DVC Points

[David LaMarco]

Question....and yes I know this is somewhat subjective based on a series of variables but I am trying to poll the audience and get a general feeling about total points per year. So everyone bear with me as I lay out what I know to this point. I hope this makes sense and isn't a stream of consciousness or the ramblings of a crazy person.

The known fact pattern up to this point: I have discovered I will need 3-BR Grand Villas when I travel to Disney. I have a large Italian family that likes to travel and yell at one another as a large group. Because several members of my family are school teachers I will have to travel in the summer months or around school vacation weeks which are also the most point expensive times to travel.

Given those known facts how many points per year would be safe if I wanted to take a 6-day trip staying at Boardwalk in a 3-BR Villa every three years? I would take advantage of the borrow and bank to maximize my available points.

As an FYI - I currently have a 100 Point contract at Copper Creek. Looking to add on but wanted some additional information before making that decision.

 

[sethschroeder]

I would wonder about availability so you might want to check on that.

You can see a rough estimate on points based on the point chart:
https://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/BWV-Points.shtml
You can see it fluctuates between 675-800 over the summers for a 7 night trip. It is going to vary for a 6 night trip based on when you choose to go and what night of the week you choose to start your trip on. Also do you plan on doing Christmas or Easter for a family trip (teachers are off school then)? That would be 950 points for the week then that you would need to plan for.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Using banking and borrowing to go every 3 years is tricky. You could purchase exactly the points you needed but then you'd have an issue if they rearranged the point charts. But if you don't have exactly the right number of points you'll have stranded points that might expire unless you find another use for them.

 

[ELMC]

I get what you're going for but is there any chance that a 2BR and a studio might accomplish the same goal? The reason I ask is because it requires fewer points and the "once every three years" strategy is very hard to manage and often leads to unused points.

 

[David LaMarco]

I get what you're going for but is there any chance that a 2BR and a studio might accomplish the same goal? The reason I ask is because it requires fewer points and the "once every three years" strategy is very hard to manage and often leads to unused points.

That is good information... The 2-BR + Studio is an option but I find studio availability to be difficult outside the 11 Month booking window. I also don't mind taking a long weekend to burn a few stranded points. I am thinking I may need to buy a resale contract at Boardwalk to open the 11-month window.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Worth noting is that BWV has either 6 or 8 total GVs and booking them absolutely required home resort points. You will not get the BWV GV in any season without the 11 month window

 

[kniquy]

Given those known facts how many points per year would be safe if I wanted to take a 6-day trip staying at Boardwalk in a 3-BR Villa every three years? I would take advantage of the borrow and bank to maximize my available points.

Look at davids dvc rental site. they have a great point cost calculator so you can see at a glance what the point cost is for all the resorts and all room types. You can also see how different times of the year will vary in cost. If you plan on trying to use 3 years worth of points with banking and borrowing then you run the risk of losing a lot of points if for some reason you need to cancel a trip.

My first instinct after reading is to say -- don't buy points to take extended family on vacation. DVC isn't free, you have to pay maintenance fees on all these points plus the cost to acquire the points. Will those traveling help pay for your MF? I guess if you are well off then you can afford to fund other vacations but if not I would strongly reconsider what you are doing. Even when our in-laws travel with us we have some sort of arrangement for them to pay a small portion, usually equal to our MF in extra points needed to take them.

If you only have 100 points at this point then you would likely need to add 200-300 points to your CCV points to afford a GV. What was your intention when you bought into DVC - trips for you and your immediate family? or did you really have the goal of taking the extended family?

If you really do not want to pay for others accommodations then you could inform others of the ability to rent points which will be less expensive than direct disney rooms - they could book at the same resort as you and then from there you could note "traveling with" on the reservation and there is a good possibility that your rooms will be close on the same floor.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

That is good information... The 2-BR + Studio is an option but I find studio availability to be difficult outside the 11 Month booking window. I also don't mind taking a long weekend to burn a few stranded points. I am thinking I may need to buy a resale contract at Boardwalk to open the 11-month window.

If the 11 month booking window isn't an option for you for getting the studio then you may have difficulty with getting a BWV. There's a lot of times of the year that you will need to book right when the 11 month window opens for that too. Pool/garden views at BWV tend to have availability longer but depends on the time of the year. CCV is extreme in it's studio unavailability compared to most other resorts.

A 2BR + studio does also but there is a plus that if anyone backs out for any reason (planned or unplanned) you have an option to cancel a room. Also a 2BR would provide a common gathering area. A 2BR plus studio is less points than a GV so it places less at risk which could be very important if using 3 years of points.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

If the 11 month booking window isn't an option for you for getting the studio then you may have difficulty with getting a BWV. There's a lot of times of the year that you will need to book right when the 11 month window opens for that too. Pool/garden views at BWV tend to have availability longer but depends on the time of the year. CCV is extreme in it's studio unavailability compared to most other resorts.

A 2BR + studio does also but there is a plus that if anyone backs out for any reason (planned or unplanned) you have an option to cancel a room. Also a 2BR would provide a common gathering area. A 2BR plus studio is less points than a GV so it places less at risk which could be very important if using 3 years of points.

Also, every 2BR at BWV is a lock-off, which can strongly influence availability of the 2BR at 7 months.

 

[jerseyduke]

Also realize that every third year means the year you travel, you have 2 years worth of points that are banked and borrowed. 1 cancelled trip can mean a lot of loss points. Because of that, and the school teacher aspect I would be very picky about UY, not taking anything but April or June most likely, that case should you cancel a trip you have a lot of time to use those points that will expire.