Buying DVC Points

The minimum number of points you must purchase directly from Disney is 160 points. The maximum points you can purchase directly from Disney is 2,000 points. Points are awarded annually until your contract’s end.

It is possible to purchase fewer than 160 points on the resale market; however, you will need at least 100 points to qualify for membership in the Club. You can purchase any increment of points through the resale market.

Whether you purchase retail or resale, you will be able to book 11 months in advance at your Home Resort, 7 months at any other DVC resort. The process and rules for banking, borrowing, and transferring points are also the same regardless of the origin of your points.

You can purchase DVC contracts with any Home Resort on the resale market right now. In fact, this is one of the most significant advantages of purchasing on the resale market. In many cases, only the newest resorts are available for purchase directly from Disney. Many of the other Home Resorts are sold out (meaning DVC has no more contracts available for sale through retail means). These sold-out resorts are often available on the resale market.

Resale buyers can no longer use their points to make reservations in the Concierge Collection, the Disney Collection (non-DVC Disney resorts at Disneyland and Walt Disney World as well as the Disney Cruise Line), or the Adventurer Collection.

The other resale benefit that no longer transfers is DVC’s Membership Extras benefits package, which gives owners discounts on restaurants, shopping, excursions and tours, discounted Disney parks passes, and access to member only events. This was enacted on April 4th, 2016, and all owners who purchased a DVC resale before this date still have access to this benefit.

Resale buyers can still use their points to make reservations at any of the Disney Vacation Club resorts, for RCI exchanges, Club Cordial, and Club Intrawest.

For most buyers, the cost savings of purchasing resale outweigh loss of the ability to use points to book at non-DVC resorts. Most DVC owners purchase into the program to stay at DVC resorts anyways, and many owners agree that the extra travel options available to retail DVC owners provide little added value given the high number of points required to redeem these perks. The most value comes from using DVC points to book time at DVC resorts—a perk available to all DVC members.

Please note, owners who purchased on the resale market on or before Disney changed its regulations regarding DVC contracts sold on the secondary market (on or before March 20, 2011) retain full privileges and can use their points just like an owner who purchased directly from Disney.