Use year question

[JasD]

I’ve been researching DVC and have a question about use year. We usually vacation in September. Which month is best for the use year for September and why?

 

[FFMickey]

August would be a great UY for you. You would have that extra month in case you need to over lap with dates in August. If you decide to use it later, your banking deadline is March 31st (built in "travel insurance" if you have to cancel)

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

A UY that starts just prior to your normal trips is the best as it provides a little bit of free insurance by allowing almost a year to rebook if by chance you ever have a last minute cancellation.

If you always vacation in September then a September UY is the best. August is good too and June will work as well.

 

[JasD]

A UY that starts just prior to your normal trips is the best as it provides a little bit of free insurance by allowing almost a year to rebook if by chance you ever have a last minute cancellation.

If you always vacation in September then a September UY is the best. August is good too and June will work as well.

Thanks for answering. Some also suggested April or June. Could you explain why June would work?

 

[lovin'fl]

You basically want a use year of the month you will travel or one of the months right before. If you have June UY and book an August trip and then cancel that trip in say, May, you will still have time to bank the points in case you cannot reschedule the trip for within that UY. Honestly, UY isn't a big thing. My only suggestion/tip for UY is if you buy multiple contracts is to stick with the same UY.

 

[tamu91]

I also think UY is not all that critical because your travel pattern may change over time. We have Dec UY and we’ve had no trouble traveling in all seasons. IMO, holding window may be one thing to consider so if Fall is your preferred season, then Jul/Aug may be your best option which would give you 10-11 months to re-book if you have to cancel your trip at the last minute.

 

[CarolMN]

Check out this thread - you'll soon be able to answer your own use year questions:

Understanding Use Year

If you haven't already found the DVC Resource Center, I highly recommend you add it to your research reading.

Welcome to the DIS DVC Forums.

 

[lovin'fl]

I will also add...we have June and Aug UY (which is a pain to have 2 UY and why I suggest keeping just 1) and we typically did DVC from Aug-Dec (for many years when kids were in school...they are all in college now so our pattern has changed and we are all over the calendar with our trips now). And our UY have worked fine for us.

 

[goofy kc]

We have two UYs as well and really like the June UY. If we can't make a June trip, those points are good for the rest of the school year. Our September UY points are harder to manage some years - but we manage to use them all!!

 

[chalee94]

Thanks for answering. Some also suggested April or June. Could you explain why June would work?

The short answer is that you ideally want to travel in the early part of your UY. If you need to cancel, that will give you the most options going forward. Traveling in the last few months of your UY adds risk that you will lose points for no value.

Also keep in mind that UY has nothing to do with when you can call or go online to book. 11 months is 11 months.

I definitely recommend bookmarking CarolMN's link for Understanding Use Year. That is a valuable reference.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Honestly, UY isn't a big thing. .

It's not that big of a thing....until you have a last minute cancellation which is the point. We've had 2 - deaths in the family just prior to trips which we certainly never planned on. If you have an option and have a typical travel time then IMO it makes sense to buy a UY that can give you a little bit of protection against the last minute cancellation. Yes, you may not always travel at that time but you might as well go with one that you think will cover you a bit.