Use Year can be used differently in various vacation clubs to determine certain restrictions for the owner’s timeshare usage such as the deadline for when the owner needs to book their usage, or bank / save their their usage into the following Use Year or when they are first able to gain access to their annual usage.
Use Year vs. Calendar Year
It’s important to note, Use Year does not necessarily correlate with the calendar year. For example, say that your Use Year is April. Your Use Year would being on the 1st of April each year, and end on March 31st, the following year. In this example, your Use Year actually spans across two different calendar years, which is a very common scenario for most timeshare owners.
In the graph below, you can see calendar years are color coded to help show how use years span across two different calendar years, more often than not.
Booking Window vs. Use Year
Another common misconception is that your booking window (how far in advance you can book your vacations) and use year are not identical concepts. Many vacation ownerships allow owners / members to book up to 12 months in advance (generally when booking your home resort) prior to their desired check-in dates. A common mistake of newer timeshare owners is to wait to book their vacation until the usage (or points) has been deposited into their account. In order to get the best chance to book your desired vacation, plan ahead as much as possible by booking as far as advance as possible, regardless of your Use Year.
For example, if your Use Year is in April, and you would like to book a reservation in November, don’t wait until April comes around to book your vacation. Start your search and planning in November of the previous year to take advantage of the booking window that is afforded to you. Many vacation clubs will draw the usage (points) from the Use Year in which the reservation is taking place, and will not draw the usage from what you have currently inside your account. Even if your particular club doesn’t work this way, almost all vacation clubs allow owners to borrow points or usage from the following year at no cost. Make sure to utilize whatever tools to have at your disposal to book as far in advance as is possible for you.
Banking Deadlines Are Determined By Use Year
As we mentioned before, your Use Year represents the 12 month period of time in which you can use your annual allotment of timeshare points. If you are unable to use your allotted points within this 12 month period of time, many vacation clubs allow you to bank, save, or store, your points into the following Use Year. There are deadlines associated with banking your points for all name brand timeshares. This deadline is determined by your Use Year.
Hilton Grand Vacations Banking Deadlines
With Hilton Grand Vacations, all owners’ Use Year begins on January 1st of the current calendar year, and ends on Dec 31st of the current calendar year. Owners of HGV ClubPoints are required to bank, or “rescue”, any unused ClubPoints prior to Dec 31st of the current calendar year. This is a case where Use Year and Calendar year do directly correlate, but as you will see with the other top-tier brand-name timeshares, this is not always the case.
Disney Vacation Club Banking Deadlines
With Disney Vacation Club, you will have to bank your points 4 months prior to the Use Year ending. You can also think of this banking deadline as 8 months after the beginning of your current Use Year.
| Use Year | 100% | 0% |
| February | September 30 | October 1 – January 31 |
| March | October 31 | November 1 – February 28* |
| April | November 30 | December 1 – March 31 |
| June | January 31 | February 1 – May 31 |
| August | March 31 | April 1 – July 31 |
| September | April 30 | May 1 – August 31 |
| October | May 31 | June 1 – September 30 |
| December | July 31 | August 1 – November 30 |
| * During leap years, the 0% banking window will extend to February 29 | ||
Marriott Vacation Club Banking Deadlines
For Marriott Vacation Club owners that own Destination Club points, banking deadlines and the period that points can be used for after being banked, depends on your membership level.
Membership level is determined by the number of Vacation Points you own, you can learn more at the subject with the following link: Marriott Destinations Club Benefits by Membership Level.
| Benefit Level | Annual Vacation Club Points | Banking Deadline* | Use Banked Vacation Club Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Up to 3,999 | 6 months | Within the immediately following Use Year |
| Select | 4,000 to 6,999 | 6 months | |
| Executive | 7,000 to 9,999 | 4 months | |
| Presidential | 10,000 to 14,999 | 4 months | Within the following 1.5 Use Years |
| Chairman’s Club | 15,000 or more | 4 months | Within the following 2 Use Years |
| *Prior to the end of current use year | |||
Rules and restrictions vary based on the timeshare product you own, but an owner’s Use Year will always define a 12 month period of time in which the owner can use their allotted vacation time.
