Coach's next question- How often do you use your points outside of Disney?

[Coach81]

How many of you have used your points to go to Europe, or other parts of the US? Just doing some research here. We are looking into 150 points primarily for the disney experience, but how viable are the other vacation spots that DVC offers?

[Maistre Gracey]

I have never used my points beyond DVC and the Disney Collection.
That's not saying I never will, but we haven't done so as of yet.

You see, vacation time is more valuble than DVC points!.. :smokin:

MG

[pilferk]

I'm a DVC newbie, but I can tell you, from looking at the points charts and exchange rates, and talking to others who have, or have tried, to exchange through II.....I doubt we'll ever do it.

It just doesn't seem to be an "effiecient" use of points for us...It's nice to know we CAN, I suppose, but looking at what the relative cost is to use the points at other places, I think I would prefer to pay OOP for those destinations rather than use my points.

But that's just me.

Oh, and Coach...if this is your first DVC purchase, and you're doing it direct from Disney (not resale), you'll need to buy 160 points. That's the new minimum.

[Coach81]

"You see, vacation time is more valuble than DVC points"!.. MG

Could you please clarify this statement, MG?

[dianeschlicht]

If you are only buying 150 points, your exchange options will be limited. To exchange into an II week, you will want at least 160 points in order to exchange a week in a 1 bedroom for some of the better exchanges.

[dvcnut39]

This is how we used our points (BCV) so far-

2002- Bought and banked

2003- 3nts- Vero Beach
4nts- Disney Cruise
2nts- BCV

2004- 5nts- Vero Beach
2nts- SSR

2005- 8nts- SSR

2006- 7nts- The Boardwalk Resort- Virginia Beach

2007- Upcoming trip
8nts- BWV
5nts- Vero Beach

On a couple of these trips we actually got extra or larger rooms because we took family with us. What I like best is that we did all this and we really don't have that many points (225pts).

[lovinthemouse]

We have not yet used out points outside of DVC. We may or we may not. Have to wait and see. I feel though that as long as you are fully enjoying your purchase then that is all that matters. I know some say it is not a good use of points. But, who cares as long as you are happy:goodvibes

[Maistre Gracey]

"You see, vacation time is more valuble than DVC points"!.. MG

Could you please clarify this statement, MG?
I knew that would be confusing..

What I mean is I don't mind spending DVC points for non Disney vacations, but I only get X amount vacation time and choose to spend it at Disney.

---Hmm.. I'm not sure that makes it anymore clear...

Let me try again-
The reason we don't use points outside of Disney is not because of the "implied" lack of value that we get for our points.
It's because of the lack of vacation time we get from work.

We would love to do other things with our points, but nothing is so urgent that we want to sacrafice a Disney trip. If we had more vacation time, we would gladly use the points for other things.

Hope that makes more sense! :smokin:

MG

[dianeschlicht]

I don't see anything wrong with exchanging for an II week to somewhere special. We have only done it once (a week exchange to Hawaii combined with another timeshare exchange and a few extra days in a hotel). We actually are thinking we might do this again next year. The thing you need to know about is that 150 points wont go far for exchanging. We used 160 points for a week in Hawaii, and that is for just a 1 bedroom. Many places only have 2 bedroom exchanges, so you would need enough points for a 2 bedroom if you wanted to exchange there.

[Coach81]

MG- Got ya.. In other words.. if you love the Mouse, why go anywhere else? That about right? :)

Appreciate all the responses, so far the majority are using their points for Disney, and I do realize that if we go through with this first purchase, I can see how we will probably need to add more points if we are enjoying the club, especially if we plan to use them for off-site places.

Would it be safe to assume that some of you use your DVC for Disney and pay out of pocket for other vacations?

[CarolMN]

...(snip)....Would it be safe to assume that some of you use your DVC for Disney and pay out of pocket for other vacations?That's what we did - we only purchased enough points to cover our WDW vacations. We pay OOP for other vacations.

We've been members since 1999 and have only used points for one non-DVC vacation and that was for the Disneyland Hotel. (DVC reduced the points for
the DL resorts to coincide with the 50th celebration. That made using a few points there a much more attractive option).

[pilferk]

Would it be safe to assume that some of you use your DVC for Disney and pay out of pocket for other vacations?

That's what we'll be doing.

[ebenmax]

Although we have not even used our points at WDW, we do plan, on occasion, to use our points at other locations - maybe a few nights at one of the conceirge resorts that otherwise we would never try. I know the exchange rate is not as good, but we feel like those points are already paid for and to pay OOP just adds more cash to spend. I doubt we will do it often since we have about 4/5 Disney trips planned for the next two years, but it will remain an option for us.

HTH

Ellen

[dianeschlicht]

Although we have not even used our points at WDW, we do plan, on occasion, to use our points at other locations - maybe a few nights at one of the conceirge resorts that otherwise we would never try. I know the exchange rate is not as good, but we feel like those points are already paid for and to pay OOP just adds more cash to spend. I doubt we will do it often since we have about 4/5 Disney trips planned for the next two years, but it will remain an option for us.

HTH

Ellen

You are right about the exchange rate not beign good for Concierge collection hotels, but I think the II exchange rates are decent. Besides, they are your points to do with as you want. If using 40 points a night in a hotel doesn't bother you, then go for it. I get pretty stingy with mine though.

[bwvBound]

Would it be safe to assume that some of you use your DVC for Disney and pay out of pocket for other vacations?Not in our case. We pay cash for cruises -- but most other travel is through timeshare. We spend ~60n/year in timeshare somewhere. To do this we own several timeshare products used for different purposes. Our goal is to get the most bang for the buck -- using each tool for its best purpose. Specifics:

2BR fixed week in South Africa - This is our "least cost" trader (low purchase cost, low dues, trades through RCI). Our earliest vacations against this week cost only $450/week including dues, RCI membership and RCI exchange fees. The rates have inched up a bit -- but not horribly and we still get satisfying trades. Examples: 3BR unit in Coeur d'Arlene, ID in a Gold Crown property right on the lake. Seven night stay over the Memorial Day holiday.
1BR unit in Smugglers Notch, VT in a Gold Crown property. Seven night stay during the best leaf-peeping week of that year.
2BR unit in Carlsbad, CA in a Gold Crown property bordering Legoland. Seven night stay over the Memorial Day holiday.
2BR unit in Williamsburg, VA in a Gold Crown property with both jetted-tub and steam-room in the master bath. Seven night stay over the Memorial Day Holiday.
3BR "lockout" unit in Orlando, FL in a Gold Crown property where both halves of the unit offered jetted-tubs. Seven night stay in early December to visit WDW, the Candlelight Processional, etc.

Worldmark Credits - This is our most flexible, most used product and is considered moderately-priced (purchase and dues). We use this largely for weekend stays at drive-to locations across CA, AZ, NV, southern UT, and OR. (Our 9/80 work schedule provides every-other-Friday off ... and we've learned that leaving home at midnight gets us to OR border by noon. Whoo-hoo! There is much we can explore in a 3-day weekend.) Beyond weekend escapes, we've also enjoyed longer vacations stringing multiple resorts together to cover distances such as "San Diego to Vancouver and back" (16n, 11 different resorts). All told, we've used 25+ WM properties and hope, someday, to visit each one.

WM is also a handy trader through both RCI and II. We've traded into DVC's BWV 4x, snagged a great 2BR lockout unit at the Four Season Aviara last year using very few credits, 2BR unit at The Bay Club Waikoloa Beach Resort over Thanksgiving, a 2BR unit at the Kruger Park Lodge (had to later cancel :(), etc.

DVC - We own DVC specifically for an annual conference at the Dolphin. I'd say we own just enough points for this purpose -- but the truth is we really own fewer. Our goal is to stay in a 1BR Boardwalk view unit for 7 nights (200 points). We own 175 and get by using banking/borrowing and trading in once in a while.

While owning and using DVC is, for us, an expensive product -- it is more cost effective than booking rooms through the conference for the same period and length of stay. We've also grown rather fond of having the jetted-tub at the end of a long day walking/sitting/note-taking.

Other Notes
In addition to those mentioned above, we have two other timeshares used for specific purposes. Both are an easy drive from our home, offer day-use to owners, and thrill our extended-family. We are fortunate to have family located all across SoCAL - and hosting gatherings at these two locations is a joy. (We had 5 units for a long weekend just before my brother left for Iraq ... and a similar number over New Years shortly after his return. Priceless.)

While infrequent, there are times we can't seem to use all our weeks in the year intended. The good news, we have options. We can bank the periods with RCI/II for up to two years -- and each property, except DVC, can be traded back to WM for credits.

As for travel beyond North America -- we generally prefer cruises. Cruises allow us to see the highlights of many countries without dragging bags around (unpack once). We often consider a cruise the "Disneyland Train Ride" experience: giving you a quick taste of each land. After the train-ride (or in our case, the ship's professionally arranged excursions) you'll know better where to return for independent travel. Cruising has given us: Turkey, Isreal, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Spain, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Denmark, Russia, Sweden, France, Gibralter, Argentina, Chili, the Antarctic *****ula, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dutch Antilles, Belize, Virgin Islands, Bahamas and many more I've overlooked. (Right, AU was done via timeshare ... but covered!)

It is a great big world out there. DVC is a great tool for visiting Walt Disney's World ... but as for the rest ... :confused3 ??

[Coach81]

All I can say is... wow:eek:

[Wendy1953]

Used our DVC points in Feb for a Disney Cruise....won't do it again, if we decide to cruise again, we'll pay OOP! We are going to Aruba in Feb 2008 using interval, and that happens to be a wonderful deal....we personally wouldn't use it to go to another none DVC Disney resort...wasting your points...in our opinion(no flames please)!

[HeatherAnne]

We traded some of our points thru Interval to go to the Marriott Ocean Club in Aruba a few years back. Worked out great for us! Put a search in the system almost a year out - came thru within 6-9 months. Easy process! They ended up giving us a 2 bedroom Villa for 144 points! Great deal! Plus we then had points left over for a trip to Disney as well!

Good Luck and Have fun!

HeatherAnne :) :)

[jx3smom]

I love going to WDW so I use my points there. We have an off site time share that we use for trading and cc rewards for hotel stays elsewhere. DVC pts. are for Disney only in our house.

[crisi]

Would it be safe to assume that some of you use your DVC for Disney and pay out of pocket for other vacations?

Yes.

Disney doesn't always offer the options we want through trades, and sometimes there are deals to be had out in the real world. We got an incredible deal on a Villa in Mexico south of Playa del Carmen - friend of a friend sort of thing (functionally, pay the housekeeper and the pool guy and take our house for the week). We are going out to the SF Bay area shortly, a for the amount of time we will be out there, the cheap hotel room will be just fine. With limited vacation time and the desire to not be restricted in where we go, or how long we stay, out of pocket makes a lot more sense for us than the restrictions of a timeshare.

We have cruised DCL twice - which is 'pointable' - but paid cash both times. With booking credits from travel agents/DCL and early booking discounts, we pretty much broken even on cash vs. points - and had the flexibility of a cash ressie. Plus we weren't tying up a lot of capital in points we would need for the few years of "heavy Disney" - it takes a lot of points to cruise.

[BobH]

Using points outside of Disney only makes sense if you really don't want to go to Disney and you don't want to spend the money to get the Concierge Collection type of accomodation. With a young family I would concentrate on using your points for a long time at Disney resorts first. That being said the quality of the Concierge collection resorts is also fantastic and is an option - although an expensive option. On an off year when I was not going to go to Disney I once chose to use 147 points to stay 3 nights at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco and I have also stayed 2 nights the Coral Gable Biltmore (82 points). You can see that you would not get many days for your points if you currently have 175 points. Look at the point charts and you will see what I mean. The Concierge Collection is a nice option if you get in a bind as I did and are left with points at the end of your use year that you cannot bank. Imagine having that problem. I had some airline milage and chose to travel a couple places for virtually nothing so it made sense to me at the time to use the points that way. It is not an efficient use of your points from the point of view that it costs you much more per night outside of Disney than at a Disney Resort. You also incur a $95 charge when you book your reservation through the Concierge Collection. Just some things to consider. Enjoy your DVC Vacation Club Membership! I enjoyed mine woth my kids now I am looking forward to sharing it with my future grandchildren.

[DVC-Don]

We've only used our points for DVC, the Grand Californian @ DL & a Disney Cruise.

[beachblanket]

Have done the Concierge Collection twice and are doing an Interval exchange this summer. Have also gone into the Disney Collection numerous times (I don't consider that "going outside Disney.")

Per Bob's pointk, our two Concierge trips were in essence short notice, "duress" vacations that resulted from family emergencies that left us with significant point balances that had to be used before year end (translation: I paid the pricey point costs because I was in "use 'em or lose 'em" situations and needed to book short less-than-a-week trips, so an exchange was out of the question and DW wanted something other than Disney). One was in October, the other November (Sagamore Resort in NY and the Boston Harbor Hotel in MA). Both were spectacular properties.

The Interval exchange this summer is to the Marriott in Williamsburg, VA. Followed Dean's advice and stuck to a brand name property that gets good reviews.

Bottom line: if we enjoy the exchange, we'll probably start to look to leverage that option more frequently. That works best if you can have a range of destinations and dates in mind, and can think several years out. Concierge is always a nice option to have, but by and large the point costs there are just too out of whack to justify pursuing on any regular basis, particularly for longer stays.