use year question

[go cowboys]

does it really matter what your use year is? If you can book next years points before you actually get them the only advantage I can see is if you want to go every Dec 1 you need a use year that is jan. Is that right?

 

[DVCLiz]

No, that's not right. If you go in December, and have a January use year, you'd be really stuck if you had to cancel your trip, because the time you could bank or save those points would have passed. For a trip arriving in December, you'd probably want a late summer or fall use year, so if you had to cancel you'd still be within the six month window to bank those points.

I think you're thinking about the 11 month advantage. If you want to go on December 1st, you can book that trip in January, 11 months ahead of when you want to arrive, as long as you are using points at your home resort. So if you own at the BCV, you could book that trip in January for December 11 months away. For a stay at any other DVC property where you are not an owner, you'll have to wait for the 7 month mark to book that resort. If you wanted to go to BWV, for example, but didn't own there, you could make a reservation, but would have to wait until May or June.

Hope that helps!!!

 

[Cruelladeville]

There are no January use years, they begin in February. As mentioned, you want a use year that will give you alot of time to use your points, or bank them, if you have to cancel. I bought an August use year for my December trips. Your use year should begin BEFORE your trip, not after. It isn't important when your use year is when making reservations, since you can always borrow points, but it is critical for your banking and borrowing window.

 

[go cowboys]

OK, we go the week after Thanksgiving every year. When we bought SSR I got a Feb use year. Am I at a disadvantage? What would have been the ideal use year if we wanted to rotate through the various resorts each year?

 

[CarolMN]

Use year only matters because it determines banking deadlines. If you have to cancel a vacation that occurs late in your use year, you may not be able to reschedule it before the end of your use year when the points expire and you may not be able to bank the points (to extend their life another year).

Use year has nothing to do with when you can call to make a reservation and it has nothing to do with where you choose to stay. Use year is about banking deadlines and point management.

If you regularly vacation in November or December, a February use year is not ideal. If you have to cancel the vacation, your options for re using the points are limited. Assuming you cancel 31 days prior to arrival, you would only be able to bank 25% of your points (or possibly 50% if you cancelled prior to the end of October). You cannot bank at all in December or January if you have a February use year. Any points that weren't eligible to be banked would have to be used for a stay before the end of January.

Try not to worry about this too much - again, it only matters if you have to cancel a vacation that occurs late in your use year.

If you do have to cancel, you should not have trouble renting the reservation to someone else - that time of the year is a popular one for staying at the DVC resorts.

And of course, your vacation habits may change over the course of your ownership. That February use year could turn out to be ideal for your future vacation patterns.

If you need more of an explanation or specific examples, just let us know.

Best wishes -

 

[Cruelladeville]

The problem with your use year is that if you cancelled your Thanksgiving vacation, you would really be in trouble with your points because you passed your banking window. You would have to use those points by January 31, which is kind of last-minute. If you couldn't use them, you would not have much time to rent them, either. Besides that, a last-minute cancellation during such a busy season means that you would have a very difficult time getting new reservations, even if you could travel any time you wanted. You only have two months to use those points.

My brother also bought a February use year, and he hates it because he vacations in January every year. There is no room for errors when you are using points at the end of your use year.

 

[DebbieB]

does it really matter what your use year is? If you can book next years points before you actually get them the only advantage I can see is if you want to go every Dec 1 you need a use year that is jan. Is that right?

I think the biggest misconception new members have is that the points "drop" into their account on the first day of their use year and are not available to make reservations before then. I assume that's why you are thinking January would be better so that they would be in there at the 11 month mark. That is not the case. Points are already in your account for all the future use years. All points use is based on the date of the stay, not the date you make the reservation. Some new members also think the use year on the date you make the reservation is what you use, again that is not correct.

 

[go cowboys]

Try not to worry about this too much .

Best wishes -

You hit the nail on the head with that. Thanks to all.

 

[Dean]

I'm in the minority that feels use year is important. But it depends on your situation. If you need to plan short notice or have a significant risk of canceling reservations, it can be quite important. For others it matters little.