Renting DVC points lets you stay at Disney Vacation Club resorts without buying a Disney Vacation Club membership. A DVC member uses their points to reserve the room in your name, and you pay for the reservation based largely on how many points the stay requires.
That can open up resorts such as the Polynesian Villas, Bay Lake Tower, Animal Kingdom Villas, Riviera Resort and the Grand Floridian Villas at a price that may be considerably different from booking the same type of accommodation directly through Disney.
The tradeoff is flexibility. Renting DVC points does not work exactly like reserving a normal Disney hotel room. Availability can disappear months in advance, another person controls the DVC points used for your reservation, and cancellation rules are often much stricter.
What Does It Mean to Rent DVC Points?
You do not actually receive Disney Vacation Club points in your own account when you rent them.
The DVC owner keeps control of the points and uses them to make a reservation for you as their guest. Once the reservation has been created, you receive the reservation information and can generally link an eligible Walt Disney World stay to your My Disney Experience account.
That is an important part of understanding a DVC point rental. You are essentially paying a member to use their points for your resort reservation rather than buying or temporarily owning the points themselves.
If the DVC system itself is still confusing, start with our explanation of how Disney Vacation Club points work. It explains why different resorts, room categories and travel dates require different numbers of points.
There Are Two Main Ways to Rent DVC Points
Most renters either use a DVC rental company or arrange the reservation directly with a Disney Vacation Club owner. Both routes ultimately depend on a DVC member making the reservation, but the transaction is handled very differently.
| DVC Rental Company | Private DVC Owner | |
|---|---|---|
| Who coordinates the booking? | The rental company | You and the owner |
| Typical process | Submit resort and date request | Find an owner and agree on terms |
| Price | Usually set by the company | Negotiated or set by the owner |
| Transaction support | Company acts as intermediary | Depends entirely on the agreement |
| Best suited for | First-time renters and people wanting a more structured process | Experienced renters comfortable vetting an owner themselves |
Using a DVC Rental Company
A DVC point rental company acts as the intermediary between the guest and the member who owns the points. Instead of finding an owner yourself, you submit the dates, resort and room category you want and the company attempts to match your request with available points.
Companies such as David’s Vacation Club Rentals and DVC Rental Store are established examples of this type of service. Each company has its own pricing, payment schedule, cancellation policies and availability process, so compare the actual terms rather than looking only at the advertised price per point.
The main appeal is simplicity. You have a company coordinating the transaction rather than dealing directly with a stranger who owns DVC points.
That does not make the reservation as flexible as booking a hotel directly through Disney. Read the rental company’s terms carefully before paying, particularly the sections covering cancellations, changes and what happens if the reservation cannot be fulfilled.
Renting DVC Points Directly From an Owner
You can also rent Disney Vacation Club points directly from a DVC member. Owners advertise points through DVC communities, forums, rental groups and referrals, then make the reservation after you agree on the resort, dates and price.
Going directly to an owner can sometimes produce a better rate because there is no rental company in the middle. It also means you are responsible for evaluating the person, reviewing the agreement and understanding exactly what happens if either side cannot complete the transaction.
I would be much more selective with a private DVC rental. Look at how long the owner has been active in the community, ask for references where appropriate and make sure the entire transaction is documented in writing.
How Much Does It Cost to Rent DVC Points?
The total cost depends on two numbers: how many DVC points your reservation requires and the rental price charged for each point.
For example, if a stay requires 100 points and your rental rate is $24 per point, the accommodation portion of the rental would be $2,400.
The number of points required can change dramatically based on the resort, room type, view, time of year and length of stay. A Deluxe Studio generally requires fewer points than a one-bedroom or two-bedroom villa, while high-demand travel periods may require more points than quieter dates.
You can use our Disney Vacation Club points chart guide to understand how those requirements are calculated before requesting a rental.
Rental rates themselves vary as well. The owner’s Home Resort, how far in advance you are booking, the rental company and whether you are requesting a new reservation or taking over an already confirmed reservation can all affect the price.
Because those rates change, I would compare the final price of the complete stay rather than assuming a particular price per point is automatically a good deal.
Why the 11-Month and 7-Month Windows Matter
DVC availability is one of the biggest reasons renting points requires more planning than booking an ordinary hotel.
A DVC member can generally reserve their Home Resort beginning 11 months before check-in. At seven months before check-in, members can begin using eligible points to reserve other DVC resorts, subject to availability.
This creates an important advantage for certain owners. If you want a particularly difficult reservation, such as a popular room category at a high-demand resort, finding an owner whose Home Resort matches the property can give you access to that earlier booking window.
Waiting until the seven-month window does not mean you cannot rent DVC points. It simply means more members are competing for the remaining inventory.
Before deciding where to stay, browse our guide to Disney Vacation Club resorts so you know which properties and locations make sense for your trip.
How to Rent DVC Points Step by Step
The exact process varies slightly between rental companies and private owners, but most DVC rentals follow the same basic sequence.
- Choose your resort, travel dates and room type. It helps to have backup resorts because DVC inventory can be limited.
- Check how many points the stay requires. The points chart gives you a rough idea of the number of points the owner will need to make the reservation.
- Choose a rental company or find a DVC owner. Review the terms before submitting payment.
- Submit your reservation request. A request is not the same thing as a confirmed booking. Availability has to be checked and the member must actually make the reservation.
- Review the reservation details. Make sure the names, dates, resort and room category match what you agreed to purchase.
- Link the reservation when applicable. Walt Disney World DVC reservations can generally be linked to My Disney Experience using the confirmation information you receive.
A Confirmed Reservation Can Be Different From Renting Points for New Dates
When comparing DVC rentals, you may come across confirmed reservations that have already been booked by a member.
Instead of requesting your own combination of dates, resort and room category, you purchase an existing stay with fixed details. These reservations can sometimes be priced differently from custom DVC point rentals because the owner has already committed the points to those specific dates.
The obvious limitation is flexibility. If the confirmed reservation is four nights at Animal Kingdom Villas in October, you cannot simply turn it into five nights at the Polynesian in November.
For travelers with flexible schedules, though, checking existing reservations can be worth doing before submitting a new rental request.
The Biggest Limitation Is Cancellation Flexibility
I would not rent DVC points without first being comfortable with the cancellation terms.
Many rental transactions are substantially more restrictive than booking directly through Disney. Depending on the company or private agreement, payments may be non-refundable or changes may be difficult once the DVC owner has committed the points.
Some rental companies offer different forms of cancellation protection or travel protection, but the details vary. Read exactly what is covered rather than assuming a rental can be canceled just because your plans change.
If your travel dates are uncertain, the lower accommodation cost may not be worth giving up the flexibility of a normal hotel reservation.
How to Reduce the Risk of a Private DVC Point Rental
Renting directly from an owner requires more due diligence because there is no rental company coordinating the transaction.
- Get the agreement in writing. It should identify the resort, room type, travel dates, total price, payment schedule and cancellation terms.
- Confirm who you are dealing with. Review the owner’s history in the DVC community and look for established references when possible.
- Understand the payment method. Check what protections, if any, apply to the payment method before sending money.
- Review the Disney reservation information. Make sure the confirmed stay matches the accommodation you agreed to rent.
- Do not let an unusually cheap price override obvious warning signs. The entire transaction should make sense, not just the price per point.
One detail that surprises first-time renters is that the DVC member remains the person using their membership and points to make the reservation. Linking the stay to your Disney account is useful for confirming your trip details, but it does not transfer ownership of the underlying DVC points to you.
What You Get When You Rent DVC Points
You are renting the DVC accommodation, not becoming a Disney Vacation Club member.
You can still enjoy the resort and the amenities associated with your booked room, but membership-only benefits do not automatically transfer to someone renting a reservation from a member.
That matters if you have been reading about member lounges, discounts or other Disney Vacation Club perks. Do not assume every DVC member benefit comes with a rented stay.
Housekeeping is also different from what many guests expect from a traditional hotel stay. DVC accommodations follow DVC housekeeping schedules rather than automatically receiving a full room cleaning every day.
When Renting DVC Points Makes the Most Sense
I think DVC rentals are most attractive when you already know your travel dates, want to stay in a Disney Deluxe-style property or villa, and are comfortable committing to the trip well in advance.
They can be particularly interesting for families who want a larger villa with additional living space, kitchens or laundry facilities, or travelers who want access to a resort location that would otherwise stretch the hotel budget.
Renting is less appealing when your dates may change, when you are booking very late, or when the savings compared with Disney’s available cash rate are relatively small.
Always compare the complete DVC rental price against the actual Disney rate available for your dates. Discounts and promotions can change the math.
What I Would Check Before Paying for a DVC Rental
Before I commit money to a rental, I want five things to be clear: the exact resort, the room category, the dates, the total price and what happens if the trip has to be changed or canceled.
I would also confirm whether I am requesting a brand-new reservation or buying an already confirmed stay. Those two transactions may look similar on a rental website but offer very different levels of flexibility.
Finally, I would compare at least a few DVC resorts rather than becoming attached to one property before checking inventory. Being flexible about the resort can make renting points considerably easier, especially inside the seven-month window.
If you are still deciding whether DVC accommodations fit your trip at all, our broader guide to Disney Vacation Club rentals covers the overall rental concept, while our map of DVC resorts can help you compare where the properties are located.
Renting Points Can Be a Great Deal, but Treat It Like a Real Booking
The appeal of renting DVC points is straightforward: you can access Disney Vacation Club accommodations without buying a membership, and the rental price can make resorts that once seemed out of reach much more realistic.
But the best DVC rental is not simply the one with the lowest price per point. Availability, booking windows, cancellation rules, the person or company handling the reservation and the actual savings compared with booking directly through Disney all matter.
Once you understand that the DVC member is making the reservation on your behalf, the process becomes much easier to evaluate. Choose the resort, calculate the points required, compare rental options, read the terms carefully and make sure the reservation details match what you paid for.
