what is a good UY for trips in summer?

[mtquinn]

Hi all. I am sorry if this question is dumb.

We are considering a resale DVC purchase, We usually travel in the summer, mostly in August and sometimes in late June.

What would be the best month to look for in a UY in case we have to cancel so we can hold onto the points for a while?

I am sure there is an easy answer, but I am new to this and trying to understand the whole 'points on hold" if you cancel your trip.

Thanks!!!

 

[mtquinn]

Also, I could travel in the third week of April over spring break, if necessary, if that makes a difference

 

[dzorn]

You want to pick a month that is early in your UY for travel. This allows for more time to either book a trip or bank points if you need to cancel at least 31 days out. For April travel I would pick April. This would allow you to bank through November. If you think April with be just occasionally I would pick June as you could bank up until December and if you did have to cancel at a point that you are past the banking window you could always travel in April to use the points up.

Denise in MI

 

[mtquinn]

Ok. So how many months do you have to bank points from a canceled trip and use them again? This is what is confusing me. Sorry if I am sounding uninformed.

 

[dzorn]

Points must be banked before the last 4 months of you UY. For example I have a Aug UY and can bank until march 31st. We often travel in Summer but only in August. With an August UY we can go during August, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Feb winter break which all fall before my banking deadline. If I need to cancel more than 31 days I can just bank my points.

Spring break for now is our least traveled time.

If you cancel more than 31 days out you can immediately rebook if a reservation is available before the end of you UY. Less than 31 days out they become holding points and have different usage requirements.

Denise in MI

 

[Sandisw]

Ok. So how many months do you have to bank points from a canceled trip and use them again? This is what is confusing me. Sorry if I am sounding uninformed.

Given April and summer travel, I would go with an April UY. You have until the end of the 8th month to bank your points so traveling near the beginning of a UY gives the most flexiblity, IMO. So, with April, that would be November 30th.

If you book a trip and have to cancel, you can bank any current UY points in to the next UY, which gives them an extra year. Borrowed points would still expire at the end of the UY they are borrowed in to, regardless of when you cancel or change a trip.

For example, if you bought an April UY and had to cancel a summer 2011 trip using 2011 UY points, you could bank them into your 2012 UY. They would then be valid from April 1, 2012 through March 31st, 2013.

We travel in August and have a June UY. It works out great as I can make changes right up to the 31st day prioir without having to worry about the points. Plus, if we used borrowed points and had to cancel, I would still have several months to use up those points before they expire.

Good luck!

 

[Buckeye Fan]

We have 2 UYs (Aug and Dec). I LOVE the Dec UY for spring break/summer travel.

With December, I have through July to bank points, so if we ever cancel a trip and we're beyond 30 days out, I can still bank them. The bigger issue is with carryover.

If I carry over points, with the Dec UY, I have through the end of November the following year to use them. I can travel March/April and June, July, August without giving it a second thought. With Aug, they expire at the end of July. The Aug contract is a pain in the backside, because we've traveled in July when we would have prefered to travel in Aug just because of banked points. I've learned to use up all of my Aug UY points first when booking, which usually works.

All in all, Dec has worked great for us (hubby is a teacher, so our travel plans really won't change all that much for the next 20 years). If I added on points or had it to do over again, I would choose a Dec UY.