Points charts

[riclehm]

I am looking to buy into DVC after thinking about it for 2 years. Is there anywhere to find points costs for locations other than the resorts? Ex: cruise or foreign destinations?

 

[dvcnut39]

I can only think of two-

1- get a copy of the official member guide book- just contact member services and they'll (hopefully) send you one

or

2- you have to get on the official member web page and they outline the points for you including cruises, World Passport Collection, Concierge Collection, etc

Good luck!

 

[Chuck S]

Hi riclehm, welcome to the DVC boards.

The purchase of DVC should never be based upon the thought of using your points outside of DVC on a regular basis. Not only are they not particularly point/cost effective, they points for those options change yearly, and almost always increase, as DVC has to pay cash to the outside location. The way they "pay the cash" is by turning DVC rooms over to cash reservations. As the cash price of those non-DVC accommodations increase, the number of points needed for those stays increases.

Thats not to say that an occasional stay outside of DVC isn't right for many members, just not the best use of points, and not a good option to trade on a routine basis. The exceptions may be the trades to other timeshares through Interval International (World Passport Collection). Those trades are "reasonable" compared to others. But those points can also change every year. However, it looks like in 2008 that DVCers will be getting more bang for their buck as far as flexibility in those II accommodations.

 

[eva]

Chuck is right on target for the majority of trades. The points will change (sometimes dramatically) from year to year. DCL cruise have gone up quite a bit. A cat. 6 four years ago in May was 201 points per person. Now it is 260 per person. Right now we all seem to be contemplating whether DVC is doing away with the Concierge Collection and the Adventurers Collection. The speculation comes from them eliminating over half of the offerings just this year. It will be interesting to see what happens there. Now the only place that you can be fairly sure that the points will stay more constant are the trades through II. Right now the are charging 160 points for a 1-bedroom for a week and 270 for a 2-bedroom. I should mention those are high season points. But you will find that most of the trades the DVC allows have high season all year long.

 

[flyerron]

You are all correct. Timeshare purchases should be locatedd where you want to stay. They are much more effective at your home site than the trading route. BUY Where You Want to Stay. That essentially means If you want WDW buy there to use there 80% of your stays. If you want to go elsewhere most of the time. do it on your own. Trading is not very cost effective and may be difficult.
Good Luck

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you want to trade out, but still go to Disney theme parks, buy enough points to get you your trips to Disney and then look at another time share for the trading out. There are a lot of timeshares that are a lot cheaper than Disney that are good trades.

 

[riclehm]

Thanks for the information. Right now we are looking at it predominantly to go to WDW with our children (5,3,1) and hopefully start a tradition and eventually come back with grown children and grandchildren. We have used my aunt's points to stay at Saratoga Springs and the one thing I noticed was several generations coming together. I finally found a copy of points charts and looked at the actual cost of staying at those places with cash and there really isn't much if any savings. There is a modest savings with the cruise, but even that is approaching breakeven in many senarios depending on how you work it out.

 

[eva]

Thanks for the information. Right now we are looking at it predominantly to go to WDW with our children (5,3,1) and hopefully start a tradition and eventually come back with grown children and grandchildren. We have used my aunt's points to stay at Saratoga Springs and the one thing I noticed was several generations coming together. I finally found a copy of points charts and looked at the actual cost of staying at those places with cash and there really isn't much if any savings. There is a modest savings with the cruise, but even that is approaching breakeven in many senarios depending on how you work it out.

I'm glad that you found the point charts. I wasn't sure where you could find them besides the DVC Member site. Remember to calculate the original cost of the points with any interest and the yearly dues when comparing cost. Some forget one or the other. It might be a moot ("moo" point if you are a Friends fan) point after the purchase. But before purchasing, I would consider it. It can determine how many points you purchase. If you only go to WDW every couple of years, you may want to do as suggested and buy the minimum points. Then use the remainder of your money for other vacations or to invest in another timeshare for trades. I guess I shouldn't talk. We keep adding on and we use our points occasionally for a cruise or ABD. But I wouldn't buy or add on with the idea that of using them for those frequently.