Usage year pros & cons

[tmt martins]

If you take the majority of your vac. in June . What is everyones opinion on best UY .
June July is nice 11months out but DEC is also it gives you some time if any thing happens and you have to change plans (MOVE OR BANK )

Would like to know thats all

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Don't mix up use year with when you can make a reservation. You can always make a reservation 11 months in advance regardless of your use year.

IMHO the best use year for you would be April if you usually travel in June. That way if you cancel a June vacation, you will have until the end of the following March to use the points or until the end of September to bank them. A July use year is the absolute worst. If you cancel a June trip you miss the deadline for banking and only have a couple of weeks to use the points.

HBC

 

[tmt martins]

great thanks thats what I needed to know.And was my thoughts as well

 

[Daitcher]

If you take the majority of your vac. in June . What is everyones opinion on best UY .
June July is nice 11months out but DEC is also it gives you some time if any thing happens and you have to change plans (MOVE OR BANK )

Would like to know thats all

Use year makes no difference whatsoever. All it is designed to do is become an anniversary date of when your points renew. It also dictates banking deadlines. Beyond that trying to plan out the best use year is a waste of time IMO. June may be your desired travel time now but that can and probably will change over time. Take the use year year you are given and worry about the good stuff like booking trips and enjoying yourself. These type of topics are why many cast members find DVC members so annoying. We all tend to over think things and over plan. This program is so flexible and so well thought out you don't need to sweat the small stuff.


DAVE

 

[mydogdrew]

In many ways UY does not matter. If you always travel in June getting your points June 1st is a benefit. If you need to cancel there is no banking issues. However, your preferred month of travel will likely change over the years so don't get too hung up on that. However, time after time I conclude with the various promotions being offered by DVC that December is the best (I own August and September). If you're thinking about adding on in the future you'll often get an extra year's points (with no dues) if your UY is later in the calendar year. DVC policy is to grant full current year points for addon's so addon at SSR (or even other DVCI resorts) today will still get you 2004 points where any other UY will get you only 2005.

 

[Jacksmom99]

I was never concerned with my UY (March). We always traveled in August, and would call to bank the remainder of our points while we were on vacation. It was a reminder for us. However, this year we had a pretty disasterous trip (heat, humidity, and family) in August, and DH swore a) to never go in August again, and b) we need to take the kids in February to make up for the trip. So, I called to make my Feb reservation with my screaming 3yo DD running around the house. I was in a rush to make the reservation, and was only half listening to the CM. It turns out that since we had used our 05 points in August, I had to borrow 06 points for Feb. Since our UY is March, if anything happens and I have to cancel the trip, the points are essentially lost. I can't put borrowed points back into the UY. Now, I know this doesn't happen in all scenarios, but unless we change vacation patterns again, or horror of horrors.....skip a year ....we're always one sick kid or natural disaster away from losing a vacations worth of points. I guess we're the people travel insurance was made for! Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is that you don't want your UY for the month AFTER you usually vacation.

 

[jaysue]

April is the best choice of all the UY months available

We chose December since our WDW vacations are going to be (unless DW changes her career) March, December/January and sometimes May (in that order)

Cheers
jaysue

 

[lisareniff]

We received an October UY (didn't know I could choose) and it ended up being a great month for us. We will usually travel in Feb but might also travel in Nov and March/April.

Another way I look at it is... what months will you never travel? We will never go to WDW in the summer (July & Aug). Too Hot in FL and too nice in Upstate NY. So Sept or Oct is perfect.

 

[tmt martins]

Thanks for all the Input But JUNE will be my UY due to current offer could not be refused.Jumped right on it .
Now waiting for my new BEST FRIEND to show up MR.FED-EX

The last minute changes and transfer deadlines were my concerns with DD still having atleast 5 yrs. of schooling left June just works for now with the VAC.I like the APRIL?OCT time myself.

 

[stenogoddess]

This is good info. Thanks!

 

[redmomof4]

Do you get a choice of your use year? If so, we are probably stuck going Mar/Nov (thanksgiving)/Summer (Christmas/NY is too expensive) due to summer breaks. What would be best for me?

 

[keishashadow]

Use year makes no difference whatsoever. All it is designed to do is become an anniversary date of when your points renew. It also dictates banking deadlines. Beyond that trying to plan out the best use year is a waste of time IMO. June may be your desired travel time now but that can and probably will change over time. Take the use year year you are given and worry about the good stuff like booking trips and enjoying yourself. These type of topics are why many cast members find DVC members so annoying. We all tend to over think things and over plan. This program is so flexible and so well thought out you don't need to sweat the small stuff.


DAVE

Annoying - CM's who work @ DVC are being paid by us. Like many in "private industry" their duties include answering all questions in a professional manner - whether they personally find the queries "stupid, repetitive or annoying". That why it's called customer service.

No personal flame intended ...most newbies ask the same questions...thank goodness for these boards.

Congrats to the OP, enjoy the magic!

 

[CarolMN]

I was never concerned with my UY (March). We always traveled in August, and would call to bank the remainder of our points while we were on vacation. It was a reminder for us. However, this year we had a pretty disasterous trip (heat, humidity, and family) in August, and DH swore a) to never go in August again, and b) we need to take the kids in February to make up for the trip. So, I called to make my Feb reservation with my screaming 3yo DD running around the house. I was in a rush to make the reservation, and was only half listening to the CM. It turns out that since we had used our 05 points in August, I had to borrow 06 points for Feb. Since our UY is March, if anything happens and I have to cancel the trip, the points are essentially lost. I can't put borrowed points back into the UY. Now, I know this doesn't happen in all scenarios, but unless we change vacation patterns again, or horror of horrors.....skip a year ....we're always one sick kid or natural disaster away from losing a vacations worth of points. I guess we're the people travel insurance was made for! Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is that you don't want your UY for the month AFTER you usually vacation.

Even if you used current year (2005) points for your February 2006 trip, if you have to cancel, you will have the same problem (points essentially lost).

Since you have a March use year, you'd be well past your banking deadlines (can't bank at all in January or February and can only bank 25% of the total in December). The points used for the cancelled February reservation will expire on 2/28/2006 if you can't reschedule before then (or rent them for a stay that would occur before then).

The points for that reservations would be lost no matter if they were borrowed points or current year points.

Use year is important only if you have to cancel a vacation that is scheduled to occur late in your use year. Otherwise, it makes no difference at all.

Best wishes -

 

[Luigi's Girl]

April is the best choice of all the UY months available

We chose December since our WDW vacations are going to be (unless DW changes her career) March, December/January and sometimes May (in that order)

Cheers
jaysue

April is our UY and I was just wondering what the reasons are that you believe it is the best choice in UY. Thanks.