DVC cancellation policy

[sbkline]

We're thinking about renting some points from friends of ours who are DVC members, for a trip next April. But the problem is, I hate to commit, and then have something come up where we can't go, and then be on the hook for all those points. Now, I understand that, as DVC members, it would be my friends who would book the room under their points and they would do all the talking with the reservations people, and they would be out the points (and consequently, WE would be out the money that we owe our friends for the points). So how soon before the trip can you cancel and not have any kind of penalty?

 

[Tiggerish]

You can cancel up to 30 days prior to a trip without penalty; the points simply go back into the use year they came from, and can be used or banked as the owner wishes (assuming the banking deadline has not passed).

If you cancel within 30 days of arrival, up to the day before arrival, the points go in a holding account and must be used by the end of the use year, but can only be used within 60 days of the arrival date (i.e., you could not call 90 days in advance and book a reservation using points in holding, it would have to be less than 60 days out), which can be chancy depending on the time of year.

As long as you can agree to commit 31 days prior to your arrival date, and that 31st day is before your friends' banking deadline, you should be okay.

We once had cousins who wanted to accompany us to the F&W Festival, then had to back out; we used the points to upgrade our room from a studio to a 1BR, so we weren't upset. I guess we were lucky that the 1BR was available (although it was SSR, and I don't think that place ever fills up completely)

 

[sbkline]

You can cancel up to 30 days prior to a trip without penalty; the points simply go back into the use year they came from, and can be used or banked as the owner wishes (assuming the banking deadline has not passed).

If you cancel within 30 days of arrival, up to the day before arrival, the points go in a holding account and must be used by the end of the use year, but can only be used within 60 days of the arrival date (i.e., you could not call 90 days in advance and book a reservation using points in holding, it would have to be less than 60 days out), which can be chancy depending on the time of year.

As long as you can agree to commit 31 days prior to your arrival date, and that 31st day is before your friends' banking deadline, you should be okay.

We once had cousins who wanted to accompany us to the F&W Festival, then had to back out; we used the points to upgrade our room from a studio to a 1BR, so we weren't upset. I guess we were lucky that the 1BR was available (although it was SSR, and I don't think that place ever fills up completely)

Thanks for the info. :wave: So, am I correct that you can only bank points for one year? Because this trip would be next year, but using this year's points. My friends bought enough points to be able to do two trips a year. They've already been once this year, but they don't think they will be able to do their second trip this year. So they may bank these points for next year, and then I would rent them. If we aren't able to make the trip, could they keep them banked past next year, or would they have to use them by the end of next year or lose them?

 

[Tiggerish]

You only have one year to use banked points. For instance, 2009 points banked to 2010 must be used in 2010 or they will expire.

However, Member Services is as accommodating as they possibly can be with regard to helping you "use not lose" points. They will always use the oldest points for a reservation, so assuming your "potential" trip was to take place before one of their regular two trips, if you cancel, they can use those 2009 points for one of their 2010 trips. Even if they have already booked their 2010 trips.

It's been my experience that MS will move points around on reservations in order to preserve them--in other words, they would modify one of your friends' 2010 reservations to use the 2009 points that you would not be using, and free up the 2010 points to be banked into 2011. Assuming the banking deadlines don't get in the way, of course.

I hope that made sense to you. If not, keep asking questions!

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Keep in mind that those are the Disney rules for when members can cancel. Usually, when you're renting points from a DVC member, you'll have a separate contract with them, and will agree with the member's terms on when and how you can cancel. In some cases, the strictest of renters have a no cancellation/no refund policy.

Since it's a friend you're renting from, they may not ask you to sign a formal contract with them. In any case, the two of you should come to full agreement before the fact on what the understanding will be if you have to cancel.

If this is a good friend, and you want to remain good friends, my advise is not to commit to using their points unless you really think you're going to use them. If you're just worried about unforseen emergencies, that's one thing. But if you're really still on the fence about whether or not you'll be going, you'd just be asking for trouble to proceed with the rental IMO.

 

[sbkline]

We're not really on the fence regarding our intention to go...we definitely want and intend to go. Problem is, my wife is expecting a baby and is due in June. Obviously, we're hoping for a healthy baby with no problems in the delivery room, and so far there is nothing to indicate any problems with the baby. But you just never know how things may turn out, or what kind of complications may arise. Obviously, if there are problems which require alot of medical attention, that can drain the vacation funds pretty quickly, not to mention that once the baby is born and in the following months, we may determine that a long road trip with the two kids is out of the question for one reason or another.

 

[Yanks07]

Keep in mind use year. If your friend has to borrow points, they can not be banked if you cancel but must be used that year which could leave them in a tough spot.

 

[Lynne M]

The cancellation thing can be very complex. Even if you cancel well ahead of the cancellation deadline and there's no 'official' penalty from DVC, there are a couple of other complicating factors that could leave your friends stuck with points they can't use and can't rent.

Points have an expiration date; they cease to exist at the end of the owner's use year. If you cancel, say, on March 1st, and the owners have a May use year, the points are unusable after April 30th. It'll be too late to bank them, and two months is very little time to get them transferred or rented.

Then there's availability. Short-notice reservations can be extremely difficult to get with timeshares. Even if they have a few months to unload the points after you cancel, they may not be able to get anything booked.

If it were me, I wouldn't commit and let them make a reservation unless I was completely sure that I could make the trip, or I was completely willing to let them keep them money I paid for the use of the points.

 

[sbkline]

Thank you all for your replies and advice. It is now a moot point, though, as I got a message from my friends this morning that they will not be able to do this after all. Apparently, they have borrowed points in the past, and skipping this fall will allow them to "catch up". So now, it will be Carribbean Beach as originally planned...which is fine with me. This point rental thing was just a thought that I had in order to help them out a little as well as possibly get a better deal for us, but I'm also excited about trying out Carribbean Beach.