Are DVC Points Only For Accomodations?

[DAWGPOUNDAJ]

Another silly question here! My husband and I are looking into buying into the DVC, but we did the calculations and with our vacation habits we would only need about a maximum of 95 points a year right now. And that was if we went down there yearly! Right now because of our schedules we can only do it every other year until I'm done with graduate school, so with point banking we would only need around 50. (Unless I misunderstood the concept of point banking!)

Now I know the minimum purchase is 150, so we were trying to figure out if we could use the extra points for more than just accomodations. For instance, can you use your points towards a Disney Meal Plan or Recreation? Or are they strictly for accomodation use only? We were not able to find that information in our searches so I'm going to assume you cannot, but hey one can hope!

Thank you all so much in advance again! All of you are truly so helpful and we both sincerely appreciate it!!

 

[Pa@okw95]

Points are only for accommodations. You know DVC is always going to be around, no need to buy right now. If all you need is small amount of points then DVC may not be for you in the first place. I would give it a second look. It is not a savings like so many claim, you can wait to spend your money. It sounds to me like you do not go enough to WDW to make a DVC membership worth your trouble right now.

 

[DAWGPOUNDAJ]

Lol Drat! Thanks so much for the immediate response on that though! We were thinking about DVC because it is basically our favorite vacation spot. Plus when we do have children in later years it will obviously be our family's destination of choice. The only thing close to Disney in fun is extreme sports, but kids won't exactly be able to partake in those with us when their little! We figure well ease them into those at 12 . J/K about that last part btw!

Seriously though, on the DVC video it said there were resort options for skiing, white water rafting, and other thigns we would take advantage of more than once a year definitely. We were just trying to decide what to do with extra points if we bought this summer. Perhaps taking my parents down would be a good idea! I know they'd love that! Thanks again for the great advice!

 

[Alexander]

There are many other vacations you can take using your DVC points. The do have whitewater rafting, back country biking, African safaris and more. These things require a high number of points to partake in. So if you are truly going to use your points for these things rather than WDW stays, you may want to consider one of two things:
1. Don't buy DVC and just pay for your adventures.
2. Buy a lot of points to cover your adventures.
The latter is likely going to cost you much more money.

 

[wtpclc]

If you only need 95 points, have you considered buying a small resale contract?

 

[SlyHubby]

Seriously though, on the DVC video it said there were resort options for skiing, white water rafting, and other thigns we would take advantage of more than once a year definitely. We were just trying to decide what to do with extra points if we bought this summer.

Not for 95 points.

 

[sjdisneywedding]

you can easily buy a small resale contract right now for anywhere in between the 50 you think you need and the 100 you think you want. If you think you are going every year anyway then the samll contarct will still probably be well worth it and then you can add on more points when you are ready if need be.

 

[MCazer]

I didn't think you could buy a small contract without having at least 150 points to begin with, even if it is through the resale market.

Doesn't Disney have a rule about this? I know they have right of first refusal with resales, so you know they check who is buying it.

If I am wrong, please correct me.

 

[spiceycat]

you are.

they are current member with less than 150 points - go see the survey by Doc on member points.

with resales DVC will not try to make them buy more points.

I would go with 50 points at OKW and see how you like it. If you like it (and most of us do) then you can buy more points.

OKW has pretty low maintence fees and definitely lower point needed to stay a night.

 

[DrTomorrow]

Consider yourself gently corrected.

The minimum initial purchase from Disney is 150 points; add-ons must be at least 25 points. However, you can buy any size contract via resale markets.

Be well!

 

[tjkraz]

I know they have right of first refusal with resales, so you know they check who is buying it.

Disney's ROFR is simply a price control mechanism. They aren't going to pull credit reports or do background checks on potential members.

Disney sells points at the older resorts for $89 each to current members. So, if a contract is presented at $50 ea, you better believe DVC will grab it and sell the points at their higher price point.

 

[nicolem]

My DH and I are in the middle of purchasing our first contract (through resale), which is only for 70 points (OKW). The contract already has 70 points banked, so by staying in studios during the times we plan to travel (first week of June and week before Christmas - weeknights only), we'll be getting 12-13 nights of vacation with only our 70 point buy in. We plan to have baby #2 late next year, so we figure we'll skip a year, bank our 2006 points and combine our 2006 and 2007 points to do basically the same thing the following year. After that, we'll probably buy another small contract.

For us, a small contract was the perfect way to jump into DVC without having to go into debt. We know we can maximize our points and still travel to other places.

 

[MCazer]

Thanks for updating me. When I bought back in 1997, it was a resale. I actually never did a tour with DVC. I actually bought without ever seeing it. We got 232 points from a lady whose husband had a heart attack and they couldn't afford it.

I love OKW because the rooms are so big. We are going to try to go to the Wilderness Lodge next year to try them out. We were lucky enough in January to have a guide show us a one bedroom to compare. I love the setting their, but you can't beat being able to park right outside your door at OKW!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Seriously though, on the DVC video it said there were resort options for skiing, white water rafting, and other thigns we would take advantage of more than once a year definitely

Unfortunately, if you want to do these things, you will need at least 180 points. I believe that is the minimum you need to be elegible for trading status.

 

[jmminarik]

Since no one explicitly said this, most of us around here view the 'other options' for spending your DVC points as being very expensive. For the occasional once every 5 years or so diversion from DVC, the 'cost' of using DVC points vs. paying cash might not be a big deal, but planning on using DVC outside of DVC resorts on a routine basis isn't generally thought to be worth it financially.

Then, there is the contingent that will rent their points, take the cash from the rental, and use it for paying their 'non-DVC' vacations.

Other points based timeshare systems (Fairfield comes to mind) DO offer things other than accomodations that you can 'buy' with your points, but not DVC. I don't know any details though. I'm still stuck on why Williamsburg and Branson are so darned popular in the "normal" timeshare world.

-Joe

 

[JodyTG]

Unfortunately, if you want to do these things, you will need at least 180 points. I believe that is the minimum you need to be elegible for trading status.

Actually, it's 160 points to trade into a 1 bedroom for a week in the World Passport Collection.