What would you trade DVC for?

[shortypots]

When I say trade, I mean within the possibilities of the DVC program. The adventure collection, concierge collection, disney collection, world passport collection, and then of course trading into II.

What is worth it to you to use your DVC points on?

 

[spiceycat]

in the long ago days when the Polyn, BC, YC were 22 points I tried them.

Now I think maybe in a few years - Hawaii - unless of course DVC goes their first!!! then I would definitely do it.

I thought about the one in NY or Tennessee - but that is alot of points.

 

[wtpclc]

My dh and I are doing the Alaska cruise in 2006, provided that the points don't go up too much. We will likely try other trades in the future, too.

 

[married@wdw]

I'd love to do Hawaii. So far we've stayed in the Disney Collection -- DCL cruises and DL Paris. I still think DL Paris is a fantatic deal -- the points include park passes and breakfast every morning (and for $5 more, they'll bring you room service breakfast). It was awesome! I really wish they had Tokyo Disney on there -- we'd go in a heartbeat, but have become very accustomed to not having to pay for our accomodations and Tokyo's are VERY EXPENSIVE to say the least!

 

[J and R's mom]

We'd like to try several other places: (I was just looking at the websites of some of them prior to logging onto this site, actually)

1) Alaskan Cruise
2) Las Vegas
3) Lake Tahoe
4) Colorado
5) BigSky Montana

Most of the places we want to visit are in the World Passport Collection. I doubt that we'll ever make it to any of the other Disney locations other than WDW, but if we're ever "in the neighborhood" of some of them, I wouldn't mind stopping by. My husband has even mentioned taking a Disney Cruise someday...which is odd for him since he gets VERY sea-sick.

I'm just wondering how easy or difficult it is to trade points for these trips. Are there any folks out there that have done it and can you give us some feedback?

 

[wtpclc]

J and Rs Mom - FYI - The patch works wonders. My dh gets sea sick, car sick, etc very bad. He survived 25-foot waves on our DCL trip and would go again. Highly recommend the patch.

 

[dianeschlicht]

There aren't many trades I consider good enough to relenquish Disney points for. I think the Disney collection and Concierge are too expensive point wise to be of interest to me. I DO think a weeks trade into any of the Hawaii resorts is an equitable exchange, and I thought about the Alaska cruise, but I sometimes see deals on that that make me think it isn't worth the point cost either. I would probably do that one for cash.

 

[ratfam]

J and Rs mom, we have done Las Vegas on points through an II exchange and DCL on points, never had any problems with either, we booked DCL right when the 11 month window opened and probably booked Vegas 5 or 6 months out. And both were at spring break, too. Feel free to pm me if you would like any specifics or have any other questions.

I also am curious about responses to the OP's question, the whole question of what is "worth" the points is new to me, and I have already basically been labelled an idiot on another thread for suggesting that value would differ from person to person based on their circumstances and wouldn't necessarily be purely monetary. I wouldn't have bought into DVC if I couldn't justify using the points anywhere other than DVC resorts from Sunday through Thursday but I am interested in other perspectives on how to maximize "value".

 

[JeanJoe]

My husband has even mentioned taking a Disney Cruise someday...which is odd for him since he gets VERY sea-sick.

My wife and I are (were, now that we're joining DVC?) cruise-a-holics, and she gets seasick fairly easily. The miracle drug for her was meclizine, which she swears by.

Back on topic:

Looking at the high point costs of the rest of the Disney collection and Concierge collection, I doubt we'd ever trade. But, the week in the World Passport collection for 160 points seems reasonable, isn't it?

I mean, I know that you're trading a week of DVC villa for a week elsewhere, and from a strictly monetary standpoint, it's probably a losing trade, but if you feel like spending a week someplace else, are there any other major reasons NOT to do this trade? I guess there's also the exchange fee. Anyone have comments about the week-long trades?

 

[wtpclc]

ratfam - I know exactly what you're talking about and am surprised this thread has not gone that way. Glad, but surprised. Here's how I look at it: My points (purchase price plus MFs) are about $5.50 in my eyes. Simple, not looking at interest and cost of money etc. When I looked at the Alaska cruise and the DCL cruise, I would save ~ $2,000 over paying cash. Others get a higher value for their points by looking at it in a mroe complex fashion.

Then, there are the people who rent. They figure they can get $10 per point by renting. If the cruise is 360 points for them (WAG) or $3,000 cash (WAG), then they'd rent and have $600 to spare.

I dont' want the hassle. I bought my points to use them. I like having one point of contact, MS. I still feel like I'm saving money over paying cash.

Finally, some people just assign their points to be worth $10 because that's what they rent for. So, if teh cash cost is less than 10 times the number of points, they do not feel that it is a good use of points.

All ways makes sense. You just have to figure out what they are worth to you.

Sorry, I think I hijacked a bit again.

WOuld love to hear others' opinions on what's worth it to them.

 

[jimmytammy]

Probably a million $$s......then I would just turn around and buy even more pts. than I had before

Sorry, I just couldnt resist

 

[chimera]

Hmmm...that Alaska cruise sounds pretty sweet. We may trade for a cruise in the next few years. I can also recommend meclizine for cruising. I remember sitting on Disney Wonder watching the curtain swaying (BIG time) and thinking, "Gee...I'm not the least bit oogy"

I would also trade my points for a stay in the secret apartment that may or may not be in Cindy's castle.

 

[wintergreen]

ratfam,

I must say that I do agree with you that the "value" of points, and therefore trades, differ depending on the member. We have done a number of Concierge Collection trades, and even with some high point values, I'm sure that we will do so again. We look at DVC as a method for prepaying our vacations. If there is somewhere that we want to go that is in the Concierge Collection, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to go there, and to have the bill be taken care of. Of course, using points in any way always involves trade-offs, and some folks might not see the value of trading a full week at WDW for a few nights at another property.

We have never rented points, and I can't see us ever doing so, unless there was some reason that we would absolutely not be able to use them before they expire, so this method of valuing points does not work for us. Lots of different views and opinions on this subject. I don't think that any of them are "correct."

 

[BCVOwner2002]

Probably a million $$s......then I would just turn around and buy even more pts. than I had before

Sorry, I just couldnt resist

Lol - this was my thought too! Annmarie

 

[rocketriter]

We've traded for the Kona Coast in Hawaii (a fairly easy trade) and would also do so for several harder-to-get resorts in the islands. This summer we're trading for the Marriott Ford's Colony at Williamsburg. We could work out more optimum values for our points, but these values are good enough for us, considering the value of the time we'd spend setting this up.

 

[CarolMN]

Have been a member since 1999 and at this point, I would not trade my DVC points for any option other than one of the DVC resorts. I am not tired of my annual trek to the World and am not willing to give it up to go anywhere else. (We still go other places, but we pay cash for those). Have sufficient points for the annual trip - even enough to take extended family every other year or so, but not enough to trade out and still go to WDW. Maybe when I tire of WDW, I'll be willing to trade, but right now, I'm still working on wanting to stay somewhere besides my home resort, LOL!

Best wishes -

 

[Dean]

The only truly reasonable trades from a value stand point are going to be high demand resorts at high demand times through II. ALL of the rest can be gotten far more cheaply other means if you plan appropriately.

 

[JeanJoe]

The only truly reasonable trades from a value stand point are going to be high demand resorts at high demand times through II. ALL of the rest can be gotten far more cheaply other means if you plan appropriately.

I'm completely new to II, so to get a sense of what's "popular", could anyone list a few of the "high demand" resorts and times?

This thread has been very helpful, just for me to consider possible future options. And as someone new to DVC, what might "obviously" be high demand isn't clear to me yet (kind of like DVC and 1st weeks of Dec; F+W / MNSSHP + Oct; Christmas and VWL; etc.)

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dean]

I'm completely new to II, so to get a sense of what's "popular", could anyone list a few of the "high demand" resorts and times?

This thread has been very helpful, just for me to consider possible future options. And as someone new to DVC, what might "obviously" be high demand isn't clear to me yet (kind of like DVC and 1st weeks of Dec; F+W / MNSSHP + Oct; Christmas and VWL; etc.)

Thanks in advance.

For example: Caribbean and MX are high for Xmas to Easter and lower the rest of the time. HI is high except for Sep, Oct, and the first half of Dec. For HI, you can bet on Marriott's, Westin, the Embassy's and that's about it in the A group. For Aruba it's the Marriott's. For St. John it's the Westin. For Cayman's, it's the Royal Reef. For Cancun the Royals. For Puerto Vallarta, it's Paradise Village. Hilton Head is high summer and the Marriott's are the top choices.

You basically have to compare the resort quality to the demand. Someone saying they traded somewhere and had a great time has no affect on the inherent value of an exchange, IMO. A great resort in peak season will be your best value, esp if it's in a high demand area anyway. A mediocre resort off season is a no no. In between you have to make judgments and weigh the pluses and minuses. In part it depends on how much you want a specific location, in a certain size unit, during a specific time. To me, I also compare how I can get the same exchange otherwise. If I can get it with a unit I gave $500 for and pay $350 a year in fees, no way am I using DVC points for that exchange. Of course you can also compare to what you could rent that unit for and come up with a per point value.

 

[ralphd]

We exchanged for a week at the Royal Garden Hotel in London. The hotel is next to Kensington Palace (view from side of bay window) and our room overlooked Kensington Gardens. The hotel included a free breakfast with the exchange and they also gave us a free room upgrade.