Can someone explain paying cash for weekends?

[Chereya]

Would someone be able to explain how paying cash for Friday and Saturday night works? I get that Sun-Thurs is the cheapest use of points. How much does it cost in cash to pay for Fri and Sat? Is this the same price as non-DVC owners pay when they reserve through Disney central reservations? Is it really cheaper than the cash you'd be paying for the increased points? I'm still crunching numbers trying to figure out how many points I'd need and would buy. Looking primarily at BLT.

TIA!

 

[wdwfanatic316]

Would someone be able to explain how paying cash for Friday and Saturday night works? I get that Sun-Thurs is the cheapest use of points. How much does it cost in cash to pay for Fri and Sat? Is this the same price as non-DVC owners pay when they reserve through Disney central reservations? Is it really cheaper than the cash you'd be paying for the increased points? I'm still crunching numbers trying to figure out how many points I'd need and would buy. Looking primarily at BLT.

TIA!

I've never actually done this, but from reading other threads about this topic it seems that when people do this, they usually stay at a less expensive resort (value or moderate) and then switch to their DVC resort.

 

[vicki_c]

Or you can try to get the DVC discounted room (25%), but it's subject to availability.

 

[DVC Dude]

I value DVC points at $10pp

Thus if it costs 35 points to reserve a Sat night or if I can pay $275 cash, then I will pay cash instead of using my points. These are just make up numbers, but do illustrate the reasons for each.

 

[DebbieB]

I've done it 3 times at OKW in a 1 bedroom in May. It's 48 points per weekend night. I did it about 5 years ago, at the time a 1 bedroom with the member discount was about $325 with tax. So that was less than $7 a point. At the time, I was not in a position to add-on, so I did it to stretch my points. I figured if you amortized the purchase price over the remaining years and add the annual dues for that year, it was close to $7 a point. One time I did it for just Saturday night, one time both Friday and Saturday nights. That way we got an extra night or two without moving. Another time I did an AP rate, it was less and it was our last night (Friday) so I figured the odds were low we would have to move.

 

[buzz5985]

We do it quite often. This past summer we took my DS and her family for Sun-Thu at OKW and then Sun-Thu at HH. 2 - 2 BRs. So we needed a place to stay that weekend in between. We have enough points for what we need - a 1 BR - there are only 3 of us. But my Father started to travel with us, we take other family.... Maybe I do need more points!!!

 

[realfam]

We do it too most stays. With the DVC discount, I find it lets you stetch your vacation a little longer.

 

[gracelrm]

We often do this for Hilton Head trips. We usually arrive on Saturday and stay through Friday morning - the Sun-Thurs points are reasonable; however the Sat. points are killers. So we pay cash (with the member discount) for one night and our points don't take a huge hit. This past Oct, we did this for OKW too. We are currently saving points for a big family trip with DH extended family, but we wanted to extend our Sun-Thursday stay for one more night - we didn't want to spend the weekend points so we paid cash with the discount. It seems to maximize our points with just a little extra cash. We don't do this every time, just when it makes sense. When we take our extended family, we're not sure yet how many rooms we'll end up booking and if we run out of points to accommodate everyone, then we'll probably pay cash for our room for a weekend night and save those points so no one else has to pay for accommodations.

 

[Chereya]

So... I could call to reserve at the 11 month window and say that I'd like an 8 night stay Sun - Mon, using points for the first 5 days, Sun - Thurs, pay cash for Fri & Sat nights and use points for the last Sun? And I would be comparing the room cost of cash w/ 25% DVC discount vs renting a point transfer from another DVC owner at aprox $10 pp?

I have been pondering buying DVC off and on for years now and am finally getting to the point where I am starting to understand some of the complexities of the sheer amount of personal choice! And I have to explain it all to DH in the simplest way I can! I really don't want to get suckered into buying more points that we need to. DH does not want to feel like we're obligated to plan trips to WDW more frequently that he's ready for. I think getting the right amount of points for every other year would give us some flexibility to stretch it every 3 years if needed.

I don't think we'd need to current min of 160 points and we're in no hurry to get DVC right away. I think what I'd like to do is keep an eye out on the BLT resale market in the coming year and try for a 100 pt contract.

 

[realfam]

You certainly can make a booking at the 11 month mark. Use points for 5 days and pay cash for the rest. Make sure they link the 2 reservations together and that way you will not have to change rooms. Weve done it several times now. It certainly stretches your points out.

So... I could call to reserve at the 11 month window and say that I'd like an 8 night stay Sun - Mon, using points for the first 5 days, Sun - Thurs, pay cash for Fri & Sat nights and use points for the last Sun? And I would be comparing the room cost of cash w/ 25% DVC discount vs renting a point transfer from another DVC owner at aprox $10 pp?

I have been pondering buying DVC off and on for years now and am finally getting to the point where I am starting to understand some of the complexities of the sheer amount of personal choice! And I have to explain it all to DH in the simplest way I can! I really don't want to get suckered into buying more points that we need to. DH does not want to feel like we're obligated to plan trips to WDW more frequently that he's ready for. I think getting the right amount of points for every other year would give us some flexibility to stretch it every 3 years if needed.

I don't think we'd need to current min of 160 points and we're in no hurry to get DVC right away. I think what I'd like to do is keep an eye out on the BLT resale market in the coming year and try for a 100 pt contract.

 

[Sandisw]

The minimum buy-in for BLT (for new members) went up to 200 points as of January 15th.

For current members, it is now 100 points.

 

[Deb & Bill]

So... I could call to reserve at the 11 month window and say that I'd like an 8 night stay Sun - Mon, using points for the first 5 days, Sun - Thurs, pay cash for Fri & Sat nights and use points for the last Sun? And I would be comparing the room cost of cash w/ 25% DVC discount vs renting a point transfer from another DVC owner at aprox $10 pp?....

However, the discounted rate is not always available and not usually at 11 months out. You might have to pay rack rate for the Fri and Sat night. If you have an AP, you sometimes can get an AP rate through CRO, but you might have to move. You will have to have the CRO reservation note the MS reservation on it and vice versa. Plus make both reservations in the same name. That helps. When you check in, ask the CM at check in if you are booked into the same room for the entire stay.