Are your points worth $4.00?

[KLEONARD]

I bought into DVC Feb, 2005. I am in the group that assigns a $10.00 value per point.
I would not use points for DCL; it seems like a bad trade.
I was wondering about members that have paid off their points and are past the 7 year mark (I have read this is a breakeven benchmark). Do you start to equate points with the value of the dues, more like $4 to $4.50 per point? Does this make it easier to justify points for DCL or trading out?
For example, if a cruise costs 200 points, that would be $2000.00 at my current perceived value. But it would be $800.00 if I valued them at the $4.00 dues rate.
I guess I am hoping with the passage of time, I will control my points, rather than my points controlling me. Someday, I intend to get to the "point" where I consistently make Saturday to Saturday reservation without getting the heebie-jeebies. Until then it is Sunday to Thursday and 2 nights at POR.

 

[Muushka]

Are my points worth $4.00? No way!!! We will probably never use points outside of the DVC resorts because of the high point charges. We are in our 6th year as DVC owners.

But on the bright side, this past Dec we actually stayed at BCV over a weekend!!! Now that is progress. Of course it was in a studio .

 

[Chuck S]

If you take the value of an overall week rather than looing strictly at weekday points vs. weekend points, you begin o see justification to use weekend points...add to that the fact we HATE to move. Also, you can adjust you schedule, even using one weekend worth of point, so it looks attractive. For instance, stay longer than a week, but only 1 weekend by checking in on Sunday (the 1st day) and out on friday (the 13th day) You get 12 nights for your visit and it will be pretty reasonable overall.

 

[FLYNZ4]

If you take the value of an overall week rather than looing strictly at weekday points vs. weekend points, you begin o see justification to use weekend points...add to that the fact we HATE to move. Also, you can adjust you schedule, even using one weekend worth of point, so it looks attractive. For instance, stay longer than a week, but only 1 weekend by checking in on Sunday (the 1st day) and out on friday (the 13th day) You get 12 nights for your visit and it will be pretty reasonable overall.

Our next trip is for 12 nights at DVC... plus our arrival date will be at a different non-DVC hotel. Coming from the west coast... we cannot get there early... so we arrive on Saturday evening (or night)... and then check into DVC the next morning for 12 days.

/Jim

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

The only appropriate way to assign a value to your points is a direct comparision to what Disney charges for the same accommodations. An average for the seven day point total is the best way to do this. For me it has little to do with what I paid, and more to do with what the going rate is.

 

[Doctor P]

I would also note that the value for a DCL trade improves with every day closer that your cruise is. When we used points for our cruise in 2003, the points would have been worth about $5-6 each with all the early booking discounts, etc. applied. 60 days or so before the cruise, the value was closer to $10-11 per point. So, if you go off of rack rates, the value is not as bad as it has been made to be by some people, IMHO. On another thread, someone just talked about getting a two bedroom at HH for this weekend at $139 per night. That is less than $6 per point. I agree that one can often do better renting out points and paying cash well in advance for the cruise, but the value is really also not as bad as people make it out to be.

 

[JimMIA]

The only appropriate way to assign a value to your points is a direct comparision to what Disney charges for the same accommodations. An average for the seven day point total is the best way to do this. For me it has little to do with what I paid, and more to do with what the going rate is.

I agree with Johnnie. It's easy to confuse cost with value, which I think is part of the undervaluation of rental points.

I compute my cost as follows: price paid per point divided by number of years left on the contract + annual dues for the current year. For my original purchase, that's a little over $6 per point, and for my add-on it's a little under $6 per point -- so I use a ballpark of $6.00.

To compute my "breakeven" point, I'd have to go back and evaluate each trip vs. the cash costs for the same accommodations...which is more math than I choose to do, so I just use pp cost. Breakeven is going to vary radically from owner to owner, and it's probably a meaningless concept to begin with.

VALUE is quite different.

I do it quite simply. I take the cash cost we would actually pay (we are both AP holders and Florida residents, so I'd use those prices -- NOT rack rates), and I divide that by the points cost for the same ressie. So, if a hypothetical ressie would cost me $500 cash or 20 points, the value of those points, for that ressie, would be $25 per point. Obviously, the point value under this system will NOT be a constant figure, it will vary with both cash price and points costs fluctuations.

These computations get really crazy when you are booking in one of those weird periods that are high-priced for cash and low-priced in points -- or vice versa -- but to me it's the most accurate way to evaluate value.

 

[Mickmse2002]

I value our points based upon the quality of our family vacations. Trying to come up with a specific point of $$$ comparison's can be very subjective. I have seen some pretty creative ways of doing it. I like the method of actual cost outlay divided by total points purchased to give you a good idea of a cost basis valuation.