Port Vale made a bright start and Luke Rodgers was inches away from opening the scoring before Marc Richards did so in the 15th minute.
A forceful run by defender Chris Slater provided the opening and Richards drove in a 15-yard shot after his initial effort had been blocked by a defender.
Bournemouth had made a sluggish start, but they began to battle back with Ricky Sappleton and Danny Hollands firing shots off target.
The game was now very open and Richards went close to a second when a neat one-two with Rodgers ended with a shot which Shwan Jalal saved low to his left.
And Jalal continued to earn his corn with a flying save to tip over a fierce 20-yard effort from Simon Richman in the 31st minute.
The Cherries will have been relieved to be still in contention by half-time, and they made a better fist of it at the start of the second period as Sappleton's shot was turned for a corner by Joe Anyon.
Craig Lindfield, on loan from Liverpool, then headed a 58th-minute equaliser after Lee Bradbury had turned Darren Anderton's free-kick into the danger area.
But Bournemouth's respite was brief as goals in the 64th and 66th minutes put Vale firmly in the driving seat.
Man-of-the-match Richards played a part before Richman nodded in the rebound after Jalal had parried a shot from Rodgers into his path.
And John McCombe was left with a simple task to head in from point-blank range when a long cross from Louis Dodds bounced over Rodgers.