Has anyone rented DVC points for their vacation>?

[jlk806]

Is it cheaper to do it this way? How much do points usually cost to rent from a DVC member? How does it work? What was your experience with it? Thanks

 

[kaffinito]

If you want to know about renting points check out this thread first. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1442533

Renting points can be a cheap way to stay in a DVC unit. Please be advised that the DVC member will make the reservation for you, and that you will have no control over the reservation after that. If you want to add dining etc you need to have the DVC member make that request for you. The DVC member will get a confirmation letter in the mail for the reservation, and then can send the letter on to you.

I rented points twice and really enjoyed the experience. I followed the guidelines I posted above, and the transaction was very smooth both times.

Here is the link to the rent/trade board, so you can see how the prices for points are running.

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=29

 

[KAA1972]

We rented points and had a great experience. Yes, it is cheaper if you are looking at staying a villa. It is not necessarily less expensive if you are looking at other resort properties. It is also not less expensive if they offer free dining and you have a large party. For example, we had 7 of us in the 2bdrm at Bay Lake Towers and we paid about 4500 for the room -- through Disney but we got free dining for everyone. We would have paid about 3500 by renting points but would have had to pay for dining. In this case, it was cheaper to go through Disney. Another time, Disney was not offering free dining and we rented points and it saved us about 800.00. You just have to make sure the person you are renting from is credible. Also, ask about cancellation/refund policies. Some DVC members can't offer refunds because their points will expire but if you have to cancel you are stuck losing money. Disney will allow you to reschedule without losing money.

 

[goodferry]

We have rented points before at the Boardwalk Inn, had a great experience! The only downside, we ended up buying DVC eventually because of this experience We liked having the space and it did save us about 8-900 over what we would have paid discounted through Disney. We found someone on the rent/trade boards who had letters of recommendation from others who had rented from him before and we felt comfortable with him. We were careful and didn't rent from just anyone. I would do a little reading and see what the going rate for points is now, I believe we paid around $12 pp, but that was a few years ago.

 

[dansyr2514]

Hi, we've rented pts last yr and this yr. We rent from a friend so the trust factor is there. We pay about $13 a pt...although I have seen people offering them for less. Even so ...a studio savannah view at AKL is running us approx $181 a night which I think is a huge bargain.

Just a tip also...this is a great way to do a split stay without having to buy tickets twice. For ex...we are doing a pkg for 3 nights at CSR with 40% pin code and purchaed tickets for 6 days with the package and regular dining plan. Then we are moving over to AKL for 4 night w/deluxe dining plan.
We are doing CSR for the weekend nights and renting pts for weeknight since during the week uses less pts.

 

[djp0630]

We've rented for our trip in May and so far it's been great. He was very willing to get us references and even offered to call Member service with me on the phone for me to do a room request. He called another time to get me Magical Express & Dining plan. We did paypal and it was seamless. He was open, gave me his home & work e-mails, and cell & work phones. We had the standard DISboards contract. It's a lot cheaper if you want to stay at a DVC resort.

 

[StuckInKS]

We are seriously considering this if we can't get the kids free deal. The price for 5 nights in an AKL value studio is 50 points. Right now points are renting on the DVC part of DIS for $10/pt (there are some for $5-8/pt that expire earlier.) This would be $500/room compared to $465/room at a value with our 30% off PIN (this is with tax and $10/night internet, but even without the internet it is still a deal.) We are upgrading to a deluxe for less than $100/room (we would be getting two rooms.) In comparison, the AKL standard view studio rooms directly through Disney are over $1,000 for 5 nights WITH my 40% PIN.

If you go to the DVC part of DIS, there are updated threads on room availability. We were thinking about renting a 2bd at BLT (would have saved us $740 over our 40% code assuming $10/pt,) but they were sold out from May 23rd to June 3rd, so we may try for two AKL value or standard studios instead. You can have whoever you rent from confirm the availability for the resort you want, before you commit to rent.

 

[Lynne M]

This topic is better suited for the DVC Planning board, so I'll move it over there.

 

[thelionqueen]

As a PP stated, it is a great way to get better accommodations cheaper than through Disney.

However, once you stay as a DVC guest, you will likely become an owner.

I agree that you need to do your homework when renting points, and make sure you feel comfortable with whomever you rent points from.

I rented points twice with 2 different DISer's and had excellent experiences both times. Once I heard the CM @ OKW say welcome home I was hooked!! I knew that I wasn't an owner, so it didn't hold the same magic; to be honest, I felt like I didn't deserve that greeting. But I knew that one day, when they said it to me again, I would just melt!

It only cost me about $20K to feel like I deserved that silly greeting I think I've earned it..