New here and trying to understand some things about resale better.

[mjmjbelle1023]

Use year has no impact on when you can book your vacation. You can book whenever you want up to 11 months before the start of your stay at your home resort & 7 months before the start of your stay at other DVC resorts. What use year does impact is which annual allotment of points you will be using to ‘pay’ for your vacation.
AKV which ends in 2057, has 32 years worth of annual allotments of points remaining. So if you buy a 200 point AKV contract you will ‘own’ 200 points X 32 years = 6,400 points. But, you can’t use all those points at once. Use year is just one term we can use to identify which bunch of points we use to ‘pay’ for a specific vacation. You can use up to 3 years worth of points on one vacation via banking & borrowing.
Ex. - Owner A has a June use year 200 point AKV contract, Owner B has a Sept. use year 200 point AKV contract, both want to splurge & book a week long stay costing 600 points starting August 1, 2023. Both Owners A & B can go online on Sept. 1, 2022 & book that August 1st stay at AKV, but which sets of points they’ll use to ‘pay’ for that vacation will be different.
Owner A has a June use year which runs from 6/1 - 5/31, therefore an August 2023 vacation falls between 6/1/23 - 5/31/24 so it’s in his 2023 use year thus he’ll use 200 ‘current’ 2023 points + 200 banked 2022 points + 200 borrowed 2024 points for a total of 600 points.
Owner B has a Sept. use year which runs from 9/1 - 8/31, therefore an August 2023 vacation falls between 9/1/22 - 8/31/23 so it’s in her 2022 use year thus she can use 200 ‘current’ 2022 points + 200 banked 2021 points + 200 borrowed 2023 points for a total of 600 points.

see my friend told me you can bank 2 years

 

[mjmjbelle1023]

see my friend told me you can bank 2 years

that’s so darn confusing to me when im
not “doing it”

 

[mjmjbelle1023]

Use year has no impact on when you can book your vacation. You can book whenever you want up to 11 months before the start of your stay at your home resort & 7 months before the start of your stay at other DVC resorts. What use year does impact is which annual allotment of points you will be using to ‘pay’ for your vacation.
AKV which ends in 2057, has 32 years worth of annual allotments of points remaining. So if you buy a 200 point AKV contract you will ‘own’ 200 points X 32 years = 6,400 points. But, you can’t use all those points at once. Use year is just one term we can use to identify which bunch of points we use to ‘pay’ for a specific vacation. You can use up to 3 years worth of points on one vacation via banking & borrowing.
Ex. - Owner A has a June use year 200 point AKV contract, Owner B has a Sept. use year 200 point AKV contract, both want to splurge & book a week long stay costing 600 points starting August 1, 2023. Both Owners A & B can go online on Sept. 1, 2022 & book that August 1st stay at AKV, but which sets of points they’ll use to ‘pay’ for that vacation will be different.
Owner A has a June use year which runs from 6/1 - 5/31, therefore an August 2023 vacation falls between 6/1/23 - 5/31/24 so it’s in his 2023 use year thus he’ll use 200 ‘current’ 2023 points + 200 banked 2022 points + 200 borrowed 2024 points for a total of 600 points.
Owner B has a Sept. use year which runs from 9/1 - 8/31, therefore an August 2023 vacation falls between 9/1/22 - 8/31/23 so it’s in her 2022 use year thus she can use 200 ‘current’ 2022 points + 200 banked 2021 points + 200 borrowed 2023 points for a total of 600 points.

see my friend told me you can bank 2 years

We're doing split stays to try all the resorts out, but it IS a bit of a PITA. We have four Owners Lockers of crap, plus our backpacks and carryons, plus whatever food we had delivered. I would never do a split stay for less than a week, but my husband loves Riviera so much, he never wants to go anywhere else. I like to try the others and plan our park days around the other resort as our split, so this summer we're doing OKW to try their pools and TL.

Also, I think you mentioned you have friends who are DVC, like several sets of them? We, inadvertently, ended up with our son becoming good friends with two DVC families. We didn't set out to vacation with them, but we're all locked into school vacations and sport schedules, so now we run into them on our trips and plan some dinners and park things together. It's a lot of fun! If your husband likes any of the other families who own DVC, he may enjoy having other adults to hang with and grab a beer or do golf some day, a fishing trip, whatever. He can get a break from the estrogen, LOL, and it may sweeten the deal for him to sign on sooner than later. Look into all the cool extras you now will have the TIME to do. We want to do carriage rides at the campgrounds during Christmas, and my husband and son had a ball doing the fishing trip at the Yacht Club last year.

This year's 4th of July, we want to book the fireworks dessert party to get away from the crush of humanity and maybe a nighttime safari at AK (our friends own there and are staying the same week as us. Bonus, the guys get along great, and the wife is one of my good friends.)

Lastly, you may find yourself booking 2-bedrooms soon if you want to bring your kids' friends or cousins. We're bringing our niece in July, and then plan to bring my sister and BIL and niece again with us in Thanksgiving of 2024. We traveled with them before in a 2-bedroom at Riviera in August in 2020 and had a great trip! So much fun to share the love. Most people report their biggest regret is not buying in sooner, and not buying more points.

If you decide to do direct, 150 is the minimum to buy in (IF you don't buy a resale contract first.) The best deals are usually around 300 points, which sounds like a lot, but it's not for GF/RR. If you decide to go that route someday, split the points into 150x2 for your kids. Don't get one jumbo contract. If you want to pass it to your kids, it can be a nasty situation trying to figure out in your estate who gets what year's points -- or the burden of maintenance fees. Kids may not want it down the line anyway. Plus, if you DO need to sell for some reason, it's always easier to unload smaller contracts, plus you'd still keep one 150-pointer to use if your use needs go down as you age.

ohh yes 2 150 would be great for the girls
oh we did the sleigh ride years ago-LOVED IT
we just did one at Riverside last month

 

[lorie13]

that’s so darn confusing to me when im
not “doing it”

see my friend told me you can bank 2 years

Points can have a 2 year life if banked.
Let us say you have a April 23 UY with 100 points. You are not planning on going in 23, so you bank those points forward by November 30, 2023. On April 1st, 2024, you have 200 points, broken down to 100 banked from 23, 100 from 24, those points can be used until March 31, 2025.

 

[mjmjbelle1023]

This whole use year discussion is chapter 3 and the OP hasn't read chapter 1 yet. It's just going to be confusing. Understanding use year is the third or fourth step:

1. Understand buying DVC points, direct versus resale, and how you use points to make a reservation.
2. Determine, based on your own travel preferences and the Disney attendance calendars, what time of year works best for you.
3. Determine what resorts you really like and see how their availability compares to your preferred travel schedule. Keep expiration year in mind.
4. THEN, determine which use year is best to make travel during that time, to those resorts, most accessible for you.

I am leaning resale Im
not worried about the member benefits or missing out on Riv. We know out travel time preferences I know BW and BC will end in 2042 so that crosses then off.

 

[mjmjbelle1023]

I would go for the least expensive contract (factoring dues)— unless you are truly wedded to one resort. We have found even the points we bought for specific resorts end up getting used all over. I wouldn’t do aulani though— just me, but the laws are different there, etc.

Aulani is def not an option

 

[mjmjbelle1023]

Okay, you have gotten a lot of good advice about watching YouTube videos. I think you're really getting hung up on use years and borrowing. Not that it isn't important, but like an earlier poster said, you're asking calculus questions when you're in algebra right now. Not trying to demean you in any way, but you're confusing yourself on something that, IMO, needs to be looked into later, because . . .

You need to explore all the one-bedrooms and resort amenities by watching videos to see how much space you need, storage offered for your twins' crapola, bathroom setup as you have three girls needing mirrors and showers, etc., and anything else that is peculiar to your family setup.

Do you plan to cook to save money? Do your kids like to make snacks or their own breakfast? Some kitchens are better than others in terms of layout and functionality and having drop zones for shoes, backpacks, ears, cups, etc.

We LOVE one-bedrooms (and larger,) and will not do studios again. If your husband is hesitant to do Disney, having a bedroom for privacy and sleeping in as you quickly approach the teenage years is a really big help for turning him into a convert. I say this from personal experience;-)

One-bedrooms are the easiest category to book in any resort, which helps grabbing those hard-to-find rooms at resorts peak times (hello, Christmas, April vacation, and Thanksgiving) BUT, if you aren't booking your home resort at 11 months, you almost certainly will have to book a one-bedroom at the most expensive view option at the 7-month window. Those can eat up your points really quick, especially if you're thinking of a small contract for banking and borrowing.

Staying DVC changes your park habits. Whereas before you may have been park warriors out from dawn to dusk, now you'll find you like to do more resort-only stays or pool days. This is where home resort advantage and preferences really comes into play.

We have done the last week in August twice now, and while I am fine with it, it IS brutal with the heat. There's no way we can handle more than 3-4 hours at a clip in that heat, so that means we're poolside and trekking back and forth from the resort to the parks and back again. It's too freaking hot to be dealing with transportation all the time or walking far to get food or ice cream, so that means (for us,) we want amenities on site -- preferably all with AC. While Riviera's pools aren't exciting, the on-site bar, Primo Piatto, gelato cart poolside, and Topolinos for drinks and dinner at night -- all in AC -- make it far and away our favorite. If you're planning on buying and holding, don't rule it out because of resale restrictions. We plan to pass our Riviera points to our kids (Irish twins, b/g age 9 and 10.)

Now, Riviera is tough in late summer for Skyliner going down due to weather, which is true. We only had it go down once in rain on our trips, but it is a factor to consider. However, during the hurricanes recently when people were in lockdown, Riviera and Copper Creek and Jambo got rave reviews for having really good dining and entertainment for the kids during that time. So, YMMV. I'd rather be trapped at one of those three during a hurricane and eat well and not be stuck in my room the whole time.

I wouldn't rule out BW. It's getting a refurb this fall and tons of new dining, coffee shop, bakery, deli, and it's walking distance to two parks. We toured it this past December and fell in love with their actual boardwalk vibe and lovely walks around the lake at night, grabbed a drink at Abracadabar, shopped, and just took it easy. A smaller resale there could be awesome to dip your toes in. And, as a bonus, we really liked their pool with the roller coaster theme! We loved it way more than BC/SAB, but it's good to try for yourself. BW pool never gets love because it used to have Pennywise as the exit to the slide, but now that it's rethemed, it's lovely there.

BC has SAB, which we were glad to try, but find somewhat overrated. But, again, you need to look at it and see what you think. Also, our kids are on the swim team and older, but that pool would give me a heart attack with kids who aren't strong swimmers and/or littles. Wayyyyy too chaotic, easy to lose sight of your kids, deep water, few chairs unless you camp out earlier -- too crazy for more than a day there at their pool, IMO.

Which parks are your favorites? We are Epcot/HS folks, but for many MK is their dream. We ruled out Poly due to only studios and bungalos, but after staying at GF one-bedroom this Christmas season and monorailing over to Kona for breakfast, we all fell in love with the grounds and pools and general vibe at Poly. We're saving up for Poly 2.0, even though MK is our least-favorite park, because it will be a self-contained tower with a variety of room options, on-site dining, and tons of awesome other dining easily accessible by walking to GF/Poly 1.0 or taking the monorail to BLT or even Epcot, if need be. That will be our holiday choice for Thanksgiving to enjoy the holiday decorations but NOT being at GF.

GF is the most expensive, and while beautiful, holy crap it was mobbed 12/10-12/17 when we went. I can only imagine actually being there Christmas week to NYD. The dining options are great, but they're not IN the DVC building, so you have to be dressed and functional to get food, plus navigating weddings and looky-loos and folks wanting to take pics and propose in front of the tree in the main building . . . it's a lot, and we found it draining. The monorail was also smelly, a little inconvenient to get to (going outside, upstairs inside, battling crowds on staircases and the birdcage elevator,) and it broke down, stranding one party at Contemporary. Not saying it's not helpful, but I think it's overrated as a means of transportation. But, we're biased towards the Skyliner, so take this as just my two cents.

I have found further info on use years and for our travel times (August for now since we cant take them out) and Nov/Dec for the future once they are done school ( that was the only time we used to go since 2015 we love it then) and it sounds like June UY is best. We know we prefer 1 BRs as we have stayed in them 2x, but we COULD still manage in a studio if I wanted to use less points for a certain trip. We don’t NEED 2 baths (it’s just 2 girls ) as we have stayed where there was 1 and 2 and either worked out. We do NOT cook – we just buys snacks, fruit, etc. It’s something none of us want to do there lol. He doesn’t NOT like WDW he just thinks (thought-he did the DVC presentation in 2015) that if we did DVC we won’t go anywhere else. We have-we just agreed WDW every other year, a new place in between. I have no qualms going every other year – heck I’ve even gone without him and just the girls! Plus, he finally went golfing there last month and he LOVED it. curious - What makes the 1BR easier to book? I was surprised to hear that the value at AKL is harder to book. I am inclined to look for 150-160 points. Every person I know that owns when I asked what would you have done differently in hindsight their reply was “more points” . And since every other year had been our thing I can bank.

We aren’t true park warriors. NO one gets up. in 8 trips there have been zero rope drops. And 2x last month he and the kids left me to go back and I stayed in the park alone-it was glorious. Yeah that August heat is unique. We wouldn’t go out until 3pm or later (well I might without them haha). But the lack of crazy crowds that last week of August was phenomenal. We’ve been to Riv, not stayed. I wasn’t blown away by Top! I know I know, but that’s because in south jersey we have tons of amazing food place all around. I just think resale for us is best (I’m not worried about the lack of member benefits I saw) and that would limit me to JUST Riv if I bought there. I think staring with a resale and in the years to come I could buy a small direct Riv- it is a lovely resort especially as our kids become adults.

Omg did they get rid of the clown?! LOL I do love jelly rolls – I just know the BW contracts end by 2042. Our kids LOVE SAB, but as they grow it’s not going to be as important to them.

I love them all! But MK is my fav and then AK 2nd. I’m wondering about the new Poly if it will have discounts not too far off resale as has been mentioned to me. We went to V&A for dinner 12/13 -wowwwwww. SO now I am obsessed with GF! I want to rent points and do a short stay there. yeah, I found with the BC DVC rooms were far from stuff.

I am leaning to a Poly OR GF resale (OR see when the Poly2 comes out) because all research and people know that own say AKL is relatively easier to book at 7 months than those or BC or BW- but again the 2042 end on those two.

 

[mjmjbelle1023]

Points can have a 2 year life if banked.
Let us say you have an April 23 UY with 100 points. You are not planning on going in 23, so you bank those points forward by November 30, 2023. On April 1st, 2024, you have 200 points, broken down to 100 banked from 23, 100 from 24, those points can be used until March 31, 2025.

“ by november “ you mean you have to take action in the system and back them no later than nov? Is this something the website/system/contract tells you or do we have to know stuff like that on our own?

 

[lorie13]

“ by november “ you mean you have to take action in the system and back them no later than nov? Is this something the website/system/contract tells you or do we have to know stuff like that on our own?

In your online account it will tell you when you have to bank by, but there will be no reminders. Each UY has a different banking by date.

 

[mjmjbelle1023]

In your online account it will tell you when you have to bank by, but there will be no reminders. Each UY has a different banking by date.

oh that’s fine - just curious how the actual website works

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

see my friend told me you can bank 2 years

This is wrong. Whomever this friend is, they are giving you bad advice.
Edit: Unless they **meant** that you could use points for up to two years by banking them. But you can only bank once.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

I have found further info on use years and for our travel times (August for now since we cant take them out) and Nov/Dec for the future once they are done school ( that was the only time we used to go since 2015 we love it then) and it sounds like June UY is best.

If you are looking to travel in August, November and December, then the best use year would be August, but June would be the second best, as both would give you a lot of time to use points if you end up having to cancel your trip in August, November, or December.

The worst use years for you would be September, October, December, and February.

 

[Eviejim]

Staying DVC changes your park habits. Whereas before you may have been park warriors out from dawn to dusk, now you'll find you like to do more resort-only stays or pool days. This is where home resort advantage and preferences really comes into play.

This is the BEST advice and something you don't understand until you are a member. We are new members and were super excited that we got double points with a contract and decided that we were gonna do 2 trips last year. Well, with the cost of food, tickets, merch etc. we over did our budget so it was gonna be tight for our Christmas trip. We only booked two park days and the rest of the week we did resort days. It was our BEST Disney vacay yet!

 

[UberClaire]

Reason why 1 bedrooms are easier to book:

1 bedrooms are a significant point jump from studios. Studios are in high demand year round. When it comes to 2 bedroom units, some are "dedicated 2 bedrooms," meaning it is all one large villa, and some are "lock-off 2 bedrooms," meaning it is a 1 bedroom unit and a studio with a connecting door. When studios get booked up, those lone 1 bedroom units are typically the last ones left behind.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

I love them all! But MK is my fav and then AK 2nd. I’m wondering about the new Poly if it will have discounts not too far off resale as has been mentioned to me. We went to V&A for dinner 12/13 -wowwwwww. SO now I am obsessed with GF! I want to rent points and do a short stay there. yeah, I found with the BC DVC rooms were far from stuff.

I am leaning to a Poly OR GF resale (OR see when the Poly2 comes out) because all research and people know that own say AKL is relatively easier to book at 7 months than those or BC or BW- but again the 2042 end on those two.

Okay. This is good! So, Poly resale I'm 50/50 on, only because it's not clear yet if it's going to be considered Poly 1.0 as an addition, like Jambo and GF BPK or the SS Treehouses, or if it's going to get its own association and point chart.

If you buy Poly 1.0 resale and Poly 2.0 is NOT the same association, you'll be stuck with Poly 1.0 studios or bungalows and possibly trying to then offload a Poly 1.0 resale in a short amount of time and maybe taking a hit financially if you really want Poly 2.0.

If Poly 2.0 is its own association, I'm assuming it'll have Riviera's restrictions, and that would suck for existing resale Poly 1.0 owners to literally be steps away from a sister resort and not be able to use resale points there. That would kill me.

If you know you love GF, the direct incentives, IMO, make it a decent deal, even compared to resale prices. The current promotion on GF ends 1/18, if you want to check that out. The direct/resale delta isn't that huge, and you'd get your points instantly and the 150 point direct blue card. Right now, the direct perks aren't a big deal, but I think soon APs will be coming back since Disney is offering a lot more incentives and trying to rehab their bad PR with concessions announced (like free on-site parking again to resort guests, free photos for DL folks buying Genie+, etc.) The Sorcerer AP (DVC pass) is like $400 cheaper than the Incredipass, and if you decide to go to WDW 2x in an overlapping 12-month period, that IS a good perk.

Alternatively, GF resale is going for $170-$190pp, but you could certainly lowball an offer since you have time and see what happens. There's over 30 listings on the site sponsor for GF, just checked, and over 800 resale contracts in general, so definitely a buyer's market right now for resale. You seem to have time on your side, but I hate to see you booking/renting points when you know it's a matter of when, not if, you're buying in anyway. That rental money could pay a good chunk towards a contract! LOL.

If you don't do GF, I actually think AK would be a great resale option for you! There's tons of great dining, awesome pools, a freaking savannah, LOL, and it would round out your park options if you plan to buy GF/Poly 2.0 later on. As an aside, Jambo is GORGEOUS at the holidays. I almost think it's a weensie bit prettier than CC/WL's lobby and tree. Very unique, and so restful! AK resale has 80+listings ranging from $130-$145ish, and I definitely think you could score a deal there. Our friends (three families!) own at AK and love it and don't want to stay anywhere else, and I totally get it.

 

[Sandisw]

As per use year I understand and agree with keeping your contracts with the same use year. I am not certain I would eliminate any use year from consideration with my original resale purchase because the period I expect to vacation is going to change as my life situation changes over the length of the contract.

For most people being locked into the vacation periods when you have kids in school lasts for about 15 years. After that my Christmas or Easter break might became January or September

I think having a different back up plan for the rare need to cancel a vacation within 4 months of your use year can be handled another way

It is why some of us added on different UYs over time to cover the year. We do have three…but also 900 points…and don’t combine points…each is used for different trips and split stays.

No UY works for all travel, but if you do have a set time going into your purchase, it can be an advantage to choose one that starts shortly before those travel times.

 

[RoseGold]

Your "friend" is either misleading you or completely clueless. You keep repeating these things, and it is obvious you have not done even the basics of research in this product.

You need to start from the beginning. DVC has a lot of rules, and if you don't understand them, then you have no idea if this product is right for you.

 

[tom1944]

It is why some of us added on different UYs over time to cover the year. We do have three…but also 900 points…and don’t combine points…each is used for different trips and split stays.

No UY works for all travel, but if you do have a set time going into your purchase, it can be an advantage to choose one that starts shortly before those travel times.

I agree but looking at the resale contracts I see some that are a much better buy than others. For my initial purchase I would rather get the better bargain that eliminate because the use year is not the perfect one.

I already have my mind on a second contract at a different resort so I may also go to a different use year for that

Additional points on the same resort I would keep the same use year.

 

[Sandisw]

I agree but looking at the resale contracts I see some that are a much better buy than others. For my initial purchase I would rather get the better bargain that eliminate because the use year is not the perfect one.

I already have my mind on a second contract at a different resort so I may also go to a different use year for that

Additional points on the same resort I would keep the same use year.

As long as people understand the potential risks, then that is all that matters!

 

[davidhr]

I agree but looking at the resale contracts I see some that are a much better buy than others. For my initial purchase I would rather get the better bargain that eliminate because the use year is not the perfect one.

I already have my mind on a second contract at a different resort so I may also go to a different use year for that

Additional points on the same resort I would keep the same use year.

Just research that with more time. You really need to know how the different use years work and if it’ll suit your travel style. It’s very limiting to have different use years for most people and not worth it just to get a slight savings.