AKL DVC Direct vs Resale

[Eldon32]

Hello!

I'm new to DVC, but have watched a lot of the DVC show and have been stalking this board for a while. I've amassed some questions on deciding to buy retail vs resale when it comes to DVC, but have decided on the following:

*AKV is the resort my wife and I want to stay at, mostly because we love the animals and the noise is almost non-existent at night. Last year we stayed at BDR and the water parade messed with our sleep cycle; we're normally in bed by 9PM.
*We want to travel in the fall; most commonly the weeks leading up into Christmas - so we've decided and October contract would be best which allows us to bank right before hurricane season and allows us to schedule starting right after it ends.
*Historically, we have stayed the week or two before Christmas and would enjoy staying in the 1BR Savana view which is 223 points for the week (Sat-Sat).
*160-200 points seems most reasonable; on the lower end is likely better for us so we can shave a few days or skip every 2-3 years to go to Universal without having to rent if we didn't want to.

I have a few questions:

1. I've noticed the AKL prices are going between $100-$130 per point; with the higher end in the sub 75-sized contract and the lower end with larger contracts - but also with many of them a few weeks ago. There seems to be a dive in availability that is *recently* messing with the pricing. If I look at resale pricing at lets say $110 a point for a 160 contract, and the cost from Disney direct is $176 a point - that's a $66 a point up-charge. If I buy a 100 point contract from them, then it's $6600 more but you get to enjoy the discounts on the AP (we could purchase the Gold pass for instance), the food discounts (we spend about $700-1000/week). If I consider the platinum renewal price vs the gold renewal price for the both of us, plus $70 a year in food savings I get $878 savings which would be a little over a 7 year return. All this assumes they keep this program; could someone poke a hole in my logic here?

2. Would DVC direct allow me to purchase the 100 points as two 50 point contracts? I would plan on buying a resale one after the 100 initial points direct, anyway to make up the difference.

3. Would DVC direct offer to deed a guaranteed week for the 10% uplift?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Cyberc1978]

1 if you buy 100 points direct you are eligible for the perks. Have in mind rumors has it that to be eligible For perks you have to buy 125 points as of 10/01.

2. yes you can buy 2x50 points contracts and still be eligible. However I can’t remember what the minimum buy of points is for new members. If minimum is 75 for new members then one contract have to be 75. Add on could be as low as 25 but you need to be a member already.

3. DVC don’t have guaranteed weeks at AKV.

 

[Eldon32]

From what I understand 100 points is current, and I heard 125 was maybe coming; but hadn't heard a date yet. Thank you for your information!

 

[jccarney]

I believe direct purchase price is $186 per point for AKL. You may also want to look at the cost of the Platinum pass versus just buying park tickets if you are only staying a week. I believe you need about 10 park days to break even on the AP. Gold probably won’t work for you depending on the black out dates and your travel dates.

 

[Ruttangel]

If you are not coming more than once a year then the AP may be unnecessary

I understand resale can still purchase tables in wonderland if that would save you any money

 

[Eldon32]

You're right. But, I figured we would shift a week or two and potentially not renew every other year to take full advantage of the AP.

 

[Best Aunt]

Pre-covid, I would have purchased memory maker. When deciding whether to buy an AP, I looked at the cost of park tickets + Memory Maker versus cost of AP.

While they are no longer doing character meets, and masks are required, I probably would skip Memory Maker.

(If you have an AP it includes Photopass downloads so you don’t have to pay for Memory Maker.)

 

[Brett Wyman]

We paid $106 resale for AKV. Is the discounted AP pass and the ability to book at the Riviera(and future new properties) worth $70-80 more a point to you? To some it may be. To us it definitely was not.

 

[RoseGold]

There are no APs right now, and there is no DVC AP discount. $6,600 is a lot of money for something that may or may not exist anymore.

Sounds like you could stagger your trips to only need one AP in two years, which would also make it not worth much. I’m not sure why you are buying a blue card at all.

The demand for AKL (and Beach Club!) in lockdown has been staggering. Pre-covid there were tons of listings on multiple brokers, and there were deals to be had if you were watching. I would wait. DVC is not going anywhere, direct or resale. I bet you can pick up a cheaper, loaded contract 6 months down the line.

 

[igrsod]

Just in reading your travel habits, I don't think the "perks" of having a direct contract would be worth it. We travel similarly to you, and we settled on a resale AKL contract for 100 points... thinking we would go every 18 months... no such luck, lol. We purchased another add on contract at SSR of 42 points to allow us to go every year. I don't regret buying resale at all. I have never been upset with not having that blue card. It doesn't affect the enjoyment of our vacation. The perks are never guaranteed and truly are overpriced.

 

[DVCsloth]

I would consider direct first, you can always add on resale later. This way you have a Blue Card as long as you close before they increase to 125 points. You will be able to use your points at all the resorts and don't need to hassle with any restrictions. No one knows what if any restrictions are coming in the future and over the long run 5 or 6 thousand is not worth the hassle to me especially coming in as a new owner. I bought resale first before the Blue Card restrictions and added a small contract direct, it was more expensive but it was easy and I received the current years points just before my use year so the dues were almost $0. They also let me split it into 3 payments on my CC. Good luck on however you choose. I have never regretted buying and have another trip coming next week and I am actually using some of my VGF points to try out Riviera for the first time! 3 nights in a standard studio which I dont think will be available very often if you dont own there under normal cicumstances. Then onto my other Home resort CCV 4 nights in a 1 bedroom.

 

[Matty B13]

If you buy direct right now for an October UY, you would get the 2019 points and the 2021 points to use, and only pay prorated 2020 UY dues.

Also, since you want a 1 bedroom savanna view in December, I don't think you will need a guaranteed week, just make sure to book your reservation at the 11 month mark. 1 bedrooms are usually the last to go.

Since direct pricing and resale prices are pretty close, it might be advantages to go direct for the gold AP, and stagger your December trips to get 2 trips out of and AP, say go in week 52 one year and then the next year go in week 50/51.

 

[CarolMN]

Since direct pricing and resale prices are pretty close, it might be advantages to go direct for the gold AP, and stagger your December trips to get 2 trips out of and AP, say go in week 52 one year and then the next year go in week 50/51.

Gold AP is blocked out most days of weeks 51 & 52.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

There is no guarantee that the AP discount will exist after this fiasco. If it does, I suspect it will not be as generous. I would buy resale. In a couple of years, see if you really want direct. Either add on or sell the resale and buy direct.

 

[poofyo101]

IF they get rid of the AP discount, what would be their main selling point to try to close the gap between resale?
Of course people will still buy direct but that is by far the biggest perk.

 

[drusba]

@Eldron32, your post indicates a good understanding of DVC sales and options. The current price for AKV from Disney is $176 a point with a minimum purchase of 100 points, and, as noted, you may soon need a minimum of 125 points rather than 100 purchased from Disney to qualify for extra benefits.

Be aware that the time period you mention as a usual time for going, a week to two before Christmas is an extremely high DVC demand time and thus being able to make reservations 11-months out can be important. (Traditionally, late Sep to marathon weekend in Jan has been the high DVC demand time at WDW, and the rest of the year moderate to low in comparison.) Also, though you mention getting savanna view, if you have any thoughts of usually getting value or club level rooms, forget it. Those rooms very often book full within nanoseconds after the 11-month window opens at 8:00 a.m. eastern at 11-months out from any given arrival date.

Be aware of point shifting. The point charts you see can be changed due to seasonal demand changes, by DVC's raising points needed during some times of the year and lowering them an equal amount during other times of the year. Such a change has occurred recently for the 2021 point charts you see now, aimed at raising points in the high DVC demand season and lowering them during other seasons with less demand, e.g., if you compare the savanna 1BR points for first two weeks of Dec in the 2020 point chart to what they are now for 2021, you will see a point increase of 14 points per week. Many of us suspect that a second such shift is coming, although maybe not as soon as 2022. In any event, you should not be surprised to see those Dec points go up again at some point. Thus, the total weekly point cost you are looking at now for time during the first three weeks of Dec could rise by a fairly significant amount (DVC can change points for any given night, higher or lower, by up to 20% in any given year, although the next change will likely be less than thate). Bottom line: in purchasing, you should not assume that 223 points a week for a 1BR savanna view will remain that low for time during first three weeks of Dec.

 

[striker1064]

IF they get rid of the AP discount, what would be their main selling point to try to close the gap between resale?
Of course people will still buy direct but that is by far the biggest perk.

Probably the allure of being a direct purchaser and being "in the club." It's stronger than you think. The AP discount hasn't been around forever and I personally do not think it makes sense in most use cases, yet people still buy direct anyway.

 

[sethschroeder]

Probably the allure of being a direct purchaser and being "in the club." It's stronger than you think. The AP discount hasn't been around forever and I personally do not think it makes sense in most use cases, yet people still buy direct anyway.

Thought there has always been ticket discounts since the start when they gave away free APs. Thought there were length of stay discounted tickets.

 

[Lorana]

Personally, I would go direct despite the higher cost, if you can afford it and plan to hold DVC for the long haul. There’s an incentive now if you buy by 9/16. Direct is $186/point. At 150 points for a NEW owner, that drops to $181/point. At 200, to $178/point. If you were going to buy 160 ($28,960), then that 40 points to 200 is really only costing you $166/point.

With direct points, you get the AP discounts. Yes they’re not available now but that’s because APs are not being sold to ANYONE. If you were to look at the benefits offered to DVC members on the website you’ll see AP discounts are still offered. The benefit has not gone away; it’s just no one can buy them at all. While it is true the benefit could go away, I don’t see Disney getting rid of it. Thus, you could do as you are thinking and stagger weeks - day go Week 49 the first year and week 48 the second - and get use of your Gold APs, which is a significant savings: 2 8-day Park Hopper Passes (one for each of the two years) is $1134.78, versus the Gold AP at $765.74 (a savings of $369.04 per person, or $738.08 every 2 years). While, yes, it’s take 19 years to break even if you got 200 points resale at $105/point, AKL doesn’t expire for 34 more years. You then also get access to current and future direct benefits and discounts, and can use the points at Riviera, the new Disneyland Tower, and other new resorts.

 

[karen4546]

We researched buying resale and direct. I liked the idea of being a blue card member er. We bought 3 Gold APs last year instead of the Platinum. That was almost $1000 savings. We will add on resale later. We bought 100pts direct but when booking our trip we needed a few more points and so we added 25 more.