Just beginning to look at DVC - lots of questions!

[TXMommy]

My husband and I are beginning to seriously consider purchasing with DVC, and we have read thru many posts on these boards, but we still have lots of questions!

1. Does DVC offer any incentives to come to WDW to tour the property and listen to the sales pitch?

2. How much of a hassle is it to trade points and stay at a non-DVC place? I think I understand how the trading process works, but from what I've read here it sounds complicated. For example, if my family wanted to go to Colorado one year, how hard would it be to use our DVC points to do that? And how do we know what places to stay are available? Is there a list somewhere?

3. How do points for Disney cruises work?

4. How difficult is it to book in the 7-month window if you aren't staying at your home resort?

5. How are yearly dues paid? Is it built in w/ your monthly payments or is it a one-time, once-a-year payment?

6. Is there a limit on how many of your points you can bank or borrow?

7. If you don't have enough points to do something you want one year, can you pay the difference?

I know these are all things I need to call and ask a DVC rep, but I was hoping all the experts here could help me out a little before I call!!

Thank you!!!!

 

[PamOKW]

I'll tackle a few --

1. DVC is selling like hot cakes. They do not offer any incentive to come to Disney for the pitch. They may offer special discount programs if you purchase within "X" days of the tour. There are also promotions like "Magical Beginnings" that may be available.

5. Yearly dues are billed right around Christmas and are due January 1. They are late as of February 15. You have the option to pay in full (you can use a credit card) or to pay through direct deduction from your bank account each month. There is no charge or interest for the deduction program.

6. You can bank all your points forward one year and borrow all your points from the upcoming year. There are deadlines throughout the year that govern how many points can be banked. During the last 60 days of your Use Year, you cannot bank any points.

7. You can't pay for points through DVC if you are short. You could book one (or more) complete nights for cash and then use your points for the balance. You can also "rent" points from another member. In the case of a cruise, you can pay cash for some passengers.

That's a start. I'm in a rush today so I'll let others tackle the more in-depth questions. Keep asking away!!

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by TXMommy
My husband and I are beginning to seriously consider purchasing with DVC, and we have read thru many posts on these boards, but we still have lots of questions!

1. Does DVC offer any incentives to come to WDW to tour the property and listen to the sales pitch?

Not really. You may get a meal voucher or a few Fast Passes, but there are no "free/low cost stays" or "free park tickets" promotions similar to what some of the other timeshare sales organizations offer.

2. How much of a hassle is it to trade points and stay at a non-DVC place? I think I understand how the trading process works, but from what I've read here it sounds complicated. For example, if my family wanted to go to Colorado one year, how hard would it be to use our DVC points to do that? And how do we know what places to stay are available? Is there a list somewhere?

IMHO, this is tough to answer. If pressed, I'd have to say, it depends. Here is a link to some the trades available via the World Passport Collection (Interval International):

II for DVC Members

You might also be interested in this recent thread:

Dean's explanation of the trading process

3. How do points for Disney cruises work?

You decide the date, the cruise length and the cabin category. There is a chart that lists the "per person" points required. To book a cruise through MS, you must pay points for at least one adult in the cabin and also pay a $75 fee. There are more rules/restrictions - if you need moreinfo on cruises, you can ask something specific or do a search.

4. How difficult is it to book in the 7-month window if you aren't staying at your home resort?

It is certainly doable, but your success depends on what time of the year you plan to visit and the type of accomodations you want. Generally, you will need the home resort booking advantage to be sure of getting your first choice of dates for a Grand Villa/Beach Cottage anywhere, or a standard view or guaranteed Boardwalk view at the BWV. It is difficult to book the first two weeks of December anywhere at WDW and summer is very tough to get at HHI. The easiest times to book are January, first two weeks of February, May, and September. It is relatively easy to book the summer months.

Many will tell you the waitlist process works well for them. Many will also report success at booking even some of the more popular times at the 7 month window. You just really don't know until you call to book.

5. How are yearly dues paid? Is it built in w/ your monthly payments or is it a one-time, once-a-year payment?

You can choose to do either.

6. Is there a limit on how many of your points you can bank or borrow?

Yes. You may bank up to 100% of your annual allotment (there are deadlines) into the following use year. You may borrow up to 100% of your annual allotment from the following use year. Banking and borrowing are "final" transactions. Points banked or borrowed may not be returned to their original use year.

7. If you don't have enough points to do something you want one year, can you pay the difference?

No. But you could arrange to "rent" additional points for a one time use from another member. Keep in mind that renting is a private transaction and Disney does not get involved with arranging them or in any disputes that may arise from them.

I know these are all things I need to call and ask a DVC rep, but I was hoping all the experts here could help me out a little before I call!!

Thank you!!!!

Good luck with your decision.

Best wishes -

 

[OKW Lover]

First I'd like to congratulate you on actually doing some research. I'm constantly amazed by the number of people who have bought DVC without really understanding what its all about.

As far as your questions go:

1 No Disney doesn't offer incentives to come to WDW to tour the property. Disney apparently doesn't feel the need to entice people to come and see.

2 DVC seems to work best for those wanting to stay there. If you are more interested in going elsewhere you should probably pass-up DVC. Think about where you want to spend your future vacations before you buy anywhere.

3. Using points for a Disney cruise is easy. One call is all it takes. But, be aware that many people fined that the points exchange isn't that good and they would rather rent their points and pay cash for the cruise.

4. I haven't had much problem at all booking at the 7 month window, but then I usually go during the off season. If you want to go during a busy season (Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving, Spring Break) you may have difficulty. But even so there is a pretty good likelyhood that you will get in.

5. Yearly dues can be paid monthly as part of your mortage, or you can chose to pay them all at the beginning of the year.

6. Yes, there is a limit. In general you can only bank one years worth of points, and you can only borrow one years worth. So in effect you can have three years points available. There are some limits to when you can bank points. If you want to bank more than 50% of your points you must do this in the first 6 months of your use year.

7. You can ask to pay cash for some of your nights. There is a member discount.

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by OKW Lover
7. You can ask to pay cash for some of your nights. There is a member discount.

It's worth noting that the cash discount is not always available. Rooms are only available at the cash discount rate (which is 25% off of rack rates) if DVC projects that they will not be able to rent all of the rooms on points for that date.

When available, the discount is only offered at the DVC resorts. Ownership in DVC does not entitle you to any cash discounts at other Disney resorts.

However, many DVC members are Annual Passholders, and you can often get pretty good cash discounts with an AP (or AAA, or strictly using discount codes.)

If you've looked at the point charts, one of the first things you probably noticed is that point costs for Friday and Saturday nights can be more than double the same resort / room for weekday nights. For this reason, many people with a small number of points will pay cash for their weekend stays--either at the same resort, another Disney resort, or even an off-site hotel--and then move to their DVC room on Sunday night. For example, if you scheduled a Friday-to-Thursday stay, you could start by paying cash for a room at Port Orleans on Friday and Saturday night. On Sunday, you check out of PO and move over to the DVC resort to stay on your points. Disney will take care of the luggage transfer if you wish.

Good luck, and don't be afraid to ask additional questions. By-and-large, the DVC program doesn't have many pitfalls that could come back and bite you. But you're more likely to be made aware of those pitfalls by the folks on this board than any DVC Guide.

 

[TXMommy]

Of course we would primarily want to stay at DVC resorts, but there would be occasions in the next 50 years that we may want to exchange and go somewhere else - I looked at the link you provided, CarolMN, and it looks like there are plenty of nice places to stay all over the place! If I have, say, 150 points with DVC, what would that get me in the exchange? Are the accomodations and prices comparable w/ DVC, or would it cost me gads more points? I have only seen Points Charts for the DVC resorts - not for exchanges or the Disney Cruise Line.

Another question, which is probably a thread on here somewhere - how many of ya'll buy over the phone, sight unseen? The only DVC resort I have seen/stayed at is HHI, and we LOVED it. But I would want a different resort for our home resort, and I've never really seen any of the others. Do I spend the money for a trip to go see it first, or do I use that money toward my DVC purchase???

(I understand that SSR is the only resort selling thru DVC, but we are looking at resales, too.)

 

[RuthnPaul]

Originally posted by TXMommy
(I understand that SSR is the only resort selling thru DVC, but we are looking at resales, too.)

Not quite true. There are times when Disney exercises its right of refusal on resale contracts. When Disney buys back those contracts, they turn around and sell them at $84 per point. Within the last several weeks, we had a phone call from our guide about points being available at BWV (someone on this board later said they'd been told that there were 10,000 points available at BWV). Some people prefer going through Disney due to the immediate availability of the points and ease of financing.

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by TXMommy
Another question, which is probably a thread on here somewhere - how many of ya'll buy over the phone, sight unseen? The only DVC resort I have seen/stayed at is HHI, and we LOVED it. But I would want a different resort for our home resort, and I've never really seen any of the others. Do I spend the money for a trip to go see it first, or do I use that money toward my DVC purchase???

Tough question. We bought into SSR sight-unseen, although we had stayed at OKW a couple of times. So, even though we didn't know exactly what our Home resort would look like, we knew what to expect from DVC in general.

If you were impressed with HHI, then don't see how any of the other DVC resorts would disappoint you. There's just too much variety to really be unhappy.

If you do decide to pay cash for a trip to tour the resorts, my initial thought is that you'll probably walk away from that trip wishing you had just put that money toward your purchase.

(I understand that SSR is the only resort selling thru DVC, but we are looking at resales, too.)

RuthnPaul is right--you can occasionally snag some points from DVC at the sold out resorts. But unless you really need DVC's financing, there aren't many other good reasons to do so.

If you are patient, it shouldn't take long to find a resale contract that suits your needs. Ideally, if you can find one with banked points from 2003, you're in even better shape.

DVC will charge you a flat $84 per point. But you should be able to get any of the sold out properties for about $75 pp (or much less depending on resort.) Add in a couple of dollars for closing and you're still ahead of the game. And, if you get a contract with some banked points from '03, you've really got a steal on your hands.

 

[1833]

Purchase sight unseen?

We are waiting to pass ROFR on VWL that we purchased sight unseen. We also debated whether to see Disney first, but after pricing the vacation we decided it would be better worth our money to get an extra 30 points.

This site provided invaluable information about the character, and positives and negatives of the many resorts. Based on the great insights of DISBOARD, looking at the DIsney website to "see" the different resorts, and considering price, we made our decision. ALthough I sometimes have second thoughts as to whether VWL will be my favorite (everyone speaks very highly of the pool at the Beach Club, the grand villas at old key west, the proximity of BWk, the spa at SS....actually everyone seems to love all of the resorts), it was the best decision we could make for our family given where we are today--with small kids we decided proximity to MK was most important (and VWL seem awesome.) Maybe we would have choose "better" if we saw the resorts first, but I figure if our likes change (and we find the 7 month window too troublesome), we can add on at another resort. All the resorts seem so good, I can't believe we made a bad decision!

Good luck!!!

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by TXMommy
...(snip)....- I looked at the link you provided, CarolMN, and it looks like there are plenty of nice places to stay all over the place! If I have, say, 150 points with DVC, what would that get me in the exchange? ....(snip)....

We'll have to thank Dean for the link - he posted it several weeks ago and many of us bookmarked it.

The points required for an exchange via Interval International (World Passport Collection) are as follows:

One Bedroom 124/144/160 (Low season, Mid Season, High Season)
Two Bedroom 207/252/270

The seasons vary by resort and are set by the destination resort.

You may bank/borrow if you need more than 150 points for your exchange.

To find out more about II exchanges, try doing a search. You can use exchange, Interval, trade, etc. to bring up some relevant threads.

Best wishes -

 

[Frozenfingers]

If I have, say, 150 points with DVC, what would that get me in the exchange? Are the accomodations and prices comparable w/ DVC, or would it cost me gads more points?

I've been waiting for Dean to answer this one, he is the boards resident expert on TS exchanges. Personally, I have not tried to exchange so this info may not be entirely accurate.. other members please feel free to corect my misunderstandings.

From all that has been posted here, II exchanges are not considered "at par". Some controversy exists on how one's points are valued, but the general feeling I get is one gets hosed exchanging points for another timeshare or a cruise. A fair number of members rent their points on the rent board, and use the cash rate for cruises. That says a lot about the fairness of the exchange, but you can do the math. All exchanges require a 75 dollar fee also.

Here is a post Dean did a while back about the process:

Thee process should go like this.

You decide what resorts you will accept. YOU must research the appropriateness of the resorts you list and accept.

You decide what weeks will work based on calendar dates.

You call MS and tell them what you want.

IF it's sitting in the II computer, they offer it to you and you say yes or no.

If what you want is not in II, they put in an ongoing search.

IF it comes up, DVC calls you and asks if you want it. They will usually give you a couple of days so you can check work schedules, air and the like.

If you accept, they take the points and collect your payment and you're set.

Caveat's for an exchange.

MAKE SURE THE RESRORT YOU ACCEPT WILL DO WHAT YOU WANT.

Get air fare settled or at least planned prior.

IF you cancel you will likely lose your week.

Most exchanges should be requested AT LEAST 1 years out, especially high demand ones. And frankly, low demand exchanges aren't a reasonable value.

Realize there are quircks about many resorts such as some only start certain days of the week, usually Saturday but not always. Others have multiple start dates so make sure you know what start date you are requesting. The way II works, you could ask for Saturday only but they'll still offer you anything from Thursday to Sunday. Some unit may not have a kitchen. Some resorts do not offer beach/pool towels. Some resorts give exchangers the worst rooms and sometimes there are big differences.

I think the biggest mistake that DVC members make in exchanging is assuming the outcome based on their knowledge of DVC. This can be a very major mistake.


__________________
Dean

As I understand the TS exchange process, DVD negotiates every year how much the point exchange will be. But, it is for a full week (7 Days). I don't have the numbers in front of me, and I still can't get into the new and improved website. The hook is, the II exchange needs to be avialable, and not all exchanges meet the standards of DVC. IMHO, the exchange option is ok, but our family is unlikely to use it. To me, it seems easier and more economical to rent my points and use the cash to make our own reservations (should we ever decide to go elsewhere that is). Here is a link to other expert options to timeshare exchanges, by Dean.

Hope this helps..

 

[disneymom2one]

We bought sight unseen. We hadn't been to WDW since before 9/11 and when we stayed on property we only stayed at the value resorts or moderates. We knew what DVC was and had always wanted to look into it. We did everything over the phone and the mail when we received a small inheritance. We just went up for a long weekend and did the tour but it was after we had sent in all the paperwork and the down payment. We stayed at OKW and toured SSR with our guide as well as wandering around VWL and BWV by ourselves. We were thrilled - no regrets

 

[manning]

Banking should be clarified.

You can bank 100 % of your points within the first 6 months of your use year. Then it goes down to 50 % within a certain time period, then 25 % then 0.

The percentage banking is based on the total number of points you own, NOT on unused points.

Someone else can fill you in on the other deadline dates. I've only done the 100 %

Also there are penalties for cancelations. If you fail to cancel before you arrive you lose all the points used for that reservation.

If you cancel less than 31 days from arrival the points used for the reservation goes into a holding account. These points have to be used by the end of your use year. Also you can only use these points on reservations made 60 days prior to your arrival date.