The program is flexible

Image: DisneyOne of the most reasonable concerns about timeshare membership is its limitations. You have X amount of access to the resort. Should you not find the time to use it, you’re out of luck. DVC isn’t a timeshare, though. It’s a specially designed Disney program that caters to travelers of all kinds.

When you join DVC, you purchase a contract. That contract comes with DVC points. You’ll use these points to book rooms. A night’s stay is somewhere between 10-30 points, depending on the time of year and resort where you choose to stay.

When you choose a DVC contract, it can be as small as 25 points or as much as…well, the theoretical limit is 2,000 points. That latter amount strikes me as overkill, though. Most members have contracts in the 150-point range, though.

Image: DisneyWith a middle-sized contract, DVC members can spend a week at many Disney resorts each year. Some properties like Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa require a few more points, but you’ll find you can do a lot with 150 points. It’s enough to have a wonderful Disney vacation on a regular basis.

Let’s presume that you don’t want to go to Disney every year, though. What would happen to your point allotment? The short answer is nothing. Disney gives you the option to “bank” your points. When you do this, the unused points roll over to the following year.

Similarly, should you ever feel require more points during your current year, you can “borrow” your points from the next year. You can bring enough into your account to book the room you want right now. It’s a seamless process that gives you tremendous flexibility.

You can rent points you won’t use

Image: DisneyAt this point, you’re likely wondering about a third scenario. What happens if you don’t want to visit Disney each year? Will you just lose your points after a while? The answer is technically yes if you don’t understand the system. In practice, it’s no, though.

You have the ability to rent your DVC points each year via an online service. You’ll get paid somewhere around $15 a point, which means that you could feasibly turn your unused DVC points into a vacation elsewhere. $15 a point for 150 points is $2,250. That’s a pretty good trip somewhere, right?

I don’t want to favor any particular DVC rental service over another. What I will say is that if you read previous Theme Park Tourist DVC Roundtables, you’ll get some ideas. Several other vendors are in this field, too. I would simply suggest that you do some research to verify that you’re dealing with a well-reviewed company with lots of references available. Obviously, since your points have so much value, there are some folks out there who will try to scam you.