DVC saving me money? Please prove me wrong/right!!

[otterpop]

Hi Everyone,

My wife and I joined DVC last year and although she loves it, she is still not convinced that it is saving us a lot of money (now and in the long run).

We just booked a preferred-view studio room at BWV for 2/24/12 to 3/3/2012 (8 nights). I thought I would do a price comparison for what we would have paid out of pocket if we weren't members and here is what I came up with.

Member cost (not including original point purchase cost): approx $1,000 annual fee for 200 points and we are using a total of 153 points. Although there are points left over, let's just assume that our stay at BWV for this trip is $1,000.

Non-member cost (straight from bookwdw.com): $3,769 for a standard-view room.

I wanted to do an accurate comparison, so I searched for any special offers like free dining (we will purchase the dining plan for this trip) or room discounts and could not find any during our dates.

So, my conclusion is that we are saving over $2,700 by being DVC members (with 40+ unused points for the year and a room with a better view)!

My questions is...am I right or wrong in my conclusion?

Am I missing any special promotions that are going on during those specific dates or anything else? Do you think any new promotions will be announced for those dates in the coming months (I don't know the "trends" or history of when promotions get announced, but I figure since Disney has already announced the free dinging promotion thru March, I am guessing there will be no new ones).

I am approaching this comparison as being just for this trip for those specified dates and resort, not the whole "package". I realize all of the other things that need to be taken into account for the lifetime of being a DVC member, but I am looking at just this one point in time and resort (right or wrong).

I am not taking into account anything else such as how much it cost to purchase the points, are we going because we have to go, will we be going 10 years from now, would we be staying at a Value resort instead of BWV, etc.

Thanks for any feedback

 

[Deb & Bill]

Silly boy, DVC doesn't save you money no matter how they spin it. You'll wind up spending a lot more money at Disney than you would have had you not joined DVC.

My guess is that the only people paying rack rate for a room are the people who don't know how to get a discount. And they are all over the place.

 

[disneynutz]

IMO the biggest factor that most don't take into account is would you really go to WDW every year for the next 10 years plus if you didn't have to? I say "have to" because no one wants to forfeit points even though we have met many members who do.

You also have to include your purchase price and the costs to sell your contract down the road.

Bill

 

[kamik86]

Silly boy, DVC doesn't save you money no matter how they spin it. You'll wind up spending a lot more money at Disney than you would have had you not joined DVC.

My guess is that the only people paying rack rate for a room are the people who don't know how to get a discount. And they are all over the place.

This depends on your definition of "saving money". If like my husband you consider it to be "saving money" if you just got more stuff for the money you had. Then DVC does save money. Otherwise not so much because OP had you not had DVC would you really have been staying in a studio? Oh and would you have choosen to go on a date that you couldn't find a discount?

 

[otterpop]

Silly boy, DVC doesn't save you money no matter how they spin it. You'll wind up spending a lot more money at Disney than you would have had you not joined DVC.

I'm confused...how would we be spending more money by being DVC members for a trip that we do every year at this same time? We would be spending the money no matter what.

My guess is that the only people paying rack rate for a room are the people who don't know how to get a discount. And they are all over the place.

Please point me in the right direction. I can't find any discounts for a Disney property for the dates we are going to be there. The only "discount" I could think of would be to rent DVC points from someone.

I am still a young apprentice in the ways of DVC; please teach me!

Any details would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

Silly boy, DVC doesn't save you money no matter how they spin it. You'll wind up spending a lot more money at Disney than you would have had you not joined DVC.

My guess is that the only people paying rack rate for a room are the people who don't know how to get a discount. And they are all over the place.

I don't agree with this, really. In our case, we are doing 110 BLT points, cost for resale $10450. We have $429 for Mf fees. We stay in studios for a week yearly. We have the points until 2060. We would normally go every year anyway, and if we did even a moderate at $150 a night it would be $1050 for a week. We prefer to stay in deluxes, though...so even if we got $250 a night for a deluxe it would be $1750. We will have approx. $23k in maintenance fees over 49 years, so out total cost for 49 years of ownership would be $33500 approx. That would be $683 per year for a room at WDW. We find for us, that since we go each year anyway and only need a studio room, that this is a good savings for us.

 

[otterpop]

Thanks for all the posts so far, but I am approaching this comparison as being just for this trip for those specified dates and resort, not the whole "package". I realize all of the other things that need to be taken into account for the lifetime of being a DVC member, but I am looking at just this one point in time (right or wrong).

I am not taking into account anything else such as how much it cost to purchase the points, are we going because we have to go, will we be going 10 years from now, would we be staying at a Value resort instead of BWV, etc.

Thoughts????

Thanks again for all the comments so far...keep 'em coming!

Evan

 

[alice99]

You need to factor in the original cost of the points to get an accurate price for your DVC reservation.

This is how I figured the cost per point on my reservations.

I have 50 Boardwalk points that cost me 80$ / per point. = 4000.00
Points are good for 30 more years .... 50 x 30 = 1500 points total.
4000 divided by 1500 = 2.67 per point.

I now add the 2.67 to my annual maintenance per point and that is the ACTUAL cost per point to use.

So if maintenance is 5$ per point per year.... this year my cost per point for reservation equals...

2.67 + 5.00 = 7.67 per point.


Missing from this equation is any interest paid on loan to purchase the points (though I didn't take any loans).... also closing costs, you can add that into original cost of purchase.

My numbers, above are very similar to my actual transaction... though not exact. They are hypotheticals to show how I figure the true costs of my vacation.

I have rented my points out in the past , and used the $$ to go on other vacations (or in the case of this year.... pay my son's medical bills)

 

[alice99]

It's my opinion that taking a loan for this type of purchase is a mistake.... you could pay for the vacation with the amount of interest charged on that loan.... and save yourself the cost of purchase and maintenance.
If I had to take a loan it would definitely eat up any potential savings.

I didn't buy my DVC points figuring I would save any money, just that I'd like to stay in these premium units with kitchen/laundry, etc... on property.

I don't know if you're ever going to be able to get it down to an exact number for comparison.

 

[Main Street Matilda]

I have done the price comparison (yes, on an excel spreadsheet and all) and DVC does save you money if you plan on going to Disney regularly, which we do. We like staying at the deluxe resorts and 2 nights in one of those resorts is more than my annual dues, given that we would need 2 rooms for any visit. Although we usually opt for the dining plan, there are times we haven't and the savings are even greater as a result.

Where the numbers become closer is when you consider "free dining" or staying in a moderate or value resort. However, I like the idea of basically having forced savings for vacation by having a DVC membership. As I tell my husband, my DVC dues payment every month is the only bill that makes me smile.

 

[ccgirl]

Hi Everyone,

My wife and I joined DVC last year and although she loves it, she is still not convinced that it is saving us a lot of money (now and in the long run).

We just booked a preferred-view studio room at BWV for 2/24/12 to 3/3/2012 (8 nights). I thought I would do a price comparison for what we would have paid out of pocket if we weren't members and here is what I came up with.

Member cost (not including original point purchase cost): approx $1,000 annual fee for 200 points and we are using a total of 153 points. Although there are points left over, let's just assume that our stay at BWV for this trip is $1,000.

Non-member cost (straight from bookwdw.com): $3,769 for a standard-view room.

I wanted to do an accurate comparison, so I searched for any special offers like free dining (we will purchase the dining plan for this trip) or room discounts and could not find any during our dates.

So, my conclusion is that we are saving over $2,700 by being DVC members (with 40+ unused points for the year and a room with a better view)!

My questions is...am I right or wrong in my conclusion?

Am I missing any special promotions that are going on during those specific dates or anything else? Do you think any new promotions will be announced for those dates in the coming months (I don't know the "trends" or history of when promotions get announced, but I figure since Disney has already announced the free dinging promotion thru March, I am guessing there will be no new ones).

Please keep in mind that this does not include the original cost of purchasing the points to begin with....

Thanks for any feedback,

Evan

Depends. A lot of people are fine going and staying at a Value Resort. If that is what you did previously then, no, you are probably not saving money. If you would have stayed at the Deluxe resorts anyway then you could be. I, myself, would never pay full rack rate unless I was getting free dining. I would move my dates to accommodate a free dining promotion. AP rates aren't posted yet but, typically they are 40% off villas.

You need to factor in the original cost of the points to get an accurate price for your DVC reservation.

This is how I figured the cost per point on my reservations.

I have 50 Boardwalk points that cost me 80$ / per point. = 4000.00
Points are good for 30 more years .... 50 x 30 = 1500 points total.
4000 divided by 1500 = 2.67 per point.

I now add the 2.67 to my annual maintenance per point and that is the ACTUAL cost per point to use.

So if maintenance is 5$ per point per year.... this year my cost per point for reservation equals...

2.67 + 5.00 = 7.67 per point.


Missing from this equation is any interest paid on loan to purchase the points (though I didn't take any loans).... also closing costs, you can add that into original cost of purchase.

My numbers, above are very similar to my actual transaction... though not exact. They are hypotheticals to show how I figure the true costs of my vacation.

I have rented my points out in the past , and used the $$ to go on other vacations (or in the case of this year.... pay my son's medical bills)

Now this is how it's done.

 

[otterpop]

I agree...that's how it's done! Very helpful...thank you!

Using the below, I calculate my point "cost" being $6.90/point.

$6.90 x 152 points = $1,055 for my room.

It appears that I am spending $1,055 for my room versus the $4,000 Disney would be charging me.

So now taking into account upfront cost per point, closing costs, maintenance fees, and total points over the lifetime of the contract remaining, I am "saving" about $3,000 for this trip, for the specific dates indicated, at BWV.

Would everyone agree with me?

Again, I am not taking into account staying at a cheaper resort, going at a different time of year, etc. I am going no matter what, for those dates, and staying at BWV!

This has turned into a great discussion! Thanks again to all.

You need to factor in the original cost of the points to get an accurate price for your DVC reservation.

This is how I figured the cost per point on my reservations.

I have 50 Boardwalk points that cost me 80$ / per point. = 4000.00
Points are good for 30 more years .... 50 x 30 = 1500 points total.
4000 divided by 1500 = 2.67 per point.

I now add the 2.67 to my annual maintenance per point and that is the ACTUAL cost per point to use.

So if maintenance is 5$ per point per year.... this year my cost per point for reservation equals...

2.67 + 5.00 = 7.67 per point.


Missing from this equation is any interest paid on loan to purchase the points (though I didn't take any loans).... also closing costs, you can add that into original cost of purchase.

My numbers, above are very similar to my actual transaction... though not exact. They are hypotheticals to show how I figure the true costs of my vacation.

I have rented my points out in the past , and used the $$ to go on other vacations (or in the case of this year.... pay my son's medical bills)

 

[alice99]

I agree...that's how it's done! Very helpful...thank you!

Using the below, I calculate my point "cost" being $6.90/point.

$6.90 x 152 points = $1,055 for my room.

It appears that I am spending $1,055 for my room versus the $4,000 Disney would be charging me.

So now taking into account upfront cost per point, closing costs, maintenance fees, and total points over the lifetime of the contract remaining, I am "saving" about $3,000 for this trip, for the specific dates indicated, at BWV.

Would everyone agree with me?

Again, I am not taking into account staying at a cheaper resort, going at a different time of year, etc. I am going no matter what, for those dates, and staying at BWV!

This has turned into a great discussion! Thanks again to all.

Evan

You're welcome.

Also , keep in mind, on years you cannot go, you can rent the points for 10$ each (minimum) and make a small profit.
You are not really FORCED to always take a Disney vacation.

I think one other poster spoke up about taking more vacations, and making more trips than "normal" .... leading to the DVC costing more than a traditional hotel vacation. I do agree with this, but renting can be a solution to this kind of "money pit" vacation trend.... which I am definitely guilty of myself.

 

[ccgirl]

I agree...that's how it's done! Very helpful...thank you!

Using the below, I calculate my point "cost" being $6.90/point.

$6.90 x 152 points = $1,055 for my room.

It appears that I am spending $1,055 for my room versus the $4,000 Disney would be charging me.

So now taking into account upfront cost per point, closing costs, maintenance fees, and total points over the lifetime of the contract remaining, I am "saving" about $3,000 for this trip, for the specific dates indicated, at BWV.

Would everyone agree with me?

Again, I am not taking into account staying at a cheaper resort, going at a different time of year, etc. I am going no matter what, for those dates, and staying at BWV!

This has turned into a great discussion! Thanks again to all.

Evan

Did you take an interest bearing loan for those points? If so, you need to figure that as well. The kicker comes in if they offer a room discount or free dining during those dates.

 

[otterpop]

Did you take an interest bearing loan for those points? If so, you need to figure that as well. The kicker comes in if they offer a room discount or free dining during those dates.

I took into account everything I paid out of pocket for the points (no loan thank god!).

I was trying to figure out if there were any promotions going on and there's nothing from what I could find (no free dining or room discounts being offered for those specific dates).

I am just surprised that if my conclusion is correct and I am actually "saving" close to $3,000, that would put me way ahead of what most people say it takes to pay off the original purchase cost (it seems like most DVC members say that it takes about 7-8 years in "savings" to equal the original cost).

Thanks again to all.

 

[katrina1122]

Sure it 'saved' you money doing your cost anaylsis, but would you be staying at a DVC studio if you weren't DVC? If you'd stay at a value, then no it cost you alot more.

 

[kristenrice]

Here's how it played out for us. This was cut and pasted from a post I made back in November 2009.

Resale AKV purchase: $9525 total; 4900 points remaining over the life of the contract which amounts to $1.94/point
2008 MF's: $471
2009 MF's: $485
2010 MF's: $504*
2011 MF's: $525*
*2010 and 2011 are estimated based on a 4% annual increase
**The actual annual dues were LESS than this so that will decrease the "cost" of our DVC vacations listed below**

First trip...2009...June 6 (value studio) and 7-11 (value 1BR) at AKV, using 1 banked 2008 point and 94 2009 points. (The other 99 2008 points were used for a friend to go on his honeymoon)

Initial cost of points: $184.30
MF's on 2008 point: $4.71
MF's on 94 2009 points: $455.90
TOTAL cost for 5 night stay: $644.91
$2361.38 at full rack rate!

If we had taken this trip as non-members and stayed at Pop Century and got a 20% discount, we'd have paid $526.50. Yup, it's $120 less, but consider the difference between a 1BR at AKV and a standard room at Pop Century....TOTALLY worth the $120 to upgrade.

Next Trip...2010...April 4-5 (2 std studios) and April 6-8 (std 2BR) at AKV. We're bringing my parents on this one so we are a party of 6 and borrowing all of 2011's points. Premiere Season!**This was for an arrival ON Easter Sunday**

Initial cost of points: $399.64
MF's on 6 2009 points: $29.10
MF's on 100 2010 points: $504
MF's on 100 2011 points: $525
TOTAL cost for 5 night stay: $1058.10
Rack Rate for same trip.....$5760
If we were not DVC members, we would not be staying at AKV over spring break! We'd probably stay on property, though, so I'll put out a few numbers....

Option #1: 2 standard rooms at Pop Century $1631.25
Option #2: All-Star Music Family Suite $1864.50
Option #3: Ft. Wilderness Cabin $2137.50

So, realistically, we would have spent $2157.75 on 2 vacations. That is about 22% of our initial buy in...in TWO trips! We still have until 2057 to vacation so I think we will more than break even. If you use DVC's math (using full rack rate for the same rooms), we'd be at almost 85% of our initial buy-in!
============

As you can see, we priced out what we would have realistically booked at a reasonable discount and compared that to what the DVC room(s) really cost. Sometimes we saved money AND got a nicer room (think Easter when there are generally no discounts available) and sometimes we paid a small amount more for much nicer accomodations.

 

[crisi]

I do it the way that was described ((initial cost per point/number of years)+annual dues per point) x number of points for the reservation. BUT.....not EVERYONE agrees.

I'm not taking into account time value of money (I figure its a wash with inflation).

Also, when then doing the comparison, I have to turn it into a truer comparison. Would we stay in a one or two bedroom? Would we stay deluxe? Would we go as often? Would we plan our trips around promotions or annual pass discounts? Would we spend as much at Disney if we were facing a hotel bill instead of a dues bill and initial point purchase paid long ago?

I've decided that WE don't save any money with DVC. It is possible to, but we don't. We go more often than we would without DVC. We stay in bigger units. We spend more. We treat friends and family to a room. Now, we are happy with this - we feel like we are getting a good "value" (most often), but in terms of impact to our overall finances - its a more effective means for Disney to make sure they get more of my dollars while I remain happy.

 

[Judique]

Thanks for all the posts so far, but I am approaching this comparison as being just for this trip for those specified dates and resort, not the whole "package". I realize all of the other things that need to be taken into account for the lifetime of being a DVC member, but I am looking at just this one point in time (right or wrong).

I am not taking into account anything else such as how much it cost to purchase the points, are we going because we have to go, will we be going 10 years from now, would we be staying at a Value resort instead of BWV, etc.

Thoughts????

Thanks again for all the comments so far...keep 'em coming!

Evan

You won't find a cheaper price for that room, so yes, you are saving something! You probably couldn't have gotten a value for what you paid in dues, and you have a fridge and a toaster,etc, so cheap breakfasts as well.

And you can enjoy the free entertainment at the BW if you don't want to buy tickets...so you could save more money.

Now the only way I can see for you to save more money is to stay home.

Go and have a great time!

 

[drusba]

You can't really do the calculation as comparing dues costs to Disney regular cost. Looking at a single trip does not change the fact that each trip has an incremental cost that is a portion of the total cost of the points that you paid. In the other direction, the Disney room cost you provide does not appear to include the taxes. The reality is that any calculations are mostly guesstimates when you consider overall value. Most likely you are saving in the long run when you compare your stay to staying at one of the deluxe resorts. However, it would likely be cheaper in the long run to just stay at value resorts.

A statement above that you are spending more actually has some truth because many members actually do spend more at WDW (restaurants, merchandise, etc.) when staying DVC than they ever would spend if they actually had to also pay the room rental every time they went. Moreover, many find themselves with more add-on points and then going on more trips. I concede guilt on both those fronts.

We don't spend time discussing whether our investment was a value in comparison to paying rental annually. We are ones that would likely go annually even without DVC (we were doing that almost annually for 20 years before we purchased; we started in the 1970s). For us the thing that DVC gives us that we would not afford renting annually is a 1BR or 2BR right on site whenever we want and room space is very important to us. So we have the "value" that we want.