Buying Direct in January

[DisneyFamAdventure]

Hello DVC community!

We're excited to share that we plan to purchase our first DVC contract this January, aiming for 150 points at the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. We've been eager to buy ever since the announcement of the converted DVC cabins. While we’ve debated the higher annual dues, ultimately, we decided to invest in the location we love most—the Fort!

I have a few questions for the community:

1. Use Year: Will we face challenges if we request a September or October use year? We're planning to use our points for a trip in February, a weekend in May, and possibly a few days in October.

2. Credit Card Down Payment: We have a Disney Premier credit card. If we use it for the down payment, does Chase automatically apply the 0% interest for the first six months, or do we need to contact them to request it? We have the cash for the down payment but would like to earn Disney Rewards and plan to pay off the card quickly.

3. Money-Saving Tips: Do you have any tips or strategies for saving on our DVC membership?

Thank you for your help!

 

[juliebee]

Exciting to make that purchase! Sounds like you've been there before and enjoyed the Cabins.Is there a particular reason you want September or October as your use year? With the travel plans of Feb, May, and Oct--just know the banking deadline for September use year is April 30 which cuts it close to your May travel.

As I understand, the October time frame is popular there due to Halloween festivities, so if you plan to stay then, you might not want an October use year in case you need to "walk" a reservation into October. In that case, September would be better than October.

 

[MICKIMINI]

If you have a choice, September is dirt cheap points with May being a deal vs October (we own OCT UY). If you choose SEPT, your last day of use is August 31, so you could use the same UY for both September, February and May trips. If you had to rent because you cancelled May, you would have a good chance of renting your points over the summer.

OCT UY would give you a chance to bank your points if you weren't able to go in February or May (deadline May 31).

Each UY has benefits and it is important you really think through how you will use those points. Back in the day (we originally bought in 1996, we didn't have a clue LOL and it all worked out...but things happen and knowing what Plan B and C would be beneficial IMO.

Good luck and congrats!!

 

[Hubalorian]

Good luck and Congratulations!! I’ll throw my 2 cents, if you are looking to purchase late January, I would wait until like Feb. 8th to buy. This would lock in this round of incentives and gives you the flexibility to see the next round to make sure they don’t get any better

 

[muppets3d]

If you'll be staying on property in January, ask about a Disney gift card or some other special gift for taking a tour while on property.

Buying in January a September or October use year should be no problem; they may start by offering August but you can ask for whatever you want.

You will automatically see the 0% for 6 months on your statements while you pay down the balance. It will be up to you how to pay off the balance. You can have your guide split up the purchase for your points by up to 60 days, and each chunk on your Visa gets its own 6 month financing. The down payment as well would get its own 6 month financing, if you choose to put it on the card.

The best money saving tip is to buy at least 10% more points than you think you need now, because with rare exception buying direct will never be cheaper than it is right now. They've already announced a price increase starting in February for one thing. Incentives scale the more points you buy as well, so if you later decide you need 50 more points ... it'll be much more expensive than just buying them now. If you want to add on 50 points later, it's likely you'll be paying full price for them because they usually don't do many incentives for small add-ons.

When we bought our first contract, we thought about starting with 150 as well but ended up buying 200 and it ended up being the right move for us. Everyone's needs are different though so 150 may be the right amount for you! Just think about it.

Good luck and Congratulations!! I’ll throw my 2 cents, if you are looking to purchase late January, I would wait until like Feb. 8th to buy. This would lock in this round of incentives and gives you the flexibility to see the next round to make sure they don’t get any better

You can buy in January but just not close until February and do the same thing. I don't think they're running any special promos for buying when staying on property right now, but if they are then waiting until February would forfeit that.

 

[airjay75]

You can get whatever UY you want when buying direct. They won't tell you this up front, but they will not lose a sale over a UY. Tell them why you want the UY you want, and that if you can't get it, you'll just not buy right now. They'll get you the UY you want. Pick the UY that is best for you and your travel needs. I always like to say, decide on the months that you are least likely to travel to WDW, and then try to have those months come just before the start of your UY. I personally have October and I think it is a great UY (unless you plan to regularly travel in July/August/September). September would be good if you think you might want to take advantage of the low points charts in September.

The Chase Disney Visa makes the 0% promo very easy. It will be automatically applied, and then they'll give you the option to pay the "interest savings balance" each month to ensure you don't pay any interest but take maximum advantage of the 0%. Spread those payments out to the full 60 days, and you'll get a few more months of 0% interest out of it.

Money saving tips. I can think of two I'll mention. One, defer the date you tell your guide "yes" on points as long as you can - you will pay prorated dues only from that date. Two, start looking for deals on Disney Gift Cards and use those to pay your dues. Very easy to get 10-15% off your dues that way (and sometimes even more).

Welcome Home!

 

[Takeitforgranite]

I’ve never been able to manage finding gift cards for more than 5% off (Target).

 

[airjay75]

I’ve never been able to manage finding gift cards for more than 5% off (Target).

https://www.disboards.com/threads/new-disney-gift-card-deals-and-more.3952573/

Follow that thread and you'll be alerted to many, many ways to get more than 5% off. I've honestly gotten to a point where if I'm not getting 10% or more off Disney gift cards, I won't even consider buying them, and I try to hold out for the ones where I get more than 15% off. That said, you do have to stack offers to get that - an actual sale, credit card cash back, cash back shopping portals, credit card merchant offers, etc.

 

[DisneyFamAdventure]

Exciting to make that purchase! Sounds like you've been there before and enjoyed the Cabins.Is there a particular reason you want September or October as your use year? With the travel plans of Feb, May, and Oct--just know the banking deadline for September use year is April 30 which cuts it close to your May travel.

As I understand, the October time frame is popular there due to Halloween festivities, so if you plan to stay then, you might not want an October use year in case you need to "walk" a reservation into October. In that case, September would be better than October.

We love staying at the Fort Wilderness and usually just book a cash stay at the cabins. We enjoy the peacefulness of just looping in a golf cart and our main travel plans have been in Feb. We were considering possibly adding in a short weekend stay in May so probably a September UY would not be ideal for banking for those stays and we will would probably request an Oct UY. Thank you for noting that for us. In regards to the holidays, we would like the option to possibly book a stay in Oct in the future when we cannot travel in February.

 

[MICKIMINI]

If you'll be staying on property in January, ask about a Disney gift card or some other special gift for taking a tour while on property.

Buying in January a September or October use year should be no problem; they may start by offering August but you can ask for whatever you want.

You will automatically see the 0% for 6 months on your statements while you pay down the balance. It will be up to you how to pay off the balance. You can have your guide split up the purchase for your points by up to 60 days, and each chunk on your Visa gets its own 6 month financing. The down payment as well would get its own 6 month financing, if you choose to put it on the card.

The best money saving tip is to buy at least 10% more points than you think you need now, because with rare exception buying direct will never be cheaper than it is right now. They've already announced a price increase starting in February for one thing. Incentives scale the more points you buy as well, so if you later decide you need 50 more points ... it'll be much more expensive than just buying them now. If you want to add on 50 points later, it's likely you'll be paying full price for them because they usually don't do many incentives for small add-ons.

When we bought our first contract, we thought about starting with 150 as well but ended up buying 200 and it ended up being the right move for us. Everyone's needs are different though so 150 may be the right amount for you! Just think about it.



You can buy in January but just not close until February and do the same thing. I don't think they're running any special promos for buying when staying on property right now, but if they are then waiting until February would forfeit that.

Yes, great thoughts! DVC has shuffled the deck a few times and members who bought 157 points (an example) for their exact trip each year got screwed. That is where the OTU points came from. Buy more to cover yourself and you know, you will use them!