Pending DVC Newbie has really stupid question

[Fargoman2]

What's all this chatter about one's UY? User Year--what is it, how is it determined.(I assume it has something to do with the window in which you have to use your points.)

For example, we are about to buy DAK, which is a presale for 5/1/09? So what's our user year? Don't quite understand it.

After you're done chuckling at my cluelessness, please respond.

Thanks!

 

[4Pluto]

Use Year defines the year period in which you use your points. If you have a contract for 100 points with an October Use Year, each year on October 1 you will be credited with 100 points. You can bank your points into the next year within 8 months after your use year (you can also borrow points from the next year). If you don't bank or use your points by September 30, then you would lose your points.

There are only certain months of the year that are Use Years. For new construction (AKV at Kidani), DVC typically chooses the next available use year unless you request a different use year and its available to sell (which is a function of when the construction is complete). For existing resorts (e.g., BCV) if you want a specific Use Year you may need to wait until DVC has a contract with the number of points you want for that Use Year (for example, through exercising its Right of First Refusal).

If you travel only in a specific time of year (say Thanksgiving to Christmas) it may be important to choose or request a specific Use Year. If you travel mostly Thanksgiving to Christmas and had an October Use Year, if you ever had to cancel a trip, you would still have until the following June to bank points and until the end of September to rebook your trip. If your Use Year were January, then if you canceled a Christmas trip on December 1, you would be past your banking deadline and would have only 30 days to use your points at a very busy time of year.

Most people, however, don't have only 1 time of year that they would always travel and even if they did, it would undoubtedly change over the course of 25 years or 50 years of ownership SO for most people, its not worth worrying about what Use Year you receive.

Good Luck!

 

[4Pluto]

In the example I gave, I should have used February not January as a Use Year. I don't believe January is one of the available Use Years.

 

[kristenrice]

"Use Year" is simply when you receive your points and determines your banking deadline. If you buy in now, you may have a December UY. This is what I was offered and it confused the crap out of me! I'll try and explain the best I can...

You'll receive your points (say 160 for illustration purposes) for your 2008 UY on December 1, 2008. You can use those points to make a reservation that is completed on or before November 30, 2009. For the current AKV points, your vacation cannot START before May 1, 2009 because that is when your "property" will be open for occupancy. If you are only using, say, 100 points for your trip, you can bank the remaining 60 but it must be done by July 31, 2009. The banking deadline for a December UY is July 31. That means any points not banked by then will expire November 30 of that year.

Now, in 2009, you will receive 160 (+ any banked points) on December 1, 2009. These points can be used for reservations between December 1, 2009 and November 30, 2010. Here's where UY gets a little confusing. If you are planning a trip to AKV for, say, June of 2010, you are actually using points from 2009 UY.

Also, you don't have to wait until your UY begins to make a reservation. If you want to make a January 2011 reservation (with 2010 UY points), you can still make that reservation in February 2010, even though your points won't "be there" until December 1, 2010.

I hope this helps. I had a lot of trouble figuring out a December UY until I just drew it out on paper using arrows and lines. I "think" I have it now....

PLEASE, experts, help me out! I know that others can explain the importance of UY when planning vacations. I cannot even start to explain that!

EDITED: Oops! I type too slow. 4Pluto answered ahead of me!