correct? Since you can only bank points within the first 8 months. So for exampleI would not go jun-sep so the best possible choice would be October?

Yes...if you don't plan on traveling June-September, October would be your best choice.