Please tell me about "use year"...

[Buckalew11]

if I buy DVC my anniversary date will be Sept. (well, that will be when they deposit my points).
Can I choose my "use year"? Does this make a difference when I can book (7 months out/ 11 months out etc.)?

TIA

 

[dianeschlicht]

Your "use year" will be September if that is when your points are being deposited. Looks to me like it has already been chosen. It has NOTHING to do with when you can make your reservations. You always have an 11 or 7 month booking window from the date of check out. MS will remove the point from the appropriate use year when you make the reservation.

For example:
You call now to make a reservation for next January. Your 2006 points are not actually in your account until September, but you can still make the ressie now with the points you WILL have at that time. You track all your points by use year, and your reservations will be made with points from the accompanying use year, but it might not be the same calendar year.

 

[Buckalew11]

Diane,

I read on a thread of "what did you wish you knew before you bought DVC" and many people mentioned "use year". Can you tell me why people were saying that and why that is so important?

Thanks for answering the above question and helping me out with this. I have a zillion things going through my mind!!

 

[dianeschlicht]

For those who expect to need to cancel a vacation often, if your use year is before your predicted vacation, you will have plenty of time to bank those points if you cancel. We have been members for 9 years, and we have NEVER had to cancel a planned trip closer than our banking deadlines, and our usual travel dates are less than 60 days before our use year, so it is supposed to be the worst possible use year for us. Maybe we are unusual, but when we plan a vacation, even if it's 11 months away, we don't "plan" to change it.

 

[Chuck S]

I have June use year, and often book ressies that straddle May to June. If I have to cancel the May portion at short notice, I would likely lose those points. However, this hasn't happened (so far) and I've owned since 1992. No matter what your use year is, be mindful of your banking deadlines and how they work.

 

[Inkmahm]

Diane,

I read on a thread of "what did you wish you knew before you bought DVC" and many people mentioned "use year". Can you tell me why people were saying that and why that is so important?

Thanks for answering the above question and helping me out with this. I have a zillion things going through my mind!!

I picked an October use year because I wanted to be sure to be able to bank points if I won't use them. I believe I have until April 1 to bank points. By April 1, I will know if I'm going to use the points or not and will easily be able to bank them. I'll never go to Florida in May-Sept timeframe, I go in December and then again usually in March.

If I had kids and I took vacations in summer, I'd probably want a different use year.

 

[Buckalew11]

So, my use year is Sept.1 (if I buy) and we have fall break in Oct. & like to do WDW then---so this may not be good for me/I will need to be careful about banking points, cancelling...right? I would probably be better off with a different use year date?

We've never had to cancel a WDW vacation but one never knows. I never book thinking I might go or might not--usually it is a pretty done deal.

We also like Jan., Feb. and late Springtime. (And the other 7 months of the year also!! LOL). I am very unlikely to visit in the heat of the summer also.

 

[CarolMN]

So, my use year is Sept.1 (if I buy) and we have fall break in Oct. & like to do WDW then---so this may not be good for me/I will need to be careful about banking points, cancelling...right? I would probably be better off with a different use year date?

We've never had to cancel a WDW vacation but one never knows. I never book thinking I might go or might not--usually it is a pretty done deal.

We also like Jan., Feb. and late Springtime. (And the other 7 months of the year also!! LOL). I am very unlikely to visit in the heat of the summer also.

Actually, a September use year would be very good for your vacation habits. You have until the end of the following February to bank up to 100% of your points, so that pretty much covers all the the times you are likely to visit - October, January or February.

You have until the end of May to bank up to 50% of your total, and until the end of June to bank up to 25% of your total. No banking at all in July & August.

Best wishes -

 

[Caskbill]

So, my use year is Sept.1 (if I buy) and we have fall break in Oct. & like to do WDW then---so this may not be good for me/I will need to be careful about banking points, cancelling...right? I would probably be better off with a different use year date?

We've never had to cancel a WDW vacation but one never knows. I never book thinking I might go or might not--usually it is a pretty done deal.

We also like Jan., Feb. and late Springtime. (And the other 7 months of the year also!! LOL). I am very unlikely to visit in the heat of the summer also.

Just to be sure you understand. First, Use Year is only important if you have to cancel a reservation. If you never cancel your trips, then use year is totally irrelevant.

If you had a September use year, and vacation in October, that's perfect if you should have to cancel.

Example: You make a reservation for October 2006, using your September 2006 points. In August 2006 you have to cancel the trip. All your points are returned to your September 2006 Use Year. The 100% banking window is 6-months, so for September, you have until the end of February 2007 to bank all those points. That gives you plenty of time to either schedule another vacation, or bank.

Now suppose instead your use year month is December, and you originally started in 2005, and made an October 2006 reservation (Using your Dec 2005 points since for a Dec UY, October 2006 is in Use Year 2005). In August you have to cancel it. All your points are returned to your 2005 Use Year. The 100% banking window for those points was May 31st, 2006 and you are past that date. That contract is in it's 50% window in August 2006. Say you owned a 200 point contract and made the October reservation using 170 points, and you banked the remaining 30 points. Now in August you cancel, those 170 points are returned, but you can only bank 70 of them because you're at the 50% window. (70 plus 30 previously banked = 100 points which is 50% of your 200 point contract). The remaining 100 points would have to be used by Nov 30th, 2006, or they would be lost.

Finally, worse case: You purchase a Dec Use Year month, and will get your first allotment of points on Dec 1, 2006. You want to go in October 2006 for a vacation that requires 170 points. You call today and borrow 170 points from your 2006 use year (so they can be used within your 2005 use year which covers dates 12/1/05 through 11/30/06). In August 2006 you cancel. Those 170 points cannot be banked (since they were borrowed) and you must use them before Nov 30, 2006, or lose them.

Hope this helps

 

[dianeschlicht]

So, my use year is Sept.1 (if I buy) and we have fall break in Oct. & like to do WDW then---so this may not be good for me/I will need to be careful about banking points, cancelling...right? I would probably be better off with a different use year date?

We've never had to cancel a WDW vacation but one never knows. I never book thinking I might go or might not--usually it is a pretty done deal.

We also like Jan., Feb. and late Springtime. (And the other 7 months of the year also!! LOL). I am very unlikely to visit in the heat of the summer also.

If your usual vacation plans are just after your use year, that is GOOD! That means you have a longer time to bank them. The problem is, that if you cancel in the last 31 days, those points going into holding and that's a whole different thing. If it was me, I wouldn't stress too much about use year.

 

[Buckalew11]

Thank you so much for these answers!! I was thinking totally backwards. I posted my question, went in and discussed with DH who told me the same things you all did about Sept. being good for us and I was like, "good, but I'll check the DIS to make sure you are right about that!" LOL And he was. He told me the same thing you all did. At least one of us is "getting" all this!

Thank you again for your help. I can't tell you how nice it is to come here and ask people who know. After our tour, I couldn't wait to come home and see what the DVC board said about DVC buying!