Trying to understand point system
 

I was emailed an information packet from DVC. So I am trying to figure this point system out. I am interested in Aulani. My packet says if one week at Aulani mid season costs 350 points. Does this mean if I am interested in going to Aulani, I have to wait two years to be able to afford to go? I also like to do the Disney cruises too, these look like high point levels also. Is it really worth it in the long run to become a DVC member?

Your points are booked by the day. So you can go for one day or one week or one month. Whatever you have the points for. You can check the member website to see how many points would be required for a specific stay in a specific location in a specific sized villa.

Cruises really aren't a good use of DVC points. The number of points is negotiated each year and sometimes they really limit the number of rooms available for points for many of the cruises. You have to pay a fee to trade out to the DCL from DVC and your points change from DVC points to reservation points should you have to cancel. That means you can no longer use them for a DVC stay. You'd have to use them for a non-DVC Disney stay which could be difficult to book.

DVC is an expensive timeshare. Your DVC points only pay for your lodging. You still have to pay for your transportation to the location, your meals, your park admission, etc.

There are a lot of posts in this thread and I don't understand the lingo. I figured asking a direct question is doing myself a favor. Thanks!

You can choose the number of points you buy. Each year, you get a new allocation of points to use. The points are always in your account, and they can be used for bookings which starting as early as the first day of your Use Month (also called Use Year or UY). So say you buy 200 points, and you have a June UY. Each June, your 200 points are in your account to be used within the year. I have a June UY so I am currently in my 2012 UY, which runs from 6/1/12 to 5/31/13. I can also bank these points into my June 2013 UY or I could have borrowed them into my 2011 UY. So if you want to book a trip that requires 350 points, you can bank and/or borrow points to get the 350 you need. Or you can just buy 350 and you'll have the # you need each year, unless the point charts are changed.

Cruises use a lot of points. It is a very personal decision if you want to book a cruise using points or rent them out and use the cash proceeds to pay for your cruise. Careful, though... DCL cruises are addictive! And expensive. :laughing: Hope this helps you... good luck.

I think what Bill is saying there is soooooo much more to DVC than points. Like you said just by reading you will learn the lingo. I didn't know it either cause my friends don't really use it. Trust me I have learned a ton over the past year from jut reading. I have at least 8 group of friends that are dvc members and I thought I knew it all through them and with just reading a bit every night or so I learned more here than from them over the 10 years I think. Just start reading and make some notes and things will start to piece together and then post some more questions. Everyone here is really helpful.

jimi

I am not an owner. I've been reading these threads for 3 years and I'm still learning a lot. Buying into DVC is an expensive "investment" that should not be taken lightly or done quickly. I've been considering and researching DVC for so long, my personal reasons for considering DVC 3 years ago have actually changed! Three years ago, I was considering DVC as an empty-nester. Now, I am a new grandfather. As mentioned many times in these threads, your reasons for owning DVC and how you use it can change significantly over a long term ownership period. :)

Mind boggling, isn't it? At first look DVC seems so complicated but once you get the hang of it, it becomes pretty easy. We bought over 3 years ago and I'm still learning stuff every day. Personally, we are not at all interested in cruising on our points or travelling the world. We bought our points to stay at WDW so it becomes simpler.

Keep reading here, people are happy to answer questions.

There is so much about your situation that would affect the answers to this question but all I can do now is to make the best assumptions I can and answer the best I can accordingly. Your location and intended use would affect all aspect of the answers.

One aspect is you're reference to having to wait 2 years to afford to go. My view is no one should buy such a luxury purchase and finance so I'd suggest you not buy at all rather than to finance. 350 points is a large contract. You're talking well over $40K with dues around $2K a year.

For the cruise you'd be FAR better off to buy less points and pay cash for the cruise. You'll car out far ahead financially with much less risk and more choices.

Assuming you want to use points mostly for HI, you may want to consider other timeshare options like Marriott, Hilton or Westin.

It sounds like they may have given you information on purchasing 160 pts? Perhaps that's why you're asking if you have to wait 2 years to go?

First - you can purchase any number of points - nothing is set other than a minimum that Disney establishes for new owners and recently that seems to have been either 50 or 100 pts. When you purchase a contract you are buying that allocation of points for the life of the contract. So if buying Animal Kingdom for example which expires in 2057 you would receive 160 points every year until 2057. After the inital purchase an owner can add on points at a minimum of 25 pts up to whatever (there is a threshold you are allowed to own but I doubt that is applicable here - it's several thousand points). In addition to the initial purchase you have to pay annual dues on your points. You receive notification of the calculated dues in Dec and they are payable either by January 14th every year or you can have the dues deducted from a checking account monthly to spread the payment out over the year.

DVC points can be banked one time (1 year), used in the year they are current or can be borrowed to be used one year ahead of time. If you were to purchase 160 points and a stay in Hawaii required 350 points you could use any combination of the above so for example if you had banked 160 points you could use the banked points plus your current 160 points plus borrow the remaining 30 points required for the 350 points required which would leave you a balance of 130 points in your following use year. But with points you also aren't required to go for a full week. You'll see point requirements by night so you could choose to stay at Aulani for as little as 1 night or up to whatever number of nights your total points would allow which would be more than 1 week in this example.

It can be worth it in the long run, but it isn't usually money saving. When longer time DVC owners talk about the benefits of owning, it tends to be words like "more value for my money,". "forced vacations". "More room".

If you are buying for Hawaii, look at the overall Hawaii timeshare market, not just DVC.

If you are buying for Wdw, DVC is only worthwhile if you value on site. If you are happy offsite, there are better deals to be had,

Buying points to cruise isn't a good deal. Using points you own to cruise once in a while might be a good deal, depending on the circumstances.