Buying to go every other year?

[Fall1]

DH and I have thought and thought about this and we've finally decided we can afford to buy and pay dues on enough points to travel to WDW every other year.

We always stay Deluxe when we go so I know in the long run it can save us money if we plan to go every other year and stay Deluxe anyway.

Did anyone buy enought points to go every other year? Example: buy 150 points and bank/borrow so that you have 300 pts every other year. That's how it works, right?

We'd be looking at buying BCV through resale and ideally traveling in Apri/May/October/November. I'm thinking we'd want a August or September Use Year, does that sound right?

Thanks!!!!!!!!!

 

[Sandisw]

Yes, that is exactly how it works. I personally bought enough to go every year, but bought a small resale contract at VWL and then added on with less points at BLT (since BLT was where I wanted my home resort to be, but didn't want to do the full new member add on, rumored to be going to 200 but never did). My plan was to wait 6 months to do the add on, but I was so excited about being a member that I did it in less than 5 days!

There are many on these boards that will do exactly what you are doing. If you are still deciding on resort preference, Disney is currently letting in new members at AKL and SSR for only 100 pts and there are some incentives as well.

Of course, there are some really good resale deals out there, especially for SSR, so you have plenty of options!

The great thing about becoming a member using your every other year plan is that if you realize you love it and want to go more often, you can add on more points. If you buy more than you need, before you are comfortable in doing so, you may feel "stuck"!


Good luck and happy planning!!!!!

 

[lisah0711]

Yep, that is exactly what we did when we first got our DVC - got enough points for a 2 bedroom at VWL every other year. Of course, that was more than two years ago and since we bought another 210 points but the dangers of addonitis is another story . . . Good luck with your purchase decision!

 

[5forDiz]

Did anyone buy enought points to go every other year? Example: buy 150 points and bank/borrow so that you have 300 pts every other year. That's how it works, right?

We'd be looking at buying BCV through resale and ideally traveling in Apri/May/October/November. I'm thinking we'd want a August or September Use Year, does that sound right?

Thanks!!!!!!!!!

To answer first - August or September is not a good choice particularly for travel in April & May because of banking deadline & time remaining to end of UY - you'd probably be past the banking deadline if you had to cancel close to your April or May travel dates and would only have 2 -3 months to try to rebook and use those pts before the UY ends. Imho April or October is best choice because with April UY you'd have until November 30 to bank pts into next Use Year if you had to make a late cancellation or with October UY until May 31 to bank.
Using April UY for example - April 1 2009 you get 2009 UY allotment of 150 pts available to cover trips from 4/1/2009 - 3/31/2010; if your trip is booked for April,May,Oct or Nov utilizing these pts and you cancel 31 days or more before the check-in date you'd still have until Nov 30 2009 to bank these points into 2010 UY
~ OR ~ you have until 3/31/2010 to use the pts for another trip.

~ If you cancel a trip less than 30 days to check-in or if the reservation used banked & borrowed pts as well then you may not bank the current UY points but at least you'd have until 3/31/2010 to use the current UY points (& banked or borrowed pts if used ) for another reservation - so even a cancellation of less than 31 days before a trip during November still leaves you 4 months to use points.

And Yes, with either banking or borrowing you'd have double allotment of points every two years (every 'other' year) :

Banking 150 pts from current Use Year into next upcoming Use Year gives you 300 pts during that UY. Or borrow 150 pts from the upcoming Use Year into current Use Year - that gives you 300 pts as well.

With both banking & borrowing you can have 450 pts every third year ( ie 2009 UY pts banked into 2010 UY + 2010 UY pts + borrowing 2011 UY pts into 2010 UY gives you 450 pts available for stay during 2010 UY )

Best wishes on your planning, there's some great contracts of different sizes at many resorts on the resale market, hope you soon find one that is just right for you !

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

We have 100 points and it has worked well for us.

We can pretty much vacation anytime we want - as long as we don't go too often.

We have found that we just plan a vacation, and then plan the next vacation according to what we have left, and when the points expire.

The drawbacks of a small contract is that you have a much smaller margin of error. If you can't go on your trip, then you've got 2 years worth of points tied up instead of just one.

Make sure you purchase a contract with a UY just before your usual travel dates, and that you have another date that you can usually travel later in the year.

 

[Misty89]

That is what we will do, once we become owners.
We are planning on buying 50 - 75 points at SSR next Summer. (resale)
it might even be every third year for a bit. i am looking at it this way, when we do go every 3 years it will be at the most $ times of the year - spring break or christmas so we will need to bank & borrow points to get enough points for that week. ( DD of to college next year, DD entering middle school)
it will change as my family gets older and DH and I are the only ones traveling, but then we will be ready to buy more points


Tina

 

[user17600]

Imho April or October is best choice because with April UY you'd have until November 30 to bank pts into next Use Year if you had to make a late cancellation or with October UY until May 31 to bank.
Using April UY for example - April 1 2009 you get 2009 UY allotment of 150 pts available to cover trips from 4/1/2009 - 3/31/2010; if your trip is booked for April,May,Oct or Nov utilizing these pts and you cancel 31 days or more before the check-in date you'd still have until Nov 30 2009 to bank these points into 2010 UY
~ OR ~ you have until 3/31/2010 to use the pts for another trip.

~ If you cancel a trip less than 30 days to check-in or if the reservation used banked & borrowed pts as well then you may not bank the current UY points but at least you'd have until 3/31/2010 to use the current UY points (& banked or borrowed pts if used ) for another reservation - so even a cancellation of less than 31 days before a trip during November still leaves you 4 months to use points.

Okay, long time lurker, first time poster: and not to completely hijack this discussion, but what would the group recommend for the optimal UY if we usually traveled to WDW in the Sept/Oct timeframe each year?

I'm really confused by this UY thing and don't want to end up losing points if we come up against a delay (that whole rotten school year hurricane season thing ;-) ).

It looks to me like I would want to be about 9-10 months out to get the best pick of the rooms (thinking VWL), but there do seem to be caveats even to that!

TIA

 

[Sandisw]

Okay, long time lurker, first time poster: and not to completely hijack this discussion, but what would the group recommend for the optimal UY if we usually traveled to WDW in the Sept/Oct timeframe each year?

I'm really confused by this UY thing and don't want to end up losing points if we come up against a delay (that whole rotten school year hurricane season thing ;-) ).

It looks to me like I would want to be about 9-10 months out to get the best pick of the rooms (thinking VWL), but there do seem to be caveats even to that!

TIA

If you typically travel in Sept/Oct, then August UY would be ideal. This would be when your points would be deposited into your account each year.

Ideally, you want to try to have your travel occur in the first 8 months of your UY since you would still be able to bank any points if a trip gets cancelled 31 days out (cancelling with less than 30 days is a whole different set of rules for points).

Your UY has no effect on when you can book a vacation. You can book a reservation at your home resort 11 months in advance of your trip, while non-owners at that resort must wait until 7 months. Basically, owners get a 3 month advantage.

For example, say you wanted to travel in September of 2010, you can book that trip as early as October of 2009. As long as your account has the points when you travel, you are all set (they don't have to be there when you book).

Hope this helps!

 

[jodifla]

DH and I have thought and thought about this and we've finally decided we can afford to buy and pay dues on enough points to travel to WDW every other year.

We always stay Deluxe when we go so I know in the long run it can save us money if we plan to go every other year and stay Deluxe anyway.

Did anyone buy enought points to go every other year? Example: buy 150 points and bank/borrow so that you have 300 pts every other year. That's how it works, right?

We'd be looking at buying BCV through resale and ideally traveling in Apri/May/October/November. I'm thinking we'd want a August or September Use Year, does that sound right?

Thanks!!!!!!!!!

We bought in at 150 points, and we went annually on that point total, sometimes more than once.

We did studio stays on weekends then Sun-thurs in larger units to stretch points.

 

[DVCGeek]

I plan to add-on 40 points @ VGC so I can go for 4 nights in a studio every 3rd year (or less and let someone else use the 'excess' points). [I want 11 month reservations there for the times years I DO go]

I've read of many others who buy DVC planning for less than annual trips. As long as you are happy with that frequency and the $$$ works, I say go for it! Just make sure you still factor in the dues.

For us, a DVC studio usually costs less than (or at least close to) a preferred location value resort room @ rack rate. I wouldn't ever want to stay at a lesser room than that again, so it made sense for us to purchase. Similarly, we want to go to WDW every year and DL less frequently, and a VGC studio will cost us significantly less than standard view room at Paradise Pier. Save money & much better accommodations- if you can afford it up front and are sure you plan to use it for the foreseeable future, it is a no brainer in my book.

 

[Fall1]

We bought in at 150 points, and we went annually on that point total, sometimes more than once.

We did studio stays on weekends then Sun-thurs in larger units to stretch points.

That's a great point jodifla! How many of you stayed in a Studio? I'm wondering if it will be ok for our family....2 adults and 2 kids - both 2.

Thanks!

 

[jodifla]

That's a great point jodifla! How many of you stayed in a Studio? I'm wondering if it will be ok for our family....2 adults and 2 kids - both 2.

Thanks!

There are 3 of us...DH, me and DS, now 7. He's been going to WDW since he was 5 months old!

We were attracted to DVC by its flexibility....in rooms, locations, and trip length.

We stay in studios on short trips, and in bigger rooms on longer trips. We added on 56 points, so with 206 points a year, we bank some years, borrow others.

Our last trip was in a 2 bedroom at OKW with 3 groups of various pals coming and going.

It was a blast.

 

[KingdomJack]

Do it.

 

[adminjedi]

If you go regularly and pay cash for staying at a Deluxe resort, owning DVC will surely save you money.

Buy what you can afford now and plan your frequency accordingly. If you can afford more later, and you want to go more often (WARNING: YOU WILL ) you can add on.

We originally planned on going once every other year, but you can see by our 3 trips this year that plan was tossed aside!