Help me figure this out ...

[Mrs Hobbes]

Great news hubby has said we can buy an add on contract when we go out to Disney in feb 2012

He's asked me to find some stuff out so I am hoping you can all help with the questions - if I come across a little vague its because he normally sorts all this but he is at work right now!!

Ok first question what size are the point contracts that we can add on?
We've added a 50 point before but we are considering adding 100pts. Is this possible we both seem to remember it being 120pts?

We own at AKV - how much are points at AKV right now?

What are the current incentives for adding on?

If we are doing a disney loan for this add on what size deposit do we need?

Complicated bit coming up!! Our uy is August. Our feb 2012 vacation uses all of 2011 points and some of 2012. If we add on feb 2012 when would we get the points from? Would we get the aug 2011- jul 2012 points or would the contract start from Aug 2012? If we do get the points for the current uy we are in would there be anyway our guide could switch our point usage around so that we use the add-on points for the vacation we are currently on and return our borrowed points to the 2012 year? Coming from the UK we only travel every 18mths or so to Disney and have a big vacation. So if the add on gave us the 2011-2012 points they would be no use to us because our next vacation is planned for Dec 2013 and we could not bank them that far ahead.

Phew I hope I explained that ok and you get what I mean! Thanks for any help and advice you can give

 

[JWG]

From what I know:

1) No restriction on add-on size for current owners. There may be a floor (25 or something), but no one buys that small so I've not heard of it.

2) Best place to find pricing and current incentives is here: http://www.dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-program/financial/pricing-a-promotions

3) If you purchase in the use year, you get those points. So, yes, if you purchase in 2/2012 with an August use year you would get 8/2011 points that expire on 7/31/2012. You cannot "unborrow" points, but you can bank the points you add-on. Even if past the banking window (which February is not for August anyway), a direct purchase usually affords you the opportunity to bank this first points. Though, I see this doesn't really help you as you want to unborrow so you can turn around and bank them out a year. I don't think they'll let you do this, but given they want the sale if you explain your situation your guide may be willing/able to do something out of the norm (a "one-time exception").

Good news for you! Enjoy the extra points.

 

[fers31]

Do yourself a favor and look into buying resale over direct. You'll save yourself a few thousand dollars.

 

[chalee94]

Ok first question what size are the point contracts that we can add on?

25 pts for cash/ 50 pts for financing - you can add on random numbers (57 pts or 73 pts) if that suits your needs.

If we are doing a disney loan for this add on what size deposit do we need?

i believe it's just 10% if you are buying a 50+ pt contract.

If we do get the points for the current uy we are in would there be anyway our guide could switch our point usage around so that we use the add-on points for the vacation we are currently on and return our borrowed points to the 2012 year?

i've never heard of DVC making an exception for putting borrowed pts back into their original UY...it's always been a final transaction.

 

[DMKEDM]

If you decide to buy direct, it's considerably more expensive, but faster and easier--plus, resale purchases are subject to restrictions (e.g., you can't use resale points for cruises or any other non-DVC resort option (except RCI)--lots of folks find those restrictions no big deal, but obviously you have to make that decision for yourselves--

You will get your add-on points (in whatever amount above 25 you choose) as August UY points--the only way to change your UY would be to buy an entirely new/separate master contract--and that would be subject to minimum point requirements. So, you'd get 2011 points if you buy in Feb. You can bank those points.

You can also ask your guide if there's a way he/she can help you with a point reallocation...since you're going to be already on the trip for which you want the points reallocated, it may not be possible. It may make some sense for you to email your guide to try to get this ball rolling before you arrive. (Your guide will probably have to call you do make arrangements, but if you email laying out what you want to do, it gives him/her a chance to research to see if he/she can help). If the process is started before your arrival, it may make the point reallocation more possible. Or, you may be able to arrange to buy your add-on so that it's effective for August 2012 points so you don't have to pay for the 2011 points that you won't be able to use, even with banking...

Good luck!

 

[Mrs Hobbes]

Well thanks everyone for your comments so far. It has certainly given me food for thought. I will talk to DH about resale as briefly looking at the listing I can see that we can get more for our money. I am tempted to have a different home resort and if we could afford a bigger contract this may be worth doing. Although we always book 11months out so not sure if it would be of benefit to us, although I have read about people banking and borrowing points to make the home resort booking window work to their advantage.

It;s good that we still have a few more months to research this before making up our minds completely.

Things we would like to book in the future that I know could be tricky without home resort priority are
2 bed VWL dec 1st - dec 14th
1 or 2 bed BLT MK View 1st Sept onwards
Grand Villas
Tree house Villas

Lots of things to consider ....

I am still interested if anyone has been able to reallocate banked points during a sale I am certain I read about someone being able to do this in the past.

 

[csharpwv]

Do yourself a favor and look into buying resale over direct. You'll save yourself a few thousand dollars.

But, you also may not want PART of your points to not be fully usable in making ALL reservations that are available to DVC members who buy direct.

I don't understand why everyone is so anti-direct purchase!?!?!

We have purchased 4 contracts, two direct, and two resale. We have done what made sense for us in buying each contract.

It is a matter of personal preference, and often times you can't find exactly what you want on the resale market (UY, # of points, status of the contract, home resort etc etc)

Don't be so anti-direct buy!

Buy where, and what makes the most sense for you!

When we bought BLT we got a far - FAR - better deal buying direct. When we bought HHI we got a far FAR better deal buying on the secondary market before the changes took place in March.

With that said, the way we use our points, or hope to use our points someday - I would NOT buy a contract on the secondary/resale market now. The points are not as valuable, and I have heard FAR too many problems (bankruptcy, estoppel info advertised incorrectly, bad/unprofessional agents etc etc etc)

If we ever add on again, it will be direct - and I'm pretty certain of that.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I believe it's very important for each buyer to consider all options. Not every one places high value (or any value) on the options that have been restricted from current resale purchases. As far as being less valuable - the points that take the greatest hit are going to be any points that are purchased direct and then you want to resell. If you buy BLT direct today and went to sell tomorrow you'd see anywhere from a 25-50% loss in one day! When buying in the resale market you are paying much less than direct already and don't have such a large drop in resale value.

If you use points for DVC resorts it almost always makes the most sense financially to buy resale. There can be a few other reasons that might push one direct such as only wanting a small contract in a certain UY or an immediate need for the points or if you just don't care about the price and don't want to bother looking for a contract on the resale market.



OP - I don't think I've heard of anyone being able to reallocate for a trip they were on when they purchased but I have heard of the odd time or two that MS has returned borrowed points during a purchase. Nothing I would count on though. You might give your guide a call and see if a purchase could be started before your trip and have the stipulation about reallocating points. Then you could sign the paperwork while at WDW. I don't know what the rules are though for a UK buyer and if it is a possibility to do something like that or if it all has to wait until you're here.

 

[PAUL123]

All members have shared lot of information . It will surly help you.
By the way I have found my answer here. I also had the same issue.
Its great forum.
All members help each other .

 

[Sandisw]

Well thanks everyone for your comments so far. It has certainly given me food for thought. I will talk to DH about resale as briefly looking at the listing I can see that we can get more for our money. I am tempted to have a different home resort and if we could afford a bigger contract this may be worth doing. Although we always book 11months out so not sure if it would be of benefit to us, although I have read about people banking and borrowing points to make the home resort booking window work to their advantage.

It;s good that we still have a few more months to research this before making up our minds completely.

Things we would like to book in the future that I know could be tricky without home resort priority are
2 bed VWL dec 1st - dec 14th
1 or 2 bed BLT MK View 1st Sept onwards
Grand Villas
Tree house Villas

Lots of things to consider ....

I am still interested if anyone has been able to reallocate banked points during a sale I am certain I read about someone being able to do this in the past.

I am not sure about banked points, but I do know that if you purchase via Disney prior to your Feb 2012 trip, and get current UY points that are valid for your Feb trip, they will allow them to replace any borrowed points you have and put the borrowed points back.

So, you mention that you borrowed Aug 2012 UY points for that trip. If you buy from Disney prior to then, you should be able to use the Aug 2011 UY points you will get--you always get current UY points with Disney--and use those instead of the borrowed 2012 UY points.

The only glitch to this is where you booked and what you buy. Since you own AKV, if your Feb 2012 reservation was booked at AKV using the home resort booking advantage, they will only allow you to replace those borrowed points with AKV points. If you purchase a different home resort through Disney it may not work. If those reservations were secured 7 months or less, then you won't have a problem at all.

 

[Mrs Hobbes]

Thank you so much Sandi!! That is so good to read we are going to contact our guide next week for a chat and try and get the ball rolling. If we can get back borrowed points buying direct that just makes more sense for us

 

[maburke]

Or, you may be able to arrange to buy your add-on so that it's effective for August 2012 points so you don't have to pay for the 2011 points that you won't be able to use, even with banking...

Good luck!

Whether or not you get current year points does not affect the price. If you had a Feb use year, you'd pay the same price in Feb, 2012, as the August UY, but you wouldn't get the 2011 points, since that year is over for you.

 

[juncker]

Best thing to do would be to get educated about purchasing direct vs. retail. Read these boards for real information. Understand the difference, risks, financing options, and prices. Then you can make the right decision for your family.

I think that many people are so anti-direct because they got the DVC info from the sales team, and never understood about the resale market and that it was an option. We almost fell into that trap. Your guides are obviously very biased because that want you to buy from them.

One plus about buying direct is that smaller contracts like what you might be trying to add are easier to get. You can probably get them to line up your UY with your current contract and get exactly the size you want. Go ahead and buy a 38 point contract just to be different. Resale is a matter of finding the right size, UY, and price. Waiting for resale to complete is no fun either, but counting the money you save is. Only you know what fits your family. Take people's opinons (including mine) with a grain of salt. If you read enough on this board, you'll be educated and make a good choice.

Best of luck!

 

[Mrs Hobbes]

So we spoke to our guide today and so long as we complete our purchase before we check in on our feb 2012 vacation we can put back our borrowed points!! This has sealed it for us, we're going to buy direct. We looked at resales and the prices were less but we feel it is just easier and less hassle to go direct.

Thanks everyone for the help and advice - grand villas here we come!!!!!!

 

[csharpwv]

There are many conveniences to buying direct - and you have encountered one of them! You will close almost immediately, so you won't have to worry about putting points back - or losing them, or using them.

We have bought 2 of ours direct, and bought 2 resale. Each one made total sense to buy the way we did, and we got the best deal available on both of the direct purchased, and both of the resale purchases.

I research stuff like crazy before making a move. It drives my wife nuts! She is the type that once she gets it in her head to do something, she does it NOW! I am more of the wait and see type - I hate to feel rushed in making a decision, and I hate to have buyers remorse.

My wife has learned to defer to me on all larger purchases - and she knows its best for us - and our wallet!

But in the meantime - boy, does she get jumpy!

 

[Deb & Bill]

So we spoke to our guide today and so long as we complete our purchase before we check in on our feb 2012 vacation we can put back our borrowed points!! This has sealed it for us, we're going to buy direct. We looked at resales and the prices were less but we feel it is just easier and less hassle to go direct.

Thanks everyone for the help and advice - grand villas here we come!!!!!!

Get that promise in writing. I'm gonna bet you won't get it in writing because they can't guarantee that it will happen.

Borrowing and banking have always been a final transaction.