OK guys I am confused

[cutiger95]

First of all let me give you a little introduction. I have two timeshares with Marriott currently and am looking at expanding that offering in the coming years. I love my Marriott timeshares but want to get my eggs out of the single basket. Disney is my second choice as a grade A proprietor of timeshares. But I am really confused over this whole points thing that Disney uses.

What is it and how does it work. Not a sales pitch just information for a dummy. What do the points mean? How do you use them. Can you use them for cruises or are you limited to DVC properties.

Thanks for your help ahead of time. I prefer to ask on a forum and avoid the salesmen if possible until I have a modicum of knowledge about the product.

Secondly is it better to buy a resale or from DVC. With Marriott you loose a lot of your flexibility if you buy aftermarket, is the same true with Disney.

 

[sleepydog25]

. . .the whole points thing. . .What is it and how does it work. Not a sales pitch just information for a dummy. What do the points mean? How do you use them. Can you use them for cruises or are you limited to DVC properties.

Welcome! I'm not sure how Marriott works, so we're even! Rather than buying a designated block of time during the year or a certain number of days as most timeshares do, with DVC you buy vacation points. New contracts with Disney have a minimum buy-in of 150 points (I think the max buy-in is 2000 pts), though you can get resales with fewer points. Currently, new contracts go for about $100 a point, so a 150-pt contract would run approx. $15,000. You get that same allotment of points each year. You use the points to "rent" accomodations at the seven Disney resorts: Old Key West, Beach Club Villas, Boardwalk Villas, Villas at the Wilderness Lodge, and Saratoga Springs--all at WDW. The other two resorts are Vero Beach and Hilton Head Island.

The resorts all have studios, 1BR, and 2BR suites, and a few of them have 3BR grand villas. You pay for your accomodations with your points. The suite size, the particular resort, the time of the week, and time of year are the determining factors in how many points it takes to "pay" for the room. For example, let's say you plan to travel to WDW for a Sun through Thur stay during the Adventure Season (off peak) and you wanted to stay at the Beach Club Villas in a 1BR suite. You would pay 22 points a night for a total of 110 pts. That same room during Christmas (peak season) would cost you 40 points per night or 200 pts total. The same type suite at Old Key West would run you 16/30 pts per night during those two times.

What the point system allows DVC owners to do is be very flexible with their plans. You choose when and how often you want to stay, how long the stay is for, and which resort you want. You are limited solely by availability and the number of points you own. Each year, you get your allotment of points anew, and it is possible to bank a year's worth of points to the following year, borrow from the coming year, or do both if you really want to splurge.

You can also use your points to pay for cruises, stay at accomodations around the world via a trade-in, or go on adventure trips (bike ride through Napa Valley, e.g.). Many will tell you on this board, however, that the best use of your points is to rent or sell them for cash and pay out of pocket for whatever trip you wish to take outside of WDW. For example, a 3-night Disney cruise in a deluxe stateroom with a verandah during Value Season runs 128 pts PER PERSON. So, a couple would use 256 pts for the cruise. On the other hand, if they rented the points for $10 a point, they would make over $2500 while the cruise might only cost around $1900 if cash were paid. Still, you CAN use your points outside of WDW.

Secondly is it better to buy a resale or from DVC. With Marriott you loose a lot of your flexibility if you buy aftermarket, is the same true with Disney

There is no substantial difference in buying resale vice via Disney. The same rules apply, the same privileges are extended as with the original contract. The differences lie in the fact that resales are generally cheaper, though Disney keeps them from getting too low with ROFR. Most resales are $10-$15 dollars cheaper per point than new contracts. However, the new contracts are with Saratoga Springs Resort--the newest--and don't expire until 2054. All the other resorts' contracts expire in 2042, so buying into SSR gets you an extra 12 years.

One final note. Buying into any DVC resort allows you stay at the others, too. The only difference is that owners at a particular resort can make reservations there beginning 11 months out from their vacation; all others have to wait until 7 months. I own at SSR, so for a July trip, I could make a reservation the previous August. If I desired to stay at the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge, however, I would have to wait until December. At that point, there might not be any available suites since VWL owners had a four-month head start.

I hope this has answered your questions. If not, I'm sure someone will come along who can!

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

Sleepydog25 gave a great DVC 101 post.

 

[Caskbill]

You can just think of points as being some special kind of DVC-Dollars. You get a new allotment every year, and you 'spend' them however you want. The 'cost' varies based on the resort, villa type, and time of year.

The 'cost' in points for the DVC resorts is fixed (but can be rebalanced within a resort as long as the total number of points doesnt' change)

The 'cost' for non DVC usage generally increases every year, and when compared to DVC resorts is usually not as good of a 'value'

When buying resale, contracts will be different with some stripped while others may be 'loaded'. Buyers generally also pay closing costs so something like a 50 point contract offered at $90 would really equate to $98 when one adds about $400 in closing costs. (When you buy direct from Disney, then Disney pays all the closing costs)

Buying direct from Disney you always get current year points. Buying resale you may get more points (EG banked points from the previous year) or fewer points (All current year points already used, and possibly even next year points already used. This would be a highly stripped contract). Buying from Disney you can finance through them. Buying resale, you have to pay in full or find your own financing. (Sometimes your resale broker can help find finance for you if needed)

Once you own, there is currently no difference between whether you purchased resale or direct from Disney.

 

[CPTJAK]

I would go to the Disney Web site and order the book/DVD it explains it and it will give you your options.

The salespeople will not hound you.

 

[Dean]

First of all let me give you a little introduction. I have two timeshares with Marriott currently and am looking at expanding that offering in the coming years. I love my Marriott timeshares but want to get my eggs out of the single basket. Disney is my second choice as a grade A proprietor of timeshares. But I am really confused over this whole points thing that Disney uses.

What is it and how does it work. Not a sales pitch just information for a dummy. What do the points mean? How do you use them. Can you use them for cruises or are you limited to DVC properties.

Thanks for your help ahead of time. I prefer to ask on a forum and avoid the salesmen if possible until I have a modicum of knowledge about the product.

Secondly is it better to buy a resale or from DVC. With Marriott you loose a lot of your flexibility if you buy aftermarket, is the same true with Disney.

First, I don't think you lose any flexibility with Marriott buying resale other than not having access to exchanging for reward points. Not a very valuable option for most people IMO. DVC is good for stays at WDW or other DVC resorts but not for other exchange options. You have other exchange options but the cost is ultimately more in almost every case than if you just kept your money and paid cash other than DVC stays. It certainly isn't a way to get cheap Disney cash options. Otherwise whether DVC is a good fit for you depends on how you would actually use it.

 

[cutiger95]

This information is totally awesome. I now understand the system and what is being said on the forums So ROFR is a right for Disney to purchase the points I am assuming rather than allowing the buyer to purchase them.

You buy points in yearly alotments and then use these points like a credit to get into the resorts you choose.

So the next question. If you can rent the points how do you know who to rent from and how much to pay for the rental points. Does disney have any regulations on the rental amount.

And finally to me loosing Marriott points is a big deal. The wife and I went to Curacao this year by banking a week at the home resort and pairing it up with my Marriott business stays and Credit card purchases. This may not be true if you don't have a lot of travel credits to pair with it.

 

[lizanne]

Sleepydog25, great job. I tried to explain this to a friend last month and couldn't believe how tongue tied I got. It didn't even make sense to me.

I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to print your explanation and give it to him.

 

[sleepydog25]

You buy points in yearly alotments and then use these points like a credit to get into the resorts you choose.

I may be misreading what you mean, but keep in mind that the actual point purchase is a one-time act per contract. Thus, if you purchase a 150-pt contract this year, you wouldn't buy those same points each year. In essence, you're buying a 150-pt contract that renews each year at the same time you closed on your contract. . .but you only pay the big bucks once. However, it is worth noting that there are maintenance fees that come due every year and currently run somewhere between $3.50 to $4.00 per point. Otherwise, your analogy is correct.

So the next question. If you can rent the points how do you know who to rent from and how much to pay for the rental points. Does disney have any regulations on the rental amount.

There is another forum and other threads (do a search) on this site for renting/transferring points, but the basic thrust is: find someone you think you can trust and make sure you have a strong rental agreement to use. You will get marvelous tips and strategies to use on the other forum. As far as I know, Disney sets no restrictions on the rental amount; it's pretty much what the market will bear which is currently around $10 a point from most renters. Any higher and there are always those willing to stay low; any lower and you wind up finding renters trying to play the system and you draw the ire of other DVC owners!

Sleepydog25, great job. I tried to explain this to a friend last month and couldn't believe how tongue tied I got. It didn't even make sense to me. I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to print your explanation and give it to him.

Don't mind at all, lizanne. To be honest, I had to go back and tweak what I was writing constantly. Although it's a simple enough concept, putting it down on paper is rather difficult. Thanks for your compliment!

 

[homewardbound]

So the next question. If you can rent the points how do you know who to rent from and how much to pay for the rental points. Does disney have any regulations on the rental amount.

First off, welcome to the forum! I too, am a big Marriott fan (although not a timeshare owner there).

DVC members are in control of the rental price of their own points. Disney does not regulate it.

The average price per point usually falls in the $10-$11 range. Supply/demand and the market in general dictates what the price per point will be. Sometimes you'll see an owner post point availability for less than $10 if he/she is desperate to rent points. i.e. bumping up against the expiration of the points. You may also find an owner offering at $12-$13/ point if it's a hot property during a highly desirable time frame.

There has been much discussion that the current average price per point is too low on these boards so you may see some upwards pressure on pricing. Only time will tell.

You can look on the rent/trade board for current activity. A few days of following the activity there will help you to gain insight as to how it all works.

I hope this helps!