Need Help With Understanding "Use Year"

Purrrrfecta

A little crazy cat named Lorelei
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Apr 1, 2001
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We are about to purchase points at SSR. I was told that if we purchase the use year would be in Feburary.

This is the thing, however: We always vacation around the 2nd and 3rd month of June. She said as long as we book 4 months in advance we should be ok.
Is this correct? What should I be looking for? I am confused. I do not know if some info is being omitted so I can just purchase with this use year.
Someone posted that September use year is available now. Does this mean I would have a better window for 2006?
 
If you travel in June, Feb is a better use year than Sept.

The most important factor is cancellation time.

If you're booked in June and cancel, with a Sept use year it would be too late to bank the points to your next year so you'd have to use them within the next 2 mos or lose them. However, if your use year were Feb you would have plenty of time to bank most or all of the points, or 6 mos to use them.

Your booking window has nothing to do with use year. It is determined solely by vacation dates. You can book 11 mos in advance for your home resort regardless of use year.
 
If you usually vacation in June, a February use year would be perfect for you.

Use year is simply the period during which a particular allocation of points are in effect. It has nothing at all to do with when you can make reservations. You can make reservations 11 months from your departure date at your home resort, and 7 months from your departure date at any other resort.

Use year has to do with when points "come" and when they expire. It also has to do with banking deadlines. Since you have six months to bank 100% of your points, a February use year would be perfect. You book in June -- if something happens that causes you plans to change, you are still in your 100% banking period and you can bank any points you don't need.
 
Use year is just the month that your points are renewed each year. It has nothing to do with when you can make a reservation. You can always call for a reservation for your home resort 11 months ina dvance of check out and 7 months in advance of check out if you want to stay at a non-home resort.

February is a good use year for June vacations. If you have to cancel the trip, you would have until the end of the following January to reschedule it. If you couldn't reschedule, you could basnk yor points for the following use year as long as you called to do it before the end of July.

Make yourself a chart like this:

2005 use year points are for trips between 2/1/2005 and 1/31/2006.
2006 use year points are for trips between 2/1/2006 and 1/31/2007.
2007 use year points are for trips between 2/1/2007 and 1/31/2008.
2008 use year points are for trips between 2/1/2008 and 1/31/2009.
etc.

Ask more questions if yo need more info.

Best wishes -
 

The importance of use year as opposed to the time you travel is very small. Only if you are prone to cancel trips last minute is this of any concern at all. If you need to cancel close to the trip, you would want to be sure you could then bank those points, and if it is too close to the end of your use year, you would not be able to do that. Carol did a good job of describing Use year for you. We just took what they gave us with a March use year, and while it probably wouldn't be idea if we every had to cancel one of our frequent January trips, I can say that in over 20 DVC trips, we have never had to worry about that issue. When you book your stays really has nothing to do with what month your use year is. You will always have 11 months from check out day to make reservations at your home resort, and you have exclusive home resort reservation privledges up to the 7 month from check out day mark. At that time, owners of other DVC resorts can also reserve at your home resort.
 
Thank you so very much for all of your information. I was a bit confused, but you have explained it to me very well!

I get it now, and I will go ahead and keep a chart so I can have an idea of how or when we will need to bank.

Connie
 
I was little confused about banking at first and you might be well ahead of the game here but when DVC says 100% banking deadline is end of July, this does not mean 100% of points you wish to bank, it means 100% of your UY points so even if you missed the 100% banking window, as long as you plan on using 1/2 points within your UY, you have until end of October to bank the other half of your points and not lose any.

Case in point. Lets say you receive 150 points on 2/1/06. You use 100 points by 7/1/06. Since you only have 50 points left in your current UY, you have until October 31 to bank those 50 points.
 















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