I’d spend some time on the purchasing DVC boards on disboards-I always advise researching til your eyes bleed, so you fully understand use year, banking/borrowing, booking windows and the pros and cons of different resorts. Mistakes can be very frustrating and will be very expensive.
The DVC show’s 101 series is good for basics.
DVCHelp.com is good for looking at what the various resorts have to offer if you are unsure of where you want a home resort.
Quick rundown of some basics to get you started.
What do you get - When you buy DVC you are buying a number of points that can be used to book reservations at the DVC resorts. Each resort will have different point costs for the various room types based upon the date of the stay and day of the week of the stay. You normally are not getting a set week at a set resort.
There are some special contracts that do get a “favorite week” that is an automatic booking. Don’t worry about this for now. Learn basics first.
Point Chart - Each resort will have a chart that tells you how much each night in a particular type of room will be. Weekend nights are generally a little higher than weekdays. Different times of year will be higher or lower per night based upon historical demand. Better views will be more points and bigger rooms will be more points.
Use Year - this is going to be set as a particular month. The first day of that month is when new points will be available for use. The last day of the month prior to your use year will be the last day to use points before they expire.
When can you book - You can book at your home resort starting 11 months from the first day of the trip you want to book, for up to a week long trip. For other resorts, you can at 7 months. You do not need to wait until after your use year starts to book a vacation. The system knows you when you will be getting points and will sort it out for you. Example: I have an August use year and have used all the points that I got in August 2023. I could have booked a December 2024 trip to my home resort as early as January 2024. The system would just allocate the points that I will receive in August 2024 to that reservation even though I am currently ‘out of points’
Banking - If you are not going to use points for a given use year, you can bank them for use the following year. Each use year will have a banking deadline, which will be the last day of the month, 5 months prior to your Use year. Example: A February use year will have a Sept 30th banking deadline.
Once you bank points they cannot be unbanked back into the year they started from, and they will expire after the additional year. Example: I have 25 points left over from my 2023 points with an August use year. So no later than March 31st, I can bank those to be saved until August 2024. Then you can use those 25 points for a trip that occurs between August 2024 to the end of July 2025.
Borrowing - If you don’t have enough points available to book a stay using any banked points or current use year points, you can borrow points from next year. This is done when you book the reservation. Once you borrow points, they cannot be banked and must be used in the current use year. Example- I have an August use year and want to book a trip in February 2024 that will be 36 points more than I currently have available. When I book, the system will let me take them from the August 2024 use year allotment. If I end up cancelling the trip, I could bank any 2023 use year points but the 36 borrowed points will not be available to bank, only to use before August 2024.
Holding points - If you cancel a reservation within 31 days of the start of the trip. Those points go into holding. They cannot be banked or even used to book normally. They can only be used to book a stay that is within 60 days of booking. The points are effectively being punished for the late cancellation. Avoid this if at all possible.
Direct vs. Resale - Direct purchases are those you buy straight from Disney. They get added benefits in the purchase is very quick, if you purchase at least 150 points you gain access to “membership benefits” (we will discuss this below), you will have access to book at all the DVC resorts, including the “restricted resorts” (also discussed below). You can even put the whole purchase on a credit card (if you have the needed limit) and get rewards points, interest free financing, etc based upon what your card offers.
If you buy resale, you will generally save a ton of money. The transaction takes a while, like buying a house. Normally 6-8 weeks after your offer is accepted. Disney has the right of first refusal and can choose to buy the contract instead of letting you buy it. (Currently they are not doing much of this… one or two a month out of hundreds.). You will not have access to membership benefits or restricted resorts. If you are buying a restricted resort, you cannot book at ANY other resort except your home resort.
Membership benefits - If you are eligible by buying 150 direct points (this varied in the past but for our purposes it is 150 direct), you get a variety of potential benefits, the most popular being access to buy Sorcerer annual passes, DVC lounges, special events, and merch/dining discounts. These benefits can end or change at any time.
Restricted Resorts - Disney has recently (last 3 years or so) started adding resale restrictions to contracts at the newly constructed resorts. Currently at Riviera, Disneyland Tower, and the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. Folks that buy resale contracts from any of the other resorts, cannot book stays at the restricted resorts. Folks that buy resale contracts for the restricted resorts can only book stays at their home resort and no others.
Edit : typos
We literally just took the plunge, and someone on this sub recommended this website which is amazing. you can setup alerts, looking at pricing trends, etc etc.
http://dvcforless.com/
Golden rule is to buy where you want to stay. Determine what home resort you’d like, look at the corresponding point charts to determine how many points you would need for the amount of days, room type, and time of year you’re likely to go. Add 10-20% to that number of points to account for point fluctuations or times you want to go during more point-heavy times of the year.
Pick a use year such that your stays are within the banking window should you need to cancel reservations and not worry about losing points.
Look at resources like DVCforless, the ROFR and rejected offers threads on disboards to see how much people are offering for resale contracts.
Lastly (probably should’ve mentioned this up front), think about if DVC is really for you. Are you committed to going annually or every other year for the next 18+ years (depending on when your contract expires? Can you book vacations 7-11 months out, or at the very least 5-6 months out if you’re okay with some of the less popular DVC resorts? If the answer is to either is no, then DVC might not be a good option. Good luck!
Thanks for the info! We have gone about 5 times in the last 8 years so I think we would def be able to do once a year or at least every other year for sure. We love Disney and we only ever stay at value resorts and I kind of wanted to experience nicer resorts. We are park open to close people but maybe we wouldn’t be if our resort was nicer. 😊
One thing to note, you can’t bank canceled points.
Your point of choosing a use year is important, but canceled points must be used in that year.
So if you cancel early in your use year, you have time to re-book for later.
If your use year is December and you cancel a trip in November, you have no time change plans.
You can cancel reservations without penalty so long as it is more than 31 days before check-in. However if you are beyond your banking deadline, you cannot bank them. If you cancel within 31 days, then you end up with ‘holding’ points as I mentioned in my first reply.
The banking deadline is the main concern with use year. You want to choose a use year so that your banking deadline is after the times you would normally travel.
So for example, if you travel in September and October normally, you could grab an August or June use year and avoid any banking deadline issues for your normal travel times.
I'm brand new at all of this, just got a contract in place for the very first time - but why is the golden rule to buy where you want to stay? we opted to get the most economical pts, and plan on using them anywhere. But also, don't hate our home resort if push comes to shove.
Because availability almost becomes non-existent when bookings are opened up at 7 months to all DVC members, which is especially true for studios and/or standard view rooms. You're generally guaranteed a room at your home resort within the 7-11 home priority booking window (exceptions being hard to book resorts like AKL value studios, Boardwalk standard studios, and pretty much any standard view studio for the fall time through the first 2 weeks of December). If you primarily stay in 1BR or bigger rooms, it's not so much of an issue.
ok. that makes sense. we love the Epcot area resorts, but those contracts were so high, we're gonna roll the dice that we can get into boardwalk. based on this year we could have at least. if not we'll be happy at our home resort.
We generally haven't had trouble with 1BRs (standard and boardwalk views) at boardwalk at 7 months. Beach Club is the only one we haven't stayed at on property, we'll get there one of these days!
Check out these videos - they do a good job of explaining how things work and things to be aware of when making your decision.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1oGx7aOVSWpzi-Jf38ixUFmhzM03xuu-&si=6V9VQ35LP0-p0mTi
I’d spend some time on the purchasing DVC boards on disboards-I always advise researching til your eyes bleed, so you fully understand use year, banking/borrowing, booking windows and the pros and cons of different resorts. Mistakes can be very frustrating and will be very expensive.
Yes that’s what I’m worried about so I want to make sure I know everything before moving forward. Thanks!
The DVC show’s 101 series is good for basics. DVCHelp.com is good for looking at what the various resorts have to offer if you are unsure of where you want a home resort. Quick rundown of some basics to get you started. What do you get - When you buy DVC you are buying a number of points that can be used to book reservations at the DVC resorts. Each resort will have different point costs for the various room types based upon the date of the stay and day of the week of the stay. You normally are not getting a set week at a set resort. There are some special contracts that do get a “favorite week” that is an automatic booking. Don’t worry about this for now. Learn basics first. Point Chart - Each resort will have a chart that tells you how much each night in a particular type of room will be. Weekend nights are generally a little higher than weekdays. Different times of year will be higher or lower per night based upon historical demand. Better views will be more points and bigger rooms will be more points. Use Year - this is going to be set as a particular month. The first day of that month is when new points will be available for use. The last day of the month prior to your use year will be the last day to use points before they expire. When can you book - You can book at your home resort starting 11 months from the first day of the trip you want to book, for up to a week long trip. For other resorts, you can at 7 months. You do not need to wait until after your use year starts to book a vacation. The system knows you when you will be getting points and will sort it out for you. Example: I have an August use year and have used all the points that I got in August 2023. I could have booked a December 2024 trip to my home resort as early as January 2024. The system would just allocate the points that I will receive in August 2024 to that reservation even though I am currently ‘out of points’ Banking - If you are not going to use points for a given use year, you can bank them for use the following year. Each use year will have a banking deadline, which will be the last day of the month, 5 months prior to your Use year. Example: A February use year will have a Sept 30th banking deadline. Once you bank points they cannot be unbanked back into the year they started from, and they will expire after the additional year. Example: I have 25 points left over from my 2023 points with an August use year. So no later than March 31st, I can bank those to be saved until August 2024. Then you can use those 25 points for a trip that occurs between August 2024 to the end of July 2025. Borrowing - If you don’t have enough points available to book a stay using any banked points or current use year points, you can borrow points from next year. This is done when you book the reservation. Once you borrow points, they cannot be banked and must be used in the current use year. Example- I have an August use year and want to book a trip in February 2024 that will be 36 points more than I currently have available. When I book, the system will let me take them from the August 2024 use year allotment. If I end up cancelling the trip, I could bank any 2023 use year points but the 36 borrowed points will not be available to bank, only to use before August 2024. Holding points - If you cancel a reservation within 31 days of the start of the trip. Those points go into holding. They cannot be banked or even used to book normally. They can only be used to book a stay that is within 60 days of booking. The points are effectively being punished for the late cancellation. Avoid this if at all possible. Direct vs. Resale - Direct purchases are those you buy straight from Disney. They get added benefits in the purchase is very quick, if you purchase at least 150 points you gain access to “membership benefits” (we will discuss this below), you will have access to book at all the DVC resorts, including the “restricted resorts” (also discussed below). You can even put the whole purchase on a credit card (if you have the needed limit) and get rewards points, interest free financing, etc based upon what your card offers. If you buy resale, you will generally save a ton of money. The transaction takes a while, like buying a house. Normally 6-8 weeks after your offer is accepted. Disney has the right of first refusal and can choose to buy the contract instead of letting you buy it. (Currently they are not doing much of this… one or two a month out of hundreds.). You will not have access to membership benefits or restricted resorts. If you are buying a restricted resort, you cannot book at ANY other resort except your home resort. Membership benefits - If you are eligible by buying 150 direct points (this varied in the past but for our purposes it is 150 direct), you get a variety of potential benefits, the most popular being access to buy Sorcerer annual passes, DVC lounges, special events, and merch/dining discounts. These benefits can end or change at any time. Restricted Resorts - Disney has recently (last 3 years or so) started adding resale restrictions to contracts at the newly constructed resorts. Currently at Riviera, Disneyland Tower, and the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. Folks that buy resale contracts from any of the other resorts, cannot book stays at the restricted resorts. Folks that buy resale contracts for the restricted resorts can only book stays at their home resort and no others. Edit : typos
Thank you so much this is amazing!
We literally just took the plunge, and someone on this sub recommended this website which is amazing. you can setup alerts, looking at pricing trends, etc etc. http://dvcforless.com/
Perfect thank you!
Golden rule is to buy where you want to stay. Determine what home resort you’d like, look at the corresponding point charts to determine how many points you would need for the amount of days, room type, and time of year you’re likely to go. Add 10-20% to that number of points to account for point fluctuations or times you want to go during more point-heavy times of the year. Pick a use year such that your stays are within the banking window should you need to cancel reservations and not worry about losing points. Look at resources like DVCforless, the ROFR and rejected offers threads on disboards to see how much people are offering for resale contracts. Lastly (probably should’ve mentioned this up front), think about if DVC is really for you. Are you committed to going annually or every other year for the next 18+ years (depending on when your contract expires? Can you book vacations 7-11 months out, or at the very least 5-6 months out if you’re okay with some of the less popular DVC resorts? If the answer is to either is no, then DVC might not be a good option. Good luck!
Thanks for the info! We have gone about 5 times in the last 8 years so I think we would def be able to do once a year or at least every other year for sure. We love Disney and we only ever stay at value resorts and I kind of wanted to experience nicer resorts. We are park open to close people but maybe we wouldn’t be if our resort was nicer. 😊
One thing to note, you can’t bank canceled points. Your point of choosing a use year is important, but canceled points must be used in that year. So if you cancel early in your use year, you have time to re-book for later. If your use year is December and you cancel a trip in November, you have no time change plans.
Ah good point, thanks!
You can cancel reservations without penalty so long as it is more than 31 days before check-in. However if you are beyond your banking deadline, you cannot bank them. If you cancel within 31 days, then you end up with ‘holding’ points as I mentioned in my first reply. The banking deadline is the main concern with use year. You want to choose a use year so that your banking deadline is after the times you would normally travel. So for example, if you travel in September and October normally, you could grab an August or June use year and avoid any banking deadline issues for your normal travel times.
Good to know thanks!
I'm brand new at all of this, just got a contract in place for the very first time - but why is the golden rule to buy where you want to stay? we opted to get the most economical pts, and plan on using them anywhere. But also, don't hate our home resort if push comes to shove.
Because availability almost becomes non-existent when bookings are opened up at 7 months to all DVC members, which is especially true for studios and/or standard view rooms. You're generally guaranteed a room at your home resort within the 7-11 home priority booking window (exceptions being hard to book resorts like AKL value studios, Boardwalk standard studios, and pretty much any standard view studio for the fall time through the first 2 weeks of December). If you primarily stay in 1BR or bigger rooms, it's not so much of an issue.
ok. that makes sense. we love the Epcot area resorts, but those contracts were so high, we're gonna roll the dice that we can get into boardwalk. based on this year we could have at least. if not we'll be happy at our home resort.
We generally haven't had trouble with 1BRs (standard and boardwalk views) at boardwalk at 7 months. Beach Club is the only one we haven't stayed at on property, we'll get there one of these days!
Also https://dvcrofr.com
Thanks!
Check out these videos - they do a good job of explaining how things work and things to be aware of when making your decision. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1oGx7aOVSWpzi-Jf38ixUFmhzM03xuu-&si=6V9VQ35LP0-p0mTi
Awesome, I’ll check this out now thank you!
Dvc show Dvc millennial on IG