Is DVC for me?

[bblanch]

How do you know?

I went to the open house at Saratoga Springs a month ago, I ordered and watched the DVD, I've read the FAQs about Resales and DVC on numerous websites.

Altough we do NOT go to WDW every year, we do take at least one week long family vacation every year, and most years another short trip also. With WDW being an every other or every 3rd year stop. I like everything I've read about DVC, I just don't know if it's a benefit financially to us. How difficult is it to exchange or trade points for a sno skiing trip or a trip to DC? And how do the value of those type trips compare to WDW? for example... say a 6 night stay at Boardwalk Villas is 200 points.... How does a 6 night trip to Colorado compare to that? Would it cost me 200 points + or less?

thanks

 

[spiceycat]

I would not recommend buying DVC for a trip to WDW every 3rd year.

DVC is very expensive - you might be better off with Marriott or Hilton - both are nice just not DVC (my opinion).

then when you want to do WDW - just rent the points from a member.

 

[Chuck S]

Or you could purchase a small resale contract, a 50 point resale would give you 150 points every three years through banking and borrowing. But I agree with Spiceycat, unless you plan to go to WDW regularly, DVC is probablly not the best choice for you.

 

[rickandcindy23]

That tells how many points it takes for exchanges. It is very informative and would be the answer to your questions.

I can travel to Hawaii with DVC and stay at Marriotts with DVC points and spend less than they pay for MF's. That is why we decided to buy DVC. We can get a one-bedroom unit at Marriott Maui Ocean Club for about $700. The owners pay like $800 for their MF's. You might even get into Westin Kaanapali, the cost would be the exact same for a one-bedroom. It is something to consider when buying a quality place like DVC.

It is the same for any exchange through II. MF's average $700-900 for most resorts, so buy the DVC and feel comfortable knowing that your exchanges are going to cost about the same, or slightly less in some instances, as your cost exchanging. DVC is a bargain, and I have owned timeshare for 25 years, actually owning 11 annual weeks and one week every other year. I can trade into my own resort, Club Intrawest on Kauai, with DVC points than I pay in MF's. Now that is interesting, isn't it? Why own in Hawaii or anyplace else, when you can own and trade the best property/ points system anywhere!

I love DVC.

 

[bblanch]

So if I intend to only vacation at WDW 1/2 or 1/3 of my vacations over the next 36 or 48 years and vacationing at a Member Getaway the other 1/2 or 2/3 then I may be better off exploring one of the hotel club point systems?

 

[spiceycat]

1/2 then you can definitely do DVC...

1/3 or 1/4 - then no - I would look at one of the other timeshares...


the points you need to do an exchange with II are
1-bedroom
low 124
mid 144
high 160

2-bedroom
low 207
mid 252
hi 270

these stays must be for a week. (okay I always leave earlier - but you do so at your cost)

if you are going to WDW at least every other year - then DVC will work for you.

if less then I would find another timeshares that cost less and has less maintence fees and for my WDW trip I would rent points.

 

[crisi]

Don't plan on trading into DVC from another timeshare, however - its possible you want too much flexibility for a timeshare to work well for you.....

 

[Dean]

Just buy the points for use at DVC and look at other methods for the off years. Even at every other year, DVC doesn't make sense for most people, maybe not for anyone.

 

[stal]

is it worth it if i want to go to wdw every 2 to 3 years and sell my points to someone else during the years i dont go?

 

[crisi]

We do Disney every other year and find it works great - and is cost effective compared to similar accomodations for cash. But we have enough points for a two bedroom every other year, which is what we need for our family, and that is it. We also bought at $63.

stal, I personally wouldn't want the hassle of renting points, but a lot of people do rent points and make it work. You won't get rich renting points, and you have to recognize that people who bought years ago have a much lower cost - and can afford to rent at $10, but it can be an effective way to "get rid of" extra points.

 

[Dean]

is it worth it if i want to go to wdw every 2 to 3 years and sell my points to someone else during the years i dont go?

That would be your best option if you had extra points but overall, I'd say no. Just buy less points and bank/borrow to get the trips you need. You can easily do this resale for almost any size contract though it may be a little higher per point.

 

[hoopsrob]

Just buy the points for use at DVC and look at other methods for the off years. Even at every other year, DVC doesn't make sense for most people, maybe not for anyone.

Dean (and others) ---would love your perspective on this a bit as I consider whether this makes sense for me.

It seems to me that if you use your points at DISNEY then you are receiving the value of those points, whether you use them every year or every 2nd year or even every 3rd year. The price you pay through DVC (vs. street rates) will be less and (based on my calculations and other posts), it seems like you would break even in year 7 or 8.

So any vacations I take after that time are a bonus to me as long as their value is > than my annual maintenance cost.

This might not be the case through II (I'm not sure).

Please help challenge my thinking as I'm trying to learn and figure this out.

Thanks for your input!

 

[crisi]

My take on it is that three years is tough, but two works. Two lets you bank and borrow effectively without risking "wasted" points - where three makes that harder.

We have 150 points. Every other year we use a combination of last years banked points, the 150 points from the current year, and the following years borrowed points to travel - averaging 300 points. The trick for us is to remember to bank the points we aren't using. A two bedroom for a week in October is 272 points, every few years we need to add a night - or book a studio for friends or something.

I don't think DVC is a good option for trading out. There are cheaper timeshares out there. If you have the points and want to use them occationally to trade out, they are your points, use them as you want. But I wouldn't recommend buying with trading (or cruising) as a main objective.

 

[Dean]

Dean (and others) ---would love your perspective on this a bit as I consider whether this makes sense for me.

It seems to me that if you use your points at DISNEY then you are receiving the value of those points, whether you use them every year or every 2nd year or even every 3rd year. The price you pay through DVC (vs. street rates) will be less and (based on my calculations and other posts), it seems like you would break even in year 7 or 8.

So any vacations I take after that time are a bonus to me as long as their value is > than my annual maintenance cost.

This might not be the case through II (I'm not sure).

Please help challenge my thinking as I'm trying to learn and figure this out.

Thanks for your input!

This is a broad request. If you can use all your points and use them at DVC resorts, it doesn't really matter how often you go otherwise. Of course one would need to go at least every 3 years to keep from losing points. But even at every 3 years one could get into trouble. Say one went early 2006 and late 2009, you'd have a problem if you crossed over use years.

IMO, the ONLY way to truly break even in 7-8 years is going every year and mostly avoiding weekends in the studios. Many like to compare to the rack rate of the unit they end up with and that is an idiotic way to do so unless there would have been no discounts MOST years AND one would have actually paid those dollars if staying on cash. For most people that go to DVC and use it on average 7 days and don't go heavy on weekends, break even is more likely in the 10-15 year range AT best unless you make very heavy use of the kitchen facilities. For an EOY DVC and alternating DCL,DC, CC one will actually lose money in most cases over just paying cash each year for all.

What DVC can do is give you value for your money. You can get a studio at DVC for little more than you'd get a moderate regular room, but not less overall. One will NEVER save money comparing a 1 BR or 2 BR to a single moderate room or even a single deluxe room in most cases. There is one member of this board that actually paid rack rates for suites every year. In that case, the parameters and information is TOTALLY different.

I'll also point out that for anyone looking to buy now, what people did in the past in terms of dollars or benefits, is totally irrelevant. A stock that was a good buy a few years ago at $40 might or might not be a good buy today at $80. DVC still makes sense for many people. But if it made sense for 10% of the visitors to WDW in 1992, it likely does for only 5% now (numbers for comparison only).

 

[Pa@okw95]

How do you know?

I went to the open house at Saratoga Springs a month ago, I ordered and watched the DVD, I've read the FAQs about Resales and DVC on numerous websites.

Altough we do NOT go to WDW every year, we do take at least one week long family vacation every year, and most years another short trip also. With WDW being an every other or every 3rd year stop. I like everything I've read about DVC, I just don't know if it's a benefit financially to us. How difficult is it to exchange or trade points for a sno skiing trip or a trip to DC? And how do the value of those type trips compare to WDW? for example... say a 6 night stay at Boardwalk Villas is 200 points.... How does a 6 night trip to Colorado compare to that? Would it cost me 200 points + or less?

thanks

DVC is not for you. You really should be a disney nut to buy into DVC. Using your points to go outside of DVC is a very bad idea, it would cost you a lot less to not use them.

 

[hoopsrob]

DVC is not for you. You really should be a disney nut to buy into DVC. Using your points to go outside of DVC is a very bad idea, it would cost you a lot less to not use them.

I'm not sure I understand this.

If I purchase SSR at $101 divided by 47 yrs and add my annual MF, it comes out to $6.13 per point for this year. 160 pts would equate to a cost of $980.80

For 160 pts through II, I can get a 1-bdrm villa in high season for 1 week.
That's enough points to visit these resorts in high season (just several examples):

Eagle Point in Vail $1610 value
Mountainside Lodge, Whistler Canada $1750 value
Four Seasons Residence Club San Diego $4000 value
Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort, Maui $3465 value

That just shows you the wide range of options currently available. Some better values than others but all above my cost of $980. Or I could sell the points at the going rate of $10pp and pocket $620.

So why is going outside of DVC a 'very bad idea'? I really want to understand why people think this and no one has really offered any explanation for the basis of this opinion. What am I missing?

 

[tgj]

Hoopsrob:
One thing I've heard (just heard, don't know if it's true) is that it is extremely hard to get into a good exchange resort at a good time. It's easier (not easy) to get into a lower level resort at a good time, or a good resort at a lower time, but the odds of getting a top resort (CO in ski season, Hawaii in almost any season) are slim. Reason is that if you own at a good resort in a good season, you'd rent it out privately and use the cash to go to WDW on your own rather than exchanging it and putting it in the public pool.

I may be wrong on this, but that's what is my understanding....

 

[hoopsrob]

Hoopsrob:
One thing I've heard (just heard, don't know if it's true) is that it is extremely hard to get into a good exchange resort at a good time. It's easier (not easy) to get into a lower level resort at a good time, or a good resort at a lower time, but the odds of getting a top resort (CO in ski season, Hawaii in almost any season) are slim. Reason is that if you own at a good resort in a good season, you'd rent it out privately and use the cash to go to WDW on your own rather than exchanging it and putting it in the public pool.

I may be wrong on this, but that's what is my understanding....

That's an excellent point! If the availability isn't there, then it doesn't matter how many points it costs you because you'll never get in!

 

[CarolMN]

The issue with using DVC to "trade out" is also (mainly, IMHO) an economic one.

The best value of DVC points is using them to stay at one of the DVC resorts. There are less expensive time shares out there that can be used for trading. If you are really interested in trading out on a regular basis, it would be less expensive to just buy another timeshare and only the amount of DVC points needed for your DVC stays. Some here go to WDW (or VB or HHI) every other (or every third) year and so buy either 1/2 (or 1/3) of the DVC points they'd need for an annual stay.

If you don't plan to go to WDW (or VB or HHI) at least every third year, DVC is very probably not a good value for you - IMHO, you'd be better off renting points for your DVC stays and buying another timeshare for your other non-WDW vacations.

Best wishes -

 

[Dean]

I'm not sure I understand this.

If I purchase SSR at $101 divided by 47 yrs and add my annual MF, it comes out to $6.13 per point for this year. 160 pts would equate to a cost of $980.80

For 160 pts through II, I can get a 1-bdrm villa in high season for 1 week.
That's enough points to visit these resorts in high season (just several examples):

Eagle Point in Vail $1610 value
Mountainside Lodge, Whistler Canada $1750 value
Four Seasons Residence Club San Diego $4000 value
Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort, Maui $3465 value

That just shows you the wide range of options currently available. Some better values than others but all above my cost of $980. Or I could sell the points at the going rate of $10pp and pocket $620.

So why is going outside of DVC a 'very bad idea'? I really want to understand why people think this and no one has really offered any explanation for the basis of this opinion. What am I missing?

If you could get those options for high demand season consistently, it'd be a great value IF YOU USED IT THAT WAY when going outside DVC. Trouble is those are essentially impossible options during times most people would want to go. Even if you did get them on a rare occasion, you'd likely get the worse view which might or might be that bad. Over the options of value are too difficult and uncertain and the ones that are easier are generally not going to be a good deal. Realize that the 1 BR example is the extreme from a value standpoint. A 2 BR is a little less of a value and the studio is essentially NEVER a good value maybe even for a week 52 ski week.