Enthusiastically looking into DVC; how should I prepare?

[Spencer Wright]

I appreciate everyones feedback! I have researched a decent bit today; and believe I will TRY direct sale through Disney for a very modest plan; which I could build up over time.

I do have two questions however. Is it correct you can book just regular rooms and use DVC points? I am perfectly happy to stay in a standard room if points can be used.

Also, are points for a WDW only for the room? In other words, when the website says points can be used for 4-5 nights at deluxe suite, that only goes to the room, and not toward tickets, meal plan, etc?

I also have plenty of members I'll talk to over the coming weeks.

 

[AnnaS]

Are you saying book say Port Orleans - regular rooms with your DVC points? Yes you can if direct purchase but it will take a lot more point per night than a DVC studio. Your points will go further with DVC and more amenities too.

The points are just for the room. No meals, tickets.

You can start out with the minimum point required to purchase direct and it will be fast, instant and easy (assuming your credit is good). Before the price increase would be great. If you are looking to buy 100 points or more, I would also really look into resales.

 

[Jason@dvcstore]

Good Morning,

I am enthusiastically looking into DVC (my mother and many friends/co-workers are members), and have begun to look into membership.

How should I prepare? I did order my DVD! Specifically, are there any documents I should begin to gather (i.e. credit report, pay stubs, ect.)?

The most recent person I know to join (my mother), signed up a couple of years ago while at WDW; and said it they went on the tour and it took hardly any time at all.

As a side note, while I have property preferences (AKL & Poly); I would not be adverse or turn down DVC due to the resort.

I hope you enjoy your journey into becoming a Disney Vacation Club member. As a staff member of The Timeshare Store, Inc I invite you to sign up for our email updates. The emails arrive Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sunday mornings and you can unsubscribe at any time. Simply email your first and last name to sales@dvcstore.com requesting to be added and we will get them to you.

Good luck in your journey.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I appreciate everyones feedback! I have researched a decent bit today; and believe I will TRY direct sale through Disney for a very modest plan; which I could build up over time.

I do have two questions however. Is it correct you can book just regular rooms and use DVC points? I am perfectly happy to stay in a standard room if points can be used.

Also, are points for a WDW only for the room? In other words, when the website says points can be used for 4-5 nights at deluxe suite, that only goes to the room, and not toward tickets, meal plan, etc?

I also have plenty of members I'll talk to over the coming weeks.

To exchange out to a regular Disney hotel room it's a $95 exchange fee plus the point requirements for the hotel rooms are quite a bit more than DVC and it increases. If that were the plan there is no reason to purchase DVC - just pay cash for hotel rooms.

The value in DVC ownership is in the DVC rooms and it's why exchange restrictions for resale buyers are basically non-relevant.

Points are for room only.

 

[Ben E N]

I appreciate everyones feedback! I have researched a decent bit today; and believe I will TRY direct sale through Disney for a very modest plan; which I could build up over time.

I do have two questions however. Is it correct you can book just regular rooms and use DVC points? I am perfectly happy to stay in a standard room if points can be used.

Also, are points for a WDW only for the room? In other words, when the website says points can be used for 4-5 nights at deluxe suite, that only goes to the room, and not toward tickets, meal plan, etc?

I also have plenty of members I'll talk to over the coming weeks.

Avoid using points for anything except DVC rooms. It is a bit of an exchange rate scam. If you are buying direct just to get those benfits, you are getting suckered in. As an alternative, rent out your points and use those funds to pay for typical rooms.
DVC rooms are still a better deal, though. With DVC, you can get Poly rooms for only about $230 a night on average, based on purchase price and MFs. Cheaper if you go resale.
Points cannot be used for park perks, but buying as few as 25 direct points does get you ticket, dining, and shopping discounts.

 

[Wakey]

Like Ben said, don’t get suckered into believing it is a useful benefit to use DVC points for anything but DVC, including cruises etc.

 

[Spencer Wright]

Avoid using points for anything except DVC rooms. It is a bit of an exchange rate scam. If you are buying direct just to get those benfits, you are getting suckered in. As an alternative, rent out your points and use those funds to pay for typical rooms.
DVC rooms are still a better deal, though. With DVC, you can get Poly rooms for only about $230 a night on average, based on purchase price and MFs. Cheaper if you go resale.
Points cannot be used for park perks, but buying as few as 25 direct points does get you ticket, dining, and shopping discounts.

Like Ben said, don’t get suckered into believing it is a useful benefit to use DVC points for anything but DVC, including cruises etc.

I appreciate everyone's feedback!! It has been helpful.

Do other's believe that the primary benefit if DVC are for WDW rooms, and not other things such as DCL or staying elsewhere? Is the 'exchange rate' of DVC essentially a rip off? (That is the only criticism I have heard of DVC, and I have heard it several places)

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

If you ever want to spend your points on Disney Cruise or Adventures By Disney, you should definitely run the numbers for spending your points for this - and also for renting out your points and spending the proceeds toward the DCL or ABD. In most cases, you are better off renting out your points and spending the proceeds.

Or do like I do.... Pay cash for the ABD and keep your points for stays at DW.

One more thing... There is no way we can tell you everything you need to know in this thread. I would suggest taking same time and skimming this forum for the last couple of months or so. If you see a topic you don’t know the answer to, read the whole thread. If you see a topic you think you do know the answer to, read the thread and you will likely find some different opinions. This forum is like a graduate course in DVC. I consider myself very knowledgeable on DVC, but I still learn things here.

One of the toughest things to understand for a new person is the concept of use year. Be sure to read up on that and get any questions answered.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

It is also important to understand that some of the people who find good value in exchanges are long time owners. As a new owner paying $176+ per point, the economics are different than for a 1994 OKW buyer.

 

[disneynutz]

While some use DVC points to things other than DVC room stays, it's like buying the DDP. If you do the numbers for most people the DDP won't save you money but people still buy it anyway. IMO Disney advertises the non DVC point usage as a selling point for buyers who don't know any better.

Bill

 

[CarolMN]

I appreciate everyone's feedback!! It has been helpful.

Do other's believe that the primary benefit if DVC are for WDW rooms, and not other things such as DCL or staying elsewhere? Is the 'exchange rate' of DVC essentially a rip off? (That is the only criticism I have heard of DVC, and I have heard it several places)

That subject is somewhat controversial. However, very few people (if anyone) would recommend that you buy planning to use non-DVC options on a regular basis. Here's a thread that will help you understand the controversy:

Using Points for the DVC "Collections"

P.S. Rental prices are a lot more now than when the thread was first posted - now they are in the $14 - $18 per point range. The basic principles are still the same, though.

 

[kristenrice]

Is the 'exchange rate' of DVC essentially a rip off? (That is the only criticism I have heard of DVC, and I have heard it several places)

You decide....

A standard room at Port Orleans Riverside on a weeknight during the second week of October 2018 is 23 points PLUS a $95 exchange fee.

Compare that to...
...a Theme Park View studio at Bay Lake Tower...
...a lake view studio at the Polynesian...
...a lake view studio at the Grand Floridian...
...all of these are only 21 points per night and there is NO extra fee.

So you can decide what would be the better deal...a room at a moderate resort for 2 points MORE per night AND a $95 fee, or studio villa at a deluxe resort.
Another thing to note is that if you decide to use your points to book a "Disney Collection" (i.e. Non-DVC) resort and you need to cancel, those points cannot be used to book a DVC room. You can only re-book another Disney Collection resort AND you will have to pay the $95 fee again.

 

[frabjous]

You decide....

A standard room at Port Orleans Riverside on a weeknight during the second week of October 2018 is 23 points PLUS a $95 exchange fee.

Compare that to...
...a Theme Park View studio at Bay Lake Tower...
...a lake view studio at the Polynesian...
...a lake view studio at the Grand Floridian...
...all of these are only 21 points per night and there is NO extra fee.

Another way to do this is to divide the rack rate that Disney charges cash by the respective point chart values and compare the ratios. You'll see that disney believes they can get two to three times more than they are paying you to do the exchange. Although, of course, rack rates are commonly discounted, but you are talking something like 10-20% off that amount, which is still a multiple of what they are paying you. It's effectively paying you cost in exchange for you paying them at markup.

 

[MJB62676]

Much like having a Sam's Club or Costco membership "saves" me money (in the fact that every time we go in we tend to spend well into the 100's)...the DVC membership has already "saved" me 1200 bucks on the annual passes we just lined up with the current promotion.

Oh, and with the upcoming price increase to Poly along with dealer credits, we "saved" about 7K on that purchase.


Research, research, research! This board has been priceless.

I will likely use the re-sale route when it comes time to add onto our membership. Direct made sense for us at this time. I don't really intend to ever use the points for the non DVC resorts, but I do like knowing I can do that in a pinch.

 

[Jelly563]

If the question is How should I prepare ??..... that is simple. Just save up as much as you can. That will give you the option of buying as many points as you can AND AT A HOME RESORT THAT YOU LIKE THE BEST. (I would buy it resale) Then, you can play around with your membership, take a few trips and really experience what works best for you. Take that 1st step and tweek as you go along. You can not learn everything you need to know right off the bat.

 

[frabjous]

Another way to do this is to divide the rack rate that Disney charges cash by the respective point chart values and compare the ratios. You'll see that disney believes they can get two to three times more than they are paying you to do the exchange. Although, of course, rack rates are commonly discounted, but you are talking something like 10-20% off that amount, which is still a multiple of what they are paying you. It's effectively paying you cost in exchange for you paying them at markup.

See the table below for a more detailed comparison using that October week. Taking a sample of DVC rooms yields an approximate average of $31.70 per point, wheres a sample of the exchange for non-DVC rooms yields $11.18 per point, almost a third the value.

┌────────────────┬──────┬────────┬───────┬──┬────────────────┬──────┬────────┬───────┐
│      Room      │ Rack │ Points │ Value │  │      Room      │ Rack │ Points │ Value │
├────────────────┼──────┼────────┼───────┼──┼────────────────┼──────┼────────┼───────┤
│ ▸ Copper       │      │        │       │  │ GF (L)         │  657 │ 67     │  9.81 │
│    studio      │  542 │ 15     │ 36.13 │  │ Poly (L)       │  792 │ 68     │ 11.65 │
│    1br         │  754 │ 30     │ 25.13 │  │ Cont (Park)    │  722 │ 65     │ 11.11 │
│    2br         │ 1323 │ 38     │ 34.82 │  │ AK(SV)         │  638 │ 50     │ 12.76 │
│                │      │        │       │  │ Wilderness(C)  │  461 │ 47     │  9.81 │
│ ▸ AKV (Savana) │      │        │       │  │ Beach Club (G) │  544 │ 56     │  9.71 │
│    studio      │  618 │ 16     │ 38.63 │  │ Yacht (LPC)    │  884 │ 78     │ 11.33 │
│    1br         │  840 │ 31     │ 27.10 │  │ Caribbean (W)  │  252 │ 23     │ 10.96 │
│    2br         │ 1349 │ 40     │ 33.73 │  │ Corronado (W)  │  266 │ 24     │ 11.08 │
│                │      │        │       │  │ POR (R)        │  324 │ 25     │ 12.96 │
│ ▸ Poly (Lake)  │      │        │       │  │ POF (K)        │  308 │ 26     │ 11.85 │
│    studio      │  814 │ 21     │ 38.76 │  │                │      │        │       │
│    bungalow    │ 2923 │ 120    │ 24.36 │  │                │      │ Avg    │ 11.18 │
│                │      │        │       │  │                │      │        │       │
│ ▸ VGF (lake)   │      │        │       │  │                │      │        │       │
│    studio      │  765 │ 21     │ 36.43 │  │                │      │        │       │
│    1br         │ 1079 │ 43     │ 25.09 │  │                │      │        │       │
│    2br         │ 1764 │ 59     │ 29.90 │  │                │      │        │       │
│                │      │        │       │  │                │      │        │       │
│ ▸ VGF (std.)   │      │        │       │  │                │      │        │       │
│    studio      │  657 │ 17     │ 38.65 │  │                │      │        │       │
│    1br         │  940 │ 36     │ 26.11 │  │                │      │        │       │
│    2br         │ 1548 │ 49     │ 31.59 │  │                │      │        │       │
│                │      │        │       │  │                │      │        │       │
│ ▸ BLT(park)    │      │        │       │  │                │      │        │       │
│    studio      │  826 │ 19     │ 43.47 │  │                │      │        │       │
│    1br         │ 1019 │ 37     │ 27.54 │  │                │      │        │       │
│    2br         │ 1529 │ 50     │ 30.58 │  │                │      │        │       │
│                │      │        │       │  │                │      │        │       │
│ ▸ SSR          │      │        │       │  │                │      │        │       │
│    studio      │  439 │ 12     │ 36.58 │  │                │      │        │       │
│    1br         │  590 │ 26     │ 22.69 │  │                │      │        │       │
│    2br         │  882 │ 33     │ 26.73 │  │                │      │        │       │
│                │      │        │       │  │                │      │        │       │
│                │      │ Avg    │ 31.70 │  │                │      │        │       │
└────────────────┴──────┴────────┴───────┴──┴────────────────┴──────┴────────┴───────┘

 

[kboo]

I appreciate everyone's feedback!! It has been helpful.

Do other's believe that the primary benefit if DVC are for WDW rooms, and not other things such as DCL or staying elsewhere? Is the 'exchange rate' of DVC essentially a rip off? (That is the only criticism I have heard of DVC, and I have heard it several places)

YES.

 

[frabjous]

It is also important to understand that some of the people who find good value in exchanges are long time owners. As a new owner paying $176+ per point, the economics are different than for a 1994 OKW buyer.

Sure but no matter when you bought, it's still a bad deal compared to other options.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Sure but no matter when you bought, it's still a bad deal compared to other options.

Some people will make the argument that they are comfortable with not maximizing the value for each use. And that is a legitimate thing.

 

[frabjous]

Some people will make the argument that they are comfortable with not maximizing the value for each use. And that is a legitimate thing.

Yeah I can't argue with that. The convenience of it is for sure nice.