DCL-Points or Cash?

[dizfanz]

I'm sure this has been a thread before, so pardon me for the redundancy. I am considering a cruise in the Fall 2003 with myself and fiancee. Use points or not to use points, that is the question Do we as DVC members get a discount if I paid cash? Do I get a discount if only I use points first. I know a lot of you have used DCL before. Please any information, even the slightest tidbit would be great as I am clueless on this topic.

 

[FanofDis]

We are also interested in cruising with points. I would like to know this too.

 

[Cruelladeville]

Using your points for a cruise isn't the most cost effective way to go, usually, since many times the cruises are discounted for people who pay cash. Cruises on points are almost never discounted for those who use their points to go. There have been several threads on this board from disgruntled members who felt they paid a premium price because they paid with points, while the cash customers got some really good deals.

 

[Dean]

Tim Larison who runs the DVC talk email list is also a travel agent. He posted an exhaustive list comparing cash to points and in all times and categories and the price was between $6 and about $7.50 per point in all scenarios if I recall correctly.

 

[JimB.]

My family and I sailed in June using points for the grownups & cash for the kids.

It is probably not the most efficient & productive use of our points, but one of the reasons we bought DVC & have added on twice is for the flexibility it provides us.

Also, it DID save us a heckuva lot of cash out of pocket.

Will we cruise on points again? Probably, bit will also probably cruise with $$$ beforehand ( Takes a while to build the points back up )

IMHO, the best way to wring the maximum value out of one's points is to only stay at DVC resorts.

But if we did that, we would not have cruised this summer or gone to Aruba a couple of years ago.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

We took a four day cruise on points this past April. No regrets at all. Was it the best use of points? For us it was. We had a fantastic time on the ship, combined with a stay at the BWV and it didn't take additional cash out of our pocketbook. It was really nice to have our cruise paid for in advance as well as our room at the Boardwalk. We purchased our points not only to stay at Disney but for flexibility like this.

Our next cruise next year will be using cash. Then we will use points again for our third Disney Cruise.

HBC

 

[dizfanz]

Thanks for the feedback, but back to one of my questions. Cruella, how does one obtain those discounts with cash. Do DVCers get a cash discount? And if Dean says it's a value of $7pp, then wouldn't it be prudent to sell points for $10pp and then book it with cash and keep the difference? Also, anyone experience the 3 day cruise? It seems too short for me, do you wish you had done the 4 day? Thanks again for your help.

Dizfanz

 

[Dean]

Discounts vary with your status. Lot of FL resident discounts. Each Travel comapny tries to negotiate their own specials, just a little something extra. If bookings are going slow, they will sometimes drop the price. I'd look on Mousesavers and talk to DCL as well as maybe a travel agency or 2. Don't forget the early booking discount. One issue with using points is that if you are using cash for some, you miss out of a lot of lower fares. While the cash price through DVC (when using points for some) may be one price, you will never have access to any specials that might occur other than a change in the DVC price it'self. That means that the cash price for both adults and children MAY be significantly higher than through DCL. It is usually cheaper to rent points and use cash but many don't think it's worth the hassle, only you can decide.

 

[donmil723]

Don't forget to check with Dreams Unlimited here on the DIS. I checked with DCL, DVC and DU and DU had the cheapest price. Unfortunately, I can't book for next summer yet as I'm not sure of everyone's schedule. When I'm ready though, I will definitely contact DU again.

Donna