What does Disney usually want?

[Disneyhenry]

I am thinking about becoming a DVC member, what is usually the deposits? We will be going probably every other year, just because we love DCL so much and we plan on going on DCL every year and twice a year every other year. i think we will need about 200 for every year maybe 175
Thanks

 

[buckeev]

I am thinking about becoming a DVC member, what is usually the deposits? We will be going probably every other year, just because we love DCL so much and we plan on going on DCL every year and twice a year every other year. i think we will need about 200 for every year maybe 175
Thanks

I believe it is based primarily on your personal credit.
Rule of thumb...10%-20% range...(it appears that 20 % down will also get you a much lower finance rate. And of course...LOWER PAYMENTS!!!

 

[DizBub]

I believe it is based primarily on your personal credit.
Rule of thumb...10%-20% range...(it appears that 20 % down will also get you a much lower finance rate. And of course...LOWER PAYMENTS!!!

Well, I don't know about a much lower rate. All Disney rates are quite high. No way would we pay those. You can arrange your own financing. We did. As for down payments it is 10% or 20%. If you buy resale they want $500/$1000 down.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I am thinking about becoming a DVC member, what is usually the deposits? We will be going probably every other year, just because we love DCL so much and we plan on going on DCL every year and twice a year every other year. i think we will need about 200 for every year maybe 175
Thanks

What does Disney want? They want your blood and all your money.

Check out the number of points required for DCL. Since it isn't DVC, the points required are negotiated every year. They are higher, higher than the DVC resorts. But with the large number required for GFV, they might be coming a bit more equal. But DCL points are per person, not per cabin. And resort points are per resort, not per person. Lots of members on the DIS don't use points for cruises, but rent out their points instead. Some do use their points for cruises though. But usually using points to cruise is expensive.

You might also want to consider resale if you haven't already.

 

[nabi]

What does Disney want? They want your blood and all your money.

laughed out loud, again! Truth with humor...can't beat it!

 

[carcam51]

We were just on a cruise and attended the DVC informational meeting onboard - boy am I glad we did not sign on the dotted line while on the ship! I'm thinking resale is going to be the best bet for us....$155.00 per point just seemed so high! We like to cruise too, so if we were to use our points to cruise, we would probably use points for person 1 and 2 since and pay cash for person 3 and 4 since they are less. Again, still haven't signed up, but good to see we can obtain our own financing as well. My boyfriend and I have great credit, with 10% down, we obtained the lowest financing interest rate of 12% - you have to put 20% down if you want that 9% interest rate, which IMHO is still too high!

 

[tjkraz]

Resale points cannot be used for Disney cruises.

Additionally, using DVC points for cruises is typically not a very sound financial approach. Would highly recommend comparing the DVC point cost for a number of cruises vs the cash rate. When you take into account the annual dues you're obligated to pay on the points and the initial buy-in investment (plus interest if financed), it could easily be 20-30 years before you "save" any money cruising on DVC points.

 

[carcam51]

Resale points cannot be used for Disney cruises.

I was just coming back to modify my post - I did not realize this until I read it on another thread. Clearly still doing my homework I have a lot to learn, but better to be educated about the purchase that will work best for my family then to go in blind and find out after the fact!

 

[dsnydaddy]

Does anyone know what interest rate Disney currently charges? I'm building a spreadsheet to determine exactly what the costs would be.

 

[DizBub]

We were just on a cruise and attended the DVC informational meeting onboard - boy am I glad we did not sign on the dotted line while on the ship! I'm thinking resale is going to be the best bet for us....$155.00 per point just seemed so high! We like to cruise too, so if we were to use our points to cruise, we would probably use points for person 1 and 2 since and pay cash for person 3 and 4 since they are less. Again, still haven't signed up, but good to see we can obtain our own financing as well. My boyfriend and I have great credit, with 10% down, we obtained the lowest financing interest rate of 12% - you have to put 20% down if you want that 9% interest rate, which IMHO is still too high!

Just so you know, Disney can sell you the older resorts for less than $155 per point. They just aren't "selling" anything but VGF, Aulani and AKV. They want $130 per point for the "classic" resorts, OKW, BWV,BCV,VWL and SSR. It's not much less but if you must buy direct this could be a less expensive option. Resale for these same resorts are MUCH cheaper, you just can't cruise on them.

 

[JimMIA]

First of all, the thought that 200 points per year would cover DVC cruises rotfl2 is far, far short of what you would need for ONE person to cruise. OP had better check the current cruise points costs because they are WAY more than that.

More important, using DVC points for those cruises is a perk and it can change or go away at any time. Very important to understand that. Perks are not guaranteed to any DVC owner, regardless of how they purchase DVC. They can and do change frequently.

In fact, twice in the last few years DCL has suspended the ability to use DVC points for up to 11 months at a time. So the idea of cruising with DVC points is not only a very expensive strategy, but a very uncertain one.

I certainly would advise against buying DVC primarily for use on non-DVC option.

 

[lawboy2001]

Does anyone know what interest rate Disney currently charges? I'm building a spreadsheet to determine exactly what the costs would be.

I believe the premium rate (for good credit or existing members) is 11.9% for 10% down and 8.9% for 20% down. Dvcnews.com has a financing page though - just go there and search "financing" and it should pop up as one of the top results.

 

[dsnydaddy]

I believe the premium rate (for good credit or existing members) is 11.9% for 10% down and 8.9% for 20% down. Dvcnews.com has a financing page though - just go there and search "financing" and it should pop up as one of the top results.

Thanks. I see that I can get financing on the open market for far less.

 

[carcam51]

First of all, the thought that 200 points per year would cover DVC cruises rotfl2 is far, far short of what you would need for ONE person to cruise. OP had better check the current cruise points costs because they are WAY more than that.

More important, using DVC points for those cruises is a perk and it can change or go away at any time. Very important to understand that. Perks are not guaranteed to any DVC owner, regardless of how they purchase DVC. They can and do change frequently.

In fact, twice in the last few years DCL has suspended the ability to use DVC points for up to 11 months at a time. So the idea of cruising with DVC points is not only a very expensive strategy, but a very uncertain one.

I certainly would advise against buying DVC primarily for use on non-DVC option.

Thank you for the insight...it is appreciated. We are obviously still doing a lot of research to determine what is going to work best for our family. While we do like to cruise, it is clear that paying cash would be the best way to go. With that said, when looking at resorts in the World Passport Collection - would those be considered non-DVC options? It's confusing in the information we've received. I understand the primary DVC Resorts, but it gets a little grey when looking to use points outside of the world.

 

[chalee94]

With that said, when looking at resorts in the World Passport Collection - would those be considered non-DVC options? It's confusing in the information we've received. I understand the primary DVC Resorts, but it gets a little grey when looking to use points outside of the world.

yes, they are non-DVC options that involve trading out of the DVC system (usually through RCI) for another timeshare.

those trades are available whether you purchase DVC direct or resale...

...but they are still a poor deal financially, as you are typically trading for timeshares that cost $1 on ebay upfront (rather than the thousands paid for DVC) and generally only charge a fraction of the annual dues of a DVC contract.

 

[tjkraz]

...but they are still a poor deal financially, as you are typically trading for timeshares that cost $1 on ebay upfront (rather than the thousands paid for DVC) and generally only charge a fraction of the annual dues of a DVC contract.

While the above may be true, it doesn't really speak to the quality of the accommodations. There ARE some very nice destinations available via RCI trade and the cost to use DVC points for trade is comparable to using points for the native DVC resorts.

If a buyer wants to travel the country on timeshare points, there are definitely programs which are a better fit than DVC. But for the rare visit to a Colorado ski resort, Tahoe or DC, trading-out with DVC points can still be a better option than assuming the liability associated with a $1 eBay timeshare auction.

Two general comments I would make about trading:
1) Quality varies greatly from one resort to another. Don't assume all will be equal or better than the Disney quality you're used to. You really have to research each hotel before accepting a trade and make sure it's a good property.

2) Trading is not nearly as easy as booking in your native system. Demand for certain resorts can be much higher than supply. For the highest degree of success, you need to start looking a year in advance and have some flexibility in terms of travel dates, resorts you will accept and even unit size.

 

[crisi]

I'd add that using timeshare points and trading isn't the only way to go. You can often rent someone else's timeshare off the internet using cash for a fraction of the price of owning your own timeshare.

 

[Deb & Bill]

And you have to pay DVC $95 to make the trade.

 

[carcam51]

All very, very good points!

 

[JimMIA]

...but they are still a poor deal financially, as you are typically trading for timeshares that cost $1 on ebay upfront (rather than the thousands paid for DVC) and generally only charge a fraction of the annual dues of a DVC contract.

I personally use a different scorecard for evaluating exchanges, but I need to explain my starting point.

There are folks who really know the world of timeshare exchanging, and they can do very well in the exchange world. I am not one of those folks, so I would generally only exchange with points I simply could not use within the home system (in this case, at DVC resorts). And because I am not an expert in exchanging, I would not even consider the option of exchanging as a factor in my decision to purchase anybody's timeshare.

For my purposes, in those rare instances where I exchange, I have only one criteria for the exchange -- that I am satisfied with the accommodations I get for those points.

I have never exchanged with DVC points. With my Wyndham points, I have done two exchanges. The most recent was a few weeks ago (Dec 14-21) to an OKW 2 bedroom for a full week, and that was great. We took DD11's BFF and her parents (they stayed only one night and left amazed), and we had a great time.

Our BEST exchange, however, was a couple of years ago to a little place on Cape Cod. It was about a 2-star resort, but it was spacious, clean, with a very cordial staff, and 3 miles from Uncle Geno's house. We got a 1 BR and a Studio (for a cousin and her husband) for a week and it was perfect -- for our needs...on short notice...for that trip. It was a wonderful trip.

Both sets of points for those exchanges were essentially points I paid nothing for, that I couldn't do anything with in Wyndham because of the timing of our purchase, so I dumped them into RCI and used them there.

This is another example of what the mods said in the first post -- this is a valuation question. How do you value your points?

Charles is doing a financial valuation (which is certainly one valid criteria), I am using a satisfaction valuation. Neither of us are right or wrong; it just depends on how you look at it.