But for resort or points?

[aug16]

Looking for opinions..when buying resale dvc points did you guys buy for the resort, the price of the points, how loaded the contract is, how many years left in the contract or what combination? I keep going back and forth between Boardwalk as its our favorite resort or Saratoga for price of resale points and years left on contract. What are everyone's thoughts?

 

[3 DD love princesses]

I would buy where you want to stay. If staying at Ssr is ok for you then buy there. If you wouldn't be happy staying there then don't buy there. We purchased based on where we think we want to stay. Then looked for a contract that had full 15 and 16 points. Good luck

 

[magicaldisney]

It depends on if this is your first purchase or is this an add on. For our add on we purchased the same resort and UY as our original contract so we didn't end up with two numbers to deal with. As a first purchase, I would chose by where you want to stay and if you are happy with any place to stay I would chose length of contract. Whether the contract is loaded or not would be the least of my concerns.

 

[crisi]

Know that Boardwalk can be hard to get if you don't own there - particularly if you want Boardwalk or Standard View, but for parts of the year, its hard to book at seven months no matter what you want. So ask yourself if you would end up staying at SSR would you be disappointed. Then ask if the years are that meaningful to you (that will be a point in life question - my answer at 50 with high schoolers might be different than someone who is 25 with small kids). Then ask yourself if the money is a big deal - someone with a lot of assets and a high income might make a different decision than someone who is stretching financially to purchase.

 

[disneynutz]

We have learned that the resort is the most important factor. We rarely do the parks like we used to, spend less time standing in lines, riding the same rides, fighting the crowds. Now we are all about the theming, beauty, and uniqueness of WDW and we truly relax and feel rested when we get home.

If you don't know for sure which resort based upon staying there, I would buy SSR and use those points to discover what the resorts have to offer.

Bill

 

[DVCjj]

I vote for Buy Where You Want To Stay.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Buy where you don't mind staying if you can't change the reservation at seven months out. If you buy VB because the points are cheap, your dues will be higher and you won't be able to book anything at WDW until seven months out. Sometimes seven months out is too late to get almost anything at WDW. If you buy SSR, you can still be at WDW and your dues will be relatively low and if anything else is available at seven months out you can trade. But if it isn't, you are still at WDW.

And I agree that BWV can be hard to get many times during the year at seven months out. If you really want BWV, buy there and be happy.

 

[mort1331]

I buck the trend and say look at the budget and long term. First in a perfect world, how long do you want these points for. Second, know that dues are the most expensive part of the purchase over the life of the contract. Also know your own planning habits, if you, like us dont plan more than 6 months out it doesnt matter what resort. We chose SSR for these reasons. Once the resort was nailed down we just waited for the right contracts and all of them have been loaded.
Good luck and you are the ones that know how you vacation now.

 

[ustasmom]

• At first I bought to become a member. I wanted the AP with all of those perks. So we bought a small contract at BLT. And since I want to visit 2 or 3 times each year, we also bought at AKV because I wanted the option of the value studios. We are not going to be visiting during holidays (or heat for that matter.) But I did want that 11 month advantage.

 

[supersnoop]

It really depends on how much lead time you'll have when making your reservations. If you can plan 11 months out, then buy where you want to stay. If you'll routinely be booking with less than 7 months notice, then all points are equal and you should buy based on budget and financial value (lower price and/or longer expiration).

Personally, we own some points at BLT and BWV for the booking advantage, and we own SSR for shorter notice. We might book our home resort at 11 months, but add on wherever available at 7 months to extend our trip.

 

[Dean]

Looking for opinions..when buying resale dvc points did you guys buy for the resort, the price of the points, how loaded the contract is, how many years left in the contract or what combination? I keep going back and forth between Boardwalk as its our favorite resort or Saratoga for price of resale points and years left on contract. What are everyone's thoughts?

Ultimately you'll have to decide what's best for you. My first assumption is that DVC makes sense in general for you. For the specific situation, I'd buy BWV if you'd reserve at 11 months out and stay BW view or standard most of the time or during the busiest DVC times (different than busiest WDW times), otherwise I'd go for the better value in points at SSR. You'll be able to get BWV a large portion of the time for pool/preferred view but you might have to use the wait list assuming a 2 BR or smaller. IF you're looking at a lot of points, I might do both for say 300 points or more. Loaded vs not and contract size to a degree are simply math exercises. Usually a fully loaded contract is the better value and often allows a slightly smaller contract purchase. Don't try to rush through to get that next trip on points, your chances of making a bad purchase is much greater. Do your research and decide what you want and what you are willing to pay.

 

[DenLo]

Think of your own past vacations, did you pick the resort based on price or because that is the resort you wanted to stay at. Will you find it frustrating that you can't get in at a favorite resort at the 7 month mark, or you end up with a split stay?

 

[kniquy]

We first looked at what we had to spend for our resale. We only wanted to pay cash so you have to factor in closing costs and any maintenance fees that would be due. Then we looked at the amount of points that would allow us to go every other year, so as someone mentioned before -- look at your travel habits and what you predict your travel plans would be. We looked at our family size and we would at least need a 1BR. We then narrowed it down to the resorts that could fit into our budget and points needs. It was pretty much between OKW, SSR and AKV -- all were around the 80's per point. We looked at the contract end dates as a factor - we may not be able to use it to the end, but our children might want to, so that played in as a factor. Then we decided on the resort-- where we wouldn't mind staying if we had to. We ended up picking AKV -- it was a toss up between OKW and AKV and with the majority of the OKW contracts being the earlier end date (2042) we went with AKV so that we had until 2057.

If you find the resale contract that fits your needs move on it as they can go quickly.

Good luck in your decision.

 

[girli565]

Looking for opinions..when buying resale dvc points did you guys buy for the resort, the price of the points, how loaded the contract is, how many years left in the contract or what combination? I keep going back and forth between Boardwalk as its our favorite resort or Saratoga for price of resale points and years left on contract. What are everyone's thoughts?

We bought according to a combination of price per points and resort. We loved SSR (I know some people don't but we are more than OK with the accommodations there) and the point amount and price per point fit in our budget. We wanted more than 100 points and didn't want our contract amount to exceed $11,000. We ended up selecting a contract that was 120 points for $10,800 total. It came with 79 banked points so that was a bonus.

 

[suebeelin]

When we were looking, we would have been unhappy at AKL or SSR (the best bang for your buck). Our other option was BWV.

We decided with BWV bc of the location. No regrets.

Granted, we only book 1bds and that aren't hard to come by-- but we would have been unhappy at SSR/akv, and felt stuck of we couldn't switch out at 7 months.

If yours happy with SSR and you're ok trying up switch at the 7 mo mark, then buy SSR. Otherwise, buy where you don't mind staying.

 

[pinklotusflower]

We bought BWV as that's where we want to stay and tend to go in September which is really difficult to get at 7 months out. The contract was also loaded and we got it earlier this year before all the price went up.

 

[aug16]

Thanks! We are going to rent points for a weekend getaway at SSR and decide if we like it or our heart is truly at Boardwalk. It's such a big decision!! I appreciate everyone's feedback.

 

[JWG]

If you "have" to stay at any of the mixed use resorts (hotel and DVC), you need to buy there. The 11 month window is pretty important for VGF, BLT, BCV, BWV, and likely Poly at some point (once it's sold and declared). Even VWL can be hard certain times of year.

If you're fine with SSR and OKW, then go there. We have BWV and BLT points as we want to know we can stay near Epcot/DHS and the CR is my favorite property. Love staying at BLT near the holidays.

 

[msjprincess]

I bought at OKW and am in contract for SSR because the price was right and I'm not picky about where I stay. I'm fine staying there. I would prefer to stay at BWV but not enough for me to spend the extra money. We normally go when it's not too busy and there is availability at BWV at the 7 month mark.

 

[Sparrow624]

We bought VGF because we knew we wanted to stay there and knew we needed the 11 month window.

We are now looking for a second contract, probably at AKV or OKW for a larger amount of points to use at the 7 month mark every other year. If we can't get BCV or BWV, we will be fine staying at AKV or OKW those years.