DVC Points

[heartsy77]

Interesting thread. We have decided on resale contract w/i in 5 years. We have 0 recent cc debit and want to save before we buy

 

[Belle & Ariel]

We bought a 150 point Boardwalk resale 4 years ago and have never regretted it. We looked in the 150-200 point range and are very glad we did not go higher than 150 because we also vacation elsewhere.
I see the cost to buy in as a bargain because when we are not at WDW we usually cruise and we have spent that amount in a few cruises--where we have our DVC for the next 30+ years.
We could stay at the values for about a week for what we pay in dues and can get about 12-15 nights in a studio on a year's points.
We are not the typical Disney vacationer. A few years ago we got APs and went to Disney 7 times--there was a promo at the time where you got 15 months on an AP. We bought them on free dining and did FD again using them. The other times we usually stayed DVC. We got a villa for the in-laws one trip.
We were able to offer points to both our daughters for their honeymooons, but neither used them.
When our passes expired we took 3 weeklong cruises the next year and I went to Vero with friends and kids to use some banked points about to expire. I have more vacation plans than DH gets days
This year we have cruised a couple times and have SeaWorld/Busch Gardens passes so stay at Disney but do not do the parks.
Our points are accumulating! We have never needed to borrow and always bank a majority of points.
Next year we will get Disney waterpark/Disney Quest APs and use a nice pile of accumulated points. We will use them at least 3 times.
We are eager to stay at the villas in California but not at all interested in Aulani--wish soooo much they built on Maui.
We have booked 11 months out but also a month or two out. We love Old Key West and would not be upset if that was all that was available. We love Animal Kingdom and can usually get in there--have used holding points to book this past June and switched a January trip to February a couple years ago.
There is so much flexibility in owning DVC. I love having it and knowing that someday DH and I can spend time golfing there, can take kids and grandkids (none yet) while saving them money, or just spend a week at the beach.
I would never buy direct from Disney. You can save thousands on a resale.
My best advice is as some have said, Start by buying a small amount. It is easier to add on in a few years than sell. I think we would not love DVC as much as we do if we had a ton of points we felt compelled to use.

 

[sarnoak]

For my family, renting makes the most finanical sense. I would never consider owning until I have no debt, a years worth of income in cash saving, retirement fully funded, money being put away toward kids college fund, and then cash left over. Don't get me wrong I totally understand how amazing DVC really is, and enjoy nice vacations. We are FL AP holders and live close enough to go often. I have never rented for more then $8/point and have stayed at any property that I wanted. I would rather have the comfort of knowing I would be ok financially if something bad happenened then the upfront cost and yearly dues. For those of you that already have financial freedom and DVC, I hope one day to join you!

 

[joeyrose]

for me "better to have loved (and owned) and lost (had to sell) than never have loved at all."

bought okw direct in 1993, enjoyed for years (came with length of stay passes for a good number of years) and sold at exactly what i paid for it about a decade later (that probably wouldn't happen again) when i needed the money. but when money was no longer an issue. i bought again at bwv, bcv, vwl, and akv. still love and enjoy, but i'm not traveling as much anymore as i'm now in my sixties. i don't want to sell, but i cover my maintenance fees and then some by renting. in the last four years i have never rented for less than $12/point and this year i have gotten $14+. just like savvy renters can find a bargain, savvy owners can rent for well-above average prices.

lots of ways to do this dvc thing. i've enjoyed all aspects and seeing a map of okw recently brought tears to my eyes, such a beautiful and wonderful place.

 

[pigletto]

I rent points and will continue to rent points. I never seem to vacation the same way twice. Sometimes we want free dining, sometimes we do a YES class and a room only discount or rent points, other times we get an AP rate at a value and go on the cheap.
Even though we are averaging twice a year to Disney that won't be forever. I love it.. but I know myself well enough to know that if I bought into DVC I'd feel limited in my options and choices. I want to be able to go other places and do other things. I've run the numbers over and over.. it just doesn't make sense for us.

 

[amandaC]

I have been a DVC member since 2003. I love it and have added on a few times.

I do have a question: where do you tend to stay at Disney? I have always stayed at the Deluxe resorts, so DVC is a good deal for me. I love getting a 1 BR and the privacy it gives my hubby and I from the children. But if you are happy at the value resorts, it really won't save you much.

I love the flexibilty that DVC offers. I am so glad I own, but it's not for everyone.

 

[dvcgirl]

We sold ours in 2004 after buying in 1999. Yeah, yeah....I know, my name here is dvcgirl. But that's how I'm known here so I never changed the name.

We ended up selling because we moved to Florida from NJ in 2004 (we've since moved back to NJ)....and didn't see ourselves using it.

I always enjoyed staying at Disney but after a certain number of years we felt like we'd "been there done that".....and moved on.

We don't have kids so I didn't see us going back again and again. We did go back for a big family trip with my parents, siblings and their little ones....and we rented points. It was half the rack rate to rent points and I'd do that again in a minute.

We lucked out and sold our points for a few grand more than we paid for them. I'm not sure if that happens much anymore, but I haven't kept up with the pricing.

 

[ValpoCory]

It was half the rack rate to rent points and I'd do that again in a minute.

And paying half the rack rate is about the worst you can do when you rent points. I find that I usually pay 25-45% of the rack rate when I rent DVC points at $10/point. For instance, we are going to the Villas at Disney's Grand Californian in January for 6 nights. We paid $1,070 for the 107 points. Rack rate on disneyland.com is $2,520.18, so I paid 42% of the rack rate.

For an 8-night stay at the BWV in January, it's $860 for 86 points. Rack rate is $3,240, so I paid 27% of the rack rate.