Potential First Time Renter - realistic or chasing unicorns?

[Madani]

I am very interested in renting DVC points for an upcoming trip in 2016. I have read through some of the threads on the rent/trade board, and now I'm wondering if this is actually possible or if I am wasting time.

My dates and resort desires are very specific, as we are leaving for a cruise on the Disney Dream after our visit to the parks. I am interested primarily in what seem to more desirable resorts.

Given that I don't have flexibility on my dates, and I am not going to be too flexible on the resort, is it worth responding to any of the postings on the rent/trade board? I really don't want to waste anyone's time, and if my request is ridiculously unlikely to be fillable, I don't want to waste my own time responding to posts, either.

Thanks! Jennifer

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

Go to David's -- he does the work and you reap the benefits. Much easier than haunting the Rent/trade, which you likely won't be eligible to use because your post count is too low. My $.02.

 

[Minniesgal]

Worth a try, May isn't too bad but act now not later if you want to have a chance

 

[Madani]

Go to David's -- he does the work and you reap the benefits. Much easier than haunting the Rent/trade, which you likely won't be eligible to use because your post count is too low. My $.02.

After spending a major part of my vacation budget on the cruise, I was hoping to keep costs down a bit. I thought David charges a $98 fee plus I would have to pay up to 4% foreign transaction fee (checking with my CC company). I'm not sure about any fees with PayPal, which I see he also accepts.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

It is absolutely not a unicorn reservation so I'd respond to some owners on the rent/trade board. You'll find out very quickly if it's available or not but I think it will be - especially BLT lakeview but you might have a choice of TPV too (standard view is the least likely) or I think BCV will probably be available.

 

[supersnoop]

You're over 7 months out, so I'm sure there will be availability. Though, if you're trying to save money, you'll need to be aware that there is usually a premium charged for using the "home resort advantage" and most of the "standard" (ie cheap) rooms will probably be booked. I'd wager that you'll be able to get a lake-view studio at BLT easily.

But, be aware that rental requests and requests to check availability are not allowed, and your post contains an awful lot of specific details. I suspect it will be edited by a moderator shortly if you don't edit it yourself.

 

[maburke]

There's probably availability at BLT for Lake or Theme Park View.

Also, you CAN reply to postings on the Rent/Trade Board even with a low post count. You just can't start a thread, which you don't want to do anyway, and you may have trouble with sending PM's before you get to 10.

Good luck!

 

[Madani]

But, be aware that rental requests and requests to check availability are not allowed, and your post contains an awful lot of specific details. I suspect it will be edited by a moderator shortly if you don't edit it yourself.

I find it frustrating when people post asking for a opinion on <insert vague scenario>, so I always try to provide as many details as possible in order to get the best feedback possible. However, to your point, I certainly do not want to violate any rules here. Therefore I have made changes to the post to genericize it. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

 

[CarolMN]

Go to David's -- he does the work and you reap the benefits. Much easier than haunting the Rent/trade, which you likely won't be eligible to use because your post count is too low. My $.02.

There are no posting requirements to respond to a thread on the Rent/Trade Board. The posting requirements are for DVC owners who want to offer their points for rent or transfer.

 

[jhammond3966]

Realistic. Start a new thread saying what home resort and how many points and for when and start talking to people. Respond to posts where people have points to rent. Well worth your time. I have always rented directly from DVC members using DISboards and *********** forums to connect. With some time and effort you will find an owner to rent from directly. Example, I am currently looking for an owner with Villas Grand Floridian home resort points for October 2016 (my 11 month booking window is coming up in November so I am starting my search now for an owner to rent from). What resort are you looking for and when?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Realistic. Start a new thread saying what home resort and how many points and for when and start talking to people. Respond to posts where people have points to rent. Well worth your time. I have always rented directly from DVC members using DISboards and *********** forums to connect. With some time and effort you will find an owner to rent from directly. Example, I am currently looking for an owner with Villas Grand Floridian home resort points for October 2016 (my 11 month booking window is coming up in November so I am starting my search now for an owner to rent from). What resort are you looking for and when?

Point seekers cannot start a thread on the R/T Board. They can only respond to threads from members offering up points. And they cannot use another board on the DIS to request points for rent. That post will be removed.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Realistic. Start a new thread saying what home resort and how many points and for when and start talking to people. Respond to posts where people have points to rent. Well worth your time. I have always rented directly from DVC members using DISboards and *********** forums to connect. With some time and effort you will find an owner to rent from directly. Example, I am currently looking for an owner with Villas Grand Floridian home resort points for October 2016 (my 11 month booking window is coming up in November so I am starting my search now for an owner to rent from). What resort are you looking for and when?

Points seekers cannot start a thread on the R/T Board. They can only respond to a thread from an owner offering up points for rent. And they cannot use another DIS board to put out feelers for points. That post would be removed.

 

[drusba]

After spending a major part of my vacation budget on the cruise, I was hoping to keep costs down a bit. I thought David charges a $98 fee plus I would have to pay up to 4% foreign transaction fee (checking with my CC company). I'm not sure about any fees with PayPal, which I see he also accepts.

Maybe I am wrong, but I was not under the impression that the $98 upfront charge is a fee. If David's gets the rental you want it is applied to the total reservation cost. If he cannot get you a desired reservation it is returned. You lose the $98 if he get's the desired reservation and you decide to back out of the arrangement.

David's is located in Canada and thus you face the issue when using a credit card from the US that there could be a foreign transaction fee, probaly more in the 2% to 3% range rather than 4% with most card companies that charge a fee but there may be a company out there charging 4%. Using PayPal is not likely to prevent the fee.

I do not know exactly what reservation you want and when but if you go to the rent/trade board you should be contacting someone that has points you need. Going in May is mentioned above although not by the OP. There is usually a lot of availability in May at 7 months out unless you must have one of the "usual suspects" that are usually gone before 7 months out, particularly AKV value or club level rooms, VGF studies, BLT standard view, or BWV standard or boardwalk view studios and 2BRs, and possibly BCV studios in May because BCV will be going through renovation and a number of rooms may be out service weekly.

 

[Sleepy425]

Just a heads up, we were not charged a foreign transaction fee with our Disney Visa when using David's in 2012. Other people on here had posted similar experiences at the time.

 

[bumbershoot]

I thought David charges a $98 fee plus I would have to pay up to 4% foreign transaction fee (checking with my CC company).

From his FAQ: "A $98.00 US partial payment (not a fee) is taken (by Visa, Mastercard or PayPal), which is returned to you if your reservation can not be secured, usually within 24 hours (weekends and holidays excluded)."

So don't worry about *that*.


And while I'm not in the market to rent my points or rent someone else's points, I would say that I would think having very specific needs/wants in mind is LESS work for someone. Those dates are or are not available. If the person has that number of points, they check, if it's available it's a go! If not, then no. Someone with less specific needs might end up going back and forth, or with doing more checking, etc.

 

[Madani]

Update. I called the credit card company ( I have the Disney visa card). They do indeed charge a 3% foreign transaction fee. I did not specifically ask if this fee applied to Canada, but I assume it does. So I took the advice of previous poster and booked through a broker. But I used a US-based company just to avoid the additional charge. it was much less hassle than going the private purchase route and now I can feel comfortable knowing we have our reservation secured. Although, I have also purchased trip insurance. Because of the combination cruise and DVC rental it gave me a little more peace of mind. So now I can sit back and anticipate our stay at Bay Lake Towers. Thank you to everyone who responded!