Can someone knowledgable talk over a few ownership points with me?

[3Gsandme]

Dh, the kids and I love to vacation. I've mulled over time shares in the past, but after this last trip to WDW, I'm really thinking about a DVC membership. This may get long, so bear with me.

We are NOT going to want to go to WDW every year. My husband couldn't manage it. Once every other or every third year is enough for us. I do know that DVC members can book world wide and in looking at the Interval International website, there are a lot of locations we'd love. I also see you can use your DVC points for cruises?

My questions are:
1) How hard is it to book something out of the immediate Disney system? By this, I mean if I want to book in Aruba or France will I have much trouble? Those are just dummy locations.

2) Is it difficult to book into cruises?

3) Are we better off making a purchase through Interval International and booking at WDW every two to three years? Or is that difficult and limited?

 

[chukdotcom]

Dh, the kids and I love to vacation. I've mulled over time shares in the past, but after this last trip to WDW, I'm really thinking about a DVC membership. This may get long, so bear with me.

We are NOT going to want to go to WDW every year. My husband couldn't manage it. Once every other or every third year is enough for us. I do know that DVC members can book world wide and in looking at the Interval International website, there are a lot of locations we'd love. I also see you can use your DVC points for cruises?

My questions are:
1) How hard is it to book something out of the immediate Disney system? By this, I mean if I want to book in Aruba or France will I have much trouble? Those are just dummy locations.

2) Is it difficult to book into cruises?

3) Are we better off making a purchase through Interval International and booking at WDW every two to three years? Or is that difficult and limited?

Based on your questions, I would definitely say you should rent DVC points instead of own. I'm sure someone can give you better answers to your actual questions, but I think it will be moot.

 

[Msmithmd]

Use DVC for stays at DVC resorts. Cash or other timeshares are better economically for everything else you're discussing.

DVC trades with RCI, not II. It traded to interval years ago but not now.

And almost every RCI option is better through cash rental, or owning a different timeshare, than using DVC points.

Cruising on DVC points is more expensive that paying cash, in the large majority of cases.

Purchasing DVC retail to have more trading options nearly doubles the cost of buying in to DVC.

Please don't consider any purchase before you actively read and review these boards for a minimum of six months. This is way too expensive a purchase to make without full understanding of what you're buying.

 

[supersnoop]

You can buy a small contract, then bank one year and borrow the next so you have 3 times the points to use every third year. That would take car of your plans to visit WDW less frequently.

Buying direct at the much higher prices allows you to get a very poor redemption value for your money. If you're really skilled at trading, you might be able to get decent value through RCI, but for any other use, you're better off paying cash (or renting out your points and using the cash) for any other use.

 

[3Gsandme]

Obviously I plan to research extensively before I spend 20-$30,000. That's why I started here. I read some old information about Interval International, but RCI still has destinations we'd be interested in. The DVC site says you can just your points for other destinations and cruises.

Banking and borrowing does sound like a good option for us.

 

[disneynutz]

Obviously I plan to research extensively before I spend 20-$30,000. That's why I started here. I read some old information about Interval International, but RCI still has destinations we'd be interested in. The DVC site says you can just your points for other destinations and cruises.

Banking and borrowing does sound like a good option for us.

In all honesty DVC has taught our family that Disney is like any other business, not the special magical, mouse and Walt company that we want it to be. DVD/DVC will tell you anything to make a sale, and although they don't really lie, they don't want you to use your points outside of the DVC resorts. They keep the point cost high outside, restrict availability, and now they added a $95 fee per reservation.

The bottom line is, will owning a DVC contract save you some money when vacationing at Disney or is renting a reservation the better savings?

There are rules, policies, restrictions, and after the sale, DVC IMO doesn't really support the owners. The website has had problems for years, they apparently are understaffed, phone hold times have been up to 45 minutes for the last couple of months, and the DVC rooms tend to get a lot of wear due to heavy use and high occupancy rates.

Take the time to learn as much as possible before buying, you will be glad you did.

Bill

 

[CMOORE185]

IMO unless you love Disney and plan on going to Disney resorts for decades to come DVC is not for you. Trading out on a regular basis is just not enough of a value to make DVC cost effective.

 

[DisneyDiana]

I agree with the others. If you really want to use your points anywhere but DVC more than once in blue moon, don't buy in. Carefully check the point charts for cruises and other resorts. You will understand why we are all mentioning what a poor value it is.

 

[littlestar]

I would not buy DVC points for trading.

Interval International is an exchange company located in Miami. If you are interested in learning about the various timeshare systems and exchange companies, I would suggest taking a look at tug bbs (timeshare users group) site to learn more about timesharing in general.

We own DVC points bought just for DVC stays and Wyndham points (resale) that we have used for other trips beyond Disney. Good luck.

 

[Deb & Bill]

From reading your post, it doesn't sound like DVC is really a good fit for you. You really need to go every year or every 18 months to make it work. When you have a spouse who really doesn't want to go and you are only going every two or three years, yet paying dues every month, someone won't be happy. If you aren't booking DVC most of the time, you might as well get a different timeshare and use it to trade into DVC occasionally.

What you see in the II or RCI website isn't what is available to DVC members. Currently only a limited number of locations are even possible, but it depends on if the owner of that timeshare wants to trade into DVC. All those 500+ locations aren't available like a hotel might be available.

I agree with chukdotcom. Just rent a DVC reservation when you want to go.

 

[Dean]

Dh, the kids and I love to vacation. I've mulled over time shares in the past, but after this last trip to WDW, I'm really thinking about a DVC membership. This may get long, so bear with me.

We are NOT going to want to go to WDW every year. My husband couldn't manage it. Once every other or every third year is enough for us. I do know that DVC members can book world wide and in looking at the Interval International website, there are a lot of locations we'd love. I also see you can use your DVC points for cruises?

My questions are:
1) How hard is it to book something out of the immediate Disney system? By this, I mean if I want to book in Aruba or France will I have much trouble? Those are just dummy locations.

2) Is it difficult to book into cruises?

3) Are we better off making a purchase through Interval International and booking at WDW every two to three years? Or is that difficult and limited?

I agree with the sentiments of others, only buy DVC for DVC stays. It may be that buying smaller and going every 2-3 yrs with banking and borrowing is a good choice for you. DVC is a poor vehicle for trading for many reasons but DVC doesn't control RCI and trading can be very difficult and risky IF you don't learn the system and plan well in advance, usually 1-2 years. Plus getting high demand options is hit or miss at best. While DCL is usually easy, it's very costly and there's no guarantee it will continue as an option. There are NO exchange options that are a reasonable consideration as a new buyer. Plus you have to buy retail to get most of those options so you pay twice as much on triple the points for the right to pay more later with higher points.

I'd either buy less DVC points and use cash for the rest, not buy and use all cash possibly renting DVC privately or look at another timeshare system that covered Orlando and had good options that worked for you elsewhere, resale of course. DVC plus another timeshare might be a good choice if you travel enough but not at 1 week a year. You'll likely get more savings looking at non DVC timeshares for other locations and paying cash for DVC than the reverse.

 

[flomay53]

Also keep in mind if you buy a resale instead of directly from DVD/DVC there are restrictions on using your points. You cannot book a Disney collection property (hotels) or cruises using those resale points.

 

[Dean]

Also keep in mind if you buy a resale instead of directly from DVD/DVC there are restrictions on using your points. You cannot book a Disney collection property (hotels) or cruises using those resale points.

This is a good thing because there is no value in using DVC points for these options. IMO DVC did new buyers a favor when they instituted these restrictions because you are losing nothing of current value and the prices went down resale.
ETA: These comments are in the situation of someone considering buying in, while i believe they are general accurate across the board, the issue and discussion is somewhat different for someone who owns already. For example, if you already own the points and have the expensive, you may elect to accept a lower return pp for a cruise than if one is looking to buy in for the same purpose.

 

[HokieGCC]

Don't forget that although you can bank and borrow your way to a once every three year trip to DW you will have to pay MF's each and every year. If you buy 200 points that will work out to (approx) $1200/year growing at about 3% per year for decades...

 

[ELMC]

Dh, the kids and I love to vacation. I've mulled over time shares in the past, but after this last trip to WDW, I'm really thinking about a DVC membership. This may get long, so bear with me.

We are NOT going to want to go to WDW every year. My husband couldn't manage it. Once every other or every third year is enough for us. I do know that DVC members can book world wide and in looking at the Interval International website, there are a lot of locations we'd love. I also see you can use your DVC points for cruises?

My questions are:
1) How hard is it to book something out of the immediate Disney system? By this, I mean if I want to book in Aruba or France will I have much trouble? Those are just dummy locations.

This has been answered, in that it is often difficult and not at all cost effective. You will be paying a premium for DVC and oftentimes staying in resorts that are not as expensive.

2) Is it difficult to book into cruises?

Based on what I have read, Disney offers this option as a selling point but does not support it as much as some would think. There are typically a small number of cabins available to book using points and in the past there have been large blackout periods where points were not allowed to be used on specific cruises. Additionally, if you analyze the numbers, cruising using points is often more expensive and less flexible than simply paying cash.

3) Are we better off making a purchase through Interval International and booking at WDW every two to three years? Or is that difficult and limited?

Trading into DVC is certainly possible, but it requires a certain knowledge of the system and how to work it. This only comes with experience and research. You also have to be very flexible. I don't think it works for the average vacationer.

In general, the true value of a timeshare system is its use within that particular system. Every time you deviate from that you expose yourself to restrictions, fees and loss of value.

For your purposes, I would recommend at most a DVC contract that has enough points for you to stay every two years. If you only plan on going every three years it will be more difficult to manage and you will almost certainly be left with small amount of leftover points. It would help if you would feel comfortable renting out points if you were not going to use them as that will provide you more flexibility. In your case I would strongly recommend resale because of the exit options it provides. It sounds like you are on the fence with DVC and if, in five years, you decide you no longer want it, you can most likely recapture a significant portion of your buy in if you decide to sell. This won't happen if you buy direct.

As for your other vacation options, there are a ton of timeshares available that would probably work well for you. One warning, DVC is the tamest of all the products out there and the least risky with regards to purchasing and loss of equity. While they are certainly fabulous destinations, the pathway to ownership has more variables and potential pitfalls. I would proceed with caution when looking at non DVC options.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Sandisw]

As many have already mentioned, using DVC points for DVC stays is where you will probably see the most value.

IMO, if you decide to get DVC points, I'd buy enough, on the resalel market for a typical every other year trip to WDW and then find something else, or pay cash for those other types of trips.

We are using our points this summer for a cruise and I will say that had I been interested in doing a rental reservation for someone else to get the cash to pay for the cruise--I have no interest in becoming involved in that--I would have saved about 60 points.

But, since using points for other options is not something we plan to do very often--this is a special trip with DD 18 and myself as she heads off to college next year--I decided to do the trade.

So, having DVC points for primarily WDW and then using them for the other things on occasion could work, but I think you'd be disappointed the other way around.

Good luck!

 

[summabreeze85]

Buy DVC, go every 3rd year, and rent your points years 1-2. That will cover your maintenance costs for all 3 years plus give you some spend money on your trip in the 3rd year. With the demand for rentals, it's a no brainer.
I wouldn't suggest using DVC for exchanges, you get much better value if you look at other timeshares to do that like Wyndham.

 

[HannaBelle]

Buy DVC, go every 3rd year, and rent your points years 1-2. That will cover your maintenance costs for all 3 years plus give you some spend money on your trip in the 3rd year. With the demand for rentals, it's a no brainer.
I wouldn't suggest using DVC for exchanges, you get much better value if you look at other timeshares to do that like Wyndham.

We purchased a smaller contract with the intent of going every three years. We bank a year, borrow a year and use the current years points to go.

We have also used David's Vacation Club Rentals to rent points to "cash in" and use the money to book a cruise.

I have to agree with PP's, trading points outside of DVC is not the best value for your points.

My only complaint is that I would really like to go to WDW or DL every year and my hubby is not quite on board with that yet, but I am working on him...

 

[BestDadEver]

You could do what I plan on doing and go every other year , and just pay OOP for vacation in between . I think having enough points for use in the system outside Disney you would carry too many points for your Disney stays .

Look at the charts for outside Disney , the points are a lot more for a week and at least all the ones I am interested in are only avalable units are 2br not all will have studio availability so that is a lot kore points .

Example I'd like to use my points to do hershey villas but they are always red and only 2 br so basically the highest points on the chart , I could get a studio for a week for 2 days at Hershey .

If you inly go every 2 years you can buy half as many points as you need I have 100 giving every other year I can get a 1br for about a week .

I think so long as you plan it every 3 years could work , but that means you bank and borrow you points , and when you do that you have to use them the use year you moved them too or you will loose them . So every three years is a bit risky but I don't think it would be an issue every now and then .

 

[Dean]

Example I'd like to use my points to do hershey villas but they are always red and only 2 br so basically the highest points on the chart , I could get a studio for a week for 2 days at Hershey .

While it's red all year around with RCI, it's not for Bluegreen owners. For that specific resort one should be able to rent a high season 2 BR (only has 2 BR) for a week for $1000-1100, less off season or do a private exchange with a bluegreen owners for much less than the 270 DVC points RCI would require. One would also pick up other options and availability not on RCI that way as well.