Current Magical Beginnings promotion with Direct

[bravo2zero]

I told my wife last night that as much as I like these incentives, we'd wait closer to expiration; however, you all got me today with the My Chase Plan offer (I had forgotten I'd deleted the offer earlier in May). Now, I'm going to have to have that conversation with her tonight for adding on 150 at VGF...

Question for those wiser than I: Current contract is Feb UY (BLT). With Magical Beginnings, Feb UY clearly seems to be the worst. To get MB, we'd have to give up 2023 points. This isn't terribly awful for our plans, but it also means we'd get one less year of points over the life of the contract than any UY other than March/April/June.

Would it make sense to get a different UY?

Pros: Extra year of points, ability to juggle points for travel at different times of year if worried about cancellation

Cons: Different memberships to manage, unable to combine points without a transfer

If it's any help, we have traveled to WDW in January, March, May, August, November, December in recent years, so we're not tied to any specific time period.

Anything else that might be worth considering?

This also presumes that I can get the $161 a point with a different UY and not have it called a new membership, because if that happens the point is moot and Feb UY it is.

 

[varyth]

To get MB, we'd have to give up 2023 points. This isn't terribly awful for our plans, but it also means we'd get one less year of points over the life of the contract than any UY other than March/April/June.

Note that I added on last week with a March UY and did NOT get 2022 points. You would need to choose a UY that has not started yet, so Feb/March/April/June would all be starting with 2023 points.

 

[bravo2zero]

Note that I added on last week with a March UY and did NOT get 2022 points. You would need to choose a UY that has not started yet, so Feb/March/April/June would all be starting with 2023 points.

Yes, that's what I was saying. Sorry if I wasn't clear. As long as I chose a UY that is August or later (e.g. not March, April, or June), I could sell back to the 2022 points to MB and still get the 2023 points (e.g. one more year of points than if I chose a UY that was FEB/MAR/APR/JUN).

 

[disneylover81]

Yes, that's what I was saying. Sorry if I wasn't clear. As long as I chose a UY that is August or later (e.g. not March, April, or June), I could sell back to the 2022 points to MB and still get the 2023 points (e.g. one more year of points than if I chose a UY that was FEB/MAR/APR/JUN).

That's exactly my dilemma now. I also currently have a Feb UY (VGF) and I am really considering my second contract with an Aug UY, if it all works out like I want it to. Was just going to do VGF for my second contract also, but someone advised me to choose a different resort to make it easier to keep up with, which would have to be RIV, and I am not in love with it. I don't love the thought of 2 UY's, but it's growing on me for more year round travel opportunities, plus not losing the 2023 points instantly, which we can bank until next year and have 300 points ready to go for our planned Aulani trip. My guide is off today and tomorrow, but come Wednesday morning, I am going to talk it all out with her!

 

[bravo2zero]

That's exactly my dilemma now. I also currently have a Feb UY (VGF) and I am really considering my second contract with an Aug UY, if it all works out like I want it to. Was just going to do VGF for my second contract also, but someone advised me to choose a different resort to make it easier to keep up with, which would have to be RIV, and I am not in love with it. I don't love the thought of 2 UY's, but it's growing on me for more year round travel opportunities, plus not losing the 2023 points instantly, which we can bank until next year and have 300 points ready to go for our planned Aulani trip. My guide is off today and tomorrow, but come Wednesday morning, I am going to talk it all out with her!

It's very annoying to me in that it feels like it's a penalty for having a February UY.

 

[Sandisw]

It's very annoying to me in that it feels like it's a penalty for having a February UY.

The promotion is for you to sell back the current UY points so it’s not a penalty in anyway. It is simply the nature of UYs in that Aug to Dec are still in their 2022 UY so legally, other than VDH which wasnt open in 2022, they have to give those UYs 2022 points.

For Feb to June, there are no longer 2022 points because they have started their 2023 UY

 

[WDWfantasy]

It's very annoying to me in that it feels like it's a penalty for having a February UY.

Agreed. February use year

 

[WDWfantasy]

The promotion is for you to sell back the current UY points so it’s not a penalty in anyway. It is simply the nature of UYs in that Aug to Dec are still in their 2022 UY so legally, other than VDH which wasnt open in 2022, they have to give those UYs 2022 points.

For Feb to June, there are no longer 2022 points because they have started their 2023 UY

Technically this is true. However, I have a February use year so my per point cost is going to be higher than someone who has a December use year.

They would be selling back 2022 points with $0 in dues to pay. They would get all of their 2023 points to use with only prorated dues to pay on those points. I would be selling back 2023 points and paying prorated dues on those points that I’m not going to be able to use.

I would agree that it does feel like a penalty to Feb to June use year folks. Although I think the June use year folks have a bigger reason to feel penalized as all of these summer incentives were released on May 30 with the stipulation that MB can’t be used when you are in the last 4 days of your use year (although MB at $22 per point was going on prior to the summer incentive announcement).

It‘s still a great incentive combo regardless of use year though!

 

[Ruttangel]

You could argue that There should be only 1 UY and it should be February as all contracts expire 31st Jan.

 

[PrincessKL]

Maybe people who are thinking about a different use year can do some calculation to figure out how many money they are really saving by getting a new use year in their situation. (I am thinking it’s a couple of thousand dollars for 150 points over the entire forty some years? It depends on how much you value the 2022 UY points.) Then make sure to understand all the details on what it requires to manage two memberships. After this, maybe a better judgement can be made on whether it is worth the inconvenience to save that much money.

 

[bravo2zero]

The promotion is for you to sell back the current UY points so it’s not a penalty in anyway. It is simply the nature of UYs in that Aug to Dec are still in their 2022 UY so legally, other than VDH which wasnt open in 2022, they have to give those UYs 2022 points.

For Feb to June, there are no longer 2022 points because they have started their 2023 UY

I understand UY and the law very much. Given that there is only one month in which you could take advantage of MB with Feb UY, the promotion very much feels disadvantageous (penalizing) to Feb UY. There are other promotions that could be done that would not advantage one UY over another in the same fashion. It's just a shame of Feb UY but also probably why an October UY is in my future.

 

[Sandisw]

I understand UY and the law very much. Given that there is only one month in which you could take advantage of MB with Feb UY, the promotion very much feels disadvantageous (penalizing) to Feb UY. There are other promotions that could be done that would not advantage one UY over another in the same fashion. It's just a shame of Feb UY but also probably why an October UY is in my future.

But you are getting the same promotion which is selling current UY back to Disney.

Regardless of the promotion, it’s always going to be this way...buying in June will always give Aug to Dec UYs an additional set of starting points than Feb to June.

Just want to be sure those who are new and just learning about how a UY works, and who may not understand like you do that this isn’t a penalty of any sort.

It’s just a matter of buying at the end of a UY vs the beginning. The promo has nothing to do with which set of points buyers are buying.

 

[D-Trick]

I understand UY and the law very much. Given that there is only one month in which you could take advantage of MB with Feb UY, the promotion very much feels disadvantageous (penalizing) to Feb UY. There are other promotions that could be done that would not advantage one UY over another in the same fashion. It's just a shame of Feb UY but also probably why an October UY is in my future.

Your issue isn't with Magical Beginnings. It's with the prorated dues schedule. The timing of this MB offer is unfortunate for UYs June or earlier, but there's never really an ideal time. If today was December, I could be having the same complaint about MB with an October UY.

____

My personal opinion is that you shouldn't purchase a new UY just to save a few bucks. If you kept your Feb UY, you'd pay ~3.66 (based on 7/1) in dues for the 2023 points, increasing your cost per point to $164.66. To me, that still pretty darn good, and I hope you think so too. I acknowledge you'd be losing a year of points, but there's still 40+ years left! Having a single UY is just SO much simpler. Think about 10-15 years from now. Will you regret having 2 UYs to manage? If there's even a slight possibility of combining the points, stick with one UY.

 

[D-Trick]

Anyone know if OKW Magical Beginnings is also $22/point?

 

[disneylover81]

Is there a really big advantage to purchasing two 75 point contracts instead of one 150 points contract? I don't intend to sell, but if ever I decide to, would the selling price difference be worth it to split the contract? This is for VGF.

 

[varyth]

Is there a really big advantage to purchasing two 75 point contracts instead of one 150 points contract? I don't intend to sell, but if ever I decide to, would the selling price difference be worth it to split the contract? This is for VGF.

Larger contracts could sit for longer and generally go for less per-point than smaller contracts. The thinking is that buyers may only be looking to add on a small amount or the lower total cost makes it easier.
I split mine in case I want to downsize further down the line, so I have the option to sell only 75 at a time instead of all 150.
This thread may also be an interesting read: https://www.disboards.com/threads/premium-for-small-point-contract.3920704/

 

[WDWfantasy]

Is there a really big advantage to purchasing two 75 point contracts instead of one 150 points contract? I don't intend to sell, but if ever I decide to, would the selling price difference be worth it to split the contract? This is for VGF.

Yes. Smaller contracts tend to sell faster and at a higher price than larger contracts. If I were adding on 150 points direct I would do at least a 75/75 split, but most likely a 50/50/50 split.

 

[disneylover81]

Well I spoke with my guide about splitting into 75/75 as suggested, but she said since this was my son’s first contract, if we ever sold one of the 75 points, then he would no longer have a blue card because he wouldn’t have 150 direct points anymore. I already have another 175 points of my own without him so this would affect him only. So we just did 150 so he would always have his blue card. In the future if we add on, we will definitely do smaller contracts.

On a positive note… we just signed all the papers for VGF. Requested an August UY or September as a second option. We were encouraged us to take June since it was available, but I insisted that it was going to be August or September we would not buy it. My son wanted a Fall UY only so she said she had to get approval. Within 30 min she called back and said it was approved. I’m so excited for more points for me, and for my son to have his own points also! I never expected to be adding on a second contract within 1 year of buying my first one.

 

[armstrongwillf]

Well I spoke with my guide about splitting into 75/75 as suggested, but she said since this was my son’s first contract, if we ever sold one of the 75 points, then he would no longer have a blue card because he wouldn’t have 150 direct points anymore. I already have another 175 points of my own without him so this would affect him only. So we just did 150 so he would always have his blue card. In the future if we add on, we will definitely do smaller contracts.

On a positive note… we just signed all the papers for VGF. Requested an August UY or September as a second option. We were encouraged us to take June since it was available, but I insisted that it was going to be August or September we would not buy it. My son wanted a Fall UY only so she said she had to get approval. Within 30 min she called back and said it was approved. I’m so excited for more points for me, and for my son to have his own points also! I never expected to be adding on a second contract within 1 year of buying my first one.

Which UY did you get August or September?

 

[disneylover81]

Which UY did you get August or September?

August.