Potential buyer needs help with use year!

[goofy papa]

I am a teacher and the times we would most go down would be in the summer. So, does this mean I should look for an April use year or a September use year? I have read these boards for years but find myself getting so confused. Veterans, I need your help.

 

[CarolMN]

It's best to have a use year that is a few months prior to your usual times of travel. If you anticipate visiting mostly in the summer, than an April use year will work very well for you. If you had to cancel a summer vacation, you would have until the end of September to bank 100% of your points into the next year or until 3/31 of the following year to actually use the points.

Keep in mind that your travel habits may change in the future. Does your school have a spring break of any kind? Might you want to travel then? If so, you might want to consider a February or March use year. With a February use year, you'd have until 7/31 to bank up to 100% of your points and with March, until August 31.

Also, keep in mind that use year only determines banking deadlines, not when you can make a reservation. It only becomes important if you have to cancel a vacation. (Hopefully, that will not happen very often, if at all).

If you cancel 30 days or less prior to your scheduled arrival, your points go into a holding account. That means they can't be banked and that they can only be used for a stay that is reserved 60 days or less from the desired arrival.

HTH.

 

[spiceycat]

I have a June use year - this would would nice for you too - your use year would start when the majority of your vacation time starts.

you would just have to remember to kept some points for those spring breaks times.

 

[Candace]

I am a teacher. I have an April use year for my (mostly) summer trips. I also have another contract with an August use year, and I use these points mostly for winter-break trips.

 

[jimmytammy]

When we bought into DVC our representative Bettie Pleasant asked when we typically like to visit WDW. I told her we like early Dec because crowds are down then. She said she had a Aug use year available for sale which she thought would work well for us. I really didnt understand all the use year and points and banking/borrowing jargon at that time so I had to trust what she was telling me with hopes she wasnt just making another sell.
Thats been a year ago and reflecting back on that, I realize she had our best interest in mind while still making a possible sell. We were on the fence. Ask your representative what would work best for you. Good Luck!!

 

[Dean]

June will work well as long as you don't want to go end of May as some get out of school in May. Otherwise Feb, March or April would also work well and December is workable also. I'd tend to shy away from August or September for your stated purpose.

 

[dcfromva]

goofy papa,
I bought last year. I think where use year becomes important is if you have to cancel or reschedule your vacation.
I thought Feb would be a good use year for me, but now I have changed my mind.....
The reason is we like to take vacations in Dec and Jan. Last year, we used the majority of our points at the end of Dec. (Christmas vacation break). If we had to cancel within 30 days, we would have had only the month of Jan to use our points. Even if it turned out that we knew we had to cancel the trip way in advance, we wouldn't have been able to bank all of our points after the end of June.

Then there is the exchange thing--I'm not sure exactly how this works (maybe someone can set me straight if I have this wrong about this), but I believe I can't exchange within 60 days prior to the end of my use year--which would be Dec and Jan....we typically take a 5 day vacation at the end of Jan (going somewhere)--the way I understand it, we can't use an exchange for Dec and Jan--again, it might be a silly thing to do anyway because if I had to cancel, the points would go into holding until the end of my use year (Jan 31) when they would disappear.... So, I wish that I had understood the way use years worked a little better before I signed on.

If you have an April use year and you want to go to WDW during spring break and it falls in March, that could cause some angst for you, if you are worried about the cancellation possibility. Also, if you had an April use year and you wanted to book over Christmas break, and then you had to cancel, you would have until the end of August to bank all of your points.
I was thinking that maybe a June use year might cover you better for the summer and the possibility of Christmas break and give you a little more breathing space even for spring break.
I don't think you would want a Sept use year, if the majority of your vacations are in the summer.

-DC

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by dcfromva
...(snip).... Then there is the exchange thing--I'm not sure exactly how this works (maybe someone can set me straight if I have this wrong about this), but I believe I can't exchange within 60 days prior to the end of my use year--which would be Dec and Jan....we typically take a 5 day vacation at the end of Jan (going somewhere)--the way I understand it, we can't use an exchange for Dec and Jan--again, it might be a silly thing to do anyway because if I had to cancel, the points would go into holding until the end of my use year (Jan 31) when they would disappear.... So, I wish that I had understood the way use years worked a little better before I signed on. .....(snip)....

You absolutely CAN vacation at one of the non-DVC options in the last 60 days of your use year. You just have to make the request/reservation 60 days or more ahead of the end of your use year. If your use year is February and you want to travel in either December or January, you just have to make the reservation before December 1.

Also, points go into the holding account only if you cancel 30 days or less before your scheduled arrival. It is true that if you cancel and are unable to reschedule your trip before the end of your use year, the points are lost. However, there are probably more options for that than you might think.

If you cancel a non-DVC option late in your use year, the holding account & end of the use year rules really don't apply anymore. True, the holding account will only allow you to make a reservation 60 days or less than advance. But since your points expire in about that same time frame anyway, it really isn't a significant factor. Many of the non-DVC options are available on fairly short notice and the only limitations seem to be availability and you own schedule.

Since DVC has already recovered the cost of you using your points for a non-DVC option by renting out DVC accomodations (based on your canceled ressie), it doesn't matter to them that you reserve more than 60 days from the end of your use year. If your points aren't in holding, you can make the non-DVC ressie without regard to the 60 day rule.

Hope I was clear. Just wanted you to know the situation wasn't as restrictive as you seemed to think. Best wishes.

 

[PamOKW]

While I agree that it's a good idea to give some thought to the Use Year, you may find your pattern of vacationing changing over time. Myself and another DVC member posted on different thread how our Use Year's worked very well until we discovered how much we enjoy Christmas at WDW. It would be difficult to have one Use Year that satisfies both my winter trips and the spring trips that had been my regular pattern.

Of course, a teacher who expects to be working for many more years has a pretty set schedule. Get what works if you can, but don't fret too much. It's only a problem when you cancel late in the Use Year.

 

[dcfromva]

CarolMN,
That is good to know--so I can still use the exchange for Dec/Jan--as long as I schedule it before Dec.
But, am I right that (with a Feb use year) if I scheduled a trip with all of my points from Jan 26-Jan31 and then ended up cancelling 1 day out--all those points would be gone on Jan31? Whereas if my use year had been in Oct, I would at least have several months in which to reschedule (or rent the points). (or if it were a DVC property cancelled more than 30 days out, with an Oct use year, I could bank the points?)

And (still Feb use year), what if I had borrowed points from the next year in order to have a big family get together in either Dec or Jan.? (which I had been thinking of doing) What if more than 30 days out, someone cancelled on me or the whole thing fell apart (I guess I could still bank 25% of the current use year's points before Nov30th).... I was thinking that in that scenario, I would really be in a bind to rent those points. I suppose it could be done, but I would think I would have to offer a pretty attractive price in order to rent points in such a scenario. But, if I had an Oct use year, I could bank the current years points and try to rent the borrowed points...

I am really thinking I need two use years--one in Feb to cover spring and summer vacations and another one in October to cover fall and winter vacations (like Christmas and Jan).

-DC

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by dcfromva
CarolMN,
That is good to know--so I can still use the exchange for Dec/Jan--as long as I schedule it before Dec.

Yes, that is correct.

But, am I right that (with a Feb use year) if I scheduled a trip with all of my points from Jan 26-Jan31 and then ended up cancelling 1 day out--all those points would be gone on Jan31?

Yes, that is also correct.

Whereas if my use year had been in Oct, I would at least have several months in which to reschedule (or rent the points). (or if it were a DVC property cancelled more than 30 days out, with an Oct use year, I could bank the points?)

Yes, although it is difficult to rent reservation points.

And (still Feb use year), what if I had borrowed points from the next year in order to have a big family get together in either Dec or Jan.? (which I had been thinking of doing) What if more than 30 days out, someone cancelled on me or the whole thing fell apart (I guess I could still bank 25% of the current use year's points before Nov30th).... I was thinking that in that scenario, I would really be in a bind to rent those points. I suppose it could be done, but I would think I would have to offer a pretty attractive price in order to rent points in such a scenario. But, if I had an Oct use year, I could bank the current years points and try to rent the borrowed points...

Again, correct. The borrowed points cannot be returned to their original use year and would expire on 1/31. With an October use year, you could indeed bank the current year points and then either use or rent the borrowed points, which would expire on 9/30.

I am really thinking I need two use years--one in Feb to cover spring and summer vacations and another one in October to cover fall and winter vacations (like Christmas and Jan). -DC

If your travel plans tend to be cancelled at the last minute on a regular basis, then yes, two use years would benefit you. It will take more time/effort on your part to manage two different use years, however.

FWIW, in the reunion scenario, I would tell my family that they must commit before (insert appropriate banking deadline). I would be very clear that if they cancelled out after that time, I would lose (insert value of points in $$$).

Best wishes. Hope you never have to cancel.

 

[dcfromva]

CarolMN,
On reflection, I have gone to WDW 22 times and have never had the occasion to cancel, yet. (Kind of like a Field of Dreams thing, if you book it, you will go.... ). Still, I've read some stories on this board of things that do come up...I don't think my family would leave me holding the bag, but then all kinds of things could come up and some of these things wouldn't necessarily be covered by trip ins... (And by nature, I am a worrier). When you think about how much $$ is tied up in the points--especially if you borrow points for 1 big event--that could be a sizable loss. It is always comforting to me to have a fall back position.


-DC