Tentative DVC purchase plan - thoughts?

[kool_kat]

Hi all,

I've been looking / dreaming of purchasing DVC for the last couple of years. I currently own 2 Hilton timeshares and have previously exchanged into DVC (Bay Lake, Beach Club, & Saratoga Springs), but now with it much harder to trade I think I would like to purchase.

Here's my tentative plan - purchase 50 points on resale for BLT. My bil/sil own there and I like the location so that's where I would like to buy.

I would like to have points to go about every 3 years and as it is just me & my husband I can get a studio in the slow time (when I like to go) for that amount of point by banking prior year and borrowing from next year.

I would then attempt to buy 25 points to BLT from Disney which would get me the discount perks. That way I would have 75 points that I could use to up to a 1 bedroom or studio in a busier time via borrowing / banking.

Does that sound like a plan that would work? Any errors or things I am missing? I know I don't get the various perks for resale and that's fine - I'm only interested in using these for Disney bookings.

Also, if I have two different points at BLT (1 resale & 1 direct) can I still use those together to book during the home resort window?

Thanks in advance!

 

[bnoble]

Think carefully about that 25 point purchase. How long would it take you to recover the extra costs vs. just buying 75ish points resale? This can get you two ways---the direct cost on the 25 points and the "small contract" premium on the resale market for something only 50 points. You aren't going to go often enough for the AP discounts to kick in, and that's really the only "Member" perk worth having, IMO. So if I were you, I'd do the whole thing resale.

 

[vacationhopeful]

I own 90 DVC points ... brought resale but before the "reduction" in benefits.

I agree with bnoble ... Disney has a well thought out marketing plan. I really would suspect you would have to buy WAY MORE direct DVC points. You should buy DVC first and ADD resale later ... they will deal more (IMHO) to set the HOOK verses GIVING you "Owner's Benefits".

PS ... Vero Beach points are cheaper on the resale market (and perhaps the direct market?)... no Orlando advanced booking... (the other non-Orlando resort is Hilton Head)

 

[elaine]

I really would suspect you would have to be WAY MORE direct DVC points.

nope--not the way DVC is now. 25 direct add-on points will do it. We have 35 VC HHI points and booked DVC members cruise for 5 persons on cash, DVC AP, etc. I would do as you propose if you want the perks. Or buy 75 points resale and forget about the perks.

 

[chalee94]

PS ... Vero Beach points are cheaper on the resale market (and perhaps the direct market?)... no Orlando advanced booking... (the other non-Orlando resort is Hilton Head)

I would not buy offsite at VB or HHI in general (primarily due to annual dues), and especially if BLT is the desired resort for booking.

I would not buy for every-third-year use, as there will likely be pts left over that you can't use that will go to waste - and if you have to cancel, it will be a mess to get any value from that trip (banked and borrowed pts cannot be moved again and would expire at the end of that UY - and current UY pts could only be moved forward one UY and rebooking may be very difficult on short notice).

The OP should also be aware that busy times for the parks are not the same as busy periods for DVC bookings - for one example, early Dec is PEAK season for DVC bookings - so booking at 11 months out might not get you a standard room at BLT - but early Dec is still not that busy at the parks.

Unless you get multiple annual passes for WDW, it will take you decades to make up the extra cost of a direct contract on dining discounts and such. Resale is better for most...

 

[elaine]

I would not buy for every-third-year use, as there will likely be pts left over that you can't use that will go to waste - and if you have to cancel, it will be a mess to get any value from that trip

concur. If you don't anticipate at least EOY usage, it's probably best to just rent. I routinely lose a small number of points here and there--5 one year, maybe 11 this year. Not a big deal in the scheme of things, but it does add up over time. OTOH, if you want the special feeling from owning DVC (I get it-I started with a 50 point contract), then just buy resale for what you need. Unless you need the bigger space, staying a few nights in a studio is cost effective to own dvc, imho, no trade fee and no rci fee-so that's $400 to put towards dvc annual fee. But the risk of canx and the hassle of renting out at the last minute or lose your points should be considered.
2 contract at BLT can be used together if they have the same UY. If different, then you have to transfer the points into the other account or have separate reservations--this can matter. For ex, if studio is 15 points and you have 50 points, you can book 45 points and then have 5 points leftover. For a 25 point contract, you don't have enough to book 2 nights (30 points). But, if they were the same UY, you could use the 5 extra points with the other contract to get another night.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I think your plan is a good one. If you have plans to buy the 25 points from Disney for discounts only, consider how many years of AP discounts you would need to receive to recover the difference between resale and developer. And when your kids are grown and gone, are they going to benefit from that? Probably not, because they aren't going to be in your household anymore.

I personally would buy more points than you are buying because I don't think it's that hard to use Disney points, and I rent quite a few of ours. We have three grown kids and four grandkids and use a lot of points when we go to Disney.

The resale product I want to buy is VGC. It's very tough to get into VGC at 7 months.

Wouldn't buy VG or HH either. Fees are too high.

 

[bnoble]

consider how many years of AP discounts you would need

OP wants to go once every three years. An annual pass makes no sense.

 

[Koala2016]

Have you called DVC or looked into how much it would cost to buy BLT direct and how hard it is to get them? I have no idea, but I'm trying to add on a few to VGC and it's nearly impossible there, so just a thought about checking into it. Also, 50 point contracts tend to sell for a premium on the resale market, so you might end up being able to get even more points for not much more money because the larger contract supply.

 

[littlestar]

I am with the others who have stated the only real value of a direct purchase is the annual pass discount. And since you only plan on going every three years, the annual pass discount is a moot point. I would buy all the points you need resale.

 

[ljmiii]

Your original post is unclear on how you intend to use your Hilton timeshares moving forward. In short, do you see your week at BLT as your one trip to Disney World every three years or are you intending to visit Disney World multiple times every 3rd year using HGVC (and/or cash) with just one of those visits at BLT? If your week at BLT is your one stay in a year, an Annual Pass is probably not worth buying. But if you anticipate (say) three weeks at Disney that year, then an AP with free parking, dining discounts, and (perhaps) Tables in Wonderland is completely worthwhile.

Depending on how seriously you have been "looking/dreaming" you may not realize that resale contracts below 100 points are relatively uncommon and usually carry a higher price/point than larger ones. I just looked at the DVC resale site at which I bought my DVC contracts and they only have two 50 point contracts available - but both are at BLT.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Disney's inventory for 'old' properties is limited. When I looked about a year and a half ago, DVC didn't have any BCV to sell me and couldn't do more than a 25 point add-on at BLT. Since you are looking to bank AND borrow to book your vacation it is important that your resale contract and your DVC direct add-on be the same use year (same month). If you do move forward with your 50/25 point plan, you should be in contact with a DVC rep about making sure they will sell you a matching use year add-on contract as you negotiate your resale purchase.

Lastly, given the asking price of that 50 point BLT resale contract - $154/pt - vs $185 direct from DVC you are looking at a less than $1,000 difference to buy those 25 points direct. And it isn't as if there are any 75 point BLT contracts out there anyway.

In summary, if you ARE looking to visit Disney World more than once that 3rd year then your 50/25 plan makes a great deal of sense. And even if you don't...it isn't a whole lot more to pay to feel secure that you are a 'real' DVC member (and get those DVC discounts).