Members "trading" points at different resorts - a common practice?

[cigar95]

We're in the process of buying at (one resort), but we will also want to stay at a couple other resorts on occasion. How common is it for members to use something like the rent/trade board to say, for example, "I'll trade you xyz of my points at resort ABC for xyz of your points at resort DEF"?

I tend to travel at times of year when my chances of getting in at those other two resorts at seven months would be fairly good, but it would always be nice to get the home priority. And it seems like there are enough folks out there who see points at some of the more popular resorts as a desirable commodity.

I can see where some folks might want to do one side of the trade as a transfer, while I would be happy enough to sign a contract/agreement such that we would make each other's reservations if the number of points for our two reservations are very close.

thanks for thoughts here.

eta - I'm familiar with the process of renting points directly, having done it about a dozen times myself. But "trading points" would be a new one for me, since I've never been a member until now.

 

[CarolAnnC]

The problem here is that there are two allowed practices - to "rent" which entails making a reservation for someone else and charging them for the reservation, or a "transfer" which is having your points placed into another DVC member's account.

There is only one transferred allowed per year, and that is in or out. So you could not trade having one set of points put in your account and then transfer out your own points to the other person's account as that would be considered two transfers.

Now, if you were to "trade" a reservation with someone else, that might be a possibility. But, with the differences in categories, number of points varying by resort, etc. it may be difficult to arrive at an amount that is considered fair to both parties.

BTW, we edited out the details in your post as anything with details related to a rental, trade or transfer may only be posted on the DVC Rent/Trade Board, including the resorts as were listed. The general questions without details are fine here, though.

 

[cigar95]

OK, since my example was purely hypothetical, I could easily have phrased it as "xyz points at resort ABC in return for xyz points at resort DEF".

In any case, I know that the double transfer wouldn't fly, but I'm thinking of a scenario where person X uses their home resort points to make a reservation in my name, and in return, either I transfer the same number of points to their account, or we agree on me making a reservation at my home resort with my points. So this approach would require at most one transfer.

If we can find a scenario where the points are close to each other, working out a small adjustment for the difference ought to be a minor issue.

It seems the answer is that I'm free to put the offer on the rent/trade board, but I shouldn't be surprised if I'm not able to find a taker.

 

[Chuck S]

That is allowed on our Rent/Trade board, using the thread title Trade Wanted. It isn't a category we see used much, so I really don't know how successful the desired trade transactions are.

For more info, see the sticky threads on the Rent/Trade board, as our board has software that reviews and validates the submitted threads before they become visible. That software requires very specific titles, and they have to be spelled correctly, too.

 

[lisasmith]

are you sure that it's only allowed one per year to transfer out and in? This contradicts what I've heard elsewhere.

 

[Chuck S]

are you sure that it's only allowed one per year to transfer out and in? This contradicts what I've heard elsewhere.

Yes. It is one transfer to OR from another members account, not both, per use year.

 

[Deb & Bill]

are you sure that it's only allowed one per year to transfer out and in? This contradicts what I've heard elsewhere.

You'll find this information in the Public Offering Statement that you get when you purchase. Only one out or one in per year.

 

[LauraLea]

This works great if you have more than one membership. We have 3 and have been able to do multiple transfers a year. It also works if you can transfer different UY points. One person transfers 09 point to your 09 year and the other person transfers 2010 points to their 2010 year.

Laura

 

[DebbieB]

are you sure that it's only allowed one per year to transfer out and in? This contradicts what I've heard elsewhere.

DVC used to be more flexible on that but tightened it up in the past couple of years as a way to get control of commercial renters.

 

[Deb & Bill]

This works great if you have more than one membership. We have 3 and have been able to do multiple transfers a year. It also works if you can transfer different UY points. One person transfers 09 point to your 09 year and the other person transfers 2010 points to their 2010 year.

Laura

You can still only do one per membership in or out a year. I use my once a year transfer to transfer from my smaller point contract (Dec UY) to my larger point contract (Sep UY). As long as the first numbers in the contract number are different, you have different contracts. If the numbers after the decimal point are the only difference, you have one contract with multiple add-ons.

The one in or out was the rule when we first bought in 1997.

 

[LauraLea]

Yes we have 3 separate membership numbers. DH and I have a Dec and Oct UY. Then we have a 3rd in DH, my name and DS's name with an Oct UY.

Laura

 

[carlbarry]

The above got me thinking, as someone who is waiting on ROFR. I thought that I could book my home resort at 11 months out, and then rent out the remainder of my points. At 7 months, if I wanted to try for a different resort that required more points (say an increase from 80 to 100), I could then borrow the points from next year. Is this option eliminated by the one trade per year rule? Thanks.

 

[5forDiz]

The above got me thinking, as someone who is waiting on ROFR. I thought that I could book my home resort at 11 months out, and then rent out the remainder of my points. At 7 months, if I wanted to try for a different resort that required more points (say an increase from 80 to 100), I could then borrow the points from next year. Is this option eliminated by the one trade per year rule? Thanks.

A transfer is points being moved from one member to another member or as Deb describes if you have multiple contracts that are not under the same membership number & you wish to move points from one contract to another contract. Banking and borrowing are not transfers and do not fall under the one per year rule so you can bank as many times as you've got available points up to your banking deadline and MS will allow you to borrow from UY that comes immediately after UY during which your trip occurs if necessary to complete amount of points you'd need for your ressie and also if at some point after you borrowed those 20 pts to go from 80 pts to 100 pts ressie you wanted to add another night and still have points left to borrow that can cover that night MS will borrow again.

 

[carlbarry]

Thanks! Now all I need is some luck with ROFR, and I'm good to go!

 

[5forDiz]

Thanks! Now all I need is some luck with ROFR, and I'm good to go!

Good luck hope you'll soon hear good news

 

[kimberh]

Yes we have 3 separate membership numbers. DH and I have a Dec and Oct UY. Then we have a 3rd in DH, my name and DS's name with an Oct UY.

Laura

I do the same thing. Different Membership numbers, different UY's

 

[lark]

I thought about trying to do this. I have BLT points, but I needed a small point reservation at BCV. I needed a particular date and could not be flexible.

I looked into trying to trade someone with BCV points who would like BLT, but it was just too complicated. So, what I did was simply found a nice person on the rental board with BCV points and I rented them in the 11 month window to get exactly what I wanted. I intended immediately to rent out a corresponding number of BLT points to pay myself back for the rental, but I haven't gotten around to it. I don't want to give up the points!!! But I still may. The reality is that doing a three-way transaction for cash is much easier than finding the exact person who has exactly what you want and needs exactly what you have.

I really think this is the easiest way to do it. Cash is fungible, and serves as the medium for the "trade." One other thing you could try is looking on the rental board for exactly what you want. If you find someone renting points you could use for your reservation, you could always shoot them a PM that says you're interested in renting their points, or, in the alternative, if they might be interested, you have points at X resort you could trade. Who knows? The most they can do is say no. Nobody is going to be offended. Perhaps a mod will tell me this is against the board rules, but I don't think it is. Good luck.

 

[RobDoc]

...I really think this is the easiest way to do it. Cash is fungible, and serves as the medium for the "trade." One other thing you could try is looking on the rental board for exactly what you want. If you find someone renting points you could use for your reservation, you could always shoot them a PM that says you're interested in renting their points, or, in the alternative, if they might be interested, you have points at X resort you could trade. Who knows? The most they can do is say no. Nobody is going to be offended. Perhaps a mod will tell me this is against the board rules, but I don't think it is. Good luck.

That is certainly fair use of the Rent/Trade Board. The board is set up to facilitate that type of trade between members using "Trade Wanted" or "Trade Transfer", but few have ever used those options. Your method of renting from another member and then offering to rent to someone else is also a solid plan to accomplish what you want. That method is commonly used on the Rent/Trade.

Enjoy!

 

[cigar95]

That is certainly fair use of the Rent/Trade Board. The board is set up to facilitate that type of trade between members using "Trade Wanted" or "Trade Transfer", but few have ever used those options. Your method of renting from another member and then offering to rent to someone else is also a solid plan to accomplish what you want. That method is commonly used on the Rent/Trade.

Enjoy!

Doc, thanks for posting this. When I had read the rules on "trade" postings, it sounded like they were primarily for trades involving non-DVC resorts, and for trading reservations, rather than "unofficially" trading points with different home resorts.

I do agree with lark's sentiments about the potential complications of finding someone at my resort of interest looking for precisely the same number of points that I'm looking for. My original thoughts were that if I could find someone interested in roughly the same number of points, we could handle the difference as a small cash transaction in whichever direction, or just settle for a slightly different number. (Would offering the former be permitted in a "trade" listing?)

As an alternative, I could offer to transfer my points to them in return for a reservation - then they could use most of them for home resort priority and the rest in conjunction with their own points in the seven-month window. (Again, would offering a transfer option be permitted under a "trade" listing?)

The whole reason I started this thread in the first place (and sent it in some directions I hadn't expected!) was the idea that there will be owners who may not be interested in foregoing their points for cash, but who might want to get a reservation at a popular resort at which they do not own, in return for some points at their own desirable resort. In that case, a trade might make both parties happy.

The other advantage is that by working with another DVC member, I would feel a little more comfortable than working with a potential "renter from the bowels of the underworld".

When the time comes (I'm probably still several weeks from closing, and I expect I'll rent out my first year's points since I just returned from a trip), what I probably ought to do is write up a proposed posting, with all my complex options, and send it to one of the board mods to see if it passes muster. It's clear that the rules are pretty tight nowadays.

And lark, thanks for your experience - it sounds like you were thinking very much along the same lines as I was.

 

[VLee]

I had a very successful experience with a trade/transfer in points. By viewing posts, I found someone who wanted a reservation 11 months out at a DVC resort other than her home resort. I made the reservation for her using a substantial number of points and in turn she then transferred her points from her home resort to me. I also happened to own at the resort from which she was transferring points. (However, my contract at that resort is small-75-- and I was anxious to get more points there for 09 (able to bank into 2010) because I was planning an extended stay.)
We communicated well and as it was, I had to wait 6 months before she could transfer in the points, as I wanted them in my 2009 use year and they were from her 2009 use year. But this was explained up front and of course, as owner, I remained in control of the reservation (had the transfer not gone through).
She did not have quite enough points to make it an "even" trade, so she paid me for the difference.
The transfer was made on June 1, 2008 for the June 2009 use year and it worked like clockwork.