Update from Disney Vacation Club offers new information on expiring points and other actions

Apr 24, 2020 in "The Walt Disney Company"

Posted: Friday April 24, 2020 3:49pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney Vacation Cub has today written to members to offer more information on the latest action that they are taking to handle expiring points.

Here is the full letter:

Dear Disney Vacation Club Member,
I hope you and your family are staying healthy and doing well during these trying times. The impacts of COVID-19 are testing us all in ways we never imagined, yet we continue to be inspired by stories of care and compassion in our local communities and around the world.
Our team at Disney Vacation Club is deeply appreciative of the patience and understanding shown by our Members – and the helpful feedback and kind thoughts shared with our Cast.
Looking ahead to better days, our team is committed to keeping you informed and providing flexibility in your membership given the unique circumstances of this crisis. Based on your feedback, we are taking additional actions beyond those we previously shared with you:
We know that some Members had reservations for Disney Vacation Club resort stays during the closure period using points that are set to expire. 2019 Use Year points for April and June that are set to expire in 2020 and that were used for these reservations will be extended for one year from the current expiration date. 2018 Use Year points for April and June that were banked into 2019 and used for these reservations will be extended for six months from their current expiration date. Please note this temporary policy only includes expiring points that were used to book a stay between March 12 and the end of the closure period and that involve a reservation cancelled after February 29. In addition, to better support Member availability, Disney Vacation Club will not extend the life of our expiring developer points.
In light of this and to help with resort availability in the coming year, beginning today Members who want to borrow points to complete a reservation will temporarily only be able to borrow up to 50 percent of their future Use Year points per contract, as permitted by your Home Rules and Regulations. Doing this will help manage inventory and accommodate more Members who want to schedule their vacations once the resorts reopen. Points already borrowed for a stay outside the closure period will be honored, even if they are above the 50 percent threshold. We will continue to monitor our inventory and re-evaluate, with the goal of returning to our standard policy as soon as it is appropriate to do so.
Finally, some Members have had questions about how the closure is affecting their association’s annual dues. While lower operating costs are anticipated for each condominium association because of the closures, there are many unknowns ahead as the resorts return to operation. Our commitment to Guest and Cast safety remains our top priority, and changes may be implemented to the way we operate, which may add some new costs. Given the unique circumstances of this situation, the proposal is to issue a credit to Members in mid-December as part of the distribution of Annual Dues Statements for 2021 if their association has an operating surplus (as opposed to rolling all surpluses into reserves).
These changes should provide helpful support to the entire membership as our team works toward making Disney magic for you and your loved ones just as soon as possible. We will continue to evaluate the situation, make changes to policies as they become necessary and keep you updated. More information on these policy changes can be found on our website, www.disneyvacationclub.com.
All of us at Disney Vacation Club are thinking of you and your families and can’t wait to welcome you home.

Discuss on the Forums

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nickysApr 30, 2020

They’re allowing 3 months worth of otherwise lost points to be banked. And people booked for those 3 months want to go back. Availability will be scarce, not just for this year, for the next 2 years. People will have more points to use, so will either go more often or upgrade to bigger villas. They could stop banking and borrowing. They’ve not done so before as far as I can tell. It could be a lot worse. And they’ll lift the restriction as soon as they can. Edited because I just got told in Chat that when we cancel our Christmas reservation that used borrowed points, we’ll have the borrowed points returned to their original use year. That applies to any cancelled reservation using borrowed points. Good news for us but not for everyone.

SirwalterraleighApr 30, 2020

Demand for contracts will fall...if you Monitor the resell prices they already have and the listings are multiplying already. Everyone has the same “good ideas” to the point it’s no longer a good idea. As far as reservations go? Who the hell knows at this point? I bet it won’t be good for the consumer...no matter what.

VictamanApr 28, 2020

My points are in the June use year. I'm unsure about the mid-month expiration, that's what the cast member assisting me told me. Hopefully I will have time today to call them. Thanks for your help!

Chip ChippersonApr 27, 2020

I have a feeling you're right. Even still, I'm okay with the 50% limit on borrowing points. They have to do something to limit the number of points being used and this is the easiest way to do it short of temporarily eliminating borrowing altogether. We had mapped out our points for next year already prior to the resort shutting down, so losing 21 points will make us recalculate a little bit but in the end we'll figure it out. We were looking to book Aulani in early 2021 for my wife's birthday and were careful to make sure we had points for the November family trip, Aulani, and still have points to use in 2022. It might limit a family stay a year or 2 down the line since we usually book 2-bedroom villas for trips that aren't just the wife and me, so we might lose a short 2-night stay or split stay using points and cash for ourselves if that happens, but there are bigger problems in the world right now than a mild disappointment.

nickysApr 27, 2020

I think they will only extend it if the resorts remain closed. And then it will one use year at a time. If the resorts are open but the parks aren’t, I don’t think they will do anything. They have enough of an availability issue as it is.

Chip ChippersonApr 27, 2020

I think I'm mostly okay with this change. I'm hopeful that the policy will be extended to other Use Year dates as mine are on a February Use Year and we're going to have to cancel our November trip because there's no way we think it will be safe for everyone in our family to fly from NJ to FL even if the parks and hotels are open by then - and it seems like open parks would still have some limitations on rides and entertainment offerings. Were using 21 points from 2019 that we'll lose if we cancel and this policy change doesn't apply at that point. Granted, it's not a ton of points but it's points we wouldn't lose and wouldn't need to borrow in the future were it not for this virus.

nickysApr 27, 2020

Edited: So you can get them back if you had a June use year. From the FAQs about the policy changes: “What if I deposited Points into RCI® so that they would not expire? Members with a June Use Year who have made deposits into the RCI system since March 12 will be able to reverse that action and withdraw their Points. Members with previously booked RCI reservations that have been cancelled during the closures can continue to use those Points within the RCI system until they expire.” But I am confused on re-reading your post. Your points would not have expired mid month. What use year were they? In any case I would call and ask. The full link is here: https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/borrow-points/policy-updates/

VictamanApr 27, 2020

I'm wondering if they can do anything to rectify my situation. Had an April 13th trip cancelled and when I called on April 15th to see about using the 150 2019 points for an April 2021 stay I was told "No". The 150 points from 2019 will expire by Friday, April 17th or, you can move them into RCI where their new expiration date will be December 31, 2022. Not much of a choice to be made there. I either allow the 150 points to expire in two days (from the date of the phone call) or I at least have points in RCI that I may or may not be able to use, but at least there is a chance. So, I moved the points. Now, I'd like them back. I'd rather use them at Disney. (I think. :))

SirwalterraleighApr 26, 2020

The first DVC point reservation will be January 1st, 2021 and not a day sooner!!! ...I don’t believe that...but lighten up, Francis. Just ignore it

CLEtoWDWApr 26, 2020

Thanks for your input that literally nobody asked for in a thread regarding DVC points.

TDogg76Apr 26, 2020

WDW will open again on January 1st, 2021! Not a day earlier!

correcaminosApr 26, 2020

As an FYI June UY points from 2019 expire before June 1, 2020. They are actually aligning for the hopeful opening of June 1st. Not anything you can read into with this statement. I wish they would announce something though so we can know what to do.

LuvtheGoofApr 25, 2020

Hmm, have to agree that some better incentives besides just allowing the refunding and/or banking of points should be offered. Hopefully, something is being considered that we will hear about after all of this is past us.

SirwalterraleighApr 25, 2020

It’s not an easy situation...or one I would have thought they could have anticipated. But this is DVC rationing their diminished supply without providing any relief to those who already paid and continue to pay. It’s just my opinion. Rack room transfers would be ideal...but not really possible the way DVC is set up. I would like to have seen a series of incentives where volunteers are compensated for delaying their trips 6 months, a year, two years or even more...that would be fair. But this method is done purely to “share the pain” it looks crass to me...it’s almost Disney saying “we have to suffer...so you do too” Contractually allowed...but bad business nonetheless. Think discounted packages marketed in the next year - if needed - will be sold talking about reduced usage/benefits and shared sacrifice? Maybe. We’ll see.