chEARs Andrew, and welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel!
It sounds like you are on the verge of a fantastic decision! My husband and I joke that besides marrying each other, joining Disney Vacation Club was
the best decision we have ever made. The flexibility allowed with the points system, along with the
fantastic variety of resorts makes the club unparalleled!
In regards to your points question - it all depends on your
Use Year. Let's say that you
purchase a contract on July 1st, 2019. Your Use Year will be July 1st, 2019 - June 30th, 2020. In other words, your Use Year starts from the month that you began your contract and lasts 12 months.
So let's say you are one of the lucky few who get to visit
Disney's Riviera Resort in it's first month, which is projected to be this December. AND that you purchased a contract in July. You will be five months into your twelve month Use Year, so plenty of time to use those
points! But! Just in case you can't book in December, and instead,
you stay in...let's say March 2020, you still will be able to use your 2019 points.
If you have points left over and are approaching the end of your Use Year, you can
bank points into the next Use Year, so that you don't lose your points from the previous year. We tend to do this every other year since we spend
alternating Christmases at
Walt Disney World. We save up our points and then bank them into the next year, giving us a more substantial amount of points to cover the Christmas holiday. Truly one of the great perks of Membership - you get to decide how, where, and when you want to vacation!
Andrew, if you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to come back! Let me be the first to say - Welcome Home! You are going to love Disney Vacation Club Membership.
Rayna