Use Year (again)

[FLYNZ4]

Let me ask the question one last time while my contract can still be changed:

Our typical travel pattern will follow one of two patterns:

a) w/o kids: September - May
b) w/ kids: March - August

The problem is that the two usage patterns are total opposites! I have decided on a March UY... but I keep questioning my decision... yet I keep returning to choosing March.

One of the reasons that we are choosing March is because full family vacations will typically be "larger" reservations requiring a 2BR or larger unit. Hence... the point exposure to a late cancellation is higher.

I also assume (but don't know for sure)... that if I need to book a vacation at the end of our UY because of a cancellation... that February is easier than August.

I cannot be the only one who faces this dilema... Do you think I am making the right decision w/ March?

/Jim

 

[JimC]

With kids is no problem - March would be a great selection. Without kids may really only be a problem if you reserve in January or February. IMO, if you keep a 60 day reserve in your use year there is ample time to reschedule if a holiday needs to be rescheduled.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

I think you are making the right decision for a March use year. It seems well thought out. Remember that all this worry over use year may not mean as much in 10 or 15 years. Everything you do now may change.

Good luck and don't worry.

HBC

 

[Pa@okw95]

Once you are a member the use years usually does not beocme an issue. I have been a member since 95 and never concerned myself with the use year. It could have been any month and it really would not have made a difference to me. Once the membership gets underway you should find it is a non-iisue after the first year or two.

 

[CarolMN]

I agree with Pa - use year doesn't really matter all that much. It is only important because it determines banking deadlines. Banking deadlines are important only if you cannot use all of your current year points before the end of your use year.

For example, let's say you have a March use year and plan a vacation for early January, 2006. That stay falls within your 2005 use year (which runs from 3/1/2005 thru 2/28/2006). Let's say you only use current use year points to "pay" for it - no banked or borrowed points.

With a March use year, your 50% deadline is the end of November and your 25% deadline is the end of December. No banking at all in January or February.

Suppose you have to cancel that January trip - the points used for that trip must be used by 2/28/2006 or they will be lost to you. Assuming you cancelled 31 or more days ahead of arrival, you could bank some of the points and use them in the 2006 use year. (For example, if you cancelled the trip in December, but more than 31 days ahead of arrival, you could have up to 25% of your current year points banked). The banked points would not expire until the end of February, 2007.

Any points that could not be banked would expire on 2/28/2006. Many people rent to others when they are in this situation - "use 'em or lose 'em."


As long as you could bank or use the points from a cancelled trip, use year doesn't matter at all.


I also think March was a good choice for you - that's because I think trips with other people (especially if they have small children) are much more likely to change than a trip for just two "empty-nesters". JMHO.

With a March use year, your 100% banking deadline is the end of August. That means any trip that gets cancelled will not be a worry if you cannot reschedule it before the end of your use year. If you can't reschedule, you can always bank your entire allotment and use it next year.

Anyway, if you are still reading, the point is that use year is not all that important if you don't think you will have to cancel a trip that occurs late in your use year. Maybe we've been lucky, but my DH & I have never had to do so. Even if we did, I can't imagine it would be a regular occurence.

Best wishes -

 

[PamOKW]

As you can see from looking at your trips, a perfect Use Year is hard to come by if you plan to travel year-round. Over the course of 40-50 years I imagine we will all be traveling at different times of the year. And, as others have said, it really doesn't matter unless you face last minute cancellations.

March probably is a good choice since you expect to use the majority of your points at this time of year and these trips are probably more likely to have a last minute cancellation.

As to August being harder to book than February -- I don't think that's the case. Mid-February begins the school vacation/snowbird escape and can be tricky to book last minute. August has school starting up again in much of the South and mid to late August can be fairly slow. However, I've found that being open to any WDW resort and giving the wait list some time to work makes just about any time of year possible.