Cash or Points - What would you do?

[disneyfan2kids]

I'm currently reserved for Saturday (Dec. 29) - Saturday (Jan. 5). That first night (Sat) I'm reserved on cash with 25% DVC discount (total is $299 + tax). Points for that night is 39 (!!) I was hesitant to use that many point for 1 night...so I brokedown and reserved cash. (Kinda make you wonder why I bought if I wasn't gonna use my points...ha!)

Now I'm considering flying in Friday night and staying at POP or AS for that first night (Friday). I'm assuming that crowds will be horrific and we'll spend Saturday roaming resorts to avoid parks anyway.

My question - I will NOT pay another $299 for another w/e night (fri) so if I stay at POP or AS should I just extend that stay for Sat. too to save the money and avoid w/e points. Considering the fact that I'm not checking in until very late friday night anyway. Or should I just keep my SSR cash stay for Sat. and check in to AS late Friday for transport to SSR early Sat. Actually - considering my kids will be 6 & 2...I'm thinking they may enjoy 2 nights at POP or ASMovies. (One is a big "Buzz Lightyear" fan...)

I'm also wondering if I have a better chance of getting my room request if I check in to SSR on Sat or Sun. during that NYE week...do you think it matters?

Also - should I extend the following weekend to a Sunday checkout for only 20 points for that Sat. night (value DVC season)?

This will be our 3 DVC trip this year... so it will be our last for awhile (3 times in 1 year is plenty to hold us off for a bit... we probably won't go back until Oct. 08) My plans are to avoid the crowds during NYE and do "resort" type stuff until Wed. when most go home and THEN enjoy the parks for Wed - Sat/Sun.

The current trip is using 06 banked points...so I won't have even touched my 2007 points yet, so I"m not exactly trying to "save" points...but I always like to use the least amount possible. However, I don't want to "save" to the point of paying SO much for a trip that could've been free with DVC.

Just looking for advice... thanks!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Sounds to me like you are in need of an add-on. That's how the dreaded "addonitis" starts! We suffered a severe case in our first year of ownership and had to add on 150 to our original 230 to have enough. I reccommend adding on at your home resort so you have the flexibility to stay the length of time you prefer. Now that you have a few trips under your belt, you will know better how many points work best for you.

 

[TEK224]

Disneyfan,

Since you're going to check in to a value on Friday anyway, I would stay there for Sat. and save the w/e points and money.

I don't usually like to change resorts in the middle of my stay (takes away my park time). I'm going in Aug. arriving on a Sat. and am using points so I don't have to switch.

If you weren't arriving Fri. I'd say just stay at SSR, but since you'll be somewhere else anyway, sav the $ and points.

 

[mla973]

I agree. Sounds like your children might end up liking All Star too!

Disneyfan,
If you weren't arriving Fri. I'd say just stay at SSR, but since you'll be somewhere else anyway, sav the $ and points.

 

[tubtruck]

Best way rent the point out use the cash to pay for the room, afterall you would rent 39points out for $290 would you?

 

[ChefMickey]

I don't understand why people are so afraid of weekend points. I know they seem like alot and you could possibly get another stay if they were not used. The reason I bought DVC was so I didn't have to pay oop for a room. I'm not going to go through the trouble of renting just to turn around and pay cash. The difference is miniscule.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I don't understand why people are so afraid of weekend points. I know they seem like alot and you could possibly get another stay if they were not used. The reason I bought DVC was so I didn't have to pay oop for a room. I'm not going to go through the trouble of renting just to turn around and pay cash. The difference is miniscule.

I really do agree with this. It is a timeshare, and as such, you need to look at it in terms of "weeks" not "days". The point costs for a week at a time are very reasonable (at least at my resort), and I DID buy DVC to not have to pay additional for WDW accommodations. I feel that if you are finding you need to pay cash to allow you to stay a full week, then you probabaly don't have the correct amount of points to enjoy the full "pre-paid vacation" value that DVC offers.

 

[Anal Annie]

Personally, I would just hate all the moving around from place to place day to day...I'd pick one resort & stick with it! Even just switching resorts is like a travel day - it eats it up with packing, checking in, settling in...

I'm also not sure I'd pay with cash if I still had points available (unless I had another trip in mind later). Now if you were totally out of points & wanted to add a couple of days with cash...diff. story... But hey - this is just my opinion and I'm also one to use points to cruise with - which a lot of people disagree about...

 

[kimberh]

If you have the time and Sun is 20 points, then by all means stay and enjoy your stay before you head home. WDW is so pretty at this time of year. If I were you, I would stay at the All stars on the FRi- Sat nights. Two nights in a row are easier to deal with than one and a lot cheaper dollars vs points. If you need the cash, rent or transfer those points, and get the cash, if not save them for a future trip.

 

[Trebor]

The current trip is using 06 banked points...so I won't have even touched my 2007 points yet, so I"m not exactly trying to "save" points...but I always like to use the least amount possible. However, I don't want to "save" to the point of paying SO much for a trip that could've been free with DVC.

What I don't understand is, if you're using banked points and not planning on going again until Oct 2008, what are you going to do with the points you wouldn't be using? If you have the points and they're going to expire, you might as well use them.

And even if you had to dip into your 2007 points, is using 39 points going to affect your 2008 trip? Personally, I'd use the points I have and only pay cash as a last resort.

Of course, you could try to rent the points and then use then money to pay for the room, with someleft over, but I don't know if it's worth the hassle for the little bit of extra cash.

As to staying the extra night: of course!!

 

[Dean]

I don't understand why people are so afraid of weekend points. I know they seem like alot and you could possibly get another stay if they were not used. The reason I bought DVC was so I didn't have to pay oop for a room. I'm not going to go through the trouble of renting just to turn around and pay cash. The difference is miniscule.

I'm off kilter from most here. To me each and every point has a value. I have to decide what value I'm willing to accept and for non distressed points my current cut off is around $10 per point. I can understand some flexibility in looking at the big picture but one should at least consider the cost. All I'm saying is think about it then make a decision. Obviously for one night alone a difference of $100 total isn't that big a deal either way. In this scenario I'd probably stay at the value 2 nights and cancel the DVC cash reservation OR do both weekend nights on cash at DVC so I didn't have to move.

While DVC is a timeshare, it's the only one I personally know where one can reserve less than 7 days just as easily, cheaply and on equal ground to someone reserving 7 days.

 

[dvcnewgirl]

I would stay at a Moderate. I miss POFQ since I bought DVC and I would stay both nights and pay about the same as SSR. I also cannot stand spending points on weekends all of my trips are Sun-Fri if I can control the situation. I know it is a timeshare and we should look at week points, but I like to get as many vactaions as I can get and I do not have a huge contract and I am NOT adding on again... ( Hubby will move out ) Good Luck and have fun!

 

[kate2961]

How funny...I'm doing the same thing.

I rented BCV Sun - Fri w/points and then paid cash for Fri - Sat. I could use points for the weekend but I didn't think I was getting enough value for them based on rental rates ($10pp) compared to point rate.

We are driving and will get there late Saturday. I don't want to pay a high rate for that first day when we will get very little time at WDW. So we are staying at a value resort (Pop). I also see this as a great chance for us to try out the different resorts.

If it were me, I think I would stay at the value resort an extra night if we arrived a day early. It would help w/that packing/unpacking feeling.

Hope you have a magical trip -

Kate

 

[Deb & Bill]

I agree with Diane, Annie and Trebor. If you are already looking at banking your 07 points, why not use them for your stay in 07 and 08?

We bought our points to use them and we look at it like Diane. How many points do we need for the entire stay, not for each separate night of the trip.

We just reserved four nights in Jan for my husband and his friend at OKW so they can run the 15th Disney Marathon and the 5K. It took 56 points for the four nights (Thurs thru Mon - two higher point nights in there). But they are going to have fun and not have to worry about changing rooms, paying cash for a room, etc. All they have to do is run, sleep and eat.

 

[blossomz]

I'm with Diane...we had the same problem and we got addonitis so bad...we ended up buying more points so we didn't have to worry! Good luck!

 

[ChefMickey]

Here's my theory-the reason weekend points are so high is because people do this. Disney already has your money you bought into DVC with and they're getting people to pay cash for Fri and Sat nights AND they are getting more trips out of people. Now for those of you who do pay cash for the weekends, add that oop expense (rack rate which will continue to go up)to the price you already paid for DVC and tell me if it's worth it. I'll use my points for the weekend thank you very much, I bought enough points to get at least two weeks a year. Maybe I'm naive but I DON'T GET IT.

 

[Dean]

Here's my theory-the reason weekend points are so high is because people do this. Disney already has your money you bought into DVC with and they're getting people to pay cash for Fri and Sat nights AND they are getting more trips out of people. Now for those of you who do pay cash for the weekends, add that oop expense (rack rate which will continue to go up)to the price you already paid for DVC and tell me if it's worth it. I'll use my points for the weekend thank you very much, I bought enough points to get at least two weeks a year. Maybe I'm naive but I DON'T GET IT.

Every points system I know that allows stays less than a week has higher points on the weekend. Even then, most of them give those booking at least a full week a priority usually in terms of being able to book months earlier than those booking less than a full week. The conventional wisdom is that this is to discourage weekend stays and encourage full week stays. It works well at all the ones I know about except DVC. For DVC it's actually a reverse issue in that some of us just stay weekdays. This is due mostly due to the fact that there is no incentive to book a full week other than to get a longer stay and not penalty to do so.

As for the idea that DVC and Disney wants us to pay cash for the weekend or the related idea that DVC and Disney will make money above simply using the points, I doubt that's the case either for intent or actual profit. But what it will do if enough people just do weekdays is throw the points balance off. Ultimately the end result could be more points than days available if weekend days go unused on points. That could mean some members would lose points or have to use them for non DVC stays when they prefer to stay at DVC.

 

[ChefMickey]

You're right about it throwing the points off balance but that's my theory and I'm stickin to it.

 

[lizziepooh]

This is how I look at it. When I add my maint fees and my original cost per point, I figure my cost per point for this year is less than $7. So $7 x 39 points is $273 which is still less than the cash DVC discount of $299 plus tax. Yes I know I could rent them for $10 then pay cash, but would not go to the trouble to do that for l or 2 nights. So, I would just use my points for the weekend unless I had a plan to use them for another trip. If I needed to save points and pay cash for 2 nights, I would probably just stay at a value or moderate resort for those nights.

 

[Dean]

You're right about it throwing the points off balance but that's my theory and I'm stickin to it.

They'd get more money if you bought more points than if you pay cash on weekends.