Getting close to Purchasing 500 points

[Troy Wiley]

We decided to purchase 500 points. This will be our first DVC purchase. We are a family of four. We live on the west coast and do Disneyland more than Disney World and Aulani. We still plan on visiting Aulani and DW. We want 250 points at Disneyland Hotel Villas for sure. Should we just purchase 500 points at Disneyland Hotel Villas or should we purchase 250 points at Disney World property.

I think our biggest concern is not getting a great property at Disney World with the 7 month restriction. We love the resorts on the monorail.

Any advise?

 

[Sandisw]

Well, it might work to buy some VDH and the new Poly tower, when they go on sale?


Then you get the best of both worlds, especially if you want studios at PVB had a lot of them between the current longhouses and the new ones in the tower.

 

[AnnaS]

How often do you think you will visit WDW or Aulani. You will definitely need the points/all of your points in CA if you plan on staying there for the majority of your trips.

Depending on when you want to travel/room needed - studio/1BDR/2BDR - you might/might not have a problem securing a reservation when your 7 month window opens up but it's definitely not guaranteed. Will you be happy if you don't get your first or second choice?

Whatever you decide - definitely split up your contracts even if you purchase at just one resort.

 

[intamin]

If you're doing a larger amount of Disneyland trips compared to Disney World trips I would make it a larger split toward VDH. Maybe consider doing 300-350 at VDH and then 150-200 at Poly.

I'd also ask though what room type you want on the monorail, if you want a 2 bedroom at Poly you're probably going to need to own there. Same for VGF. BLT likely will have some availability if you're okay with paying for Lake view.

 

[AstroBlasters]

We decided to purchase 500 points. This will be our first DVC purchase. We are a family of four. We live on the west coast and do Disneyland more than Disney World and Aulani. We still plan on visiting Aulani and DW. We want 250 points at Disneyland Hotel Villas for sure. Should we just purchase 500 points at Disneyland Hotel Villas or should we purchase 250 points at Disney World property.

I think our biggest concern is not getting a great property at Disney World with the 7 month restriction. We love the resorts on the monorail.

Any advise?

How does it work on breakpoints with the incentives?

Also, would it make sense to purchase a certain amount of points up front and then come back in and do another round at the current member price instead of the new member price?

At VDH, I would strongly advise to purchase a fixed week or break up the contracts into smaller amounts in case you ever need to resell.

Personally, I wouldn’t buy a WDW resort until you know how many you are going to want to use at VDH regularly because the inventory is so much limited on the west coast and the 11m window will be very valuable.

The studios are what go quickly at WDW, you’ll have enough points to where you can play in the easier to book 1bd/2bd space.

 

[Troy Wiley]

Whatever you decide - definitely split up your contracts even if you purchase at just one resort.

I’m new to this what is the advantage to splitting contacts.

 

[MISCdisney21]

I’m new to this what is the advantage to splitting contacts.

If you ever decide to sell, much easier to sell 250 Point contracts than a 500

 

[intamin]

I’m new to this what is the advantage to splitting contacts.

If you ever decide to sell, much easier to sell 250 Point contracts than a 500

I would split it even more than that. I personally would do 4 125s (I think the most they allow is 4? Maybe 6?). Contracts above 200 points are harder to sell on the resale market. The only downside is you'll pay a little more in closing costs but it's worth it because should you need to sell it it will sell faster and for more per point.

There are a lot more people who can afford a 50-100 point contract than a 500 point contract.

 

[tx911]

How about 150 at VDH (direct), 200 at VGC (resale), and 150 at Poly?

 

[AstroBlasters]

Buy 110% of the points you need to stay at the resort you want to stay at, in the room size you want to stay in, at the time of year you want to travel before you ever consider multiple home resorts.

 

[sndral]

We decided to purchase 500 points. This will be our first DVC purchase. We are a family of four. We live on the west coast and do Disneyland more than Disney World and Aulani. We still plan on visiting Aulani and DW. We want 250 points at Disneyland Hotel Villas for sure. Should we just purchase 500 points at Disneyland Hotel Villas or should we purchase 250 points at Disney World property.

I think our biggest concern is not getting a great property at Disney World with the 7 month restriction. We love the resorts on the monorail.

Any advise?

Why 500 points? Maybe start w/ the 250 at DL hotel you know you want split into 2 contracts - 150/100 if they’ll let you. Why 150/100, because you can sell the 100 point one & keep the 150 one which keeps your member benefits intact should you decide to downsize.
If you pick the right use year they’ll let you bank a year’s worth of points - giving you 500 points to work w/ (or 750 if you borrow) for that first year. Then use those points for a year or two & decide at that point if it’s time to buy your second set of 250 points. If it is, great, buy them where you’ve learned you’ll need/want home resort booking. If 250 works - great, stand pat. If DVC doesn’t work for you, then sell & at least you’ve reduced your loss.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Unless money is no object to you I would take a deep dive into these boards and learn all about DVC before buying 500 points at once.

Look into split contracts
Fixed weeks
Resale vs Direct purchase
Point charts
7 month vs 11 month bookings
Calculate the dues you will pay each year at one resort vs another
Member pricing vs non member pricing
Calculate your price per pint after incentives for each tier of purchase. Often the next tier isn’t more economical than the previous tier per point.

The boards are a wealth of information.

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

How about 150 at VDH (direct), 200 at VGC (resale), and 150 at Poly?

I approve of this statement. .

 

[AnnaS]

A little late - but what everyone has posted.

If you ever need to downsize/sell later on, so much easier to sell smaller contracts. If you have one, two or three children and someday you might want to gift a contract out, easier to do also.

Definitely consider the time of year you want to or think you will want to travel, will you be booking studios, 1BDR, etc., your preferred resort, etc.

If you are looking to go to WDW every two years or so, consider a smal contract there. You can always rent out your points/reservation if you skip a few years (you can bank and borrow when you are ready to use it).

Definitely multiple contracts - 100 to 125 points each.

 

[intamin]

A little late - but what everyone has posted.

If you ever need to downsize/sell later on, so much easier to sell smaller contracts. If you have one, two or three children and someday you might want to gift a contract out, easier to do also.

Definitely consider the time of year you want to or think you will want to travel, will you be booking studios, 1BDR, etc., your preferred resort, etc.

If you are looking to go to WDW every two years or so, consider a smal contract there. You can always rent out your points/reservation if you skip a few years (you can bank and borrow when you are ready to use it).

Definitely multiple contracts - 100 to 125 points each.

Thats not a bad idea either. If OP has 2 kids you could do 2 150s so they retain benefits if you pass it on and then 2 100s. Assuming OP has 2 kids. If 3 kids then do 3 150s and a 50.

Something I know that wasn’t obvious for me but just so OP knows, you will still receive incentives as if you bought 500 points even if you split them into 4 contracts. You just have to pay extra closing costs. If you buy at 2 separate resorts, unless they have the same exact promotion at the time they will not let you combine them. You would reach the 300 pt incentive at VDH and the 200 at Poly or however you decide to split it up assuming you do.

 

[TCRAIG]

If buying direct - definitely split into multiple contracts but keep 1 at 150 or more for DVC benefits. If you think you’ll go to DL the most, I’d figure out what season/size room would most like book and get that many points plus 10-15% (points charts can and do change) . I’d go resale for Aulani if you think you’ll want to go no less than every other year. WDW I would wait for new Poly tower and pay member price. I would also keep that contract to 150+ points.

 

[castle1]

I would split it even more than that. I personally would do 4 125s (I think the most they allow is 4? Maybe 6?). Contracts above 200 points are harder to sell on the resale market. The only downside is you'll pay a little more in closing costs but it's worth it because should you need to sell it it will sell faster and for more per point.

There are a lot more people who can afford a 50-100 point contract than a 500 point contract.

Agree 100% !!

 

[Troy Wiley]

Well, it might work to buy some VDH and the new Poly tower, when they go on sale?


Then you get the best of both worlds, especially if you want studios at PVB had a lot of them between the current longhouses and the new ones in the tower.

Thank you I love the idea of PVB.

 

[Troy Wiley]

Thanks for all your help. I think we are going to stick to VDH and split the points. Maybe in the future look at PVB or another WDW property. We do Disneyland at least twice a year.

Thanks again for suggestion splitting the points I would have missed that.

 

[Tatebeck]

Could even buy resale VGC and Direct Poly Tower and still get the direct member benefits. Just depends if you like the shorter contract without the transient tax for VGC or not. Better resale value on VGC as well