Question about renting points

[momtoprincesses]

I am just beginning to research the idea of renting DVC points. A big negative for me, since I have three little ones, is that you can't cancel your reservation for any reason. Is it possible to purchase trip insurance that would cover the cost in case something unexpected came up and we couldn't go on the trip? Thank you!

 

[Regan117]

I am just beginning to research the idea of renting DVC points. A big negative for me, since I have three little ones, is that you can't cancel your reservation for any reason. Is it possible to purchase trip insurance that would cover the cost in case something unexpected came up and we couldn't go on the trip? Thank you!

DVC Rental Store offers a "cancel for any reason" plan you can add to your reservation when you pay your deposit.

 

[momtoprincesses]

DVC Rental Store offers a "cancel for any reason" plan you can add to your reservation when you pay your deposit.

Thank you! This is so helpful!

 

[abner1776]

renting points from a DVC member does not necessarily mean you cannot cancel...the terms of the rental is strictly up to you and the DVC member. If you book 11 months out and then want to cancel 2 months later, I would doubt the member would object as long as the member can re-rent the points. It all depends on when the members points would normally expire. DVC imposes strict cancellation terms on the use of a members points which would carryover to your rental which is why most DVC members limit the cancellation terms for non-members renting their points.

 

[patty57]

renting points from a DVC member does not necessarily mean you cannot cancel...the terms of the rental is strictly up to you and the DVC member. If you book 11 months out and then want to cancel 2 months later, I would doubt the member would object as long as the member can re-rent the points. It all depends on when the members points would normally expire. DVC imposes strict cancellation terms on the use of a members points which would carryover to your rental which is why most DVC members limit the cancellation terms for non-members renting their points.

This is true, that it is completely up to the member and how they want to handle a cancellation. I wouldn't count on the bolded part as being true. Some members will not allow a renter to cancel for any reason. Any potential renters need to find out what their owner's policy is.

 

[momtoprincesses]

Thank you so much for your replies. If we rent, we will use a company. I guess I was looking to see if travel insurance would protect against last minute cancellation due to one of my girls being sick. That is my hold up right now about renting points. The DVC Rental Store protection plan is a nice option but you must use it by three days before the trip, which doesn't help if one of the girls wakes up with the flu the morning of the trip. I will keep researching

 

[rwdavis2]

The DVC Rental Store policy has a sliding scale on cancellations. The closer the the date the less money you get back. I booked insurance from AIG Travelguard and you can choose the level of coverage you get.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Almost any travel insurance will have some time limiters.

If you are risk averse, DVC rental may not be a good fit compared to booking a room on typical room terms.

 

[momtoprincesses]

The DVC Rental Store policy has a sliding scale on cancellations. The closer the the date the less money you get back. I booked insurance from AIG Travelguard and you can choose the level of coverage you get.

Thank you. I think I need to look at insurance options and what they cover. I will start with the one you suggested

 

[momtoprincesses]

Almost any travel insurance will have some time limiters.

If you are risk averse, DVC rental may not be a good fit compared to booking a room on typical room terms.

You may be right with it not being a good fit. I know that it will probably be fine, but on the off chance we would need to cancel, it makes me sick thinking of losing all that money.

 

[firstwdw]

I thought we had covered all bases when renting points and I had done a lot of research. I had purchased trip insurance and gone through a DVC company (a smaller lesser-known company-that was a big mistake) BUT when we had issues(reservation cancelled by the company, not us, our insurance that we had purchased did not cover it. We had to file a dispute with our credit card company including pages of evidence and then wait for months for the case to be settled in order to get the money reimbursed for our DVC rental. We ended up booking directly through Disney and staying at moderate for that trip. The stories of nightmares renting points are rare and few and far between but they do happen. I knew this going in and like I said, thought I did my research.
Booking a room only direct through Disney offers a great cancellation policy-basically you can cancel up to 5 days before arrival and you loose nothing. If you cancel within 5 days of arrival you loose the cost of your first night's stay. I think renting points can be wonderful for many and many do not have issues at all but it's not for me and we learned the hard way.

 

[spiceycat]

the company cancelled your reservation - boy did you pick the wrong rental company. So sorry this happened to you. When I was renting told the customer up front that they could cancel up to 3 months before their date of arrival. after that forget it.

You may be right with it not being a good fit. I know that it will probably be fine, but on the off chance we would need to cancel, it makes me sick thinking of losing all that money.

Even Disney has a 5 day cancellation rule. Don't think any hotel will allow you cancel at the last minute - you will be paying at least for one night if not more.

 

[Collette]

I purchased trip cancellation insurance for our DVC rental last November to cover things like illnesses, death in the family, etc. The "cancel for any reason" policies were too expensive. We rented points through David's. Those rentals are nonrefundable so when contacting any of the trip insurance companies I treated it as any nonrefundable reservation.

 

[bumbershoot]

BUT when we had issues(reservation cancelled by the company, not us, our insurance that we had purchased did not cover it.

Why did insurance not cover it?

Actually, why didn't the company not refund you???

Even Disney has a 5 day cancellation rule. Don't think any hotel will allow you cancel at the last minute - you will be paying at least for one night if not more.

Exactly.

 

[firstwdw]

Why did insurance not cover it?

Actually, why didn't the company not refund you???

The company claimed they needed 1 week to refund us, after that week when we didn't see the money, they claimed it would take 3months-not worth the risk waiting 3 months especially when we contacted credit card company and they told us we'd have no protection through them should we wait it out with the dvc renter. Very small, poorly run rental company. Like to support small businesses but in this case I'd suggest a larger well known company to others looking to rent points. just an unfortunate experience and probably rare!

We did not purchase the expensive trip insurance. I believe we paid about $50 to just cover the cost of the rental but they did not cover this particular situation.

 

[SwanVT2]

You may be right with it not being a good fit. I know that it will probably be fine, but on the off chance we would need to cancel, it makes me sick thinking of losing all that money.

We have booked through another company than David's (not sure if I can put their name here, but it is legit and well reviewed. We traveled last year and are going again this year with DD, who is now 4, and they provide trip insurance. It isn't much of an add on expense-wise, especially for the peace of mind! Then you have an awesome deluxe for the price of a standard.