Am I missing something here? Renting points vs booking directly from Disney

[jimmymc]

It usually is that good of a deal, as long as the cancellation policy isn't an issue for you. 25% of the cost is due at booking, and the remaining 75% is due 75 days out, and neither payment is refundable. If you need to change your dates close to the time of booking, it's a new reservation and you lose at least a portion of what you've already paid. But if that's all Ok with you, it really is a good way to save money. You see even more benefits with higher room categories, 1 bedroom villas and up.

 

[gatormom2tots]

We have rented points MANY times. We started back in 2010 with David's and had no issues. Over the years we have used several popular rental groups. We have had some issues with Davids in that for whatever reason they had issues receiving emails from us...but it also got to the point where the market was so flooded with brokers that we went with whomever had the points available (which was usually NOT Davids). These days when we rent we usually go the route of individual owners because its a little cheaper but does require little more vetting.

The biggest risk is the non-refundable aspect. Some brokers have become more flexible and individuals often work with you to re-rent the points. I know Davids got some backlash during covid times from owners who had sold their points to them.

Renting is a great way to go if you need 1 or 2 bedroom. Honestly, now that parking is free again, I would usually rather have a hotel room than a DVC studio.

 

[DCLMP]

I've rented from DVC rental store twice and they've been great. They have a pretty flexible cancellation policy. You won't get your money back, but you can move your deposit to another date if it's withing a certain time.

I've also rented with DVC shop no issues there either.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

For me I always book through Disney. I have gone so many times I cannot remember. So in those times we had to leave early as a hurricane was coming, received a refund for the unused nights. We had a death in the family we received a refund for the unused nights. On one occasion our disabled daughter was not doing well and we had to head home the next day, Disney refunded the unused nights. My point is things happen and with Disney you have so much more flexibility. If we had rented points the times things happened we would have to eat the cost. Now I would recommend if you did rent points to make sure you had travel insurance.