Explain Use Year

[WelshieLover]

Can anyone explain Use Year for me?

For example if I purchased and wanted to stay at my home DVC in December would I need to have a February use year in order to book 11 months in advance?

Also if you have multiple contracts with differnt use years doesn't this make it really complicated? Would it be best to purchase all with the same use year?

My husband and I toy with the idea of buying, but this issue confuses me.

[DizneyRox]

Use Year...

Basically it's the month your points become available to use. Really, that simple... Has NOTHIG to do with when you can book, how far out, etc. Only would determine which year's points you need to have for the reservation.

For example, if you have a December Use Year and want to bok a November 2009 trip. Barring and banking or borrowing of points, you would use Dec 2008 points for that vacation, or points they you received in December 2008. If you wanted to book a trip for January 2010, you would normally use December 2009 points for that.

That's all, it's the month that use of those points become available to be used for a vacation.

The first example above, you would call at the 11 or 7 month window based on the check-in date and make the reservation, They will use whatever points you have available.

The place where Use Year MIGHT come into play is if you have to cancel a trip. YOU must decide at 8 months AFTER the use year if you are going to bank all your points. In example 1 above, if you cancelled in October, you would only have until December 2009 to use those points, or you would lose them, all of them. If you have an August use year you would still be able to bank those points, if you needed to cancel your trip in October..

Again, that's barring any cancellation penalties, etc, just an easy example. Mostly it's about when those points become available.

[Aurora]

Can anyone explain Use Year for me?

For example if I purchased and wanted to stay at my home DVC in December would I need to have a February use year in order to book 11 months in advance?

Also if you have multiple contracts with differnt use years doesn't this make it really complicated? Would it be best to purchase all with the same use year?

My husband and I toy with the idea of buying, but this issue confuses me.

It's certainly easier if you have the same use year for all your points. It's not necessary but it makes tracking all your available points and your banking dates easier.

With multiple contracts with different use years, you have to be more vigilant in keeping track of when the 8-month date is for banking.

For example, say you have a February use year with 150 points and a July use year with 150 points. If you make reservations for October using only 120 points, you would have had to bank the other 30 points by the end of September for your February contract. If you take another vacation in March using 170 points, you would have to use your banked points first (30), but then you'll only be using 140 points from your July contract and you would have had to bank the other 10 for that use year by the end of February (8 months from July 1 for that use year contract).

If, however, you have a February use year for all 300 points, you only have to bank 180 points for that October trip and then you have the whole next year to use them.

I know this is confusing, but I think that's how it is having multiple use years. Some people don't mind, though, especially if they're using their points throughout the year.

[j&j]

when you buy they give you the month and date your use year starts. Then you have 12 months till that date comes again to use your points for that year.

[WelshieLover]

Thanks for your responses. I was way off target on what I thought it was.