Home resort points question

[drdelsol]

I have started the process of buying into SSR as my first DVC venture, haven't done any of the official paperwork yet. I am a little confused about a couple of things.

I was told the points per stay were locked in forever ( or I guess 50 years,LOL). Is that only for your home resort or for all the Disney world resorts?

How importatnt is your home resort? I choose SSR over Animal kingdom because of the lower maintanence fees because I didn't think the 11 month window would be that important as we won't need a larger place and being only 45 mins away will also be looking to use the trades alot also. Is that thinking way off?

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

As far as the trades/home resort/etc, there are far more experienced DVCers on here who can guide you for that. We bought a couple of contracts, as we plan to do some traveling at busier times (F&W at BWV, for example) and wanted the 11 month window if we needed it, but I know not everyone has the need for it.

But the locked in part....points per stay has gone up and will. They are not locked in. Point charts are put out every year and they do change, not by much though. As far as I know, there is no guarantee that a BW view studio in October will still be 12 points per weeknight in 2023.

 

[2tink4u]

It is absolutely my understanding that the Disney DVC resort points requirements stay constant and do not change. The cost of the points to use increase. So a studio costs 100 points today will cost 100 points in 50 years however the points to use cost 100 per point today will cost 200 per point 50 years from now. Otherwise there would be no savings. The trades into Disney Resorts non DVC can change and cruise point costs and all the other trades can change and have increased.
Also, Do not feel you will not need the 11 month window because you just need a studio. The least point cost rooms sell out first and the large rooms one bedrooms, the least good deal of all, sell out last and there are less studios. So, you may be stuck in the resort you purchase and you really should BUY WHERE YOU WANT TYO STAY and try to book 11mos out. At 7 mos out you can attempt a new ressie where you like in the size you want and if you can't get it you will have your original ressie made 11 mos out at your home resort to fall back on. Therefore, you should love it..... Cause you will stay there quite a bit...
Happy hopping

 

[disneykidatheart]

But the locked in part....points per stay has gone up and will. They are not locked in. Point charts are put out every year and they do change, not by much though. As far as I know, there is no guarantee that a BW view studio in October will still be 12 points per weeknight in 2023.

I believe you are mistaken on this information. When staying at the current DVC locations the points remain the same for the duration of your contract. That said, it is possible for a reallocation of points. I think in the history of DVC points were only raised once and that was years ago at OKW. A selling point used by guides is that the points will stay the same except in the instance of a reallocation.

When points are reallocated it is due to holidays moving to different days of the month as does Thanksgiving and Easter. When points are raised for certain dates they must be reduced for others so the total remains the same.

When you see differences on the new points charts it is because the holiday has been moved to a higher point season and the previous date on which the holiday fell is moved to a lower point season.

If my information is incorrect, someone please correct me.

 

[drdelsol]

Thanks for the replies. I was getting a little concerned because the presentation I went to wasjust 2 days ago on the Wonder. I checked my notes and the steady points was the main selling point. I didn't do this earlier because we had no children and you could often get a value for $49.Now that we have a child, will go more often and projected longer, the stable points was the savings selling point for me.

Also talked with the wife, she likes the DTD location of SSR and the good views at Animal Kingdom are a bit up there point wise and for me a Savannah view is the reason to stay there. So out of the 2 offered I guess I'll stick with SSR and try not to continually 2nd guess myself.

One morequestion please-if we like it and want to add on later, can you add on lesser amounts at a new location or for another location do you have to go to the 160pts again.

Thanks alot.

 

[DVC Mike]

You can add-on as few as 25 points at any DVC resort (if you pay cash) or 50 points if you finance.

The total number of points at a DVC resort will be fixed. They can re-allocate them; however, if they raise the number of points for one season/room, they must lower it for another. So yes, the point cost to stay at a DVC resort really doesn't go up.

 

[sznk]

One morequestion please-if we like it and want to add on later, can you add on lesser amounts at a new location or for another location do you have to go to the 160pts again.
Thanks alot.

Add-ons can be done thru Disney or resales.
Can be at your home resort or any other DVC available.

Thru Disney: 25 point minimum if you are not financing and 50 point minimum if you are financing.
25 or 50 point minimums are not in 25-point increments; in other words, they can be 25, 26, 29, 35, 67, or whatever above that minimum number.
Must be the same Use Year as your original contract.
No closing costs.
May have to waitlist for some of the resorts.

Thru resale: can be whichever point amount, DVC, or Use Year that meets your needs.
Closing costs apply - often, altho not always, paid by Buyer.
May have to wait for the right contract to come along. Low point resales often go quickly.

There are more details, but these are the basics.

Oh - a caution - you may find yourself with the frequently occurring condition called "add-on-itis"

 

[Dean]

Overall points for each resort remain the same but they can be rebalanced, if they increase one thing, they must decrease something else. But there is no guarantee the other resorts will remain accessible to those that own at a differnt DVC resorts. I don't think you'll see that much difference in dues from one on property resort to another so unless you want SSR a portion of the time, you might reconsider that choice. The one thing buying a higher demand resort gets you is access to things you won't be able to get otherwise, like the concierge units at AKL or certain resorts at higher demand times.

Non DVC points charts are not locked at all. They could be doubled tomorrow or totally taken away.

Buying DVC to trade outside the DVC resorts is an extremely poor choice as a reason to buy in. Buy the # of points you'll use at DVC and look elsewhere for those other options, you'll be much better off. You can cancel up to 10 days from when you signed if you decide to.

 

[Caskbill]

As mentioned, the total points for the resort is constant. If you take every villa and multiply add the points for the entire year, that's the number that cannot change.

There may have been some confusion between the actual points required and the maintenance fees. Maintenance fees definitely go up every year. So in effect a room will 'cost' you more each year.

If a Studio somewhere today is 12 points, and maintenance fees are $4.00/point, then that room effectively costs you $48/night. If next year the maintenance fees go up by 3%, they become $4.12/point, so the 12 points for the night costs you $49.44/night, an increase of $1.44.

That's just inflation and it's a fact of life. You're still getting a bargain. Suppose instead of buying DVC you stayed at a moderate resort, for $149/night. Add tax and it's $166.14/night. If that room goes up by the same inflation rate of 3%, then next year it'll be $171.12/night, an increase of almost $5.00 per night.

Compound these out for 10 years or so, and the hedge against inflation, using DVC, is readily apparent. That DVC room 'costs' $64.51 in dues, while the moderate WDW resort, including taxes, shoots up to $223.28/night.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Also, there is no guarantee that the points needed for a night at new DVC resort will be comparable to the points needed for existing DVC resorts. So even if 24 points will always get you 2 nights in a studio at BWV, it may only get you one night at DVC Grand Californian or DVC Hawaii. -- Suzanne

 

[crisi]

The other thing - you can buy another resort adding on as little as 25 points, but each set of points is only good at its home resort 11 months out.

Say you buy 160 SSR points. You fall in love with VWL and decide you need to own there to guarentee a stay. You buy the minimum 25 point add on.

At 11 months you can use 160 points at SSR and 25 points at VWL. You can bank and borrow to use 75 points (3 years of points) at VWL. But you CAN'T use any of those SSR points at VWL until the seven month window opens.

 

[disneynutz]

I may be wrong but it seems to me the the dues stay on the low side until the resort is done being constructed. After that, they appear to increase at a faster rate. Does DVD keep the dues low to attract more buyers?

 

[Dean]

I may be wrong but it seems to me the the dues stay on the low side until the resort is done being constructed. After that, they appear to increase at a faster rate. Does DVD keep the dues low to attract more buyers?

True for 2 reasons. One is that DVC tends to have a developer subsidy for new resorts and the other, that costs are lower for any resort until it reaches the time when refurbishment needs to happen.

 

[tomandrobin]

Another thing to consider, starting in 2008 the cash rate for room stays are going to mimick the DVC charts. Weekend rates will cost you more then weekday rates. No more flat $79 per day for the week rental rates.