Different Use Years??? Ok or Hassle???

[KAT4DISNEY]

by the way, what if those UY's are only one (1) month apart (say a March and February contract at the same resort)? It doesn't seem to me like that is a tremendous 'hassle' - particularly if you get a great price on the added contract

A huge price difference then I'd still do it but 1 month apart or 6 months apart it would still be the exact same issues.

 

[Matty B13]

by the way, what if those UY's are only one (1) month apart (say a March and February contract at the same resort)? It doesn't seem to me like that is a tremendous 'hassle' - particularly if you get a great price on the added contract

The hassle is calling up MS to combine the reservation so that it is considered a continuous stay, this way you don't have to checkout when you use one contract to stay for the beginning of your reservation and then use the points from your second reservation to finish your trip. You would think this would be easy for MS to do, but it isn't. I spend well over 45 minutes with MS trying to get this all done for our February 2019 trip and I'm still not completely sure it is correct. I still had to call IT to make it show up in MDE correctly the next day. After I booked the first 3 nights with one UY contract, I then booked the other 3 nights with my other UY contract, I noticed right away something was wrong because the lead name on the second set of night was my daughter and not me. Disney's IT is pretty bad, so I'm guessing 50% of the time you will have to spend close to an hour every-time you want to combine these points. I use to think having different UY was going to be no big deal, but after spending quite a bit of time on the phone with MS, it became clear to me that it was going to be a very big hassle.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

The hassle is calling up MS to combine the reservation so that it is considered a continuous stay, this way you don't have to checkout when you use one contract to stay for the beginning of your reservation and then use the points from your second reservation to finish your trip. You would think this would be easy for MS to do, but it isn't. I spend well over 45 minutes with MS trying to get this all done for our February 2019 trip and I'm still not completely sure it is correct. I still had to call IT to make it show up in MDE correctly the next day. After I booked the first 3 nights with one UY contract, I then booked the other 3 nights with my other UY contract, I noticed right away something was wrong because the lead name on the second set of night was my daughter and not me. Disney's IT is pretty bad, so I'm guessing 50% of the time you will have to spend close to an hour every-time you want to combine these points. I use to think having different UY was going to be no big deal, but after spending quite a bit of time on the phone with MS, it became clear to me that it was going to be a very big hassle.

And if you transfer points they are invisible to you online so you have to call in anytime you wish to use them that way too. And once their transferred you would no longer be able to borrow them - only could bank them. It's also a doable way to use them but it's soooo much easier to have them in the same UY.

If the contracts were bought to use completely separately - ie for different trips then it's not really any issue but using the points together from 2 different memberships requires another step or two - and as you mentioned it doesn't always go that easily. Most times linking them is done pretty easily but I've also had a couple of times that the call took much longer than it really should have.

 

[Dean]

by the way, what if those UY's are only one (1) month apart (say a March and February contract at the same resort)? It doesn't seem to me like that is a tremendous 'hassle' - particularly if you get a great price on the added contract

Actually we are a summer family. So in the above example, lets say we go every July. The banking deadlines for Feb & March are the last days of Sep & Oct. YES there is a 1 month difference and YES it can be a bit of a hassle to combine ressies, but I had the option of either by direct at almost double the price with the same UY, or buying resale and sving thousands with the one month difference. For me, the decision was a no brainer

From a management standpoint it doesn't matter even if it's the same use year but a different master. There are certain negatives but there can be positives. For some resorts and contracts it may be worth it such as difficult to find contracts like VGF or VGC. Or for subsidized contracts at VB or Aulani or possibly for a fixed week. But for the rest, and without a specific reason do so, I'd recommend against it esp if both contracts wouldn't be stand alone anyway.

 

[Pluto777]

A huge price difference then I'd still do it but 1 month apart or 6 months apart it would still be the exact same issues.

I disagree. The issue of a banking deadline is VERY differnt when you have a 1 month gap vs a 6 month gap. In my example above; lets say you vacation in the summertime. contract a banking deadline is sep 30, contract b deadline is Oct 31st. essentially they both expire right after the trip. However, if I was dealing with a sep 30th banking deadline vs a March 31 deadline, it would make a bigger difference no?

 

[Pluto777]

And if you transfer points they are invisible to you online so you have to call in anytime you wish to use them that way too. And once their transferred you would no longer be able to borrow them - only could bank them. It's also a doable way to use them but it's soooo much easier to have them in the same UY.

If the contracts were bought to use completely separately - ie for different trips then it's not really any issue but using the points together from 2 different memberships requires another step or two - and as you mentioned it doesn't always go that easily. Most times linking them is done pretty easily but I've also had a couple of times that the call took much longer than it really should have.

From what I've heard (and Ive never actually done it) once you arrive at check in the front desk usually links them without any trouble. It makes sense; afterall, it less work for THEM if you stay in the same room so its a win-win for everyone anyhow, yes?

 

[Pluto777]

The hassle is calling up MS to combine the reservation so that it is considered a continuous stay, this way you don't have to checkout when you use one contract to stay for the beginning of your reservation and then use the points from your second reservation to finish your trip. You would think this would be easy for MS to do, but it isn't. I spend well over 45 minutes with MS trying to get this all done for our February 2019 trip and I'm still not completely sure it is correct. I still had to call IT to make it show up in MDE correctly the next day. After I booked the first 3 nights with one UY contract, I then booked the other 3 nights with my other UY contract, I noticed right away something was wrong because the lead name on the second set of night was my daughter and not me. Disney's IT is pretty bad, so I'm guessing 50% of the time you will have to spend close to an hour every-time you want to combine these points. I use to think having different UY was going to be no big deal, but after spending quite a bit of time on the phone with MS, it became clear to me that it was going to be a very big hassle.

Why not just wait till you check in and then ask the desk to help you do it?

 

[kboo]

From what I've heard (and Ive never actually done it) once you arrive at check in the front desk usually links them without any trouble. It makes sense; afterall, it less work for THEM if you stay in the same room so its a win-win for everyone anyhow, yes?

They don't necessarily do it without any trouble. A lot depends on who else is in all the other rooms too. Last time we did this, our reservations were already linked AND we asked at the front desk at checkin and they still couldn't guarantee it then.

Why not just wait till you check in and then ask the desk to help you do it?

^^^ See above. Assigning rooms is like 3-D tetris with a time component. Last time we did this, our reservations were already linked (we had 9 nights that were booked 7+2) and we had to check back the night before (I think) of the "checkout" on the 7th day. Then we were confirmed we didn't need to move. And then since I had done OLCI, I got a reminder to "check out" and then a room ready text (of the same room) shortly thereafter. AND I think we had MB issues (not opening the door after the checkout/checkin on day 8) so we had to go down to the front desk to get that fixed as well. The CMs handled it all, and had told us in advance that this might happen, so it was no big deal, and we didn't have to move, but still I'd rather not have to deal with that all the time.

Even for harder to find resorts like VGF, I feel it's worth waiting to match UY (which is what we are doing for our VGF add on) - I watched a slew of very attractively priced April VGF contracts go by, and sat on my twitchy hands. Then there were December VGF contracts to tempt me... and finally, and Aug UY that fit the bill. I did have to wait, but it was worth the wait and I got it for a fair price, to me.

 

[Pluto777]

They don't necessarily do it without any trouble. A lot depends on who else is in all the other rooms too. Last time we did this, our reservations were already linked AND we asked at the front desk at checkin and they still couldn't guarantee it then.



^^^ See above. Assigning rooms is like 3-D tetris with a time component. Last time we did this, our reservations were already linked (we had 9 nights that were booked 7+2) and we had to check back the night before (I think) of the "checkout" on the 7th day. Then we were confirmed we didn't need to move. And then since I had done OLCI, I got a reminder to "check out" and then a room ready text (of the same room) shortly thereafter. AND I think we had MB issues (not opening the door after the checkout/checkin on day 8) so we had to go down to the front desk to get that fixed as well. The CMs handled it all, and had told us in advance that this might happen, so it was no big deal, and we didn't have to move, but still I'd rather not have to deal with that all the time.

Even for harder to find resorts like VGF, I feel it's worth waiting to match UY (which is what we are doing for our VGF add on) - I watched a slew of very attractively priced April VGF contracts go by, and sat on my twitchy hands. Then there were December VGF contracts to tempt me... and finally, and Aug UY that fit the bill. I did have to wait, but it was worth the wait and I got it for a fair price, to me.

Thx for that info, I was not aware of it

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I disagree. The issue of a banking deadline is VERY differnt when you have a 1 month gap vs a 6 month gap. In my example above; lets say you vacation in the summertime. contract a banking deadline is sep 30, contract b deadline is Oct 31st. essentially they both expire right after the trip. However, if I was dealing with a sep 30th banking deadline vs a March 31 deadline, it would make a bigger difference no?

You've asked me about this before and as I said then the issue is not the different banking deadlines that makes using points from the same resort in 2 UY's a pain. Never has been and never will be. The banking deadline just is only going to be an issue should you have a last minute cancellation but that is an entirely different thing.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

From what I've heard (and Ive never actually done it) once you arrive at check in the front desk usually links them without any trouble. It makes sense; afterall, it less work for THEM if you stay in the same room so its a win-win for everyone anyhow, yes?

You still may have to check in and out and it's about a 50/50 chance you'll have issues with the MB. Last October I spent over an hour at the front desk as the BCV CM attempted to correct an issue that came during the change from one reservation to another. They managed to essentially check me out of the second reservation when all the needed to be done was check me out of the first and in on the second. Well over an hour of vacation time I'll never recover.

 

[robinb]

I disagree. The issue of a banking deadline is VERY differnt when you have a 1 month gap vs a 6 month gap. In my example above; lets say you vacation in the summertime. contract a banking deadline is sep 30, contract b deadline is Oct 31st. essentially they both expire right after the trip. However, if I was dealing with a sep 30th banking deadline vs a March 31 deadline, it would make a bigger difference no?

My 2 contracts were a month apart (OKW August and BWV September) and it was still a PITB. We ended up selling the August OKW contract and added on directly with Disney at AKV in September. It was so much easier!

 

[Dean]

I disagree. The issue of a banking deadline is VERY differnt when you have a 1 month gap vs a 6 month gap. In my example above; lets say you vacation in the summertime. contract a banking deadline is sep 30, contract b deadline is Oct 31st. essentially they both expire right after the trip. However, if I was dealing with a sep 30th banking deadline vs a March 31 deadline, it would make a bigger difference no?

There is a slight difference if they are very close and you're going to bank at the same time but for all of the rest of the issues, they are no different. IMO the banking issue with DVC sending reminders and smart electronics is a non issue.

 

[Pluto777]

There is a slight difference if they are very close and you're going to bank at the same time but for all of the rest of the issues, they are no different. IMO the banking issue with DVC sending reminders and smart electronics is a non issue.

Well, aside from being forgetful, it does help having the dates so close so that I can bank and borrow both contracts simultaneously, doesn't it? I/E if I want to vacation using the combined points of BOTH contracts, the close dates make it possible for me to use both sets of points, whereas a significant gap of months could force me to use different Calandar years in my opinion

 

[Dean]

Well, aside from being forgetful, it does help having the dates so close so that I can bank and borrow both contracts simultaneously, doesn't it? I/E if I want to vacation using the combined points of BOTH contracts, the close dates make it possible for me to use both sets of points, whereas a significant gap of months could force me to use different Calandar years in my opinion

Maybe for some but overall it's probably a non issue and a minor one even with it applies. ALL of the other issues are more important and for those where it might be an issue, they should make certain all points are combined.

 

[lovethesun12]

Not trying to hijack your thread, but I have a similar question and thought it would be better asked here than a new thread (perhaps beneficial for us all looking to buy new contracts?

We were planning on purchasing two contracts for the best deal we can find (lets assume AKV and BLT) so not concerned about use year thus far). We would alternate each contract annually during Easter, so for example, Easter 2020 would be AKV then Easter 2021 would be BLT. We would plan on two 100pt contracts (each stay is about 169-210 pts) and borrow pts or cut our stay short if we needed to.

We would always book 11 months out, and always bank the points for the contract we are not using that year into the next year by setting reminders in our phone/email at the earliest time possible. We would always keep the points separate, using only for that resort every other year.

Is there something difficult about doing this I'm missing that someone could shed some light on? I keep seeing posts about how different use years give people trouble but not sure if that would apply here or if I'm missing something.

 

[disneynutz]

Not trying to hijack your thread, but I have a similar question and thought it would be better asked here than a new thread (perhaps beneficial for us all looking to buy new contracts?

We were planning on purchasing two contracts for the best deal we can find (lets assume AKV and BLT) so not concerned about use year thus far). We would alternate each contract annually during Easter, so for example, Easter 2020 would be AKV then Easter 2021 would be BLT. We would plan on two 100pt contracts (each stay is about 169-210 pts) and borrow pts or cut our stay short if we needed to.

We would always book 11 months out, and always bank the points for the contract we are not using that year into the next year by setting reminders in our phone/email at the earliest time possible. We would always keep the points separate, using only for that resort every other year.

Is there something difficult about doing this I'm missing that someone could shed some light on? I keep seeing posts about how different use years give people trouble but not sure if that would apply here or if I'm missing something.

Consider yourself as two separate owners. Twice the dates to keep track of, separate dues billings, mail, accounting's, and a greater chance of something going wrong.

Bill

 

[disneynutz]

Why not just wait till you check in and then ask the desk to help you do it?

Sometimes the front desk may cancel and re-book your reservation and that increases the chance of something going wrong. They did it to us one year, when they re-booked they borrowed points and put our original points in holding. Took several phone calls and a few days for MS to fix our account.

Bill

 

[Minniesgal]

It depends what you want to use them for. We have 3 contracts all same UY although be coincidence more than anything.

Our second contract is at VGC bought to use only at GC and not to be combine with others. Any UY would have done but the same UY was what was selling.

Our third contract is at VGF again bought to be only used at GF. So we could have happily had another UY but we have the same.

We now also love Aulani so having the same means we can combine at 7 months and book Aulani but we don't as we have enough points in our original contract to book so we keep the GC and the GF for home.

If however we were buying to combine i would insist on same UY and not rely on transfers as they are a nightmare.

 

[Dean]

Not trying to hijack your thread, but I have a similar question and thought it would be better asked here than a new thread (perhaps beneficial for us all looking to buy new contracts?

We were planning on purchasing two contracts for the best deal we can find (lets assume AKV and BLT) so not concerned about use year thus far). We would alternate each contract annually during Easter, so for example, Easter 2020 would be AKV then Easter 2021 would be BLT. We would plan on two 100pt contracts (each stay is about 169-210 pts) and borrow pts or cut our stay short if we needed to.

We would always book 11 months out, and always bank the points for the contract we are not using that year into the next year by setting reminders in our phone/email at the earliest time possible. We would always keep the points separate, using only for that resort every other year.

Is there something difficult about doing this I'm missing that someone could shed some light on? I keep seeing posts about how different use years give people trouble but not sure if that would apply here or if I'm missing something.

I personally would not do 2 contracts in this situation but if I did, it would be paramount to get them as a single UY and linked together under one master. Now if you were up at or over 150 each then it might be less important. If you planned Easter one year and Thanksgiving another then I might hold a different opinion. Personally I'd just do a single BLT contract in the 220-250 range, one should be able to get into AKV most years at 7 months out though not value. I presume you're looking at studios and know it'll consistently be Premier Season. Your numbers are a little low for 7 nights in a studio, are you also looking at 6 nights on average? IMO if you're looking mostly at BLT standard and AKV value you'll need a good 20% cushion or more over what you think you'll need.