Is it better to split points I buy between two resorts?
 

We are considering the purchase of 500 points...should we keep them all at BLT or split them between BLT and WV so we have "home" advantages for booking? Thanks! :thanks:

I would buy them all at SSR. Lowest cost points and second lowest MFs among WDW resorts. But it depends on what type of room, what time of year, and what resort you plan to stay in. If your choices are not typically in high demand, there isn't much reason to pay out the extra money for the early booking advantage.

Personally, I would buy points at the resort I wouldn't mind staying at if I couldn't change to anything else at seven months out. Then you are assured of a favorite place to stay. If you aren't crazy about your "bargain", you won't be happy with your stay. It is getting harder and harder to book at seven months out with all the things Disney is adding to their calendar.

I like SSR and would stay there any time. But not everyone feels that way.

Daisy, make sure you investigate resales as well as purchasing direct from Disney. You can save a bunch of money by buying resale.

This is where the resort, room, and time of year preferences I mentioned come in. If you want something that is hard to reserve more than 7 months out, that would make a difference. It is worth figuring out if this is the case, to make sure you don't waste money securing early booking rights that aren't necessary.

if you buy direct, and decide on all at one resort, I would make it 2 - 250 point contracts or even 4 - 125 point contracts. That way if you ever need to sell some points or leave them in your will to your children or friends you can split them up. A contract can not be split and sold later. Also smaller contracts are easier to sell. Be sure to check resales, you can save up to 50% or more on the purchase price.

I would take the time to learn more about the resorts and which ones you really like. Knowing your preferences in this area will help your decision making on where to buy. I will say that 500 points is a lot, so splitting them up into two contracts (whether it be the same resort or two different ones) would be a good idea should you ever choose to sell them. Personally I don't think you could go wrong with two different home resorts. If you like the Epcot area at all I would strongly consider purchasing there. It is getting harder and harder to book an Epcot resort. Good luck!

In our 15 years of DVC, those times, villas, etc have changed. That's why I alway suggest buying at the place you love.

Great advice!

OP: If you don't mind, I'm curious why you feel you need 500 points? That's a lot more points than most of us own, especially as a first contract. If possible, consider starting with 250 points or less and take a trip or two so you can check out a few resorts as ELMC suggests. Then add on once you have a better idea which resort(s) you prefer.

Some people are happy purchasing SSR and rolling the dice at 7 months out. DH and I prefer to own where we want to stay. We book at 11 months with no worries and no waitlisting. This is especially important to us for our Food & Wine trips. We want to be at BWV for easy access to Epcot and either want a Boardwalk View room or a longer stay in a Standard View room. It would be difficult (maybe even impossible) to get either of those 7 months out at that time of year.

In addition to Disney creating demand for previously slow times by creating events like the Food & Wine Festival, there are two other factors to consider. One is that they keep building more resorts so there are more members competing at 7 months. The other is that the ownership gets a bit skewed at some resorts. For example, many DVC members booking 7 months out got tired of being shut out of the Epcot resorts for F&W so they bought add-ons there specifically for use in late Sept, Oct and early Nov. It increased competition at 11 months and leaves even less to be booked at 7 months. The same thing has occurred to some degree at AKV where people bought add-ons because of the Concierge Level rooms there and at VWL because people like staying there from early December through the holidays.

I agree
I would make it 4-125 point contracts if you are really set on buying direct.

***I would consider resale**

Also I would only buy--2 --125 or even 2--100 point contracts to get your ears wet.
You can always add on later.

Buy at a Home resort that you wouldn't mind staying at if DVC ever limited owners
to home resort stays.

Hugs Mel

just be clear that at 11 months out, you would have 2 separate contracts...so if you bought 50 BLT pts and 450 VWL pts and wanted to book BLT at 11 months out, you'd only have access to the 50 BLT pts.

you would only be able to mix pts at the 7 month window.

So if I'm understanding this correctly...If I am to buy at two resorts I can only reserve for the number of nights (points that are available or that I can borrow against for each resort) 11 months ahead... and yes I know 500 is alot of points but we plan on splitting them (we have three separate contracts of 170 for the 510 we are buying) and giving them to our three children in the next few years...Until then we plan on inviting friends and family along who would not be able to stay at a Disney resort. Thanks for all the feedback!!! ;)

Correct. If you have 250 BLT points and 250 BCV points, then you could use up to 750 points at each resort (current, banked and borrowed) at the 11 month mark. But remember you cannot combine points from different resorts until seven months out and banking and borrowing are final transactions.

Yes, the "home resort window" (11 months to 7 months plus one day from check-in) should be called the "home resort POINTS window" because only BLT points can be used to book BLT, only SSR points can be used to book SSR, etc. They can be your own points (current UY, banked, borrowed) or they can be points you transferred into your account from another member who does own there. For example, I don't own any BLT points but I could book there 11 months from check-in if I had BLT points transferred into my account from a BLT owner.

If you are booking 7 months or less from check-in, points from any resort can be used to book any DVC resort.