Help me figure out how to rent DVC points for free

caribbeandream

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 22, 2017
I already use Swagbucks to purchase Walmart/Sam's Club gift cards to purchase Disney gift cards at a discount. I know that if I want to stay at the Swan & Dolphin for free I can use points from the Amex SPG card. But if I want to rent DVC points what is my best Swagbucks and/or credit card strategy? The only think I can think of is to accumulate my Swagbucks and then to cash them out for a Mastercard gift card. Any other suggestions?
 
I already use Swagbucks to purchase Walmart/Sam's Club gift cards to purchase Disney gift cards at a discount. I know that if I want to stay at the Swan & Dolphin for free I can use points from the Amex SPG card. But if I want to rent DVC points what is my best Swagbucks and/or credit card strategy? The only think I can think of is to accumulate my Swagbucks and then to cash them out for a Mastercard gift card. Any other suggestions?
Cash out on SB for PayPal (cash) instead. The Mastercard GC is virtual and I don't know if any agencies will accept it since the highest value that SB offers is $100 card. They're not going to want to run multiple cards thru in order to accept your payment. David's is in Canada, so you might have to pay a foreign transaction fee on each of those MasterCard GCs if you used him.

I doubt that many private owners are equipped to accept credit/debit/GC payments. Those that can would most likely pass the credit card fee on to you.

You could get a rewards credit card that gives cash back and then use that cash to pay for your rental. Or even get one that offers cash back as a redemption option.
 
Cash out on SB for PayPal (cash) instead. The Mastercard GC is virtual and I don't know if any agencies will accept it since the highest value that SB offers is $100 card. They're not going to want to run multiple cards thru in order to accept your payment. David's is in Canada, so you might have to pay a foreign transaction fee on each of those MasterCard GCs if you used him.

I doubt that many private owners are equipped to accept credit/debit/GC payments. Those that can would most likely pass the credit card fee on to you.

You could get a rewards credit card that gives cash back and then use that cash to pay for your rental. Or even get one that offers cash back as a redemption option.

Thank you! That was a lot of very good information. As for David's and other DVC renters not accepting credit cards, it would have never occurred to me. I figured that I can rent someone's house through airbnb using a credit card so why not DVC rental?
 


Thank you! That was a lot of very good information. As for David's and other DVC renters not accepting credit cards, it would have never occurred to me. I figured that I can rent someone's house through airbnb using a credit card so why not DVC rental?

I've seen DVC points for rent on eBay and from sellers that seem to have good feedback. So, you could pay for that with a CC. But the price per point seems high to me though I know the DVC rental market price per point has increased.
 
Thank you! That was a lot of very good information. As for David's and other DVC renters not accepting credit cards, it would have never occurred to me. I figured that I can rent someone's house through airbnb using a credit card so why not DVC rental?
David's accepts credit cards but some credit cards will charge the user a foreign transaction fee because $USD have to be converted to $CDN. These Virtual MasterCards are not credit cards. They are "virtual rewards" cards. They are issued in $USD and may not be able to be converted to other currency. Why take the chance?

As far as renting directly from a DVC owner...it's not like they rent their points out professionally. They don't have credit card terminals in their homes to process your payment and they certainly are not going to try to figure out how to get their cash from a list of virtual cards. They will move on to the next renter who will be less trouble.

Even someone renting a DVC reservation on eBay would not be able to accept a list of virtual cards. eBay checkout only permits one form of payment.
 
CHASE CREDIT CARDS - specifically the FREEDOM (5x rotating categories/$150 signup bonus), FREEDOM UNLIMITED (1.5X everything/$150 signup bonus) & SAPPHIRE (2X on Dining & Travel/$500 sign up bonus). Maximize categories & use as cash back.
 


Also make sure you are familiar with all of the rules regarding renting dvc. There's no point in figuring out how to pay if renting points wouldn't be a good fit for you.
 
Also make sure you are familiar with all of the rules regarding renting dvc. There's no point in figuring out how to pay if renting points wouldn't be a good fit for you.

I prefer to stay in a regular hotel room because I already cook and clean plenty at home but I want to (1) check out Vero Beach Resort and (2) travel with my mom who, because of age and health issues, must have a kitchen to cook the majority of her meals.
 
I prefer to stay in a regular hotel room because I already cook and clean plenty at home but I want to (1) check out Vero Beach Resort and (2) travel with my mom who, because of age and health issues, must have a kitchen to cook the majority of her meals.

Okay, but what I meant was that you need to make sure you understand the RULES about renting points, such as when you make payment, refund policy, housekeeping policy, how far ahead you can book, how far ahead you must book for certain resies, how there sometimes are more potential renters than owners who have extra points, etc. (not how the rooms themselves are different from ordinary hotel rooms).
 
CHASE CREDIT CARDS - specifically the FREEDOM (5x rotating categories/$150 signup bonus), FREEDOM UNLIMITED (1.5X everything/$150 signup bonus) & SAPPHIRE (2X on Dining & Travel/$500 sign up bonus). Maximize categories & use as cash back.


This...and you may even be able to book vero directly thru the chase portal using points to pay if they offer cash reservations at all. I’m not that familiar with Vero.
 
I already use Swagbucks to purchase Walmart/Sam's Club gift cards to purchase Disney gift cards at a discount. I know that if I want to stay at the Swan & Dolphin for free I can use points from the Amex SPG card. But if I want to rent DVC points what is my best Swagbucks and/or credit card strategy? The only think I can think of is to accumulate my Swagbucks and then to cash them out for a Mastercard gift card. Any other suggestions?

I've been earning SBs and cashing out Paypal to pay for our DVC rental. I'm lucky because the person I'm renting from is asking for final pmt 60 days before the trip (we put a 25% down payment already). So I know how much I need to pay her and I cash out for PP after I cash out my discounted GCs at the beginning of the month. I also like this because if it's in my PP account, I don't think about it or see it, so I'm not spending it!
 
I've been earning SBs and cashing out Paypal to pay for our DVC rental. I'm lucky because the person I'm renting from is asking for final pmt 60 days before the trip (we put a 25% down payment already). So I know how much I need to pay her and I cash out for PP after I cash out my discounted GCs at the beginning of the month. I also like this because if it's in my PP account, I don't think about it or see it, so I'm not spending it!
You are fortunate to have found an owner with such lenient payment terms. The agencies require full payment at the time that a reservation is confirmed.

Many owners expect a larger deposit with full payment much sooner than 60 days out. It has more to do with the restrictions placed on the points than it has to do with an owner just being inflexible. At 60 days prior to arrival, the owner may not be able to find another renter in time to use those points. They may be past their banking deadline, which forces them to use those points or lose them. That's why most owners require a large down payment with the balance paid much sooner than 60 days before arrival.
 
You are fortunate to have found an owner with such lenient payment terms. The agencies require full payment at the time that a reservation is confirmed.

Many owners expect a larger deposit with full payment much sooner than 60 days out. It has more to do with the restrictions placed on the points than it has to do with an owner just being inflexible. At 60 days prior to arrival, the owner may not be able to find another renter in time to use those points. They may be past their banking deadline, which forces them to use those points or lose them. That's why most owners require a large down payment with the balance paid much sooner than 60 days before arrival.

I know! That last owner I rented from Required full payment upon booking which is what I expected. I was pleasantly surprised by her terms especially since that gave me time to earn SBs to pay for it. I understand it's not the norm, but wanted to give OP another option. Even if OP pays OOP and then earns SB and cashes out via PayPal, they can "pay themselves back" if that makes sense.
 
There’s no good reason for a DVC owner to accept anything other than cash. If I was in need of a Disney Gift Card, which I could use to pay dues, I’d still rent my points out for cash and use the various techniques to buy discounted gift cards.

There’s no good reason for a DVC owner to accept anything other than cash. If I was in need of a Disney Gift Card, which I could use to pay dues, I’d still rent my points out for cash and use the various techniques to buy discounted gift cards.


They almost all take credit. You’re completely wrong. Ive rented a half dozen times from all over. All cc. Including privately and David's.

Please don't guess or make things up. It's not helpful.
 
I recently rented points from a company (don't think I can say the name because of rules, but it was not the David's already posted). I was able to use my credit card. I did not have to pay in full. They accept credit, debit, and ACH Bank transfers. i paid $100 security deposit. Once my points were confirmed, I had to pay a certain amount per point. The remaining balance can be paid in one payment, or at your discretion, spread across several payments prior to the 45 days prior to check-in deadline.
 
They almost all take credit. You’re completely wrong. Ive rented a half dozen times from all over. All cc. Including privately and David's.

Please don't guess or make things up. It's not helpful.

They aren't wrong or making things up. Most private renters aren't set up as credit card merchants.

It may be able to be done through PayPal but that isn't the same as the owner accepting credit cards.
 
They aren't wrong or making things up. Most private renters aren't set up as credit card merchants.

It may be able to be done through PayPal but that isn't the same as the owner accepting credit cards.

They are wrong in this case. Many private citizens can take credit cards through various apps, websites, and even some banks. If you wanted to pay me right now via cc I could set something up in about 3 minutes.

As I said, I paid via CC multiple times to different sites, and in one case a private person. Not all may do this but I have only ever used CC and to say none do, as the other person did, is wrong.

I'm saying some do, not all. He is dealing in an absolute that is simply false. I'm not trying to be harsh but spreading false information is not helpful to anyone involved. I apologize if you're not familiar with the various ways/apps that allow for taking credit cards now. They're out there.

I would NEVER EVER use paypal. My CC offers 100% protection vs scams or failure to meet the agreement, paypal has a long and stupid dispute process.

To be clear here, if you don't know the answer but yet decide to insist no dvc rental places/people take credit card, that's making stuff up. That's it. If you don't know the answer, the best action is usually to either offer what you do know with a caveat, or what you think with a caveat, or say nothing at all.

I don't know all take CC, but I sure do know lots do. CC is safer for the seller and purchaser. It is relatively easy to defraud paypal from either side. Have fun trying to pull that off with a CC.
 
They almost all take credit. You’re completely wrong. Ive rented a half dozen times from all over. All cc. Including privately and David's.

Please don't guess or make things up. It's not helpful.
You seem to be adamant that I’m wrong about something I never stated. What part of my statement was wrong?
 
You seem to be adamant that I’m wrong about something I never stated. What part of my statement was wrong?

"There’s no good reason for a DVC owner to accept anything other than cash. If I was in need of a Disney Gift Card, which I could use to pay dues, I’d still rent my points out for cash and use the various techniques to buy discounted gift cards."

They take things other than cash. That's a direct quote from you. I have no idea how you think this usually works? Do you think the renter drives over and hand delivers cash. In my experience it's been CC every. single. time. I'm not saying some don't take cc, but I haven't come across it yet.
 

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