How to Take Advantage of DVC’s Recent Rules Changes

The Disney Vacation Club quietly updated a few policies at the start of the year. In the process, savvy DVC members gained more control over their precious DVC Points. Here’s how you can take advantage of DVC’s recent rules changes. 

Here’s What DVC Changed

Historically, DVC members have always been able to Transfer their points to other accounts. Disney set up this system to allow family and friends to share their DVC Points allotments and schedule the perfect vacation.

From the beginning, fans noticed an important omission in the rules, though. According to the official DVC site, “Banked or Borrowed Home Resort Vacation Points may not be Transferred.” 

So, you can Transfer points from your current Use Year, but that was it. If your traveling party needed more points, their only hope was to purchase enough One-Time-Use points to make up the difference. Since there’s a points limitation on those, it didn’t always help.

In a perfect world, DVC would have allowed people to Transfer points from other Use Years as well. For example, let’s say that you Banked your DVC Points last year. Your best friend would like to join you on vacation, but they lack enough points.

Ostensibly, you should be able to send them your Banked points, allowing them to make up the difference in their DVC Points shortfall and book the trip. As I quoted earlier, DVC didn’t allow that, though. Until recently, the system viewed Banked points just the same as Borrowed points, with both being non-transferable. So, you can guess what just changed.

Yes, as of this year, DVC has updated its policies, and it’s a change for the better. According to DVC, “Allotted, Banked, Borrowed, Reservation, and Holding Home Resort Vacation Points may be Transferred.” 

For many, the shocker here is that DVC will allow people to Transfer Holding Points. Here’s what will surprise you even more. You could already do that. Here’s a PlanDisney post from more than a year ago. It’s the Transfer of Banked and Borrowed points that’s new. So, discuss a few ways to take advantage of the rules change.

Tips for Transferring Banked Points

By this point, you should realize that your DVC Points hold tremendous value. Sure, you can use them to book your favorite DVC resorts, but DVC Points possess even more utility.

You can sell to a place like DVC Rental Store or Transfer them to a loved one. In fact, what many DVC members do is Transfer points to their other accounts to assist in booking reservations.  Let’s say that you own at three different Home Resorts. 

The new rules allow you to consolidate your accounts for a simpler member experience. Since you can now Transfer your Banked points as well as your regular ones, points management can be an “every other year” thing for you. 

The process is simple. You Bank your points in your other two accounts right now. Then, when your next Use Year arrives for each one, you can Transfer your DVC Points from those accounts to your main/current Home Resort. At that point, you can easily book whatever you want wherever you want since you have (at least) triple the points. 

Should you adopt this approach, the catch is that you’d need to do everything in a single year, though. Since you’re Banking points, I presume that won’t be a problem, but it’s something to keep in mind. 

To a larger point, you should follow the general rules of Banking your points when you prepare to transfer them. The idea is that you’ll want to go bigger during the following Use Year. So, you’re storing points now in anticipation of having plenty of future fun. 

Tips for Transferring Borrowed Points

The same ideas work in reverse for Borrowed Points, only you’re on a time limit now. You’re Transferring DVC Points from the prior Use Year. So, they’ll expire at the end of the current Use Year.

With these sorts of Transfers, I’d actually suggest something different. If you don’t know what you plan to do with your points, consider trading with someone else if possible. If a loved one will definitely visit Disney this year, you can book with these points in anticipation of them booking for you at a later date. It’d have to be someone you trust completely, though. If that idea isn’t ideal for you, I’d again suggest DVC Rental Store as the best way to use your currently unneeded points. 

To a larger point, when you’re using Borrowed points, you should understand that you’ve stripped your future contract. You won’t gain those points at the start of your next Use Year. So, you should book your trip based on the expectation that you may not have enough points to visit Disney next year. Adjust your plans accordingly. 

Otherwise, much of what I said about Banked points applies here. You should have substantially more DVC Points than normal and can book a terrific vacation. In fact, by choosing to Transfer points from a different account, you can do more in a calendar year than was ever possible under the old system. 

So, get creative and live a little! The new rules are MUCH friendlier for DVC members. You should be thinking about the best ways to take advantage of loosened restrictions. 

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