Is it economical to use points other than staying at a DVC resort?

[DaddyDeuce]

Hi all,

I've been thinking about DVC off-and-on for about a year and any membership purchase is probably still a year away. I'd like to understand more about what DVC points can be used for, and whether any use other than staying at a DVC resort makes economic sense?

I think I have a good handle on how DVC points can be used at your home resort at the 11-mo mark, or at another DVC resort at the 7-mo mark.

I understand that points can be used in other ways than staying at a DVC resort, but I haven't been able to find an exhaustive list of how they can be used. Two I have looked at would be staying at a non-DVC Disney property (resort hotels at DLR or WDW) or taking a Disney Cruise.

For both the DLR/WDW hotels or the Disney Cruises, it looks like one would be better off selling your points and spending cash instead. If I assume a point has a value of around $10 then it looks like it is generally more expensive to use points.

So, I guess I have two questions:
1: Is there an exhaustive list of how points can be spent?
2: Does any usage of points other than staying at a DVC resort make economic sense?

Thanks!

 

[Plutofan]

There are very few options outside of the DVC resorts that make economic sense. Most of the time you would be better off renting the points and then taking advantage of promotions to book elsewhere.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you didn't plan on staying at DVC resorts regularly, DVC might not be a good fit for you. Or you could purchase a smaller contract and use banking and borrowing to take a DVC trip every third year.

 

[DenLo]

Many if not most would say it is not a good value to spend points on anything other than a DVC stay. However, if you purchased your DVC points to use for your vacations, DVC and nonDVC then go for it.

Your vacation planner should have a list of point charts showing points at various resorts you can exchange your points for a stay. Here's a sample for the member website:

Disney Vacation Club Resorts
Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort
Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas
Disney's Beach Club Villas
Disney's BoardWalk Villas
Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort
Disney's Old Key West Resort
Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Disney's Vero Beach Resort
The Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel® & Spa at the Disneyland® Resort
The Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge

The Disney Collection
Disney Cruise Line®
3-Night Cruise to The Bahamas
4-Night Cruise to The Bahamas
5-Night Cruise to The Bahamas
7-Night Cruise to the Eastern Caribbean
7-Night Cruise to the Western Caribbean
10 & 11 Night Caribbean Cruises
7 & 8 Night European Cruises
10, 11, & 12 Night European Cruises
14 Night Trans-Atlantic Cruise
Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida
Disneyland® Resort in California
Disney Destinations Around the World
Back to top


World Passport Collection
Club Intrawest Resorts
Club Cordial®
Nightly & Weekly Exchanges through RCI®
Signature SelectionsSM Exchanges through RCI

And I believe in the vacation planner there is a list of resorts. Perhaps looking at the websites for these resorts will give you an idea. You could also call MS and get the lowdown on where to find this information.

 

[hakepb]

If you didn't plan on staying at DVC resorts regularly, DVC might not be a good fit for you. Or you could purchase a smaller contract and use banking and borrowing to take a DVC trip every third year.

Of course the one thing the 2010 and 2011 reallocations meant to me, was I no longer plan to add-on for a every 3 year trip because points can change and you would be stuck with a few or several unused points...
with additional contract(s) you may be able to combine the unused points at the 7 month window, but a sole every 3rd year contact will likely result in unused points or possible have too few poins ot make the complete trip..

 

[DaddyDeuce]

Well, thanks for the responses. If it only makes sense to either use points on a DVC resort or rent them out, then that actually makes my analysis much simpler. I was wondering if there was some value I should assign to ability to spend them elsewhere and for now I'm going to say no.

It's a hard call - which is why any decision is at least a year away. We have only taken one Disney vacation and although we enjoyed it very much it is difficult to say whether we want to become regulars.

My thinking is to buy a small contract (or combination of several very small contracts) that would let us either do a studio every 2 or a 1-bedroom every 3. I think I can commit us to at least one more Disney vacation in the next 3 years and if after that we decide it isn't our lifestyle - then there is resale.

If there was real value in using the points for non-DVC vacations then that would be one more point I could use in the "sales pitch" to my wife.

One more question; if you know well in advance that you won't be using your points, how difficult is it generally to rent them out?

Of course the one thing the 2010 and 2011 reallocations meant to me, was I no longer plan to add-on for a every 3 year trip because points can change and you would be stuck with a few or several unused points...
with additional contract(s) you may be able to combine the unused points at the 7 month window, but a sole every 3rd year contact will likely result in unused points or possible have too few poins ot make the complete trip..

I know you were saying something valuable here; but I don't quite follow. Are you saying multiple small contracts are more useful than one larger one?

 

[crisi]

I'd be very tempted - if you felt you NEEDED a timeshare, to look into a system with more value - something that sells low resale, but would trade into DVC. DVCs more popular resorts can be a hard trade, but it isn't too difficult to get something on property.

The timeshare users group is said to be very good.

 

[DaddyDeuce]

I'd be very tempted - if you felt you NEEDED a timeshare, to look into a system with more value - something that sells low resale, but would trade into DVC. DVCs more popular resorts can be a hard trade, but it isn't too difficult to get something on property.

The timeshare users group is said to be very good.

I didn't know there was such a thing. Are you saying there are other timeshares that can be swapped into DVC points?

Also; is there a popularity ranking of the DVC resorts?

 

[Dean]

There are very few options outside of the DVC resorts that make economic sense. Most of the time you would be better off renting the points and then taking advantage of promotions to book elsewhere.

Actually there are NO options outside of DVC that it makes sense to plan on buying in. Most are too expensive and NONE are guaranteed in any way.

I didn't know there was such a thing. Are you saying there are other timeshares that can be swapped into DVC points?

Also; is there a popularity ranking of the DVC resorts?

Potentially but this gets a little more complicated. If you're looking at every 3 years for DVC, I'd look at other ways over buying to try to get into DVC. This could include cash, possibly renting from a member or could involve other timeshares. To me it's easily possible to get into DVC if you can travel off season and aren't too worried about which resort. We were just planning this AM for a trip in Sept where I got 8 units at BCV and BWV all 1 & 2 BR units through other timeshares. But it is a little complicated and takes some work and effort in learning and using a system better than most people do. If you can travel during times like Jan, Feb, May, Sept, Oct then email me directly and I'll give you some additional help/information.

 

[Brian Noble]

although we enjoyed it very much it is difficult to say whether we want to become regulars.

I'd say that, at this time, Membership may not make sense for you. DVC really only makes sense if you know you're going to go to WDW frequently, for the foreseeable future, and only Disney-owned resorts will do. In almost any other situation, there are other ways to satisfy your vacation lodigng needs that are either less expensive, involve less of a commitment, or both.

As Dean points out, exchanging in takes a good measure of time invested to learn what you are doing. And, even after that, it's never a certain proposition. I generally believe it's a bad idea to buy any timeshare with a plan to exchange into one particular resort or system of resorts. It's a better bet to buy something mostly to use, rather to trade.

If you are intrigued by the idea of being a trader, it's better to look at exchange as a set of extra options that come your way, rather than as a plan to get something specific. It's a lot of fun---and can often get you some great deals. But exchanging should really be thought of more as a "hobby" than as a "plan", if that makes sense. And, over time, the ability to 'get a good deal' has steadily eroded, for a variety of reasons.