DVC points and cruising

[Anal Annie]

I was looking at the numbers and to use points it would take 3years of points (240 a year) but if I rented 2 years worth I would Be able to pay for the cruise in cash and be able to vacation in the third year. Did you rent the points yourself or did you use a broker and if by yourself was it difficult?

Thanks!

I would use a rental service like David's who gets good reviews and who is highly trusted here on the DIS.

http://www.dvcrequest.com

 

[AnnaS]

We have cruised five times with DCL. Two cabins for 4 cruises and three cabins for our last one. I have always used a combination of points and cash. Will do so again I am sure.

It's up to you what you want to do with them and what you are comfortable with. Finances, # of points, banked points, time, flexibility, etc. etc. determines what I will do at any given time. Happy planning.

 

[ilovediznee]

I've been following this thread as I am trying to figure out what to do. Our DD starts high school next year and we REALLY want to take her on a cruise and REALLY want to go on Disney but it is just so expensive - we could take a 5 day Bahamas cruise from Charleston for the 3 of us in June 2014 for about $1700.

Over the past two years we have borrowed against other years so now we only have 90 DVC points for 2014. How does using your points when you don't have that many left? I would assume -that is why I am asking - would we pay full price for my husband and myself and then use the 90 points for our daughter as it appears you get a lower rate for a 3rd person?

Please advise before I go calling DVC.

Thanks - Diane

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

We used points once but now as we are hooked on DCL and staying at WDW we book a cruise onboard every year. That way we get 10% off the cruise plus obc which pays for the tips. You can move that cruise as much as you like without penalty and the deposit is very low.

But as pp said it's whatever works for a family. Telling folks it's a waste is not right as use of points is subjective. Each person works out what is best for them. We come over from the UK stay at WDW and do a 3 or 4 night cruise every other year on average so we pay cash for cruise and use points to stay at WDW. Others save points to do cruise. Enjoy whatever you decide but consider the booking onboard! It's a good deal!

 

[dmunsil]

As one of the people who routinely tells people using points for cruises is not a good use of points, I want to defend that position just a little bit.

First off, obviously you can and should do what makes sense to you with your points. Whether it's the "best" use of points is not really super important. They're your points - enjoy them!

It's primarily a consideration for people thinking of buying DVC. I just want folks to understand before they buy that using DVC to stay in DVC resorts is a big discount from cash, but the exchanges are not. In other words, buying DVC to mostly use for cruising or other exchanges would be not worth it. You're better off saving your money and paying cash for that stuff. So if you figure you'd like to take a cruise maybe 1 out of every 3 years, and go to WDW for 2 out of 3 years, you're generally better off buying 2/3 as many points, using them only for DVC, and using cash to take cruises. If that sounds like a massive hassle, then that's not workable, but it should still be pointed out.

For folks who already have points, and want to use them for something other than DVC resorts, using them for cruises and other hotels is a nice convenience and certainly much better than letting them expire. As people have acknowledged in this thread, it's almost always better financially to rent out the points (directly or via a broker like David's) and use the cash to book the exchange. You almost always have enough cash to cover the trip and have money left over for postcards and t-shirts.

But there's no question that even if you use a broker, renting is somewhat more hassle than just calling up member services and booking the exchange. That said, I think folks who are wary of renting might be very surprised at how little work is involved if you use David's. I was kind of surprised myself. It's impressively easy. You still have to make the booking, but they do all the customer service and hand-holding. And while there are risks to renting, David's has a reputation to maintain and I think it's likely that they would make things right if a renter did something bad. At minimum, I think using a broker would tend to scare away the more flaky and/or scammy people. (Is "scammy" a word? I'm going to say yes.)

But no one should feel that it's "wrong" to use your points the way you want to use them. That's for sure. It's all just tradeoffs and choices.

 

[rcchello]

I've been following this thread as I am trying to figure out what to do. Our DD starts high school next year and we REALLY want to take her on a cruise and REALLY want to go on Disney but it is just so expensive - we could take a 5 day Bahamas cruise from Charleston for the 3 of us in June 2014 for about $1700.

Over the past two years we have borrowed against other years so now we only have 90 DVC points for 2014. How does using your points when you don't have that many left? I would assume -that is why I am asking - would we pay full price for my husband and myself and then use the 90 points for our daughter as it appears you get a lower rate for a 3rd person?

Please advise before I go calling DVC.

Thanks - Diane

If you use points for one person, you get the negotiated DVC $rate for the other people, which may be different then the current DCL rate. The other issue is that when you book via DVC you need to pay in full when you make the reservation. If you book with DCL, you can put down a percentage and pay in full much later ( the pay in full date or the date you want to book excursion, reservations for dinner, spa, etc.)

 

[disneynutz]

As one of the people who routinely tells people using points for cruises is not a good use of points, I want to defend that position just a little bit.

First off, obviously you can and should do what makes sense to you with your points. Whether it's the "best" use of points is not really super important. They're your points - enjoy them!

It's primarily a consideration for people thinking of buying DVC. I just want folks to understand before they buy that using DVC to stay in DVC resorts is a big discount from cash, but the exchanges are not. In other words, buying DVC to mostly use for cruising or other exchanges would be not worth it. You're better off saving your money and paying cash for that stuff. So if you figure you'd like to take a cruise maybe 1 out of every 3 years, and go to WDW for 2 out of 3 years, you're generally better off buying 2/3 as many points, using them only for DVC, and using cash to take cruises. If that sounds like a massive hassle, then that's not workable, but it should still be pointed out.

For folks who already have points, and want to use them for something other than DVC resorts, using them for cruises and other hotels is a nice convenience and certainly much better than letting them expire. As people have acknowledged in this thread, it's almost always better financially to rent out the points (directly or via a broker like David's) and use the cash to book the exchange. You almost always have enough cash to cover the trip and have money left over for postcards and t-shirts.

But there's no question that even if you use a broker, renting is somewhat more hassle than just calling up member services and booking the exchange. That said, I think folks who are wary of renting might be very surprised at how little work is involved if you use David's. I was kind of surprised myself. It's impressively easy. You still have to make the booking, but they do all the customer service and hand-holding. And while there are risks to renting, David's has a reputation to maintain and I think it's likely that they would make things right if a renter did something bad. At minimum, I think using a broker would tend to scare away the more flaky and/or scammy people. (Is "scammy" a word? I'm going to say yes.)

But no one should feel that it's "wrong" to use your points the way you want to use them. That's for sure. It's all just tradeoffs and choices.

When I post, "not a good use of points" I assume that readers may not realize that what Disney advertises isn't always a good deal.

IMO Disney advertises all of the possibilities as a marketing tool for DVC sales. I really don't feel that they want you to use your points for anything other than DVC stays or they would discount the fees, costs, and make the destinations easily accessible with no restrictions.

Bill

 

[Dean]

For folks who already have points, and want to use them for something other than DVC resorts, using them for cruises and other hotels is a nice convenience and certainly much better than letting them expire. As people have acknowledged in this thread, it's almost always better financially to rent out the points (directly or via a broker like David's) and use the cash to book the exchange. You almost always have enough cash to cover the trip and have money left over for postcards and t-shirts.

I didn't add a disclaimer here because it wasn't as applicable but I often do when this subject comes up. MOST of the time when this comes up on DVC, it's about people buying in or buying more points with the intent of using them for DVC. IMO this is a totally different and far more negative situation than having the points and deciding to use them for DCL. While I generally think it's still a poor use of points to receive half the value the points are worth, it's certainly the choice of a given member. It also does depend on the situation and specifics. IMO it's always a bad idea to buy for this purpose and usually a poor choice to use for a cruise for existing members, however, the specifics determine the final judgement. I have 3 different timeshares and 2 different other options where I can indirectly use timeshare for cruising. In ALL cases these principles apply with one difference and it's a large one, DVC is the ONLY one that's completely liquid. I would suggest that just because someone decides to use points for cruising and is happy, does not automatically make it a good choice.