Buying DVC - Canadian version questions

[lovethesun12]

Hello all!

I've ran numbers on us purchasing DVC in the past and it didn't seem to work in our favor but as we tend to gravitate towards DVC resorts now I'm running the numbers again (with the past in mind) and trying to make a decision.

I know a lot of the general things like use year, etc. I've looked into setting up an american account to transfer money when the dollar is good (I also know about all the uncertainty at the moment of course so waiting for things to get a little steadier in the upcoming months/even years).

But I'm having trouble understanding how I would go about paying. Can I just transfer the money? Purchase on a credit card (then pay off the card immediately obviously). Bank draft?

Is there anything else you would advise someone from Canada? Anything you did that you are glad you did? Anything you wish you would have done?

TIA!!!!

 

[hcortesis]

But I'm having trouble understanding how I would go about paying. Can I just transfer the money? Purchase on a credit card (then pay off the card immediately obviously). Bank draft?

We paid our purchase (VGF & BCV, all direct) and continue to pay our dues on a C/C. Sure, we paid FOREX fees but also received points from our C/C. Don't think I could advise you with anything else. Sounds like you understand it fairly well.

 

[deedubb]

You can pay a direct contract with Disney using a credit card. I have a no forex fee card which helps. I also have 2 resale contracts, and both companies I used would not accept credit card payment. I used Knightsbridge for a better rate than the bank, then sent the companies a bank draft.

The only thing I would have done differently is buy at 2 different resorts instead of just one, since we like to do split stays now and it is much easier to book if you have the 11 month advantage. All our points are at BLT and I would prefer to have some Boardwalk or Beach Club points as well.

EDIT: I should add that depending upon which province you are in, you may not be able to buy a direct contract without actually going to Florida to do it.

 

[gskywalker]

I paid mine on the Hometrust. No Forex fee and gained 1%. They have since changed and no longer pay the 1% on forex charges. I pay our yearly dues with Disney Gift cards as the exchange rate is the best there is and I gain 2% buying them at grocery stores with my MC. If you are getting a loan, sorry I am no help. We bought the minimum contract and paid for it right away. I would like to buy a resale contract as well but with the dollar where it is I would rather wait.

 

[kittyab]

We bought our points through one of our CC's. I wished we bought more and I keep bugging DH to buy another contract. Maybe one day....

 

[von Monster]

When we bought a small contract direct and we used a no-forex card (Scotia Momentum Visa). I also pay out dues with the same card. From my understanding they won't take a credit card on a large purchase though but they may have changed.

Before when we bought resale we used VBCE to transfer from CAD to USD and then sent a draft; give them your accounts and send a bill payment from your CAD account and within 24 hours they'll deposit the USD into your USD account. RBC has a no fee USD account that works perfectly for this which allows a no fee withdrawal once per month which is nice for having cash on hand when you go. For our most recent contract we used Transferwise to send a wire to our Escrow agent; they do the currency exchange and transfer in one step which makes it super easy.

 

[starry_solo]

Resale or direct? Direct will let you pay with a credit card. Resale will not

 

[Minniemoo15]

We bought resale and saved a lot, a lot of money. The loss of perks doesn't come close to making up what we saved, for us. Our province doesn't allow us to buy direct unless we were in Florida, but resale was not a problem. We used a reputable broker and they made everything very easy. We paid the deposit on our CC, and then did a wire transfer for the rest of the balance.

We have no regrets and are so glad we bought in when we did!

 

[dmbcanada]

I was just looking into this as well, but not sure if it is better to go direct or resale. I saw this resale website, http://www.dvcbyresale.com. Can anyone have more info about how DVC works, do you own a specific unit? Can you only use your points to stay at your unit/resort or can you go everywhere?

 

[ABCanada]

I was just looking into this as well, but not sure if it is better to go direct or resale. I saw this resale website, http://www.dvcbyresale.com. Can anyone have more info about how DVC works, do you own a specific unit? Can you only use your points to stay at your unit/resort or can you go everywhere?

There are a lot of resources that explain DVC and its pluses and minuses

The Disboard DVC forums will likely answer most of your questions:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-dvc-resource-center-updated-january-2020.3592815/Most of the other 'Disney' sites also have DVC sections.

It is a point based system so flexible but they have made changes recently that have increased restrictions related to resale purchases going forward particularly on the newer resorts, currently RR.

 

[Bowen Family]

We bought resale and saved a lot, a lot of money. The loss of perks doesn't come close to making up what we saved, for us. Our province doesn't allow us to buy direct unless we were in Florida, but resale was not a problem. We used a reputable broker and they made everything very easy. We paid the deposit on our CC, and then did a wire transfer for the rest of the balance.

We have no regrets and are so glad we bought in when we did!

Curious, what are the member perks? Just merchandise discounts? And any idea how small a direct contract you need to purchase to qualify for DVC member perks? I’ve heard of members who buy an initial direct contract at a lower cost resort, say Vero Beach or Hilton, then bulk up on resale contracts with the same UY but at their preferred WDW home resort(s). We’ve been wondering the benefits of this approach, but managing various contracts seems like a potential hassle.

 

[Minniemoo15]

Curious, what are the member perks? Just merchandise discounts? And any idea how small a direct contract you need to purchase to qualify for DVC member perks? I’ve heard of members who buy an initial direct contract at a lower cost resort, say Vero Beach or Hilton, then bulk up on resale contracts with the same UY but at their preferred WDW home resort(s). We’ve been wondering the benefits of this approach, but managing various contracts seems like a potential hassle.

You need 100 points direct for full perks. I would not buy Vero or HH unless you were planning on staying there. The annual dues are very high and will negate any savings pretty quickly. Also you run the risk of not being able to switch to an on-site resort at 7 months. Availability will be tighter than usual for the next couple of years.

As for the perks we miss out on :

Merch and dining discounts - these are minimal for us
Annual pass discounts - we go once a year so this wasn’t a factor either
Epcot lounge - though we DO get access to the Top of the World lounge at BLT so that’s great
Extra events like moonlight magic - not a big deal either for us - We can buy a lot of after hours tickets with the $$ we saved buying resale. Interestingly I was able to buy after hours tickets with a DVC discount this past year even as resale. Not sure if that was an error or something I am entitled to but it was a nice surprise.

The biggest change is that we miss out on the ability to use our points at RIV. I figure we can stay cash for the money we saved though if we ever really want to.

Finally, we are not able to use our points on disney cruises, concierge collection etc. This is a terrible use of points anyway so really doesn’t bother me.

I’m sure there are other incidental perks we miss out on - but after doing a full roundup - we realized resale made sense for us.

 

[Bowen Family]

You need 100 points direct for full perks. I would not buy Vero or HH unless you were planning on staying there. The annual dues are very high and will negate any savings pretty quickly. Also you run the risk of not being able to switch to an on-site resort at 7 months. Availability will be tighter than usual for the next couple of years.

As for the perks we miss out on :

Merch and dining discounts - these are minimal for us
Annual pass discounts - we go once a year so this wasn’t a factor either
Epcot lounge - though we DO get access to the Top of the World lounge at BLT so that’s great
Extra events like moonlight magic - not a big deal either for us - We can buy a lot of after hours tickets with the $$ we saved buying resale. Interestingly I was able to buy after hours tickets with a DVC discount this past year even as resale. Not sure if that was an error or something I am entitled to but it was a nice surprise.

The biggest change is that we miss out on the ability to use our points at RIV. I figure we can stay cash for the money we saved though if we ever really want to.

Finally, we are not able to use our points on disney cruises, concierge collection etc. This is a terrible use of points anyway so really doesn’t bother me.

I’m sure there are other incidental perks we miss out on - but after doing a full roundup - we realized resale made sense for us.

Thank you very much for this! Your WDW travel needs sound near identical to ours. If we do decide to buy DVC it’s strictly because we’re renting DVC points or doing cash stays at WDW 1-2 times/yr, so DVC just makes more financial sense for us. And the current point rental problems we’re navigating right now for our cancelled May trip has us thinking about just taking the ownership plunge.

And 100 direct points to get those perks? No thanks! I think 150 resale points will cover us just fine for our AKL stays. Also thinking of SSR since we love Dis Springs. In fact, we find our trips are equally about the parks as they are resort/dining hopping and Dis Springs. So SSR might be the ticket.

One last question: what is RIV?

Cheers!

 

[Minniemoo15]

Thank you very much for this! Your WDW travel needs sound near identical to ours. If we do decide to buy DVC it’s strictly because we’re renting DVC points or doing cash stays at WDW 1-2 times/yr, so DVC just makes more financial sense for us. And the current point rental problems we’re navigating right now for our cancelled May trip has us thinking about just taking the ownership plunge.

And 100 direct points to get those perks? No thanks! I think 150 resale points will cover us just fine for our AKL stays. Also thinking of SSR since we love Dis Springs. In fact, we find our trips are equally about the parks as they are resort/dining hopping and Dis Springs. So SSR might be the ticket.

One last question: what is RIV?

Cheers!

We rented too for about 3 years before we took the plunge and bought our own contract. And now I am happier than ever to have control over our own reservations. We too have shifted from parks parks parks to more resort time - which is why we love the DVC resorts so much. SSR is a great economical choice in terms of buy in/annual dues.

We ended up buying at Poly which we just love. Surprisingly - when we did the math it was one of the most economical if you are OK with only
Studios.

RIV is the newest DVC Resort - Riviera. If you buy resale at any of the original 14 resorts you can only trade amongst those 14 and not into any of the new resorts going forward (right now just RIV but presumably Reflections in a few years as well). We love the original 14 so this is Ok with us. On a similar note - I would NOT buy a RIV resale contract - If you do, you can ONLY stay at there and cannot trade anywhere at all.

We bought a contract that had a lot of banked points. This allowed us to rent these “extra” points out that first year which brought down our overall cost AND paid our dues the first year. Renting is a somewhat less safe bet in this climate, but I still think “loaded” contracts with lots of banked points are worth searching for.

Another thing to think about is your use year. Ideally you want it just before you typically travel to allow for maximum flexibility. For example: our use year is February and will get our 2021 points on Feb 1. I just booked a trip booked for March 2021. If we can’t go because the border is closed, or we don’t have travel insurance - or whatever - I can cancel 31 days before and get my points back in full. We can plan a trip for later in the year, or I can bank them into 2022 if I want.

 

[Bowen Family]

This is all such great info. Can’t thank you enough for this.

And I can’t believe I didn’t make the RIV connection! LOL. We actually visited RIV when we were there in Dec 2019. The Skyliner access is great, but it otherwise didn’t make a big impression on us. So one more reason to stuck with the other 14.

We’ve never stayed at Poly but visit it every trip and love it there. On your advice we’ll be sure to cost compare it to the others. Thanks again and I hope your March plans work out! We’re hoping to rebook our current rented points for May 2021.

 

[Minniemoo15]

This is all such great info. Can’t thank you enough for this.

And I can’t believe I didn’t make the RIV connection! LOL. We actually visited RIV when we were there in Dec 2019. The Skyliner access is great, but it otherwise didn’t make a big impression on us. So one more reason to stuck with the other 14.

We’ve never stayed at Poly but visit it every trip and love it there. On your advice we’ll be sure to cost compare it to the others. Thanks again and I hope your March plans work out! We’re hoping to rebook our current rented points for May 2021.

no worries at all. Any questions feel free to send me a PM. My husband made a spreadsheet to compare all the resorts and prices, with the ability to plunk in specific contracts to see their relative value - I’d be happy to share if you’d like.

I hope your 2021 trip is a go as well. Crossing my fingers for a super fast vaccine. If we can’t go to WDW in March I am toying with the idea of Aulani for summer 2021 instead. That’s the nice flexibility owning DVC brings. There should be some good resale contracts coming up soon... likely a great time to buy. Good luck !

 

[Bowen Family]

Thanks, I may take you up on the spreadsheet offer! Yes, I am keeping a close eye on the ROFR and resale threads to monitor prices. Like your family, we’d much prefer the control of managing our own reservations. The point rentals through a broker work great...until they don’t. Time to move on to greener pastures! Cheers.

 

[CanadaDisney05]

Here is what we did.... We bought 75 points direct at Saratoga (this was before they increased the blue card threshold from 75 points to 100 points), and then bought 125 points resale at Saratoga. Here is my math using current numbers.

SSR Direct = $160 PP
SSR Resale = Roughly $100 PP
Difference = $60 PP

We travel once a year in the summer for 10 days. We are a family of 4. 2 Disney adults and 2 Disney children.

10 Day Par Hopper Ticket = $694.42 USD per adults and $670.68 USD per child.
Platinum Annual Pass = $1,272.68

If you stagger your vacations by 10 days or so every year (we go in August in one year followed by July the next), you can buy an annual pass and get two annual vacations on a single pass. Unfortunately, the cost the Platinum pass is more than the cost of 2 x 10 Day Park Hopper Tickets. This trick doesn't work with the Platinum Pass. However......

One of the current membership benefits that you get with a DVC blue card, is access to purchase the Gold Annual Pass which costs $765.74.

765.74 x 4 = $3,062.94
(694.42 x 2 x 2) + (670.68 x 2 x 2) = $5,460.40

5,460.40- 3,062.94 = $2,397.46

So every two years, I save $2,397.46 on tickets. Or in other words, I save about $1,200 USD per year on tickets.

In order to get that blue card, it costs an extra $6,000 USD ($60 x 100).

6,000 / 1,200 = 5 years break even. On a 34 year contract, that's not too bad.

A few things to keep in mind

- The membership benefits can and will change with time.
- The membership benefits can technically be taken away at anytime. They are an added benefit. You are not purchasing the right to access these benefits.
- The above analysis didn't factor any discounts, such as the Canadian ticket discount which seems to appear annually.
- Prices of tickets and annual passes can and will change. The difference between normal tickets and gold annual pass could shrink.
- The above analysis compared Park Hopper tickets. If you go with the base ticket, you have to change the numbers. The break even length would be a bit longer.
- The above analysis used a specific dated ticket price in July. Ticket prices change based on dates so you have to re-run the numbers with your own situation.
- The current exchange rate is pretty bad. If you bought today you would be paying that $6,000 at todays rate. If the rate gets better in the future, it extends your break even period. However, if the rate gets worst, it shortens your break even period.
- The resale price used was just an estimate (well its exactly what I paid in September for my resale contract).
- This was based on my family of 4. If you have less or more people in your family, the breakeven will change dramatically.

This was a long post, so I will make a second post with an additional factor....

EDIT: I forgot to mention... The Gold Pass is blacked out at Spring Break and Xmas periods. If you travel at those times, this whole thing is moot.

 

[CanadaDisney05]

This was a big deal for me. It may be less of a big deal for you. We had a bit of the Fear of Missing Out. If we were going to invest in a contract like this for the next 35 years, we wanted to have full access to the new resorts. Remember, it's not just Riviera. It's Riviera, Reflections, the new rumored Disneyland DVC, and anything they may build from here on out. We don't need to be able to go to those resorts every single year, but we liked the idea of being able to check them out once in a while.

With 100 points, you can bank and borrow them in a way that will give you 300 points to use at once, every 3 years. In the other two years, you utilize the resale contract.

So while there is still some limitations on our use, atleast we know we won't be shut out of those resorts completely. Right now it may not seem like a big deal because only 1/15 resorts fall into this category. But by 2042, it could easily be 6/15, or 8/17. Considering the savings on annual passes in the first few years, even if they do-away with the membership benefits and we never break-even, the net cost to get access to the new resorts, moonlight magic, and other benefits didn't seem so big anymore.

Of course, I would never have bought my entire 200 points direct. The difference in price there would have been too substantial for me to justify.

 

[Kaadk]

...
10 Day Par Hopper Ticket = $694.42 USD per adults and $670.68 USD per child.
Platinum Annual Pass = $1,272.68

If you stagger your vacations by 10 days or so every year (we go in August in one year followed by July the next), you can buy an annual pass and get two annual vacations on a single pass. Unfortunately, the cost the Platinum pass is more than the cost of 2 x 10 Day Park Hopper Tickets. This trick doesn't work with the Platinum Pass. ...

Once your kids reach adult prices (like mine did this year) that will change. Here's a screenshot of my calculations, showing that even at the cheapest of 2020 rates (mid Sept), you can be better off with 4 APs vs just buying tickets as long as you take even 2 trips in the same year at 8 day tickets. If you travel at Christmas, you can break even on two 4 day tickets:



Note: this doesn't take into account any of the DVC savings, as I'm not DVC (just browsing) and don't have relevant values for those factored in. I built this sheet trying to decide if our upcoming trip gets postponed, whether or not it would be worthwhile to upgrade to APs on the next trip, and do two in a year to get back to our every 18 month or so schedule we seem to follow.