Anyone used the World Passport Collection?

[firedog83]

I am thinking about purchasing DVC and I was wondering if any one had any good/bad experiences going outside disney using the World Passport collection. I have read some say that you get the most use of points if you stay within disney resorts but I have never read an explanation as to why? I know there is a 95.00 transfer fee but 160 points for a 1 bedroom does not seem to bad. How is the booking when you go through RCI? Any difficulties? I took the DVC this past Saturday and loved BLT but I am thinking on the value side of things and I can get double the points buying resale at SS. Our guide told us booking outside of disney was the same as booking the disney resorts but I would not expect him to tell us otherwise. RCI offers a pretty good selection of places to visit. Thanks for the input in advance.

 

[WKSumner]

I have booked outside of the Disney hotels and never had any problem. We have used world passport and concierge with no troubles. We live in AZ and also stayed at Disneyland on points and love it! All book through DVC just like DVC resorts. I hope this helps. Good Luck!

 

[ErieCruiser08]

I have booked outside of the Disney hotels and never had any problem. We have used world passport and concierge with no troubles. We live in AZ and also stayed at Disneyland on points and love it! All book through DVC just like DVC resorts. I hope this helps. Good Luck!

How far out did you book for the World Passport Collection?

 

[WKSumner]

I do not remember exactly, however I believe 90-180 days. Depending on availability sooner is possible. It never hurts to try. I think we did one under 60 days.

 

[phyllisnnj]

I suggest reading the Timeshare User Group (TUG) Advice page titled "Timeshare 101" - http://www.tug2.net/advice/TimeShare-101.htm

Here are some highlights from the exchange section

Under the Section titled "Lesson 1. Exchanging Your Timeshare Week"
One of the most attractive aspects of timesharing is the ability to exchange your timeshare week for a week at a different timeshare. In this way, you can use your timeshare week to obtain vacation accommodations at different times and locations throughout the world. Unfortunately, unsuccessful attempts at exchanging have soured many owners on timesharing and timeshare exchanging. This usually happens when the owner either doesn’t understand how the exchanging system works, or the owner has unrealistic expectations about the types of timeshare exchanges they can make with the week they own. When the buyer then unsuccessfully tries to make these exchanges, they become disillusioned and upset about timesharing. Thus, to get the most benefit from timesharing, you should learn the basic rules for successful timeshare exchanging.


Under the Section titled "Making an exchange with an exchange company"
Once you have the right to conduct a search with an exchange company, you start the search by specifying criteria for your exchange, including such parameters as: check-in dates; geographic location; minimum unit size; and/or specific resorts that you will consider. The exchange company will immediately search to see if there is anything in their spacebank that meets these criteria and that is of comparable value to the week you are using as the basis for the search. If there is, you will be offered this as an immediate exchange; if not you will probably be offered the opportunity to enter an “on-going search” using those criteria. Requesting an on-going search is like being placed on a waiting list for future deposits of units that meet your search criteria.


Under the Section titled "The exchange value of a timeshare"
Note that when you unsuccessfully search for an exchange, that does not necessarily mean the exchange company (or the internal exchange program) does not have a unit that meets your criteria; it means that they do not have a unit that meets your criteria and which “matches up” with your week in exchange value. So, if you have an on-going search for a highly valued week and you are using a week with relatively low value, units that meet your criteria may be received and added to the spacebank, but will not be offered to you (at least, not right away).

Exchange value for a unit is established by the combination of supply and demand. When there are relatively few deposits being made for a given resort and use week in relation to the demand for that resort and week, those weeks will have high value. Conversely, high supply and low demand will create low value. NOTE: DVC members don't have control over which weeks are deposited into the exchange companies


Under the Section titled "Realistic timeshare exchange expectations"
Remember that a trade can only be completed if someone deposits a week that meets your criteria and there is not someone “in line” ahead of you for that week. You can increase your chances of being able to successfully make an exchange by increasing the number of resorts (or areas) into which you are willing to make an exchange and/or by specifying a wider range of check-in dates. If you are limited to traveling only during a very short period (as with a school vacation), then you should be sure that there are many resorts that will fit your criteria. Similarly, if you insist on going to a specific location or a specific small set of resorts, you should have a wider range of possible check-in dates. If you can’t meet either of these criteria, you should consider that exchanging might not be a good use of your timeshare, and you should plan on owning a timeshare primarily for direct usage.


Under the Section titled "Exchanging Tips"

Plan your vacations in advance.
To increase your chances of completing an exchange you should start your search as soon as possible, after depositing your week as early as possible. Many TUGgers conduct their vacation scheduling two years in advance of the actual vacation days.

Be ready to travel on short notice
If you can travel on short notice you can take advantage of exchanges that become available shortly before check-in. As discussed previously, these weeks have little value to the exchange companies, so they make these available to any exchanger, or they offer to sell them to members for several hundred dollars. If you can travel on short notice, you can get nice exchanges using relatively weak (and inexpensive) deposits or for very little money.

Look for direct exchanges
Conducting a direct exchange gives you the benefit of knowing immediately that you can complete the exchange. Direct exchanges work particularly well with floating weeks, because then, with planning, it can be arranged that each owner can receive the exchange week that will be the most valuable to them.

Consider whether exchanging is right for you
While exchanging can greatly increase the value and enjoyment of your timeshare, you should consider whether it really works well for you. If your circumstances are such that you can’t do the things that are needed for successful exchanging, you should probably not make exchanging a big part of your timesharing plans.

 

[littlestar]

If you want to buy DVC points to stay primarily at the DVC resorts, then I'd buy. But if you're buying to use it to exchange through RCI, you're basically buying a Mercedes to trade when you could have used a Chevette or a Pinto to do it.

DVC points have expensive maintenance fees. We own other timeshares besides our DVC points - one of these other timeshares I only paid $800 dollars for and it has maintenence fees of $300 a year. I can regularly trade into high end Hyatt's, Westins, etc. with that resale timeshare. The maintenence fees on 160 DVC points is around $600 to $700 dollars, not to mention the buy-in cost of probably around $12,000 dollars with closing.

Buy DVC to primarily use it for booking DVC. Every once in a while using DVC for a trade might work out (for certain resorts in high demand places), but you are overpaying big time if you buy DVC to use it to trade on a regular basis. People that own those $500 to $800 weeks in RCI will love you for trading it, though.