Cruise Swap via 3rd party brokers

[VGCgroupie]

Small update for anyone who is interested in doing this - the process with David's has been really smooth so far. It goes without saying that I could definitely get more per point renting elsewhere but this is a great option especially as it is a straight exchange and no money hits the paypal account. David's pays $18 per point for the premium resorts booked at 7-11 months. I sense the demand is pretty high for points to be rented as I have been able to rent enough to pay for our cruise in under 2 weeks.

Amazing! Thank you. I like that Davids lets you cruise sooner than the board sponsor. I am not a super far in advance planner.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

So the cruise agent at the board sponsor told me that as soon as the rental reservation is booked with my points I can apply it to a cruise. Is that not what you have heard?

 

[VGCgroupie]

So the cruise agent at the board sponsor told me that as soon as the rental reservation is booked with my points I can apply it to a cruise. Is that not what you have heard?

Edit:
I went back and re-read. They said 6 months from cruise date minimum to initiate the process then points have to be rented 90 days before cruise date.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Also I was on all the brokers sites yesterday and I noticed one more broker does cruise swapping. I will see if I can link here. https://dvc-rental.com/dvc-members/cruise-swap-program/

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Edit:
I went back and re-read. They said 6 months from cruise date minimum to initiate the process then points have to be rented 90 days before cruise date.

Ok, that actually makes sense on the 90 days limit because you need to pay the sailing in full by the 90 day mark (and if you’re a higher loyalty tier you need to pay even earlier. Soon we’re going to need to pay like 120 days before sailing date.

 

[Sandisw]

Ok, that actually makes sense on the 90 days limit because you need to pay the sailing in full by the 90 day mark (and if you’re a higher loyalty tier you need to pay even earlier. Soon we’re going to need to pay like 120 days before sailing date.

Some already do require payment at the 120 mark. Virgin Voyages and NCL both do.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I wanted to cruise in 2 months and David’s was like sure no problem. DVCRM was like ummm No. That’s where my comment stemmed from about timeframes, I should’ve gave you some context

 

[lilsonicfan]

i have reached out to DVC rental store for another type of swap, but am guessing the points I’ll be using aren’t of sufficient value. I can’t seem to find the price paid per point on their site, but I recall David’s generally paying more.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Have any of you asked if renting a confirmed reservation will get you more $ per point?

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Have any of you asked if renting a confirmed reservation will get you more $ per point?

So, amazingly, I had 5 days at VGF this Thanksgiving that I decided not to use and go on a cruise instead because I don’t like the new G+ replacement… I reached out to David’s and they were like “it’s within 7mo, so we’ll give you $14/pt” I was like “what, seriously? You don’t want to rent this extremely in demand property on one of the peak travel dates?” but it’s early in my UY so I just cancelled the reservation more than a month out. I’m guessing they don’t give more for confirmed reservations.

 

[VGCgroupie]

So, amazingly, I had 5 days at VGF this Thanksgiving that I decided not to use and go on a cruise instead because I don’t like the new G+ replacement… I reached out to David’s and they were like “it’s within 7mo, so we’ll give you $14/pt” I was like “what, seriously? You don’t want to rent this extremely in demand property on one of the peak travel dates?” but it’s early in my UY so I just cancelled the reservation more than a month out. I’m guessing they don’t give more for confirmed reservations.

I wonder if board sooner would’ve given more. If I found out I’ll update, but as of now even though we just got a new loaded contract I’m somehow fresh outta points so I won’t be swapping anytime soon.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

I wonder if board sooner would’ve given more. If I found out I’ll update, but as of now even though we just got a new loaded contract I’m somehow fresh outta points so I won’t be swapping anytime soon.

If you ever change your handle again (RIP VegInAZ) it should be “WhereDidMyPointsGo”.
(I say this with camaraderie and no judgment)

 

[lilsonicfan]

I think having a good resort is the key to renting for the purposes of a cruise swap. The rental brokers probably get a lot of inquiries for 11 month bookings for the good resorts. Or if you don’t mind the $16pp, they are good for the less premium resorts. With a confirmed reservation, I’d probably try my luck on Facebook instead, as I think less people might turn to David’s or DVCRS for these. But of course that kinda kills the cruise swap !

 

[VGCgroupie]

I think having a good resort is the key to renting for the purposes of a cruise swap. The rental brokers probably get a lot of inquiries for 11 month bookings for the good resorts. Or if you don’t mind the $16pp, they are good for the less premium resorts. With a confirmed reservation, I’d probably try my luck on Facebook instead, as I think less people might turn to David’s or DVCRS for these. But of course that kinda kills the cruise swap !

This is partly how I sold myself on potentially buying more VDH. Board sponsor gives more for VDH/VGC.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Hey all. Curious updates on any body new has done a cruise swap. I am back to planning to do one. But now I am wondering if it more beneficial to rent points myself at a higher $ pp try to score a deal on a cruise (if thats even possible) and pay the 30% in taxes.

 

[Brian Noble]

I'm leery of the brokers' claims that the swaps are not taxable. The brokers have a vested interest in the claim, and they are not my tax accountant, so I'm not sure I consider their opinion authoritative. The IRS definitely disagrees with them.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/OC-...achtransactionistaxabletobothpartiesFINAL.pdf

Of course, there isn't a record of it sent to the IRS in the form of a 1099, and the chances of an audit are low (and currently dropping), so it's "taxable" but probably not taxable unless one is overwhelmingly scrupulous about how they file taxes.

I tend to be in the "overwhelmingly scrupulous" category, but that's in part because about half of our household income historically came from sole proprietorships, and those are known to attract more IRS attention. For example, I don't claim a home office exemption, because we don't use that room "exclusively" for work, and I don't want to have to be in the position of saying we do under oath.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I'm leery of the brokers' claims that the swaps are not taxable. The brokers have a vested interest in the claim, and they are not my tax accountant, so I'm not sure I consider their opinion authoritative. The IRS definitely disagrees with them.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/OC-...achtransactionistaxabletobothpartiesFINAL.pdf

Of course, there isn't a record of it sent to the IRS in the form of a 1099, and the chances of an audit are low (and currently dropping), so it's "taxable" but probably not taxable unless one is overwhelmingly scrupulous about how they file taxes.

I tend to be in the "overwhelmingly scrupulous" category, but that's in part because about half of our household income historically came from sole proprietorships, and those are known to attract more IRS attention. For example, I don't claim a home office exemption, because we don't use that room "exclusively" for work, and I don't want to have to be in the position of saying we do under oath.

Totally get where you are coming from.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Well I decided to use board sponsor for cruise swap. I am doing confirmed reservations though since I had some reservations already booked that I wont be using and they allow you to ask $20pp. It's been over a week and no bites, in my mind these bookings would fly off the shelf!

 

[VGCgroupie]

And as soon as I posted the above I got notification one of my reservations was booked. I will update here how everything plays out.

 

[juliebee]

Well I decided to use board sponsor for cruise swap. I am doing confirmed reservations though since I had some reservations already booked that I wont be using and they allow you to ask $20pp. It's been over a week and no bites, in my mind these bookings would fly off the shelf!

Which cruise line are you going to do? Do they let you select the cruise before the swap reservations are booked?