Almost ready to take the plunge

[alicia080979]

Looking for some extra info (or assurance) before we pull the trigger. I think we have run the numbers enough and decided DVC is good for us. We go to WDW 2X per year, stay moderate or deluxe and just adopted our 18month old daughter (who has severe food allergies and WDW is great about allergies) so I don't see our trips stopping anytime soon. We rented points twice to get a feel for DVC accommodations so I think we are comfortable there too. We like to resort hop and try new places so not too worried about finding something available at 7 months.

My mother bought a small contract (50 SSR Mar user year) direct in September and we held off for the time being until our daughter's adoption was final. The plan initially was to buy another contract with my mother this fall directly through Disney but now I'm thinking we are better off buying resale. The salesperson told us resale members are flagged in system now and won't get the same benefits as direct purchase members but not sure if that matters. I know that we can't use the points for cruises or places other than WDW which isn't an issue for me. I would rent the points out if need be and pay cash because I know that is a better deal.

All that said, am I missing anything else you can't do with resale points? My mom told me today you can't stay club level with resale points...does anyone know if that is true?

We are planning on buying SSR points. Plan was 100 but if we buy resale, we will probably go with ~120. My mom has a March user year so I would guess we would need the same (we all travel together). I found a contract today I am considering making an offer on...does anyone know a typical price per point to offer for SSR? They are asking $84 per point for 120 points.

I don't understand much about the use year other than that's when we get our points. We usually take 2 trips per year, May/June then September/November/early December. I think March would be a good use year for us but please enlighten me if I am wrong

Any additional help/information/suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[bwvBound]

re: Use Year
Please, please read this 'sticky' post on Understanding Use Year: http://www.disboards.com/threads/understanding-use-year-updated-january-2-2015.1942668/

re: Club Level
DVC doesn't have Club Level rooms except for a handful at Animal Kingdom, Jambo House. Resale points cannot be used for Disney HOTEL stays -- but can book AKV Club Level, if you are fortunate to grab one of these rooms.

 

[Sleepy425]

No advice, but as a fellow (well hope be be - we are foster to adopt, still in the foster phase) adoptive mom just wanted to say congrats!

 

[Dean]

Looking for some extra info (or assurance) before we pull the trigger. I think we have run the numbers enough and decided DVC is good for us. We go to WDW 2X per year, stay moderate or deluxe and just adopted our 18month old daughter (who has severe food allergies and WDW is great about allergies) so I don't see our trips stopping anytime soon. We rented points twice to get a feel for DVC accommodations so I think we are comfortable there too. We like to resort hop and try new places so not too worried about finding something available at 7 months.

My mother bought a small contract (50 SSR Mar user year) direct in September and we held off for the time being until our daughter's adoption was final. The plan initially was to buy another contract with my mother this fall directly through Disney but now I'm thinking we are better off buying resale. The salesperson told us resale members are flagged in system now and won't get the same benefits as direct purchase members but not sure if that matters. I know that we can't use the points for cruises or places other than WDW which isn't an issue for me. I would rent the points out if need be and pay cash because I know that is a better deal.

All that said, am I missing anything else you can't do with resale points? My mom told me today you can't stay club level with resale points...does anyone know if that is true?

We are planning on buying SSR points. Plan was 100 but if we buy resale, we will probably go with ~120. My mom has a March user year so I would guess we would need the same (we all travel together). I found a contract today I am considering making an offer on...does anyone know a typical price per point to offer for SSR? They are asking $84 per point for 120 points.

I don't understand much about the use year other than that's when we get our points. We usually take 2 trips per year, May/June then September/November/early December. I think March would be a good use year for us but please enlighten me if I am wrong

Any additional help/information/suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!

You lose nothing of current value with resale. You simply can't use for cash type exchanges like DCL, Disney Collection, Concierge Collection or ABD. You also can't do member only cruises even on cash.

Two suggestions I'd make is to keep yourself open for slightly more points and to learn about UY and buy one that works well with your usual trips. If you're open to say 150-170 points you'll have a LOT more contracts to chose from, have a much better chance at getting the right loaded contract and likely get a slightly better price. You'll also have some insurance if the points change for your planned usage and to use points at some of the more expensive options.

 

[alicia080979]

How do you know if a UY is right for your trips? From what I understand, that's when your points become available. So say we always travel May/June or Sept-early Dec, would a Jan-Apr UY be ideal?

 

[alicia080979]

No advice, but as a fellow (well hope be be - we are foster to adopt, still in the foster phase) adoptive mom just wanted to say congrats!

Thank you. Not to hijack but we are foster parents too and it has been such an amazing journey. We got our daughter at 2 days old just 3 weeks after getting licensed. Then got our now 17yr old son 2 months later and this past November got our 3 month old daughter at 3 days. A wild ride for sure! Best of luck to you and message me if you ever want to talk one foster parent to another

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

How do you know if a UY is right for your trips? From what I understand, that's when your points become available. So say we always travel May/June or Sept-early Dec, would a Jan-Apr UY be ideal?

I'll repost the link to Understanding UY in case you missed it above - http://www.disboards.com/threads/understanding-use-year-updated-january-2-2015.1942668/

As far as when your points are available it's really mute - different UY's may just be using different "years" points for reservations on the same date of the year but every UY has points available all the time to use. The only issue is if you've already used yours but that has nothing to do with UY - just with the number of points you may burn thru.

There are only 8 different UY's, Feb, March, Apr, June, Aug, Sept, Oct and Dec. For the travel times you list an April UY would be the best with March or Sept being the second best but both are really off by a month to be termed good or best. By choosing the best UY you are essentially providing yourself with a bit of free travel insurance in case you have to make any last minute cancellations. The best UY will still give you a chance to bank any points that are qualified to be banked or to have the maximum amount of time to rebook and use the points prior to the end of your UY when they would expire. But best UY does not have anything to do with when you can book - it's about help in dealing with cancellations.

 

[alicia080979]

I'll repost the link to Understanding UY in case you missed it above - http://www.disboards.com/threads/understanding-use-year-updated-january-2-2015.1942668/

As far as when your points are available it's really mute - different UY's may just be using different "years" points for reservations on the same date of the year but every UY has points available all the time to use. The only issue is if you've already used yours but that has nothing to do with UY - just with the number of points you may burn thru.

There are only 8 different UY's, Feb, March, Apr, June, Aug, Sept, Oct and Dec. For the travel times you list an April UY would be the best with March or Sept being the second best but both are really off by a month to be termed good or best. By choosing the best UY you are essentially providing yourself with a bit of free travel insurance in case you have to make any last minute cancellations. The best UY will still give you a chance to bank any points that are qualified to be banked or to have the maximum amount of time to rebook and use the points prior to the end of your UY when they would expire. But best UY does not have anything to do with when you can book - it's about help in dealing with cancellations.

Thanks! I actually just posted in the thread you linked because after I read it I realized April was ideal with Sept/March being second best but still off. I think I will just start searching for an April year. We weren't really planning on buying until the fall so I have plenty of time to watch for something with an April UY. Thanks again for helping me understand it.

 

[Dean]

How do you know if a UY is right for your trips? From what I understand, that's when your points become available. So say we always travel May/June or Sept-early Dec, would a Jan-Apr UY be ideal?

That spread will give you more risk for some of the trips. Assuming you would travel equally during those times there isn't a great option but some are better than others. April is the best and for that situation I'd hold out for April even if you have to compromise somewhat on contract size or how loaded the contract is. If you're more likely to travel at some of those times more than others, that may give you a different best option. Say you're unlikely to travel in May but might, June might end up being your best bet and taking the risk on the rare May trip. Or maybe you know you'll be tied to school calendar's so there are some of those times you couldn't travel coming up.

 

[okw2012]

Since your mother bought a March use year, it could make your familiy life simpler to do the same. The banking date would be the same, if you transfer points between contracts it will also be slightly simpler to use the points, and if you ever inherit the points then you will have a single use year to worry about.

 

[Minniesgal]

Re club level, I wonder if what your mum is talking about is that you cannot cruise club level on points, has to be cash.

However as you did 50 points you are not going the cruising on those so I don't think that will matter much.

 

[Fantasia79]

We joined last year, best decision we've made.

 

[davidl81]

I think you have a good handle on DVC and buying resale does minimize your risk, ie you could always sell them in a few years if you don't like dvc with a minimal loss at worst. In your case buying resale is the best decision, and SSR is a good choice. We bought a loaded SSR 160 point contract (all 2013 points were banked into the current use year) last year for $78 per point. It looks as though prices have gone up a tad, so $82 is not the worst although I would think you may be able to do a tad bit better. I would look into a 120 point or so size contract if you can asthere will be more available in that size range.

 

[dsnydaddy]

Just repeating the above. You will find 100 to 120 point contracts, but you will have fewer to choose from and as a result may have to really look for one that is in your use year range with the possibility of paying a premium. If use year is not a big deal then it'll be a lot easier. That price point will be more expensive as well whereas better deals could be had at the 150-160 point zone.

For Example:

120 point contract for $80 would cost $9600
150 point contract for $75 would cost $11,250

Meaning the extra 30 points that you are getting will cost $1650 or $55 per point. (of course the actual prices may vary depending on the market and your ability to negotiate)

Add to this that the greater number of contracts exist in this neighborhood and you are much more likely to find the right use year at the right price.

 

[Dean]

Just repeating the above. You will find 100 to 120 point contracts, but you will have fewer to choose from and as a result may have to really look for one that is in your use year range with the possibility of paying a premium. If use year is not a big deal then it'll be a lot easier. That price point will be more expensive as well whereas better deals could be had at the 150-160 point zone.

For Example:

120 point contract for $80 would cost $9600
150 point contract for $75 would cost $11,250

Meaning the extra 30 points that you are getting will cost $1650 or $55 per point. (of course the actual prices may vary depending on the market and your ability to negotiate)

Add to this that the greater number of contracts exist in this neighborhood and you are much more likely to find the right use year at the right price.

In addition you'll have a better chance of finding the right contract otherwise including one that's loaded as well as finding more motivated sellers.

 

[heynowirv]

Alicia,
To find out what a reasonable price is keep an eye on the ROFR board in the Purchasing DVC section.Sometimes there's no sense to what they buy or not buy, but they only keep about 10% of what they see. I just nought a SSR contract for $75. 150 points Aug UY with 2015 points coming.Also bear in mind that buying the contract is just part of the cost.Don't forget Maintenance Fees are due every year,depending on the resort it can be anywhere from $5. per point to over $6. Again good luck.