Disney Vacation Club buyers must now acquire at least 150 points direct from the developer in order to be eligible for perks and discounts offered to members.
Effective June 3, 2021, DVC has again raised the point threshold to qualify for owner perks and benefits. Members must now buy at least 150 points direct from DVC in order to access discounts on merchandise, dining, select theme park tickets and other services.
The new language introduced on the members-only website reads as follows:
Effective June 3, 2021, to obtain a Disney Vacation Club Membership Card, Members must accumulate a total of at least 150 Vacation Points purchased directly from Disney Vacation Development, Inc. Disney and Concierge Collections options are not available for ownership interests not purchased directly from Disney Vacation Development, Inc. after March 21, 2011, and, effective April 4, 2016, Members who have not purchased an ownership interest directly from Disney Vacation Development, Inc. will not have access to Membership Extras.
Points purchased via the resale marketplace do not apply toward this minimum.
The minimum point requirement was first introduced in February 2018 with 75 direct purchase points necessary to access the Membership Extras. The threshold was later raised to 100 points in September 2019 and 125 in October 2020.
This policy applies to purchases made from June 3 forward. Owners who met the minimum requirement at the time of their purchase will continue to receive access to member perks.
The change comes at a time when Disney Vacation Club finds itself unable to provide the most noteworthy perks of the last decade. The popular Moonlight Magic theme park evenings debuted in 2016 and expanded to more than a dozen dates per year. Only a handful of sessions were completed in 2020 before the COVID-19 shutdown. After hours parties at the theme parks are set to resume this fall with the Disney After Hours Boo Bash, however there has been no indication of a pending return for Moonlight Magic.
Another popular perk is availability of the Walt Disney World Gold Pass--which is open only to DVC owners and Florida residents--along with discounts on the more expensive varieties of Annual Passes. Annual Pass sales have not yet resumed after being suspended in March 2020.
Currently the most high profile member perks are the exclusive lounge located at EPCOT, 20% merchandise discount and 10-20% savings at a variety of dining venues.
