DVC Member discounted "cash" room prices?

[DVC Grandpa]

Does anyone know of a chart of “cash” member discount room prices for the various vacation seasons? I am interested in both studio and 1 bedroom.

 

[kda]

I believe it's always 25% off any of the DVC properties, IF AVAILABLE. That's what we've gotten, when it's been available.

 

[tjkraz]

kda is correct--25% off of Rack Rates.

However, when the discount is offered the Member is supposed to be staying in the room. You cannot book a room using the cash discount and put a different name on the reservation. And you probably will not be able to book a Studio AND a 1B for the same dates.

Rooms are only offered at the cash discount when DVC projects that they will not be able to fill all of the units with guests booking using points. So, it can be difficult to predict when rooms will become available. Weekends are reportedly the easiest times to get due to the higher points. For weekdays, Member Services may tell you there is nothing available at one point, and two weeks later they may suddenly have an opening. If you're looking at a high-occupancy period (December, holidays, etc.) you may never get a room.

I've read reports that you can book a room at the full Rack Rate via DVC and they will automatically apply the 25% discount later if their computers suddenly decide that rooms can be released at the lower rate. Short of doing that, you may just have to call, call and call again.

Also note that when a room is booked using the cash discount, the normal DVC housekeeping schedule applies.

 

[DVC Grandpa]

I was thinking about next Thanksgiving but I would have to get a night or two on a cash basis. I can start trying in January at the eleven month window.

 

[tjkraz]

You can try, but I don't know how successful you will be around Thanskgiving. By all accounts the resorts are 100% booked during that period. I don't see how there could be any excess inventory to rent out at the cash discount rate. There may be SOME chance if you are looking for a Friday or Saturday night.

Two other options to consider:

1. You could try booking through CRO and hope for an AP holder discount. That's assuming that someone in your party is an AP holder, and that discounts are eventually offered. If you can get the AP discount, you could get 30-40% off of rack rates. The downside would be that you won't know about the discount until a couple of months before your trip, you'll have to keep an eye out for the codes and call IMMEDIATELY to try and get a discounted room, and you may have to switch rooms mid-trip even if you are booked into the same resort on points and cash.

2. You could try renting points from another member. The other member would transfer them to your account, giving you full control of the points. You'll want to get points from the same Home resort as your points in order to get the 11 month advantage.