DVC Blue Card Ownership Is It Worth It??

[Jkarrows]

Not being a USA resident and being based in the UK buying the annual pass does not work out for us as we do not visit enough times per year to make this work.

We would also have to have our vacation outside our normal times of the year to take advantage of any Moonlight magic ect perks.

The only benefit i can see from the posts above we would have is being able to get some discounts at food and retail shops and being able to use the extra points for longer stays but as others have said getting 10 to 20% off would mean having to buy a serious amount of food and merchandise to make up for the 4.5K difference.

We already own 200 points at SSR so was thinking of buying same use year at SSR to make it easier for us to look after the contracts.

Thank you for all your comments, you have allowed us to make a step back and think before you buy decision, our heart said buy but my head now says buy resell and get more points.

 

[Bruin_mouse]

I went into contract on my first resale contract in January 2018. I had planned to get on the waitlist for a small add on after my contract closed, but while it was in ROFR Disney raised the minimum direct points needed for perks from 25 to 75 points.

After that I thought I would never buy direct points for perks but changed my mind for a couple reasons. First, as I saw firsthand, Disney can change eligibility for perks at any time with little or no notice, but has grandfathered in currently eligible members. Second, this (for me) could be a 40-50 year relationship. Even if I don’t use the perks right now, who’s to say what they will look like in the future? People on here tend to hammer that perks can be taken away at any time, but they can be added as well.

A couple more considerations for you:

1) For any DVC member that only owns resale points purchased after 1/19/19, it’s not just a “blue card” anymore. Most members of this board bought their resale points before then. It’s easy to forget that going forward direct points will be the only points that can be used at ANY current or future DVC resort for new members. That being said, I would buy direct points primarily because you’re going to use them at that resort. More points gives you a lot more flexibility, which as made my DVC membership much more valuable to me.

2) One thing I should have given more consideration to: how I may feel about future resorts. I ended up buying a 75 direct point add on at BLT thinking that was it for me. But then as I learned more about Riviera, the opportunity to buy a guaranteed week in the Epcotish area got me excited and I ended up buying there. It dawned on me afterwards that now I qualified for perks based on my Riviera contract as well. I don’t regret buying direct at BLT at all, but in a perfect world I would have bought a bigger resale contract at BLT instead.

Hopefully that helps. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Doberge]

I'm interested in some direct points perks strictly for annual pass discounts. If we plan to even go annually and visit parks we can plan two visits within 12 months to maximize AP value. We are a family of four with kids 4 and 1 so we'll be buying APs for a long time, at least into their teens. The difference between a platinum and gold AP, inclusive of tax, is $448. That's $1344 savings for 3 people and $1792 when I eventually buy for 4, and the gap/savings between Platinum and Gold only continues to grow larger. If buying a low amount of points direct the premium is quickly made back.

I also think the ability to use at all resorts instead of just the legacy 14 *is* a perk that's undervalued by most. Not important if only planning to travel for 5-20 years, but if in it long term it will eventually be an issue.

So I think it comes down to 1) how long you plan to keep the contract, 2) how many people and how long you can buy APs, and 3) how many points youd buy direct.