Use Year Question

[le9397]

Hi - I am giving serious consideration to purchasing DVC within the next year. I'm trying to decide on the best use year for my travel patterns. I'm finding myself a little confused and hoped someone that understands it would tell me if I'm going in the right direction.

My trips are frequently during labor day week (Sept) and will generally start in the last few days of August. I never see myself as traveling in June & July because it is too hot for me. I don't have kids but our schools start after labor day so I would not be tied to those summer months if that status changed for me. We have gone in December and enjoyed that time. We also tried May this year and thought it was better than September in some ways. September 1st is my birthday though and I like spending it at Disney.

Travel during
Jan Not now
Feb Not now
Mar Not now
Apr Not now
May Yes
Jun NEVER
Jul NEVER
Aug Yes
Sep Yes
Oct Yes
Nov Maybe
Dec Yes

It seems August would be my ideal use year based on my travel pattern. I do not go in the winter months now but would not be opposed to that in the future.

If I'm understanding correctly, the "downside" to August....if I had to cancel a May trip less than 31 days out....I would need to reschedule by 7/31....my least favorite time to go and a busy time to get a last minute reservation.

If I instead went with April as my use year I would have until March 31st to reschedule any last minute trips and it would be during a timeframe I'm not opposed to traveling during. April could be problematic if I decide to travel during Jan - Mar in the future though, correct?

It sure is tough to try and predict so far out in the future. I don't even know what I'm having for lunch today but I'm going to somehow figure out when I'm going to Disney for the next 50 years.

Thanks for any suggestions or comments anyone has to make. These boards are such a great knowledge base!

 

[Kmango]

That's not quite right. The real use year issue revolves around the banking deadline. What you really want is to be traveling in the first eight months of your use year so that if you cancel 31+ days out, you can bank those points.

Let's say you get an August UY, and you plan a late-May trip and have to cancel. Your banking deadline is March 31st. Thus, even if you cancel mid-April, more than 30 days out, those points can no longer be banked into the next year and must be USED (not booked, used) by July 31. If you cancel less than 30 days out, the points go into holding, which means you can only book 60 days in advance and they still have to be used by July 31, forcing you to travel when you really don't want to.

If you get an April UY, your banking deadline would be November 30th. Therefore, for any travel in December, as long as you canceled more than 31 days out, you'd still be able to bank the points. If you cancel less than 30 days out, you have more time to use your holding points (until March 31), and it would be at a better time of year (by your standards) than summer.

I think based on your travel style, an April UY is going to be best. (Actually, a May UY would be ideal, but that, along with Jan, July, and Nov doesn't exist).

 

[disneynutz]

I vote for April too!

 

[le9397]

I thought there was something I was missing.....thanks so much! Looks like April would suit us best. Now to just figure out the home resort and the $$$ and I'll be set to join!

I was originally thinking April and then I read too many posts which somehow had me at September. The banking deadline was the part I forgot about.