Use Year (UY), banking, and so forth...

[Momtomouselover]

I'm trying to understand all this stuff and make a decision about purchasing. Where is the best place to find a full description of the process? I looked at the Disney website and found some but nothing that explains UY and banking, etc. Also, curious about buying direct vs. resale if there is info. on that. Anyone have advice on where I should look? I have spoken with a Disney DVC rep on the phone and he was sending some info to me so maybe it will cover some of this.

 

[Momtomouselover]

May have just found the answers to my question. Found a link to an FAQ about DVC on AllEars and MouseSavers that I think covers it. If you have any other suggestions though let me know!

Now back to my reading...

 

[OneMoreTry]

UY:

Don't buy use year that occurs any time within 4 mos AFTER the period you plan on using DVC the most frequently.

So if you plan to go Xmas, don't buy Jan to April. If you plan to go summer, don't buy July to NOv (If you plan to go July then buy July)

Because If you cancel you can't bank.

If you hate WDW in summer, and you are buying WDW, then buy Sept to Nov.

It's best to buy month you plan to use most frequently.

 

[palaemon]

Also, there are only 8 UY to choose from.

Feb
Mar
Apr
Jun
Aug
Sept
Oct
Dec

There is no Jan, May, Jul or Nov UYs.

Basically the UY is when your points are "added" to your account, although you have access to more than just the current years' worth of points.

UY really decides when you bank. It's at the end of the 8th month from the beginning of your UY.

If you like to travel Sept - Dec, then having a Sept UY is ideal, since it occurs right at the beginning. For us, we like to travel Apr-May and Sept-Dec, but never summer or Jan-Mar, so Apr or Sept would work for us.

The big deal about the UY and the banking window is if you need to cancel. You want to do it within the first 8 months of your UY and more than 30 days out from your reservation.

Sept UY banking deadline is Apr 30th, so if I made a May 15th reservation, I'd have to cancel 31 days out which would still be within my banking window. Same goes for April UY and canceling a Dec reservation.

Good luck!

 

[chalee94]

here is a thread for more info about choosing a home resort.

here is a link to historical annual dues per point for the different DVC resorts and other useful information.

here is a thread for understanding use year.

as already stated, the short answer is to get a use year month right before you usually travel - i like to travel in nov/dec, so a UY of october is a great choice. also, you don't want to travel in the last few months of your UY - for oct, that means travel in jul-aug-sept is after my banking window closes - i don't like to travel in the heat of the summer, so that works well for me.

*use year month has nothing to do with when you can call to book. when you can call to book is only dependent on your home resort.*

the important thing to remember about banking and borrowing is that they are "final" transactions - once you move pts to another use year, they must stay in that use year and cannot be moved again.

one difference is that you bank pts that you know you won't need in the current UY, while you only borrow pts to complete a specific reservation.

you (currently) have up to 8 months after the start of your UY to bank current pts. you can borrow any time, up to the last day of your UY.

for pricing/buying information:

here is a thread for understanding the general differences between buying resale and direct.

at this point, of course, resale contracts are also not eligible for trading out for cruises, disney hotels and concierge collection.

here is (usually accurate) current pricing for contracts purchased directly.

there is a link above for resale listings.

 

[Sandisw]

We travel in the summer right now because I teach so we went with a June UY.

Having one that falls just before your typical travel offers the most flexibility in terms of what to do with points in case you want to change your travel, need to cancel, and most important, used borrowed points and then need to adjust.

You can bank during the first 8 months of a UY so if you are traveling during that time and cancel or change to a reservation with less points, at least 31 days in advance, current UY points can still be banked.

If there are borrowed points, the closer to the beginning of your UY you are traveling, the longer time period you have to re-book using those points since borrowed points can not be returned and must be used in the UY they were borrowed in to.

If you really have no set time, then UY becomes less important. Its not that you can not travel during the last part of a UY (although, if buying from Disney, there are rules regarding non-DVC options in terms of having of when those need to be booked if you want to travel in the last 4 months of the UY) its just that you are at a bigger risk in what to do with points in case of a cancellation.

Good luck!

 

[Momtomouselover]

Thanks guys. I think I have it or a maybe a bit better. So, correct me if I'm wrong, but we usually travel around the end of May or first week of June and then second trips are either Oct or early Dec. I'm assuming my preferred UY would then be May. This would allow us to still cancel a Dec. trip but would be best for a late May/early June trip (which is the time we travel most often). Correct?

Still not sure we are going to buy though. I'm trying to calculate what kind of return I might get if I invested that money rather than gave it to Disney upfront. Of course, the thing I can't account for is if resorts are going to increase in prices greatly. Also, I don't think that buying direct is going to be all that important to us since I don't see us using the points outside of DVC Disney resorts (or at least not often if at all).

ETA: ack just noticed there is no May!! Shouldn't April cover Dec. then as long as I cancel any Dec. trips in Nov? April also good for May trips.

 

[Sandisw]

Thanks guys. I think I have it or a maybe a bit better. So, correct me if I'm wrong, but we usually travel around the end of May or first week of June and then second trips are either Oct or early Dec. I'm assuming my preferred UY would then be May. This would allow us to still cancel a Dec. trip but would be best for a late May/early June trip (which is the time we travel most often). Correct?

Still not sure we are going to buy though. I'm trying to calculate what kind of return I might get if I invested that money rather than gave it to Disney upfront. Of course, the thing I can't account for is if resorts are going to increase in prices greatly. Also, I don't think that buying direct is going to be all that important to us since I don't see us using the points outside of DVC Disney resorts (or at least not often if at all).

ETA: ack just noticed there is no May!! Shouldn't April cover Dec. then as long as I cancel any Dec. trips in Nov? April also good for May trips.

Given those travel times, yes, April UY would give you the most flexibility. And, the banking deadline for April is November 30th, so those Dec trips would be covered as well.

 

[Caren90]

I solved the UY problem for myself by purchasing the same number of points (resale) at the same home resort for December UY and August UY contracts respectively. DW and I are teachers and travel during school vacations or the summer.
Stephen