Purchasing Transfer Points

[Dean]

So in your opinion Bill is that a pretty risky route to go? Seems strange that such a prominent broker would blatantly advertise them in the weekly email (even including price). Also how does this differ from the one-time use points DVC offers directly (ie..price)?

IMO the risk is extremely limited given that DVC has chosen not to enforce this rule. It's a lot like the sharing of Dining Credits (with permission) before the change a couple of years ago.

 

[CarolMN]

I agree with Dean - virtually no risk of Disney actively enforcing the restriction. They have to know that very, very few members are actually giving points to other members without compensation.

I do not recall even one report of a point transfer that went awry (other than problems with MS when one of the parties mentioned money). Technically, points are worthless because they are a representation of an ownership interest in a deeded lease. IMO, Disney put that "no compensation for transfers" language in to avoid having to get involved in any dispute between members. If there is a problem, the members are on their own to resolve it.

 

[Dean]

I agree with Dean - virtually no risk of Disney actively enforcing the restriction. They have to know that very, very few members are actually giving points to other members without compensation.

I do not recall even one report of a point transfer that went awry (other than problems with MS when one of the parties mentioned money). Technically, points are worthless because they are a representation of an ownership interest in a deeded lease. IMO, Disney put that "no compensation for transfers" language in to avoid having to get involved in any dispute between members. If there is a problem, the members are on their own to resolve it.

I'm very much a rule follower but when it's a rule and not a law and there's 25 years of non enforcement, it seems trivial to worry about it or to hold others to the standard. It's akin to some of the old laws on the book related to horse and buggy or similar.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

I'm very much a rule follower but when it's a rule and not a law and there's 25 years of non enforcement, it seems trivial to worry about it or to hold others to the standard. It's akin to some of the old laws on the book related to horse and buggy or similar.

I think the rule is in place because there is a risk that transfers can go very wrong, and Disney can say "not my problem, it is against the rules". They are not going to step in and prevent it, but they are not going to get involved in the event of fraud.

To me it is analogous to an ACH transfer at your bank, versus a wire transfer. The ACH transfer is of a limited amount. It takes 2-3 days. If something goes wrong, there is time to reverse the transaction. A wire transfer, on the other hand, is instantaneous. It can be for very large amounts. There is no recourse if something goes wrong. You could send a wire of $1,000,000 and it could be further wired through 5 shell companies before you realized anything was amiss. Wire transfers are a great thing, and people use them all the time, but it is best to use them in a transaction where there is complete trust on both sides.

 

[Aron1012]

I think the rule is in place because there is a risk that transfers can go very wrong, and Disney can say "not my problem, it is against the rules". They are not going to step in and prevent it, but they are not going to get involved in the event of fraud.

To me it is analogous to an ACH transfer at your bank, versus a wire transfer. The ACH transfer is of a limited amount. It takes 2-3 days. If something goes wrong, there is time to reverse the transaction. A wire transfer, on the other hand, is instantaneous. It can be for very large amounts. There is no recourse if something goes wrong. You could send a wire of $1,000,000 and it could be further wired through 5 shell companies before you realized anything was amiss. Wire transfers are a great thing, and people use them all the time, but it is best to use them in a transaction where there is complete trust on both sides.

Now you're speaking a language I fully understand. And I think you are correct that they likely put that language in to make sure they aren't inserted into a dispute. If we decide to go this route think I will definitely stick to a well-known broker.

Am I correct in understanding that as long as the points were at my same home resort I should be able to use them in the 11-month window for booking, but would have to call MS instead of doing online when it first opens?

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

Now you're speaking a language I fully understand. And I think you are correct that they likely put that language in to make sure they aren't inserted into a dispute. If we decide to go this route think I will definitely stick to a well-known broker.

Am I correct in understanding that as long as the points were at my same home resort I should be able to use them in the 11-month window for booking, but would have to call MS instead of doing online when it first opens?

That is my understanding, but I have not done it myself, so hopefully others will answer.

 

[MouseOfCards]

Now you're speaking a language I fully understand. And I think you are correct that they likely put that language in to make sure they aren't inserted into a dispute. If we decide to go this route think I will definitely stick to a well-known broker.

Am I correct in understanding that as long as the points were at my same home resort I should be able to use them in the 11-month window for booking, but would have to call MS instead of doing online when it first opens?

All transferred points retain their home priority (11-month) booking advantage. If the transferred points do NOT match your home resort and use year, you must call MS to use them. If the transferred points match your home resort and use year, then you should be able to see and use them online; however, someone did report a case recently that transferred in points that matched both resort and UY were still not viewable in their account. So, when asking MS to do a transfer (or anything else that's not very common), verify that everything was done properly and nothing went wrong before disconnecting from MS.