Question regarding Canceling DVC Reservations

[gmg1999]

My husband and I are looking into purchasing DVC thru re-sale--more than likely at SSR. One concern we have is with booking a reservation at 11 months/or even 7 months out, and then say, one of our sons becomes sick right before the trip and we need to cancel. We are still unsure what then happens? Will we be able to book a different reservation for a later time, but with such short notice? We know with paying cash, we can change ressies quite a bit, yes, having to pay a fee if less than 45 days out, but we are okay with that. Of course, we would stay at Pop or All Star at those times.

We love Disney and go every year and the whole DVC experience sounds so tempting to us...we just have a few concerns here and there about availability, etc. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Chuck S]

If you cancel 31 days or more from the arrival date, the points are returned to the use year without penalty. But they'd fall under normal banking borrowing rules, so if your cancellation was within 4 months of the end of your use year, the points would have to be used by the end of the use year.

If you cancel 30 days or less from arrival, points go into holding status, they mist be used to make reservations for arrival 60 days or less days, and must be use by the end of the use year or they are lost.

If you cancel the day of arrival, points are considered used, and are lost.

There is trip insurance available, but it does not return points. It basically just about covers the dues/maintenance fees on lost points.

 

[tjkraz]

If you cancel 31+ days out, points are returned to your account with no penalty. HOWEVER the points must still be used or banked by the end of the Use Year. If you are past the banking deadline, that is no longer an option.

For example, let's illustrate using a February Use Year. Points are always valid for stays between 2/1 and the following 1/31.

Assume you have a trip planned for August 1, 2013 arrival. The deadline for canceling without penalty is July 1, 2013. You would then have until January 1, 2014 to make alternate plans with the points. The banking deadline for a February Use Year is September 30. So, if you decided that you could not use the points by 1/31/14, any current year points from the 2013 Use Year could be banked into the 2014 Use Year.

If you cancel on less than 31 days notice, the points go into what is called a Holding Account. Those points can only be used to book a stay 60 days or fewer prior to the desired arrival. Success can vary greatly depending upon how popular the dates are among other members. Holding points cannot be banked and will expire at the end of the Use Year if not used.

It may sound a bit complicated to grasp at first but it's not too hard to understand once you own a specific Use Year.

I don't know if you're asking about cancellation because you are just covering all bases or because it's a frequent occurrence for your family. Generally speaking, timeshares are not a good match for people with volatile travel habits. If cancellations are commonplace due to job situation, health of a family member or other issues, you will find yourself losing points at times due to the restrictions which apply.

Travel insurance is offered which may apply if the cancellation is health or weather related. But you'll pay for the insurance. It comes down to a philosophical decision as to whether it makes more sense to pay for insurance or assume that risk, knowing that you may lose points someday.

We've been members for nearly 10 years--taking 2-3 trips per year--and haven't yet lost a single point due to a cancellation. In fact, we've never had a cancellation. (knock wood)