Veteran so confused about use year now

[MineeBaby]

So, I am a March use year person. Assuming I have no points in 2007UY, I thought that this meant I could not make my reservation for this septemebr until I received my points on March 1 2008. I called MS and I was given the impression that even though I don't have my 2008 UY points yet, I could still make my reservation for this September. ?? Okay, so I am really confused now. I thought I had to wait until they gave me my points.

With all of that said, how does my window work? I really thought I understood this to a T until yesterday. So, when is my 11 month and 7 month window for my mar08 UY? I am just so confused....

 

[luvindisneyworld]

You can make a reservation for September like they said with your March 08 points before the time.It is within your 08 use year that you would be traveling you would not be borrowing.
You dont hve to wait till you get your 08 allotment to make a reservation like that.

You could have also borrowed your 08 points for an 07 stay of you wanted to or needed to.

 

[DebbieB]

If you look at your account online, points are in your account through the 2010 use year. They don't "deposit" when the use year starts. All points use is based on date of stay. For a September 08 stay, you could use March 2008 points & borrow 2009, you could have called last October for your home resort using those points.

 

[MineeBaby]

Ahh! Okay, I get a big duh. I really thought that we had to wait until our use year month passed in order to use those points--never an issue up until this point because of timing and the short notice travel we usually do.

Thank you!
Heidi

 

[mickeylr]

It is really a play on words.

I really thought that we had to wait until our use year month passed in order to use those points

The trick is that you will be "using" the points in September. Right now you are making a reservation to save the spot so that you can actually "use" the points in September....

Or turn it around the other way. You are not "using" your points now. That is why you can make the reservation and cancel it next week. You haven't actually "used" any points yet.

So in this case the 11 month window for September started last October and you could have made the reservation then.

Hope that Helps (and doesn't confuse things more) -- Mary

 

[DVC Mike]

This is a common misunderstanding of Use Year.

Use Year month has nothing to do with when you can make a reservation. You can always reserve 11 months ahead of travel for your home resort. The reservation date determines which Use Year the points are deducted from.

 

[Caskbill]

The 7/11 month windows do not apply to your use year, they apply to your vacation dates. It doesn't make any difference what use year you have.

Today is Feb 28th. I could call today (11-months) and make a reservation for Jan 27th, 2009. In fact, every DVC member can call today for that reservation date, no matter what use year their points are.

The difference is what use year the points come out of for that vacation.

A January 2009 vacation is not a good example because in this instance, everybody would be using their 2008 use year points.

Suppose it's a vacation in June 2009. In this instance everyone with a Feb, Mar, Apr, or Jun Use year would need to use 2009 use year points. Anyone with an Aug, Sep, Oct or Dec use year would use 2008 points. (There are no Jan, May, Jul, or Nov use years)

Finally, you don't 'receive' points on your use year anniversary date. All the points for all use years are already in your account. Your 2008 points are there, your 2009 points are there, your 2010 points are there. All the way to the end of your contract.

To take your question one step further, wanting to make a Sep 2008 vacation, and having a March UY, you see that your vacation falls within your 2008 use year (Mar 1, 2008 through Feb 28, 2009), so you could use banked 2007 points, or your regular 2008 points, or even borrow your 2009 points. You see you can borrow 2009 points because they are already in your account right now. Points are not deposited on your anniversary date. You don't have to wait for anything.

One final example. Suppose you wanted to take a 6-night vacation Mar 10th - 15th, 2009, at your home resort. You could call MS on April 16th, 2008, and make that reservation, and do so using your 2010 points.

Sometimes it helps to make a Use Year chart for your particular UY month. A March UY chart looks like this:

Use Year...Vacation Dates
2007.....Mar 1, 2007 - Feb 29, 2008
2008.....Mar 1, 2008 - Feb 28, 2009
2009.....Mar 1, 2009 - Feb 28, 2010
2010.....Mar 1, 2010 - Feb 28, 2011
2011.....Mar 1, 2011 - Feb 29, 2012

You can bank points from one use year to the use year directly below it.
You can borrow points from one use year into the use year directly above it.
Thus a March 2009 vacation could use banked 2008, regular 2009 or borrowed 2010 points.

Your Sep 2008 vacation can use 2007, 2008 or 2009 points.

Hope this helps.

 

[RumpleMom]

Caskbill I can't thank you enough for explaining this.

I seriously misunderstood use year. I thought I had to wait until the points were in my March 2008 use year account on March 1, 2008 before I could make an October 2008 reservation because I needed to borrow from 2009. I thought if I were using current use year points that I could call at the 11 month window for my home resort, but had to wait until later to use borrowed points.

We have been members since 2000. I can't believe I didn't understand this.

Thank you so much for the Dis and for patiently explaining things.

 

[MineeBaby]

Holy smokes! Ha! Well, I am glad I am not the only one who didn't get this.

So, the earliest we are able to make our reservation is 11 months out for our home resort and 7 months for any resort, regardless of our use year. AND we can't borrow more than 1 years aheads worth, right?

Heidi

 

[marvali]

Holy smokes! Ha! Well, I am glad I am not the only one who didn't get this.

So, the earliest we are able to make our reservation is 11 months out for our home resort and 7 months for any resort, regardless of our use year. AND we can't borrow more than 1 years aheads worth, right?

Heidi

Correct!

Points from any given Use Year can either be used in that year, borrowed to the previous year, or banked to the following year.

Uh, then again I guess they can also go unused if you really mess up!!!

 

[RobDoc]

Holy smokes! Ha! Well, I am glad I am not the only one who didn't get this.

So, the earliest we are able to make our reservation is 11 months out for our home resort and 7 months for any resort, regardless of our use year. AND we can't borrow more than 1 years aheads worth, right?

Heidi

Right - but remember that right now - if you are in your 2007 Use Year (and everyone with a Use Year other than February is in their 2007 Use Year), you can borrow from your 2009 Use Year for a reservation during your 2008 Use Year.

With a December Use Year, you could call today for a reservation in January, 2009 and use points banked from your 2007 Use Year, points from your 2008 Use Year and even borrow points from your 2009 Use Year.