Advice please about upcoming DVC reservation

[gmarine]

We have a DVC reservation for August made by a friend using their DVC points. Our trip was for our sons 16th birthday who has a disability and compromised immune system so we are thinking we shouldnt make the trip and called Disney to inquire. Disney rep said they would advise us not to make the trip but we had to call DVC. Because the reservation wasnt made with our friends DVC account our friend called DVC member services to see about moving the reservation to next year but was told because the reservation was made with points that expire in September 2020 the reservation cant be changed to a later date. I dont understand how that could be possible. They tell us we shouldnt go because of a medical problem and from what they are saying the parks arent going to be fully open, dining not fully open and many resort amenities arent going to be available so how can they not make exceptions to expiring points and allow changes ? Does anyone have any advice they could share or contact information for someone at Disney that I could try ? Any help or advice is much appreciated.

 

[bnoble]

DVC has already been quite generous with program rules, but I would not expect that generosity to extend into the Fall. They might relax expiration rules for September and October UY points, but I would not count on it. Unfortunately, you are past the banking deadline for both of those UYs, and so those points have to be used within their current expiration dates.

If it were me, I'd just cancel the trip. If you still think you want to go in 2021 at some point, you can find some other way to do it. And, I am not sure you will want to. I can tell you that my family is not planning to visit a Disney theme park until either a treatment or a vaccine is available, and I don't expect either of those things to happen within the next year. We don't have anyone who is immune-compromised. If we did, we'd be even more conservative.

 

[elaine]

Unlike a hotel, this is a timeshare with set rules about usage/banking of points. The owner can still deposit them into RCI. I think it has to be done 60 days in advance, so he should do it ASAP, depending when the Aug trip was.
I know that's not good news, but they have many in the same boat and they are likely going to be very firm on the rules, even for those with disabilities, high risk, etc.

 

[TheHolleys87]

This is the official statement from DVC re Covid-19 and points usage. Note that it clearly states the policy applies only to reservations through the end of the closure period, which would be June 21 for the WDW DVC resorts since they reopen on June 22. I'm sorry that your August reservation won’t qualify to have the points returned for use next year.

“Finally, as part of our continued efforts to provide flexibility during these uncertain times, we are further changing and extending our temporary policies regarding expiring points. April, June and now August, September and October2019 Use Year Points that are set to expire in 2020 and that were used for reservations during the closure period will be extended for one year from the current expiration date. Additionally, April, June and now August, September and October 2018 Use Year Points that were banked into 2019 Use Years and used for these reservations will now all expire November 30, 2020. This temporary policy only includes expiring Points that were used to book a stay arriving between March 12 and the end of the closure period and that involve a reservation cancelled after February 29.”

 

[kanerf]

You should probably contact a rental service and see if your existing reservation can be rented out to someone else. You (or rather the DVC owner) will get $13 a point or more depending on location.