thinking of making the leap!

[scanmom]

I have been curious about DVC for a couple of years, and we will soon be coming into some unexpected $$, so I am trying to get any info I can about DVC. I saw on another post that people buying into SSI get 2 "free" AP's. Are these only good the 1st year, or do you get them for more than the 1st year? Also, about how much will it cost me in fees per year if I get about 200 pts? And how easy is it to go to other places (non Disney) on points? Any info is appreciated!

 

[Deb & Bill]

You can use your points for many, many different locations. But you get the best use of your points by staying at DVC resorts. The APs are only for one year. Maintenance fees per point run about $4 per point. You can pay these monthly by debiting your checking account with no extra costs.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

I'm not sure if they're still running the other promotions or not but we took 200 points with the $10pp credit which dropped our cost pp to $85! The only "catch" is that you couldn't use the points until March 2005, which was fine with us because we just came back from vacation and have a cruise booked for May 2005.

They were/are also offering a "free vacation" if you didn't take the $10pp credit and that was just saying that you could use the 200pts that you bought towards a different DVC resort. It made finanical sense to take the first offer.

I don't think the two AP's are a very good deal compared to the other recent offers. I would call the DVC and see if they are still offering the other incentives. Good luck!!!

 

[jel0511]

Originally posted by scanmom
I have been curious about DVC for a couple of years, and we will soon be coming into some unexpected $$, so I am trying to get any info I can about DVC. I saw on another post that people buying into SSI get 2 "free" AP's. Are these only good the 1st year, or do you get them for more than the 1st year? Also, about how much will it cost me in fees per year if I get about 200 pts? And how easy is it to go to other places (non Disney) on points? Any info is appreciated!

The two free AP's is an incentive only for current DVC member, not potential and new members. The current offer for new members buying in is to take $10 off the current price of $95 and not receive any points until at least Spring 2005. Or, if you pay full price, you'll recieve an equal number of "developer points" which have to be used by September, 2005 and have to be used at any DVC resort, with the exception of SSR.

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by scanmom
Also, about how much will it cost me in fees per year if I get about 200 pts? And how easy is it to go to other places (non Disney) on points? Any info is appreciated!

Depends on the resort you buy. If you buy points at Saratoga Springs (which is the only property DVC is actively selling), the 2004 dues are $3.80 per point. That would make annual dues about $800 on 200 points. Note that dues are adjusted annually, and have historically risen at a rate of 3-4% per year (using the 12-year history at OKW as an example).

Here are the 2004 dues by property:

OKW $3.68
SSR $3.80
HHI $3.86
BCV $4.18
VWL $4.22
BWV $4.25
VB $4.67

While it is very easy to trade into properties outside DVC, it is not considered very economical. DVC has some of the highest annual dues in the timeshare industry--that's the price you pay for the location, service and amenities afforded by a Disney-run property. To use DVC points as trade into other timeshares almost always involves a step down in quality.

If you intend on frequently vacationing outside DVC, your best bet may be to buy fewer DVC points and look at another point-based timeshare with lower annual dues. Oh, and if you do start looking into other timeshares, don't believe anything you may be told about the proported ease of trading INTO DVC with another timeshare. Yes, it's possible, but often not nearly as easy as some will tell you in order to try and make a sale.

Hope that helps.