50 pts or less contracts?

[medalla74]

Pardon my ignorance but, could someone please explain what the advantage is of a contract less than 50pts? I see so many dvc members buying only 25 or 45 pt contracts and I can't understand how those make for a full stay at any of the DVC resorts. What am I not understanding? Please don't flame me because I really just don't understand.

 

[Shenandoah Minnie]

I think there are a few reasons for this:

1) many of these people already have larger contracts and are only looking to add points in small chunks (easier to stomach financially).

2) small contracts are easier to resell because of the demand from #1 above.

3) some people are looking to get an 11-month reservation advantage at a specific resort, but they only plan to go to that resort once every three years; hence, with a small contract they can bank and borrow to have enough points for a stay.

I'm sure there are other reasons, and some of the DIS veterans will point those out, but these are some that I have seen.

 

[jlovesee]

I don't have $16,000 to spend on a full 150 pt contract, but can afford to start small and add on, plus who says it has to be the full trip to start? I can get 3 nights at OKW in a studio every year with 25 pts, and of course I plan to add on later on.

Jennifer

 

[medalla74]

I don't have $16,000 to spend on a full 150 pt contract, but can afford to start small and add on, plus who says it has to be the full trip to start? I can get 3 nights at OKW in a studio every year with 25 pts, and of course I plan to add on later on.

Jennifer

Wow, I didnt know you could get 3 nights at OKW with 25pts. Thanks for enlightening me!

 

[lizziepooh]

That is for a studio room in low season.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Quite frankly I think some folks are trying to dupe the system and buy a very small resale contract only for the benefits like the discounted APs etc. If I could only own 25 points, I'd skip it and decide maybe DVC timeshare ownership wasn't for me. I suppose if you lived in Florida and only wanted to stay in a studio a couple of days a year....maybe, but the value of that kind of escapes me. I keep thinking that Disney will find a way to crack down on the ownership of less than minimum contracts. NOt sure how or if they could do that, but I have to believe it would be a benefit to them to do so.

 

[Dean]

Quite frankly I think some folks are trying to dupe the system and buy a very small resale contract only for the benefits like the discounted APs etc. If I could only own 25 points, I'd skip it and decide maybe DVC timeshare ownership wasn't for me. I suppose if you lived in Florida and only wanted to stay in a studio a couple of days a year....maybe, but the value of that kind of escapes me. I keep thinking that Disney will find a way to crack down on the ownership of less than minimum contracts. NOt sure how or if they could do that, but I have to believe it would be a benefit to them to do so.

They only ways they could crack down would be to stop selling contracts that small and/or to buy them all back regardless of price for ROFR. Legally they couldn't just say you can't buy them or refuse to change over the ownership. I guess they could raise the transfer fee but they I don't think they could make it differential negative to small contacts. I guess they could also change the maint fee structure in such a way to make it more expensive to own per point. Something like separating out a club fee that was the same for everyone as some companies do now.

We do live in FL and one of my main choices in our points downsizing was to add on 25 points and sell everything else. I went back and forth but my first choice was to buy 50-60 points add on. I ended up buying 100 in 25 pt increments due to the cost break. I may dispose of part of those contracts in a few of years moving back to 50 or 75. IF another resort comes on board, I may add on there as well if it strikes me as a value and would likely sell part of what I now own at AKV if that happens. Plus I have every intention of changing the ownership on one of my 25 point add ons to get my adult children on the contract so they get the perks as well.

I think there are other situations where just owning a minimal contract can work out for right person. Maybe someone wants to go once every 3 years, they could get a studio for 5 nights, 6 nights for some options. Or maybe someone has other timeshares and wants to spend a couple of days on property and the rest off. They'd still get the perks. And as I've posted before, there are people who use points just to get 2 days access to a pool such as SAB WHILE they are staying off property and now they use it to get the DDP at times as well.

And lastly, sometimes we throw around terms like "gaming the system" like it's a bad thing or against the rules. The rules are what they are and we each have to figure out how to get the best value for our personal situation. Some will always put more effort or go to a further degree trying to get a better value than others whether it be renting points, owning a small contract, working the 7 months window, changing rooms, trading in to DVC through II, etc. Not everyone bought for the same reasons or usage styles as everyone else

 

[DeeCee735]

My own personal reasons for buying 25 point contracts....

1) already owned a 185 point contract purchased in 2000 at BWV.

2)as time went on and prices kept going higher, and I was able to vacation a few extra nights a year (I want to be there ALL
the time! ) it made sense to us to add on alittle. So we purchased 25 points a few years ago, the total now allowing us to do 6 nights in winter and 3 nights in fall!

3) then I got addonitis again when AKV came about, but instead of buying there (points per night are higher,) we decided to buy where we already own our points - which is our fav resort - again - and add another 25 points.

4) more importantly, we can now leave those two separate smaller contracts one to each child. They'll have to share the usage on the 185 point contract, that's if I'm not still using it when I'm 80

5) now we can stay in a two bedroom for 6 nights, and still have some left over for my 3 night/4 day girlfriends trip! (we got 2006 points so I banked them and if I plan my trips right, I can continue to work this plan out each year!) the two bedroom allows for my kids to bring along friends more easily or us to invite another family!!!!!!

25 point contracts are awesome

 

[medalla74]

Thanks to everyone for helping me understand! We bought 150pts last year and those aren't enough for us and we will need to add on soon(hopefully)! I just couldn't wrap my head around those smaller single contracts but, I get it now.

 

[dianeschlicht]

They only ways they could crack down would be to stop selling contracts that small and/or to buy them all back regardless of price for ROFR. Legally they couldn't just say you can't buy them or refuse to change over the ownership. I guess they could raise the transfer fee but they I don't think they could make it differential negative to small contacts. I guess they could also change the maint fee structure in such a way to make it more expensive to own per point. Something like separating out a club fee that was the same for everyone as some companies do now.

We do live in FL and one of my main choices in our points downsizing was to add on 25 points and sell everything else. I went back and forth but my first choice was to buy 50-60 points add on. I ended up buying 100 in 25 pt increments due to the cost break. I may dispose of part of those contracts in a few of years moving back to 50 or 75. IF another resort comes on board, I may add on there as well if it strikes me as a value and would likely sell part of what I now own at AKV if that happens. Plus I have every intention of changing the ownership on one of my 25 point add ons to get my adult children on the contract so they get the perks as well.

I think there are other situations where just owning a minimal contract can work out for right person. Maybe someone wants to go once every 3 years, they could get a studio for 5 nights, 6 nights for some options. Or maybe someone has other timeshares and wants to spend a couple of days on property and the rest off. They'd still get the perks. And as I've posted before, there are people who use points just to get 2 days access to a pool such as SAB WHILE they are staying off property and now they use it to get the DDP at times as well.

And lastly, sometimes we throw around terms like "gaming the system" like it's a bad thing or against the rules. The rules are what they are and we each have to figure out how to get the best value for our personal situation. Some will always put more effort or go to a further degree trying to get a better value than others whether it be renting points, owning a small contract, working the 7 months window, changing rooms, trading in to DVC through II, etc. Not everyone bought for the same reasons or usage styles as everyone else

I understand that, Dean, but I have to believe Disney isn't all that happy about those types of scenarios. Frankly, I can see owning less than the minimum if you are a Florida resident for the perks alone. BTW, I do agree that "gaming the system" is the way things work in all aspects of life. I didn't mean to sound like I was casting aspersions, I was just thinking out loud about what Disney could or couldn't do if they wanted to.

 

[curan69]

My wife and I go every year and stay at OKW in early December. We have a Five year old and a one year old and the Studios at OKW are HUGE!!

The crowds are'nt bad and the Christmas decorations are up. Nothing gets you more in the mood for Christmas than Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party!!!

We fly in on Sunday and Fly out on Friday. It only costs us 40 points (8 points per nightfor 5 nights)

I actually love coming home from vacation and still having a weekend to relax!!!

 

[jlovesee]

Please don't find this offensive, but I find it hurtful that you would find me less of a DVC member as I ONLY own 25 pts. I own DVC for the same reason almost every else owns it, not for the perks. If they took all the perks away I would still buy the 25 pt contract. (of course I'm going to take advantage of the AP discount I would be stupid if I didn't!) Why should it matter if I own 25 pts or 2500 pts?

It's like saying someone who makes 50,000 a year shouldn't be allowed to go to Disney because they don't make enough money... If you save for it and can afford it, then do it.


Jennifer

 

[curan69]

So lets do some simple math.

If you only have a small contract you can't stay very many nights, and you can't go twice a year.

Like I said. With 40 points we stay for five nights every year in a studio at OKW. I dont think you can stay anywhere for cheaper points than 8 pts per night.

Of course you could stay offsite but if you are going to spend money to stay offsite and then on parking every year you might as well spend the money on more points.

So my point is an Annual pass ( even with the discount) is a waste of money for someone with a small contract. It would be Cheaper to just buy a five day pass. If you were really smart and only used three days a visit, a 10 day (no expiry) would last you three years and is a LOT cheaper than THREE annual passes.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Please don't find this offensive, but I find it hurtful that you would find me less of a DVC member as I ONLY own 25 pts. I own DVC for the same reason almost every else owns it, not for the perks. If they took all the perks away I would still buy the 25 pt contract. (of course I'm going to take advantage of the AP discount I would be stupid if I didn't!) Why should it matter if I own 25 pts or 2500 pts?

It's like saying someone who makes 50,000 a year shouldn't be allowed to go to Disney because they don't make enough money... If you save for it and can afford it, then do it.


Jennifer

If you find that "hurtful", then you probably shouldn't be posting on a message board. Lots of folks here will post OPINIONS like the one of mine you are refering to. They are not meant to be "hurtful", but to express an opinion about a specific topic, which this thread is about. Don't take it personally, because I didn't.

 

[Dean]

I understand that, Dean, but I have to believe Disney isn't all that happy about those types of scenarios. Frankly, I can see owning less than the minimum if you are a Florida resident for the perks alone.

I'm sure they're not thrilled with it. I have talked with DVC corporate about this exact issue and likely have a better feel than most. My impressions is they feel it is a necessary evil but one they're stuck with at this point. Obviously it costs about as much to administer small contracts as larger ones, maybe sometimes more if you're spending a lot of their time trying to squeeze every point. ASAMOF, they seriously considered allowing me to purchase 100 points as an add on under different ownership than my current contracts, likely for this very reason. In the end, they decided to stick to their rules and accept he negatives that go with it, likely the best choice from a corporate standpoint. But the choice was theirs.

BTW, I do agree that "gaming the system" is the way things work in all aspects of life. I didn't mean to sound like I was casting aspersions, I was just thinking out loud about what Disney could or couldn't do if they wanted to.

Not at all and I was doing the same plus injecting my personal knowledge and experiences.

Please don't find this offensive, but I find it hurtful that you would find me less of a DVC member as I ONLY own 25 pts. I own DVC for the same reason almost every else owns it, not for the perks. If they took all the perks away I would still buy the 25 pt contract. (of course I'm going to take advantage of the AP discount I would be stupid if I didn't!) Why should it matter if I own 25 pts or 2500 pts?

It's like saying someone who makes 50,000 a year shouldn't be allowed to go to Disney because they don't make enough money... If you save for it and can afford it, then do it.


Jennifer

Jennifer, I don't think anyone meant it that way. I think they were simply acknowledging that a very small contract is too restrictive for most people and that they are a pain from DVC's standpoint, esp as a stand alone. DVC is the most flexible system I know when it comes to small contract owners though not necessarily for all owners. Most points systems give some advantage to larger points owners, sometimes a huge advantage. That's one of the reasons I find some of these discussions like renting out so amusing. With Bluegreen if you are a Gold member you can get ahead of basic members by a full 2 months and can cancel without penalty up to 10 days out compared to a $50 cancellation fee otherwise. There are other benefits as well for Gold over silver. They obviously do this to encourage people to keep buying to get to either Silver or Gold.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Dean, we nearly purchased Bluegreen a couple years ago. We changed our minds when we found it not to be as flexible as it was first described to us.

 

[Dean]

Dean, we nearly purchased Bluegreen a couple years ago. We changed our minds when we found it not to be as flexible as it was first described to us.

I am enjoying BG so far but would hate to know I was a basic member playing second fiddle to the preferred members.

 

[utahkennedys]

We have really enjoyed our small OKW contract and find it very flexible for our needs. We only use it for the points, have never bought an AP, etc.

We can only go to WDW once a year because DH hates the flight from Salt Lake City to Orlando. We stay offsite when I find great deals, or we have points transferred in depending upon our needs. This can only be done once a year, but that works out great for us also since we only take 1 WDW trip. With banking or borrowing, we actually had extra points this year. This year we are staying 5 nights at DLH on points, and that works out great for us.

The fact is that because DVC chooses to sell add-ons starting at 25 points, ownerships of 25 points + are legitimate. If it works for people, it works, and no one should feel badly about it. I find it funny when I read that people own 1000+ DVC points because frankly I wouldn't have $80k+ tied up in vacation points, but that's me. We recently bought another timeshare for a great price with great flexibility and are happy to trade into the nicer Orlando Marriott's etc and still enjoy or DVC points as well.

Personally, we feel like we got the best of both worlds! It took a lot of research and help from a kind TUGger to get it right finally!

 

[bumbershoot]

Thank you, OP, for not understanding and asking. I had been wondering about it too, only from the other way...wanting to start with 25 points from a resale and build from there. So thank you for letting people reply with their positive experiences, without me having to put myself out there with a question!

 

[medalla74]

Thank you, OP, for not understanding and asking. I had been wondering about it too, only from the other way...wanting to start with 25 points from a resale and build from there. So thank you for letting people reply with their positive experiences, without me having to put myself out there with a question!

Oh my goodness!!!!! I think I should have lurked a little bit longer or searched for an answer . I really didn't mean to offend anyone or start any trouble...It's just that this board is so very helpful and and my fellow Disney fanatics always seem to have the right answers. So, you're welcome..I think