When someone says Use Year does not affect when you make a reservation

[theostwalts]

what does that mean exactly? I am guessing the points actually have to be in your account to make a reservation. So if you are looking at possibly traveling in a busy time of year, UY is important????

 

[disneynutz]

You must have the points in your account at the time you are going to use them for your stay.

UY is when you receive you yearly point allotment and it is the start of your 8 month banking window.

Select a UY just prior to the start of your favorite travel time.

 

[theostwalts]

You must have the points in your account at the time you are going to use them for your stay.

UY is when you receive you yearly point allotment and it is the start of your 8 month banking window.

Select a UY just prior to the start of your favorite travel time.

So if you have a June UY, and you want to make a reservation for November, you can make it at your home resort in January, even before the points show up in your account?

In other words, lets say you have a June UY and you want to make a reservation for Nov 2011. You can make it in Jan 2011 even though your points will not be in the account until June 2011?

 

[LisaS]

The points are already in your account. It's just a question of the range of dates for which each allotment of points can be used.

For example with a June Use Year:

Your June 2009 UY points are valid for stays 6/1/2009 - 5/31/2010
Your June 2010 UY points are valid for stays 6/1/2010 - 5/31/2011
Your June 2011 UY points are valid for stays 6/1/2011 - 5/31/2012
and so on until the end of your contract

If you want to book a stay at your home resort for Nov 2011, you can call MS in Dec 2010 to book that stay. The points that are valid for your travel dates would be your June 2011 points, any June 2010 points that are banked into your June 2011 UY and any June 2012 points that you might want to borrow into your June 2011 UY for that reservation.

 

[chalee94]

In other words, lets say you have a June UY and you want to make a reservation for Nov 2011. You can make it in Jan 2011 even though your points will not be in the account until June 2011?

as lisa says, even if you buy a "stripped" resale contract with no points coming until june 2012, you can call and book a reservation for Nov 2011 at your home resort by calling in dec 2010 and booking using borrowed pts from your 2012 use year.

use year really has nothing to do with when you call to book a reservation.

 

[theostwalts]

Thanks guys. I thought you had to wait to make a reservation until after the points were valid.

One more question out of the way. Maybe one day I will understand the whole program!!!

 

[maburke]

The points are already in your account. It's just a question of the range of dates for which each allotment of points can be used.

For example with a June Use Year:

Your June 2009 UY points are valid for stays 6/1/2009 - 5/31/2010
Your June 2010 UY points are valid for stays 6/1/2010 - 5/31/2011
Your June 2011 UY points are valid for stays 6/1/2011 - 5/31/2012
and so on until the end of your contract

If you want to book a stay at your home resort for Nov 2011, you can call MS in Dec 2010 to book that stay. The points that are valid for your travel dates would be your June 2011 points, any June 2010 points that are banked into your June 2011 UY and any June 2012 points that you might want to borrow into your June 2011 UY for that reservation.

Lisa, I was hoping you'd answer this question, you have such a great way of explaining that!

 

[daver]

Okay, so I will add one more question......

Is it really a huge deal if I have Aug use year at Saratoga, I am looking to buy a few more points. I say get July or Sept use year Saratoga if no Aug avail or they are a better deal?
I understand the 50 points in one 50 points in the other will not combine as they are diff use months, but it would be easy to book 4 days with one 3 with the other and bank any extra points ahead for the next trip. Compared to booking dining and activities, that seems to be no prob

So other than the hassle of managing two sets of points, is there any other issue?

 

[CarolMN]

Okay, so I will add one more question......

Is it really a huge deal if I have Aug use year at Saratoga, I am looking to buy a few more points. I say get July or Sept use year Saratoga if no Aug avail or they are a better deal?

Just for the record, there isn't a July use year. (Isn't one for January, May or November, either). You must be looking for a resale contract. Disney will only sell you August use year points unless you buy at least the minimum amount for a new contract and insist on a different use year.

I understand the 50 points in one 50 points in the other will not combine as they are diff use months, but it would be easy to book 4 days with one 3 with the other and bank any extra points ahead for the next trip. Compared to booking dining and activities, that seems to be no prob

So other than the hassle of managing two sets of points, is there any other issue?

No, not really. You do have to spend extra effort to manage them. Banking deadlines are different. You will have to tell MS specifically which points to use and make sure that is what happens, especially if one contract has banked or borrowed points. And if you want to combine points from the two contracts to book a single night, you have to transfer points between them. That uses up your one transfer per membership number per use year for both contracts.

It can be done - many members do it successfully. You just have to know the rules well and pay attention.

 

[daver]

Yeah, I am looking at resale for an addtl 50 points. While Aug use year is harder to find, I have seen other months and may look at them as well.
Thanks for the info and help!
Dave