?'s regarding trading out of DVC

[StevieD]

We are considering becoming members of DVC with a BCV purchase from Disney. We love WDW, but we don't anticipate going down to Orlando every year - more likely every other year. So we are interested in the ability to trade out of DVC (even though we like HH, we don't always want to go there). I have seen several posts that indicate that trading out of DVC is not a very good deal. I'm trying to get some opinions on this. I can understand it not being a good deal if I'm buying in to DVC solely to trade out - then I am probably better off buying another timeshare. But if, every other year, I want to trade out of DVC, can I get a good value for the DVC points? I would assume, considering that there should be a bunch of folks wanting to trade into DVC, that such trades would be easy to come by, and I should be able to minimize the # of points I need to trade for a week in another resort on the II list.

Sorry for the long post. Hopefully, you can provide me your opinions or insights on this issue. This is really the last issue I have before we make our decision.

Thanks in advance,

Steve

 

[dianeschlicht]

We traded out to Hawaii. We leave for our trip this Thursday!!!

It was VERY easy and only cost us 160 points for a 1 BR 1 week. We were expecting much more. Our exchange came through in just 5 days!! It was a very easy process.

While I agree with most that trading out often is not the best use of points, I think an occational exchange is good. Don't forget you can bank and borrow points too to take longer DVC vacations at WDW or elsewhere if you chose.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Steve,

I think the available option of trading out of DVC is great, especially if you are willing to "pay" a little premium for having someone do all the trading out work for you.

Keep in mind, if you are willing to do the work (as well as take the risk) in order to minimize your points usage, you can always do an exchange on your own - maybe a listing over at www.tug2.net?

Then there is the utimate option of renting out your points and using the proceeds to go hiking in the Grand Canyon, sunbath in Hawaii, or watch a week of video tapes in the comfort of your home while the kids are at Summer Camp!

It all boils down to if you want to maximize your time/ effort/convenience or your points/money/value. But isn't it great that with DVC, you have the options to do one or the other or even both at different times over the years?

Bottom line - just another reason to justisfy buying into DVC even if we never stay anyplace other than Disney!!!

 

[StevieD]

Thanks for the responses. I'm hoping I will hear more stories about successful trades out of DVC for those folks who don't plan on going to WDW every year.

 

[Dean]

IMO, those who are buying in have the unique opportunity to make this decision up front. To me, it is a distinct advantage to decide now how you will use DVC and what other options might interest you. My favorite ploy for those that want to go to DVC every other year and trade the rest of the time is to do both. Buy less DVC points and then another timeshare that fits your needs for the other options. That will be the cheapest option do to what you purpose and it will give you many additional options that DVC will not have. Overall the costs will be less as well. There are other timeshare that will cost less and give you every bit as good of trading. Remember that you lose much of the DVC flexibility with trading anyway. DVC also limits you to which timeshares you can trade to which none of the rest do. My first option would be a Marriott that you would use part of the time and trade the rest plus DVC points about 10-15% (min 150) over what you think you will need in 3-5 years.

While Marriott or other timeshare would depend on the rest of your goals, my recommendation would vary depending on your circumstances, taste, location, vacation habits, travel times (school vacations) and the like.

Even at 160 points for a trade, that's a value of around $1600. There are some pretty good timeshares you could buy to use every year for that amount of money though many would be more. Sure you could do direct exchanges or use some of the smaller exchange companies for the occasional trades.

One thing to keep in mind is that the timeshare exchange concept is based on like for like. That usually means that many people out there have an issue with trade their 2 BR week for 5 days at DVC in a studio even if it does make sense from a financial standpoint. To some it's just the principal of the thing.

 

[mittelst]

Dean -

My timeshare purchase debate is like Steve's. Although your idea of 2 timeshares makes some sense, I tend think the additional management overhead would a pain. Not that I don't love planning vacations, but I find myself busy enough with work and family schedules.

Steve -
I have posted threads like your's a couple of times, looking for input and "real-life" trade-out experiences. I gotten a few positive feedbacks from folks who have traded out. I've never gotten a negative trade-out report, but I get the distinct impression that many DVC owners don't trade out that often (Although, 160 for a 1br in Hawaii sounds great, dianeschlicht!). Buying DVC, number of points, which resort, etc. _really_ depends on your personal travel preferences.
One of the things that appeals to me is the "known product" feature of DVC. You know what you're getting (a high quality, feature-rich resort). It's like buying the same brand of orange juice each week. For the first few years, at least, it will be nice to know my vacations will be mostly planned. No searching travel books, getting friends recommendations, wondering if the "luxury beach-front" hotel is as advertised. After a while, when life isn't so busy (Ha!), then I'll play with trading.
In the meantime, I hope to purchase about 150 points, bank points and have a nice vacation every other year, and maybe just a get-away on the off years.

Just my 2-cents

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by mittelst
Dean -

My timeshare purchase debate is like Steve's. Although your idea of 2 timeshares makes some sense, I tend think the additional management overhead would a pain. Not that I don't love planning vacations, but I find myself busy enough with work and family schedules.

It depends on specifics so I point it out as one option. One that makes sense for a lot of people who can make that choice up front and want to to Disney plus other things a fair amount of the time. For every other year, I think it makes sense for most people. For 1 in 3 years trading, the numbers start to change more toward just DVC. The other options are that DVC limits you're choices so much. So if you want more choices or internal trading preferences, one may still be better off with 2 ownerships than one, even at the same total price. What's best for one may not be so for another.

 

[mic_KY_mouses]

Steve, I wanted to reply as well because I, too, have given this topic much thought. We just purchased DVC last fall. It was a great fit for us and we really liked the "option" of cruising and trading out if we wanted.

I called MS shortly after we got our member cards and asked them about trading out. We like to go to Gatlinburg every couple of years and I wanted to know the approximate points that would be needed for a trade. For our tiny family (3) a studio would suffice and that is what I checked on. I also understood that while the resorts we could trade into are very nice they just can't compare to the DVC resorts and the magic you find there. I was given a range of 85-115 approx. for a one week exchange. I understand that the number of points required can vary based on time of travel, accommodations required etc...

I was THRILLED......because that meant (we own 210 at VWL) we could go to Gatlinburg and still have points to go to WDW and stay in a studio for another week in the same year. Now, there is one hitch.....for us anyway......We have our vacations planned out for several years now and because of the wonderful DVC resorts and the DCL cruises we don't want to do anything else for quite a while. It's nice to know Member Getaways are there for us (unless the program is pulled, which it could be).

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by mic_KY_mouses
I called MS shortly after we got our member cards and asked them about trading out. We like to go to Gatlinburg every couple of years and I wanted to know the approximate points that would be needed for a trade. For our tiny family (3) a studio would suffice and that is what I checked on. I also understood that while the resorts we could trade into are very nice they just can't compare to the DVC resorts and the magic you find there. I was given a range of 85-115 approx. for a one week exchange. I understand that the number of points required can vary based on time of travel, accommodations required etc...

This is a good example of the problems I'm referring to. While in theory, one can trade to Gatlinburg for as low as 55 points (HH studio, adventure season), Only one of the four resorts there have studios. I don't know for certain about Westgate because it's listed as still under construction, the info I have so far also says 1 and 2 BR. So if you call and want Gatlinburg for a studio at studio "prices" you may only have a choice of 1 of the 4 resorts or you may have to look at a 1 BR instead. DVC will not allow you to search for a resort for a unit size that resort does not have.

 

[Andrea T]

Flexibility should also be cosidered. For example, since we ONLY wanted to travel President's week, our requests for ANY Caribbean location was never met even though we were put in our search 2 years out. We have no desire to be in the Caribbean during summer months and can only travel during school breaks. If you can be flexible with your travel dates you can be successful in getting what you request.

 

[StevieD]

Hey, thanks for all the advice. We are getting more comfortable with the "reduced flexibility" when trading out. In some ways, the "limited" number of tradeouts is beneficial, because (like you Mittelst), we like the idea of not having to spend significant efforts searching for an appropriate resort (and Disney seems to have culled down to the best). My bigger concern was that I would end up having to trade my entire 220-270 (we haven't yet decided) points out for a 1 week, studio or 1 bedroom stay at another resort. Based on anecdotal evidence, it seems like (of course, depending on season) I might be able to stretch out 2 holidays in one year - 1 to WDW, and 1 non-DVC (or HH).

Anyway, I'm much closer (within 1 week) of making a decision to buy. Thanks again for all the responses.