Usage of points outside of Disney?

[aubeone]

Is purchasing DVC points worth the investment if I think I would do Disney every 3-4 years and use the points at alternative locations during the other years? What are the pros and cons of the points system at other locations?

 

[RobDoc]

If you choose to use DVC points in that fashion it will just take a lot longer to break even (if you will at all).

Since more DVC points are required for the non-DVC options the annual cost of the points will seriously dampen the value of the non-DVC reservations.

With annual fees in the $4-5 per point range and the cash pricing of many of the non-DVC options in the $5 per point range, there is little "return" on recouping the initial purchase costs.

There are certainly less costly timeshares available for most of the exchange opportunities available thru DVC and for those DVC options not readily available thru other timeshares, the cash price itself may be more economical than using DVC points when you figure in the original purchase price.

I usually advise people that DVC can be a good value if they will take trips to DVC resorts every 1-2 years. That value decreases significantly when other options are reserved using the points. Many have found that by using their points at WDW DVC resorts, they have gotten their initial purchase price and annual fees back within the first 7 years (many have found that return in less time based on how many trips they are able to take). When using the points for the other options, that return time may fall into the 15-25 year range depending on how the points are actually used.

Good luck with your decision, but be sure to figure the cash pricing for the options you feel you'd actually use- both DVC and non-DVC. There is no question that those who use the points at DVC resorts Sunday - Friday will find a bargain. If you will use them on weekends and for other options, the bargain is more elusive.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[JimMIA]

I am firmly of the opinion that if you shell out the money for DVC points, you use the points as you see fit. If you are satisfied that you are getting good value for your points -- no matter how you use them -- I would never second-guess your decisions.

Having said that, Doc is right -- the most cost-effective use of DVC points is clearly for stays at DVC resorts. If you are going to stay elsewhere the majority of the time, there are undoubtedly more cost-effective ways to accomplish that.

I'm not concerned with conceps like "...worth the investment." DVC is not an investment to me; it's an expenditure. I don't think of it in terms of "breaking even," or any of that. To me, DVC is just a great pre-paid vacation plan, NOT an investment.

Investments don't break even, they build wealth. I don't consider DVC a wealth-builder -- I just expect it to provide me with better vacations than I would have had without DVC.

 

[Dean]

IMO, it would be a poor choice to buy DVC points to use them for none DVC options. For a DVC trips every 3-4 years and using the points for other things in off years, not only would you have trouble every breaking even, you'd likely get further and further behind financially every year. You could just buy a limited number of points if you wanted for the DVC trips and look at other options for off years or likely better for your situation, just rent when you want to go. I'd agree with Jim that we're entitled to make poor choices if we want, we've all done it.

 

[Cruelladeville]

I would not buy into Disney if you plan to use your points at other places. For example, if you were to stay at Poly where it is 40 pts during the week, it is 60 pts on the weekend. Each point can be easily rented for $10, which means you are paying $600 for that room for one night. If you paid cash, you would pay $230-$350 depending on which discounts you used. This is pretty consistent, even if you are using off-property. The one time where you might come out ahead is if you are trading a week into Interval, and asking for Hawaii or other hard-to-get location. DVC allows you to trade to any location, and into some really nice properties. Nevertheless, DVC is designed to be used most cheaply at its own hotels.

 

[JimC]

Another on the side that DVC may not be the best means to accomplish what you want. Setting aside the terminology debate, you are making a financial decision to acquire vacations. For what you want to do I would not put my money on DVC. There are other timeshares that will give you what you want for less money. And there are other strategies (timeshares and cash, timeshares and renting points) that are more cost effective for your situation as you have explained it.

 

[aubeone]

Thanks for all the advice. My family and I are renting from a DVC owner at OKW in April. I will use this trip to help make a final decision. Everything I have read in these threads leads me to believe that DVC ownership is awesome. I cannot wait to find out for myself. Perhaps I will return a DVC owner!

 

[Danthesand]

People, it's not as black and white as most people here are implying. In reality, there's a sliding "best use of points" scale:

Best ROI: using points at DVC resorts, particularly to get choice villas at home resort during peak demand periods.

Still relatively high ROI: using points to get accomodations at the two handfuls (or so) of properties in the Interval Network that are :
(a) up to DVC standards
(b) in desireable locations
(c) are realistically available (e.g., where history shows exchanges actually happen in reasonable time frames, e.g. a year or less).

Debates exist about exactly which places are on this short list, but proven members include several excellent Marriott resorts in Hawaii and the Caribbean. Bottom line: despite the fact one can use DVC in a very viable, efficient way to get into some truly choice non-DVC timeshares (the better units in a few putting anything in DVC to shame), this overall remains a hugely under-appreciated element of the program.

Anything from "O.K." to "lousy" ROI: properties in the Disney collection. Best values tends to be at the less desireable (ergo, non-deluxe) resorts, particularly during off-peak times. At the bottom of the spectrum are the Deluxe resorts and the Disney Cruise Line, which are never a good deal on points. Bottom line: the Disney Collection works...if you are doing a WDW trip in October or late January, just looking for a bed on property and don't mind going "down" from the DVC deluxe levels.

Almost always poor ROI: almost everything in the Concierge Collection. All very nice properties , but rarely a good value. A few exceptions exist (Sagamore in New York in off-season being one of the best).

Never a good idea: anything in the Adventurer Collection. Everything here is horrifically overpriced (does anyone ever book these?)

By the way, as my signature shows, I've twice used the Concierge option. Both those bookings were made "under duress"' (ergo, unexpected schedule changes forced us to use up points on short notice late in the year when going to Florida was not an option).

Were they the most "economic" use of points? No, but being able to make those bookings was a helpful and unanticipated benefit of being a DVC member. At a minimum, they allowed my family to experience very high end properties we otherwise would probably have never visited.

 

[dyingtodisney]

I would love to know which resorts are the 2 handful list? I've been putting off trading because I'm afraid I'll be disappointed and feel I've wasted points, this board has definitely drilled that into my head over the years, now I"m terrified I'll screw up

 

[Dean]

I would love to know which resorts are the 2 handful list? I've been putting off trading because I'm afraid I'll be disappointed and feel I've wasted points, this board has definitely drilled that into my head over the years, now I"m terrified I'll screw up

As long as you know the situation and get what you want, it's cool. And what's truly worth it for you, might be different that for me. You should research the resorts themselves to find out if they fit YOUR needs. In general I'd list maybe just above 50 resorts from the Caribbean, MX, Canada and the US and even then it might not include all times of the year at many of the resorts. A partial list would include most Marriott's, Hyatt's, St. James Place, Four Seasons, Club Intrawest, Westin's, Royal's Cancun, Paradise Village PV and the like. I use a variety of techniques to evaluated any potential exchange. I start with the wish book or on line II listings, I look at the ratings AND review info on TUG, I look at places like tripadvisors and Timesharing Today. Depending on my uncertainty, I might post on the TUG BBS or other similar sites about various questions I might have. I frequently call the resort to ask about unit assignments, rehab issues, NS/S options and the like.

One point I've tried to bring up over and over again is that no matter how great a resort is overall, it doesn't matter if it doesn't meet YOUR needs. Say you want a beach and the resort is on a bluff overlooking the beach. Or maybe it's isolated and you won't have a car. Maybe all the convenient restaurants have $20 hamburgers or Air fare is $1000 per person.

 

[Tarman]

Why not buy a limited number of points then bank a year and borrow a year, then you won't have to fell you aren't getting your monies worth or feel you have to go every year.

 

[aubeone]

Where is the best place to purchase a small contract...25-50 points. I cannot afford to purchase 150 pts. direct from Disney at this time?

 

[mark&sue]

We find exchanging will work for us and using points at DLP as we live in UK and until our DD leaves school we can only really fly out to US once a year. These flights currently cost us $3,500 during school holidays. However as we have 520 points we still have a bit left after a two week vaction and taking other families with us. We have therefore used an exchange which does not involve travelling costs and used points stay at Disneyland Paris which just cost us the ferry across the English Channel. These two vacations are both during our UK school holiday times and so works out very good value for money for us.

This may seem strange to other people but I could not be happier and I get to go to WDW every year plus one or two other vacation as well.


Susan