Welcome Home, Genia - and welcome to planDisney! I hope you're enjoying the magic of the holidays and looking forward to some amazing
Disney Vacation Club adventures in the new year. I'm happy to help with your question about using your
Vacation Points so you can put every single one to good use.
I am always double-checking my DVC math to make sure I have all of my (Donald) ducks in a row and don't lose any points when they expire at the end of our
Use Year. Based on your March Use Year, any points you
banked will expire on the last day of February - then your annual allotment of points will come on March 1.
Genia, there are a few options to use these banked points before the end of February. You can always book a trip before the points expire or share your points with a family member or friend so they can experience some Disney magic themselves! You also have the option to transfer your points to a fellow Disney Vacation Club Member, but the expiration date will remain the same.
While you cannot donate points directly to a nonprofit organization, you can reach out to a group near and dear to your heart and arrange to make a booking with your points to benefit a family in need of some pixie dust. As a pediatric nurse, many of my patients and their families have been able to experience a once-in-a-lifetime Disney vacation, thanks to the generosity of others!
To extend the life of the points a little longer, you can deposit them with
Interval International. This is a timeshare exchange company that gives DVC Members the ability to exchange points for stays at all sorts of destinations around the world. Once points are deposited, you have up to 24 months to use them - this buys you a lot of time to make travel plans! Keep in mind that once the points are converted from Vacation Points to Reservation Points, they cannot be returned to your Disney Vacation Club account.
I hope one of these options fits your needs as perfectly as Cinderella's glass slipper! You certainly don't want those points to vanish at midnight (on February 28, that is...). Thanks so much for stopping by planDisney, Genia, and please come see us again anytime if we can help with other questions to maximize your Membership magic!
Stay Magical!
Susan