Purchasing vs Renting

Donna Abshere

Earning My Ears
Joined
Dec 25, 2017
We are short DVC points for our stay this year. Long story short: Vacation booked for December 25-Jan. 1 (with Jan 1-2 waitlisted because we are short). Home resort is OKW.

We are short a mere 4 points. Granted, we would have to use the one-time purchase points of 24, transfer 7 from our 2021, then "rent" additional 4 points, so I just decided we should go ahead and rent the full 35 points needed.

Would you purchase the 35 points at $14.75 (total $516.25) for one night at OKW? Or would you go ahead and call DVC and purchase the least amount of points possible?
 
We are short DVC points for our stay this year. Long story short: Vacation booked for December 25-Jan. 1 (with Jan 1-2 waitlisted because we are short). Home resort is OKW.

We are short a mere 4 points. Granted, we would have to use the one-time purchase points of 24, transfer 7 from our 2021, then "rent" additional 4 points, so I just decided we should go ahead and rent the full 35 points needed.

Would you purchase the 35 points at $14.75 (total $516.25) for one night at OKW? Or would you go ahead and call DVC and purchase the least amount of points possible?
There are a lot of Facebook groups that rent points for cheaper. You should look there and see what you can find. I had someone book a night at the end of my stay once. It worked out. The $19/point from Disney is a little more money but there is piece of mind that you will get the points and be able to book on your own. It’s personal preference. I like the idea of saving money so that’s why I went to Facebook :)
 
Everyone’s situation is different. I guess if you feel you could use more points and this might occur year after year, then I would buy more points. If this was a fluke year and you don’t see it happening again, then just rent the points.
 
If you rent the night from someone else you won’t have control of it. It will stay in that persons membership. You will have to make sure both you and the other owner note the reservations as continuing to ensure you don’t have to move rooms.

But, if you don’t have enough between OTU and borrowing from your 2021 UY...which is limited to 50% now so if you have exceeded that already, that won’t be an option...then you may have to rent the one night from another owner

Transfers, which put points into your account won’t be easy to find if you only want a few as it’s one in or out of your UY so most want to transfer a good amount.
 


I don’t know if this is an option, but can you pay cash for the night and see if the dvc discount applies?
The DVC discount is usually 25% off rack rate, but it isn't always available. If you book through Disney Reservation Center, you won't be able to link that night to the other nights on points. You'll have to check out and check in again. The member discount won't be available through DRC.

Renting a one night reservation from another member would be the same. Since it's not your points, it cannot be linked to just extend your reservation. A transfer would make the points yours, so you could just add the night to your current reservation.
 
The individual would not transfer the points to me. They would only rent them to me, which would allow me to link the reservation to my Disney account. Will this be a problem with keeping the same room?
 


The individual would not transfer the points to me. They would only rent them to me, which would allow me to link the reservation to my Disney account. Will this be a problem with keeping the same room?
As long as the Lead Guest is the same on both reservations with the same type of room, you should be fine. Just need to call Member Service to have them mark it.
 
I am just worried about all of it. Worried about the trip because of COVID (not from catching COVID, but hearing stories of the Magic being gone). Worried about whether we are "waisting our time going" during COVID (no parades, no characters, etc. again "no Magic." But, I have not been away ever since COVID started!! I am going CRAZY! I work for a law firm and we have been deemed essential, so we have been working day in and day out. I have not gone anywhere but to work, grocery store, and home. My husband is a high school teacher and varsity football/baseball coach and we have high school senior twins. They were out of school due to COVID from mid-March until August 2020. They went absolutely NOWHERE until school started back up. And even now it is school and home. We are not scared of COVID but our twins do NOT want to take the chance of missing out on a football game (son plays and daughter is on the drill team).
 
The individual would not transfer the points to me. They would only rent them to me, which would allow me to link the reservation to my Disney account. Will this be a problem with keeping the same room?
Probably not. Make sure both reservations have a note that it is a continuing reservation and cross reference the other reservation number. Then at check in, remind the CM you want to stay in the same room. You might have to physically visit the front desk if you go straight to the room. Do not call, those calls go to an off site call center and messages often "get lost", even if they tell you they will do whatever.

You might have to check out and back on again between reservations, but they do try to accommodate. OKW CMs have a very good reputation for helping guests.

Good luck. Enjoy your trip.
 
Probably not. Make sure both reservations have a note that it is a continuing reservation and cross reference the other reservation number. Then at check in, remind the CM you want to stay in the same room. You might have to physically visit the front desk if you go straight to the room. Do not call, those calls go to an off site call center and messages often "get lost", even if they tell you they will do whatever.

You might have to check out and back on again between reservations, but they do try t ok accommodate. OKW CMs have a very good reputation for helping guests.

Good luck. Enjoy your trip.
Great advice!!! We have been DVC members for many, many years and NEVER had to do this!!!! This is the shortest amount of time we have stayed. We usually stay 2 weeks at Christmas. Last year we ventured off and went to Disneyland for the VERY first time. We are back at WDW. :) But...again, we have never stayed less than 2 weeks without a problem using our points.

Is the "you can only borrow 50% of your next use year points" new? Is this because of COVID? I will be honest. I do not read my DVC Member mail, so I am quite sure it was in there somewhere.
 
Great advice!!! We have been DVC members for many, many years and NEVER had to do this!!!! This is the shortest amount of time we have stayed. We usually stay 2 weeks at Christmas. Last year we ventured off and went to Disneyland for the VERY first time. We are back at WDW. :) But...again, we have never stayed less than 2 weeks without a problem using our points.

Is the "you can only borrow 50% of your next use year points" new? Is this because of COVID? I will be honest. I do not read my DVC Member mail, so I am quite sure it was in there somewhere.

Yes, the borrowing rule was put in place in April and we don’t know for how long.

I think we will see it for trips into 2022. As mentioned, any points borrowed prior to the new rule are grandfathered unless you cancel and they put the points back...they are currently returning borrowed points as well...before you use them again.
 
Add "Continuing Reservation" with the reservation number of the other on each reservation.
 
I am sorry I am a little confused. Are you asking if you should rent points vs add a 25 point add on direct from dvc or if you should purchase the one time points from dvc? If you are always a little short then you might want to consider the 25 point add on from dvc at either SSR or OKW. If asking about renting vs the one time points, I would rent the points. The only time the one time points make sense is if you need them to add to your own points to complete a reservation - for example you have 6 points of your own and need 8 more points to get to 14 for the studio. But even with that if you can rent for cheaper then I would rent the last night. If you rent make sure you alert MS that you have a continuing reservation and give that number too
 

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