DVC Referral Program- What types of rewards?

[RachIzzyBri2]

We have a question regarding what types of rewards we would receive through the DVC referral program.

We just recently referred friends & they have purchased ownership. They did use our name with their sales rep prior to completing their purchase. We are aware that we will be receiving notification by mail of the referral & the rewards available.

But, just out of curiosity, what types of rewards are available?

We would appreciate any info!

Thanks a bunch!

 

[Skallywag]

Thkink it all depends where you live, we live in England and referred friends and were told we could not receive the gift because of our government rules which is completely untrue. Although we love Disney Vacation Club would not refer anyone again unless the reward is fair for everyone.
Brenda

 

[global_mom]

We just referred some friends so I am curious as to the answer too. We dont care if we receive anything, we just wanted them to love DVC, but my curiosity is peaked after seeing this thread.

 

[eva]

First off, the person needs to tell their guide during the original contact (first call or visit) that you are referring them. If they say it on the second contact or later, it is null and void. When I did referrals in the past I always gave the referred person a card with our guides contact info and a note stating that they need to say that we are referring them right away during the first call.

Second, there are only certain states that allow referral rewards. The current eligible States are: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Puerto Rico also is an eligible jurisdiction. Some of the states have certain restrictions too. Like IL, where I live, you can only redeem up $1,000 worth of reward each year.

If you meet all that then here are the reward levels:
A Reward Level corresponds to the number of referrals who purchase an Ownership Interest in the same calendar year. For example, a Level 2 means that you have referred two people who purchased in the same calendar year. Each new Reward is in addition to the previous Reward.
Level 1 $200
Level 2 $350
Level 3 $500
Level 4 $750
Level 5 $1,000

And here is what you can redeem them for.
If you have a Sharing the Magic Reward to redeem, you may choose one of the following Reward Options:
*Annual Dues Credit
*Credit towards purchase of additional Ownership Interest
*Disney Gift Card
*Prepaid Visa® Card

 

[global_mom]

First off, the person needs to tell their guide during the original contact (first call or visit) that you are referring them. If they say it on the second contact or later, it is null and void. When I did referrals in the past I always gave the referred person a card with our guides contact info and a note stating that they need to say that we are referring them right away during the first call.

Second, there are only certain states that allow referral rewards. The current eligible States are: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Puerto Rico also is an eligible jurisdiction. Some of the states have certain restrictions too. Like IL, where I live, you can only redeem up $1,000 worth of reward each year.

If you meet all that then here are the reward levels:
A Reward Level corresponds to the number of referrals who purchase an Ownership Interest in the same calendar year. For example, a Level 2 means that you have referred two people who purchased in the same calendar year. Each new Reward is in addition to the previous Reward.
Level 1 $200
Level 2 $350
Level 3 $500
Level 4 $750
Level 5 $1,000

And here is what you can redeem them for.
If you have a Sharing the Magic Reward to redeem, you may choose one of the following Reward Options:
*Annual Dues Credit
*Credit towards purchase of additional Ownership Interest
*Disney Gift Card
*Prepaid Visa® Card

Thanks Eva! You really know your stuff!! I would love to receive a $200 gift card if our folks buy in. We cleared the first 2 criteria as we have recevied the referral letter from our guide and we live in GA. We did not even know that there was a $$ incentive as part of a referral so it would be like "found" money.

 

[RachIzzyBri2]

Thanks Eva! That is GREAt information! Looks like we meet all of the criteria.

 

[rsimon]

I have a question since we live in Texas.. Does anyone know why certain states are excluded? If you believe DVC, it has to do with state laws, but I want to know which state law in Texas specifically prevents this.

Any help would be useful because I would like to persue getting this changed.

Thanks!

 

[tubtruck]

Thkink it all depends where you live, we live in England and referred friends and were told we could not receive the gift because of our government rules which is completely untrue. Although we love Disney Vacation Club would not refer anyone again unless the reward is fair for everyone.
Brenda

I wouldnt refer anyone for the same reason.

 

[eva]

You're very welcome. I am in sales and can not help myself when it comes to selling DVC to others. I have had at least one referral nearly every year for the last 10 years. Each time it just starts from me sharing my vacation photos and people asking about our trip. Before you know it we are talking about our love of Disney and of course that leads to more questions about DVC. I even have a photo album of all the resorts that I share with people, if they ask.

WARNING: Do not let anyone buy while they are staying with you in a GV. That happened to my sister and BIL a few years ago. They found out it really didn't work for their lifestyle and ended up selling it. I felt awful. I did warn them about going home first before deciding. But I think that GV was too big of a pull. All of my other referrals have worked out great.

 

[eva]

I have a question since we live in Texas.. Does anyone know why certain states are excluded? If you believe DVC, it has to do with state laws, but I want to know which state law in Texas specifically prevents this.

Any help would be useful because I would like to persue getting this changed.

Thanks!

Try going here: http://www.trec.state.tx.us/licenses/timeshare_info.asp

You will see all the Timeshare Acts. It may have something to do with the link called Contest and Giveaway Act. It has something in there about gifts that require a purchase to be made are prohibited. I'm sure there is more. But I am not a legal beagle and this stuff gives me a headache.

 

[CarolAnnC]

We just had a referral and chose Disney Dollars. We received them via Fedex and will use them on our next trip!

 

[Skallywag]

Unfortunately think Disney must get their act together and treat all members equally in some way. Here in the UK not only do we not receive credit for referrall we are told we cannot receive Castaway Club membership information for security reasons. Very strange they cannot send this through the mail but can send promotional disney material for us.

This is, in our opinion, the only way Disney lets us down.
Brenda

 

[rsimon]

Try going here: http://www.trec.state.tx.us/licenses/timeshare_info.asp

You will see all the Timeshare Acts. It may have something to do with the link called Contest and Giveaway Act. It has something in there about gifts that require a purchase to be made are prohibited. I'm sure there is more. But I am not a legal beagle and this stuff gives me a headache.

Thanks for the link.. I read through it all a couple of times.. Actually the "Gift" is allowed as long as it is fully disclosed.

40.032. FULL DISCLOSURE REQUIRED. A gift is not
prohibited in a legitimate trade promotion if the advertising
regarding the promotion fully discloses any requirement of a
purchase to be made or contractual obligation to be assumed to
qualify for the gift.

After reading it all.. I still don't see any reason Texas is not allowed unless there some deceptive practice that Disney is involved in or there is not full disclosure..

I'm going to contact our state representitive and see if they can provide the reason..

Thanks again!

 

[disneynutz]

I have a question since we live in Texas.. Does anyone know why certain states are excluded? If you believe DVC, it has to do with state laws, but I want to know which state law in Texas specifically prevents this.

Any help would be useful because I would like to persue getting this changed.

Thanks!

I have written to all of my elected officials in Texas about changing the law and not one has replied. Maybe we should start a Texas DVC Owners thread and contact Perry as a group?

 

[rsimon]

I have written to all of my elected officials in Texas about changing the law and not one has replied. Maybe we should start a Texas DVC Owners thread and contact Perry as a group?

You know.. if we could get some numbers together it may work.. Sometimes just a group of 50 or even a couple of hundred can get a lot done if we are vocal enough..

I first want to find the specific law that is preventing it.. The law that prevents it was written for a reason and I want to find out if that reason applies to Disney or if it is out dated.. That would make it much easier to get it changed or modified.

I don't see what Disney does any different to any other referral fee that is paid in real estate or other transactions. It happens all the time here in Texas, so if it is a law that prevents that specifically because of undisclosed information, then I want to know what the problem is.

 

[eva]

Wow! You guys have a lot more patience than I do. I'm not sure I would go to that much trouble for $200. The most trouble I've gone to is to put some info on a card. I can tell you that I would be referring people even without the rewards. When I love something as much as DVC, I just can't help myself. I have to tell everyone about it.

 

[delmar411]

The problem is that it isn't disclosed. I had several ppl attempt to 'refer' me here through the Dis. There was no mention of it you use me as a referral I will receive $200 for your referral.

That is disclosure. Also the Dis guides wouldn't say 'great! now your referral person will receive $200'.

Make sense?

They keep it very low ley and quiet and that's why it isn't allowed in those states.

 

[eva]

The problem is that it isn't disclosed. I had several ppl attempt to 'refer' me here through the Dis. There was no mention of it you use me as a referral I will receive $200 for your referral.

That is disclosure. Also the Dis guides wouldn't say 'great! now your referral person will receive $200'.

Make sense?

They keep it very low ley and quiet and that's why it isn't allowed in those states.

That is not true at all. I'm not sure how long you have been a member, but they have mailed out referral information numerous times in the past with the reward information enclosed. Plus, all the information that I had on my previous post is listed right on the Member's Site. The reason that certain states do not participate are because of regulations in the state, not DVC.

 

[disneynutz]

I have been working on this issue for several months now. We live in Texas, a state that according to DVC, doesn't allow a cash gift for a referral. I do receive a nice letter and a certificate suitable for framing from our Guide, but that's it.

This afternoon I received this information:

"Since referral fees fall within the area of real estate brokerage in Texas, they are governed by the provisions of The Real Estate License Act, Chapter 1101, Texas Occupations Code and Chapter 535 of the Commission's Rules. Generally, a person receiving a referral fee must hold a real estate license. There is an exception to this requirement in Commission Rule 535.20(a) which reads as follows:

Referring a prospective buyer, seller, landlord, or tenant to another person in connection with a proposed real estate transaction is an act requiring the person making the referral to be licensed if the referral is made with the expectation of receiving valuable consideration. For the purposes of this section, the term "valuable consideration" includes but is not limited to money, gifts of merchandise having a retail value greater than $50, rent bonuses and discounts.

A seller could offer a referral fee in the form of a gift or gift certificate of $50 or less per referral. There is no annual dollar limit on the amount of money or number referrals that can be paid.

We hope this information is helpful to you.

Assistant Director of Enforcement
Texas Real Estate Commission

 

[eva]

I have been working on this issue for several months now. We live in Texas, a state that according to DVC, doesn't allow a cash gift for a referral. I do receive a nice letter and a certificate suitable for framing from our Guide, but that's it.

This afternoon I received this information:

"Since referral fees fall within the area of real estate brokerage in Texas, they are governed by the provisions of The Real Estate License Act, Chapter 1101, Texas Occupations Code and Chapter 535 of the Commission's Rules. Generally, a person receiving a referral fee must hold a real estate license. There is an exception to this requirement in Commission Rule 535.20(a) which reads as follows:

Referring a prospective buyer, seller, landlord, or tenant to another person in connection with a proposed real estate transaction is an act requiring the person making the referral to be licensed if the referral is made with the expectation of receiving valuable consideration. For the purposes of this section, the term "valuable consideration" includes but is not limited to money, gifts of merchandise having a retail value greater than $50, rent bonuses and discounts.

A seller could offer a referral fee in the form of a gift or gift certificate of $50 or less per referral. There is no annual dollar limit on the amount of money or number referrals that can be paid.

We hope this information is helpful to you.

Assistant Director of Enforcement
Texas Real Estate Commission

Hmmm, Well this seems to say that DVC could be giving a person from Texas a gift certificate of $50 for every referral. I wonder if that could be in the form of Disney Dollars? That may be pushing it, since you can redeem Disney Dollars for cash. Although I believe that they are moving to a gift card instead of Disney Dollars now. At least that is what my guide told me about 6 months ago. Not sure if that is true though. Maybe DVC choose not to do this because of the complications it might cause. And I can tell you, there will still be complaints. Did the person that furnished this information to you give you any advice on how it can be changed?