question I haven't seen anywhere

[qv09vvp]

sorry for my ignorance if this is posted in another forum..

Hubby & I just got back from WDW. We did the dVC tour Tuesday & are seriously considering AKL. We have till Sat midnight to buy in & receive our incentives.

I understand the in & outs of points, home resort etc... What I don't see is a LOT of talk of people using there points elsewhere.

For example, IF we did buy in at 160 points, we would get 320 developer points to use in 7 months. We had been talking of going to Hawaii & or possibly snow skiing this next year. What is everyone's experience on using your points OUTSIDE of Disney? (don't get me wrong, we will return to Disney as much as possible, but this whole thing would be contigent upon using our points to stay at some of the other places)...

I just wonder if anyone has good or bad experiences that they can relate on trying to book & use points somewhere else.... ANY info would be appreciated...

THANKS in advance!

 

[global_mom]

Hoping that you will get some responses from DVC pros as I am also very curious as to the answer. We are very new DVC owners and had hoped to use our membership for other places around the world. We still plan to go to WDW 2 times per year and cruise once per year but would love to take the kids to other places as well.

I have read as many posts as I could find on this topic and it seems that it may be more complicated than I realized to do exchanges for other locations. We cant usually plan more than 6-11 months in advance b/c of school calendars.

Honest answers...how hard is it to use DVC for trips other than DVC resorts and Disney Collection?

 

[qv09vvp]

please help if you can..we have till midnight tonight to decide..

 

[juliesue]

We have used our points outside of Disney once. Last March, we stayed at the Mandarin Oriental in Washington DC (Concierge collection). The whole process was seamless. MS made the reservations and the hotel staff knew exactly what was going on. The entire room charge and tax were paid for and all we paid for was parking and any food.

The hotel was BEAUTIFUL and very luxurious. (Almost too nice for kids). If you are looking for a luxury getaway in a great city - this was fantastic. The only drawbacks were a small rooms (esp compared to Disney DVC (we're just so spoiled!! ), lack of affordable, family-friendly restaurants in walking distance, required valet parking, and VERY VERY expensive hotel food. But, the location was only 2 blocks from the Mall, so it was great for our daily sightseeing.

 

[Kendallkat2]

I used my points for my son's honeymoon in Cancun. It was very simple, the Disney/Interval International rep was very helpful with my decision and we were told the place was beautiful. Go for it!!!!!

Beth

 

[IWantMickey]

We've used our points twice for the Holland America cruise to Alaska and once for a weekend at the Mandarin Oriental in DC. All of the bookings were very easy to complete. We loved the Alaska cruise and plan to go again next year! I agree with juliesue about the Mandarin Oriental - spectacular hotel and very close to the Mall, but nowhere affordable to eat in sight! We managed to have a great weekend anyway.

A lot of people don't think it's a good use of points to use them outside of DVC resorts but my thought is that, if using your points gets you to go somewhere that you wouldn't have gone otherwise (e.g., paying cash for an Alaska cruise), then go ahead and enjoy your vacations! Only you can decide what "value" your points are worth!

Good luck with your decision!

 

[FreeTime]

We have exchanged to Lake Tahoe this summer. It was very easy. You will need to be flexible with your dates though. One call to MS and I explained I wanted any week in a 1 br from June-Aug at any of 3 resorts. They found nothing, but then came up with a studio that I was told was abnormal to get on an exchange. I would have preferred a bigger unit, but we took the studio. For July 7 nights it was just over 100 points.

 

[dizkidz2]

gv09vvp, we went to a presentation last Sun. and we have till this evening to decide.
How did you come up with the 320 pts? I know the min. to buy into is 160, but since the resort isn't opened til Aug, I thought that they said that you'd be able to buy into now, receive 160 and then in Aug'08 you'd get 160 more. I never heard anything about developer points in our presentations.
We were thinking about SSR, we'd buy into 160 now, and at the beginning of the year (I think Feb.) we'd get 160 more. Which would give us 320 for next year.
Please explain?

 

[rosiejo]

We went to a presentation a couple of weeks back - and bought into AKV.

There were two "offers" available to us - either an $8 credit per point towards the cost OR a "complementary vacation option" whereby you receive a one time allotment equal to your points purchase but these must be used within 7 months of your contract date. So effectively if you bought into 160 points you'd actually receive two lots this year and have 320 to use instead (but the 160 free points would expire in 7 months and cannot be banked).

I'm not sure if this applies to SSR as well as AKV.

With regards spending points elsewhere our guide does this often and it was that feature that led my DH to agree to buying in. He said it was very easy to do. As soon as we get a password to the site we're hoping to head up to Scotland for a week using our points as we only just got back from WDW and can't afford to go back this year.

 

[hematite153]

When we bought in we looked at the idea of exchanges. But, then decided that it was more economical to use our DVC points at disney. We went on a cruise last year and instead of booking it on points we paid cash for the cruise and rented out points to pay for the cruise--used up fewer points overall.

My take on the exchange value is that it is set high enough to mean you are getting worth out of your purchase but low enough that those willing to do the work (and take the risk) of a rental can get better value that way.

 

[qv09vvp]

We went to a presentation a couple of weeks back - and bought into AKV.

There were two "offers" available to us - either an $8 credit per point towards the cost OR a "complementary vacation option" whereby you receive a one time allotment equal to your points purchase but these must be used within 7 months of your contract date. So effectively if you bought into 160 points you'd actually receive two lots this year and have 320 to use instead (but the 160 free points would expire in 7 months and cannot be banked).

I'm not sure if this applies to SSR as well as AKV.

With regards spending points elsewhere our guide does this often and it was that feature that led my DH to agree to buying in. He said it was very easy to do. As soon as we get a password to the site we're hoping to head up to Scotland for a week using our points as we only just got back from WDW and can't afford to go back this year.

****

Actually, the deal we were offered on Tuesday was DOUBLE developer's points...ie 320 developer points to be used within 7 months.....no banking....that would be in addition to our first 160 points which could be banked...

sounds awesome doesn't it? It's kinda sad.... hubby starts a new job Monday & has finally decided that there is no way he can take off in the next 7 months....

So...I guess we aren't going to jump on the deal tonight....

 

[J and R's mom]

I was all excited for you and then I read your last post. How SAD!

I'm afraid that he will regret not making the purchase. I know how stressful it is starting a new job but a few months into the job, when all things are settled in, he'd probably feel comfortable taking the vacation but won't have the points with which to take it.

Hopefully, down the line, the timing will be better for you guys and you can buy in then. I'm sure other incentives will be going on at that time as well (even if it's developers point at CRV).

 

[rosiejo]

****

Actually, the deal we were offered on Tuesday was DOUBLE developer's points...ie 320 developer points to be used within 7 months.....no banking....that would be in addition to our first 160 points which could be banked...

sounds awesome doesn't it? It's kinda sad.... hubby starts a new job Monday & has finally decided that there is no way he can take off in the next 7 months....

So...I guess we aren't going to jump on the deal tonight....

Wow! and oh no!

Can you not blow the points on lots of weekend concierge hotel stays? You could book some trips for family and friends too as the points are free...

 

[gkrykewy]

So...I guess we aren't going to jump on the deal tonight....

That's a shame. You know, you could have just taken the $ credit per point instead.

 

[cheetahbaby]

I wish we had known about that incentive. We did an add on this week and would have upped it for that. Anyway, for future info, we have used our points at The Fairmont is San Francisco and it was awesome!!! We can't wait to use them at The Fairmont Sonoma and tour the wine country.

 

[Snookies]

There is an excellent thread somewhere on the DVC boards about the reasons to buy or not buy DVC. I haven't looked to see if it is a sticky, but anyone considering an initial purchase should try to find it and read it. In response to the specific question by OP, I would not recommend buying into DVC for trading purposes. Many more knowledgeable than I would tell you that there are cheaper ways to do that and, more often than not, you are trading down (i.e., you are not receiving fair value in exchange for your DVC points).

 

[jdvm]

There are zillions of ways to use your DVC points but we have found that the BEST use of them is in DVC resorts. Many times we have found that we're better off using cash for non-DVC vacations. Doesn't mean we haven't done it though!!
J

 

[luna99]

There are zillions of ways to use your DVC points but we have found that the BEST use of them is in DVC resorts. Many times we have found that we're better off using cash for non-DVC vacations. Doesn't mean we haven't done it though!!
J

so for what reasons are you better off only using your DVC points for a Disney vacation? I'm thinking of joining DVC in the next year and LOVE disneyworld, but I also want to be able to use the points to travel other places as well and see the world.

Are you saying that financially speaking, it's just cheaper to pay cash to take a trip anywhere else other than WDW with DVC points? Or are there other reasons as well? Thanks! This DVC stuff can get confusing, especially to a newbie!

 

[jdvm]

Well, we've been DVC members since 1992 and it seems that whenever we look at what we can get per point at a DVC resort compared to the value we get per point at something other than a DVC resort, DVC wins hands down. And, with something like a Disney cruise, you can often find a better deal for cash than using your DVC points. Like I say, it doesn't mean we haven't used our points for non-DVC purposes, I just wouldn't advise buying DVC as a trading tool the way I would advise buying other products if you want to trade.
Hope this helps.
John

 

[luna99]

Well, we've been DVC members since 1992 and it seems that whenever we look at what we can get per point at a DVC resort compared to the value we get per point at something other than a DVC resort, DVC wins hands down. And, with something like a Disney cruise, you can often find a better deal for cash than using your DVC points. Like I say, it doesn't mean we haven't used our points for non-DVC purposes, I just wouldn't advise buying DVC as a trading tool the way I would advise buying other products if you want to trade.
Hope this helps.
John

it does.

You mean for X amount of DVC points at a DVC resort you can get lets say a bigger room, with a huge kitchen, a great pool, etc...etc... and for the same amount of points elsewhere (Not Disney) you don't get as much, right?