Where is the best place to read about picking a Use Year?

[DisneyMom]

We are considering DVC but I'm having a hard time figuring out the best use year. We would most likely after Christmas/beginning of January or first full week of March. Possibly April or May and possibly in the fall. I read that your use year should be right after the 3 months you are least likely to travel - so was thinking Sept or Oct. But when I play through the scenarios of having to cancel a trip 60 days before it happens and taking into consideration when they have to be used by/banking etc. it doesn't seem to work out. What is the best place to read up on it?
Thanks!

[Brandie]

Starr . . . did you see this thread? http://www.easywdw.com/forums/showthread.php?3759-Use-Year-Question

[DisneyMom]

I did see it, but I think I'm really dense...:RpS_unsure:
Is any of this correct??

Sept Use Year
Sept 2011 – Get 2011 points – have to bank them by Apr. 30 if not using them
Book a trip for early Jan. 1 – 10 – would have to book this earlier than Sept. by borrowing – or by using points that were banked from previous year
Have to cancel it by Nov. 1 – If they were borrowed points we could bank by Apr. 30 or would have until Aug. 31 to use. If they were banked points from previous year - what happens?
Should you be taking the 11 and 7 month booking windows into consideration when picking Use Year?
After you bank points - are there different rules about how you can use them then?

[blyday]

Sept Use Year
Sept 2011 – Get 2011 points – have to bank them by Apr. 30 if not using them
Correct


Book a trip for early Jan. 1 – 10 – would have to book this earlier than Sept. by borrowing – or by using points that were banked from previous year
Okay...this is going to take a little more time to answer.

Okay....let's start with some clarification. Use year points are determined by what year you get those points in. So, for example, my UY is June, so currently we are still within our 2011 "points year". On June 1st, our 2012 "year" begins. We didn't have quite enough points in our 2011 year for our upcoming trip so we borrowed from the 2012 points. Our 2012 points are good for travel from June 2012 through June 2013 unless we bank or borrow them.

Okay now lets look at your scenario, let's say that you book your trip for Jan 1-10, 2013 and your use year is Sept. If you have any banked points from 2011 (so points that would otherwise expire on Sept 1st of 2012) DVC will use those points first when booking your January trip. Then they will use points from your 2012 allotment. If you still have points in 2011 that you did not bank, they will not use those points....only the banked ones (that are now officially 2012 points) and your new 2012 points. If you need more points, you can then choose to borrow from 2013.

The rule of thumb here is that your points will be taken from the UY that you are traveling in. It doesn't matter when you booked it (at 11 months or 7 months) just the use year that you are traveling in. Does that make sense??


Have to cancel it by Nov. 1 – If they were borrowed points we could bank by Apr. 30 or would have until Aug. 31 to use.
(Original info here was wrong......refer to Vicki's post below for correct info) You cannot bank points that are put into a holding account.


If they were banked points from previous year - what happens?
Same thing as above. The key thing to remember with banked points is that they MUST be used by the end of the following Use year. So, 2011 points that are banked must be used by September 1, 2013 (if you have a September UY)


Should you be taking the 11 and 7 month booking windows into consideration when picking Use Year?
No, this is what you use to determine which resort to purchase at. If you have a resort that you hate, don't buy there because there is always a chance that nothing else will be available at the 7 month mark and you can be stuck there. Select a resort that you would be happy staying at every time if it ever reaches a point of saturation that would not allow you to book at different resort at 7 months out.


After you bank points - are there different rules about how you can use them then?
Not really. They just have to be used or you will lose them.

[blyday]

Here is some more detail on banking points:



Vacation Points can only be banked once.
The banking window is applied to the sum total of Vacation Points across all of your contracts, not on an individual contract level.
If you've not completed travel on banked Vacation Points by the end of the Use Year they've been banked into, they expire.
You cannot return banked Vacation Points to their original Use Year.
You cannot borrow or transfer banked Vacation Points.
You may apply banked Vacation Points to all Member Getaways exchanges.
You'll be given a banking transaction number when you bank Vacation Points; please be sure to record it.
All banking transactions are final.
In order to bank Vacation Points, you need to be up to date on your Annual Dues and monthly loan payments (if applicable), and not have any other outstanding balances related to your Membership.
To maintain a proper balance of Vacation Points in the Club's central reservation system, banking may be suspended or limited from time to time.

[vicki_c]

If you want your points to all go back into your account for regular use, then use, you need to cancel at least 3 months before or the points are put into a holding account that must be used before the end of your use year or you will lose them. You cannot bank points that are put into a holding account.


I did not read all of the posts here, but this sounds wrong unless I am somehow missing the context.

Points don't go into holding unless you cancel a trip 30 days or less before it starts. Holding account points can only be used to make a reservation that is 60 days out I believe. And yes, they would expire at the end of their use year.

Canceling 3 months out is not a time "marker" that I know of. If you cancel a trip and it is past your banking window for the points used, then those points can't be banked. But 3 months is not any significant time. Points must be banked 4 months prior to the end of your use year - which may not have any connection to how far out your reservation is. My use year ends July 31, I must bank by March 31.

[DisneyMom]

Wow-thanks for all the info! I'm going to have to read it a few times to digest it.

[blyday]

I did not read all of the posts here, but this sounds wrong unless I am somehow missing the context.

Points don't go into holding unless you cancel a trip 30 days or less before it starts. Holding account points can only be used to make a reservation that is 60 days out I believe. And yes, they would expire at the end of their use year.

Canceling 3 months out is not a time "marker" that I know of. If you cancel a trip and it is past your banking window for the points used, then those points can't be banked. But 3 months is not any significant time. Points must be banked 4 months prior to the end of your use year - which may not have any connection to how far out your reservation is. My use year ends July 31, I must bank by March 31.

I was trying to go off of memory and couldn't remember the exact time but was thinking it was right....but reading what you said and I realize I was completely wrong. Thank you for correcting me Vicki!!!

So DisneyMom.....make sure you note that Vicki is correct and I am wrong.....so ignore my info and read hers.....I'll go up and note that in my post so no one else reads it and gets the wrong information.

[DisneyMom]

I think I understand now! Thanks!
One other question... Can you rent out banked points if you can't use them? Or just points that haven't been banked yet?

[blyday]

Yes you can rent banked points. Just make sure that travel dates happen before they expire.