DVC Membership - 3 days to decide - Help!

[bpmorley]

I hear this often (that you don't get value if you stay outside of DVC) and I'd like for someone to fill in the gaps for me.

Assume you buy points to SSR now at $101/pt. for 47 years.
101/47 = $2.15 per point per year

Add to that the (current) maintenance fee of $3.98
$2.15 + $3.98 = $6.13 per point for the current year (it will change slightly as the maintenance fee changes).

If I were to take 160 pts to go to Hawaii for a week, for instance, then 160 X $6.13 = $980.80 ---- that is what it cost me in points to trade them in. That's only $140/night in a villa in Hawaii for a week.

I can tell you from experience, that's a deal. And I didn't factor in the $8 discount incentive per point so it would make it even a better deal.

Please poke holes in this logic but it seems to me that it does have value even outside of DVC.

Anyone? Bueller?

I wouldn't know where to begin to poke holes. We have not looked into going outside of DVC yet. They don't post the points that it costs to go to places like Hawaii or Mexico(2 of the places I've been researching) It looks like a great deal if going to Hawaii is only 160 pts, but what if it's 300? 400? I wish they would post these points somewhere.

 

[hoopsrob]

My materials are at home but they do post them.
I'm just referring to the locations available through II (not the Conceirge Collection) and if memory serves, 160 pts will get you a 1 bdrm villa in either mid or high season.

They also list all of the resorts where you can receive that-- and there are many resorts in Hawaii (to stay with my original example).

So you can compare and that's where I need someone to tell me it doesn't make sense to trade because it appears that it does.

But let me clarify: that would not be my main purpose in purchasing DVC. I would go to DVC resorts at least every other year. But in years I decided to trade points, I think that continues to add value to my purchase -- not take away from it.

From my research, using points for DVC or II make a lot of sense.

Not as much so for the Conceirge Collection, the Adventurer collection and maybe even DCL.

If that is incorrect, please let me know...I really would like to make sure I am understanding all of the intricacies of the program before purchasing.

 

[bpmorley]

Hoops the minute I wrote that I went to the DVC site and found them. The last time I looked for them the windows wouldn't pop up, but the links were there. Now they're working. Thanks

 

[flechette]

I'm not an owner (yet!) but I think the value issue come into play depending on what cash price you would pay for timeshare rental.

Suppose you could get that week in Hawaii (or anywhere else) for $750? If you can rent your points that year for $10/pt you could have your vacation and a good bit of spending money too.

While renting and transferring point are not easy proposition, many people value a DVC pt as $10-13 because that's what you can get on the "open market"

Anyway thats what I've taken away in understanding from various threads. I think both your PoV and the $10 view have valid points.

I hear this often (that you don't get value if you stay outside of DVC) and I'd like for someone to fill in the gaps for me.

Assume you buy points to SSR now at $101/pt. for 47 years.
101/47 = $2.15 per point per year

Add to that the (current) maintenance fee of $3.98
$2.15 + $3.98 = $6.13 per point for the current year (it will change slightly as the maintenance fee changes).

If I were to take 160 pts to go to Hawaii for a week, for instance, then 160 X $6.13 = $980.80 ---- that is what it cost me in points to trade them in. That's only $140/night in a villa in Hawaii for a week.

I can tell you from experience, that's a deal. And I didn't factor in the $8 discount incentive per point so it would make it even a better deal.

Please poke holes in this logic but it seems to me that it does have value even outside of DVC.

Anyone? Bueller?

 

[kissiffer4]

My materials are at home but they do post them.
I'm just referring to the locations available through II (not the Conceirge Collection) and if memory serves, 160 pts will get you a 1 bdrm villa in either mid or high season.

They also list all of the resorts where you can receive that-- and there are many resorts in Hawaii (to stay with my original example).

So you can compare and that's where I need someone to tell me it doesn't make sense to trade because it appears that it does.

But let me clarify: that would not be my main purpose in purchasing DVC. I would go to DVC resorts at least every other year. But in years I decided to trade points, I think that continues to add value to my purchase -- not take away from it.

From my research, using points for DVC or II make a lot of sense.

Not as much so for the Conceirge Collection, the Adventurer collection and maybe even DCL.

If that is incorrect, please let me know...I really would like to make sure I am understanding all of the intricacies of the program before purchasing.

Yes, indeed. My book contains hundreds of destinations around the world that only require 160 points. That is one reason why the tour rep. recommended buying 160 points. As you mentioned though, the Adventurer collection is way out of reach lol. Out of interest hoopsrob, are you buying through Disney or a reseller?

 

[hoopsrob]

As you mentioned though, the Adventurer collection is way out of reach lol. Out of interest hoopsrob, are you buying through Disney or a reseller?

I haven't decided yet.

I'm leaning resale right now but I don't want to wait 8 wks as I'd like to travel this fall and get a reservation in quickly.

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

Tink-n-Belle, what was the main reason you chose Boardwalk over SSR? I have been reading up on the various resorts and the Boardwalk does look pretty exciting. I wish the SSR had more restaurant options. Is it possible to change location in 5-10 years? Also, you mention Disney had the $83 per point offer in the fall, is it worth trying to bargain w/ Disney to get the better rate? Maybe somebody can advise as to whether it is a waste of time to bargain!!

The reason I chose the BWV over SSR is the location. Before they built SSR they had 1, 2 & 3 bedroom villas at that location and my family & I stayed there many times. Although the villa's were great it took so long to get anywhere. If you wanted to go back to the villa it took at least 45min to 1 hour (from the MK)each way due to the distance and traffic. We also stayed at the GF, Cont, & Poly and I loved the fact you were so close to the MK and just had to hop on the monorail. So when I had the choice between the BWV & SSR the location of the BWV was what sold me! Being able to be back in our room within 10 minutes (no waiting for the bus) after illumination is a plus especially when you have small children. Also, the boardwalk is very festive, whereas SSR is more relaxing. I like the fact that there is so much to do at the Boardwalk especially since we won't be going into the parks every day in the future. In addition, as an added bonus, the number of points to stay in the standard view rooms at the BWV are less then SSR. That alone will save us money (or more than likely will cost us money because we will be able to stay longer!! )

Disney is selling the sold out resorts for $95 per point right now. When I told my guide that I didn't like the location of SSR she mentioned that she had BWV points. Oh my Gosh, I was so excited!!! The Boardwalk
Even though it was 12 years less on my contract we opted to go and on our 1st stay fell in love with it.

Despite the fact that the friends and family was going on during my purchase, Disney would not negotiate the price. It was $83 for SSR for 49 years and $92 for the boardwalk for 37 years.

DVC also has a great resort at Vero Beach, Florida that is right on the beach. We stayed there for a few nights before our Disney trip and fell in love with it too. It's very relaxing and the rooms were very spacious (we had an oceanview Inn room). IMHO the beach trip combined with a Disney trip is the best!!!

 

[byoung]

Go for it buy now, buy the way Welcome to the DIS.

 

[mello]

Thanks all Into the second day of decision making and still weighing up the pros and cons. One thing I'm a little confused about is how easy/difficult would it be for example if I wanted to take my 160 points and stay in London or France for a week? (I must admit to being taken in by all of the lovely blue '160' point markers around the globe during the demo ). Is it a straightforward process to do this? What is the availability like for destinations around the globe?

Also, despite working in IT, my maths is not the best in the world. How do people usually figure how much this will cost them over 48 years (SSR expires in 2054)? I am using the following calculation based on the offer we received from Disney:

Initial Price Per Point offer from Disney:

160 points
----------
$16,160 (cost)
$1,280 (Saratoga saving promotion - paid by Disney)

($16,160-$1,280)/160
=
$93 per point

Sound like a good deal?

Elaine, the $1,280 offer from Disney if we reply within 3 days is the offer I couldn't remember yesterday

Cheers all!!

I like your name - it's our oldest ds' name. Welcome to the DIS!

There's so much to weigh.. don't feel like you have to rush to decide. There will always be some sort of incentive. Hanging around here you'll find out all kinds of things to help you decide! It's such a personal decision that nobody can really say if it's right for you. However, I think most here will say they are glad they did it.

I actually wish we had done it way back when we first heard about it years ago. We have three kids, and have gone to DL quite a bit, but on our first "once in a lifetime" trip to WDW we decided that we absolutely have to bring the kids (and future grandkids) back every couple years. I agree with the pp who said that one thing you can't really put a $ price on is how it changes your vacation style from "commando" to relaxed. You know you'll be back, so you don't feel that you have to do it all now.

Another very nice thing that's hard to put a price on is the flexibility. When it's just the two of you, you can stay in a studio, then when you have kids you can get 1 or 2 bedrooms with kitchen and laundry - a very attractive prospect with munchkins! We like that you can go at any time of year. We had shied away from timeshares in the past because we didn't want to be locked into a certain week at a certain resort for life. With this plan, we can go when it suits us. And if for some reason we can't go at all, we can bank, rent, or transfer our points, so as not to lose their value. However, I believe there are other plans like that out there, that you may want to compare to.

As far as vacationing other places, we haven't tried that yet, but plan to go to Disneyland sometime soon, and also to do a week in Hawaii in a couple years. I don't think we'll make a regular practice of trading out into II, but it's nice to know it can be done if it suits us.

As far as the $ value - I've seen so many different ways that people figure it. To compare apples to apples, you need to decide what types of resorts you want to stay in, and how long you're going to stay. Yes, you could vacation cheaper over the years if you stay offsite or at a value resort, but that's not a fair comparison, kwim? One thing to keep in mind is the dues. Even when your contract is paid off, you'll have dues. Everyone's figuring is different, you'll see lots of interesting ways that people figure the $ value of their DVC purchase, but our figuring went something like this (this is just a rough estimate and does NOT take inflation or increase in dues into account):

Cost of DVC:
160 points = 14,000
Dues over 49 years = 29,000
Total Cost = $43,000

Cost of Vacationing Without DVC (Accommodations only)

Moderate Resort for 1 week per year = 1155 x 49 years
Total Cost = $56,595

Deluxe Resort for 1 week per year = 2100 x 49 years
Total Cost = $102,900

So, without figuring inflation of either dues or the rising cost of moderate and deluxe resorts, we figure that DVC is a better value for us than even a moderate during the course of our lifetime. Now that's not to say we'll stay exactly one week every year, we vacation more erratically than that, but for simplicity sake that's how we worked it out. Looks good to us, anyway

Best wishes in making your decision!

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

Have you had a chance to look at the other DVC resorts to make sure that Saratoga Springs is the DVC property you want to call "home"? Would it matter to you if someday you might have a very hard time staying at one of the other DVC resorts? How much do those extra 12 years mean to you? If it were me, I would want to make sure I'd answered those questions before buying into the DVC, either from Disney or as a resale.

 

[BeccaG]

I hear this often (that you don't get value if you stay outside of DVC) and I'd like for someone to fill in the gaps for me.

Assume you buy points to SSR now at $101/pt. for 47 years.
101/47 = $2.15 per point per year

Add to that the (current) maintenance fee of $3.98
$2.15 + $3.98 = $6.13 per point for the current year (it will change slightly as the maintenance fee changes).

If I were to take 160 pts to go to Hawaii for a week, for instance, then 160 X $6.13 = $980.80 ---- that is what it cost me in points to trade them in. That's only $140/night in a villa in Hawaii for a week.

I can tell you from experience, that's a deal. And I didn't factor in the $8 discount incentive per point so it would make it even a better deal.

Please poke holes in this logic but it seems to me that it does have value even outside of DVC.

Anyone? Bueller?

I was wondering why people kept saying that as well. First, I am a newbie to DVC, I mean I have NO paperwork but the aforementioned "dream" book and just put down my deposit Friday. ( I barely understand everyone's shorthand, a DVC acronym thread for us newbies would be helpful!) Anyhow, I first heard the DVC spiel at WDW three years ago on my honeymoon. At that time it was out of reach. We sat through the presentation again at DL over the fourth of july weekend since we were there for a little anniversary trip.
I came home and did a lot of number crunching and I used the same math you did to come up with the price per point. I figured the rising maintenance cost would be about the same as inflation, or at least the inflation in the hotel buisness, so it was negligible. Using those numbers I compared the rates for hotels listed in the "dream" book to their on-line rates. Even with the $99 or $75 exchange fee, the DVC price beat the on-line price every time. Now I did not check EVERY hotel (I am thourough not insane!!!) but I did a good sample of hotels around the US and the world.
I also compared DVC to another vacation club. ( I do not know if I am allowed to name it here so I won't.) I also compared their cost per point etc.. There points are assigned biannually, so you only get them once every two years and you pay maintenance dues annually. As it worked out DVC was cheaper per point and comprable in price per room. So I could exhange for a room at my in-laws own timeshare (they own at the place I compared too) for the same price as them!!
The one thing I did not factor in, is for those who finance their purchase.
This would increase the cost per point!
OK, sorry for being so verbose I just wanted to throw my two cents into what seems like a never-ending debate!

 

[hoopsrob]

I still agree with that position--- I haven't been shown otherwise--- the only caveat being that the rooms have to be available.

By the way, check out this link to help out with the abbreviations:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/abbreviations.htm

Good luck!