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BlackCauldron

Well-Known Member
I am also considering taking the dive and going resale, likely at AKL.

Can someone shed some light on use year, which still confuses me a bit. Everything I have read mentions you should get a use year before the time you intend to travel - but when they start going into the time to bank, and the holding bank if you cancel a reservation, my brain gets scrambled.

We typically travel in September, just after Labor Day. However, our son is at the point where we shouldn't be pulling him out of school for 7-10 days, so our travel dates will likely shift into August. It's possible we may decide to go other times of year, but August/September would generally be our preferred dates.

Does that mean I should be looking for a June use year? That would still put me well ahead of the 11 month mark at my home resort (probably not terribly important unless we want Jambo). And if not June, what would be a better use year?
 
i<3riviera

i<3riviera

Active Member
a Jun use year could work well for Aug + Sep trips (so do Feb, Mar, and Apr); the best way I've heard use year described is to consider you have 8 active months where you can bank points and 4 months where points are lost if they are not used; you can still book vacations in the full 12 months, it's just that points get stranded if you book a vacation in the 4 month period and have to cancel

for a Jun use year, your active 8 months run from 1 Jun to 31 Jan and with 1 Feb to 31 May being the 4 month dead zone; the general guidance is get a use year where the active 8 month period covers your current and future travel plans which a Jun use year does with you Aug + Sep travel plans

here is a good resource on use year explanations; there are likely other ones out there as well if this one doesn't quite click ...
dvcinfo.com

Understanding the DVC Use Year - DVCinfo

Understanding the DVC Use Year: This page explains and helps gain an understanding of what a Use Year is and if it matters.
dvcinfo.com dvcinfo.com
 
CaptainAmerica

CaptainAmerica

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
BlackCauldron said:
I am also considering taking the dive and going resale, likely at AKL.

Can someone shed some light on use year, which still confuses me a bit. Everything I have read mentions you should get a use year before the time you intend to travel - but when they start going into the time to bank, and the holding bank if you cancel a reservation, my brain gets scrambled.

We typically travel in September, just after Labor Day. However, our son is at the point where we shouldn't be pulling him out of school for 7-10 days, so our travel dates will likely shift into August. It's possible we may decide to go other times of year, but August/September would generally be our preferred dates.

Does that mean I should be looking for a June use year? That would still put me well ahead of the 11 month mark at my home resort (probably not terribly important unless we want Jambo). And if not June, what would be a better use year?
Click to expand...
The 11 month mark has nothing to do with use year, so don't worry about that part.

The more important question is not really "which months do you typically travel," it's more "are there any months where you will DEFINITELY NEVER travel?"

Basically, in the last four months of your Use Year, you can't bank that year's points. So if you have a trip scheduled during those months that you have to cancel for some reason, you could potentially be screwed.

Based on what you're describing, you'd probably want a June use year so the entire summer is open to you. However, that means Spring Break travel would be risky based on what I described above. If you have an April trip and needed to cancel, it would be too late for you to bank those points.
 
CaptainAmerica

CaptainAmerica

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Example:

You have a June use year. That means you can use your 2021 points from June 2021 through May 2022.

You plan a trip in July 2021 using 2021 points. Someone gets sick and you have to cancel the trip. You can use those points at some other point up to May 2022, or you can decide to bank them into your 2022 use year. If you're going to bank them into 2022, you need to commit to that no later than January 31, 2022.

If, instead, you were planning an April 2022 trip using 2021 points and you have to cancel the trip, it's already too late to bank those points. You either need to find a way to use them or rent them out before they expire at the end of May.

So what you want to do is identify the four month stretch when you're least likely to travel, and pick the use year of the following month.
 
correcaminos

correcaminos

Well-Known Member
BlackCauldron said:
I am also considering taking the dive and going resale, likely at AKL.

Can someone shed some light on use year, which still confuses me a bit. Everything I have read mentions you should get a use year before the time you intend to travel - but when they start going into the time to bank, and the holding bank if you cancel a reservation, my brain gets scrambled.

We typically travel in September, just after Labor Day. However, our son is at the point where we shouldn't be pulling him out of school for 7-10 days, so our travel dates will likely shift into August. It's possible we may decide to go other times of year, but August/September would generally be our preferred dates.

Does that mean I should be looking for a June use year? That would still put me well ahead of the 11 month mark at my home resort (probably not terribly important unless we want Jambo). And if not June, what would be a better use year?
Click to expand...
As a long time owner I would say that UY doesn't matter as much as you think unless you cancel often. I have a June UY and have traveled most months outside of July-Aug. Things change and our travel habits have a lot. We regularly go in May or June as well as March now. Before that it was all over. It's nice if you think you know, but remember life happens so changes can occur.

Also remember UY has nothing to do when you can book as long as the points will be there.
 
A

arich35

Well-Known Member
We rented points and stayed at Boardwalk and loved it. Really loved the area and easy access to Epcot and HS. We have discussed DVC a tiny bit but it is so overwhelming, I don't know how to figure out if it is worth it or how long it takes for it to end up breaking even.
 
cjlyon

cjlyon

Well-Known Member
CaptainAmerica I see you closed about the same time I did and I thought you said this was your first purchase. If this was your first purchase have you received your welcome packet yet only curious since I haven't yet and its been over a month since closing. If anyone else can give any insight into how long this takes it would be appreciated.
 

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