What Are the Best Practices for Owners with Small DVC Contracts

From the meta perspective, Disney Vacation Club members fall into three categories. Our group includes owners with small contracts, medium contracts, and large contracts. 

Obviously, the flexibility of the program guarantees that you can always buy more points when so inclined. So, you’re never stuck in a group. You decide which options best suit your needs. 

As part of a new series, I’ll discuss the ideal approaches to all three kinds of contracts. So, what are the best practices for owners with small DVC contracts?

What’s a Small Contract?

Before I discuss specifics, let’s quickly clarify something. Someone with a “small contract” in this scenario is anyone with 100 DVC Points or less. Technically, anyone with under 200 DVC Points falls on the lower side of membership, but it’s awkward to take a “one size fits all” approach with these categories. 

When I discuss small contracts, I’m referencing owners who face annual DVC Points constraints. So, you must approach your contract more carefully than people with more than 100 points. 

Discipline

For these reasons, one of the best practices is to use discipline. When you own 100 DVC Points or less, you’re hoping to take a DVC trip annually. Unfortunately, you may need to stretch it out to every other year or maybe even every third year. 

The choice comes down to how you structure your vacations. One year, you may prefer a shorter vacation at an inexpensive DVC resort. On your next trip, you may want to stay longer or choose a “better” property, one that DVC charges more points per night to book.

You must navigate each Use Year with purpose. For example, you should book the cheapest room possible as often as possible. I know all too well the temptation of booking Savannah View at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas or a One-Bedroom Villa to add a washer/dryer and full kitchen. 

Still, with your current small contract, you cannot splurge frequently. Instead, you must exercise discipline with each booking. To maximize the value of your annual point allotment, you should choose cheaper resorts and Room Types.  

Patience

That doesn’t mean that you’ll enjoy your vacation any less, though. After all, odds are good that you’re visiting either The Most Magical Place on Earth or The Happiest Place on Earth.

You’re going to have a magical time no matter what. However, your current points limitations force you to take a more measured approach to each booking. 

Patience is a necessity for the reason I mentioned in the last section. While you navigate the Use Years with purpose, you should always have at least a general idea of what you plan for your next trip. 

I just said that you should book the cheapest rooms at the cheapest resorts as your default setting. Sometimes, you’ll be able to splurge, though. By having patience, you’ll consistently squeeze more from your DVC contract. 

When you have more DVC Points at the end of your Use Year, you can Bank them — remembering to do so before your deadline – and save them for a rainy day. Ostensibly, you can do that for more than one year, adding a bit extra in your account each time. 

By exercising patience, the owner of a 100-point contract can find themselves with 175 points to spend in two or three years. At that point, your patience will be rewarded, as you can book a much nicer Disney vacation than usual. 

One-Time-Use Points

Finally, we have one of the unfortunate realities of owning 100 DVC Points or less. Sometimes, you must spend cold, hard cash to buy One-Time-Use Points. 

As I’ve previously mentioned, I started with a 50-point contract. I quickly realized that I could spend money to buy 24 more points each year. At the time, this behavior suited my family’s purposes. Later, I realized that I would have been better served spending that money on another DVC contract. 

So, I offer this advice with some trepidation, but I also know from experience that it’s true. You can spend $480 to buy 24 One-Time-Use Points at $20 each. By purchasing DVC Membership Magic Beyond, you can lower your financial outlay. Membership costs $99, but then One-Time-Use Points are buy one, get one free, saving you up to $140. 

By purchasing 24 One-Time-Use Points, you extend the value of your contract by up to 24 percent. If you own just 50 DVC Points, which many members do, the difference is that much more dramatic. You can add two more nights to your hotel stay at certain DVC resorts. It’s a massive expansion of your options, albeit one that costs you money out-of-pocket.

Based on what I know now, I’d suggest that you take a different approach. I would encourage you to maintain patience and discipline in this capacity as well. Save the money you would have spent on One-Time-Use Points and eventually use it toward buying a larger contract. Just because you’re in the small contract category now doesn’t mean you must stay that way. DVC gets better when you expand your annual booking options. 

Still, I realize that you’re not thinking about the future much when you plan the DVC vacation you will take very soon. So, One-Time-Use Points remain a viable way to expand your options and enhance the quality of your vacation.

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