Bill
IMO there are reasons to go both ways. The disadvantages are less for different home resorts because you can only combine points at 7 months anyway. The advantages are that you can target specific UY to specific trips and that you get more wait list slots. Historically it also made a difference in the banking options but this has changed. For the same home resort I'd only do it if you have specific trips that you're trying to use UY as cancelation insurance. We've had as many as 3 UY (2 now) and it's not that big of a deal though. A better UY for your intended usage is more important than many other factors IMO.
Bill
Bill,
With dues currently at $2.65 pp it will be more expensive than SSR long term unless it's a subsidized contract and it will be worth proportionately less down the line and likely more difficult to sell if needed because it's VB. Plus there's no long term guarantee that smaller contracts will continue to bring a premium, there are realistic changes within the system that could make them less desirable instead of more so. One also gives up an 11 month window at WDW if that's the focus. IMO VB makes sense if you want to use it at VB. I'd suggest there is a break point where VB makes sense just to use at WDW but it's well below $52 a point or a $30 differential IMO.
If you only have enough for your trips now and need a full contract of points to do that trip for spring break, it might be worth it. I get the sense you're thinking some years but not routinely and if this is the case, I likely would not consider a second UY. Remember I'm about the biggest advocate there is for timing UY so keep that in mind for my answer. While it's true if you have to cancel last minute you might risk points, once you get to 30 days out they will go into holding anyway. You'd still be able to bank with a June UY if you canceled up until 1/31 which is not a big window between the banking deadline and the deadline to prevent holding points. There are variables about your situation that might affect the decision that we won't know. IMO staying out of banking/borrowing routinely is more important than UY in this situation. You might have almost enough points now to do all the trips listed most years without banking, borrowing or buying more and plan to stay at the same home resort all trips most of the time and just be thinking of trip timing. In this situation you would likely be better off making due and buying nothing. More likely you need more points to do the trips outlined and if you plan to do all of them routinely at the same resort or if you only plan the spring break trip EOY or less, I'd buy more same UY for most situations if you need at least 100 or greater to do so. OTOH if you're thinking a different home resort, always in borrowing mode, plan to do spring break yearly and your chances of having to change or cancel last minute are above average, a second UY that's well timed might be best. If so, I'd only consider Feb or March depending on your usual spring break timing and likely April. I would not compromise back to Dec for the situation as described.
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Financially speaking there's no arguing with what I posted. If you have other benefits owning VB, like you want to stay there routinely, that's a different situation as I've posted many times on this subject.
Life is too good to be arguing over anything as trivial as this.
