Direct v. Resale Opinions

[pkrieger2287]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1398368049791709190

 

[kandlsutton]

We were told yesterday by our guide that the minimum number of points is going up to 150 in June for new owners.

My guide told me that same thing yesterday, effective June 2nd, when inquiring about a new membership for my mom.

 

[cbyrne1174]

Everyone always bashes timeshare companies, but praises DVC as being different. IMO they're worse than both Marriott and Wyndham at this point. It's literally over $30,000 (201 x 150) plus maintenance just to get 1 week a year in a 1 bedroom a this point. I just picked up 308,000 Wyndham Towers on the Grove points for $600 all in. The maintenance is $1734 a year and gets me 2-3 weeks at Bonnet Creek in a 2 bedroom (1 week = 112,000 - 224,000).

 

[4luv2cdisney]

Everyone always bashes timeshare companies, but praises DVC as being different. IMO they're worse than both Marriott and Wyndham at this point. It's literally over $30,000 (201 x 150) plus maintenance just to get 1 week a year in a 1 bedroom a this point. I just picked up 308,000 Wyndham Towers on the Grove points for $600 all in. The maintenance is $1734 a year and gets me 2-3 weeks at Bonnet Creek in a 2 bedroom (1 week = 112,000 - 224,000).

I don't know much about other timeshares. Our primary vacation destination is WDW and we like to stay on property (preferably at Boardwalk).

One of my friends just paid maintenance for 3 years+ on a timeshare they couldn't use for various reasons and had to get "help" ( I assume a lawyer?) to get rid of it. She was so relieved to be out from under it, though I don't know the details.

I see peoples unused points snatched up in minutes on these boards as well as their contracts.

I think it is about the destination (WDW). If you're telling me Wyndham points can get me Boardwalk, Beach Club, Bay Lake, and Poly studios (or hotel side standard rooms), I'm all ears!!!

 

[BayGirl22]

I don't know much about other timeshares. Our primary vacation destination is WDW and we like to stay on property (preferably at Boardwalk).

One of my friends just paid maintenance for 3 years+ on a timeshare they couldn't use for various reasons and had to get "help" ( I assume a lawyer?) to get rid of it. She was so relieved to be out from under it, though I don't know the details.

I see peoples unused points snatched up in minutes on these boards as well as their contracts.

I think it is about the destination (WDW). If you're telling me Wyndham points can get me Boardwalk, Beach Club, Bay Lake, and Poly studios (or hotel side standard rooms), I'm all ears!!!

Right. I researched Marriott and Starwood (pre-acquisition) for years and it became more and more clear that the value was not there long term, especially if you want premium times and premium resorts. Marriott was doing a lot more messing with the system to try to deter resales than DVC has done. Glad I saved the $ to do DVC where the market for resale and rentals is much stronger. I still watch the deals go by and the market is much softer for premium weeks.

There are reasons to buy into those other programs, and you can find some great deals, but if your preference is to stay on site at a Disney premium property they are probably not the best choice.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

My guide told me that same thing yesterday, effective June 2nd, when inquiring about a new membership for my mom.

Doesn't surprise me, since there are no incentives offered for less than 150 points now.

 

[cbyrne1174]

I don't know much about other timeshares. Our primary vacation destination is WDW and we like to stay on property (preferably at Boardwalk).

One of my friends just paid maintenance for 3 years+ on a timeshare they couldn't use for various reasons and had to get "help" ( I assume a lawyer?) to get rid of it. She was so relieved to be out from under it, though I don't know the details.

I see peoples unused points snatched up in minutes on these boards as well as their contracts.

I think it is about the destination (WDW). If you're telling me Wyndham points can get me Boardwalk, Beach Club, Bay Lake, and Poly studios (or hotel side standard rooms), I'm all ears!!!

Anytime I have extra Wyndham points, I just make a reservation during the fall when a two bedroom only costs 112,000 points and rent it out for $200-300 profit within the week. A lot of people who own in other systems just aren't smart about their ownership. I guess it's just because I live near WDW that I don't see the appeal as much. I can drive to WDW any time I want and be there within the hour.

 

[Brian Noble]

That's exactly why I use my Club Wyndham points and RCI instead of actually owning DVC. $1050 a week at SSR or OKW in a 1 bedroom can't be beat.

I'm a "serial exchanger" and have been doing this since DVC was in Interval. I have gotten some astonishing stays this way. However, I would never recommend someone buy a non-DVC timeshare with the intention of using it primarily for DVC stays. That's because the rules of the exchange game are constantly changing: In the fifteen-ish years I've owned timeshares, there have been no fewer than five sea-changes in how I could most effectively trade into DVC:

1. DVC's move from Interval to RCI
2. RCI's system-wide trade power update (Black Monday) that devalued many "tiger traders"
3. Wyndham's conversion from "generic weeks" to a points-based model in RCI
4. RCI Weeks changing to a credit-based system
5. DVC's change in deposit strategy

Some of these were ultimately in my favor, others were not; each required me to completely change my exchange strategy. The way I usually explain it: timeshare exchange is a hobby. If you can imagine wanting to spend your spare time tracking the ins and outs of a constantly-changing market, it can be fun. But, if you just want to go on vacation, it will be very frustrating.

If you're telling me Wyndham points can get me Boardwalk, Beach Club, Bay Lake, and Poly studios (or hotel side standard rooms), I'm all ears!!!

They couldn't get you studios, but they could get you Villas. Back in the day I've gotten weeks at BLT (2BR), BWV (1BR), and BCV (1BR). The BCV week was even during Food & Wine (!).

But, #5 above changed all that. Now, only 1BRs are deposited, the vast majority are at SSR, and essentially none come from the "theme-park adjacent" resorts (unless you happen to count VWL as one of those). And, this could all change yet again--in fact, it seems to me that we might be overdue for a surprise in the DVC exchange process.

I don't know much about other timeshares. Our primary vacation destination is WDW and we like to stay on property (preferably at Boardwalk).

Is this likely to change in the next five or ten years? When we were in the market for our first timeshare, the kids were 5 and 7. It seemed to me that owning a resale DVC contract only made sense if I was going to keep it for at least seven years, and maybe ten, using it for more-or-less annual trips; this was with an analysis close to what MouseSavers uses. At the time, we were a little worried about the kids "aging out" of Disney before the payoff point of DVC ownership, so we ultimately bought a different points-based timeshare instead.

The kids are now 20 and 22. The older one still enjoys Disney parks as a primary destination to this day, but the younger one would be happier gettting a tan on a beach or hiking in a National Park. For example, the older one asked for a trip to Tokyo, Kyoto, and TDR for her college graduation "family vacation." For the younger, we are going to either Barcelona or Valencia then spending a week on Ibiza.

 

[chalee94]

Everyone always bashes timeshare companies, but praises DVC as being different. IMO they're worse than both Marriott and Wyndham at this point. It's literally over $30,000 (201 x 150) plus maintenance just to get 1 week a year in a 1 bedroom a this point. I just picked up 308,000 Wyndham Towers on the Grove points for $600 all in. The maintenance is $1734 a year and gets me 2-3 weeks at Bonnet Creek in a 2 bedroom (1 week = 112,000 - 224,000).

DVC has always been super expensive because staying onsite at WDW is ridiculously expensive. I own DVC and an unbranded 2BR timeshare. I can literally trade for a stunning luxury 2BR Marriott near WDW with granite countertops and such for 7 nights for less than using OKW for 5 nights in a studio (and OKW's point charts are very reasonable by DVC standards).

I enjoy DVC for staying onsite (back when there were perks) and if the Pandemic hadn't short-circuited my attempt to book Moonlight Magic in 2020, that would have been a nice perk. But the cost of quality resorts offsite is definitely a factor for me as well.

But the real Disney Difference (RIP) used to be that DVC held its resale value and that they didn't antagonize their owners by cutting resale benefits - when I bought in, it was a simple system and you could sell exactly what you purchased. Now they actively look for ways to damage resale and keep trying sneak increases into the point charts to hurt current owners. With the perks gone right now, offsite keeps looking better and better (and DVC ownership keeps getting increasingly risky).

 

[kdm31091]

I think Disney will continue doubling down on resale restrictions and the "class system" they are creating and with DVC being so expensive, I don't want to risk them limiting the use of my points, etc, etc down the road so I'll pay more for direct and have peace of mind. YMMV.

 

[Blondie58]

We bought GF in 2014. We have no regrets regarding buying direct and not having to worry about differences in resale and direct purchase contracts etc. Having said the latter, we were older (near retirement) when we bought. All kids had graduated and had undergrad degrees paid in full. We had limited WDW family trips in comparison to some (3) up to the time we bought. You are asking for thoughts and opinions: to wait, to save, and pay in full for direct points was best for us. There are many factors to consider and every family is different. Conversly, a young family I worked with bought resale at Bay Lake 10 plus years ago. They go once a year to WDW and have not regretted the purchase at all. A different route was perfect for them. Decisions, decisions, decisions..... (We may look to add few more points at GF when they open the new old building after remodeling. Others may wish to do that too.)