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Articcle: Why I purchased DVC direct AND resale

CPNY

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We have been throwing the idea of purchasing DVC for years and have yet to make the big purchase. We are currently members of the HGVC system and have enjoyed it.

Reading over the posts in this forum brings up a few questions. If you own 2 different resorts, can the points be shared between them? Say you purchased 150 points at VGF need an additional 50-100 points. Can you pull from your other contract if they are under the same name? How about if you have 1 direct and 1 resell?

Im thinking probably not, but it never hurts to ask!
Being that you own HGVC, have you tried exchanging in RCI for DVC inventory? Trying to figure if I should buy into DVC or pick up a trader unit that I can try and get DVC availability
 

Finsadbel

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From reading others posts, some have been successful and some haven’t. From what I gather from conversations with RCI that I’ve had and from posts here, is its difficult and you have to be super flexible on dates if you expect to be able to trade into Disney.

Personally, our family plans travels sometimes 2 years out. This makes it difficult to be flexible on dates as we are usually traveling for a specific season at Disney or around school schedules.

I’ve called a few times and always watch what availability that pops up on the sightings board, but as far as RCI trades go- probably won’t ever be that lucky.
 

CPNY

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From reading others posts, some have been successful and some haven’t. From what I gather from conversations with RCI that I’ve had and from posts here, is its difficult and you have to be super flexible on dates if you expect to be able to trade into Disney.

Personally, our family plans travels sometimes 2 years out. This makes it difficult to be flexible on dates as we are usually traveling for a specific season at Disney or around school schedules.

I’ve called a few times and always watch what availability that pops up on the sightings board, but as far as RCI trades go- probably won’t ever be that lucky.
Yeah maybe I’ll look to buy a small contract and go every 2-3 years, just keep banking the points.
 

elaine

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Another bonus when buying a small contract is that you can also get points transferred from another owner for when you need more points and then "own" and control those points. You only get one in/out transfer a year. I have done it before from disboard rent/trade board and it worked great. Of course, you pay similar to rental fees, but then you can cancel, rebook, etc. just like your original points. They retain use year and home resort of the person who transferred, I think. I have done this when I wanted home resort 11 month booking at a resort different than mine.
 

CPNY

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Another bonus when buying a small contract is that you can also get points transferred from another owner for when you need more points and then "own" and control those points. You only get one in/out transfer a year. I have done it before from disboard rent/trade board and it worked great. Of course, you pay similar to rental fees, but then you can cancel, rebook, etc. just like your original points. They retain use year and home resort of the person who transferred, I think. I have done this when I wanted home resort 11 month booking at a resort different than mine.
So I can buy a small contract like a 50 or 75 point contract then just rent 100 points? Do I have to use them in the year I rent them or will I be able to bank them? I can buy a resale contract of 50 points as my first ownership?
 

elaine

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I didn't rent them, I paid another owner to transfer the points to me. Then they are my points to use however I want. It takes a leap of faith, as the owner either has to pay 1st, or the the other transfer 1st and it's a final transaction and member services does not get involved except to transfer the points. I've done it 2X without issues. i'd only do it with a DVC owner that I knew or had personally talked to on the phone 1st. I paid 1st on one and on another the owner transferred 1st. I'm sure people now use Paypal, etc. which maybe gives some protection.
Owners like to just transfer because they know they're dealing with another DVC owner and don't have to do any extra work like magic express, dining, etc.
Yes, they can be banked. I don't think banked points can be transferred., so they'd always be current points, I think. It's been a while since I did this because I bought a bigger contract.
 

CPNY

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I didn't rent them, I paid another owner to transfer the points to me. Then they are my points to use however I want. It takes a leap of faith, as the owner either has to pay 1st, or the the other transfer 1st and it's a final transaction and member services does not get involved except to transfer the points. I've done it 2X without issues. i'd only do it with a DVC owner that I knew or had personally talked to on the phone 1st. I paid 1st on one and on another the owner transferred 1st. I'm sure people now use Paypal, etc. which maybe gives some protection.
Owners like to just transfer because they know they're dealing with another DVC owner and don't have to do any extra work like magic express, dining, etc.
Yes, they can be banked. I don't think banked points can be transferred., so they'd always be current points, I think. It's been a while since I did this because I bought a bigger contract.
I’d only want to go for small amount of time and every other year
 

elaine

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then renting or a small contact would work fine. my small contract was much more cost effective than renting, assuming paying cash and no financing. DVC is a timeshare that I felt comfortable adding in a back-end recoupment of capital. My other TS, I assumed zero back if I sold (which seems correct-unfortunately).
 

CPNY

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I didn't rent them, I paid another owner to transfer the points to me. Then they are my points to use however I want. It takes a leap of faith, as the owner either has to pay 1st, or the the other transfer 1st and it's a final transaction and member services does not get involved except to transfer the points. I've done it 2X without issues. i'd only do it with a DVC owner that I knew or had personally talked to on the phone 1st. I paid 1st on one and on another the owner transferred 1st. I'm sure people now use Paypal, etc. which maybe gives some protection.
Owners like to just transfer because they know they're dealing with another DVC owner and don't have to do any extra work like magic express, dining, etc.
Yes, they can be banked. I don't think banked points can be transferred., so they'd always be current points, I think. It's been a while since I did this because I bought a bigger contract.
So I’ve been playing with points charts, it seems I’d be around 15 point average short for some trips I’d want to take. Is it easy to rent such a small amount of points?
 

CPNY

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then renting or a small contact would work fine. my small contract was much more cost effective than renting, assuming paying cash and no financing. DVC is a timeshare that I felt comfortable adding in a back-end recoupment of capital. My other TS, I assumed zero back if I sold (which seems correct-unfortunately).
Yeah I’m figuring out if I should cut down on my vistana properties and bring in a small DVC contract. I’ve been staying in Marriott 2 bedrooms with the getaways for a few hundred bucks... it’s been very cost effective
 

Dean

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I didn't rent them, I paid another owner to transfer the points to me. Then they are my points to use however I want. It takes a leap of faith, as the owner either has to pay 1st, or the the other transfer 1st and it's a final transaction and member services does not get involved except to transfer the points. I've done it 2X without issues. i'd only do it with a DVC owner that I knew or had personally talked to on the phone 1st. I paid 1st on one and on another the owner transferred 1st. I'm sure people now use Paypal, etc. which maybe gives some protection.
Owners like to just transfer because they know they're dealing with another DVC owner and don't have to do any extra work like magic express, dining, etc.
Yes, they can be banked. I don't think banked points can be transferred., so they'd always be current points, I think. It's been a while since I did this because I bought a bigger contract.
I know it's done commonly and thus far DVC has allowed it but per the POS, paid transfers are not allowed. So realize that this is an option that could be removed at any time.
 

elaine

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yep. that's why I say it's a bonus. They could totally end transfers. They did impose 1x/year. But I doubt they'd stop transfers totally as many people have more than one use year and you need a transfer to complete reservations from 2 UY sometimes. And families combine points as well.
 

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So I’ve been playing with points charts, it seems I’d be around 15 point average short for some trips I’d want to take. Is it easy to rent such a small amount of points?

just some explanations:

"rent points" actually means "rent a reservation" - the DVC owner makes the reservation and puts it in your name (but they still control it). we use the lingo since you pay "per point" but you are actually renting a stay, so you can only "rent points" for full individual nights, not part of what you'd need to book a single night.

"transfer points" means you have control over the points. you can bank them (but not borrow). they are only valid for 11 month booking for their home resort (regardless of what resort(s) you own). if you have the same resort as the transferred pts, you can pool/combine them with yours at 11 months out to book a single night (but may not be able to book online - sometimes transferred pts aren't visible and you'd have to call an operator - which means a 1 hour delay when the 11 month window opens.)

only 1 transfer per year is allowed (either in or out, not both) so finding transfers for small amounts can be difficult.
 

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T
just some explanations:

"rent points" actually means "rent a reservation" - the DVC owner makes the reservation and puts it in your name (but they still control it). we use the lingo since you pay "per point" but you are actually renting a stay, so you can only "rent points" for full individual nights, not part of what you'd need to book a single night.

"transfer points" means you have control over the points. you can bank them (but not borrow). they are only valid for 11 month booking for their home resort (regardless of what resort(s) you own). if you have the same resort as the transferred pts, you can pool/combine them with yours at 11 months out to book a single night (but may not be able to book online - sometimes transferred pts aren't visible and you'd have to call an operator - which means a 1 hour delay when the 11 month window opens.)

only 1 transfer per year is allowed (either in or out, not both) so finding transfers for small amounts can be difficult.
Thank you for the clarification. If only one per year I can see why it may be difficult to find unless someone has 10-20 points left over and they would rather transfer than bank but I’m sure it’s not that easy. The more I think about it the more I feel a 100 point contract to be used every other or every 3 years would be best.
 

TheHolleys87

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The more I think about it the more I feel a 100 point contract to be used every other or every 3 years would be best.
Be careful with the every 3 year scenario. You can bank points one year ahead and borrow one year before, but those points are then permanently stuck in the year they’re moved to, meaning that if you had to cancel and couldn’t rebook within the same UY, you’d potentially lose 2 years of points, possibly 3 if you were past your banking deadline.

You mentioned above being about 15 points short. In that case I’d borrow the 15 points. The next time you’d be 30 points short, so borrow 30, and so on. When you run out of points to borrow, then skip a year or get a transfer and start over :ROFLMAO:!
but may not be able to book online - sometimes transferred pts aren't visible and you'd have to call an operator - which means a 1 hour delay when the 11 month window opens.)
Previously, transferred points that matched your resort and UY were visible online and could be used to book online. Recent posts on the DIS suggest that now no transferred points can be seen online, so a call to Member Services is required to use them. In that case, you could book as much as possible online at 8 AM and then call at 9 to complete the booking with the transferred points.
 

Dean

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Thank you for the clarification. If only one per year I can see why it may be difficult to find unless someone has 10-20 points left over and they would rather transfer than bank but I’m sure it’s not that easy. The more I think about it the more I feel a 100 point contract to be used every other or every 3 years would be best.
The every 3 year scenario is very risky. If you can't go or have to cancel you have precious few options to not lose the points. As a rule I wouldn't buy or would buy for an EOY strategy at worst.
 

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The every 3 year scenario is very risky. If you can't go or have to cancel you have precious few options to not lose the points. As a rule I wouldn't buy or would buy for an EOY strategy at worst.
Thanks. I really appreciate that. I inquired about an EOY situation on my presentation but they didn’t do that. I guess the banking borrowing could be an issue if I couldn’t go I’d lose all those points.
 

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Thanks. I really appreciate that. I inquired about an EOY situation on my presentation but they didn’t do that. I guess the banking borrowing could be an issue if I couldn’t go I’d lose all those points.
The safest situation with DVC and points is to only be using current UY points early in the season thus UY is very important. It also tends to be much cheaper on a per point basis buying in for normal sized contracts both because the purchase price tends to be higher pp but also closing is fairly fixed. Thus I'd tend to prefer buying 120-150 points then renting any extra than buying 50-75 and banking/borrow. Given the boat load of people who own smaller contracts with DVC I suspect at some point they'll change their fee structure to account for that, possibly with a base or club fee plus a per point amount not unlike MVC or Bluegreen but most don't think so. For retail you have to buy more anyway (100) to get the perks though it's often not worth doing so.
 

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What’s not worth it? Buying resale? It may be if I want to stay in riviera :)
 

Dean

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What’s not worth it? Buying resale? It may be if I want to stay in riviera :)
The qualified benefits of retail are often not worth the extra costs. IMO one would need to be in a situation where the Gold pass savings made sense. Personally I'd want to break even retail/resale in 5 years with the passes. NONE of the other perks are reasonable to pay money for but they might be nice if you had them. I wouldn't buy retail just to have access to Riviera unless one wanted to be there most of the time and the other financials worked out. There will always be ways to stay there even if one can't reserve with points directly.

Common mistakes I see buying DVC include:
  1. Buying too few points, esp 100 or less. Many people who go in cheap tend to need more later.
  2. Buying too many points too early, like 400 or more. Buying a normal size contract and trying the system is a great in between.
  3. Planning for studios mainly which often are not available, in some cases at 11 months out.
  4. buying just enough for the cheapest view, esp standard at BWV, BLT & VGF or value at AKV.
  5. Not paying enough attention to UY, IMO it can be worth 1-2 years worth of points over time and when it isn't, you simply have more inherent risk to your points.
  6. Getting caught up in the glitz of the new resort and overpaying. This would be a risk of buying Riviera now.
  7. Buying several small contracts going in to have multiple home resort options (can be a good choice but rarely for a newby)
  8. Buying the wrong home resort. Most people fairly new to Disney and/or DVC really don't know what their preferences will be though often they think they know what they want. Long term almost everyone's preferences will change over time. I know someone who is very knowledgeable and educated with DVC but who's preferred home resort has changed 4 times over the years. We're OK with where ever so it's less of an issue with us. Thus buying the most expensive option when your new and don't have experience usually means you're overpaying compared to buying something else in the system.
  9. Worrying too much about RTU end date. The last years have the least value currently by far. It may be reasonable to give some consideration to the 2042 end date but after that I don't think it should drive decisions in any way.
  10. Buying off site planning to use for WDW. It's almost never a real savings and is limiting on options esp due to no 11 month reservation window.
  11. Buying exactly the numbers of points one calculates they need. You always need to consider that you may not get a studio and need a 1 BR. A reallocation can sabotage you.
I'm sure we could come up with others.
 

TheHolleys87

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Buying exactly the numbers of points one calculates they need. You always need to consider that you may not get a studio and need a 1 BR. A reallocation can sabotage you.
This is a very important point. The 2021 points charts appear to be the start of a multi year reallocation making the exceedingly popular Fall (in particular the first weeks of December) more expensive points wise while lowering the cost of the less popular summer season. They can’t change any one date more than 20% from one year to the next, so none of us knows how far they plan to go, and there are already members moaning because they’ll have to cut next year’s trip short or borrow points or buy more.
 
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