Anyone Buying 100 or Less Points?

[Disney Fanatic]

We have worked the point numbers every which way and frankly I feel like we are back to square one!

We are deciding how many points to buy and finally thought we had it right by buying between 75-100 points to go to Disney every year in low season and every other year in a studio in high season.

How many of you who have bought 100 or less points actually ended upgrading because you feel you need more points?

We have to buy resale to buy this number of points and don't want to get dinged with the closing costs if we are just going to end up adding on.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[CarolMN]

Many of us have added on - because we ended up going more often than we originally thought we would, or because we quickly got spoiled. A studio is very nice, but once you stay in a 1 bedroom, it's very hard to go back to the studio. Others decided to invite friends or family along and needed more points to do that.

Will that happen to you? Only you can answer that question.

Best wishes -

 

[jbhaupt]

We started with a 50 pt contract...and now we can't seem to get enough... I think as a first purcharse to get into DVC it's a great idea. But when you add up all the closing costs we've paid to add the other contracts...others might disagree.

I am trying to talk some friends who are nervous about the $$$ to do what you are doing.

Good Luck..
Bonnie

 

[TammyAlphabet]

If you buy 100 and decide to buy more later, you can add on from Disney without closing costs. Alot of people add on later, at least from what I have seen on this board, after their initial purchase. If you LOVE Disney like I do, DVC makes it easier to go more often, and you will, as I have discovered, find that 150 points is too FEW!!

But, only you and your circumstances can determine what you should do. I mean, if you get the whole 150 through Disney, will it be a tragedy to have to stay in a spacious 1 bedroom instead of a studio?

 

[starwood]

We bought 100 points in June last year. We just got back a couple of weeks ago from our first visit home to OKW. On the way home DH said to call our guide and see about adding on another 25-50 points. 100 points is a great starting point. You can always add on later.

 

[sjdisneywedding]

every situation is different. If you truly feel you can go for 75-100 then I would have to say just get those points and see how it works out over the next few years.

I really dont think closing costs have to be that big of a deal. You will of course pay them through resale first time around, but then you can put in for add ons through Disney in the future and avoid the closing costs.

Of course everyone always would love more points to go on more vacations and stay in bigger rooms, but just determine if the extra points are necessary. Extra points just sitting in your account will cost more than the closing costs in the long run between their cost, their interest fees, and their maint fees.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I agree with the previous poster. Start out with a 75-100 point resale if that's what you can afford. Then save up to add on, because once you stay in a 1-2 bedroom, you are not going to want to go back to a studio. Prepaying a vacation should not break the bank for you. I happen to always think it is better to pay up front rather than pay over time. If you have a home, you can do a home equity loan to make that interest tax deductable.

When we first looked into DVC, the minimum was 230 points. We waited until we could afford to pay for all of that up front. By the time we actually purchased, the minimum was 150, but we still purchased 230. It only took us one trip to realize we needed more points. We added on 150 the very first year. I think starting small is a great way to get your feet wet with DVC.

 

[JeanJoe]

Another reason why it might be nice to start with 100 points is if you suspect that you may someday want MORE points, but also that you hope to get the 11 month booking window at more than 1 resort.

For example, you could get your first 100 points at resort A. Then in the future, you add on another 100 points at resort B. With judicious banking and/or borrowing, you could treat it like 200 points at resort A and 200 points at resort B every other year.

It's something DW and I had sort of hoped to do (100 at BWV and 100 at OKW).

That probably didn't make very much sense... Sorry...

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

I wouldn't worry too much about the added cost of closing costs. We just bought a 50 OKW resale and even adding in the closing cost, we still paid less per point than we would have direct from Disney.

I know we will definately need more points in the future, but we looked at it this way. We didn't have the cash to buy 150 up front and we didn't want to finance it. We paid cash for our 50 points and then we can either look for small resale contracts to add on or even add on direct from Disney. If we add on a little each year, then we can pay cash and not get into debt and if we then decide to sell, it seems like smaller contracts are easier to sell than big ones.

Lisa

 

[johde]

I bought 60 point at OKW and love it. My only regret is not waiting for a BWV resale. I love both OKW and BWV but it is tough to get a standard view room at 7 months.

 

[T.E. Yeary]

I wouldn't worry too much about the added cost of closing costs. We just bought a 50 OKW resale and even adding in the closing cost, we still paid less per point than we would have direct from Disney.

Now that's the right attitude! Who cares about resale closing costs if you're still saving money.

Don't suffer from paralysis by over analysis!

Get moving and start the "magical" vacationing!

 

[las3888]

We started with 100, and yes, we have added on, but I wouldn't have done it differently at all. We wanted to get our feet wet and make sure DVC was right for us. We still feel we good good deals going resale on smaller contracts, but we always have the option of buying small point amounts from Disney as well. Go for it! It's a great way to get started!!!!

 

[bluedoggy]

We just closed on a 100 pt OKW contract from the TSS. I wanted to be able to pay cash, not be overwhelmed by higher maintenance fee costs on pts. that right now we don't need. It made perfect sense for us. Will we add on eventually? Probably yes, but then only when it feels right. Had I not found the DIS discussion forums on the DVC, I would have never known that you could buy smaller contracts via resale... and we might have bought years sooner... Looking forward to our first official visit "HOME" OKW - Nov 05

Do what feels right for your needs

 

[keishashadow]

We just closed on a 100 pt OKW contract from the TSS. I wanted to be able to pay cash, not be overwhelmed by higher maintenance fee costs on pts. that right now we don't need. It made perfect sense for us. Will we add on eventually? Probably yes, but then only when it feels right. Had I not found the DIS discussion forums on the DVC, I would have never known that you could buy smaller contracts via resale... and we might have bought years sooner... Looking forward to our first official visit "HOME" OKW - Nov 05

Do what feels right for your needs

Funny, my DH & I were just discussing this. Years ago, when we were first approached by DVC for a direct purchase, we felt the minimum was too much of a commitment for us. If we had only known about resale, we'd have saved several thousand dollars by now...oh, the wonder of the internet.

We looked for a resale with the intent of booking a studio. We'll have "extra points" this year - almost afraid to book a 1 BR. Hope we don't get spoiled, then have to add on to maintain our new DIS lifestyle.

 

[rayelias]

We bought our first (and so far only) contract through TTS as a resale. BTW, I had a teriffic experience and recommend them.

It's just the 2 of us, and we figured that 80 points was perfect for us. So, we called up, and told them we were looking for a 80-100 point contract, preferably at OKW. Got a call back a couple days later with something that hadn't "officially" hit the website yet, so we jumped on it. I'd recommend calling and giving them your specs before hoping to come across something on the website.

Anyhow, the reason we went the resale route was because 150 points would've been overkill for us and we wanted to pay cash, so we had our financial limits set. Plus, through resale, we purchased at a significant per-point price discount and got exactly what/where we wanted. After closing costs, we actually saved about $6-7 per point verses the direct DVC rate at the time.

Looking back, however, with the rise in per-point costs both via resale as well as direct, we probably should've purchased more up front, because I can see a time where we might actually like to use more points by perhaps inviting family members down, or staying in a 1BR ourselves, etc. SSR has some definate advantages, not the least of which is the extra 12 years. The disadvantage (for us at least), was that the cost of 150 points at SSR direct would've been more than twice the cost of our 100 point resale!

Good luck. Whichever way you go, I'm sure you'll love being a DVC member!!!

 

[bavaria]

I'm working on 50 points right now with TSS. Everyone's reasons are different. I want to pay cash for any transactions, and since my travel patterns allow me to get great hotel rooms for free/almost free, I don't need a large amount of points to meet my needs.

I do plan however to do additional add-on's in future, as my needs change.

Ten years ago I would never have considered in DVC; in ten years I will be at a different point in life again, and may find myself selling my points (or by then, I may have 1,000 points - who knows?!)

 

[Dean]

We have worked the point numbers every which way and frankly I feel like we are back to square one!

We are deciding how many points to buy and finally thought we had it right by buying between 75-100 points to go to Disney every year in low season and every other year in a studio in high season.

How many of you who have bought 100 or less points actually ended upgrading because you feel you need more points?

We have to buy resale to buy this number of points and don't want to get dinged with the closing costs if we are just going to end up adding on.

Any advice is appreciated.

To do as you stated, you will need a minimum of 95 assuming OKW, adventure season EY, Magic Season EOY and Sunday leave Friday for 5 nights. To do the same at BWV (other than standard), BCV or VWL, the same choices require 130 points.

But I think it's unlikely you'll keep that pattern. You will likely want to try larger units plus eventually, you will likely slow down your visits. In your scenario, you first must decide which resort you prefer or if you're happy trying them all on a rotating basis. Then you should look for a contract in your price range, home resort preferences and number of points. Look at price and points availability but all things being equal, you'll likely be far happier with 150-170 or so points (maybe even a few more) with OKW being your cheapest option on site. I personally wouldn't buy VB or HH unless you plan to travel there some of the time but it would be a cheaper way to go. Don't buy more than you can pay cash for.