Booking w/ DVC

[Ivette1980]

Once points are purchased and you're ready to book, how is this process? How are the pts decducted from your pkg? I am trying to see more or less how much I will save and an guestimate on a pkg deal using my pts before I buy into DVC.

thanx in advance,

Ivette

 

[Lynne M]

There are no 'packages' with DVC. DVC is a timeshare, it isn't a way to deduct from the cost of a package purchased from CRO/WDTC.

To determine how many points you need to book the villa you want, you check the point charts, then simply call MS and make the reservation. The points are deducted from your account. Points are only usable to pay for lodging; if you want tickets or the dining plan, you purchase them separately. There's no requirement to buy tickets if you want the dining plan for a DVC point stay, which is a nice thing, since many members have APs. If you do want the dining plan, MS will add it to your reservation, and you pay for it at check in.

Since you mentioned packages, I'll add that DVC point stays are not eligible for free dining, 4/3, or any of the other 'deals' that are offered by Disney.

 

[Deb & Bill]

DVC is a long term real estate purchase. Not a one time trip.

 

[Ivette1980]

DVC is a long term real estate purchase. Not a one time trip.

yes I know this

 

[Sandisw]

We just bought in to DVC. First, we bought a small resale contract with 50 points with the understanding we would add on at BLT (the resort we really wanted). I am in the process of adding on 130 points there so I will end up with 180 points each year. If I had known that Disney was going to come out with such great discounts, I would not have bothered with the resale and just bought direct from Disney with all BLT points .

Before I decided, I had already had a room booked at the Contemporary, using a 40% discount code, for about $1800.00 for 5 nights. I realized that if I bought into DVC with the 180 points, I could end up going for those same 5 nights a year and stay in a 1 bedroom, instead of just a hotel room.

Since we vacation almost every year to WDW, stay almost all the time at the Contemporary, that DVC would more than pay for itself, in terms of lodging over the cost of the contract.

I figure that it pays for itself in 8 - 10 years (and that is based on getting the rooms at the Contemporary at that same 40% discount every year). If you take my initial buy in costs, and yearly MF's, it ends up being about $900.00 per year for lodging, compared to the almost $2000 I am paying yearly to book packages through CRO.

Good luck with your purchase!!!

 

[dcamdad]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/index.html

I think you should start here and research the faqs.

 

[stopher1]

DVC maintains Points Charts (there's a link at the top of this page) that represents how many points are required for each DVC resort for any given time period of the year. There are "seasons" within the DVC charts that get progressively "more expensive" points-wise based on the peak periods at the different resorts (primarily WDW, but also DL now with the Villas the Grand Californian, and the 2 off-site resorts at Vero Beach & Hilton Head).

When you buy in with your membership, you purchase a set number of points that will refresh each year on the anniversary of your USE YEAR (for example, my UY is Dec 1-Nov 30th, and we have 350 points. Each Dec 1st I get a new set of 350 points to use). Within the DVC system you can bank and borrow points as well. If you know you won't be traveling in any given year, you can then bank those points into the next Use Year. Or if you know you will be traveling that year but need extra points because you've decided to bring friends along and need a larger villa, or you want to go at a "more expensive" time of year, then you can borrow points from the next UY.

The initial cost of DVC really gets spread out over the term of the contract vs a single trip like a standard cash reserved hotel room. There are also annual member dues to factor in to the equation, but once the purchase contract is paid for, that's all you'll be paying for the duration of your contract.

In the long run DVC can save money on accomodations when you factor the rising cost of hotel rooms and tax rates over time. Initially it is a large amount of money to pay out, but you'll probably really like it in years to come when you make a reservation and then don't have to pay anything for that reservation.

DVC maintains Member Services, which serves as our "reservation central". Simply call MS, tell them what you want and if there's availability, it's yours. They'll deduct the points from your account, and issue a confirmation letter. There are lots of ways then that you can track your points usage, from a basic excel spreadsheet to some fancy software programs that you can download.

Hopefully that helps a bit.

 

[Ivette1980]

Wow thanx so much for the information. With all this said, for 350 pts what is the monthly cost including annual dues and fees? If you dont mind me asking.

 

[Chuck S]

Dues will vary from resort to resort, since they are based on real estate taxes and operational costs of the individual resort. Average seems to be a little less than $5 per point per year, currently. Your monthly mortgage payment will also vary by term (3 year, 5 year, 10 year loan). Many people have taken a home equity loan to purchase, with gives them a better interest rate. Also, if you by resale instead of direct from Disney, you'll probably save some $$$. If you want to purchase at Bay Lake or California, you'll ned to buy direct, as there would be very few, if any, resale contracts on the market for those resorts.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Wow thanx so much for the information. With all this said, for 350 pts what is the monthly cost including annual dues and fees? If you dont mind me asking.

Here is the history of DVC annual fees at all of the resorts:

Year OKW BWV VB VB(sub) HH VWL BCV SSR AKV BLT

2009 4.73 5.21 6.41 4.97 5.36 5.04 5.00 4.34 4.85 3.67
2008 4.56 5.04 6.04 4.71 5.16 4.87 4.80 4.21 4.71
2007 4.40 4.85 5.63 4.39 4.98 4.73 4.63 4.12 4.62
2006 4.24 4.69 5.27 4.12 4.34 4.61 4.48 3.98
2005 3.86 4.41 4.87 3.84 3.86 4.35 4.27 3.83
2004 3.68 4.25 4.67 3.67 3.70 4.22 4.18 3.80
2003 3.49 4.11 4.37 4.37 3.69 4.05 3.97
2002 3.22 3.92 4.17 3.33 3.49 3.80 3.77
2001 3.13 3.83 3.98 2.70 3.32 3.63
2000 3.16 3.94 4.07 2.87 3.25 3.62
1999 3.16 4.02 3.99 2.82 3.18
1998 3.17 3.94 ---- 2.76 3.20
1997 3.14 3.84 ---- 2.90 3.16
1996 2.99 3.70 ---- 2.82 3.16
1995 2.84
1994 2.70
1993 2.63
1992 2.56
1991 2.51

 

[dianeschlicht]

You might also want to check out the linked thread here for a great spreadsheet.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2137102

 

[Sandisw]

Wow thanx so much for the information. With all this said, for 350 pts what is the monthly cost including annual dues and fees? If you dont mind me asking.

If you purchased at BLT, and took the price per point deduction as your incentives, you would be looking at a contract price around $33,600 (350 * $112 - $8.00 off incentive - $8.00 off additional incentive).

Your down payment of 10% would be $3920 and your closing costs might be around $500 (guesstimate). That would leave you a financed balance around $30,180.

Payments at Disney's preferred rate of 10.75 (with direct debit from checking/saving) would be $412.00 per month.

Payments at Disney's standard rate of 14.25 (with direct debit) would be $473.00 per month.

MF's for 350 points, using 2009 rate of $3.67 per point would be around $1285.00 per year (or $108.00 per month). These would go up each year, typically 3 - 5%, but it could be more than that.

Total cost - $520/month with preferred rate and $581/month with standard rate.

If you put more than 10% down, or can secure financing at a lower rate, the price would go down. Hope this helps!!!