"add on" contract, different use year?

[jlovesee]

Yes Yes I know it wouldn't really be an add on contract if it was a different use year. However, that is my question. Right now my husband and I own 100 points, 50 at OKW and 50 at BLT. Sept use year. We are looking at added on an additional small contract (50 pts or so), and at first I was dead set that I wanted a contract with the same use year.

After all the new contract if it was a different use year would be a whole new member #, different banking/borrowing windows etc.

After waiting a month though... and with a husband who doesn't seem to be bothered by a different use year I have given the different use year idea some more thought.

If we buy a new contract, with a different use year can you just transfer the points from the new member # to the old member #, so that basically it is treated as all one contract by MS? That doesn't seem like that big of a pain...

So first question what am I missing? If I do have a different use year, and just have to remember to call MS to transfer the points once a year, what if any are the drawbacks to 2 different use years?

Second, if I transfer points do they retain the same use year? For example if I buy 50 points with a DEC use year, and then transfer them to my existing contract with a SEPT use year, do the points retain the banking window from the DEC use year or SEPT use year?

Last, What about borrowing? Can 1 reservation, with points split between the two contracts included borrowed points from both contracts?

I may be over analyzing this, but hey if I can get 50 points for $65 a point thru resale as opposed to paying $90 a point thru DVC direct, then I want to know if its worth it.

Thanks in Advance!

Jennifer

 

[Sandisw]

I think that if you are going to have two different UY's, you want to be sure you have enough in the contract to do what you want.

Yes, you can transfer the points from one to the other but the points retain home resort and UY status, including all banking deadlines.

You can not borrow transferred points so once you do that, you would not be able to then "borrow" them to combine with borrowed points from the original membership.

You can certainly book nights on one membership using borrowed points and some on the other membership with borrowed points and link those for one trip.

We are in the process of adding on as well and have decided that we will consider a different UY due to the price difference as well. However, we are looking for enough points to book the nights the way we want to ensure we don't have to do the transfers between the two.

Basically, I am adding on at a different resort with the sole purpose of using those for specific things. Obviously, the ideal situation is to get the same UY, but I think with resale you have to be flexible.

The only concern with your situation, that I see, is that since you will end up with all little contracts, it makes it very hard to make your trip seamless from the start. Even now, because you have two home resorts, you have to book a split stay from the start. Adding only 50 points in yet another membership may become too restrictive. If you were going to be doing 100 points, then maybe.

Good luck!

 

[Kidanifan08]

Having a second UY is probably not that big of a deal, especially if you plan to simply make one transfer per year for one trip a year. As the PP noted, the transferred points retain their original UY rules, but they can be banked (not borrowed). We recently did 2 small add-ons (50 and 55). The first was a different UY than the second. We generally use the points once a year, so it should not be a big problem, but I do wish they were all the same UY.

There are currently some resales going in the upper $40's and low $50's. For about $2000 more, you may be able to find a 100 point contract at OKW, SSR or BWV that you could get in that lower price range per point, if you have the cash and the time to watch daily for one of those elusive 100 point contracts to show up.

Have fun shopping!

 

[Buckeye Fan]

I had two different UYs, and while it's not horrible, I wouldn't do it again. If your current UY works for you, I'd stick with that, even if I had to pay a little more per point. Just some food for thought based on my experiences:
* You can transfer once per year per UY per member ID, but that's it (in or out). So when you transfer, that's "out" and your other member ID is receiving the points (so that's in). I started transferring all of my points from one UY into the other when they became available, because there are certain rules for transferring.
* You'll have two different banking deadlines, and unless you transfer, you can't combine points between the two member IDs to book a single night. In other words, if you needed 50 points to book a single night, you can't use 25 points from one member ID and 25 points from the other without transferring.
* Member Services views you as two separate people. When you call in, you have to specify exactly what you want to do within each member ID. For example, if you have banked points in both member IDs and want to use all of them to make a reservation, MS will only use the banked points on the member ID you used for verification. You'll actually have to tell them to use the banked points out the other member ID.
* If you transfer, you can "pool" the points to make a reservation, but the points will retain the same home resort booking advantage and banking deadline.

Again, nothing horrible, but just not something I would do again if given the choice. Now, if I traveled four times a year 6 months apart, I could see the benefit of having two different UYs to reduce your risk of losing points. However, for an add on, it may be more trouble than it's worth.

Best of luck on your add on!

 

[normr]

In the long run, I think you'll be happier having the same use year, I would think at some point, you're gonna mess up in some way, having 1 UY makes it easy to track, you know the deadlines for all your contracts.

 

[appleorchard]

I'm confused. If your points have a different UY, you have two separate membership numbers? I thought they just had different contract numbers! On DVC.com, then, you have to go to both membership numbers to see your points? Will Disney send a new card with the new number? In the meantime, how do I find out what my new number is?

 

[appleorchard]

Answered my own question! I knew they were different accounts but for some reason I wasn't thinking of two separate membership numbers.

 

[jlovesee]

Thanks for everyone's response... this was what I was thinking, that it wasn't worth the hassle. I probably need to go an explain things a bit better to husband. He THINKS he knows a lot about DVC, but one guess who deals with member services and makes all the reservations...

Jennifer

 

[appleorchard]

I think we may need to buy more points with the new UY so we have more to work with lol.

 

[WDWBlue]

In the long run, I think you'll be happier having the same use year, I would think at some point, you're gonna mess up in some way, having 1 UY makes it easy to track, you know the deadlines for all your contracts.

I agree. Having more than one use year makes the likelyhood of making a banking mistake more possible. Anything to keep the confusion down....

 

[appleorchard]

Well, we already did it because we wanted a small add-on at BWV and they seem difficult to find in ANY UY! So we'll have to deal with it. I like messing around with points--it's like a hobby lol.

Hopefully we won't get TOO messed up--we have 3 trips in planning stages right now--Dec. 2011, April 2012 and Oct 2012. Have points at BWV and BLT to contend with, not to mention the two UY now. This hobby may become a full-time job!

 

[dbs1228]

One thing I found out after buying a 2nd UY (not a big deal but glad I know) I wanted to transfer the full 130 points from UY Oct to UY Aug and then make my ressie. These points were 2010 point but I want to also use up the 2010 Aug UY points 1st (expire sooner) MS told me that if I transfer the full 130 points they will use ALL those transferred points 1st for any ressie before using my Aug UY 2010 points. She then transferred what I needed for the res., made the ressie for me then transferred the additional points over after. She seemed to know what she was talking about??

 

[Sandisw]

One thing I found out after buying a 2nd UY (not a big deal but glad I know) I wanted to transfer the full 130 points from UY Oct to UY Aug and then make my ressie. These points were 2010 point but I want to also use up the 2010 Aug UY points 1st (expire sooner) MS told me that if I transfer the full 130 points they will use ALL those transferred points 1st for any ressie before using my Aug UY 2010 points. She then transferred what I needed for the res., made the ressie for me then transferred the additional points over after. She seemed to know what she was talking about??

That is good to know and that she did the 2nd transfer for you. I have heard that when it is the same owner, they do allow more than one transfer between the memberships.

We are going to try to the same UY (and I think DH would go higher on his price per point if it is) but are willing to take a different one if we need as long as we get enough points with the contract.

 

[tgropp]

In all honesty, I found having 2 different use years a headache. I ended up selling my smaller add on.

 

[appleorchard]

I'm beginning to understand the headache aspect of this! How can I "see" both accounts on the DVC site? I admit this is more complicated than I thought it would be, mostly because I don't want to use up my transferring ability in case we need more points for a "big" trip one of these years. We're generally in "borrow" mode but with these new points I'm having to think about banking points, something we haven't done in YEARS!

 

[appleorchard]

Problem solved--both UY show on our membership site. Well, that's one less headache, for sure!