Direct and membership perks? Help?!?

[disland7]

I know this is asked a lot and that it’s subjective but I’d like some others thoughts. I bought resale after the membership change. I have been on the waitlist for 25 points at VGC and yesterday I got a call that they are available. 235 a point (OUCH). My husband needs some convincing. Thoughts and opinions?

 

[ScubaCat]

Enjoy the perks!

 

[Amanda&Mike]

Well we have recently seen a resale VGC go for $200 ppt...

 

[crisi]

My take on it is that perks are subject to change and its a gamble. Do the math on the AP perk - IF you'll use it - and see how long it will take you to break even with the DVC discount. Don't buy for things like Moonlight Magic - that could never be offered again. And make sure the points you purchase are points you'll be able to use....we (yeah, I know its weird) have ended up with too many points for our travel plans - so we end up in bigger units (four people in a Grand Villa)

 

[Noelle]

Well we have recently seen a resale VGC go for $200 ppt...

It's true. I'm in the process of selling an 80 point VGC contract for $200. I think it's a less common use year (February) and it did have 9 banked points and all of it's points there after. I would assume that any other small VGC contract that were not stripped would probably go for around the same maybe slightly less.
But the difference between paying $200 resale and $235 direct for 25 points is $875. Plus I think closing costs on resale are probably more than through Disney directly.

I'd say take the direct 25 points and then you'll have the use year your want too.

 

[DSLRuser]

We bought direct because the length of the contract. Wanted to know our kids will have a place for their kids well after i am gone.

Honestly, not acting like i am uber rich or anything. but the $10,000 difference between resale and direct doesn't mean much when you factor that in over the course of 50 years.

 

[Noelle]

We bought direct because the length of the contract. Wanted to know our kids will have a place for their kids well after i am gone.

Honestly, not acting like i am uber rich or anything. but the $10,000 difference between resale and direct doesn't mean much when you factor that in over the course of 50 years.

The length of the contract for Villas at Grand Californian is the same if you bought it resale or direct. They all expire 2060.

 

[crisi]

We bought direct because the length of the contract. Wanted to know our kids will have a place for their kids well after i am gone.

Honestly, not acting like i am uber rich or anything. but the $10,000 difference between resale and direct doesn't mean much when you factor that in over the course of 50 years.

Put that $10k in the stock market and average 8% over the next 50 years and its only worth $539k. I AM rich, and there has to be a better reason to throw away half a million dollars than what Disney offers for direct perks.

 

[cw62803]

I suggest you jump on it right away. You'll get your points immediately and have access to buying a discounted annual pass. The blue card gives you discounts on dining and merchandise, and access to special events. I did a 25-point add-on, and I think it's one of the best Disney decisions I ever made. There's a reason they are raising the minimum to 75 points in a couple days.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Your plan is for DL trips? One thing is that there isn't the same sort of AP discount as one gets at WDW if you visit there. And 1 moonlight magic. There are discounts at more dining places but I'd ask if 1) you need 25 more points? and 2) how many days do you plan to visit DL?

 

[Cyberc1978]

IMHO 25 points at VGC wont get your far not even every 2nd or 3rd year. You get 2-3 days. You could use the points at other places at 7 months but its a high price to use at 7 months.

 

[zavandor]

IMHO 25 points at VGC wont get your far not even every 2nd or 3rd year. You get 2-3 days. You could use the points at other places at 7 months but its a high price to use at 7 months.

But 2-3 days is just about the right time for a DLR visit. It's not WDW.

 

[Cyberc1978]

But 2-3 days is just about the right time for a DLR visit. It's not WDW.

it all depends on when you decide to go, in magic season you get 2 days and in Choice you get 3 days. You will have leftover points and those points are paid expensively. YMMV if its worth it or not.

 

[disland7]

I have another 160 point contract that I got resale last year. And I have to stay in 2 bedrooms for the foreseeable future (5 kids). So I think using 25 at VGC will not be hard. My real problem is the perks are certainly not as good for DLR. I do plan on trying to make a DW trip in 2020 and maybe in 2021 too (depending on how we like the trip). With the increases on APs at DLR, I don’t think we will be getting annual passes anymore so this gets me the dining and merchandise discount I’m used to. When we go, we go for 5 nights. If I can make it to the events, I think it will be worth it to me overall. But I know they are hard to get and there are not very many.

 

[disland7]

Here’s another question. I have 5 kids. I’m allowed to buy all of the them passes with the DVC discount right?

 

[BillPA]

The only discount is for APs. As long as the kids are living at home, with IDs that show that, once they are 18+ and DVC still offers a discount then they would be eligible.
I see you are looking to add on at VGC, DVC discount for Disneyland is not so good, I think it's like $25 of APs.

 

[disland7]

The only discount is for APs. As long as the kids are living at home, with IDs that show that, once they are 18+ and DVC still offers a discount then they would be eligible.
I see you are looking to add on at VGC, DVC discount for Disneyland is not so good, I think it's like $25 of APs.

I think it’s actually only $20 - so yes it’s bad. I do plan on a DW sometime within the next few years so I’ll take advantage then. I would love it if DVC let us purchase a California resident pass for DLR like they do at DW. I understand that I shouldn’t hold my breath though.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I think it’s actually only $20 - so yes it’s bad. I do plan on a DW sometime within the next few years so I’ll take advantage then. I would love it if DVC let us purchase a California resident pass for DLR like they do at DW. I understand that I shouldn’t hold my breath though.

Yes, it's a whopping $20 discount off the Deluxe and higher AP's at DL. Woo hoo! For WDW you would need to make 2 trips within a single years time for the AP to even be worthwhile to consider and even then it could still depend on the length of those stays if the AP's would make sense as those have been increasing in price there and the longer length of stay tickets getting lower increases.

Just to clarify on the AP's. Once your children are no longer living with you the do NOT qualify for the AP discounts.

Honestly, in this instance I don't think there's numbers member benefit numbers to back up the purchase so it would be more of a being in just in case something works out in the future or changes and it will be beneficial to have the qualified points. Nothing wrong with doing the purchase because of that!

 

[MouseOfCards]

One way of looking at it: VGC Direct vs Resale

- Direct 25 pts x $235 = $5,875
- Resale 25 pts x $175 = $4,375 (assuming $175/pt for a small VGC contract, if you can find it)

Difference is $1,500.

So over the 40 years life of the points, the average costs of those points for choosing direct over resale is $37.50 per year, for all the potential benefits (including food, merchandise, and ticket discounts, and access to special member events and the member cruises).

If you can afford the initial outlay, I would just do it.

ETA: The above is a simplistic approach and does not include MFs since they are the same whether buying direct or resale. Also, if you're getting 2017 points, then the value of those points, using Disney's OTU points cost of $17/pt, is $425. So, the difference drops to $1,075 ($1,500 - $425), lowering the average cost per year to $26.88. And, as a PP mentioned, closing costs should be much lower for direct (something like $150 vs $500?).

 

[disneynutz]

The key is will you really use the discounts, will you need an AP, or will the discounts cause you to actually spend more?

Bill