Buy Aulani resale or direct?

[AstroBlasters]

Darn I was hoping I missed something and I could use a discount at our 2 character breakfasts as a selling point for my husband to buy direct (VDH) tomorrow. I think he is going to have me tell our guide we will wait til we get back from Aulani since the popcorn isn’t a big enough selling point for him . We are 3 weeks out for our trip. Super excited!

Honestly, if you are going to buy direct anyways I would want to be DVC-Y while on the trip.

But… I am confident you have already brought that up.

We are there 14-20, when will you be there?

Our guide booked us a spot for the Welcome Week hula lesson!

 

[VGCgroupie]

Honestly, if you are going to buy direct anyways I would want to be DVC-Y while on the trip.

But… I am confident you have already brought that up.

We are there 14-20, when will you be there?

Our guide booked us a spot for the Welcome Week hula lesson!

We will be buying direct for sure. Finding it's so much harder to commit to direct than resale since resale you lose out on if you don't act quick.

We arrive 08/20, unfortunately right after the Welcome Home Weeks fun ends.

 

[AstroBlasters]

We will be buying direct for sure. Finding it's so much harder to commit to direct than resale since resale you lose out on if you don't act quick.

We arrive 08/20, unfortunately right after the Welcome Home Weeks fun ends.

So, just for a curiosity, what is the hesitancy on purchasing before the trip if you are going to be going “direct for sure”?

Direct is so much easier and with instant gratification, points, and benefits.

Why not get whatever small perks you can during the trip?

 

[VGCgroupie]

So, just for a curiosity, what is the hesitancy on purchasing before the trip if you are going to be going “direct for sure”?

Direct is so much easier and with instant gratification, points, and benefits.

Why not get whatever small perks you can during the trip?

Great question, not 100% sure but maybe its because there’s no rush to book a vacation and not many perks at Aulani it just seems harder to spend the money than with our resales. CCV was our 1st and we needed to book our August vacation asap. VGC was our 2nd and I adore that place. AUL-S was our 3rd and as you know you can’t sleep on an S contract or you may not get it.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

I would look for a resale contract with the subsidized dues.

 

[mort1331]

2 other things to look at.
1. Renting points, No commitment short or long term(kids). Yes no perks,,but you do get free parking since its still on points.
2. I know you said no resale AKL or CCV,,,,I would look at resale SSR. Depending on what time of year you travel to Aulani, for 1 bedrooms there is no issue for availability at 7 months. Cheaper buy in, more contracts to choose from.

 

[AstroBlasters]

2 other things to look at.
1. Renting points, No commitment short or long term(kids). Yes no perks,,but you do get free parking since its still on points.
2. I know you said no resale AKL or CCV,,,,I would look at resale SSR. Depending on what time of year you travel to Aulani, for 1 bedrooms there is no issue for availability at 7 months. Cheaper buy in, more contracts to choose from.

I would not buy WDW points if the goal is to stay at Aulani or DLand.

 

[Jimmy Geppetto]

2 other things to look at.
1. Renting points, No commitment short or long term(kids). Yes no perks,,but you do get free parking since its still on points.
2. I know you said no resale AKL or CCV,,,,I would look at resale SSR. Depending on what time of year you travel to Aulani, for 1 bedrooms there is no issue for availability at 7 months. Cheaper buy in, more contracts to choose from.

Not sure I agree that SSR buy in is cheaper. Cheaper dues most definitely but you can get an AUL contract at around same price as SSR. If the plan is stay at AUL then buying there is the more preferred route IMO

 

[MillauFr]

Check out the Marriott Ko Olina too. It is next door to Aulani. You should be able to buy there for cheaper than Aulani.

 

[VandVsmama]

2 other things to look at.
1. Renting points, No commitment short or long term(kids). Yes no perks,,but you do get free parking since its still on points.
2. I know you said no resale AKL or CCV,,,,I would look at resale SSR. Depending on what time of year you travel to Aulani, for 1 bedrooms there is no issue for availability at 7 months. Cheaper buy in, more contracts to choose from.

Tried on this past month's trip to Aulani to rent points and couldn't get any, so we ended up having to pay regular rack rate for the room!

 

[VandVsmama]

Check out the Marriott Ko Olina too. It is next door to Aulani. You should be able to buy there for cheaper than Aulani.

100% not interested in owning a non-Disney timeshare. We thought about it, but decided no way.

 

[Curiousporpoise]

FYI, MKs/APs get no discounts at Aulani on food/merch but DVC-Y does.

Agree that it’s resale 100% if you don’t care about VDH/RIV/DLand FWD.

Maybe the OP can get lucky at VGC instead of crashing at a friends house for DLand once in a while….

Where do we get food discounts at? I don’t think I’ve ever asked or gotten food discounts at Aulani

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The Disney Visa ukulele discount is laughable.

You can get very good ukuleles for a lot less than Disney sells them. You can get really defensible ukuleles for beginners from a company like Kala and be very happy.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Where do we get food discounts at? I don’t think I’ve ever asked or gotten food discounts at Aulani

Free popcorn refills!

 

[FrannyFrogs]

*****Sparkly Wristbands***** for blue card members at the Aulani pool!!

Is this benefit in any way worth spending thousands of extra dollars to buy direct? No.

Did I bring my cousin to Aulani, using my DVC points, for her first visit; and did she go to the pool tent, and see the wristbands, and say, oh can I please have a sparkly one?; and did the CM say, Yes, that's what you are getting because you're staying with a DVC member!?; and did this make everyone involved, including me, feel joy? Yes!!!

 

[Mmk121]

I love how much thought you’ve put into this. I rented Aulani DVC points for years before pulling the trigger. It’s my happy place. I bought my first Aulani 200 point contract resale. I ended up adding on 150 Aulani points direct because I wanted to qualify for membership extras and wanted some unrestricted points to use at VDH & RIV. I don’t think it’s been mentioned yet, but once you’re a member you qualify for member add on pricing incentives. At the time, non-member incentives were -$10 pp, and member add on incentives were -$17pp, plus $1,500 Welcome Home Promotion if you had an upcoming stay booked, they matched my use year, plus because I bought prior to my use year month, I got the prior UY points, and used them for Magical Beginnings, for another $3k rebate. So I would always recommend buying resale first, then getting member add on pricing for direct if that’s ever something you decide to do down the road. I definitely have add-on-itis…. I’m current waiting on ROFR for my 3rd Aulani purchase, a 200 point Aulani Subsidized contract . I also use my points to book extra rooms or larger rooms when extra family/friends join, and rent out confirmed reservations if they change their mind, or just drop the reservation and bank the points. I’ll be at Aulani 8/10-8/17, so I’ll miss you by a few days. Best of luck on your Aulani purchase journey .

 

[AstroBlasters]

I love how much thought you’ve put into this. I rented Aulani DVC points for years before pulling the trigger. It’s my happy place. I bought my first Aulani 200 point contract resale. I ended up adding on 150 Aulani points direct because I wanted to qualify for membership extras and wanted some unrestricted points to use at VDH & RIV. I don’t think it’s been mentioned yet, but once you’re a member you qualify for member add on pricing incentives. At the time, non-member incentives were -$10 pp, and member add on incentives were -$17pp, plus $1,500 Welcome Home Promotion if you had an upcoming stay booked, they matched my use year, plus because I bought prior to my use year month, I got the prior UY points, and used them for Magical Beginnings, for another $3k rebate. So I would always recommend buying resale first, then getting member add on pricing for direct if that’s ever something you decide to do down the road. I definitely have add-on-itis…. I’m current waiting on ROFR for my 3rd Aulani purchase, a 200 point Aulani Subsidized contract . I also use my points to book extra rooms or larger rooms when extra family/friends join, and rent out confirmed reservations if they change their mind, or just drop the reservation and bank the points. I’ll be at Aulani 8/10-8/17, so I’ll miss you by a few days. Best of luck on your Aulani purchase journey .

We need a DisBOARD meet up at the Olelo room one night!

 

[Mmk121]

We need a DisBOARD meet up at the Olelo room one night!

DM me if you’d like to meet up when you’re there… always love connecting with other DVC super fans

 

[AstroBlasters]

DM me if you’d like to meet up when you’re there… always love connecting with other DVC super fans

@VGCgroupie, you in?

 

[VGCgroupie]

@VGCgroupie, you in?

Sounds fun!!