Would it makes sense to buy just 10 points?

[JasonCFamily]

I'm a renter of DVC points for at least 6 out of the next 12 years. I think renting last minute points deals will be a fun way for me to "plan" vacations. So...is it worth buying an extremely minimal amount of points just to facilitate transfers? Would some DVC owners feel more comfortable transferring pints to another owner vs making a reservation for a non-owner? I've seen such low amounts of points posted for resale in the past.

 

[CarolMN]

I'm a renter of DVC points for at least 6 out of the next 12 years. I think renting last minute points deals will be a fun way for me to "plan" vacations. So...is it worth buying an extremely minimal amount of points just to facilitate transfers? Would some DVC owners feel more comfortable transferring pints to another owner vs making a reservation for a non-owner? I've seen such low amounts of points posted for resale in the past.

Welcome to the DIS DVC Boards!


You may be confusing renting with buying.

The smallest contract ever sold by Disney (and thus the smallest you could ever find on the resale market) is 25 points.

Some members do look for others to transfer points into their contracts. Your plan could work, but their are potential pitfalls to plan on doing it on a regular basis:

Members are allowed one transfer per use year per membership, either into their account or out of it, but not both in the same use year. It can be difficult to find someone who is willing to transfer their points if you only want a small amount or are not willing to take all of what they want to transfer.

The POS specifically states that members cannot accept money for transferring points. Members do ignore this and Disney mostly looks the other way. (Some have run into trouble with MS if they mention money changing hands for a transfer). Some of us think that Disney just doesn't want to get into the middle of any dispute between members re transfers and this is the provision that allows them to do so. Transfers are final and cannot be reversed. If something happens not to your liking/expectations, you are on your own to resolve it.

Rules & transfer provisions have changed since DVC began and could change again. There is no guarantee that they will be allowed to continue.

At this point in time, even those who own a small contract receive DVC perks and benefits. The discount on annul passes is especially attractive and at least a few members own (or kept) a small contract just for that reason.

Thanks for the question. It's one we haven't discussed for a while. I'm sure others will have opinions to share with you, too.

Good luck with your research.

 

[dvcterry]

If you are an owner and need just 10 points, have you considered the one time use points for members from DVC?

 

[ELMC]

Welcome to the DIS DVC Boards!

At this point in time, even those who own a small contract receive DVC perks and benefits. The discount on annul passes is especially attractive and at least a few members own (or kept) a small contract just for that reason.

This is a really good point that I think gets overlooked a lot. We always say not to buy DVC for the perks that can and probably will change at any time. But in the case of a family of four, a 25 point contract can pay for itself in the first year just by the annual pass discount alone. Add in TiW and you are looking at a great deal for a "free" DVC contract. Not too shabby.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I'm a renter of DVC points for at least 6 out of the next 12 years. I think renting last minute points deals will be a fun way for me to "plan" vacations. So...is it worth buying an extremely minimal amount of points just to facilitate transfers? Would some DVC owners feel more comfortable transferring pints to another owner vs making a reservation for a non-owner? I've seen such low amounts of points posted for resale in the past.

Last minute and DVC don't always go together. Owners may have points that will expire, but there might not be anything available to use the points on. For example, from early Oct thru the marathon, it can be difficult to get anything at the last minute. In fact, many times you need to book at 11 months out.

While you might want to plan a last minute vacation, DVC won't always work that way.

 

[JasonCFamily]

Last minute and DVC don't always go together. Owners may have points that will expire, but there might not be anything available to use the points on. For example, from early Oct thru the marathon, it can be difficult to get anything at the last minute. In fact, many times you need to book at 11 months out.

While you might want to plan a last minute vacation, DVC won't always work that way.

We are a family that will aim for Sept vacations at lower-demand DVC resorts, so I think I have a better-than-normal shot at making "last minute" work, but please tell me if I'm wrong! The real question is this: if it came down to either a straight rental of 185 pts or being a dvc owner (of only 10 pts) and picking up transfers from other owners. Is there an advantage to being an owner?

 

[TSMMANIAC]

Last minute rentals could prove difficult to attain as these are risky for the renter. So if you are dertermined to follow this course buying a small contract and attempting to routinely transfer points might be your best option. DVC works best for those who can plan further out.

 

[silmarg]

In concept what you describe could work.

As a DVC owner, I would prefer to transfer rather than rent as there are less hassles involved in a transfer. That said, I believe you can only transfer once per year, so you are limited in that respect.

 

[ELMC]

I don't think you saw it mentioned above, but the smallest contract you can buy is 25 points, so owning 10 points is not an option. I have to say I don't see an advantage to doing this. Getting transfers is going to be a hassle, and you can only transfer in once a year so you'd better make sure you get the right amount. Transferred points don't show up on your online account, so you'll have to call MS for each reservation you want to make. Finally, the benefit of ownership is a lower price per point after the initial buy in. But you will have paid the initial buy in (albeit less) but you will still be paying full market value for the points.

I say that if you are really going to do this, maybe skip a year or two and put that money towards getting a decent sized contract that you can control. Or, if you are resigned to paying a large fee per point every year, then buy a VB contract. The buy in is very little and the fees are close to $8 a year per point, which is less than the $10-12 you will pay for transfers. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

We are a family that will aim for Sept vacations at lower-demand DVC resorts, so I think I have a better-than-normal shot at making "last minute" work, but please tell me if I'm wrong! The real question is this: if it came down to either a straight rental of 185 pts or being a dvc owner (of only 10 pts) and picking up transfers from other owners. Is there an advantage to being an owner?

The advantages are that you would control the reservation and be able to make changes as needed. And as an owner you would be eligible for any benefits that are available to DVC members including the discounted AP.

 

[JasonCFamily]

I don't think you saw it mentioned above, but the smallest contract you can buy is 25 points, so owning 10 points is not an option. I have to say I don't see an advantage to doing this. Getting transfers is going to be a hassle, and you can only transfer in once a year so you'd better make sure you get the right amount. Transferred points don't show up on your online account, so you'll have to call MS for each reservation you want to make. Finally, the benefit of ownership is a lower price per point after the initial buy in. But you will have paid the initial buy in (albeit less) but you will still be paying full market value for the points.

I say that if you are really going to do this, maybe skip a year or two and put that money towards getting a decent sized contract that you can control. Or, if you are resigned to paying a large fee per point every year, then buy a VB contract. The buy in is very little and the fees are close to $8 a year per point, which is less than the $10-12 you will pay for transfers. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Your input is helpful. Especially on the hassle of transfers. The piece I want to challenge is minimum 25 points. That only applies if I buy from Disney, not a reseller of DVC points. Right?

 

[dvcterry]

Whether buying direct or resale, the minimum contract is 25. A direct buyer would have bought 25 points resale, turned around and sold the 25 point contract resale. The contract remains the same. It would not be broken up.

24 points or less may be purchased direct through Disney as one-time use points to fulfill reservation needs. You can obtain a maximum of 24 one-time-use vacation points once per use year per membership with a maximum of 24 points processed in a single transaction, not multiple transactions.

 

[jel0511]

Your input is helpful. Especially on the hassle of transfers. The piece I want to challenge is minimum 25 points. That only applies if I buy from Disney, not a reseller of DVC points. Right?

No it applies everywhere. The minimum point package DVC will sell is 25 points as an add on to existing members. This can not be broken up into smaller pieces. So there is no way to obtain a 10 point package to purchase.

 

[WebmasterDoc]

Your input is helpful. Especially on the hassle of transfers. The piece I want to challenge is minimum 25 points. That only applies if I buy from Disney, not a reseller of DVC points. Right?

The smallest contract available for ownership in any form is 25 points - resale or direct. DVC, at this time, will not sell anyone a 25 point contract for their initial purchase, but you might be able to acquire one on the resale market.

Transfers are limited to one per Use Year but are only available between members. There is no limitation on the number of points involved in a transfer so a small transfer of 10 points is certainly possible in addition to the possibility to get a "transfer" of up to 24 one-time-use points directly from DVC too.

Again, the smallest contract you can possibly purchase via resale or DVC is 25 points. There has never been a smaller contract sold since inception of the program. Ownership of only 10 points is not possible.

 

[maburke]

I'm a renter of DVC points for at least 6 out of the next 12 years. I think renting last minute points deals will be a fun way for me to "plan" vacations. So...is it worth buying an extremely minimal amount of points just to facilitate transfers? Would some DVC owners feel more comfortable transferring pints to another owner vs making a reservation for a non-owner? I've seen such low amounts of points posted for resale in the past.

Here's another problem with your plan: Those last minute points deals that you're talking about are usually people who have points that they have banked and still can't use, so they are about to expire. But banked points can't be transferred. So the only way you get a last-minute deal on transferable points is if someone cancelled a reservation after their banking deadline or forgot to bank. Those situations are far fewer, and you'd have to find the right number of points since you can only do one transfer per use year.

So it would probably be much more difficult than it seems.

 

[ranthony]

Jason-I love that you are thinking creatively to try to make things easier and more economical for your family. I think putting yourself in a position of allowing for transfer of points as opposed to rental of points is a smart one as most owners consider a transfer a much easier way to unload unwanted points. Then there is the benefit of being able to take advantage of owner perks that could help save you money over the long run.

However, as others have said, the minimum contract you could buy would be 25 points. Depending on last minute points in "crisis" becoming available in the amount and when you would need them is like playing vacation roulette. It could cause you most stress to try to get things to work out than it's worth.

You never mentioned how many points you would typically need each year but why not look for a resale contract that could accommodate your families needs with banking and borrowing? Then you can hope for transfers to become available but are not dependent on them every year.

 

[zavandor]

The european timeshare company who invented the point system, Hapimag, allows only to transfer an amount of points equal to the points owned.
Just to say that transfer rules changed in the past and could change in the future again. If more people buy a small contract to transfer in, Disney could see this as a problem for sales and change the rules.

 

[LisaS]

Your input is helpful. Especially on the hassle of transfers. The piece I want to challenge is minimum 25 points. That only applies if I buy from Disney, not a reseller of DVC points. Right?

I've only ever read of one DVC member with a 10-point contract. Someone bought an add-on from Disney and Disney didn't have the points they needed in one contract so gave them the points they wanted in two contracts. I don't remember all the details but let's say for example they wanted 50 points and Disney provided those points as one 40-point contract and one 10-point contract. It was many years ago now and I wondered at the time what would happen if they decided to sell that 10-point contract. I suspect it wouldn't pass ROFR if the buyer was not already a DVC member.

In all the time I've been on the DIS, that's the only person I've ever heard of with a contract of less than 25 points so it's not very likely you will find a contract of that size for sale on the resale market unless it's that same member! Is that the case? Have you found a 10-point contract for sale?

ETA: If someone is offering a 10-pt contract for sale, is it through a legitimate broker? I would be careful since it would be a very rare thing and possibly a scam, or someone is confused and thinks they can break up their contract and sell you a small piece of it (which is not possible).

 

[LisaS]

Another thought: didn't they let some BLT owners purchase small (less than 25-point) contracts due to Disney changing the point charts before BLT opened? I seem to recall some people posting that they were allowed to add on small amounts such as 10 points or so.

 

[LisaS]

I did a search and found one of the posts where the DISboard member I was thinking of mentions the 10-point contract. It's not the post I was thinking of where he/she provided some background info on how it came about but serves the purpose here that there is at least one 10-point contract out there. It is mentioned in the third post of this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1200804

Disney can break up contracts but cannot combine them unless they are from the same Unit within the resort and the same UY. As a result of breaking up contracts I imagine they occasionally end up with little bits left over that are less than 25 points and in at least one case, they sold one of those tiny contracts as part of an add-on that exceeded 25 points in total across two contracts.