off propert trip values?

[Dean]

Originally posted by Dizzie
At the risk of being attacked, I have to agree with Horace. From lurking on these boards, it's clear that most of the people here are total Disney fans and that may skew the view of using points elsewhere. I consider myself to be a Disney freak, I can't get enough of it. I already have my next 2 WDW trips booked.

But we do like to travel a lot of places and we use our points to stay at those locations. We do realize that it might "cost" more than the stay at WDW, but since we've already paid for our stay, why not use it. The lodging out of WDW may not be as nice but we have never had a bad experience, just a different and wonderful trip.

No attack and no disagreement. I don't think I could be called a Disney freak though, my approach is the financial value of what one gets in return compared to how you could have gotten it elsewhere. As a minimun, one could rent their points and pay cash for other items. Your points and if you're happy, I'm happy.

 

[Richyams]

Notice Dean feigning reasonableness, very good. I think it will help.....

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by Dean

Put another way, one can go on a great vacation at a great resort and still not have an equivilent value of their DVC exchange. So the fact that someone loved their exchange doesn't make it a good value.

I've never traded my DVC points outside of Disney, but I've traded Marriott Newport Coast weeks for other Marriott timeshare weeks where, in some cases, the rack rate per night is less than at Newport Coast.

I guess I feel that there's more to "value" than the financial value. Not everything that costs more is better. Not everything has to be a strictly financial decision.

To DVC members who are thinking of trading through DVC's Interval Int'l program, I have one bit of advice: Worry about the quality of your family's vacation, not whether the timeshare resort that you're trading into has a rack rate of $200 per night or $400 per night. And don't go to WDW every year just because the nightly rack rate at the DVC resorts is so high.

This is not meant as a criticism of Dean, who brings great value to this board. I just wanted to offer my opinion that not every point usage decision should be based on financial criteria.

 

[BobH]

I find that point usage is similar to frequent flyer miles usage. You get the most value for your flyer miles if you use them on expensive flights and times going to destinations that would otherwise cost you a lot of money. Using DVC points at DVC properties always gives you more value per dollar spent. However, the flexibility to be able to use points elsewhere is a very nice feature of the plan although it is a more expensive way to use points. Some folks who buy into DVC are doing so because they can prepay a fixed amount that will give them years of vacations at a predetermined cost. I purchased with the view that I would have 2 kids in college and would not be likely to be able to come up with the cash price of a cruise etc on the spot but if I decided to be irresponsible with my points I might occasionally blow them on cruise rather than get maximum value staying at OKW. Everyone uses their points to suit their own needs whether they are squeezing the maximum dollar value out of the points or not. The flexibility of the system is what sold me on the concept of DVC. I have choices.

 

[jctwizzer]

Just to inject a somewhat different point of view....once our DVC points were paid for, "cost", "value" whatever, became irrelevant.
And having used them enough to consider them "paid for" it becomes even less relevant----whatever we use them for means we didnt' have to put out cash for something. I spend no time considering whether every expenditure maximizes to use of funds....I spend a lot of time enjoying whatever activity we have chosen at that time. As a aside, I'm always amused when someone uses "lost investment opportunity costs", or whatever, when doing an analysis. In most, if not all cases, DVC funds would NOT have been invested; they would have been used for another discretionary expense/ which means that what you "lost" is a newer car/a new kitchen/or other discretionary item. If the beancounters want to spend their time justifying every economic decision, I wish them luck. I'll be off enjoying my reckless use of funds!!!!

 

[Richyams]

Many of us, at least Dean and I, find your attitude offensive. We think you are living in a dream world and would be better served with a little pragmatism. We think that you and those like you do us all a diservice by perpetuating the crime of unfair trade values.

Sinner Repent!!!!

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Richyams
Many of us, at least Dean and I, find your attitude offensive. We think you are living in a dream world and would be better served with a little pragmatism. We think that you and those like you do us all a diservice by perpetuating the crime of unfair trade values.

Sinner Repent!!!!

Rich, I don't need you to speak for me. I can get in enough trouble on my own. As I've tried to portray repeatedly, I think what an individual does with their points is their business. I just want them to have the information to make an informed decision. After that they're on their own.

 

[rrobalew]

Some other ways to look at it...

One way to decide whether to use points is to compare what it costs you to use points vs. what it costs you to use cash. If in a given year you figure your points have cost you $6 per point, and you're considering using 100 points to stay somewhere, it would cost you $600 if you used points. The question then is whether staying at that location using cash will cost you more or less than $600. If you can't find a cash deal for $600 or less, then using points would be cheaper. For me, that's a good deal.

Another way to decide is based on what your points are worth. It sounds like the current going rate to rent out points is $10 per point. So using the same 100 point location, you could rent out your points and get $1000 in cash to use for the stay. The question then is whether the $1000 covers the cost of the best cash deal you can find. If the best cash deal costs more than $1000, then you'd be better off using points directly, rather than trying to rent them out. Of course, renting out points is a bit of a hassle. So if, like me, you dislike hassles, it might even be worth paying a little more with points.

I don't think it's accurate to say that using points at a given location at a given time of year is a waste just because you could use fewer points at a different location and/or different time of year. If I pay cash to go to Hawaii at peak season, am I wasting money because I could have instead paid less to go to Nebraska in January? I don't think so. If you want to go to a particular place in a given year that's not Disney, you have to evaulate costs and values based on that other location.

I also don't think it's valid to say it's better to use cash for a year when you're staying "off property" and bank the points for the following year. For many people who only take one big vacation each year, you'll have to use these points pretty quickly to keep them from expiring. This will likely require taking an extra vacation when you wouldn't otherwise have done so. This would mean spending more than you would otherwise, even though you're spending points and not cash. But the points do have a value, so you are using money you otherwise would not have used. Now, if Disney would let you save points indefinitely, this argument would go away.

Of course, this is all just my personal opinion, and it's hard to say how many points that's worth ;-)

- Randy

 

[bbowers]

Since we live in Michigan, I've found one that is actually a great deal - the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. If I were to pay cash for a weekend, it would be $1310 (in their "value season", which is sometimes when there is still snow around here...) for a deluxe lakeside, but only 100 points (plus the $95 fee). Since I'd have to rent those points at $13-plus a point, I'd say that was a REALLY good switch.

Even though we live in Michigan (but way down just over the Indiana line), we've never stayed there. After seeing the prices, I can see why - but we just may blow some points on it!

 

[BobH]

When on vacation I also run down to Publix from OKW to get the kids ice cream at a better value - after calculating the current cost of gasoline. I suggest both sides of this debate are potential "sinners." But isn't great we have the opportunity to either spend or be aware of the value. the discussion is enjoyable and informative.... Have a good day!

 

[jcodespoti]

What is "value"?

It is in the eye of the beholder. Some people will pay huge amounts of money to get great tickets to see their favorite band, while for otheres you could not pay enough money to see the same band.
Same band, two different ways of looking at it.

Joe in CT

 

[Cruelladeville]

bbowers, as a fellow Michiganian I have stayed at the Grand Hotel(once) for a weekend, on points. I had points to burn that year--I don't know how I managed that. And while expensive, I did get three wonderful meals per day, so it was well worth the expense for two nights.

But, for the person who originally posted this thread, you might want to just get a small contract of around 150 points, bank them every other year, and buy a Marriott to trade by using one of the resale companies. It's far cheaper than buying new, and it will accomplish your purpose of being able to easily trade. As you may have noticed from Dean's postings, he got some good trades using Marriott. There are others that may trade well, but Marriott is easy to trade even if you don't know what you are doing. This way you are still getiting DVC, and using Marriott so your wife can go to other places. One warning--once your wife goes to a DVC resort a few times, she may prefer to continue going to Disney, and forego the other travelling. That's what happened to us.