Why is the use year so important?

[kingj]

My wife and I are very seriously considering becoming a DVC member. Can someone explain to me if the use year is important and if it is, why?

Thanks,

John

 

[InstImpres]

Use year determines when you get more points and if you should have to cancel, when the points would expire.

For example, I have a Feb UY, it is great for me as I usually travel in Feb & summer. If I should have to cancel (within 30 days), the holding points for me expire at the end of January. So, lets say I am a January traveler, February is a bad UY since if I cancel (last minute) the points basically would have no value. Also by traveling in Feb, my new points come on in my travel month making less need for borrowing Reservations are based on points available at travel date not at time of Ressie.

Hope this helps, I know someone will explain better.
Sandy

 

[disneyberry]

Use Year (UY) is only important if you are ever worried about cancelling a trip last minute.

for example, if you love to travel to WDW over Thanksgiving every year, and your UY is Dec...
in Oct you find out for some reason you need to cancel your trip.
but your points expire Nov 30th, so you will probably lose your points, especially since by Oct, all your banking deadlines have passed already.

questions to ask yourself if you are concerned about choosing a "good" UY for you + your family:

1) is there a certain time(s) of year that you are most likely to travel to WDW?
2) is there a certain time(s) of year that you are NOT likely to travel to WDW?

feel free to reply with the answers to those 2 questions, if you would like some recommendations for "good" UYs.

(the reason i put good in quotes is because it is extremely difficult to predict your travel patterns for the next 30 - 50 years, so what's "good" for you now won't be good for you if your travel patterns change in the future. this is why some people don't care what UY they get. )

 

[PamOKW]

Use Year doesn't always matter when cancelling last minute. It matters when you are cancelling last minute and are approaching the end of your Use Year. Ordinarily, if you cancel 31 days or more before check-in you still have full use of your points. However, the Use Year is how your cut-off dates for banking points are determined. If you have an April Use Year and you have a March trip planned, cancelling any time after January 31 is a problem. The points can no longer be banked; they have to be used by March 31. Also, reservations for non-DVC trips have to be made at least 60 days in advance -- a January cancellation will make non-DVC use difficult or impossible as well. The points will have to be used by the end of March at a DVC resort.

Now, the likelihood of having to cancel last minute reservations and/or the possibility that your vacation patterns may change over the next 40-50 years makes worry about Use Year kind of unnecessary. If you can get one that fits current patterns -- great. If not, it's not a major problem.

 

[Granny]

I agree with Pam....to me, Use Year is something that can certainly come into play in any given year on cancellation....but I wouldn't worry much about what UY you end up with.

Now, if you're buying SSR and they give you a choice, then I'd go ahead and take the one that fits your current vacation timing. But I wouldn't fret too much about it, IMHO.

I will add this little piece, for what it's worth.

We have two contracts...one with a February UY and one with an October UY. The use years are both fine and no problem, but I have to admit that it's a lot easier for me to plan with the February one because I will almost always travel in the same calendar year as my use year. The October one, on the other hand, is almost always off by a year in that I travel in the next calendar year for my use year.

So I'm planning a trip in July of 2005 and I use my 2004 points from my October UY contract.


It's not a big deal...just not as intuitive for me.

Fortunately, there are great planners and tracking software that some nice people have developed that make it much easier.

 

[FriendsOfEeyore]

Everyone is right...

In fact, I was aware of UY when we purchased, but I did not bother to specify considering all of the above scenarios. Well, as luck would have it, we bought BCV with a Dec UY, and December - Febuary is our favorite travel time.

I am not sure of all the UYs, but I know that there is NOT a Jan UY.

Hopefully another poster can add to this thought. I think that there are like 8 UYs.

 

[sters]

I'm not a DVCer (yet), but I would imagine also that UY could be important if you ever plan to borrow points from future years for, say, a Grand Villa. If you travel in November and know that you want a GV on the 3rd year (banked, current, and future year points will all be needed) then I'd think you'd want an October or November use year.

 

[PamOKW]

Sters -- You are voicing a common concern but it's one that you don't need to worry about. Use Year and the ability to use points or make reservations are not related. You just need to follow the 11/7 month rule for that and know that you can't use more than 3 years' worth of points in any one 12 month period.

The Use Year months are: February, March, April, June, August, September, October and December.

Sters, per your example: If I have a February Use Year I have to use my points between Feb 1 and Jan. 31. I want to stay in a GV in November 2005. In December, 2004 I call and make a reservation. I'm using my Feb 1, 2004-January 31, 2005 points. I previously banked my Feb. 1, 2003-January 31, 2004 points and I will borrow some of m Feb. 1, 2006-Jan. 31, 2007 points. Use Year doesn't matter for making the reservation.

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

We have a December use year, and usually go in either January, July, or December, so it seems to work well for us.