If I Add On DVC Points at a 2nd Home Resort, Do I Now Have Home Resort Priority at Both?

Well, yes, but probably not the way you’re hoping.  I’m asked weekly by DVC Members if their 11 month Home Resort Priority will be for the total amount of points in their membership, at one of their home resorts.  It doesn’t quite work that way, but we have some tips for you that may help accomplish that for you.  

To clarify further, let’s say you have 200 Points at Copper Creek, and now you decide to add on 200 Points at Riviera.  You have a total of 400 Points in your membership and you can book any DVC Resort 7 months in advance using 400 points.  If you were hoping to use all 400 points to book a Copper Creek reservation 11 months out from Christmas, one of the busiest times at Walt Disney World, you’ll likely be disappointed.  You can only book with the 200 Copper Creek points with an 11 month booking window at Copper Creek, and the same goes for the 200 Riviera points at the Riviera.

Now, here’s the tip I mentioned.  If you do a little banking and borrowing, you can accomplish exactly what you’re hoping for.  Simply borrow next year’s Copper Creek points, so now you have 400 to use for your Christmas reservation, booking 11 months in advance.  And if you don’t use your 200 Riviera points this year, you can bank them and still have 400 points to use next year.  

Some DVC Members take this a step further because they love staying at different resorts each year, and they frequently stay in larger DVC villas or travel during peak times when availability is low and an 11 month home resort booking window is necessary.  They enjoy having 3 home resorts so they can bank and borrow to use 3 years worth of points at one of their home resorts every 3rd year.  Just imagine having 100 points at 3 different Home Resorts, let’s say Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Boardwalk.  Using banking and borrowing, you’d have an 11 month booking window with 300 points at each of those 3 resorts, booking at one of the resorts each year.  I have 3 home resorts, and personally, I love this strategy!  It’s allowed for some very magical vacations, creating memories that my family still talks about years later.

So what’s best for you?  Should you add on points at the same Home Resort, or should you have points at multiple Home Resorts?  That depends on your vacation lifestyle.  It may be best to keep all of your DVC Points at one Home Resort if you tend to vacation during peak season or you need or prefer the larger 2 or 3 bedroom Grand Villas.  On the other hand, if your Disney vacations are during off-season, you don’t need the large accommodations, or you enjoy staying at different resorts each time you visit, you may want to consider having multiple Home Resorts.