Want to add more points -- use year will be different, is this a problem?

[jpmom]

We own at VWL. We are thinking about adding on points. Saw 100 points for sale through a reseller. This would be perfect (I don't often see 100 points come available -- it is usually 150 and up)

Anyway, our use year is September. The use year for the 100 points is October. Will this be a problem?

Thanks!

 

[CarolMN]

Probably not. You will have to keep track of the banking deadlines separately, and track each contract's points separately. You'll have to tell MS which points you want to use for each reservation you make.

Other than the additonal tracking, there really isn't anything else to worry about.

DVC/MS doesn't care if you have contracts with different use years.

Best wishes -

 

[dianeschlicht]

I actually think if you have to buy a resale other than your original use year, it would be best to have it in a use year close to the same, and this one sounds perfect for that!

 

[mcorbo]

I have February and October Use years at VWL. While this is my first year as a DVC owner, I use 2 separate copies of DVC Point Manager by David Frederickson to keep track of both contracts.

I already have 2 trips planned this year, one next week and one in december. For both trips, I have used points from each contract. WIthout this program, I would probably have a hard time keeping track of where everything is from, as the confirmations that you get from DVC do not state which contract the points came from. As a matter of fact i used 190 points from 1 contract and 80 from the other. I have only 1 confirmation listing 270 points for the entire stay.

 

[SueM in MN]

Because we bought several resales and there were none available for our original use year (March), we actually have 3 use years: March, Feb and October.
It is a bit harder to keep track of which points are where, but not that hard. I'm not sure how to explain this, but when you make reservations, you can't use points from more than one use year to cover one night stay. For example, if it "costs" 8 points per night, you can't use 5 points from the March use year and 3 from the Feb use year.

For both trips, I have used points from each contract. WIthout this program, I would probably have a hard time keeping track of where everything is from, as the confirmations that you get from DVC do not state which contract the points came from. As a matter of fact i used 190 points from 1 contract and 80 from the other. I have only 1 confirmation listing 270 points for the entire stay.

I'm not sure why our experience differs, but we have had more than one confirmation sheet for one stay. Each time we have used points from more than one contract, we have had basically 2 reservations (with their own confirmation sheets) linked together to cover our entire length of stay. I checked our confirmatiuon sheets from a stay last March. We have another trip planned for next March; don't have the confirmation sheets yet, but I know we have 2 reservation confirmation numbers that are linked together to cover our stay.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Sue, are your contracts all at the same resort? If not, that might be why there is a difference.

 

[lisareniff]

I'm not sure why our experience differs, but we have had more than one confirmation sheet for one stay. Each time we have used points from more than one contract, we have had basically 2 reservations (with their own confirmation sheets) linked together to cover our entire length of stay. I checked our confirmatiuon sheets from a stay last March. We have another trip planned for next March; don't have the confirmation sheets yet, but I know we have 2 reservation confirmation numbers that are linked together to cover our stay.

I was recently talking to our guide (thinking about VB add-on/resale) and he stated that same point as a negative. With two different contracts, as in the OP's case, you would have two different reservations for your vacation if you used both contracts points for your stay. Those reservations would then have to linked. Also each day of your reservation you would need all the points to come from one contract, they could not be combined to cover a day. I hope that made sense. Of course you could transfer the needed points from one contract to the other. My guide was really down on different UY's because of these issues (and remembering the banking deadlines). However, I think the issues are really difficulty MS would have rather then the difficulty to the member (assuming that you could remember the two different banking deadlines!).

 

[Caskbill]

Contracts with different use year months are actually totally different Membership Numbers.

They require totally separate point management. Points cannot be combined in any way other than doing a transfer from one contract to the other. There are limits on transfers.

Points are not combined for banking purposes, even if at the same resort.
Points are not combined for reservations for a single day. If you have a multi-day vacation, you can reserve some of the days using points from one contract, and other days from a different contract, and then link the reservations. They remain as two separate reservations.

Having two separate membership numbers for one owner is actually no different than you having one membership number and I having one membership number. Your two contracts are no more related to each other than your contract would be related to my contract.

Of course Add-On's to an existing contract are different and points can be combined for banking purposes and for making reservations.

As a side-note, my DVC-Tracker program will handle multiple contracts and multiple add-on's all within the same program. For example, if you have 3 contracts, with the 1st contract having 2 add-on's at different resorts, the 2nd contract having 3 add-on's with two of them at the original resort, and the other one at a different resort, and the 3rd contract with no add-on's, then when you want to schedule a vacation, the program will present you with point balances for 6 different selections to choose from, (3+2+1) and will show you point balances for the applicable use year for each contract relative to the vacation dates selected. In other words a vacation may be in use year 2004 for one contract, but those same dates may be in use year 2005 for a different contract.

Program is still in development but expected to go into beta tests late summer (or early fall)

 

[jpmom]

OK --

What is better:

Same use year/different resort

or

Same resort/different use year


I am deciding between adding on 100 WL points to my WL (different use year by one month) or 150 OKW points (same use year)

I usually don't stay at my home resort.

Thanks!

 

[SueM in MN]

Contracts with different use year months are actually totally different Membership Numbers.

Yes, that's what I was trying to say.
All our points are at OKW.
We had an add-on with the same use year to our first contract. Those are one Member number - because it was the same use year, it could just be added on.
We have 2 other add ons at the same resort (October use year and Feb use year) that are separate contracts with their own member numbers (so we actually have 3 sets of Member Cards with 3 separate numbers).
I knew we had to have a separate reservation for each contract that we use. The part I don't get is that someone else reported that they have different use years and only have one reservation confirmation that includes use of points from more than contract.??? We didn't transfer any points, but maybe they did??

 

[lisareniff]

Thanks Caskbill! You have a way with words

 

[Caskbill]

OK --

What is better:

Same use year/different resort

or

Same resort/different use year


I am deciding between adding on 100 WL points to my WL (different use year by one month) or 150 OKW points (same use year)

I usually don't stay at my home resort.

Thanks!

I recommend you do the same use years/different resort route. Same Use Year will be an add-on contract to your original contract. Points are combined for banking purposes. Also points can be split any way you want for reservations. If you don't stay at your home resort you're reserving at 7-months. In that case you can treat it as just one big total point contract and not worry about anything.

NOTE: If you are purchasing resale, you MUST inform Disney that you want the resale put on as an add-on contract. Other wise you could end up with two separate membership number contracts and would have to manage them separately.

Your other option to get different use years will definitely be two different membership numbers and will require totally separate point maintenance and vacation bookings. Obviously you're looking resale because you cannot purchase 100 point contract for your VWL home resort with a different use year month. To get a different use year month, the minimum purchase direct from Disney would be 150 points.

 

[Disney Doll]

We have 2 contracts, both at OKW, with a September and October use Year. I just track them separately, and pretty much base all the banking on the September contract. For example, if I have 50 points in the September contract and 25 points in the October contract, I do all my banking when the September contract's banking deadlines are, that way I don't miss the October banking deadlines. I note the banking deadlines on my master calendar in the kitchen also, so I don't miss them.

I do a very simple simple system of point tracking...basically a running "tab" which ends up looking something like this(note all point values are totally made up):

200 September 1, 2004 point allotment
- 50 OKW studio October 2-8 2004 res # 123456789-spoke w/Bill
150
-125 BCV 2BR January 3-6 2005 res # 987654321-spoke w/Carrie
25 points banked in 2005 Use Year banking #192837465-spoke w/Paul

I have 2 separate tabs...one for the October contract and one for the September contract, so it's pretty easy.

 

[lisareniff]

OK --

What is better:

Same use year/different resort
or
Same resort/different use year

I am deciding between adding on 100 WL points to my WL (different use year by one month) or 150 OKW points (same use year)

I usually don't stay at my home resort.

Humm... I think I would decide if the same resort was important first. IF you really don't need the 11 month booking window, THEN points are points. Buy the cheaper one. The answer really depends on the type of vacation you think you will be taking in the future.

For us we need a lot of points at one resort. We take at least week long trips every 1-2 years at popular times and don't like to move during our stay. We needed enough points at one resort to make the large ressie at 11 months.

HTH