What UY to give myself the best chance of booking for Christmas?

[StitchFan73]

Sorry another one of my one million and one questions. We will be going in Dec. this year for the first time. Now, from what I hear, this is an amazing time to go. We are also more than likely buying a DVC contract in the next month or so. Typically we have gone in Sept/Oct. for a few reasons (weather, deals, low crowds, we LOVE F&W,etc.) but we are not in the mindset that it will be the only time frame that we ever go to WDW. The only time we really don't plan to go is high summer (but then again-you never know).

So my question is-if it turns out we love Dec. and want to go during that time of the year-what UY is best for that if we buy DVC? I am guessing Feb. is best but would another UY sorta of be a compromise for us? Our guide recommended and Aug. UY since we come mostly in the fall and love F&W-but now I'm a bit confused over the whole thing.

FWIW we are looking at SSR as our home resort. Not sure if that matters.

Thanks again for your help everyone

 

[bobbiwoz]

Given the times you mentioned you most like to travel, I can understand why August was recommended. If 3-4 months out from the vacation you decide not to go, you would still be in a period that you could bank the points that weren't already banked or borrowed. February wouldn't be as good because if in October, you changed your mind, you would be too late to bank, and those points that were put aside for Christmastime would have to be used before January 31st.

An August UY would be bad if you mostly wanted to travel in the summer months.

UY does not make it any easier to travel during any particular time of the year. It only tells you when the points are put into the account, when you will be getting that UY's points.

Bobbi

 

[chalee94]

What UY to give myself the best chance of booking for Christmas?

UY has nothing to do with when you can book. nothing at all.

as the other poster stated, UY tells you when your pts are valid and when your banking window closes. if you travel in the last few months of your UY and have to cancel, your likelihood of losing pts is higher - that is all.

you can book your home resort for december starting in january - it doesn't matter what UY month you have. if you wait till resorts are booked up and try to call for a reservation, still doesn't matter what UY month.

 

[Sandisw]

You want a UY that typically starts right before you want to travel most of the time. With Fall and Xmas vacations, having an Aug UY would work out well.

Feb UY would probably be the worst one for December vacations. Remember, as PP said, UY plays NO role in when you can call and book your trips. You can always call 11 months prior to a trip for your home resort and 7 months for the others.

The points needed are based on the time of travel and not when you call. I think this is sometimes confusing to people.

With an August UY, you would have until March 31st to bank points. Any travel during December, if you had to cancel or change, would be covered in terms of being able to still bank points. If that trip used borrowed points, you would still have a full 7 months to re-book and use up those points.

When you want to travel in Dec, you can always call in January to book your home resort.

 

[BeesKnees]

The only time a UY is really important is when you are using up the previous years banked points.

My UY is December. If I have 40 points left over from last year I would have to use them at Disney before December or forfeit them. Even if I were to book a trip for January it would not count because the trip didn't happen before the points expired.


It is usually possible for us to get a room in November even with short notice. November is also usually an easy month for us to get away. December is a good UY month for us because it cuts down on the likelihood we would waste points.

 

[dizfan]

We have similar vacation habits to the OP. We choose a Sept UY.

We don't plan to go in August, too crowded and too hot for us.

 

[StitchFan73]

Ok so if I have this correct I can call 11 months ahead and book a trip even if I don't have the points (yet) to complete the trip.

So for example: I own SSR with an Aug use year. I call up Feb. to book for Dec. and the points are not an issue because they aren't taken until the vacation is completed? Then in Aug. my 2011 points are deposited and will be there for the Dec. trip?

Do I have this correct?

And to the PP-same reason we really don't want to go in July/Aug-my DH cannot take the heat and would probably never leave the room unless it was to jump in the pool

 

[jekjones1558]

We love traveling Oct. thru May so our Oct. use year is perfect. We have until May 31 to use or bank our points. We don't anticipate using points during the hot June - Sep. months. That is when we like vacationing near our home.

 

[Disney Doc]

Ok so if I have this correct I can call 11 months ahead and book a trip even if I don't have the points (yet) to complete the trip.

So for example: I own SSR with an Aug use year. I call up Feb. to book for Dec. and the points are not an issue because they aren't taken until the vacation is completed? Then in Aug. my 2011 points are deposited and will be there for the Dec. trip?

Do I have this correct?

Correct. The only point of clarification is regarding the account balance. There is no "deposit" of points into your account. The points for every year are already there. Your ability to use them is limited by the calendar - banked, current, and/or borrowed points - determined by the date of the trip, not the reservation.

 

[NewDCLGuy]

You want a UY that typically starts right before you want to travel most of the time.

As measured over the next 50 years. If you think your trVel plans my vary over that time, don't stress over getting the perfect use-year

 

[LisaS]

So for example: I own SSR with an Aug use year. I call up Feb. to book for Dec. and the points are not an issue because they aren't taken until the vacation is completed? Then in Aug. my 2011 points are deposited and will be there for the Dec. trip?

Your points don't "drop" into your account at the start of your UY, they are already there. Each set of points has a set of "use by" dates associated with them. For example, with an August UY:

Your 2009 points are valid for stays from 8/1/09 - 7/31/10
Your 2010 points are valid for stays from 8/1/10 - 7/31/11
Your 2011 points are valid for stays from 8/1/11 - 7/31/12
Your 2012 points are valid for stays from 8/1/12 - 7/31/13
and so on through the last full year of ownership

If you want to book a stay for Dec 2011, your Aug 2011 points are valid for that stay. You could also bank Aug 2010 points into the 2011 UY and then use them for a reservation in Dec 2011. If you needed even more points you could borrow from your Aug 2012 UY.

ETA: The points are considered used as of the start of your stay not when your vacation is completed. If you cancel a reservation on your check-in day, you forfeit all of the points allocated to that reservation.

 

[Sandisw]

Ok so if I have this correct I can call 11 months ahead and book a trip even if I don't have the points (yet) to complete the trip.

So for example: I own SSR with an Aug use year. I call up Feb. to book for Dec. and the points are not an issue because they aren't taken until the vacation is completed? Then in Aug. my 2011 points are deposited and will be there for the Dec. trip?

Do I have this correct?

And to the PP-same reason we really don't want to go in July/Aug-my DH cannot take the heat and would probably never leave the room unless it was to jump in the pool

Yes, you got it! It is the time of travel that matters and not when you call. In addition, your UY is really just when points become "current". They don't really get deposited, but are there all the time.

One of the ways that I figure this out is to simply first determine the UY I will travel. Then I know that all my trips can be "paid" for with banked points from the previous UY, current UY points, and borrowed points from the next UY.

As you say, if you have an Aug UY and want to travel in Dec 2011, you would be traveling in your Aug 2011 UY. To pay for this trip, you can use banked 2010 points, 2011 points and borrowed 2012 points.

As long as you will have points from any of those times in your account at the time of the travel, you will be all set when you call in January.

 

[StitchFan73]

Thanks everyone for your help. I've thought this before so I am going to say it-Disney should give some sort of gift to all the folks here who help Prospective buyers and Newbies here

 

[dianeschlicht]

Thanks everyone for your help. I've thought this before so I am going to say it-Disney should give some sort of gift to all the folks here who help Prospective buyers and Newbies here

LOL! It would be gift enough if they read here and took tips from all of us!