Let's see if this works...I never tried posting a formatted Word Document into a post...because SOMEONE has her E-MAIL DISABLED!!!!! The spacing is messed up on the tables, and they may have raised the prices, but here is the gist of what where and how...
Dear CheeringMom:
As of Tuesday, August 19, 2003,
First, the hard part, The Points: how you get them, and how you bank and borrow them:
My
Use Year is in December, so for the sake of the argument, let us say you were in the same one (your guide can tell you the best one to get into depending on the specials etc). So, every December the number of points you have purchased roll into your account. I.E. the minimum buy-in is 150 points, so each December your account would be credited with that many points.
If you aren't going to use the points that year, you can bank them into the next year. If you do want to bank them, you must do so 6 months before your use year ends. Banked points must be used within the next use year. There are a few other restrictions, but this is the basic idea. With a December Use year, you need to bank the point on or before May 31st.
If you want to borrow points from the next year, you can do that as well. You can borrow all of your points from 1 year in advance. This means that you can use up to 3 years worth of points in one year.
Their favorite Scenario is Traveling Next Year, planning before May 31st of this year:
» Bank 150 Points on May 31st of this year
» Use the 150 points from the next year
» Borrow 150 Points from the year after that.
» This will give you 450 points to use, but no more points in those 3 years
» You would have to book your travel after December 1st
» I have yet to bank a point!
Costs and Limitations:
» The initial
Buy In¡ is (as of last August) $89 Per Point. (Magical Beginnings promo gets you $10.00 back)
» The annual maintenance for 2002 in the Beach Club was $3.7681 Per Point, and can go up 5% a year..
» In the example above, the buy-in is $13,350-$890, with the annual fee is $565.22
» The Plan ends in 2042 (2050 Saratoga Sprgs), but it will pay for itself in a few years.
» Maid service is limited in the Time-Share rooms.
» There is a $75.00 fee for going most places outside the Vacation Club resorts.
» An Example: A week in a 1 Bedroom in the Grand Floridian hotel during the 2003 Regular Season is 353 Points for a garden view and 414 Points for a Lagoon view.
» Side note, if you did the bank/borrow scenario above, you would have to factor in the yearly cost for the dues (totaling $1,695.65 for the three years) in order to figure out when the points would pay for themselves
» If you don't have enough points, you can also pay cash for a night at a discounted rate in the DVC resorts. Usually this is on a Friday or Saturday night because the rooms cost more points on those nights, but the Dollar rates are the same.
One last thing that is really confusing, The DVC resorts (IE the Boardwalk Villas, or The Beach Club Villas) have 5 seasons. Each room costs a certain number of points during each season. They reserve the right to adjust the points up or down in each season, but must counter-balance it in another season. Example: a two bedroom vacation home that sleeps 8, at the Boardwalk, costs 270 points a week in Adventure season. It will cost 350 points in the Magic Season. If they want to raise the rate in the Magic season, they must lower another season's rates by that much. This means that realistically, they can't raise the price of the room in one season without lowering it in another!
There is lot more, but these seem to me to be the most pertinent costs..
OK, Now that I have confused you thoroughly, here are some examples of trips I have taken. Please note that they were running a special with discount rates on the cruises we took.
Trip #1, was a 3-day cruise. It cost us 125 points per person, totaling 250 points. I had 150 Points back then, and we borrowed from the next year. We went during the Magic season, the second to the most expensive time.
On Trip #2, we stayed in a Studio at Old Key West for 5 nights in October of 2000. This was during the Choice Season, the second to least expensive one. Saturday Night costs 21 points that we didn't have, so we paid cash for that night. Sunday through Thursday cost 8 points a night, so I used 32 points total. To a non-DVC member, the room is about $310 a night including tax.
Trip #3, we went on the 7-day cruise over Halloween. This is during the
Value season. Mind you, we were being followed by Hurricane Michelle, so there is a reason not to book then. The flip side is that if there is a hurricane, they take a different route so that no one is in danger. They were running a special for 145 points per person for the room which we stayed in. The posted rate is 185 points. I have included a detail at the end because they just changed the rules about children.
Trip #4, we spent a week at the Boardwalk in a 1 bedroom with a preferred view. The timing split it in between the Magic and Dream seasons, so they worked the numbers a little from both sides to charge us 258 points for a whole week. Just for comparison's sake, the room normally gets $425 per night.
Trip #5, we spent 5 nights in the Polynesian at the end of October, 2002. This room is $334 per night, but we are staying in a real room outside of points. I bought more points and was given this voucher because the Beach Club hadn't opened yet. It is complicated, but suffice it to say that in stead of this years 150 points I got a 5 night stay at the Polynesian resort (with full maid service!). I don't think that this special is available now, but you can ask.
Trip #6, we went in February 2003 on a 4 night
Members Only Cruise. We stayed in a Category 6 stateroom, and it cost 131 Points each for the first 2 people (262 Points for us both). Additionally, we stayed at the beach club in a Studio from 1/30 to 2/2. This cost an additional 63 Points. The Total Points for this trip was 325 points.
Since you wanted to know about the 7 day cruise specifically, here are the rates that they quoted me in a deluxe family stateroom with veranda (category 4). This is the nicest room you can book through points. We stayed in a category 5. They have changed some of the rules, so I have included the current information as well.
2001 Prices: Category 5 Category 4
Per Person Points Cash Points Cash
Adult Points 145 $1249 182 $1475
Child 53 $429 53 $429
The Cash Figure above is based on at least one adult per room staying on points
Per Person Category 5 Cash / No Points Used Category 4 Cash / No Points Used
Adult $1473.75 $1873.75
Child $503.75 $503.75
However, they have changed the rules a little, 13 years old is now an adult:
2003 Prices: Category 5 Category 4
Per Person Value Season Regular Season Value Season Regular Season
1st&2nd Adult 204 250 243 299
3rd&4th Adult 83 122 83 122
Child 3-12 57 96 57 96
Child 1-2 19 19 19 19
I have a book, which I am sure your guide will be glad to show you, that has room layouts, and point prices. They have a member¡¦s only website that has a lot of these details in it.
