How does someone know it's a good decision for them, to purchase DVC?

[AstroBlasters]

What was that great price? Right now it's $235 for 100 points. Very new to this so trying to learn all I can !!

I wouldn’t buy only 100 points, you don’t get any of the membership extra benefits for less than 150 points and the point chart is so high you won’t get that many nights there….

 

[TDK44]

This isn't directly a reply to OP as it doesn't necessarily apply to your circumstances directly, but more to other people also thinking about buying DVC:

1. If you have young kids but aren't quite ready to start going to Disney yet, it could still be a good time to buy a contract and rent your points out early on (time value of money / recouping some of your upfront costs early). We bought a loaded resale contract 2 years ago, used some of those points on a trip to Aulani (we had already planned a trip to Hawaii, so would have spent the money on a condo rental anyway), and then rented the rest out / have rented out our points out since. Will go on our first family Disney World trip next year. Renting out the points early was a huge factor in amplifying the ROI.
2. A worthwhile counterpoint to the "buy where you want to stay" argument to consider would be that you can always rent from another owner or take a transfer in of points to take advantage of the 11-month window at a different resort if you are absolutely set on a specific date at a tough-to-book resort, and then rent your points out to help cover those costs. I've only done this once so far, so can't say it will definitely work in future years, but I'm hoping it does! Just takes some thoughtful planning and extra work around renting your points out that you maybe wouldn't have otherwise.

 

[Sandisw]

What deals? I did see something that is a discount until the end of July or so, for Riviera.

The current incentives can be found here. You can also get an extra $500 off by getting the name of an owner from our referral thread.

Plus, they currently had some extra for D23, AP and a few others

Best to contact a guide who can run down the numbers!!

https://dvcnews.com/dvc-program-men...club-direct-pricing-in-spring-2025-incentives

ETA: if you only look at the 100 point level it’s not going to be discounted for new buyers. But move up to 150 or more and it comes down!

They have the Magical Beginnings program which allows you to sell back your first year of points for $20…starting at the 150 level.

So, with that, you can get it down from the the $235!

 

[Cfabar1]

I would study the points charts carefully... Disney posts them on the Disney Vacation Club website...

Make sure if you are going to buy points you are buying enough to care for your trip...

Some of the resorts can be quite points hogs... Make sure that affording gets you the rooms you want at a cost you are comfortable paying.

 

[Chy]

People overlook riviera resale on this forum. If you really like riviera and want to stay there, it’s a fantastic deal on the resale market. You can also sell it back for about what you pay for it in a few years. Riviera directl if you have to sell is a big loss. You can buy it resale around $120 per point. Just buy the right amount of points and if you want to stay somewhere else then buy another contract.

The fact is if you stay during any of the busy seasons, your only option is your home resort, because everything is fully booked by 7 months unless you’re good with SSR. So practically speaking all anyone has at those times is their home resort. So who cares if you’re limited to your home resort.

If you’re booking in the summer when most things are open then why buy direct, buy cheap points.

Maybe in the 1 in 100 case where someone is really using it for Aulani snd Disneyland you could try to justify it. But in that case you’re still way better off with multiple contracts.

Buying direct riviera is a bad choice if money has any meaning to you. It’s an emotional decision, with no benefit. Riviera is a fantastic resort but a brutal points chart. Buy it resale if you want to stay there. Buying it for $235 is insane.

 

[Girlstar30]

I feel you because I'm in the same boat of loving Riviera and not wanting to spend the money on direct because of the restrictions and overall price of direct in general and I have decided to go resale and wait until I can save more money and pay off at least half of the direct contract before purchasing and not finance for more than a couple of years max. Thats if i even decide to end up doing it because im still on the fence. If I was rich I would buy without hesitation

With that being said, I have found ways around restricted resorts which aren't a guarantee and a lot of people aren't comfortable with, but it works for me.

You can buy a cheaper contract resale and get way more points than direct and sell points whenever you want to stay at a direct resort and rent points from a rental store to book your stay and come out ahead of direct doing it every couple of years or even every year depending on room type.

I just discovered you can also buy otu points and stay at deluxe studios at the restricted resorts. 24 points will get you one night in a deluxe studio depending on what time of year and if you have multiple memberships like us (3 memberships) we are really happy with three nights.

You do have to call members services to book a fake reservation and then cancel it and call them again to book one night at the restricted resort on each membership. We just did it successfully for vdh. All that being said, i have the time to do all this and love a challenge, but for simplicity sake if you have the money and want to stay at Riv you may just want to buy direct

Disney can take away otu points or try to restrict renting more which would foil my plans, but I'm okay with the many other resorts i have to choose from and just renting points if that happens, would you be okay if you couldnt stay at those and the many more to come?

 

[HFJohnson]

People overlook riviera resale on this forum. If you really like riviera and want to stay there, it’s a fantastic deal on the resale market. You can also sell it back for about what you pay for it in a few years. Riviera directl if you have to sell is a big loss. You can buy it resale around $120 per point. Just buy the right amount of points and if you want to stay somewhere else then buy another contract.

The fact is if you stay during any of the busy seasons, your only option is your home resort, because everything is fully booked by 7 months unless you’re good with SSR. So practically speaking all anyone has at those times is their home resort. So who cares if you’re limited to your home resort.

If you’re booking in the summer when most things are open then why buy direct, buy cheap points.

Maybe in the 1 in 100 case where someone is really using it for Aulani snd Disneyland you could try to justify it. But in that case you’re still way better off with multiple contracts.

Buying direct riviera is a bad choice if money has any meaning to you. It’s an emotional decision, with no benefit. Riviera is a fantastic resort but a brutal points chart. Buy it resale if you want to stay there. Buying it for $235 is insane.

This thread isn't helping me make a decision re resale! I really like the idea of buying at Riviera but some people seem to think it's a bad idea because they expect there may be issues booking certain rooms when all the direct contracts have been sold. I would be looking at 150 points to rent out either the tower or deluxe studios and these seem to be the ones of concern.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? My other option is SSR which is cheaper and gives more flexibility at 7 months, but would make it harder to stay at Riviera, although I'm not against renting out my points and buying a stay at Riv if needed.