Deciding on # of points

[WeLoveAriel0505]

Hi all!

I'm wondering if you all have any good tips or strategies on how to figure out/plan what the ideal amount of points are to purchase for a new member? Thanks for the input

 

[chalee94]

figure out how you intend to vacation...what DVC resort(s) you prefer, what size room(s) you need and what time of year you like to travel. then use the point charts (linked above in the top right hand corner of the screen) to figure how many pts you need...

remember that trades outside the DVC resorts can (and often do) increase in their pt requirements from year to year...including trades to other wdw hotels or for cruises. in general, most veterans here will recommend that you buy DVC pts for stays at DVC resorts. if you want to trade out on a regular basis, you may find that other timeshares for that purpose that are cheaper and have lower annual dues...

 

[dburg30]

Some good information given. We looked at 1) where we wanted to stay (resort), 2) when we wanted to stay (season), 3) In what size room we wanted to stay, 4) how often did we want to stay.

With us having extended family, we decided on average, we would be there once a year. Now that's not really true, we will probably go every other year, but with 2 rooms. If we go by ourselves, we decided we wanted 1 week, during value season, in Animal Kingdom, Savannah view, 1 bedroom. That's 205 points. That's what we bought. That will also give us enough to do a 2 bedroom plus a studio every other year if we decide to do it that way instead, and still we'll be covered on points. That will allow us to share our DVC with our family which is a big reason we bought it.

If it was just us every couple of years we would've gotten just over 100 points per year to allow us a week. You just really need to decide how you will vacation, that's going to be the most important part!

 

[dianeschlicht]

TO the above information, add:
--If you think you only want to travel every other year, decrease the amount of points by half and use banking and borrowing.
--Remember that you can buy ANY of the sold our resorts direct from Disney too, not just the current ones.
--Beware! You will definitely end up underestimating how many points you will want/need, and you will be infected with the dreaded "addonitis" virus and will be back adding points in a year!

 

[chalee94]

--Beware! You will definitely end up underestimating how many points you will want/need, and you will be infected with the dreaded "addonitis" virus and will be back adding points in a year!

this is meant to be funny, but it brings up a good point. if you buy a 150 pt contract and later decide you only need 100 pts a year, you can't break up the 150 pt contract so it may be a bit frustrating.

OTOH, if you buy a 50 pt resale contract and add-on 2 more 50 pt contracts, you would have more flexibility later if you decided to drop down to 100 pts...you could simply sell off one of your 3 50-pt contracts.

even if you decide you need 300 pts or more per year, it's best to start with 150 or 160 and add-on directly (or buy resale contracts...preferably the same UY month for simplicity) in smaller increments to get to that 300 pt total...

 

[BUDDYBEAR]

good luck

 

[DisneyWalker44]

When in doubt, remember that it is much easier to add later if you buy too few, than to get rid of some points if you buy too many.

 

[thesupersmartguy]

Look at your vacationing habbits, as well as the resort you like to stay in. So take AKV for a week would be 72 points for a Value Studio. So 75 points would be the best amount to add on at that point.

 

[ACDSNY]

this is meant to be funny, but it brings up a good point. if you buy a 150 pt contract and later decide you only need 100 pts a year, you can't break up the 150 pt contract so it may be a bit frustrating.

OTOH, if you buy a 50 pt resale contract and add-on 2 more 50 pt contracts, you would have more flexibility later if you decided to drop down to 100 pts...you could simply sell off one of your 3 50-pt contracts.

even if you decide you need 300 pts or more per year, it's best to start with 150 or 160 and add-on directly (or buy resale contracts...preferably the same UY month for simplicity) in smaller increments to get to that 300 pt total...

This was the best advise we received and followed. We didn't purchase any one contract with more than 100 points. We had as many as 4 contracts and are now down to 2 contracts, with plans to add on at GCV. The small contracts were fairly easy to sell.

 

[crisi]

Its also easy to get the DVC bug in a big way - and buy a lot of points - then have your travel habits change - your kids end up in school so you go less often - or they leave for college so its fewer people - or you get "Disney'd out" and decide to take other vacations more often.

You can suppliment points with cash stays or renting from other members pretty easily. If you have too many points - it may (or may not be) a bigger deal to get rid of the points than it is to have too few.

And if you consistantly have too few - as people have said, its easy to add on.

 

[MommaX03]

This was the best advise we received and followed. We didn't purchase any one contract with more than 100 points. We had as many as 4 contracts and are now down to 2 contracts, with plans to add on at GCV. The small contracts were fairly easy to sell.

Excellent advice. Also, it is helpful to have smaller contracts rather than one hugh contract for estate planning. A couple of kids, should there be any, could be designated in your will for each contract rather than the difficulty of one huge contract to share. The kids could decide to use or sell their specified contract. Maintanence fees could be the key factor in whether they want to keep the contract.

 

[tksbaskets]

We purchased enough points to stay in a 1BR between Christmas and New Years and we too purchased two 150 pt contracts. We are very satisfied with the number of points. We take at least one trip a year and have banked a couple of times.

Enjoy the planning.

 

[MommaX03]

We purchased enough to stay in a 1 BR during the most likely season my husband could get off. We added on because we want to stay in a 2 Br, as my young kids will only grow larger and need more space. Also one of our relatives usually comes along.

Keep in mind that you will have to pay maintenance fees, which will go up each year. Another reason to break it up into smaller contracts in the event of resale. A 1000 point contract stays on the resale market forever. Smaller contracts, 100 or less, go quicker and for more money per point usually.

 

[Buckeye Fan]

Think of when you'd like to vacation, what size rooms you'll need, and play around with the points calculator ( http://www.wdwinfo.com/resort/dvcpoint.cfm ). For us, we knew we never wanted to stay at any one place every time, so nothing was ever going to work out perfectly even.

Also, look at the point structures at each resort. I know you should never say never, but I am too much of a "point scrooge" to stay at a location like BLT regularly. I'd rather stay at OKW and go more often (now granted, I LOVE OKW, so that's easy), than to stay regularly at a higher points resort. However, many LOVE the location of certain resorts and will pay a premium to stay there. I'm in no way knocking that, but depending on where you want to stay will impact the number of points you purchase.

Best of luck with your purchase! FWIW, there's never a right answer. We purchased more points via resale than what we were going to buy through Disney (by about 90 points), and still ended up adding on another 150! At the end of the day, we are very happy with our purchase and so glad we joined.

 

[Anal Annie]

Here's our logic. We are a family of 3 and figured we could get by with studios in order to stretch our points. We knew we'd most likely almost always travel in the "magic" or "dream" seasons and that we'd LIKE to try to either go twice a year to WDW OR once a year to WDW with an occasional trade out to another destination or to DCL with minimal banking & borrowing. Whatever we do, we know we will want to travel at LEAST once / year, but usually twice.

With this in mind we elected to start with 250 points (First master contract of 200 pts. and a 2nd master with 50 pts. should we ever decide we want / need to get rid of a few pts. Figured the 50 point one would be easier to sell). 250 pts. is enough for 2 full weeks in a studio at SSR or 1 week in a 2 bedroom villa during the "magic" season. It's also enough to split for a weeks trade out (currently 160 pts) and 6 n. in a studio at SSR during the "dream" season (or 6 n in "magic" season in a Std view studio at AKV).

We tried to buy ourselves some flexibility and enough points to mix it up but still find ourselves wishing for more points in order to take more family & friends (i.e. get larger units). As others have warned, the "addonits" bug is a strong thing to fight...

 

[DVC_Corrys]

Well, we started out with 160... then decided day of to go to 170... then a day later after signing papers decided on 200.

I would create a spreadsheet with "planned vacations" for the next 5-6 years. Then, determine how many points you will need based on room size, length of stay, time of year. Then map it out.

For example. My wife and I will be doing 10 days at WDW this year, 10 days at WDW next year (to take advantage of an annual pass). Then we plan on a three week trip to Europe (using RCI... hopefully) the Hawaii and back to WDW for two years.

We can do it at 170 but when we increased our points to 200 it was way easier and with better size rooms, Etc. Using that spreadsheet helped us a TON!!

_ Good Luck.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Actually, the spreadsheet of point planning is a good idea and one we used as well. It didn't prevent us from needing more though right away!

Take the point charts up top and plan several trips that you want to take. Plan as though you already have the points, and see what you come up with. It could be that you like several different properties and want 11 month booking advantage at them for specific difficult to get reservations (like concierge at AKV pr VWL at Christmas).

 

[WeLoveAriel0505]

Thanks so much for all of these great tips........it's really helping. Keep them coming.

 

[crisi]

Also, look at the point structures at each resort. I know you should never say never, but I am too much of a "point scrooge" to stay at a location like BLT regularly. I'd rather stay at OKW and go more often (now granted, I LOVE OKW, so that's easy), than to stay regularly at a higher points resort. However, many LOVE the location of certain resorts and will pay a premium to stay there. I'm in no way knocking that, but depending on where you want to stay will impact the number of points you purchase.

Another piece of excellent advice - know yourself. If you are a value driven person - you probably won't spent the zillion points to stay at BLT with a MK view over the holidays - so don't worry about it. Value driven people might fly in on Saturday, spend Saturday night at Pop, spend Sunday - Thursday at their DVC resort (OKW or BWV Standard View rooms are bargains) - and maybe extend their vacation by going to Universal for the weekend with FotL privileges.

If you are a sharer, you might need twice the points of a non-sharer - or more. You know you are a sharer when your first thought is "we could bring my sister and her family." If treating your family and friends to rooms is a driving factor - you'll want more points - if you are looking at this idea and thinking "my friends and relatives can pay for their own vacations!" you need fewer.

If you are the type of person who thinks that four people sharing one bathroom is a human rights violation, you are going to need more points than someone who thinks that four people in a studio is perfectly comfortable (and if it weren't for occupancy restrictions, you could easily make six or seven work!).

If you live close and think that you'll drive down a few times a year, that's a different scenario than if you live in Alaska and know that every other year is going to be about what you can manage.

Think both short term - the trips you might take in the next two or three years - but build in long term flexibility (don't buy one huge contract) and think about the long term - that may mean you'll need fewer points long term (kids leaving home) or more points (want to use them for grandkids).

There are all sorts of DVCers - there are couples who stay in one bedrooms because they like the full kitchens, and families of four that fit in studios for two weeks at a time. There are people who want a Grand Villa at Christmas every year for a ton of points, and people who want a studio every other year for a week. There are people who MUST be close to the parks, and people who seldom enter them. There are people who use their points outside of Disney, and people who wouldn't dream of a vacation anywhere else.

Its easy to read about how someone else does it here and thing "wow! that sounds great!" But if it isn't you, you'll try it once and never do it again. DVC is something you need to buy looking at how you will use it, over and over and over again.

 

[NJ Mets fan]

Another piece of excellent advice - know yourself. If you are a value driven person - you probably won't spent the zillion points to stay at BLT with a MK view over the holidays - so don't worry about it. Value driven people might fly in on Saturday, spend Saturday night at Pop, spend Sunday - Thursday at their DVC resort (OKW or BWV Standard View rooms are bargains) - and maybe extend their vacation by going to Universal for the weekend with FotL privileges.

If you are a sharer, you might need twice the points of a non-sharer - or more. You know you are a sharer when your first thought is "we could bring my sister and her family." If treating your family and friends to rooms is a driving factor - you'll want more points - if you are looking at this idea and thinking "my friends and relatives can pay for their own vacations!" you need fewer.

If you are the type of person who thinks that four people sharing one bathroom is a human rights violation, you are going to need more points than someone who thinks that four people in a studio is perfectly comfortable (and if it weren't for occupancy restrictions, you could easily make six or seven work!).

If you live close and think that you'll drive down a few times a year, that's a different scenario than if you live in Alaska and know that every other year is going to be about what you can manage.

Think both short term - the trips you might take in the next two or three years - but build in long term flexibility (don't buy one huge contract) and think about the long term - that may mean you'll need fewer points long term (kids leaving home) or more points (want to use them for grandkids).

There are all sorts of DVCers - there are couples who stay in one bedrooms because they like the full kitchens, and families of four that fit in studios for two weeks at a time. There are people who want a Grand Villa at Christmas every year for a ton of points, and people who want a studio every other year for a week. There are people who MUST be close to the parks, and people who seldom enter them. There are people who use their points outside of Disney, and people who wouldn't dream of a vacation anywhere else.

Its easy to read about how someone else does it here and thing "wow! that sounds great!" But if it isn't you, you'll try it once and never do it again. DVC is something you need to buy looking at how you will use it, over and over and over again.

All of this is very good advice. Having just closed on a 200 pt Boardwalk resale, I had to ask myself the following questions;

1) Who will be going?
2) Where would I want to stay?
3) When would I want to stay?
4) How often would we go?
5) How much do I want to spend right now?

My answers and rationalization

1) Most always me, my wife and 4 kids and sometimes my parents or my in-laws so I would need a 2 bedroom for the 6 to 8 people. If you have more than 9 you would most likely have to think multiple rooms or Grand Villa's.
2) Being close to the parks is important to me. Having young kids makes it convenient to not have to bus to all of the parks so even one that I could walk to or take the monorail was a big plus. This past summer we sayed at the BWI and really enjoyed the close proximety to Epcot and DHS as well as the selection of restaurants in the area including the Boardwalk, Yacht Club, Beach Club and the Epcot world showcase. BLT was also an option to me with the monorail and accessibilty to MK and Epcot. VWL was also a thought with a boat ride to MK. Realizing I might want to stay at all of these resorts at some point, I knew I would need enough points so I could stay at the resort requiring the most points which would be BLT.
3) For now it will be in the summers for the most part when the kids are off from school except for a short trip we hope to make in January. The weeks we would go would most likely be the Magic Season (see resort point charts).
4) Probably not more than once per year since we also like to do other things like cruise but this year we will go twice since the contract I purchased has 07 pts that have to be used by Jan 31 assuming I can get a room once I am in the system.
5) I would need 388 pts to stay at BLT in the magic season but I was not willing spend approx $40K at this point. It really helps to read around disboards to learn as much as you can before you buy. I decided that if I could find a 200 pt contract I could go every other year and if I really wanted to go every year I could always add on more points. Since we really liked the BW, I decided we would buy there so I started to look at resales. Ideally I would find a contract with all 08 and 09 pts available so I could use them this year and then next year in 10, I could go again if I wanted to by borrowing the 11 points. This would give me two full years to decide if I wanted to consider adding on. I spent about a month looking and found the perfect contract with all 07, 08 and 09 pts available at the BWV's for
$80/pt. Getting the 08 points on the contract that the seller paid for, to me it was the same thing as getting developer points except better because I could stay anywhere assuming the resorts were available when I decided to book. The other factors I had to consider were the annual cost per point and the length of the contracts. The BWV contract expires in 2042 and even though BWV has an additional 18 yrs, I really could not be bothered worrying about what I even want to be doing 30 yrs from now. I also realized smaller contracts are easier to resell and the command more $$'s. Not that a 200 pt contract is small but it would probbaly be easier to resell then a 350 or 400 pt contract that I was originally considering.
I would suggest taking your time and not buy on impulse. We took the tour at SSR when we were there at the begiining of August and then almost 3 months later we decided to make an offer. Good luck with your decision!!