Amount of points

[ebenmax]

My DH and I just bought 200 points at SSR and have some tentative plans for how to spend them over the next two years. But it seems like so many of you use far more points than that in a year.

I am not sure if this is an appropriate "question" to ask or not. . .but here goes. . .

We are interested in how many points people have and how they distribute them in a year/2 year/3 year period.

Do any of you feel like you now have too many points?

Do any of you feel like you have too few to meet your needs?

I know everyone has different traveling needs and we will find what is perfect for us, but we were just trying to find a average of people's points/vacationing habits etc.

Thanks for the info -

Ellen and Brian

 

[Granny]

First of all, congratulations on your purchase and HOME!

There have been polls done here from time to time, and you will find that some people have as low as 50 points or so while others are well over 1,000 points.

It would be like asking everyone what they paid for the house they live in...it probably wouldn't really help you decide what would be the right price range for a house for you.

A lot of the point totals reflect a combination of many factors:

- Which resort is frequented, and subsequently which point schedule is most often used.

- What type of accommodations? Studio? 2BR? Some families of four do very well staying in studios. My family of four prefers a 2BR vacation. Neither is better or right.

- How often people go. Some people live far away and take one big trip a year or every other year. Some people live closer and take several trips in one year.

- What time of year people go. For those who can go anytime of the year, they can take advantage of the lower point schedules and seasons. Others can only go during the higher point summer or holiday times.

There are other factors, but I think these are the main ones off the top of my head.

I guess what I'm saying is that it really doesn't matter what points other people have, or how often they go. What is important is what you want to do as far as vacations especially regarding the factors described above. Once you answer those questions for your family, you'll know what the right amount of points is for you.

Good luck, and enjoy your membership!

 

[Chuck S]

I know everyone has different traveling needs and we will find what is perfect for us, but we were just trying to find a average of people's points/vacationing habits etc.

Welcome Home!! Congrats on your purchase.

I think you've hit the nail on the head, everyone has different travel patterns, and different type of groups they travel with...there is no "ne size fits all" guideline for points. You will find what works best for you, and if you need more, you can add-on.

We started out with 230 (the minimum at the time) and added on three times to get a total of 345, which seems just right for us.

We usually travel to OKW during early June and early December, staying between 8 to 12 days per trip, alternating between a studio in June and one bedroom in December. If we know we are inviting friends along, we'll get two studios instead of a one-bedroom...or may cut a trip a little short to save points. Or, we may do studios several trips in a row to bank points for a larger accomodation.

 

[starbox]

I guess what I'm saying is that it really doesn't matter what points other people have, or how often they go. What is important is what you want to do as far as vacations especially regarding the factors described above. Once you answer those questions for your family, you'll know what the right amount of points is for you.

Good luck, and enjoy your membership!

I agree!

I'd suggest that you use your points the way you *think* you want to use them for a year, and then see if you want to add-on later. You can always add small contracts to get to the point you want to be.

You may, for example, decide that you really want to stay at a specific resort over the holidays each year and decide to do an add-on there.

In our case, I purchased enough points for close to 3 weeks of vacation (2 weeks at WDW and one at VB or HH) - but I was thinking I'd be happy spending low points per room for one of those trips. Now, I've realized that I don't want to stay in the lower point rooms consistently. Every now and then is okay, but not every year. I'll be adding on when AKV starts to pre-sell.

 

[Parkhopper13]

We also have SSR 200 points. If we wanted to do a studio one week a year....almost any time of the year, we'd be fine. That is originally why we bought. Now, we love one and two bedrooms...so we are looking to add on. It really depends on your priorities.

 

[ebenmax]

Thanks everyone for your responses - our original thought with 200 was that we would have 160 for a trade with II, if needed and still have the ability to do a 2-3 night studio stay for two to celebrate our Disney anniversary each year. (we were married at the WP last July) But what keeps happening is we keep dreaming and thinking of multiple ways to use our points. It seems like you can never have enough, but then you could get stuck with too many if you aren't careful. We are just newbies who are reading their "dream book" with eyes wide open and wishing upon a star!!

Thanks again -

Ellen and Brian

 

[warbiespig]

hello everyone just arrived back from a 3 week trip to wdw we have never stayed on disney properies before while we were there we brought 150 points at SSR a bit weary at first but sounds a great idea as we live in the U.K and plan to holiday for two weeks every two years after we have paid the points off we plan to add more it just sounded to good to be true plaese give me lots of possitives im excited

 

[dianeschlicht]

As others have said, it depends on your touring styles, but I wanted to point out that those plans can change as well. We purchased 230 points to start with because we thought it would give us a 2 bedroom when our grown kids wanted to go along (or other family and friends), and a 1 bedroom for the other times when it would be just the two of us. After planing trips for just 1 year, we quickly realized that owning DVC made us eager to visit WDW more frequently than we had anticipated. We added on another 150 points, and now our total seems to be just about right for us. We have enough points to go 1,2, or even 3 times a year by managing carefully, and the dues aren't so high to be prohibitive. We don't trade out nearly as much as originally envisioned ourselves doing, because it didn't take long for us to realize that we could do better cost wise for most trades than DVC dues expenses. We have actually only traded out once in the 10 years we have been members. Instead, we seem to find more and more "reasons" to go "home" to OKW more frequently! There is some sort of comfort knowing that we can count on a great get away at a familiar and fun location several times a year. I almost hate to stay in a hotel anymore!

 

[ebenmax]

I agree that it makes you want to visit more often!!

We are members of DVC. . .we can buy Annual Passes. . .add on DDP. . .so accomodations are set, park passes are set, and food is set. Now we just need some sort of a "DVC" plan for our airline tickets and all will be perfect!!
Anyone know of any ideas??

 

[warbiespig]

if i lived in America i would be there quite a bit but we live in the uk and have a four year old plus are trying for a baby so every two years is all we can afford as to yet but as the years go by and weve paid for it we will be there every year plus disneyland paris if possible so i think its good that you can add points unless we win the lottery then i would be in grand floridian by next week !!

 

[Debbie H]

hello everyone just arrived back from a 3 week trip to wdw we have never stayed on disney properies before while we were there we brought 150 points at SSR a bit weary at first but sounds a great idea as we live in the U.K and plan to holiday for two weeks every two years after we have paid the points off we plan to add more it just sounded to good to be true plaese give me lots of possitives im excited

We have two different families of UK friends who bought in after meeting us at OKW and both come every 2 years. We are lucky because we see both of them every other year and we go see them the year they don't come here. It's great!

 

[cdmickey]

If you have the ability to plan you next vacations for a year or two, or longer if you know what you'll be up to, don't even look at the points until you have all your dates, accommadations and timespans written down. Then plot out your points and see where you end up. From there you can modify either your vacation(s) or ponder the idea of needing more points. (and remember you can bank, use or borrow points) After a little study and extrapolation, you'll know where you stand. That's one of the best things about points, IMHO, is the versatility of usage.

 

[phorsenuf]

My DH and I just bought 200 points at SSR and have some tentative plans for how to spend them over the next two years. But it seems like so many of you use far more points than that in a year.

I am not sure if this is an appropriate "question" to ask or not. . .but here goes. . .

We are interested in how many points people have and how they distribute them in a year/2 year/3 year period.

Do any of you feel like you now have too many points?

Do any of you feel like you have too few to meet your needs?

I know everyone has different traveling needs and we will find what is perfect for us, but we were just trying to find a average of people's points/vacationing habits etc.

Thanks for the info -

Ellen and Brian

My Dh and I bought 210 points last year. I have a family vacation planned for February and I had to borrow points. I would love to get more points but its just not in the cards right now. We average 2 vacations per year. Last year we stayed in a 1 bedroom and then transferred our points for cash to take advantage of free dining. This upcoming vacation is a 2 bedroom at Beach Club. That's why I had to borrow. We have another vacation planned for April which I'll have to borrow again. I don't think I'll ever get out of the borrowing hole! LOL! I think if we only went every 2/3 years than 210 points would be more than enough. Maybe too many depending on where you stay and how big of accomandations you get.
Everybody really is different, that's what makes DVC such a perfect fit for everyone, you get that flexibility.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

We bought what we could afford . Then we take some long weekend trips and stay at a Mod on our AP discount.

 

[ebenmax]

Cathy-
"Last year we stayed in a 1 bedroom and then transferred our points for cash to take advantage of free dining"

How does this work? I have never heard of this option. . .

TIA

Ellen and Brian

 

[phorsenuf]

Cathy-
"Last year we stayed in a 1 bedroom and then transferred our points for cash to take advantage of free dining"

How does this work? I have never heard of this option. . .

TIA

Ellen and Brian

When the free dining promotion came out we wanted to take advantage of it with the kids (they didn't go on the April trip). So we had 71 points left so I transferred them to another member for $10. per point. Used that cash to book 6 nights at All Star Sports and got the package they were offering. To get the free dining you had to buy a package at a resort which included at least a one day pass. We used those passes to upgrade the kids tickets to AP's (DH and I already had ours).
Maybe not the best use of points in some people's opinions, but it was for us. Thats the beauty of points, using them to how best fits your needs.