Break Even Point

[Robbie Cottam]

It's not that the points won't break even compared to the trips we have taken/will take, that math very much favors DVC. It is the fact that the trips we take now (lots of 2 BR bringing family, just did a GV at Aulani etc.) we would never have done at cash prices. If we didn't buy into DVC we would still likely go to Disney as much, but would end up staying at a lot more studios and it's doubtful we would offer to pay for MIL's room if she came with us as an example.
So my point is that we have never really "saved money" per say because we have greatly upgraded our trips compared to what we would have done without DVC. I'm sure if I put it all on paper we have in fact spent more than we likely would have paying cash, but once again we would have paid cash for significantly smaller/lower levels of accommodations.

Yes, I was totally aware!

My point is if you have gone back and purchase more points you have either broken even on value and enjoyment, or just like paying disney a lot of money.

Saving money on vacation is like buying a boat to save money on fish….

I don’t go on vacation to save money. If I did I would stay by my pool.

DVC (used to) make vacation a simple process… (maybe it will again some day)

DVC allows you to have a nice accommodations.

But as someone who has had to explain to a renter why DVC is so much more money the the pop or AoA. It is not the cheapest way to do Disney….. Frankly, would would rather not go to Disney and stay at a value resort.

I resume to stay in a value motel at work, I’m sure as hell not going to do it on vacation.

But back to the OPs post. If comparing apple to apples……. 12 to 15 years is break even….

 

[RamblinWreck]

I always struggle with this. Dolphin is cheaper normally. But it’s somewhat hit or miss. DVC you basically know your price all of the time. There is no “waiting for a deal” etc.
At the end of the day if you want to absolute cheapest way to stay on property but walk to Epcot then yeah I’d think Dolphin wins. But DVC clearly has so many more benefits from room selections, different resorts etc.

If you factor in inflation over time as well, you “might” get a better deal at the Dolphin if you’re lucky, for the first couple of years. And only if you want rooms with dinky double beds and you don’t care about losing all your money if you have to cancel.

But I think even those dinky double bed rooms would more often than not be more expensive than your DVC studio in pretty short order.

 

[Sandisw]

Yes, I was totally aware!

My point is if you have gone back and purchase more points you have either broken even on value and enjoyment, or just like paying disney a lot of money.

Saving money on vacation is like buying a boat to save money on fish….

I don’t go on vacation to save money. If I did I would stay by my pool.

DVC (used to) make vacation a simple process… (maybe it will again some day)

DVC allows you to have a nice accommodations.

But as someone who has had to explain to a renter why DVC is so much more money the the pop or AoA. It is not the cheapest way to do Disney….. Frankly, would would rather not go to Disney and stay at a value resort.

I resume to stay in a value motel at work, I’m sure as hell not going to do it on vacation.

But back to the OPs post. If comparing apple to apples……. 12 to 15 years is break even….

I can tell you that when I added on more points with Disney, I had not yet reached the break even point from my initial figures...so, we never got to that "on paper" savings. LOL

And, I don't care to figure it out either....because in the end, I am happy to have given Disney all the money I have in the past and will continue to do in the future!!!!

 

[Robbie Cottam]

I can tell you that when I added on more points with Disney, I had not yet reached the break even point from my initial figures...so, we never got to that "on paper" savings. LOL

And, I don't care to figure it out either....because in the end, I am happy to have given Disney all the money I have in the past and will continue to do in the future!!!!

same here

 

[Robbie Cottam]

I always struggle with this. Dolphin is cheaper normally. But it’s somewhat hit or miss. DVC you basically know your price all of the time. There is no “waiting for a deal” etc.
At the end of the day if you want to absolute cheapest way to stay on property but walk to Epcot then yeah I’d think Dolphin wins. But DVC clearly has so many more benefits from room selections, different resorts etc.

I travel enough (normal year) that I can do two 5 night stays at the swan and company for free. It is nice, but not DVC.

I have paid to stay there as well. At 125 to 150 a night it is not bad but room ends up costing 2xx+ a night when all is said and done. And it is still just a hotel room.

I’m high maintenance, I don’t usually book studios, I like space. The swan does not offer space. To me that equates to a less relaxing vacation.

I can’t put a price on enjoyment.

Maybe you can.

4 of my 6 contracts are long paid off, and have broken even on a vs. rental basis….

I bet if I looked against rack they would have broken even years ago and paid for the other two…

Again, if you go on vacation to save money have to tried the weather ballon lawn chair…: fairly cheap and it gets you an award….

If you go on vacation to relax and enjoy…. DVC breaks even pretty quickly.

Don’t get me wrong I book the swan at least once a year…. But it is free for me…. No comparison on cost but still not as enjoyable

 

[gharter]

There are lots of ways to figure break even.
We purchased an AK contract about 6 years ago. We just sold it. Taking into account what we paid and yearly dues, we got 7 free vacations and walked away with money. We had figured out at about 6 years we had broken even if we had paid cash for our trips. And that wasn't taking into account our savings on APs (by owning DVC), and those discounts.

 

[RamblinWreck]

Again, if you go on vacation to save money have to tried the weather ballon lawn chair…: fairly cheap and it gets you an award….

If you go on vacation to relax and enjoy…. DVC breaks even pretty quickly.

I’m not sure I get the logic here.

People have budgets for their vacations and will try to maximize what they can get for their money.

Anyone who owns DVC isn’t doing it because it’s the most convenient way to go to Disney. There’s all kinds of extra legwork to do and you have to either plan way ahead or be very flexible about where you stay.

It’s always interesting to me when I see people who have very specific ideas about what a vacation should be or how it should be approached or thought about. Different people like different things. And generally when people make a decision that is largely a financial decision, they want to know the specifics and whether it not it will make sense for them.

But everyone wants to save money on their vacation. The guy in the grand villa, or luxury suite on a cruise… whatever, could just as condescendingly suggest you just go hang out in a lawn chair.

 

[Lilsia]

With my 2 trips to Aulani, using 3 years worth of point each, I have more then broken even if I would have paid cash for my stays. So 6 years for me. Aulani is probably the best use of points, especially with how expensive Hawaii is.

 

[disneyfan123]

With my 2 trips to Aulani, using 3 years worth of point each, I have more then broken even if I would have paid cash for my stays. So 6 years for me. Aulani is probably the best use of points, especially with how expensive Hawaii is.

Totally agree. We went on a Wish trip just before the pandemic to Aulani and going there was a major factor in getting into DVC. The 2 bedroom suite we had would have cost about 10k Canadian out of pocket, and that was on a discounted rate. 2 trips to Aulani will basically cover the cost of the buy-in.

We are in process of booking our 2nd DVC trip and first Aulani trip right now! Going the 2nd week of January, and I can’t wait to get back there, it’s such an incredible resort and the whole family loves it there.

 

[cheryl.UK]

This may be a long post so be warned. It also relates to UK/US exchange rates but if that hasn't put you off, please read on. It's worth noting that we bought all our points outright, so no finance deals.

In 2006 we bought 150 SSR points at $100 point. The exchange rate was $1.95 per £1 so the points cost us £15,000. or £7,692. Today, if we sold them we would get around $135 per point so $20,250. The exchange rate is $1.25 per pound so £16,200. That's a £8,508 PROFIT . More than we actually paid in the first place.

In 2009, we bought 100 BLT points and got a great deal of $100 per point with an extra one year use of 100 points. It cost us $10,000 with an exchange rate of $1.60 per £, so £6,250. Today I could sell at $170 or $17,000 or £13,600. That's a £7,350 PROFIT.

In total our points have so far made us £15,858. I'm not sure when our break even point happened but at the moment it seems like they are paying us to go on holiday.

 

[Yodeling2001]

FWIW, I have a spreadsheet where I tracked the cost of my points (contract plus dues) vs. the estimated cost of renting the same points. We just broke even at 6 years, within about a $500 margin. To me, it made sense to account for the cost I would have paid to rent and secure a reservation at the same time I booked my points -- I feel like this accounts for the home resort advantage, independent of the flexibility I get by owning my points and rearranging as needed.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

I’m not sure I get the logic here.

People have budgets for their vacations and will try to maximize what they can get for their money.

Anyone who owns DVC isn’t doing it because it’s the most convenient way to go to Disney. There’s all kinds of extra legwork to do and you have to either plan way ahead or be very flexible about where you stay.

It’s always interesting to me when I see people who have very specific ideas about what a vacation should be or how it should be approached or thought about. Different people like different things. And generally when people make a decision that is largely a financial decision, they want to know the specifics and whether it not it will make sense for them.

But everyone wants to save money on their vacation. The guy in the grand villa, or luxury suite on a cruise… whatever, could just as condescendingly suggest you just go hang out in a lawn chair.

The logical is simple. going away on vacation always cost money.

The least expensive vacation is one where you stay home and do nothing.

 

[disneyfan123]

The logical is simple. going away on vacation always cost money.

The least expensive vacation is one where you stay home and do nothing.

This is not necessarily a vacation though. The whole point of a vacation is to get away from the norm, have rest/relaxation and experience joy. Staying home and doing nothing may be the definition of a vacation for some, but not for others.

For me, travel gives me a whole lot of joy, and getting away from the cold and snow of winter is a huge reason I go to Florida. If I were to stay home than I am unable to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather. So it is not an apples to apples comparison.

 

[Mexacajun]

FWIW, I have a spreadsheet where I tracked the cost of my points (contract plus dues) vs. the estimated cost of renting the same points. We just broke even at 6 years, within about a $500 margin. To me, it made sense to account for the cost I would have paid to rent and secure a reservation at the same time I booked my points -- I feel like this accounts for the home resort advantage, independent of the flexibility I get by owning my points and rearranging as needed.

Also for me, owning now drives me to go more which in turn increases my happiness. I have thought about the spreadsheet method to figure it out and actually have some of the figures in a notebook, however, I am starting to realize that I don’t care. I just know without it I would go less and I love having the excuse to go. It is similar in the past when I had an AP and found ways to go. I think this is a different calculation for everybody.

 

[RamblinWreck]

The logical is simple. going away on vacation always cost money.

The least expensive vacation is one where you stay home and do nothing.

Well if you aren’t spending every cent in your savings to go on vacation then in my opinion you might as well sit in your backyard and shoot BB’s at rusty cans.

 

[gharter]

FWIW, I have a spreadsheet where I tracked the cost of my points (contract plus dues) vs. the estimated cost of renting the same points. We just broke even at 6 years, within about a $500 margin. To me, it made sense to account for the cost I would have paid to rent and secure a reservation at the same time I booked my points -- I feel like this accounts for the home resort advantage, independent of the flexibility I get by owning my points and rearranging as needed.

I would agree, our AKL and BWV contracts broke even at what we would have spent for similar rooms at about the 6 year mark.
For us, the difference was staying in a 1 BR vs a normal room which made it even better.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

This is not necessarily a vacation though. The whole point of a vacation is to get away from the norm, have rest/relaxation and experience joy. Staying home and doing nothing may be the definition of a vacation for some, but not for others.

For me, travel gives me a whole lot of joy, and getting away from the cold and snow of winter is a huge reason I go to Florida. If I were to stay home than I am unable to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather. So it is not an apples to apples comparison.

Thank you for your post. I totally agree. One can’t put a price on the time shared with family on vacation.

To say that you could have done a cheaper vacation to try and derate the value of DVC and force the break even point further down the road is a non starter for just the reason you presented.

Thanks again

 

[Yodeling2001]

Also for me, owning now drives me to go more which in turn increases my happiness. I have thought about the spreadsheet method to figure it out and actually have some of the figures in a notebook, however, I am starting to realize that I don’t care. I just know without it I would go less and I love having the excuse to go. It is similar in the past when I had an AP and found ways to go. I think this is a different calculation for everybody.

So true! We bought in when our first kid was 2 and had rented points once or twice. Since then, we've made trips with family and gifted accommodations for friends in need. DVC allows us to do these things more easily, which I can't put a value on. I happen to love spreadsheets and numbers, so I tracked our expenses out of curiosity. The end result is that, with a quantitative understanding of what we've saved (knowing we would have done the same things), we felt justified in getting a second contract...and now I'm looking at a third...so we are spending more on Disney than we would otherwise...I'm sitting on my hands!! I might need to step away from you enablers for a while

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

When I initially posted about BWV vs Swan/Dolphin .....I should have specified I was comparing a studio to a hotel room. I get that people who stay in 1br and 2br villas that comparison isnt really valid.

But my question for people who use DVC for 1br and 2br villas, what would you book if DVC villas weren't available? I'm just wondering what percentage would be booking 1br and 2br Disney suites vs booking 1 or 2 regular hotel rooms.

 

[Sandisw]

When I initially posted about BWV vs Swan/Dolphin .....I should have specified I was comparing a studio to a hotel room. I get that people who stay in 1br and 2br villas that comparison isnt really valid.

But my question for people who use DVC for 1br and 2br villas, what would you book if DVC villas weren't available? I'm just wondering what percentage would be booking 1br and 2br Disney suites vs booking 1 or 2 regular hotel rooms.

Without DVC, we’d be doing just the deluxe hotel rooms I doubt we would pay for the suites.