Considering a Poly/Riviera 200/150 Direct Purchase

[airjay75]

I think the only risk is if the next incentives and prices aren't any better or worse, and you pull the trigger, but the round after is better you would feel like you missed out.

I think you're best off having a contract now and you at least make sure you have the best deal in two periods. If pricing is the same or better on April 29 you can use the same strategy and then you have the best deal across three periods.

The longer you wait, the less in prorated dues you pay, the more your money can sit in a high yield saving account.



From what I've read some others have put their guide through , I think you'll be fine

Thank you. I think I'll be ok if the incentives come October are better - well, I guess if they are WAY better and/or would exceed the magical beginnings benefit, I might regret it just a bit, but I think I'd get over it.

I think I'll be very nice and upfront with my guide when I speak to her tomorrow about what I'm thinking. She has been incredibly nice so far, especially with the many e-mails and calls I gave the first few days after our tour as I was getting myself familiar with all of this.

 

[supercarrie]

Been thinking about this, particularly given that we are not planning on another Disney trip until late January or early February and are likely to sell back our first year points. On April 29th when they reveal the new offers, I am presuming there will also be an end date to those incentives announced at the same time (although maybe I'm wrong on that, and they provide that later). So, let's say I give the green light to my guide tomorrow, and the incentives are better on April 29th. So, I cancel my contract. If, instead of re-writing the new offer now, I then wait until the next round (say it's June 25th again) and do the same thing to straddle the incentive dates to see whether the June-September offers are better. Since I want an October UY, probably couldn't wait any longer than that. Seems to me this would ensure I get the best deal possible between these three offer periods while minimizing current year dues. It might make that Jan/Feb trip slightly harder to book if we want to stay at Riviera for part of all of it, but still wouldn't be in the 7-month window, so wouldn't be jeopardizing other resort availability. Of course, all of this is moot, if the new offers on April 29th are worse.

Is this a sound strategy? Am I risking something that I don't see? I imagine the fine print says they can change their offers and pricing any time, but it seems as a practical matter, that is highly unlikely to happen. I'm sure the guide is likely to be a bit annoyed, but I would think I'm not really doing anything wrong. Welcome any thoughts from anyone.

Yes, you definitely could do this. One thing to consider is that for a late January trip, you'd want to have the points loaded in your account by mid-June. They load within a couple hours when buying direct. Of course, you could always ask for a Welcome Home stay, too.

1 bedroom resort views at Riviera tend to last longer in the 7-11 month window over studios (which often are booked at 11 months out on the dot), but I wouldn't cut into the 7 month window if I wanted to stay at Riviera in February.

The offers can technically change earlier (for example, they had a great sale on Old Key West last year, and they pulled that down early for the high point tiers). In practicality, I can't think of an example where they pulled incentives early for an actively selling resort.

 

[airjay75]

Yes, you definitely could do this. One thing to consider is that for a late January trip, you'd want to have the points loaded in your account by mid-June. They load within a couple hours when buying direct. Of course, you could always ask for a Welcome Home stay, too.

1 bedroom resort views at Riviera tend to last longer in the 7-11 month window over studios (which often are booked at 11 months out on the dot), but I wouldn't cut into the 7 month window if I wanted to stay at Riviera in February.

The offers can technically change earlier (for example, they had a great sale on Old Key West last year, and they pulled that down early for the high point tiers). In practicality, I can't think of an example where they pulled incentives early for an actively selling resort.

As always, thank you so much. All of the data and information I've been able to obtain from you and everyone else has been just incredible. I feel like a plan is very much starting to gel for me as to how to get this going.

I'll be sure to keep everyone updated on how this goes.

 

[CarolynFH]

We feel very safe letting the kids get more independent as they become teenagers,

Yes, this is a wonderful thing too! Being able to let them go off on their own makes us happy as well as them.

 

[PolyRob]

Thank you so much for these thoughts. You're helping reinforce my decision to go with Riviera. And, on your last point, I totally get what you're saying. I was trying to explain to a couple of co-workers yesterday (who were trying to talk me out of this) that, look, it's not an investment (at all). There are plenty of rational reasons not to do this. But, if I do do this, my approach to vacationing is going to change. Instead of being my normal miserly self, and always waiting until later to book vacations and constantly second guessing whether we do this or do that, and whether staying here or staying there makes the most sense, I'm sort of saying, look, our family really likes Disney. Sure, we might decide to take other vacations and we always have the option of renting out our points to help with that too, but it's going to put me into a pattern of focusing travel planning around Disney trips for the foreseeable future. My wife and I are already planning when we want to use our points next. If I didn't do this, there is no way I'd be thinking about that right now - I'd be like, we'll get around to it. If we want to do Disney, we can figure it out later - there's always plenty of options. Half the fun of vacation is looking forward to it. Going this route means you pretty much always put a Disney vacation on your calendar and have it to look forward to. I am finding it very appealing given how I know I would approach our future vacations if we don't do it.

I also think DVC really appeals to those of us who like to play the credit card games (which go hand in hand with purchasing your DVC contract). I have long played the credit card points game. Started with Chase UR universe, moved on to AmEx MRs, and have been full in on the AAdvantage miles/status games since American started letting people earn status with credit card spend. Playing the DVC game reminds me a lot of this. In some ways, it is like a hobby (although, some people might say addiction ).

I was booking at least three separate WDW trips annually before diving into DVC. Coworkers would scoff when they found out I was going to WDW again so I didn't even share that I purchased. It's a great feeling when you leave a WDW trip knowing you already have another one booked. It truly does feel like home!

I am also a CC churner and points hoarder. Getting direct DVC points subsidized by URs and MRs I cashed out, free flights, and dues covered by discounted Disney GCs that I accumulated throughout the year to hit minimum spend requirements on new credit cards makes the trips even more fun and exciting! Addiction is the right word. Just wait until you want to add on more points