2nd Contract Advantages

[sagosto]

I currently have 200 points @ Riviera UY 10/1. The boss is interested in a GF purchase to give more flexibility with booking with having a 2nd home resort. Can someone point me in the right direction for resources that I can read up on regarding the advantages for buying a 2nd contract? Or are there no real advantages (e.g. it's just a 2nd contract and cannot be combined/etc.)

 

[zavandor]

If the second contract has the same UY and it's titled exaclty the same, then it will go under the same membership and the two contracts can be easily combined for reservations at 7 months.
If it's a different UY, then it's a separate membership, so to combine the points at 7 months you have to transfer them first. This is the major inconvenience. A small advantage is that the second membership has 2 more waitlists. Having two UY can be advantageous if you take trips at different times. So for example, you could use a September UY for trips in the fall and the contract with a February UY for trips in the spring. So in case you need to cancel a trip you always have months to reschedule and avoid losing the points.

Remember, whatever you decide, points keep their own resort priority. If you own 200 RIV points and 200 BLT points, you can NOT use the BLT points to book RIV at 11 months and viceversa.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I currently have 200 points @ Riviera UY 10/1. The boss is interested in a GF purchase to give more flexibility with booking with having a 2nd home resort. Can someone point me in the right direction for resources that I can read up on regarding the advantages for buying a 2nd contract? Or are there no real advantages (e.g. it's just a 2nd contract and cannot be combined/etc.)

Just to be clear, even if you bought Riviera October UY again, it would still be a second contract.

Same resort, same UY: One login, one member number, two contracts, points can be combined seamlessly.

Different resort, same UY: One login, one member number, two contracts, points can be combined at the 7 month window.

Same resort, different UY: One login, two member numbers, two contracts, points can be combined at the 11 month window but must be transferred between memberships, which you can only do once per year.

Different resort, different UY: One login, two member numbers, two contracts, points can be combined at the 7 month window but must be transferred between memberships, which you can only do once per year.

Long story short, if you're adding on a small amount of points and will need to combine your contracts to book trips, go with the same resort and Use Year. Only buy a different resort and/or Use Year if each contract on its own will be big enough to book its own trips.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

You should now qualify for the better “existing owner” incentives as it’s your second contract.

 

[RoseGold]

What exactly is your question?

You can either put the new contract in your existing membership or not, by changing UY. I have two UYs and use my four waitlists all the time. I travel twice a year, so two UYs are useful to me.

As for combining points in one membership number (same UY), you can combine at 7 months, but there are some limitations. 7+ reservations have to have home points. Resale points can't book RIV at all. That could make a RIV+resale contract weird if you are just trying to book RIV, but work fine for O!4 resorts.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

What exactly is your question?

You can either put the new contract in your existing membership or not, by changing UY. I have two UYs and use my four waitlists all the time. I travel twice a year, so two UYs are useful to me.

As for combining points in one membership number (same UY), you can combine at 7 months, but there are some limitations. 7+ reservations have to have home points. Resale points can't book RIV at all. That could make a RIV+resale contract weird if you are just trying to book RIV, but work fine for O!4 resorts.

I think what he was getting at is the classic... "If I have 200 Riviera points and 50 VGF points, can I use 250 points at VGF since VGF is now one of my home resorts? Do I now have access to both resorts at the 11 month window?"

 

[Cyberc1978]

Same resort, different UY: One login, two member numbers, two contracts, points can be combined at the 11 month window but must be transferred between memberships, which you can only do once per year.

Different resort, different UY: One login, two member numbers, two contracts, points can be combined at the 7 month window but must be transferred between memberships, which you can only do once per year.

Not entirely true. Its per UY not calendar year. When/if you transfer points between your own contracts you are allowed to make multiple transfers. If a strangers transfer points to you or you transfer points to the stranger then its one time per UY.

 

[RoseGold]

Not entirely true. Its per UY not calendar year. When/if you transfer points between your own contracts you are allowed to make multiple transfers. If a strangers transfer points to you or you transfer points to the stranger then its one time per UY.

Maybe. That's the rule for now, assuming what you think is you is what they think is you. Is the contract with you and your mom still you?

And they can change that rule at will.

 

[Sandisw]

Maybe. That's the rule for now, assuming what you think is you is what they think is you. Is the contract with you and your mom still you?

And they can change that rule at will.

I can say that they currently will transfer points from one membership to another as long as some of the owners are the same.

They transferred my 5 banked points from my Dec UY..owned by DH and myself to my Aug UY owned by us and or kids

So, currently, they are not only transferring more than once when it’s the same owner, they even transfer banked points

But, you are correct that the rules regarding transfers can always change..

 

[sagosto]

I am not really sure what my questions are at this point as I am still new to DVC and honestly, I still have issues wrapping my head around points/usage/etc. I was hoping to find resources so I can read up to have more educated questions rather than wasting everyone's time. However, I greatly appreciate the help.

With that said, DVC decides the UY correct? To transfer points, do you have to call in and wait hours for a CM to assist? I guess if you want to make a quick booking you are at a disadvantage because you don't have the points readily available.

The 7th month window sounds good on paper but it seems to just be leftover scraps such as spending more points for rooms I don't want -- This makes the advantage of combining points moot to me.

"You should now qualify for the better “existing owner” incentives as it’s your second contract." What is this?

 

[D-Trick]

With that said, DVC decides the UY correct?

Yes and no. When a prospective buyer is completely new to the game, Disney Vacation Development (DVD) will push or simply sell you whichever UY they want. This could be the most recent UY month, or they can run a promotion* which gives you a future month UY-- often marketed as "double" points. *Not so much a promotion, but is something you should learn more about once you're more versed in DVC.

Those that are more knowledgeable in the system can request a certain UY, but there is never a guarantee they will sell it to you.

When an existing owner wants to buy additional points, it is automatically your existing UY unless you specifically request another, in which the minimum is 150.

"You should now qualify for the better “existing owner” incentives as it’s your second contract." What is this?

Existing owners have a different pricing chart for add ons.

Example.

 

[RichVIII]

One thing to add, we recently added another small contract (same UY) earlier this year at a different resort. The challenge I am finding with a small contract at a new resort is figuring out how to maximize it. Do I bank them and borrow them to get a decent stay? Do I end up using them to supplement my larger contracts at 7 mo? I am finding it harder than I expected. It has lead me to want either more points at that new resort or more think of them as sleep-around points.

 

[CarolynFH]

I was hoping to find resources so I can read up to have more educated questions rather than wasting everyone's time.

There are some good resources in the sticky threads at the top of these DVC boards - https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-dvc-resource-center-updated-december-2021.3655476/. It's a lot to read, so take it slowly, and then feel free to ask here for clarifications when you're not certain you understand!

One of the most commonly recommended threads for newbies is the Understanding Use Year thread, found here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/understanding-use-year-updated-february-10-2021.1942668/.

 

[CarolynFH]

Another good resource is here: https://dvcnews.com/dvc-program.

 

[buzzrelly]

I currently have 200 points @ Riviera UY 10/1. The boss is interested in a GF purchase to give more flexibility with booking with having a 2nd home resort. Can someone point me in the right direction for resources that I can read up on regarding the advantages for buying a 2nd contract? Or are there no real advantages (e.g. it's just a 2nd contract and cannot be combined/etc.)

It sounds like you are just getting your feet wet with DVC. I'd sit tight and use what you already have before adding on. You don't really know enough at this point to know what UY works best or how many points you need. You may decide you don't need any more, or you may want to add on at your current home, but this will all become more clear the longer you are a member.

In the meantime, follow these boards as well as doing some more research on your own...YouTube creators are posting a lot more about the ins and out of DVC.

Being a DVC owner is a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

I am not really sure what my questions are at this point as I am still new to DVC and honestly, I still have issues wrapping my head around points/usage/etc. I was hoping to find resources so I can read up to have more educated questions rather than wasting everyone's time. However, I greatly appreciate the help.

With that said, DVC decides the UY correct? To transfer points, do you have to call in and wait hours for a CM to assist? I guess if you want to make a quick booking you are at a disadvantage because you don't have the points readily available.

The 7th month window sounds good on paper but it seems to just be leftover scraps such as spending more points for rooms I don't want -- This makes the advantage of combining points moot to me.

"You should now qualify for the better “existing owner” incentives as it’s your second contract." What is this?

The incentives for current owners and new purchasers differ when you buy more points from Disney direct. Incentives for current owners tend to be better.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

Second contract same use year at a different resort canNot be combined in the 11 month window. The points can be combined in the 7 month window to use at any resort. If you own 200 RIV and buy 100 VGF - 11 month window you can book RIV with 200 points and VGF with 100 points. In the 7 month window you can use them anywhere together.

Second contract different use year is a separate membership. those points cannot be combined in the 7 month window unless you transfer between your contracts - but this also gets tricky because you cannot transfer banked points. so if you have banked points that you want to use in the 7 month window from february use year, but also have banked points from august use year, you cannot transfer to combine those points.

 

[NVDISFamily]

Long story short, if you're adding on a small amount of points and will need to combine your contracts to book trips, go with the same resort and Use Year. Only buy a different resort and/or Use Year if each contract on its own will be big enough to book its own trips.

Great wisdom here. I'd recommend to the OP to not buy another resort unless your points at Riviera are more than enough to meet your needs and also adapt to any changes you see in your future use of the program.

My family is kind of in a weird spot as we currently are low in the points we need at one of our resorts and it makes planning the trips a bit weird until we can buy a few more points at that resort. We can make up for it using points from another contract at 7 months, but the wait/suspense is no fun.

 

[sagosto]

Sorry for delay with responding. My 200 point direct RIV was supposed to be enough, but the boss loves the 1BR instead of the studio. I COULD add on more RIV but I am debating GF/Poly to give me some variation and allow me to accumulate enough points for our typical 8-10 day stay (every 2 years I guess?). I guess this goes back to direct vs. resale but GFV is having a sale.

 

[RichVIII]

If budget is not an issue, buy more where you wan to book the 1BRs. I am finding having more points at one resort gives me much more flexibility at our home resort. IF at 7 months, we want to switch and their is availability we can. I now dream of some day booking a Grand Villa. A lot hard to do at 7 months with all our points than to be able to book it (with banking and borrowing of course) with the points and not have to worry.