October Use Year

[LCoulter]

This morning I was on the DVC website trying to book a vacation for September 2017. My use year is October and the points I will be using are 2017 points. The website is asking me to borrow points….does this mean the points will be converting to 2016 points? When do the points roll over in October….October 1 or October 31? Do I need to wait until November 1 to book so that the points stay 2017 points?

 

[drusba]

You cannot use Oct 2017 points to book Sep 2017 time, which is in your Oct 2016 use year, without borrowing the points, which is a final transaction and thus you cannot send those points back to the Oct 2017 use year for any trip time that begins on or after Oct 1, 2017. You will not be able to use the Oct 2017 to book online Oct 1, 2017 or after until Nov 1, 2016. You can call MS at 9 a.m. and book a trip that starts in Sep, using borrowed Oct 2017 points for the Sep portion of the trip and "current" use year Oct 2017 points for the portion that begins Oct 1, 2017. The issue you have in that situation is that the online reservation system won't do a reservation that straddles use years in a single transaction but you can do it by calling MS.

 

[LCoulter]

So can I use the 2017 points to book a September 2017 trip on Nov 1, 2016? And these points will then stay as 2017 points?

 

[CarolMN]

So can I use the 2017 points to book a September 2017 trip on Nov 1, 2016? And these points will then stay as 2017 points?

Yes, you can use your 2017 points to book the September 2017 trip BUT you have to borrow them into your 2016 use year first. (You can do this online when you are making the reservation). You can book that trip that starts 9/1/2017 on October 1, 2016. (You do not have to wait until November 1, 2016 to book).

Once you borrow the 2017 points, they will be good for stays between 9/1/2016 and 9/30/2017. Borrowed points CANNOT be returned to their original use year, so if you end up cancelling the September 2017 trip, the points will expire on 9/30/2017 if you are unable to reschedule before then.

When you have some time, this thread may help you:
Understanding Use Year
.

 

[disneynutz]

Points need to be available in your account for the dates of your stay, not when you make the reservation. You are currently in your 2016 UY and your proposed stay is during your 2016 UY.

Bill

 

[drusba]

I probably made it too complex so let me do it by example. You have an October use year. The October 2017 use year runs from Oct 1, 2017 to Sep 30, 2018. Let us assume you want to take a trip from September 26, 2017 to October 3, 2017 and you want to use only Oct 2017 use year points for that trip:

1. The nights of Sep 26 through Sep 30, 2017 fall within your Oct 2016 use year which runs Oct 1, 2016 to Sep 30, 2017. Oct 2017 points can be use to book those five nights in Sep 2017 only if you borrow those points. When you call or go online to make the reservation is irrelevant to that issue.

2. The nights of Oct 1 and 2, 2017 fall within your Oct 2017 use year and thus your Oct 2017 use year points will be "current" use year points for those dates.

3. You could call MS today, Oct 26, 2016, and make the entire trip reservation for that Sep 26 to Oct 3, 2017 trip. If you use only Oct 2017 points for the trip, then all points needed to reserve the nights of Sep 26 through Sep 30, 2017, will be borrowed to book those dates. All Oct 2017 points needed to book the Oct 1 and Oct 2 nights of the trip will be "current" use year points for those two nights. The points borrowed for the Sep nights will always remain borrowed. Thus, if you cancel the trip, they will stay in your Oct 2016 use year and will have to be used for a trip in Sep 2017 or before.

4. Unlike calling MS, the online system does not allow you to make a single reservation that has applicable nights in two different use years. It is a system limitation not a DVC rule limitation. If you wanted to make that reservation for Sep 26-Oct 3, 2017 online, you would have to book two separate reservations. You could today book the five nights of Sep 26 through Sep 30, 2017 online, using borrowed points from your Oct 2017 use year, because you are 11 months out from Sep 26, 2017. But you cannot book the second reservation, Oct 1 and 2, 2017 online today; you cannot book that reservation until Nov 1, 2017, 11 months out from Oct 1, 2017. After you have made those two reservations, you can then call or email MS and have MS merge the two reservations into one.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

This morning I was on the DVC website trying to book a vacation for September 2017. My use year is October and the points I will be using are 2017 points. The website is asking me to borrow points….does this mean the points will be converting to 2016 points? When do the points roll over in October….October 1 or October 31? Do I need to wait until November 1 to book so that the points stay 2017 points?

They can't stay 2017 points if you have an Oct UY and want to stay in Sept 2017. A stay in Sept with Oct UY can use banked 2015 points, current 2016 points or borrowed 2017 points. Waiting to book will not change that. You would just book it now and borrow the points if you don't have 2016 points left.