Best time to purchase an add-on

[Princess Roo]

I remember reading something about this before, but now I can't find it. If I have an April UY, what is the best time of year to buy an add-on (through Disney), to pay the least mtc fees/get the most points? If I purchased now, would I get '07 points? What would I owe for '08 mtc fees? How does this compare to waiting a month to buy?
Thanks!

 

[LisaS]

Disney gives you current Use Year points with your purchase. If you purchase during March while you are still in your 2007 UY, your add-on will start with 2007 UY points. If you wait until April when you will be in your 2008 UY, your add-on will start with 2008 UY points. You pay pro-rated dues the first year, starting from your purchase date. So the best time for someone with an April UY to buy an add-on (to get the most points for the lowest current-year dues) would be during March. However the closer you get to the end of your UY, the greater the risk that they might run out of 2007 UY points so you could optimize yourself right out of a whole year's worth of points.

ETA: In re-reading this, it sounds like I'm advocating waiting until very late in the UY to purchase an add-on and that is not the case. What I was trying to say is that the longer you wait, the lower the current-year dues but the higher the risk of not getting current UY points. Personally, I would contact my guide a few months before the end of my UY to ask about availability for the resort and UY I wanted. If you are adding on at a sold-out resort (or even AKV) there might be a waiting list for your UY so waiting too late to purchase would not not give you enough time for the points to come through.

 

[Princess Roo]

Thank you for the quick reply, Lisa! That's kind of what I thought. But, when you say "run out of 2007 UY points", do you mean that they wouldn't have any more April UY left or that they could have the UY left, but it would be "stripped" of the 2007 points, similar to a resale?

 

[LisaS]

Thank you for the quick reply, Lisa! That's kind of what I thought. But, when you say "run out of 2007 UY points", do you mean that they wouldn't have any more April UY left or that they could have the UY left, but it would be "stripped" of the 2007 points, similar to a resale?

Yes, they may have April UY contracts available but not have any April 2007 points left so the contract's starting UY would be April 2008 rather than April 2007. Another problem someone ran into when they tried to purchase an add-on in the final week of their UY was that Member Administration would not be able to process the paperwork before the end of the UY. Your guide will be able to tell you whether 2007 UY points are still available.

 

[Dean]

Thank you for the quick reply, Lisa! That's kind of what I thought. But, when you say "run out of 2007 UY points", do you mean that they wouldn't have any more April UY left or that they could have the UY left, but it would be "stripped" of the 2007 points, similar to a resale?

Actually either could happen. They might not have any April UY left for AKV. Eventually new units will be declared into inventory but those wouldn't be available for occupancy so it could be 2008 or even 2009 before points would be available to actually use for any given add on. Sold out resort points availability is hit or miss.

As a rule, buying early in the offering is the best. While you could get old points and pay less fees later in the UY or Calendar year (depending on which UY), it's usually not enough difference to make up for price increases and lower incentives. And if you lucked out, all you'd save is at most about $1-3 per point with less time to use the points.

 

[LisaS]

One more thing about the first-year dues: the dues start on the later of your purchase date, the occupancy date of your unit and the start of your initial Use Year. If you purchase a sold-out resort, occupancy date is not an issue. But let's say with your April UY you purchased your add-on today and will not get April 2007 points. In that case your 2008 dues would be pro-rated from April 1, 2008 because that is your initial Use Year.