150 Points - Is that enough ?

[Rascal1003]

Just wondering what the feeling was amongst other DVCers.
Like many, I am sure, we only signed up for the 150 point package and now I am wondering if that was enough ?

Has anyone been back, cap in hand to purchase additional points or do you just trade for the extras ?

If you have increased your points allowance, how much did it cost ?

Many thanks.
Russ
DVC Novice !

 

[pmcpmc]

increase your points by buying small contracts with the same use year

 

[LeCras]

I think the amount of points you "need" will depend on a few different things. Are you planning on going every year? For how long? What type of accommodation will you be staying in? Which resort?

We added on before we had even set foot at SSR for the first time! We now own 450 points, split into three contracts of 160, 160 and 130 (all with August use year). This means that we can stay for 12 nights in a 1BR every year which is what we wanted.

Good luck with your decision and WELCOME HOME!!

Charlotte

 

[Bexx]

No need to go cap in hand - just ring your guide and say proudly that you want to do an add on!! If you buy direct from Disney, you just pay the current price per point and no extra costs. So you don't make any savings by buying a one bigger contract rather than several small ones, unlike resale, where you have to pay closing costs on each contract.

So if you're buying SSR (?) you can either play it safe and add on a bit at a time or, if you want to buy more, see what incentives Disney are offering at the moment.

 

[Miffy2003]

It really depends! We have 150 at SSR and with a little borrowing / banking / weekend finangling I can get a studio for nearly 3 weeks 2 years out of three. That will do me for now (though I would not rule out more points, I would buy them at a different resort to give me added flexibility - and I don't want to commit myself to where I buy them until I have tried a couple more DVC resorts out)

I would see how you go for now, but DVC will be thrilled if you want to buy more points

 

[mark&sue]

I think it is harder for us in the UK on the lower amount of points because we tend to go for a full two week holiday. In US they tend to go for a much smaller break and can avoid weekends.

We got 400 points originally and have added another 120 when they had an incentive. It was easily done and the fed ex package came immediately.

We possibly have too much points but we like to take friends with us and have used points at Disneyland Paris this year and have booked an exchange to Devon.

I am sure you will be fine.


Susan

 

[Hilary]

We started with 150 points specifically because we knew we could always add on if we felt we needed to - we felt we'd rather do it that way than possibly buy too many at the outset (LOL! I can't see that being a problem, somehow, but we do have to watch the annual dues).

We added on a further 25 points (the minimum add on through DVC) when we took extended family with us one year and, as well as helping us out that year, it added just an extra 'cushion' for future years. We always seem to be borrowing points, but I don't think we'll be adding on any more unless I win the lottery Next year will probably see us taking a year out from WDW, so perhaps we'll catch up with our borrowed points for the following year.

 

[mikki.young]

We bought 300 points thinking we could do a week in a studio and a week in a one bed. By the next year we added on 60 points so we could do 2 weeks in a one bed. A few years ago we bought a resale to add another 190 points. The problem is you have such fun there you keep wanting to go and have to add points!

 

[TinkTatoo]

I think it is harder for us in the UK on the lower amount of points because we tend to go for a full two week holiday. In US they tend to go for a much smaller break and can avoid weekends.......

I agree. We bought a 78 point resale contract then quickly bought another 150 point one with 150 banked points - this was great until we used the banked points to stay in a 2 bed and now we are spoilt. Our plans of using our points for a 1 bed have gone out the window and we have booked another 2 bed for next year We also added on 32 points with Disney so we now have 260 points in total. I can see us adding on some more in the future.

See how your first vacation works out then decide if you want / need anymore points

 

[MrsJobba1]

We started off in 1999 buying 250 points @BWV.
We were able to go every year in a studio or what we tended to do was go every 2 years and have a disney cruise (3/4 nights) and studio.

In Aug we added on 120 points at SSR.

This means next summer we are able to do the holiday I always dreamed of

2 nights@ a studio SSR
7 night Disney Cruise (Western)
5 nights SSR in a 1 bedroom .

Having 370 points now it also means that we can make use of world passport options (160 points for 1 week) more easily.

 

[jjpenguin]

We had to buy a resale, which was 220 points, we figured it would be enough.

But having stayed in a 1 br we're spoilt... even DH said we must buy more points when we have the cash!!

I'm already keeping an eye on the resales... but of course there are always the annual dues to worry about. Having said that, 5 years down the line we've reached the break even point and will now be vacationing on annual dues.

It's good fun to make an overview of how much your accomodations would have cost you paying the rack rate!!

 

[traycie2201]

Hi , I just wanted to let you know that you can have great holidays on 150 points you just have to work things out carefully and plan, some people stay off site weekends and use their points to get bigger apts during the week, we've managed to go for at least 2 weeks every time and had a few days in disney paris too, don't forget if you want a special trip or big accomodation you can carry forward a year and borrow a year so in effect you could have 450 points for a trip, bear in mind you wouldn't be able to go every year if you do that, we have had a week in an apt at boardwalk combined with a week in a studio at wilderness lodge , then another year a week in a studio boardwalk and a week on disney cruise, this year we are doing a week in boardwalk studio, 4 nightss okw and 2 nights vero beach, we like to try a few different places to know where we want to stay next, also each resort is different, we have had wonderful holidays with our points and no regrets,well that is until feb when annual dues are up Have fun

 

[crux]

We bought 150 points at VWL and worked out that we could stay 14 nights in a studio two out of every three years. Then we wondered where we'd go for the third year , so I started calculating how far we could stretch the points by only staying 12 or 13 nights and saving 'weekend points'.

In the end we just bought an add-on of 72 points at BCV so with banking and borrowing we can now go 14 nights in a studio every year. We do one year at BCV and then two years at VWL.

I think with all the banking and borrowing at VWL, we also get an extra 7 days worth of points every 10 years

 

[Lisa1976]

We have only just bought, our first trip home will be SSR in January. We only bought 150 and like othes have said we will borrow and bank etc to get what we want, I dont think we will use points for Disney in Paris as the amounts they want are extortionate, in June 3 nights is all our 150 points, thats just silly, but we are definately going to try California and the exchange.

Another reason we only bought 150 points is because of the yearly dues, 150 points is around £330 a year so anymore would push our budget quite a bit.