Using points at non-DVC hotels?

[gatorincs]

My DW and I are considering buying into the DVC, especially with the current 15% discount available. We have not yet received any information in writing from the DVC, however (awaiting its arrival), so we thought we'd post some questions here to get all of your very insightful thoughts!

Clearly, it seems like the best use of the DVC is to stay at DVC resorts. However, we're not certain that we want to lock ourselves in to DVC resorts for the next 49 years. Thus, we're attracted to the idea of being able to trade for hotels elsewhere, especially in other countries. My questions center on doing so.

FIRST, how are trades for non-DVC hotels arranged? If I understand the posts on these boards correctly, is it handled through Interval International? How long does the process take? Is it difficult to do? It seems as though a number of people have had bad experiences doing this, so I'd welcome input from people who have done so.

SECOND, we are not sure how many points it takes (per night) to get a hotel room at a non-DVC hotel. Let's say, for example, we decide we want to stay at a hotel in England, at an off-peak time of year. Can one of you give me an idea how many points per night that would cost? How about someplace more exotic, like the Caribbean or Italy or Australia?

Any thoughts you can share with me are much appreciated! Thanks!

 

[CDSTapisRouge]

Everything you would be booking would be handled through Disney Vacation Club Member Services. They will be the ones that will go to Interval or the hotel directly to book things for you. You just tell them what you are looking for and they will take care of the details for you. We have not booked anything outside of Disney yet, so I am not sure how long it takes for them to get back to you, but I do know if you are booking from the World Passport Collection (Interval International) you can put in for reservations as far out as 2 years and they will continually look for you.

There are a couple different options for booking non DVC reservations.

There is the Concierge Collection of hotels which can be booked on a nightly basis, these are hotels within the US, Bahamas and England. These vary from resort to resort. They generally range anywhere from 23 points per night upwards of 70 plus points per night just depending on the location you are interested in.

And then there is the World Passport Collection which are booked on a weekly basis (you basically are trading a week at your "timeshare" with someone else for a week at theirs). For the low season right now it is 124 points for the week, in a 1 bedroom as Chuck Mentioned below .

 

[Chuck S]

Welcome to the DIS/DVC Boards. DVC has a special agreement with Interval International (II). All II exchanges must be booked through DVC Member Services, members can no deal with II directly, as with some other timeshares. World Passort Collection resorts are full week trades and require different points for low, mid & high season.

Point requirements vary, depending on season and size. Three seasons (L)ow (M)id and (H)igh.

1 bedroom unit 124L, 144M & 160H
2 bedroom unit 207L, 252M & 270H

There is also a $75 fee, payable a) if an instant match is found or b) when a system search initiated.

I haven't traded out of the DVC system, either, but these figures are from our 2006/7 Vacation Planner.

 

[gatorincs]

Welcome to the DIS/DVC Boards. DVC has a special agreement with Interval International (II). All II exchanges must be booked through DVC Member Services, members can no deal with II directly, as with some other timeshares. World Passort Collection resorts are full week trades and require different points for low, mid & high season.

Point requirements vary, depending on season and size. Three seasons (L)ow (M)id and (H)igh.

1 bedroom unit 124L, 144M & 160H
2 bedroom unit 207L, 252M & 270H

There is also a $75 fee, payable a) if an instant match is found or b) when a system search initiated.

I haven't traded out of the DVC system, either, but these figures are from our 2006/7 Vacation Planner.

This is great, thanks. Do you have any insight (like in the post above) about trading out to a hotel, rather than for another timeshare via II in the World Passport Collection? Are the only options (a) World Passport Collection and (b) Concierge Collection?

 

[Caskbill]

The whole system works in what's called 'Collections', and each collection is a different.

1. The DVC Collection: These are the DVC resorts

2. The Disney Collection: These include WDW resorts, Dineyland resorts, Hong Kong Disneyland resorts, Tokyo Disney resorts, and the Disney Cruise Line.

3. The Concierge Collection: Currently this includes 34 resorts/hotels, mostly in the U.S. such as The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, MI, a couple in Hawaii, Hotel del Coronado in California, etc. Outside of the country there are 3 hotels: Atlantis on Paradise Island, Bahamas, The Dorchester, London, and The Royal Garden hotel, London. These hotels can be reserved for a single night, or more. There is a $95 fee to make a reservation. Point wise they range from a low of 17 points (LaQuinta, La Quinta CA, low season, Sun-Thurs) to a high of 139 points for a night in a 2-B/R villa at Keystone Resort, Keystone CO, at Christmas week.

The Dorchester is 95 points/night, year round, for a Superior Classed room, and 99 points/night for a Deluxe. The Royal Garden ranges from 52 to 74, depending on room type and date.

Rooms in the Concierge collection are reserved directly through Member Services.

4. The World Passport Collection. These are getting into other timeshares, for a full 7-day week. These are all exchanged through II (Interval International) and range from a low of 124 points for a 1-B/R in low season (for the week) and a high of 270 points for a 2-B/R in high season. The season will vary by resort (EG Hawaii is High Season Year Round, while Colorado is high during the ski season) There's a $75 exchange fee. Getting a resort depends on the trading power of the resort you want to trade into. Generally you can make a request (up to 2-years in advance) and an ongoing search will confirm if a trade becomes available. Exchanging through II is not guaranteed that you will get what you want. Normally you would give more than one location and a range of dates to get better luck. Remember, it takes an owner at the other resort that you want to get into to make an exchange on their part so their villa becomes available.

5. World Passport Buena Vista Trading Company. This is kind of special. There is a $75 reservation fee, and you may book nightly for as few or as many nights as you want. There are two Club Cordial resorts, one in Austria and one in Italy, and there are 7 club Intrawest resorts, One in CA, one in FL, and the remaining in Canada.

6. Adventurer Collection: Without going into detail, this group includes the 7-night Holland America Alaska Cruise (166 to 230 pts/person), African Safaris, Biking Trips, etc.

Hope this helps.



4.

 

[gatorincs]

The whole system works in what's called 'Collections', and each collection is a different.

1. The DVC Collection: These are the DVC resorts

2. The Disney Collection: These include WDW resorts, Dineyland resorts, Hong Kong Disneyland resorts, Tokyo Disney resorts, and the Disney Cruise Line.

3. The Concierge Collection: Currently this includes 34 resorts/hotels, mostly in the U.S. such as The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, MI, a couple in Hawaii, Hotel del Coronado in California, etc. Outside of the country there are 3 hotels: Atlantis on Paradise Island, Bahamas, The Dorchester, London, and The Royal Garden hotel, London. These hotels can be reserved for a single night, or more. There is a $95 fee to make a reservation. Point wise they range from a low of 17 points (LaQuinta, La Quinta CA, low season, Sun-Thurs) to a high of 139 points for a night in a 2-B/R villa at Keystone Resort, Keystone CO, at Christmas week.

The Dorchester is 95 points/night, year round, for a Superior Classed room, and 99 points/night for a Deluxe. The Royal Garden ranges from 52 to 74, depending on room type and date.

Rooms in the Concierge collection are reserved directly through Member Services.

4. The World Passport Collection. These are getting into other timeshares, for a full 7-day week. These are all exchanged through II (Interval International) and range from a low of 124 points for a 1-B/R in low season (for the week) and a high of 270 points for a 2-B/R in high season. The season will vary by resort (EG Hawaii is High Season Year Round, while Colorado is high during the ski season) There's a $75 exchange fee. Getting a resort depends on the trading power of the resort you want to trade into. Generally you can make a request (up to 2-years in advance) and an ongoing search will confirm if a trade becomes available. Exchanging through II is not guaranteed that you will get what you want. Normally you would give more than one location and a range of dates to get better luck. Remember, it takes an owner at the other resort that you want to get into to make an exchange on their part so their villa becomes available.

5. World Passport Buena Vista Trading Company. This is kind of special. There is a $75 reservation fee, and you may book nightly for as few or as many nights as you want. There are two Club Cordial resorts, one in Austria and one in Italy, and there are 7 club Intrawest resorts, One in CA, one in FL, and the remaining in Canada.

6. Adventurer Collection: Without going into detail, this group includes the 7-night Holland America Alaska Cruise (166 to 230 pts/person), African Safaris, Biking Trips, etc.

Hope this helps.



4.

Awesome stuff, thanks. By the way, how many points per night is it in the World Passport Buena Vista Trading Company? Better yet, how many points per night is it in the Disney Collection? For example, let's say I wanted to stay at the Contemporary at an off-peak time?

 

[athenna]

Awesome stuff, thanks. By the way, how many points per night is it in the World Passport Buena Vista Trading Company? Better yet, how many points per night is it in the Disney Collection? For example, let's say I wanted to stay at the Contemporary at an off-peak time?

Just checked out the Contemporary for you:
an off-peak time-value season for 2006 as an exaample:
1/1-2/15 7/5-10/5
11/26-12/19
garden standard sun-thurs 29 pts. fri & sat 52 pts
garden sun-thrus 33 pts fri & sat 59 pts
tower sun-thurs 40 pts. fri & sat 72 pts.
atrium club sun-thurs 58 pts. fri & sat 104 pts.
Pretty pricey points wise, best use of points will always be to stay at a DVC resort, but I never tell people what they ''should do'' with their points.

 

[gatorincs]

Just checked out the Contemporary for you:
an off-peak time-value season for 2006 as an exaample:
1/1-2/15 7/5-10/5
11/26-12/19
garden standard sun-thurs 29 pts. fri & sat 52 pts
garden sun-thrus 33 pts fri & sat 59 pts
tower sun-thurs 40 pts. fri & sat 72 pts.
atrium club sun-thurs 58 pts. fri & sat 104 pts.
Pretty pricey points wise, best use of points will always be to stay at a DVC resort, but I never tell people what they ''should do'' with their points.

Wow, you're right, that's a ton of points. This is really helpful. Thanks so much.

 

[4formickey]

we just traded for a weekend hotel stay for next weekend. I called dvc about 2 weeks ago. I stayed on the line and the agent booked with in 5 minutes. They took off the 81 points and I was charge a $95 fee for booking a none disney hotel. It was that simple. The hotel was offering an $100 meal credit and the stay would have cost us $550 for the weekend.With the meal credit ,the stay is free and we are playing to have a good time.

 

[Dean]

Awesome stuff, thanks. By the way, how many points per night is it in the World Passport Buena Vista Trading Company? Better yet, how many points per night is it in the Disney Collection? For example, let's say I wanted to stay at the Contemporary at an off-peak time?

I was thinking there were more choices in the Club Cordial. They are a lot of points. Search for thread's I started and there is one that gives technical info on II and BVTC fro about 2 years ago.I found the thread.

 

[Caskbill]

I was thinking there were more choices in the Club Cordial. They are a lot of points. .....

You're correct, I phrased it wrong. I should have said there are Club Cordial resorts in two different countries that can be used: Austria and Italy. There are actually 8 different resorts.

Most resorts have Studios, 1-B/R and 2-B/R units. Points for a Studio range from 11 to 28 points/night, depending on resort location and season.

For a 2-B/R they range from 16 points to 58 points.