Deciding on points and use year?

[Disneyfan81]

We have been doing our DVC research (insert big thanks to this disboard here!) and would like to buy at AKL. We have 3 small children (all ages 3 and younger) so a studio would work for the first few years until we need to upgrade to the 1 bedroom. Our popular travel times would be primarily in Oct, Nov, Dec...and June/Aug as the kids get older to avoid conflict with school schedules.

Since our travel times are across the board, is there really a better UY than another for us? Also, we're looking for a 150-160 point contract resale with a possible Oct UY. Any pointers for the amount of points to buy? It would be great if you could apply your DVC points towards tickets, meal plans, etc... Lol, just trying to find that magic number where we don't have too many points or add-on addiction!

 

[disneynutz]

Pick a UY that is just before the period that you will vacation most often. This will reduce you chance of forfeiting your points. IMO it's better to have too many points than not enough. Take a look at the point charts for the time of year and size of room that you will use most often and buy that size of contract. You can always add another contract if you need more points.

Bill

 

[Kidanifan08]

Given the times of the year that you anticipate traveling, June may be a good choice for UY. The number of points you buy initially really depends on how long you want to stay and what size accommodations. The studios are certainly appealing for the point cost, but with 3 kids, you would really benefit from a 1BR. The studios do not have W/D and the 1BR has a full kitchen with a good sized dining area. Plus the 1BR's @ Kidani and BLT have a second bathroom. You should look closely at the points charts to see what would work for you. It is a relatively small difference in price to get 180 or 200 points initially, versus 160. Plus, the small point add-ons are tough to find when you are ready to add more points.

Have fun learning the system and good luck with figuring out what works best for your family. As a father of a 5 yo and a 3 year member of DVC at AKV, we have absolutely no regrets!

 

[Sandisw]

I agree that June UY will work for all the times that you mention and so would April.

The banking deadline for April is November 30th and June is January 31st. That puts pretty much all of your travel within the first 8 months, the timeframe that will give you the most flexibility in what to do with the points.

Good luck!

 

[scubakat]

We were in a similar situation.. we only have dd and she is 2 so we would be fine in a studio for a while.. at least we are trying not to book and be spoiled by a 1 bedroom in the first couple of years we go..

We just bought our AKV contract and are super excited! We went with 100 points since looking at the points tables and calculators that would be enough for us for how we vacation and didn't want to pay for the extra maintenance fees.. Good luck in your search!! It is fun!

 

[DisDad07]

We own at AK and love it there. The Studio rooms are the best value around. As your kids get older you will love a 1 bedroom. You can save some money making meals in the room and doing laundry at the same time. As for points we have 160 and travel in Sept. and Oct. and the points are plenty. If you travel in June and July the points are higher but you still will be able to get a 1 bedroom value for 6 nights. Check in Sunday and out on Saturday. Good Luck.

 

[chalee94]

Our popular travel times would be primarily in Oct, Nov, Dec...and June/Aug as the kids get older to avoid conflict with school schedules...Also, we're looking for a 150-160 point contract resale with a possible Oct UY.

an oct UY currently requires you to bank pts by may 31. that might limit you if you needed to cancel a summer reservation (jun-aug).

remember that UY has nothing to do with when you can call to book a reservation. the only issue is that canceling a reservation is more likely to result in lost points if you are traveling late (i.e. the last few months) in your UY.

 

[hbehrman]

Also remember that if you buy direct, you can get multiple contracts (150 pts = three 50 pt contracts) . If you plan to sell later or give to children it might be something to consider, as it is easier to do at purchase.

Also take into account what the incentive is, when we purchased they gave us a year of points (150,which we banked). This is allowing us to use banked points for the majority of our ressie once a year and only a small portion from the current use year (the rest are banked for the next use year). In the years ahead the number of banked points will slowly go down to zero and approach using current use year points. At that point we will then borrow from the next use year points to make up any difference. This whole cycle based upon current use happens over the course of 15 years.

Given that we are good to go for some time, although we do plan on purchasing at another home resort prior to our kids going to high school at we would need 11 month priority based upon demand at that resort.

Also remember:
1) smaller contracts are easier to sell and sell at a higher price,
2) multiple contracts will allow you to sell some, but not all of your points (if you so wish)
3) multiple contracts pose no extra closing costs, if you go direct (not so resale)
4) it is easier designate seperate contracts to heirs if they are already seperate.


Look around on the board, there are some great discussions of these topics.

 

[hbehrman]

Also remember that if you buy direct, you can get multiple contracts (150 pts = three 50 pt contracts) . If you plan to sell later or give to children it might be something to consider, as it is easier to do at purchase.

Also take into account what the incentive is, when we purchased they gave us a year of points (150,which we banked). This is allowing us to use banked points for the majority of our ressie once a year and only a small portion from the current use year (the rest are banked for the next use year). In the years ahead the number of banked points will slowly go down to zero and approach using current use year points. At that point we will then borrow from the next use year points to make up any difference. This whole cycle based upon current use happens over the course of 15 years.

Given that we are good to go for some time, although we do plan on purchasing at another home resort prior to our kids going to high school at we would need 11 month priority based upon demand at that resort.

Also remember:
1) smaller contracts are easier to sell and sell at a higher price,
2) multiple contracts will allow you to sell some, but not all of your points (if you so wish)
3) multiple contracts pose no extra closing costs, if you go direct (not so resale)
4) it is easier designate seperate contracts to heirs if they are already seperate.


Look around on the board, there are some great discussions of these topics.

 

[chalee94]

multiple contracts pose no extra closing costs, if you go direct.

i don't believe this is true any more now that DVC is charging closing costs on add-ons.

(and the scenario you propose is probably part of the reason DVC started to charge those closing costs.)

 

[Sammie]

If you vacation during the summer months, I would avoid an October use year, we have one and now that we have to bank by May 31, it drives me crazy as we almost always take summer trips.

 

[Greysword]

The way I look at UYs is to determine what are the "bad" months (rule of 4). For a June UY, your "bad" months are Feb-May. The "bad" months for a May UY would be Jan-Apr.

"Bad" means you can not bank points if a reservation is canceled in this time frame and you can not book Collection resorts within these months (except DLR), not that you would want to in the first place.

Thus based on your dates, a June (as KidaniFan and others have said) or May UY is likely worth a look.

As for the studios early, I would propose the 1BR holds a lot of value for toddlers. One reason is the quick laundry facilities. Another is the separate rooms. You can watch TV (or do other things like post on the DIS) while the kids nap/sleep in the bedroom. The full kitchen is nice for meals, as you touring plan will likely include breaks from noon (1PM) til 5 (or 6PM). Thus you can have lunch and dinner in the room before/after nap time, saving dining money (a lot of savings).

The way we chose points were two fold. First, we looked at how many points it would take to have a studio any time of the year for a week at our home resort (SSR). Then we looked at how these points would work for a 1BR the rest of the year (adjust if needed, the 165 at SSR gave us a five nights in a 1BR in all but Christmas season). Last, we asked if they met the threshold for a 1BR in an Interval International trade (now DVC uses RCI).

With these questions, we determined 165 was just right. It still is, except they had to build VGC (DW's fav is DLR) and BLT (my all time fav is Contemporary) <sigh>. Thus, we added on.

Good Luck!

- Chris

 

[Sandisw]

The way I look at UYs is to determine what are the "bad" months (rule of 4). For a June UY, your "bad" months are Feb-May. The "bad" months for a May UY would be Jan-Apr.

"Bad" means you can not bank points if a reservation is canceled in this time frame and you can not book Collection resorts within these months (except DLR), not that you would want to in the first place.

Thus based on your dates, a June (as KidaniFan and others have said) or May UY is likely worth a look.

As for the studios early, I would propose the 1BR holds a lot of value for toddlers. One reason is the quick laundry facilities. Another is the separate rooms. You can watch TV (or do other things like post on the DIS) while the kids nap/sleep in the bedroom. The full kitchen is nice for meals, as you touring plan will likely include breaks from noon (1PM) til 5 (or 6PM). Thus you can have lunch and dinner in the room before/after nap time, saving dining money (a lot of savings).

The way we chose points were two fold. First, we looked at how many points it would take to have a studio any time of the year for a week at our home resort (SSR). Then we looked at how these points would work for a 1BR the rest of the year (adjust if needed, the 165 at SSR gave us a five nights in a 1BR in all but Christmas season). Last, we asked if they met the threshold for a 1BR in an Interval International trade (now DVC uses RCI).

With these questions, we determined 165 was just right. It still is, except they had to build VGC (DW's fav is DLR) and BLT (my all time fav is Contemporary) <sigh>. Thus, we added on.

Good Luck!

- Chris

Even Feb. would be still be safe since you must cancel at least 31 days in advance to avoid holding. Since the banking deadline is January 31st for a June UY, someone would need to cancel a Feb trip by then anyway.

But, I agree, finding the months that are your vulnerable ones is a great way to look at it.

 

[hbehrman]

i don't believe this is true any more now that DVC is charging closing costs on add-ons.

(and the scenario you propose is probably part of the reason DVC started to charge those closing costs.)

Note that the example I am listing is of a purchase of 150 pts direct, split into 3 separate contracts of 50 pts each. Disney waived the closing costs. This was true last summer. I do not know what it is now either for add ons or initial purchase, but it is certainly something to consider in the purchase decision.

 

[chalee94]

Note that the example I am listing is of a purchase of 150 pts direct, split into 3 separate contracts of 50 pts each. Disney waived the closing costs. This was true last summer.

DVC began charging for add-ons in april 2011. i believe that applies to splitting a purchase up into multiple deeds as well...

(if sales are slow, though, anything is possible.)