another newbie better late than never question

[disneynutz]

Right, thats what I was thinking. Guess I needed to hear it from someone else. I'm not sure if we can buy blocks of 25 at a time or not, I need to call. I figured that way we could save up and just pay cash. We own OKW so the direct prices aren't bad. That way every six months we could buy 25 points until we hit 75, then be done.

Don't forget you will pay closing costs on each purchase.

Bill

 

[CarolMN]

As a family of 7, the direct sales benefits may end up being worth it to you even if you buy 75 points. That would come out to about $1400 in savings every other year, assuming you go yearly and use APs to go on the front and back end of the trips (July '18-June '19, then buy again for July '20, etc). That wold add up to over $10,000 in savings in just 15 years, assuming you followed that pattern, and that the deal stayed in place.
I am not at all pushing you towards it, just pointing out that the math could work more in your favor than it would for a family of 4.

Right, thats what I was thinking. Guess I needed to hear it from someone else. I'm not sure if we can buy blocks of 25 at a time or not, I need to call. I figured that way we could save up and just pay cash. We own OKW so the direct prices aren't bad. That way every six months we could buy 25 points until we hit 75, then be done.

Risks with this plan:

• DVC will continue to offer DVC annual passes that cost significantly less than those available to the general public. This is not guaranteed and may be discontinued (or the discount may be reduced) at any time. Many things can change in 15 years.
• Your family will continue to go to DVC at last once per year for the next 15 years and are flexible enough with vacation weeks such that you get 2 trips from each annual pass.
• DVD will continue to have OKW points with your use year in their inventory. They can't sell you what they do not have.
• The minimum to qualify for Membership Extras remains at 75. There is nothing that says DVD cannot change the requirements, even for those who are currently grandfathered.

Might still be worth the gamble. Only you know your appetite for risk and your future financial prospects. I applaud your plan to pay cash for the initial buy-in.

Good luck!

 

[thelionqueen]

We thought that BLT would be our favorite, we bought there before it opened, it turned out to be out least favorite and we no longer stay there, BLT isn't the contemporary. We also bought AKV and BCV and rarely stay there, (see a pattern here?) Our favorites for MK stays are VGF and BRV, for Epcot/DHS stays, BWV.

Bill

I did the exact same thing! I thought I was the only one. You stated it PERFECTLY when you said BLT isn't the Contemporary... not even close! We used the developer points to stay @ SSR which became one of our faves despite me thinking I wouldn't like it and only stayed there because I had to use the points there. I already had it in my mind I wouldn't be a fan of CCV either, and boy was I wrong on that one too!

 

[JoanneDL]

Risks with this plan:

• DVC will continue to offer DVC annual passes that cost significantly less than those available to the general public. This is not guaranteed and may be discontinued (or the discount may be reduced) at any time. Many things can change in 15 years.
• Your family will continue to go to DVC at last once per year for the next 15 years and are flexible enough with vacation weeks such that you get 2 trips from each annual pass.
• DVD will continue to have OKW points with your use year in their inventory. They can't sell you what they do not have.
• The minimum to qualify for Membership Extras remains at 75. There is nothing that says DVD cannot change the requirements, even for those who are currently grandfathered.

Might still be worth the gamble. Only you know your appetite for risk and your future financial prospects. I applaud your plan to pay cash for the initial buy-in.

Good luck!

Yep, I know the perks can come and go as Disney pleases. We are totally flexible with our travel time. If we buy 75 points direct( i think it's around $155 for okw now) that would be approx $11700 not including closing costs. Resale (assuming around todays prices) $90 a point so approx. $6800. So a difference of $5000. With 7 of us with AP we'd make that up quick. We had planned on buying more points anyways. Thanks for your input everyone

 

[kboo]

Yep, I know the perks can come and go as Disney pleases. We are totally flexible with our travel time. If we buy 75 points direct( i think it's around $155 for okw now) that would be approx $11700 not including closing costs. Resale (assuming around todays prices) $90 a point so approx. $6800. So a difference of $5000. With 7 of us with AP we'd make that up quick. We had planned on buying more points anyways. Thanks for your input everyone

If you were definitely getting the 75 points anyway, and the only question is resale vs. direct, then yes - that is definitely worth it. But if it's about whether you should buy 75 points at all (for the perks) then it's more like a 11,700 vs 0 comparison. And additional dues

 

[JoanneDL]

Our ideal wdw trip would be 400 points a year. So we need to work up to that using more resale and direct.

 

[motherof5]

Not really. And you should strongly consider buying ALL of your points resale. The benefits of direct do not add up to the price differential between direct and resale when you have to buy 75+ points direct.

I just bought the minimal direct for the perks and now am awaiting contracts for resale to see if it passes. I wanted direct for the AP discounts, Moonlight Magic passes and other things. For the perks it did make sense and the extra I spent I will get back easily so it was worth it. Weigh the pros and cons and see what makes sense for your family needs. We bought AP for first time this year and already did 2 Disney trips and are planning 2 more before they expire at 7-10 days each time it was worth it.

 

[motherof5]

I just bought the minimal direct for the perks and now am awaiting contracts for resale to see if it passes. I wanted direct for the AP discounts, Moonlight Magic passes and other things. For the perks it did make sense and the extra I spent I will get back easily so it was worth it. Weigh the pros and cons and see what makes sense for your family needs. We bought AP for first time this year and already did 2 Disney trips and are planning 2 more before they expire at 7-10 days each time it was worth it.

I bought mine 2 weeks ago it was the day before it went up to 75 points so I only needed 50. But even for 75 pts its a few thousand more but I would honestly do direct for the minimal. Moonlight Magic is a few times a year. So after our AP expire this year we aren't going to renew next year if we can go to the parks even twice free and schedule vacations around that it's twice at the park free for a family of 7. That is $1400 in savings right there. Then the following year buy the AP again and we get back in savings what we bought direct. From that point forward all savings (food, merchandise and future park passes etc is savings) Over the course of 24 years of doing this it is worth it. I was skeptical for years and stayed at value resorts so it didn't make sense even though my sister tried to convince me to be a member for 10 years. I regret I didn't do it earlier. I could have bought only resale a few years ago and received all the perks and it was cheaper. With prices increasing each year, and our family size bigger it is better to stay in a 2 bedroom, have a kitchen and go out to dinner less and overall save.

 

[motherof5]

In the same boat sorta, we have a resale contract but are on the fence about adding a direct contract. We missed the AP deal they had going. We're a family of 7 so that discount would of been great for us.

As a family of 7 I can tell you the perks are well worth it. I just bought my first direct in Feb and closing now on my first resale. Bought enough direct just to have the perks. Kicking myself that we didn't do this years ago.

 

[disneynutz]

I just bought the minimal direct for the perks and now am awaiting contracts for resale to see if it passes. I wanted direct for the AP discounts, Moonlight Magic passes and other things. For the perks it did make sense and the extra I spent I will get back easily so it was worth it. Weigh the pros and cons and see what makes sense for your family needs. We bought AP for first time this year and already did 2 Disney trips and are planning 2 more before they expire at 7-10 days each time it was worth it.

So you bought direct for the perks and AP discount, and now you are going to Disney four times within a year. Are the AP's saving you money or causing you to spend more?

Bill

 

[motherof5]

I usually go to Disney once a year. We skipped last year to do AP for this year and overall saved there since it was cheaper annual pass then going both years. Got lucky and between me and my husband had companion passes this year so 2 free tickets each time we go this year. Adding it up we are doing 4 vacations this year for the price of doing 1 last year and 1 this year. Plus it's nice to have a vacation to look forward to when one is ending.