Do I buy half points for every 2 years?

[s*a*r*a*h]

If I only want to stay every other year do I buy half the needed points e.g stay requires 300 points so I would purchase 150points and bank one year and use the next. Would that work?

 

[RoseGold]

It would work under current rules, which could change at any time. If 2020 taught us anything, it's borrow, don't bank.

This is also a lot of hassle and commitment for only visiting every other year, and isn't for everyone.

 

[GoingSince1990]

Yes. Once you bank your 150 points into the next use year you will be able to make a 300 point reservation for during that next use year.

 

[wnielsen1]

I do this frequently.

 

[striker1064]

The only problem with this idea is it's operating under the assumption you will go every other year from the time you buy for the life of the contract. But what will be your plan if it's a go-year and life happens, and you have to cancel?

Consider:

150 2020 UY
150 2021 UY

You bank your 150 points from 2020 to 2021, so you now have 300 total points to book a trip during the 2021. But something happens. Could be anything - even a global pandemic - and you have to cancel your trip. You now have 150 banked points that will expire at the end of your UY. As long as you have an idea of what you will do in that situation, this is fine. You may have to scramble to reschedule your trip at an inconvenient time and take whatever is available for booking. You might be able to rent them or give them away to friends or family. You may even have to let them expire, depending on the circumstances.

Every other year, the math and logic gets a bit fuzzy on DVC. Because of situations like I outlined, I usually think it's best if a buyer uses DVC at least 2 out of every 3 years to minimize the risk of orphaned points.

 

[sndral]

Although we go every year we alternate stays between our two home resorts - so basically each of our resorts is on an every other year schedule and it’s worked fine for us. We own about half the points we need for our typical stay at each resort and one year we’ll use banked & current years points for one resort, the next year we’ll use banked & current points at the other resort.
IMO it’s especially important to think carefully about what use year you want w/ an every other year scenario. Since we typically visit in Dec. each year I chose a Dec. use year, which gives me 11- 12 months to reschedule if something comes up & we have to cancel. Worst case scenario if I choose not to reschedule I could rent the points I banked in for the canceled trip (which would cover MFs) and bank the current years points for next years trip.

 

[dsanner106]

This would work but if DVC changes banking rules at some point you are vulnerable. In my opinion, the answer is to buy 300 points and for the time being, rent half the points and use the revenue to pay down the loan. You will actually pay less overall and in the end have full ownership of 300 points. If DVC changes rules, you are still good.

 

[Sandisw]

Just have a plan in place for changes to the banking rules. It is allowed if something happens again that causes an overload to the system, it could be limited. But, other than that, it is a good plan to have!

 

[crisi]

We've been doing every other year for ages. With the current borrowing rules, I don't know if we'll be able to keep it up, but it really isn't a hassle with the normal rules. We bought more than we needed for an every other year trip - six nights in a two bedroom during a low point season was what we wanted when we started (it was, I remember this vividly - 282 points) - and over the twenty years we've gone, we really just decide how to vacation based on how many points we "need" to use - and how many are available to us. Some years that has meant a four night trip in a Grand Villa, some years its been a week at Hilton Head, some years its a two bedroom. Once we did back to back years, but generally we only use points every other year - and for the past five we haven't used them at WDW (its been HHI and this year Aulani) Once we added a cash night to get a stretch.