World passport collection

[Dean]

Okay, I know about DVC from lurking here and going to 2 presentations at Disney, but nothing about RCI. How cheap are you able to purchase a resort to trade out, that would have good trading value??

There are many variables but just to get RCI trading, $1000 or so including closing should get your something that will trade better than DVC and have comparable or less overall fees. Of course one could spend more and might or might not get more, it would depend on specifics. For Wyndham I think you're at a pretty comparable exchange situation compared to DVC, for BG and RCI points, you're certainly better off from both a usage and exchange standpoint outside of DVC. You have the possibility with all of exchanging in to DVC but there are no guarantees and I'd be reluctant to buy just for that option.

 

[JimMIA]

For Wyndham I think you're at a pretty comparable exchange situation compared to DVC,

The advice I've received, both from Dean and other experts, is that Wyndham is not a particularly strong trader -- not the timeshare to buy purely for trading purposes. However, I think it's vastly superior to DVC for trading for two reasons.

The first is that Wyndham gives you free full RCI membership, which means you have access to 3,500 or so RCI resorts. DVC gives you only a small number of options -- I don't know how many, but it's a small fraction of RCI's total system. If you want to ski at Vail, DVC may have zero options -- the full RCI will have dozens.

Secondly, if you try to use DVC to exchange, the points cost is the same for a particular-sized unit regardless of location or quality of resort. Think about that for a minute -- one size fits all. News flash: all timeshare resorts are not created equal, so if you're paying one-size-fits-all (meaning average), you are not likely to get premier resorts in prime time.

That's not true with Wyndham. With Wyndham, YOU decide how much you are willing to pay for a particular reservation. You can exchange "like-for-like" and get a 2 BR for a 2 BR cost. But many exchanges are not like-for-like -- they are deeply discounted. Here's the strategy one Wyndham owner posted over on TUG, edited for brevity:

28K - only for truly blue weeks (ed. note - lowest demand) or for the less popular resorts found in overbuilt/quiet areas
42K - for offseason weeks at popular resorts or anytime at quieter/less popular resorts...
70K - for shoulder or high season at popular Wyndhams and non-Wyndhams, ...also for non-Wyndham resorts in season
105K - for 2BR trades, when it REALLY matters to me, or for hard but not impossible trades to non-Wyndham resorts

You'll notice none of those are anywhere near the 154K I was using above. She's talking about getting 2 BRs for studio points costs! Try that with DVC.

Don't get me wrong -- I love DVC. But for DVC stays, not other stuff.

 

[StitchBuddy]

Hmm, I have to be honest. I have never given buying a timeshare a second thought until DVC. I think I like it because it is Disney and I know exactly what I am getting. That being said my DD is 13 and has been to WDW 8 times since the age of 4. My husband is afraid we will be completely burned out on the mouse soon. While I have to admit I don't feel the need to go in the parks as much, I still love my disney resorts. I am sure many of you are in the same boat. Plus, there are other things to do in Orlando while you are there. Even if we just used it every other year or even every third year, buying fewer points, I think it is something I would get lots of enjoyment from owning. Not to mention if we decided it wasn't a good fit for us we could resell it and get some of our money out of it.

 

[nickspace]

I wanted to stay in Chicago with points and it was not a good deal for sure. Besides the points therenis the $95 fee. I could book the same hotel direct for $117 a night.

 

[Meg_z10]

Hi guys I don't know a lot about the DVC but my family in becoming more and more interested in buying one.
You see we already have a timeshare in SC who deals with Interval International, the reason we bought that resort was because at the time Interval had a contract with disney so we could trade for one of the DVC resorts. Unfortunately for when we called to trade for a disney resort we were told that Interval is no longer contracted with disney.(only a year had gone by) So if anyone is thinking of going this route and just trading into Disney be careful!

But anyway quick question, could someone use their DVC points towards a DisneyCruise? Also is the DVC a good idea (cost effective) if we just want to use it for Disney and not anywhere else? From your previous posts...trading sounds like a mess but for us we just keep coming back to disney. =D

-Thanks to everyone for sharing!!

 

[StitchBuddy]

Bump...

 

[csidisney]

Meg - Most people will tell you that DVC is a good value if you plan on using it for its intended purpose - Disney stays. It appears that that is your plan. I bought resale through The Timeshare Store and I paid a lot less than direct through Disney. You can use the points for cruises, although people will also say that its not a good value of points. I really don't think its that bad because the cruises include food, drinks, entertainment, etc. And lets not forget Castaway Cay In fact, I just used points to book a cruise. To give you an example, I booked a 4 night cruise on the Dream for next May. I used 303 points for me, DH, and my son and I paid cash for my daughter. This was for a balcony. It would have been 198 points for the inside room. Hope that helps!

 

[Dean]

Hi guys I don't know a lot about the DVC but my family in becoming more and more interested in buying one.
You see we already have a timeshare in SC who deals with Interval International, the reason we bought that resort was because at the time Interval had a contract with disney so we could trade for one of the DVC resorts. Unfortunately for when we called to trade for a disney resort we were told that Interval is no longer contracted with disney.(only a year had gone by) So if anyone is thinking of going this route and just trading into Disney be careful!

But anyway quick question, could someone use their DVC points towards a DisneyCruise? Also is the DVC a good idea (cost effective) if we just want to use it for Disney and not anywhere else? From your previous posts...trading sounds like a mess but for us we just keep coming back to disney. =D

-Thanks to everyone for sharing!!

You can use points for a cruise but the options is not guaranteed and the cost is too high to make it reasonable to buy DVC points for that option. Better to buy less points and use other means for the cruise. DVC is a good idea to use at DVC resorts mostly if staying on property is of value to you. You'll always be able to stay in Orlando much cheaper using non DVC timeshares at places just as nice as DVC. I'd only buy DVC if you'd pay cash to stay at moderates or better on property routinely.

 

[JimMIA]

Hi guys I don't know a lot about the DVC but my family in becoming more and more interested in buying one.
You see we already have a timeshare in SC who deals with Interval International, the reason we bought that resort was because at the time Interval had a contract with disney so we could trade for one of the DVC resorts. Unfortunately for when we called to trade for a disney resort we were told that Interval is no longer contracted with disney.(only a year had gone by) So if anyone is thinking of going this route and just trading into Disney be careful!

There is another side to that coin, and that is that some DVC owners were disappointed when DVC made the switch to RCI. So it cuts both ways.

One key point of that issue is, either way you look at, those kinds of perks or arrangements can be changed with the stroke of a pen. The safest strategy is to consider DVC only for its value for DVC resort stays. If you can do something else with your DVC points that you feel is a good value, that's just gravy.

Also is the DVC a good idea (cost effective) if we just want to use it for Disney and not anywhere else?

I think so, if you mean at DVC resorts - not other Disney properties.

DVC is certainly not an inexpensive timeshare, but we have been very satisfied with the value we have received for our points -- not just at WDW, but also at Hilton Head and Vero. As Dean says, there are less expensive options at beautiful resorts offsite, but if you want to be onsite in a DVC resort, I think DVC provides very good value.

 

[ksheppard]

There are DVC members who have used the exchange options and loved every minute of it -- but Dean is right.

One thing prospective buyers should understand is that DVC membership does not give you full access to the 3,500 or so timeshares in the RCI system. DVC gives you access only to a small number of those, with varying degrees of difficulty exchanging (usually considerable difficulty), and a $95 fee for each reservation or change to a reservation. And even if you get the exchange, for most exchanges you are paying a premium rather than receiving a discount.

If you want to use a timeshare for exchanges, Dean, Brian and some of the other real timeshare experts on the DIS can give you some good suggestions.

Generally, I think the advice would be to buy only what DVC points you need for DVC resorts and if you want to exchange buy some other timeshare which will give you full access to RCI or II at a fraction of the cost of DVC. Some of those timeshares (from fine companies) can be bought very inexpensively on eBay.

Although Disney deals with a limited number of RCI resorts, if you choose to go into the RCI directory and choose a resort that is not in the DISney list, you will still be able to reserve that location but Disney will just not garantee that it meets their standards

 

[Dean]

Although Disney deals with a limited number of RCI resorts, if you choose to go into the RCI directory and choose a resort that is not in the DISney list, you will still be able to reserve that location but Disney will just not garantee that it meets their standards

That is not my understanding.