So the best user year to buy if I vacation in October or November is...

[Michelle_R]

I'm not sure if I understand this correctly, but if we plan to vacation in October or November the best user year to have would be either October or November? Is this correct? Thanks so much.

 

[alicat07]

Actually, I think the thinking is that you want to be able to cancel without penalty and bank your points if you needed to cancel your vacation for October or November. So your ideal user year would be March or April so in case you had a last minute cancellation of your trip you could still bank them within the 8 month window to bank.

 

[RobDoc]

There is no November Use Year (or Jan, May or July). If you will travel in October or November an October Use Year would be best since a cancellation would give you until the following September 30 to reuse the points or until the end of the following May to bank them .

If you would cancel a reservation beyond your banking deadline, you would still have until the end of the September following the cancelled dates to reuse the points. With an earlier Use Year you would be limiting the time available to reuse the points.

If you are unlikely to need to cancel a reservation, then any Use Year would work.

 

[dcfromva]

I'm not sure if I understand this correctly, but if we plan to vacation in October or November the best user year to have would be either October or November? Is this correct? Thanks so much.

October would be your best choice if your always go in OCT or NOV.
Incidentally, we have an OCT UY for our BWV contract. We purchased the points specifically to stay over a long weekend during F& W (and sometimes we have some odd points left over for an early DEC visit). This contract has worked like a charm and has been very easy to manage the points. I just look for an appropriate weekend in OCT when we aren't already committed and schedule at the 11 month point. I look forward to the F& W visit all year long!

 

[Buckeye Fan]

Just remember, if you purchase an October UY and you bank any points, all points must be used by the end of September or they expire. This really hits people who travel once per year a little harder than others, though. If your vacation schedule is flexible, it probably won't matter as much to you.

We run into this all of the time with our Aug UY. When we purchased our contracts, they were loaded with previous year's points. So, we always have points that we bank. This has forced us to travel at the end of July, when we would have chosen to go in August. If we had a different UY, say Dec or Feb, we could travel June, July or Aug, and it wouldn't matter.

Think about different UY scenarios, and how it may impact your travel. Think about what happens if you have to cancel. As you're playing around with different UYs, here's something to consider:

March UY
* good for vacations Mar 1, 2008 - Feb 28, 2009
* good for vacations Mar 1, 2009 - Feb 28, 2010 (and so on)
* points deposited Mar 1, 2008 must be banked by Oct 31, 2008, and if banked, will expire on Feb 28, 2010.
* points deposited Mar 1, 2009 must be banked by Oct 31, 2009, and if banked, will expire on Feb 28, 2011 (and so on).

If you have to cancel your Oct trip, as long as it's more than 31 days out, you can still cancel and bank 100% of your points into your next UY. If you decide to cancel and use your points for that year, or if they are banked points, you'll be able to re-book that vacation for another date in Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan or Feb.

There are pros/cons to all of it, but it's great you're doing your research. At least you'll go into it making an informed decision! Best of luck with whatever you decide!

 

[disneynutz]

I vote for September. The easiest UY rule is one month prior to your usual vacation period.

 

[jekjones1558]

I vote for September.

Just curious why you think that September is better than Oct. for someone who travels in Oct. or Nov.? Maybe there is a strategy I'm missing?

 

[disneynutz]

Just curious why you think that September is better than Oct. for someone who travels in Oct. or Nov.? Maybe there is a strategy I'm missing?

Just a personal thing. I like to have my points in the account before I travel. September is a slow time for WDW so having points available in Sept gives you the choice of traveling at the end of Sept to take advantage of possible specials.

 

[dcfromva]

Think about different UY scenarios, and how it may impact your travel. Think about what happens if you have to cancel. As you're playing around with different UYs, here's something to consider:

March UY
* good for vacations Mar 1, 2008 - Feb 28, 2009
* good for vacations Mar 1, 2009 - Feb 28, 2010 (and so on)
* points deposited Mar 1, 2008 must be banked by Oct 31, 2008, and if banked, will expire on Feb 28, 2010.
* points deposited Mar 1, 2009 must be banked by Oct 31, 2009, and if banked, will expire on Feb 28, 2011 (and so on).
If you have to cancel your Oct trip, as long as it's more than 31 days out, you can still cancel and bank 100% of your points into your next UY. If you decide to cancel and use your points for that year, or if they are banked points, you'll be able to re-book that vacation for another date in Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan or Feb.

With the MAR UY, if the OP had to cancel an OCT ressie within 1-31 days prior, OP would only have the rest of OCT, NOV, DEC Jan and FEB to use holding points (ressies can only be made within 60 days). Some reservations in these months are a trick to book even 11 months in advance.

Of course, if the OP had an OCT UY and had to cancel an OCT visit 31 or more days in advance using banked or borrowed points, they would have OCT, NOV, DEC, JAN, FEB, MAR , APR, MAY, JUN, JUL, AUG AND SEP to re-use those points. If it was impossible to make the trip, it would also give more opportunity to rent points. Likewise, OP would have almost a year to schedule holding points (as long as the ressie was made within 60 days) if the ressie was cancelled within 1-31 days prior.

It probably is not that big of a deal as this only comes into play with a reservation that has to be cancelled.

 

[Michelle_R]

Thanks for all the replies. It's definately given me some food for thought. Our vacation schedule is based on when the kids have a day or two off of school. For instance this year they had a couple of days last week, so we went then.

I am concerned about being able to bank the points and being able to use them at a specific time, ie when they time off. We would only cancel if absolutely necessary, but I would still want the flexibility to rebook.

So for example, if I had a vacation planned for October and had to cancel, I would have to use those points by September if I had an October use year? This could create a problem if the next years day off from school were still in October, right? Just want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly.

Ugh, this is so confusing, wish there was a November use year. Thanks again for all your help.

 

[WDWorld2003]

We have a March use year which I thought was ideal as we used it for spring break. Now both kids are in college and it seems the only time we can all be together is January which leaves us SOL if we need to cancel. I wish our use year was a few months later, especially with the new banking rules. Unless you go in the summer I think September or October would be ideal as you could also use the points for Spring Breaks and still have time to bank points if you had to cancel.

 

[dcfromva]

Thanks for all the replies. It's definately given me some food for thought. Our vacation schedule is based on when the kids have a day or two off of school. For instance this year they had a couple of days last week, so we went then.

I am concerned about being able to bank the points and being able to use them at a specific time, ie when they time off. We would only cancel if absolutely necessary, but I would still want the flexibility to rebook.

So for example, if I had a vacation planned for October and had to cancel, I would have to use those points by September if I had an October use year? This could create a problem if the next years day off from school were still in October, right? Just want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly.

The answer to this question depends on the type of points you are using and when the cancelation occurs. If you are using current UY points and you find out about your cancellation more than 31 days before the reservations starts--no harm, no foul. You cancel the reservation, the points go back into your account as if nothing happened. You could still bank the points or make another reservation.
Let's say you made a reservation OCT 26-31st 2009 using OCT 2009 UY points. You find out at the beginning of the school year you have the wrong dates (or there is a schedule conflict). You could use the points not later than Sep 30th 2010. Or, bank the points into 2010 UY (to be used OCT 1 2010-Sept 30 2011) and use them for the following OCT visit (banking deadline would be May 31st 2010).
If the above ressie had been made using banked/borrowed points, you would have to use the points by SEPT 30th 2010.
If the above ressie had been cancelled within 1-31 days prior, they would be holding points (with booking restrictions) that would have to be used no later than Sept 30, 2010.

Ugh, this is so confusing, wish there was a November use year. Thanks again for all your help.

Michelle_R,
If there were a NOV UY, it would not be a good choice if you primarily planned to travel in OCT in the unlikely event you had to cancel. You would be traveling within your last 31 days of your UY. Which means very few options if things didn't work out especially within 31 days of your reservation (you would basically have until OCT 31st to use or lose your points. )

 

[dcfromva]

We have a March use year which I thought was ideal as we used it for spring break. Now both kids are in college and it seems the only time we can all be together is January which leaves us SOL if we need to cancel. I wish our use year was a few months later, especially with the new banking rules. Unless you go in the summer I think September or October would be ideal as you could also use the points for Spring Breaks and still have time to bank points if you had to cancel.

This is a very good point about travel patterns changing over time--which makes the UY question a moving target.

We have a Feb UY for our BCV points--we didn't really give the UY much thought when we first purchased. They were selling FEB points, so that is what we got. It turns out that we really like to stay at BCV over NYE. This is one of the highest point cost time frames, so we do find the need to bank and borrow points to make the ressie. We have not had to cancel a reservation, yet, but I do worry about it.

 

[5forDiz]

Thanks for all the replies. It's definately given me some food for thought. Our vacation schedule is based on when the kids have a day or two off of school. For instance this year they had a couple of days last week, so we went then.

I am concerned about being able to bank the points and being able to use them at a specific time, ie when they time off. We would only cancel if absolutely necessary, but I would still want the flexibility to rebook.

So for example, if I had a vacation planned for October and had to cancel, I would have to use those points by September if I had an October use year? This could create a problem if the next years day off from school were still in October, right? Just want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly.

Ugh, this is so confusing, wish there was a November use year. Thanks again for all your help.

Here are the Banking Deadlines & "Use By" Dates
( sometimes seeing the dates can make other travel scenarios come to mind ). But as other posters here have pointed out, what your travel habits are now and in the near future may be significantly different as children grow up, etc. And as mentioned by others and imho the real 'issue' is a cancellation made 1 to 30 days before your check-in date because then those points are in Holding & are no longer bankable & must be utilized by the end of the current Use Year by making a new reservation 60 days or less in advance of check-in date wanted. So yes you'd likely want to have as much time as possible before the Use Year ends to do something with those points.

Cancel 31 days or more before check-in and it's all good, no restrictions, you can bank if still within your banking window.

FEB UY bank by September 30 OR Use By January 31

MAR UY bank by October 31 OR Use By February 28 (or 29)

APR UY bank by November 30 OR Use By March 31

JUN UY bank by January 31 OR Use By May 31

AUG UY bank by March 31 OR Use BY July 31

SEP UY bank by April 30 OR Use By August 31

OCT UY bank by May 31 OR Use By September 30

DEC UY bank by July 31 OR Use By November 30

 

[Buckeye Fan]

Thanks for all the replies. It's definately given me some food for thought. Our vacation schedule is based on when the kids have a day or two off of school. For instance this year they had a couple of days last week, so we went then.

I am concerned about being able to bank the points and being able to use them at a specific time, ie when they time off. We would only cancel if absolutely necessary, but I would still want the flexibility to rebook.

So for example, if I had a vacation planned for October and had to cancel, I would have to use those points by September if I had an October use year? This could create a problem if the next years day off from school were still in October, right? Just want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly.

Ugh, this is so confusing, wish there was a November use year. Thanks again for all your help.

Many will disagree with me, but since our UY has impacted our travel plans, it's definitely a pain point for me. I don't want my UY dictating when I can travel. I'd rather take the chance on canceling, than having to travel in July when I'd rather travel in Aug. I hate my UY so much, I've considered taking a hit by selling and repurchasing.

Yes, you are correct. If you have an Oct UY, any banked points will expire at the end of Sept. If you don't use them by the end of Sept, you will lose them. If you're traveling multiple times per year, it won't be an issue. Also, I'm definitely not saying March is best. Just wanted to point out a very different perspective. Maybe a late summer UY would work better for you (Sept)? You would get your points in Sept, and have through the end of Aug to use if you had to cancel/reschedule. You would also have through April of any given year to bank.

My husband is a school teacher, so I feel your pain being tied to the school schedule. We'll be traveling on the "school schedule" for quite some time. Like I said, play around with the "what happens if" scenario, and choose what is best for you. Nothing's going to be perfect, and something that is ideal now, may not be in the future. Base your UY on what you know today, as none of us knows what 15 years down the road holds...except many more trips to WDW, God willing!!! I have NEVER cancelled a trip in the 18 years we've been married, but I have moved my vacation into July twice in the last 3 years because I was going to lose points if I didn't.

 

[Michelle_R]

Thanks again everyone. If we did have to cancel, it would most likely be a last minute situation. We would only go to Disney once a year, maybe only once every other year. Cancelling is not something we would ever plan on, nor make a habit of. However, if we had to, I would want to be able to make plans for the next year when the kids have off of school. That's why the September use year is kind of tough. Thanks again.

Michelle

 

[WDWorld2003]

Actually the September or October use year would be ideal if you had to cancel. If you cancelled 31 days prior, you would have until August 30th of the next year to use them or you could bank them by March 31st and use them anytime the entire next year after that.

In other words, depending on if you banked the points, you would have almost two years if you cancelled 31 days prior to a September or October trip and a year and half if you had to cancel a Spring trip. You could also deposit them into Interval. If you cancelled 30 days up until one day before a trip you would still have the same amount of time to use them but you could only make your reservation within 60 days of the arrival date.

In our situation with a March use year, if for any reason we had to cancel our January trip I could only use the points until February 28th which would only be a six weeks. My banking window was over October 31 so I would not be able to bank them into the next year or deposit them into Interval.

We did have to cancel once. My sister was using our points over Thanksgiving and her daughter became very ill on the way to the airport and they had to cancel their entire trip. I ended up having to sell the points as they were no longer bankable and we were not able to take a trip before they expired.

I hope this makes sense - I know it's confusing at first. Good luck with your decision!