Need advice on 2 use years

[nifferearly]

I currently own 4 different contracts all in the same use year. I would like to buy an extended OKW contract, which is rare on the resale market. I just found one for the perfect amount of points but it's a different use year. What are the cons of having 2 use years? Would it end up being really annoying long-term? If I'm under the 7 month window, can I use points from both use years on the same reservation? Thanks for your help!

 

[dbs1228]

The only way to use your points from 2 contracts for 1 reservation would be to transfer the points from 1 contract to the other (which transfers in or out is allowed only 1 time per UY) so it is doable. You could also book a few nights with 1 contract the rest of your stay with the other contract and have the res linked. I have several contracts same UY because I think it is easier in the long run to keep track of. Good luck in your decision!

 

[Chuck S]

Having a different use year would mean two completely separate memberships, different banking and borrowing windows, and the inability to book any one noght using points from both memberships without a points transfer.

 

[RobDoc]

We've been able to use points from contracts with four different Use Years for reservations without the need to transfer points between them. The only limitation is that you will need to reserve whole nights from each contract and MS will link them all together into one seamless reservation.

With a transfer you can combine points at 7 months, but the same thing can be accomplished without a transfer by simply reserving as many nights as possible from one contract and then linking additional nights from other contracts.

Enjoy!

 

[nifferearly]

Thanks for the input! Sounds like it could be a pain. This is probably good anyway - it'll keep me from spending money!

 

[drusba]

Have two use years. No problems. You just can't mix the two in reserving any one night but easy to use both for one trip reserving some nights from one and the rest from the other and linking the reservations. You also need to keep track of two use years for banking purposes but that does not make it any harder. You also get two year end statements. With two use years, very easy to avoid the cancellation/banking issue -- where if trip is near end of use year and you have to cancel you cannot bank because you are beyond banking deadline -- by choosing one contract for any trip if the other would raise the cancellation/banking problem for that trip.

 

[Mtnman44]

depending on the number of points you want to add on, it might just be worth it to add on directly from DVC. Sure, they will cost more, but if it is only 50 or 75 points, I would vote for the slightly higher cost in exchange for more simplicity in having everything under one master contract and use year.

 

[ScottJayhawk]

depending on the number of points you want to add on, it might just be worth it to add on directly from DVC. Sure, they will cost more, but if it is only 50 or 75 points, I would vote for the slightly higher cost in exchange for more simplicity in having everything under one master contract and use year.

"slightly higher cost" is stretching it a bit I think. In many cases from what I've seen it is a rather significantly higher cost.

 

[Mtnman44]

Well a 50pt contract for example (note this is probably an extreme example, for illustration):

Resale is might be available for $75 per point = $3,750
Direct might be $110 per point = $ 5,500

Difference of 1,750 minus 400 or so in closing costs = about $1,350. Over a period of 30 to 50 years, that is not a huge deal. I guess whether or not it is worth trying resale depends on the person, but especially for small contracts this could be a difficult and time consuming process. My only point was that while the per point prices are significantly less via resale, that only tranaslates into big dollar savings when the contracts are larger.

"slightly higher cost" is stretching it a bit I think. In many cases from what I've seen it is a rather significantly higher cost.

 

[Mic]

I have 3 different use-years, and I have no trouble keeping track of everything. Each use-year has its own contracts and member number. I keep one 3-inch binder with three sections that I write everything in each time I call MS. I have booked two nights in one contract and 3 nights in another on several occassions, and had them linked to make one reservation(no checking out/checking back in required). When my daughter announced she was getting married in 6 months at Disney, I was able to have points transferred into two of my contracts to use for the week of the wedding. I personally like having the different use-years and the flexibility that comes with it. I use each UY to book a different season so I never have a trip booked near the end of a UY...I just could not stand to lose a point! When the time comes to pass on my contracts to my kids, they can decide what UY and resort(s) best fit each one.