Did DVC tour today-considering purchase-have questions....

[madnlock]

My husband, sister and I did the tour at Saratoga today and while I think purchasing does not make financial sense for us right now (want to put more priority on college funds for our 3 kidswho are 10, 6 and 1) my sister has made an appointment to follow up on Friday. She is interesting in purchasing Animal Kingdom, 160 points and the price is $104 per point with the $8 incentive (if purchasing on this trip) as well as 160 points one time use points at Saratoga within the year. We are currently staying at Saratoga on an Interval Exchange (which our guide said was very rare). I also mentioned that my first preference would be to purchase Beach Club but she said that was impossible since Disney buys back 99% of resales and they have a waiting list of existing members who want to buy those points. My sister does not plan to finance and is trying to maximize credit card rewards and is trying to pay for all or most of it (but will pay off the credit card immediately). She has a Disney Visa and our guide said that they are offering a $500 bonus (she thinks a credit to her balance) for cardholders. Our guide said she can finance through Disney but within a certain timeframe she can later transfer to a credit card and pay off w/out penalty. Her intentions are to use the points every 3 years or so, inviting extended family/friends along, probably travelling in Spring or Nov/early Dec or possibly early June. Is it easy enough to bank and borrow and possibly get a large unit (Grand Villa?) and if she runs short on points, rent some from the Disboards rent/trade board and transfer them in her account? The guide mentioned short weeks through Interval that were bookable on-line (what are these?) but any other exchanges would have to be done through Member Svcs. I told my sister that her best use of points would be to use them at DVC properties. The guide kept stressing that after the initial purchase price, the only other fees would be the yearly maintenance fees and a fee if exchanged $95 Interval fee but no other fees....none for banking or borrowing or for guest certificates. Also you can book and cancel outside of 30 days but if you cancel within 30 days then you have penalties and the points have to be used and cannot be banked.Did we understand everything correctly and did the guide mislead us in anyway? Other than her telling me that exchanges for DVC were next to impossible (which I know isn't true since I've done it 4 times) and there were no resales since Disney buys them all back (well 99% of them). She also said ALL the OKW owners extended their contract which I also know is not true!

 

[madnlock]

Also forgot to ask if it might be a better option to purchase a resale or if the incentives direct from Disney make it a decent deal.

 

[capjak]

Most information was accurate:

1. There are a ton of resales Disney does not buy back 99%

If you want BCV you can get it resale (remember that the expiration date is sooner than the new resorts)

Here are some resale sites:

http://www.dvcbyresale.com/
http://www.dvc-resales.com/dvclisting.cfm
http://www.internationalgmac.com/hotdeals.jsp
http://www.internationalgmac.com/hotdeals.jsp

also for Disney this is a good forum http://www.disboards.com/index.php

 

[Janette]

We have bought 150 OKW and 150 BWV resale. They are only good through 2042 but we figured for the price, that was all we needed. We go have the same month for both purchases. We didn't realize that the month was as important. We love Disney properties and haven't had any trouble using our points. We did not extend OKW and neither did lots of folks.

 

[Lisa P]

...my sister... is interesting in purchasing Animal Kingdom, 160 points and the price is $104 per point with the $8 incentive (if purchasing on this trip) as well as 160 points one time use points at Saratoga within the year. We are currently staying at Saratoga on an Interval Exchange (which our guide said was very rare).

Not true. Some times of the year are rare, especially in larger units or at smaller DVC resorts. Other times are readily available by II exchange, if you own a strong enough trade week.

I also mentioned that my first preference would be to purchase Beach Club but she said that was impossible since Disney buys back 99% of resales and they have a waiting list of existing members who want to buy those points.

Not true. Look for resales at BCV with some of the resale companies that specialize in DVC resales. Disney only buys back resales when the seller has a contract for a rather low sales price. No where near 99%.

My sister does not plan to finance and is trying to maximize credit card rewards and is trying to pay for all or most of it (but will pay off the credit card immediately). She has a Disney Visa and our guide said that they are offering a $500 bonus (she thinks a credit to her balance) for cardholders.

True, there's a bonus offer. Don't know if it's a credit off the purchase price in the sales contract or if it's actually credited back to the credit card balance.

Our guide said she can finance through Disney but within a certain timeframe she can later transfer to a credit card and pay off w/out penalty.

Get this in writing.

Her intentions are to use the points every 3 years or so, inviting extended family/friends along, probably travelling in Spring or Nov/early Dec or possibly early June.

Banking/borrowing may be done to switch the usable dates of points by one year. If DS is going to do this for only one trip every 3 years, she'll have to use up all of her points for all 3 years in one stay or she'll lose points for which she's paid purchase costs and maint fees. Banking/borrowing is possible for every-3rd-year vacationers but it works better for people who want to stay at DVC every other year.

Is it easy enough to bank and borrow and possibly get a large unit (Grand Villa?)

It's not complicated. However, she'll need to keep up with it on her calendars. Also, getting the GV's may require multiple calls and there are no guarantees. Not all resorts even have them and they tend to book up by home resort owners. If she wants to stay in GVs, she'll want to get her points at a resort which has plenty of them.

and if she runs short on points, rent some from the Disboards rent/trade board and transfer them in her account?

Definitely possible. I think you're limited to how many transfers may be done into or out of your account per year. She may need to receive all the points she needs in a single transaction.

The guide mentioned short weeks through Interval that were bookable on-line (what are these?) but any other exchanges would have to be done through Member Svcs.

I don't have details on this but my understanding (from reading about it) is that these are essentially extra Getaway weeks which II has made available to DVCers to use as short stays. I kind of wonder if II gets a sweetheart rate on Getaway rentals when a DVCer wants a short stay at one of these. Either way, they're not usually available for popular travel periods and places.

I told my sister that her best use of points would be to use them at DVC properties. The guide kept stressing that after the initial purchase price, the only other fees would be the yearly maintenance fees and a fee if exchanged $95 Interval fee but no other fees....none for banking or borrowing or for guest certificates.

With annual dues/maint that run higher than most other timeshares, the additional fees are largely merged into the general operating expenses of DVC Member Services. Depending on how the points are used, the maint fees can easily be higher than for someone trading a lower cost trade week into DVC for a week at a time. If you'd use the points for multiple short stays every year at DVC, especially in studios, avoiding the added, itemized fees of some other companies can be somewhat cost effective, though. It's certainly simpler.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Her intentions are to use the points every 3 years or so, inviting extended family/friends along, probably travelling in Spring or Nov/early Dec or possibly early June. Is it easy enough to bank and borrow and possibly get a large unit (Grand Villa?) and if she runs short on points, rent some from the Disboards rent/trade board and transfer them in her account?

One thing that may not be obvious is that one of the most popular times of the year for DVC members to book is in late Nov/early Dec. In the past, members called as soon as member services opens everyday to add one more night to a reservation for this period.

The booking policy changed last month and any many who were successful booking in this timeframe in the past are concerned that it will be more difficult to book in the future. The impact probably won't be clear until after late Dec/Jan when the booking window opens for 2009 and even then, there is a lot of speculation that further changes to the booking poilcy may be implemented.

Point transfers are possible, but are limited to one in or out per use year. Needing to receive a transfer of points will add additional complexity to maximizing your use of points.

Best of luck to your sister in whatever she decides.-- Suzanne

 

[icydog]

Not true. Some times of the year are rare, especially in larger units or at smaller DVC resorts. Other times are readily available by II exchange, if you own a strong enough trade week.


Not true. Look for resales at BCV with some of the resale companies that specialize in DVC resales. Disney only buys back resales when the seller has a contract for a rather low sales price. No where near 99%.


True, there's a bonus offer. Don't know if it's a credit off the purchase price in the sales contract or if it's actually credited back to the credit card balance.


Get this in writing.


Banking/borrowing may be done to switch the usable dates of points by one year. If DS is going to do this for only one trip every 3 years, she'll have to use up all of her points for all 3 years in one stay or she'll lose points for which she's paid purchase costs and maint fees. Banking/borrowing is possible for every-3rd-year vacationers but it works better for people who want to stay at DVC every other year.


It's not complicated. However, she'll need to keep up with it on her calendars. Also, getting the GV's may require multiple calls and there are no guarantees. Not all resorts even have them and they tend to book up by home resort owners. If she wants to stay in GVs, she'll want to get her points at a resort which has plenty of them.


Definitely possible. I think you're limited to how many transfers may be done into or out of your account per year. She may need to receive all the points she needs in a single transaction.


I don't have details on this but my understanding (from reading about it) is that these are essentially extra Getaway weeks which II has made available to DVCers to use as short stays. I kind of wonder if II gets a sweetheart rate on Getaway rentals when a DVCer wants a short stay at one of these. Either way, they're not usually available for popular travel periods and places.


With annual dues/maint that run higher than most other timeshares, the additional fees are largely merged into the general operating expenses of DVC Member Services. Depending on how the points are used, the maint fees can easily be higher than for someone trading a lower cost trade week into DVC for a week at a time. If you'd use the points for multiple short stays every year at DVC, especially in studios, avoiding the added, itemized fees of some other companies can be somewhat cost effective, though. It's certainly simpler.

Disney actually is very aggressive in using their right of first refusal on Beach Club and Boardwalk properties. If the price falls below their accepted bottom line they will buy it back. There are many, many contracts bought back by Disney each year. They in turn sell those BCV and BWV to folks on the waitlist for approximately the same amount as the newer resorts

I would not recommend this banking and borrowing for three years to a novice. It takes some skill in meeting banking windows and borrowing timeframes. It would be better to buy the size contract she needs. She'll use it. DVC points are like peanuts you must have more.

No more multiple calls to member services either. She can make one call 11 months for her check in date and reserve the grand villa. She must be on the phone at exactly 8:58 so she can go through the prompts which take 2 minutes. Member services opens at 9 am exactly.

I looked at the website and there are some good resorts on the II DVC site. If you are not a member of II, you cannot reserve getaways, so the choice is to use the DVC plan or nothing. I choose DVC.

Staying on site is worth a fortune if you are an avid Disney fan. If you learn to use the program it will be cost effective. Most members do NOT stay on points on the weekends. We have gotten into the habit of five day vacations for so many years now it comes naturally. Also you can stay for cash at any of the DVC clubs at a reduced rate from non members or you can try out another non DVC resort for the weekend. We always liked the Animal Kingdom for a nice weekend stay.
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