Disney Vacation Club Point System

Submitted by: Tom Sprucebank
Email: nor1spruce@msn.com
Last Update: 23-Sept-2000

I will attempt to explain the DVC points system as best I can. Any omissions or mistakes are mine and I apologize for them.
Disney Vacation Club (DVC) currently has 4 resorts. A 5th will open soon and a 6th is now being developed. They are:

Disney’s Old Key West, Located at Walt Disney World (WDW)
Disney’s Boardwalk Villas, Located at WDW
Disney’s Vero Beach, Located near Sebastion, Fla
Disney’s Hilton Head Island, Located on Hilton Head, S.C.
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Villas, Located at WDW will begin sales during fall of 2000.
Disney’s Beach Club Villas, Located at WDW is currently being developed with a projected completion date during 2002.

In order to become a member of DVC you need to buy points at one of the above resorts. The current minimum is 150 points and points currently are $67.00 each. Yearly maintenance fees range from about $3-$4 per point depending upon the resort.

Using your points

When you buy your initial allotment of points you purchase a RTU (ends in 2042) real estate interest in a specific DVC property. This is your home resort. You are given a use year at this time and what this is, is the Month in which your points are replenished each year. My use year is December, each December 1st my yearly allotment of points are placed into my account.

With these points I can reserve a stay at any DVC resort of my choosing, for as little as one night. The only limitation to this is when you can book. They call it a booking window. The resort that you own at is your "Home" resort. You may book at your home resort 11 months from your check out date. You may book any other resort from 7 months of your check out date. Some people do book 1 day at a time to get the most sought after room accommodations and season. I did this once to secure a 3br Grand Villa at OKW.

Room sizes and seasons

With the exception of WLV and BCV, the newest 2 resorts, which only go as large as a 2BR there are 4 room sizes. Studio, 1BR, 2BR and 3BR grand Villas. Each size room has a different point schedule, and each resort has a different point schedule as well. The smaller rooms costing the least amount of points.

There is another factor that determines point costs, and that is the season in which you travel. There are 5 point seasons with each season costing more points for the different size accommodations. They are; Adventure Season (off-season), Choice Season (still off but not as much), Dream Season (a more preferred time to go), Magic Season (summertime and high demand warm months) and Premier Season (Christmas and Easter). This is a general breakdown of the seasons. This breakdown changes somewhat from resort to resort. You’ll need to compare the resort schedules to fully understand the seasons and when they actually are.

Another thing to note is that point costs per night are less from Sunday through Thursday during all seasons and they are more on Friday and Saturday. This was done to discourage people from only using weekend I guess.

Banking and Borrowing points

Again I get my points on December 1st. I can bank my 12/1/00 points for use in my 12/01/01 use year. I can also borrow my 12/01/02 use year points into my 12/01/01 use year. This would allow me the use of 3 years of points in 1 year. Once banked or borrowed points can not be returned to their original use year. Points can only be banked for 1 year or borrowed from 1 year ahead. Points can expire if not used or banked by the deadlines. Points can not be re-banked.

Exchanges and other use of points

Resort Exchanges: DVC trades through II in a limited way. You are not an II member but Disney is. They select the choice 5 star resorts that they will allow DVC to trade into. You call DVC member services and tell them where you want to go from the 5 star II resorts listed in the catalogue provided with your membership, and for a fee of $75.00 your request search is begun. You can not transfer your points back into the DVC resort system once you move them into an II search or any of the other trade outs listed below. This trade costs a weeks worth of DVC points to secure a week long trade through II.

Concierge Collection. This option allow you to reserve as little as 1 night in some of the finest hotels/resorts in the country. The exchange fee is also $75.00. You can stay at places like; The Plaza NY,NY, The Jefferson in DC, The Grand Hotel, Mich., Keystone,Co, and looking I see The Dorchester and Royal Garden, both in London. These are some very nice places.

World of Disney Resorts. You may also exchange your points for most of the Disney owned resorts at WDW, 2 at Disneyland Ca., and 4 at disneyland Paris.

Disney Cruise Line You can book a cruise with your DVC points.

Adventure travel You can book US biking and rafting trips. Also available is an African safari.

Finally

We have been very happy with our purchase of DVC. It should be noted that the best value of your points is within the DVC resort system and not exchanging through II, World of Disney etc. Also, choosing a home resort is important to gain the advantage of the 11 month booking window. Buy where you want to stay is what most DVCers recommend.

It seems complicated but once you understand the system, it’s an easy and fair one for all members to work within.