Is it hard to use your points elsewhere?

[Disney Marathoner]

O.K., so I need to pitch my husband on the DVC. I am a Disney freak and have been visiting Disney World since I was a baby. My husband just took his first trip to Disney World last month. (We are newlyweds). He hated it at first and by the last day said that it "kind of enjoyed it and that he would go back, but probably not for several years." Ouch!

I love the idea of buying into a timeshare while we are still young. I am sold on the DVC in particular because it guarantees that I could at least make it back to "the World" occasionally. (As opposed to those "several years" potentially turning into never) The problem is that we would really need to use the plan to travel to other locations as well to make it worth it to my husband. I think that he would be open to it if we could actually travel around about 50% of the time.

So here is the question: Why are some of the DVC owners down on using the plan to travel elsewhere? Is it a preference thing, or is it really hard to trade your points for other destinations? If you guys could give me some really honest, direct answers I would greatly appreciate it. The DVC may be my dream, but I don't want to be selfish and get my hubby into a plan that has the potential to really make him miserable. He may not be crazy about Disney, but hey, I love the guy! Thanks so much!

 

[shantay1008]

There are people here who can answer your questions much better than I can, but have you thought of traveling to WDW every other year, and then during your non-WDW year, renting or transfering your points and using the cash for vacations that your husband would prefer? You might get advice to buy a non-Disney timeshare if you're not going to use your DVC to stay at DVC resorts, but it sounds like you really want to vacation at WDW.

I don't want to make any assumptions about whether or not you'll have kids eventually, but that might change your vacation pattern. My DH always thought WDW was a nice enough place to go, but never would have thought of going every other year. But now with our kids, we're both happy to have a place to go that is so kid-friendly and where we actually feel like we're on vacation.

Good luck!
Shannon

 

[bicker]

If you're going to spend much of your time exchanging out of DVC, DVC isn't going to be that great of a deal. The numbers just don't work out well. You'd be better of buying into another program, like Marriott Vacation Club, and paying OOP every so often for your Disney trips.

 

[CarolMN]

....(snip)........So here is the question: Why are some of the DVC owners down on using the plan to travel elsewhere?........

The short answer is because with very few exceptions, DVC is not a good economic value if you use it for anything other than a stay a DVC resort.

Best wishes -

P.S. I agree with bicker - you'd be better off financially with some other timeshare. You might consider renting points from a DVC member for the times you visit WDW.

 

[mapny90]

I've had great luck exchanging through the Concierge Collection. So far, I've spent a week-end at The Plaza (NYC), two week-ends at the Shelburne Murray Hill (NYC) and ten days at Shutters on the Beach (Santa Monica). I've also done a DCL vacation. I haven't had any problems getting the exact dates that I've wanted, the hotels have all been first rate and I never would have paid cash to stay at any of them.

I have to say that I haven't tried to trade through II or any other partners. For us, the ability to use the Concierge Collection was one of our factors in purchasing at DVC since there are several hotels in the CC that are within driving distance for us. We do spend most of our time at WDW, though.

BTW, as other posters have said, the only thing that I regret about DVC is that we didn't buy earlier.

 

[Dean]

So here is the question: Why are some of the DVC owners down on using the plan to travel elsewhere? Is it a preference thing, or is it really hard to trade your points for other destinations? If you guys could give me some really honest, direct answers I would greatly appreciate it. The DVC may be my dream, but I don't want to be selfish and get my hubby into a plan that has the potential to really make him miserable. He may not be crazy about Disney, but hey, I love the guy! Thanks so much!

It's very simple. Cost, ease of use and lack of guarantees. There is not a single scenario you can look at that makes financial sense buying DVC to use as a trading vehicle. Add that to the negatives and risks involved in the system and it's a double whammy. Many talk about the fact they don't want to worry about it so they buy DVC as a guaranteed vacation. That may work for DVC resorts but is far from reality with ANY of the other options. Get specifics and do the math yourself. You'll find you're better off with less cost and more options with cash for all non DVC options. And even if you can find a scenario where the numbers work the other way, that could, and likely would change by next year.

Now for that one time trip, it may not be worth worrying about it. But most people who go that route aren't asking about the exchange options as part of their purchase decision. Do yourself a favor and run a number of scenarios using reasonable numbers. Take into account either the lost value of what you could have made on money in savings or at lest any interest you would pay if you financed. I think when you're done you'll be very convinced that you should buy DVC to use at DVC resorts neutral or light on weekends. And look at other options for non DVC stays, possibly even another timeshare. DVC will usually return between $4.50 and $6.75 per point on cash options. I haven't seen anything that was above $6.75 pp unless it involved the cruise when they had already missed out on the early booking discounts.