Anyone use DVC points for Interval vacation?

[disney-super-mom]

DH and I are researching DVC membership for a possible purchase. We have many questions I'm afraid, so please try to be patient with our silly questions.

Anyway, how does the point exchange work if you want to go to an Interval International property?

Also, has anyone taken a Disney Cruise using their points? How many points are needed for a Disney Cruise for a family of four?

Thanks everyone!

 

[spiceycat]

the best use of DVC points is for a DVC resort.

that say for a 1-bedroom II is a value.

low season 124
mid season - 144
high season - 160

now getting either DVC or II to tell which season is a problem. Hawaii is generally high season no matter what time of the year.

cruises are more expensive - there are a bunch of seasons and a bunch of cabins sizes.

give some dates and if you would go with an inside room - or you must have the deluxe family room with verandah....

 

[spiceycat]

here is the II website
http://disney.intervalworld.com/web/cs?a=5

remember that II is an exchange system - they can only give you what they have. some owners want to use their units - that is why they brought them in the first place.

so don't try for impossible trades thru II.

 

[GGOOFY1]

this past summer we traded through II for a week in Ft. Myers Beach. Seawatch on the Beach is a Hilton vacation Club. Not the AAAA rating that I expected. The location was great, the resort a bit run down and a bit pricey at 270 pts for a 2 Bedroom for the week. In the past I just sold my points for $10.00 a point and reserved rooms on my own. Was pressed for time this time and went through II. Will just do it on my own from now on. There is always someone who wants to go to Disney.

 

[PinotFan]

now getting either DVC or II to tell which season is a problem.

How do you find out the seasons?

I'd like to go someday, but trying to figure out when sort of depends on the points required.

 

[mark&sue]

For us the points for II work out fine. I have booked a week during our school holidays in the UK in February.

I have just come back from Disneyland Paris using points and was very pleased.

As we live in UK this a good use of points when we cannot get so much time off work. I know I could rent them and use the cash but DH would probably want to spend it on something other than a vacation. So I am really pleased with our DVC purchase as I get much more vacations a year plus a guarantee of WDW for two weeks once a year



Susan


Susan

 

[JerJan]

The "SEASON" is different for different areas of the country as well as the world. For example, winter would be high season in the ski areas but not in beach locations.....

 

[dianeschlicht]

Spicey is right about Hawaii being high season year round. The only trade we haVe done was to Hawaii, and it was very easy and painless, but we kept our request very open. When you do an II trade, you have to make a time and maybe a resort request for exchange. Because Hawaii includes most islands, we asked for ANY island other than Oahu any time from January through May. We got the Big Island of Hawaii for the first week of May. We had a 1 bedroom with 2 bathrooms and it was 160 points.

 

[spiceycat]

How do you find out the seasons?

I'd like to go someday, but trying to figure out when sort of depends on the points required.

You don't. You have to take DVC and II for it.

I got once that Las Vegas in Sept was MID season - that was down right silly...it is low season! now Oct/nov - mid. dec.jan, feb would be high (in my opinion)

so do your search FIRST - make sure you know what the season is for the place you want. then see what II/DVC comes up with.

 

[Cinderella]

Well, DVC is best use of points, as everyone will tell you - but you can also get some really worthwhile trades. I would not do the cruise on points - better to rent out your points or pay cash - we booked thru www.cruisevalue.com and saved $$$.

As for II, we had an excellent trade to Four Seasons in the Algarve, which was excellent value and well worth it.

We had another trade to Spain at La Manga Strip, which was not really worth it - nice, but we would have been better off renting.

We also swapped Vienna for two nights with Buena Vista Trading company (you can exchange nightly with them) and we had a great exchange - well worth it.

We have also swapped to DLP - which was worth it to us, as park tickets are included and the cash price is expensive - but points needed to swap to go up each year.

You have to do your research - some places are definitely worth trading to whilst others do not compare, as it would cost so little to stay at them.

I am looking for a trade to Hawaii next - now some of those swaps sound as though they would definitely be worth it.

By the way, all our swaps have been last minute - one or two months in advance. I think for some places, you would need to try well in advance.

 

[Dean]

I have extensive knowledge and experiences with DVC and II. While there are a few worthwhile trades, most aren't. And the ones that are usually are very hard to get. I'd only buy the number of points you would use with DVC and look for other options for non DVC trips.

 

[RLevy29]

We traded to Maui in the summer for a 1- bedroom unit. It was at the Sands of Kahana and it was very nice. The cost of the trade was 160 points.