How many points is enough?

[dljhowie]

As a new member, I am wondering how many points is enough? We bought the min. 150 with the option to increase over the next couple of days if we thought we needed it. We are planning on spending one Vacation a year lasting 8-10 days. My question is to those who have 150 - 200 pts. Is this enough? We are new to this and really would like some feedback from those who have done it. Thanks

Dan

 

[paslea_pooh]

on the size of your family, if you like staying in a studio, 1 bedroom or like to opt for the Grand Villa.

We bought 300. We are 6 people and always have to have a minimum of a 2 bedroom if we all go together, if not we can do a 1 bedroom for a week and then let our older daughter have a studio some other time of the year.

I guess it just depends on what you want your accomdations to be. I would buy whatever I needed now and not have to worry about adding on later.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

I did some quick number crunching, and you can indeed stay in a studio for the time frame you specified for most any time of the year except Premier season with the 150 you currently hold

Where did you buy?

 

[PCFriar80]

Season (time of year) and accommodations (studio, 1BR, 2BR) are the two factors you need to consider. DW and I have 250 Pts. and are able to schedule
four 5 night stays during value seasons in studios. The other option, in lieu of
purchasing additional points is to bank your first years points (some or all) to increase the amount for the following year.

 

[dljhowie]

I should have stated that we are a family of 4 (5 and 2). We (she) prefers the 1 BR because I snore. We are all for seeing all the different DVC Locations as well as off disney property and Cruises. We like going Nov.-Jan because we live in WI and like to get away from the snow.

Dan

I purchased at the Saratoga and they actually gave me 2005 pts. also. So I am actually starting with 300 pts.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

With 150 points, you'll be able to stay 6 nights in a 1BR at Saratoga Springs during Adventure season. For more nights, you'll need to either bank/borrow and go every two years, or stay in a studio.

You can stretch a little bit by staying at Old Key West, too.

 

[spiceycat]

don't buy more than 150 points in one contract. do a separate contract for any additionals points you might need - 50 or so would probably be fine.

why???

it is easier to sell smaller contracts on the resale market.

several times bigger ones don't have any buyers.

I know no one buys DVC with any thoughts on selling it. But the future is unpredictable you don't know what might happen. It is best to plan for the worst case.

 

[spiceycat]

oh here is a point chart so you can see for yourself how many points you might need.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/SS-Points.htm

 

[dianeschlicht]

For a family of 4 when the children are young as yours are, a studio and 1 bedroom are fine, but as they get older, you will want a two bedroom just to have the additional bathroom as well as space. I assume you purchased at SSR, so your point shedule there is a bit easier than at BWV, BCV, or VWL. We own at OKW, so our points are even less than yours. We too like to get away for at least 8-10 days at a time. Our favorite times to go to WDW are October through January. Since our "kids" are adults in their 30's and have no children of their own, we tend to take either them, or other family and friends with us, so we always get a 2 bedroom or larger with an occational studio night on a Friday or Saturday to conserve points. We started out with 230 points nearly 9 years ago, and quickly discovered it wasn't enough, so we added on another 150 points a year later. I think you would be served well by using that tactic as well. Buy what you can afford now, and you can always add on later if it isn't enough. You wont really know what your travel plans will be once you are members. We assumed we would still be going once a year, but it is just TOO EASY to go more often when you know you have a place to stay with no additional costs.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

We fell pray, early on, to "addonitis." We started out with 160 and after a couple of years brough that up to an even 400.

At this stage in our lives, that's plenty ... we share our vacations with others, which is an absolute blast. That's not to say, though, that I'd turn down extra points if someone gave them to us.

But, I do think it's possible to have vacations better than anywhere else on earth with 150 points. You just have to be creative and be willing to compromise a little.

 

[Daitcher]

As a new member, I am wondering how many points is enough? We bought the min. 150 with the option to increase over the next couple of days if we thought we needed it. We are planning on spending one Vacation a year lasting 8-10 days. My question is to those who have 150 - 200 pts. Is this enough? We are new to this and really would like some feedback from those who have done it. Thanks

Dan

Everyones needs are different. We have 350 SSR points and it never seems to be enough. We are a family of 3 and we usually book 2 bedroom units, sometimes 1 bedrooms but never studios. We don't want to be confined to the bedroom if we put our son to sleep in the living room of a 1 bedroom or have to sleep on the pull out ( our son is just turning 4). Vacation for us is comfort and convenience. Besides if I wanted a studio I would have never bought into DVC. The larger rooms with seperate sleeping areas is what seperates a timeshare from a hotel stay. If I wanted a studio I'd just book a room at one of the moderates and save the buy in money plus annual dues. Your break even point when staying in a studio takes a long time if you compare it to a cost of moderate hotel stays. One trend we've seen is that a WDW DVC stay tends to spoil you. Other resorts just don't add up. We find ourselves wanting more WDW stays. This year alone we have 24 days booked. 16 days using points and 8 days in suites at BC (3 days) and AKL (5 days). We are in a constant state of borrowing. We plan on adding on approximately 400 VB points to get the Beach cottages at 11 months. The rest of our points from this add on will go for WDW stays. My suggestion is this: go through a year or 2 and see if you find yourself wanting more than the 8 days or wanting stays in a larger room with the kitchen. If this occurs follow the advice given by others, add on in 150 point or smaller increments. Good luck and I hope you enjoy your DVC membership as much as we do.


DAVE

 

[RAD]

We started with 200 when we joined. Looking at the charts in the sales office we thought that would be enough. Since then we've done a 70, 30 and 50 points add on and is that still enough, nope. I'm looking at my spreadsheet with usage and in 7 years there's been only one year where we didn't have points borrowed from the next. Right now we're looking at a family gathering in 2006 around Christmas time and that's going to really do a number on the old points balance.

 

[cmark]

We look at our DVC membership as a second home. So we are up to 650 points. When we retire, we hope to have enough points to spend a month or more in the winter on property. It is much cheaper than owning and maintaining a second home (been there--and its not cheap). We are about 8 years from retiring, so now we enjoy the flexibility. Most people that own a second home do not normally get to spend more than 6 or 8 weeks at that home (whether retired or not). Clearly DVC is much cheaper than "owning" a similar property on an annual cash flow basis. I know that we are building no equity--meaning in time there will be no value to ownership interest. Heck, you even get weekly maid service!

 

[spiceycat]

We look at our DVC membership as a second home. So we are up to 650 points. When we retire, we hope to have enough points to spend a month or more in the winter on property. It is much cheaper than owning and maintaining a second home (been there--and its not cheap). We are about 8 years from retiring, so now we enjoy the flexibility. Most people that own a second home do not normally get to spend more than 6 or 8 weeks at that home (whether retired or not). Clearly DVC is much cheaper than "owning" a similar property on an annual cash flow basis. I know that we are building no equity--meaning in time there will be no value to ownership interest. Heck, you even get weekly maid service!

You didn't mention the big one for me anyway - YOU ARE AT WDW!!!

 

[crazywig]

Buy what you can afford now, and you can always add on later if it isn't enough. You wont really know what your travel plans will be once you are members. We assumed we would still be going once a year, but it is just TOO EASY to go more often when you know you have a place to stay with no additional costs.

wise words diane.

we did this as well. we bought 170pts (with cash) in oct. '03 and picked up 50 more pts in the spring of '05. with 220 i think we are good for now. we are a family of four and our kids are 3 and 1.

it's easy to stay in a studio with such small kids and it does stretch your pts. however we were in a 2br for the first time in sept (took family) and i am sooo spoiled now! only 1 br's for me from now on!

 

[dianeschlicht]

it's easy to stay in a studio with such small kids and it does stretch your pts. however we were in a 2br for the first time in sept (took family) and i am sooo spoiled now! only 1 br's for me from now on!

LOL, we prefer 1,2 or 3 bedroom villas too! The studios are for weekend point saving when we first arrive.

 

[LoveRafiki]

We are a family of 4 and have 220 points. We could get by with less but enjoy bringing other family members (read Grandparents) for our week which we take in December - so we usually get a 2bdr.

A DVC salesperson told us this last time when we were there, that he thought somewhere between 210 - 250 was a good basic number.

HOWEVER -- if you dont come every year - obiously less is okay.

Also -- we often will stay first night off-site in cheap hotel to avoid heavy points on Friday or Saturday.

With little kids (we have also an almost 5 and almost 2 year old) -- having at least a 1 Bedroom is important so that you can put them to bed - and still have a room to sit around in.....

With 150 - we would avoid Fri/Sat and go in off-peak.

You can always "add" later.....

good luck!

 

[PBader]

Hi, we started out with 310 (OKW) in 1995, in 1997 we added on 100 (VB) and in 2004 240 (SSR). We feel that we have "enough" points or now. There are only 3 of us in our family, but at least every other year, we try to invite others to join us. When it is just us going we usually get a 1BD, we love the full kitchen and space. DVC is definetly the best money that we have ever spent!
Paula

 

[Lenc324]

I bought what I could afford at this time and since it's just my son and I right now I will get 2 great vacations in a yr, and I will buy more points if I need them.