Use Year Restrictions

[Tiger926]

Just made a frustrating realization about our points, as I awoke a little while ago:

We have a June UY as I'm a teacher, and most of our trips are in July (a few in August). We have gone a few times in March and Christmas/NYE as well, but that is all, due to my vacation breaks. So, when we first purchased our initial contract at SSR, our guide said a June UY would be best. We did tell him there would be a possibility of other school break vacations, but he said June would be best.

So, we bought our 175 points at SSR. Fast forward a few years, and we added on in smaller increments at AKV, for a total of 360 points, all with June UY.

We are now looking at going on vacations in March for my break. We've done it a few times, and I totally misunderstood how UY works, since it's the end of our UY.

Hubby just reminded me that if we have to cancel (and we have before due to emergency), we will lose our points, as I can't travel from April - May. Yikes!

This just hit me like a ton of bricks, and makes total sense, and I've read this before, but it didn't sink in, as it didn't pertain. We have taken 2 March trips now, and we could have lost those points.

At this point, we can't sell any contracts, as we'll lose money, due to CDN exchange and fees. We also are not interested in purchasing anymore points with a March UY, as we got hit hard with both point re-allocations, and I'm done with adding on.

So, is anyone in a similar situation? Do you have multiple UY contracts for this reason?

At this point, we can't really travel in March, as I don't want to lose points, should an emergency happen, and the past few years, we've had lost of those...

Help! What would you all recommend in this situation, Tiger

 

[bobbiwoz]

I teach and have a March UY. It still isn't the best because we also go in December and that's too late to bank. Things used to be different because there were different banking dates and I could still bank 25% of my points by the end of December.

So, who knows if banking deadlines will ever change again? Meanwhile, we're risking points by booking the end of year trips. I don't want the confusion of different use years. I'll deal with what we have.

Bobbi

 

[cvjw]

If you vacation at different times of the year, you are always at risk of not being able to bank your points if you have to cancel a vacation. We have a March use year, but if we travel at Thanksgiving or Christmas, we are in that same boat. So far, we haven't had any emergencies come up, but if it ever did, I would just try and give our reservation to family or friends, or rent it as a last resort.

 

[Tiger926]

Thanks for the responses.

The point is that we don't vacation at different times of the year - I only have 3 possible times - Summer, March and Christmas/NYE. That is it, so I am restricted with going in March, as that is at end of UY.

Still not sure what to do? Tiger

 

[dzorn]

Thanks for the responses.

The point is that we don't vacation at different times of the year - I only have 3 possible times - Summer, March and Christmas/NYE. That is it, so I am restricted with going in March, as that is at end of UY.

Still not sure what to do? Tiger

The is not going to be a perfect UY for every situation. Given your travel patterns I would say the June is pretty good.

The only other alternative is selling and buying another UY and the loss you would take doing that.

If you have to cancel hopfully you can do it by Jan 31 to bank the points.

December may have been a better year only if you vacation early in the summer.

Summer, March and Christmas are different times of year. No UY is going to be perfect for all three.

You can still travel in March. If you need to cancel you could rent out your points or you may want to consider vacation insurance for emergencies.

Denise in MI

 

[dianeschlicht]

I teach and have a March UY. It still isn't the best because we also go in December and that's too late to bank. Things used to be different because there were different banking dates and I could still bank 25% of my points by the end of December.

So, who knows if banking deadlines will ever change again? Meanwhile, we're risking points by booking the end of year trips. I don't want the confusion of different use years. I'll deal with what we have.

Bobbi

Same here. Our March use year isn't ideal for the way we like to travel either, but that being said... We have NEVER had to cancel where we would have lost points in the 13 years we have been members. I figure it isn't going to happen often enough to lose sleep over.

 

[disneynutz]

Disney has designed the system so that people will lose points. If your vacations are spread out as yours seem to be, you only have 3 choices. Vacation in March and take a chance, don't vacation in March, or buy a different UY for your March vacations.

What will you do if you change professions, or retire?

Bill

 

[Alice-in-wonder]

Would an October UY be better for a teacher? What would be the ideal UY if you travel during April vacation or late June-August?

 

[JimMIA]

First of all, I don't think your Use Year is as much of a problem as it might seem at first.

You primarily vacation during the summer. You might take an odd trip in March -- and if you did, and if you had an emergency, and if you had to cancel between the end of January and your March trip, and if you couldn't find someone else to take the points or take a trip yourself ...you would lose the points.

That's a LOT of if's!

Also, there is another option for a March trip. You could work an exchange with another DVC owner who has a different UY. Either make reservations for each other or have them make a reservation for you and then transfer them an equal number of points. I'm not sure of the rules for the DIS Rent/Trade board, but if you can't do it here you can certainly do it on other websites.

 

[drusba]

Teachers I know usually go summer, spring break or Christmas time and seldom in Fall (such as Thanksgiving). The ideal use year for that pattern would be December based on the banking window if you have to cancel.

Reflecting on having June use year and going in March. First, most likely you won't have to cancel. Second if you cancel by Jan 31, you can bank points. Third, you must cancel at least 31 days out to avoid points going into holding status, meaning they would have to be used by end of use year and then only by calling 60 days or less out to reserve. Use year cannot cure cancelling less than 31 days out. In other words, with March trip,essentially all you have lost is a couple weeks of banking time, e.g. trip starts March 15, must be cancelled no later Feb 12 to avoid holding account, can be cancelled Jan 31 and still bank, result, you have lost banking ability for only 12 days 2/1 to 2/12. Moreover, most likely if you have to cancel trip because of an "emergency," it is going to be something that more often than not arises less than 31 days before arrival and you would be saddled with holding account anyway. In other words, I look at the the concern over use year as one not to be overly concerned with.

 

[Disneypubgal]

We have several contracts with use year feb and aug just for this reason!! Husband is a teacher and we can only travel during school breaks!! Have you ever considered travel insurance?? That could alleviate some of the dollars if you had to cancel....

 

[PSC]

Another Feb / Aug UY owner here. When DVC moved to the rule of 4 a few years back, I purposefully bought a 2nd UY as a hedge against any future changes. My 2 use years are at different resorts, so I tend to treat each as a separate timeshare. Of course I'm breaking my rule for the F&W festival next year - Using my Feb BWV points during the last 4 months of my UY. Wish me luck!

 

[disneymath]

I understand your frustration ... I teach too, and I really struggled with whether to get a June or August UY.

In the end, I went with an August UY b/c we typically travel to WDW in August (only once in July - our very first visit) and want the option of being able to to travel over Canadian Thanksgiving, Christmas, and March Break. With the Aug UY, I can bank points until March 30 - and if we need to cancel a March Break Trip last minute, I would likely be able to use up those "holding status" points somewhere in July.

The one potential downside to the Aug UY is if our school system ever changes the traditional schedule and sends us back to class in early August. (I'm banking on a "fall break" if that ever happens though - that would work perfectly and speed up my post retirement plan to make fall/winter trips the norm.)

 

[Sandisw]

Well, the one thing you could look in to when you book those March trips is getting the travel insurance.

While it won't restore your points, at least the money they pay might cover the MF's you paid on those points and may make losing them a little better to swallow.

I teach and we have a June UY as well. For us, we travel in the summer. IF we wanted to go on other breaks, it would be Xmas or February (we have a Winter break). Or least likely time is to go during our April break so for us, it works out.

At this point, you have what you have and I would try not to stress too much about things as there really is nothing you can do.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

At this point, you have what you have and I would try not to stress too much about things as there really is nothing you can do.

Exactly...why stress about what you cannot control.

 

[Sandisw]

Exactly...why stress about what you cannot control.

So I guess I shouldn't worry about those stupid snow showers they say are coming tomorrow (YUCK!!!)

 

[jlewisinsyr]

So I guess I shouldn't worry about those stupid snow showers they say are coming tomorrow (YUCK!!!)

HAHAHA...right...I'm more worried about when the on ramp to 81 at Almond is going to open.

 

[Tiger926]

Thanks to all for responses - hubby worked late at office, so we haven't even spoken about it, as kids and I were asleep when he came home!

I guess I should have explained more in my initial response - I am not a stressful person by nature at all. Far from it...but the past few years, we've had several major emergencies. Things like family dying on the day before or day of our vacation, or majorly ill family members. Despite all of you saying it probably won't happen, it has happened to us, several times. We've had to postpone, delay or cancel in the past - we've only been DVC members for 6.5 years, and it's happened one too many times for us. We've lost a few points over the years due to emergencies, and when it happens, the emergency is more important, and the last thing we are thinking of is points.

But, March trips for us are extras, so I wanted to make sure that I was understanding things correctly in terms of UY and banking. I don't want to have to lose points just because we have an extra trip planned, that we weren't really planning on taking when we purchased our contracts.

Thanks so much for all of the info provided - hubby and I will discuss tonight over dinner. It's interesting to see how all of the different UYs work for members. We were wanting to take the kids to Hilton Head Island in March, and were planning on booking that this past weekend, but we need to discuss our points a bit more.

Happy weekend to all, Tiger

 

[Sandisw]

Thanks to all for responses - hubby worked late at office, so we haven't even spoken about it, as kids and I were asleep when he came home!

I guess I should have explained more in my initial response - I am not a stressful person by nature at all. Far from it...but the past few years, we've had several major emergencies. Things like family dying on the day before or day of our vacation, or majorly ill family members. Despite all of you saying it probably won't happen, it has happened to us, several times. We've had to postpone, delay or cancel in the past - we've only been DVC members for 6.5 years, and it's happened one too many times for us. We've lost a few points over the years due to emergencies, and when it happens, the emergency is more important, and the last thing we are thinking of is points.

But, March trips for us are extras, so I wanted to make sure that I was understanding things correctly in terms of UY and banking. I don't want to have to lose points just because we have an extra trip planned, that we weren't really planning on taking when we purchased our contracts.

Thanks so much for all of the info provided - hubby and I will discuss tonight over dinner. It's interesting to see how all of the different UYs work for members. We were wanting to take the kids to Hilton Head Island in March, and were planning on booking that this past weekend, but we need to discuss our points a bit more.

Happy weekend to all, Tiger

Good luck! I do know how you feel as I bought my first contract with an Oct UY (resale) without really thinking about it.

When I went to add on at BLT in early 2009, I didn't want the same UY and was very lucky that Disney allowed me to get June even though I wasn't buying the 160 minimum.

Once that fell in to place, I put the Oct UY contract up for sale, only 2 months after I bought it. It was small and I could handle the loss we took on it. Had I bought in with a bigger contract, it might not have happened.