DVC Use Year Explained: How to Choose the Right One

The use year is one of the most misunderstood parts of DVC membership, and it's also one of the most consequential when it comes to actually using your points. Get it right and your points work smoothly with your travel calendar. Get it wrong and you'll spend years banking points late, scrambling to use them before they expire, or making trips that don't actually match how your family vacations.

This article explains exactly what the use year is, how it affects banking and borrowing, and how to pick the right one whether you're purchasing a Disney Vacation Club membership for the first time or looking at contracts on the DVC resale market.

What Is a Use Year?

A use year in DVC is the 12-month period during which your annual point allotment is issued and during which those points must be used (or banked) before they expire.

Think of it as your DVC fiscal year. If your use year is September, that means your points are issued on September 1 each year, and any unused points that you haven't banked expire on August 31 of the following year. Your entire point management cycle revolves around these dates.

DVC currently offers the following use year options: February, March, April, June, August, September, October, November, and December. Not every use year is available for every resort or every contract on the resale market, but those are the options in the system.

Why the Use Year Matters More Than Most Buyers Realize

The use year determines three things that directly affect how usable your membership is:

First, it sets the date when your fresh annual points are issued. If your use year is June, you receive your full annual allotment on June 1. That's when your balance refreshes and when new booking windows make the most sense relative to your available points.

Second, it sets the banking deadline. To roll unused points forward into the next use year, you must bank them before 8 months remain in your current use year. For a September use year, that banking deadline is January 1 of the same year your points were issued. Miss that deadline and any unused points from that use year are gone. There's no grace period, and Disney doesn't make exceptions.

Third, it affects how borrowed points work. If you borrow points from your next use year to supplement your current one, you're pulling from the following September's (or June's, or February's) allotment. The timing of your use year affects which trips are practically plannable with banked or borrowed points.

Banking Points: How It Works

Banking is the mechanism for rolling unused points from one use year into the next. The rules are straightforward but unforgiving.

You can bank any unused points from your current use year into the next use year, provided you initiate the banking before the deadline (when 8 months remain in your current use year). Once banked, those points are available to use anytime during your next use year. They don't receive another use year's worth of life, though: banked points expire at the end of the following use year if unused. You cannot bank the same points twice.

Let's put numbers to this. Say your use year is June, and it's currently December. Your June 2025 points are 6 months into their 12-month life. If you haven't used them and you want to bank them, you need to act before February 1, 2026 (which is when 8 months remain). You bank them, and now those points are available for use anytime between June 2025 and May 2026. If you still don't use them by May 31, 2026, they expire.

The practical lesson: if you skip a year of travel, bank your points before the deadline. Don't wait until the last month of your use year to realize you won't make it to Disney. The banking window closes earlier than most members expect.

Borrowing Points: How It Works

Borrowing works in the opposite direction. If your current use year's points aren't enough for a planned trip, you can borrow up to 100 percent of next year's allotment to use during your current use year.

Borrowing is a simple transaction: you request to borrow from your next use year, the points are added to your current balance, and your next year's allotment is reduced accordingly. A 150-point contract owner who borrows 75 points from next year will start next year with only 75 points instead of 150.

The appeal of borrowing is flexibility for a big trip. If you have a large family reunion at Disney planned and your current points aren't enough to cover it, borrowing bridges the gap. The cost is that next year's trip has to be planned around a smaller point balance, or you'll need to bank points from the year before to compensate.

One thing to keep in mind: borrowed points must be used for reservations made in the current use year. You can't borrow points to hold in reserve. They're applied to a specific booking.

How to Choose the Right Use Year

The best use year is the one that puts your fresh points in your account right before your annual booking window for your most important trips.

Here's how to think through it:

If you travel to Disney in the spring or summer (spring break, Memorial Day, summer vacation), a February use year works well. Your points refresh February 1, and your 11-month booking window for home resort spring and summer trips opens around the same time. Your points and your planning cycle line up naturally.

If you primarily travel in the fall or for the holiday season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's), a September or October use year makes sense. Your points refresh in September or October, right when you'd want to be making your November and December bookings at the 11-month mark. You go into the high-demand booking window with a full annual allotment.

If your travel is flexible and you don't have a single peak season, a use year in the middle of the calendar (June or August) gives you a balance of flexibility in both directions.

The mistake most first-time buyers make is not thinking about this at all. They pick a use year based on whatever contracts happen to be available, or they accept the default without asking. That works fine if they travel evenly throughout the year, but creates friction if they have a strong preference for a specific travel season.

Use Year Considerations When Buying on the Resale Market

On the DVC resale market, you're purchasing existing contracts, and those contracts come with fixed use years. Unlike buying direct from Disney, you generally can't specify a use year and get exactly what you want. You work with what's available.

That said, the resale market is deep enough that with some patience you can usually find a contract at your preferred resort with a use year that suits your travel calendar. Browsing current listings on our DVC resale listings page will show you the use years available across current inventory. If you're willing to wait a few weeks, additional contracts come to market regularly.

It's also worth noting that mismatched use years aren't catastrophic. A spring traveler with a September use year can still make DVC work well, they just need to be more deliberate about banking and borrowing. The use year choice affects convenience and planning flexibility more than it limits what's possible.

Another factor: when you're comparing two contracts at the same resort and the only difference is the use year, the one that better matches your travel calendar is worth a small premium over one that doesn't. Quantifying exactly what that's worth is personal, but it's a legitimate factor in the comparison.

What Happens to Your Use Year if You Add On?

Many DVC members eventually add on a second contract, either at the same resort or at a different one. When you own multiple contracts, each comes with its own use year. Having two different use years in your portfolio isn't a problem, but it does add some complexity to point management.

Points from different use years can't be combined into a single balance. They're tracked separately. If your primary contract has a September use year and your add-on has a February use year, you'll manage two separate point pools with two separate banking deadlines.

For this reason, many members who are adding on a contract at the same resort try to match the use year of their existing contract. It simplifies tracking and eliminates the multi-deadline management issue. When adding on at a different resort, it becomes more of a judgment call based on the available inventory and how the use years each serve your travel patterns.

A Note on "Loaded" Contracts and Use Year Timing

When you see DVC contracts on the resale market described as "loaded," it means the contract comes with current or banked points included at closing. A loaded contract is more valuable than a "stripped" one (a contract where all points have been used and you'd be waiting for the next use year to begin before getting any points).

The timing of a loaded contract relative to its use year matters. A September use year contract listed in August with a full annual allotment included is a better deal than the same contract listed in February with those same points about to expire in August. Always look at how many months are left in the current use year and how many points are included before valuing a loaded contract. Our team can walk you through this calculation if you want help evaluating a specific listing.

For a deeper look at what DVC actually costs, including both the purchase price and the ongoing dues, see our DVC cost breakdown. And for a broader overview of how the membership system works, our how DVC works page covers the complete picture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change my use year after I purchase?

No. The use year is tied to your deed and cannot be changed. If you purchase a contract with a June use year and later decide you'd prefer a September use year, you would need to sell that contract and purchase a new one with the preferred use year. This is one reason why it's worth thinking through use year selection before you purchase rather than after.

What happens if I miss the banking deadline?

Any points not banked before the deadline expire at the end of your use year. Disney does not grant exceptions to the banking deadline. The points are simply lost. This is one of the most common points of frustration among new DVC members, which is why understanding the banking deadline before your first use year ends is important.

Can I bank points from one contract into the other if I own two contracts with different use years?

No. Points must be used (or banked) within their own use year framework. You cannot transfer points between contracts with different use years. Each contract's points are tracked and managed independently.

Is one use year objectively better than others?

No. The best use year depends entirely on when you travel. February works well for spring and summer travelers. September and October work well for fall and holiday travelers. There's no universally superior option. A use year that aligns poorly with your travel calendar is likely to lead to banking issues and expired points over time.

What is a "loaded" contract?

A loaded contract is one that comes with points included at closing, either current use year points or banked points from a prior year. A loaded contract allows you to book a trip relatively soon after closing, whereas a stripped contract (all points used) requires you to wait for your next use year to begin before any points are available. Loaded contracts typically command a premium over stripped ones, and the value depends on how many points are included and how much time remains in the current use year.

Can I use banked points for any booking, or are there restrictions?

Banked points can generally be used for any DVC reservation, subject to the same booking windows and availability rules as current-year points. The key restriction is that banked points expire at the end of the use year into which they were banked. A member with a September use year who banks September 2024 points must use those points before August 31, 2025, or they expire. Beyond that time restriction, banked points behave the same as current-year points in the booking system.