What use year for us?

[justme0729]

We will travel most likely during spring break (March or April) followed by June or December during Christmas break. What is the best use year for us?

 

[CarolMN]

December.

Understanding Use Year

 

[disneynutz]

Points need to be banked during the first 8 months of your UY. Your UY is not a calendar year. Points need to be available during the dates of your stay, not when you make the reservation. Banking moves points one UY forward, borrowing moves points one UY back. Banking and borrowing are final transactions and can not be reversed.

So you want a UY at the beginning of your 8 months that you would normally vacation.

Bill

 

[justme0729]

Thank you! I didn't understand the 8 month thing but now I get it. December would let us cancel our vacations last minute if we went in December-July if we needed to and still be able to bank that current years points. Right?

 

[disneynutz]

Thank you! I didn't understand the 8 month thing but now I get it. December would let us cancel our vacations last minute if we went in December-July if we needed to and still be able to bank that current years points. Right?

Bill

 

[chalee94]

Can holding pts be banked?

A better UY gives you more options but if you really cancel "last minute", I'm not sure you'll be able to bank those points.

 

[Bing Showei]

Given that holding points can't be banked, your UY benefit is actually not 8 months, it's more like 8 months plus 30-32 days.

Say you have a December UY. Your banking window closes July 31. But if you book July 1-7, your ability to bank those points due to cancellation is actually going to be May 31, or so. After that date, even though you are within your banking period, you are within 30 days of arrival and your points will go into holding regardless of your banking window.

To maximize your UY-based insurance, you need to go back 8 months from your last date window of travel and can add 30 days.

If you normally travel June 1, you may want to open up your UY options to September or October. With a September UY, for example, your last day to bank would be April 30th which is just before your 30 day holding window. If you consistently travel mid/late June, an October UY would allow you to bank until May 30th which would cover your pre-holding window.

All this is to say you may be able open up your UY shopping options. Rather than looking for only the perfect December UY contract, you may find an even better September or October contracts worth considering.

And all that said, who knows how you'll eventually end up traveling in 25plus years. But that's based on the best information we have now.

 

[justme0729]

Given that holding points can't be banked, your UY benefit is actually not 8 months, it's more like 8 months plus 30-32 days.

Say you have a December UY. Your banking window closes July 31. But if you book July 1-7, your ability to bank those points due to cancellation is actually going to be May 31, or so. After that date, even though you are within your banking period, you are within 30 days of arrival and your points will go into holding regardless of your banking window.

To maximize your UY-based insurance, you need to go back 8 months from your last date window of travel and can add 30 days.

If you normally travel June 1, you may want to open up your UY options to September or October. With a September UY, for example, your last day to bank would be April 30th which is just before your 30 day holding window. If you consistently travel mid/late June, an October UY would allow you to bank until May 30th which would cover your pre-holding window.

All this is to say you may be able open up your UY shopping options. Rather than looking for only the perfect December UY contract, you may find an even better September or October contracts worth considering.

And all that said, who knows how you'll eventually end up traveling in 25plus years. But that's based on the best information we have now.

Thank you! I'm thinking November might actually be ideal because then we could vacation November through June since we probably wouldn't go in July but might go for Thanksgiving in November. Then we could actually also look for October use years too with the 30 day holding window.

So to confirm, DVC doesn't let you cancel 30 days out and bank those points? They still have to be used that use year?

I appreciate the help!

 

[Unit3875]

You are not allowed to bank in the last 4 months of your use year. If you had an October use year, you would need to bank your points by May 31.
If you cancelled within 30 days of your reservation your points would be placed in a holding account that would be good only until the next October 1st.
The good thing about picking a use year that is right before the month that you plan to usually travel is that you have nearly a year to use the points in the holding account.
Also, points in a holding account can only be used for reservations within a 60 day window, so that can limit availability of rooms.

 

[chalee94]

Thank you! I'm thinking November might actually be ideal because then we could vacation November through June since we probably wouldn't go in July but might go for Thanksgiving in November. Then we could actually also look for October use years too with the 30 day holding window.

So to confirm, DVC doesn't let you cancel 30 days out and bank those points? They still have to be used that use year?

I appreciate the help!

There's no such thing as a Nov UY. So you would have to make a choice.

If you cancel 31 days or more from the start of your reservation, the points drop back into the UY where you had the dates for your stay with no penalty. You can still bank current UY pts.

If you cancel 30 days or less, your pts become holding pts that can only be used for booking whatever is still available at 60 days or less - they still don't expire until the end of that UY but finding availability on such short notice may be a challenge.

I believe that if you cancel the day of check-in, then you forfeit the points.

 

[Bing Showei]

Thank you! I'm thinking November might actually be ideal because then we could vacation November through June since we probably wouldn't go in July but might go for Thanksgiving in November. Then we could actually also look for October use years too with the 30 day holding window.

So to confirm, DVC doesn't let you cancel 30 days out and bank those points? They still have to be used that use year?

I appreciate the help!

There is no January, May, July, or November UY.

If you’re throwing Thanksgiving into the mix, definitely go for Sept or Oct. And buy where you want to stay. A studio at Thanksgiving will require pre-7-month booking.