How many points to start with?

[nicolej92]

I FINALLY convinced my fiancé to purchase DVC. We will be doing so after we get married and have the money saved up to pay for the points in cash instead of financing them.

What is the best amount of points to start with? I know it depends on a few things. We are planning on having 1-2 kids right before/after purchasing. We plan to go at least every other year during the fall or spring (my favorite time to go!). Some years, we may do big family vacations (parents, maybe a few with siblings), so we would need more points for this, but we can also rent them, correct?

We will be 25/26 when purchasing, so I am also a little concerned that it "runs out" after a certain number of years. Do people usually just purchase again after that happens?

I appreciate your opinions in advance.

 

[glencoe]

My theory is the more the better! As my family has frown in age and size more space becomes invaluable. We started with 150 at Bay Lake.... LOVE the space. However now my kids want to bring a cousin/ friend and we just blew through 2 1/2 years of points getting a two bedroom villa. We go every other year... Giving us 300 points per trip. NOT ENOUGH anymore!

With that said...... Keep in mind maintenance fees..... The more points, the higher that goes!!! You are so smart and lucky to start young! Pick your resort carefully with that in mind..... ( bay lake has one of the lowest- high price per point to buy but yearly costs low- works for us)

I am just in the process of buying 160 points now to add to our contract!

 

[disneynutz]

You need to look at the point charts, resort, time of year, size of room to determine how many points to buy. As your needs increase, you can always buy another contract.

Bill

 

[CMNJ]

I FINALLY convinced my fiancé to purchase DVC. We will be doing so after we get married and have the money saved up to pay for the points in cash instead of financing them.

What is the best amount of points to start with? I know it depends on a few things. We are planning on having 1-2 kids right before/after purchasing. We plan to go at least every other year during the fall or spring (my favorite time to go!). Some years, we may do big family vacations (parents, maybe a few with siblings), so we would need more points for this, but we can also rent them, correct?

We will be 25/26 when purchasing, so I am also a little concerned that it "runs out" after a certain number of years. Do people usually just purchase again after that happens?

I appreciate your opinions in advance.

Personally I wouldn't buy a larger number of points to possibly accommodate family in the future-you are locking yourself into paying MF for those points for many years to come and if you decide you want less points you have to sell the whole contract and buy a smaller one. I would buy what you think you would need for your family's needs. Your extended family could always do a DVC rental or you could look to get a point transfer from another member if you want to control the reservation.

You really need to think about what size villa you would need/want. Are you ok with basically a hotel room with a pull out bed or do you want a full kitchen and separate sleeping areas? Once you figure that out and what resort(s) you would like to stay at you can look at the point charts to determine how many points you will need (divide by 2 if going every other year). I noticed you said fall and spring for travel-keep in mind travel in the spring costs more points than the fall but will have a lot more availability at 7 months. If you travel in the fall you may not have a lot of opportunity to trade into near park resorts as this is an extremely busy time for DVC and many categories book up before the 7 month window opens.

As far as the contract running out and what do people do we will see in 2042 (or if Disney offers some type of extension down the line) since no contracts have yet expired.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

And, realistically: What you think you want now and what you will actually want when you have kids will change. When you will be able to travel also changes - school calendars are unforgiving.

 

[Dean]

I FINALLY convinced my fiancé to purchase DVC. We will be doing so after we get married and have the money saved up to pay for the points in cash instead of financing them.

What is the best amount of points to start with? I know it depends on a few things. We are planning on having 1-2 kids right before/after purchasing. We plan to go at least every other year during the fall or spring (my favorite time to go!). Some years, we may do big family vacations (parents, maybe a few with siblings), so we would need more points for this, but we can also rent them, correct?

We will be 25/26 when purchasing, so I am also a little concerned that it "runs out" after a certain number of years. Do people usually just purchase again after that happens?

I appreciate your opinions in advance.

You don't give us enough info to make the best recommendations so I'll assume a week EOY and give you some thoughts. Obviously it depends in part on home resort and 1 BR vs studio. Since you're new it's likely you won't know what home resort will be best and how many points you'll truly need. I wouldn't worry about the RTU expiration other than accounting for it in the value of the contract. I routinely recommend new members not go under about 150 and underbuy in terms of home resort or total points if they think they need more than that. While a contract less than 150 points will likely fit your stated needs for a studio, I think you're limiting yourself too much if you go that low. Smaller contracts are going to be more per point. SSR and BLT are the best $$$ values for WDW stays.

 

[ktmo]

We just bought a contract with 150. It will get us a long weekend in a 1 bedroom. This is what we want right now. We can't/don't go for a week, so this seems to be great for us now.

I probably will add points down the line. I think a 2 bedroom would work well for us in the future.

 

[RaymOOOnd]

If I were to do it over again I would buy only 50-point contracts (if I could find them), perhaps maybe two of them to start and then add on over time as you find that your needs require it. This makes them easier to sell in the future (and at a premium, although you'll pay it as well). Makes everything easier. Also let's say there are years that you'll be going alone instead of with other family, you'll use a couple of your contracts and easily just rent out the others.

 

[Dean]

If I were to do it over again I would buy only 50-point contracts (if I could find them)

That sounds good in theory but adds considerable cost to the purchase in most cases and is rarely worth it in practice for a resale purchase situation. It's essentially very expensive insurance incase one wants to downsize later but not get out completely.

 

[SuperRob]

I'd say start small. You can always add on later. You don't want to go big too fast, only to find out that you can't travel as often as you'd like, or that the dues are too expensive. The nice thing about a small contract is that the one-time-use points they offer can really help bolster your staying power when you need them. Since you don't yet have kids, you'll probably find a Studio to be enough space for a little while.

My first contract was only 60 points. We stretched that into a few great trips at Disney's flagship hotels. We're just now looking to add on because we have a daughter now, plus there are some family vacations in the future that we could use the extra points for, and we'd like to go more often now that we know we can afford it.

Regarding it running out ... it will. But since you're paying cash, you'll probably find the same thing we did, which is that we ended up "breaking even" on just three trips / five years of ownership (based on what it would have cost us to stay in the cheapest room at the resorts). I'd suggest getting to that breakeven point, assessing your experience, and then deciding what, if anything, to add on.

 

[msjprincess]

We started small with just 110 points. It's enough for a week in a 1 bedroom every other year. I was paying cash and wanted to keep it under $10K. I'm sure we'll add on eventually, but it works for now.

 

[jerseyduke]

I would do small contracts if buying direct, they will have better resale value, and you only pay a tad more in closing costs.
And for that same reason, buying small contracts on the resale market can add a lot of cost, and defeats the purpose.

That being said, do not overdo it, you can add on.

I would not concern myself with the fact that the contracts expire. That is a ways down the road. Things change. Florida can be underwater. You can always buy another at that time.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

First, consider when you would like to go, and how many days. Look it up on the points chart. Write down that number of points. If you go multiple times a year, consider that.
Next, add some cushion. If you are counting on saving points by using standard views, buy 10% more points so you can get a lake view if the standard is all gone when you book. You will have a lot more flexibility.

 

[crazyventures]

We're in a very similar position (engaged, hope to have 1 or 2 kids in the future, etc) and we ultimately decided to purchase resale at BLT for 100 points. We live on the West Coast and plan on going to WDW every other year. I figured we could always search out another smaller resale contract if we decide to add points in the future.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We started small with just 110 points. It's enough for a week in a 1 bedroom every other year. I was paying cash and wanted to keep it under $10K. I'm sure we'll add on eventually, but it works for now.

If you don't mind my asking, did you buy resale or direct? I'm thinking of buying resale for AKV and we won't go more often than every other year. But the contracts I see are 50 point expensive contracts or more reasonable 150-160pt contracts. We will soon be a family of 4, so despite feeling like 12-13K is more than we would want to spend right now, I feel like it beats having to hunt down a 50pt contract later. Harder to sell to DH though!

 

[msjprincess]

If you don't mind my asking, did you buy resale or direct? I'm thinking of buying resale for AKV and we won't go more often than every other year. But the contracts I see are 50 point expensive contracts or more reasonable 150-160pt contracts. We will soon be a family of 4, so despite feeling like 12-13K is more than we would want to spend right now, I feel like it beats having to hunt down a 50pt contract later. Harder to sell to DH though!

We bought resale. I actually ended up with 2 smaller contracts. I signed up for emails from most of the resale brokers. A lot of times listing emails go out before they are listed on the website. I shortly found out that If I saw something I liked I better make an offer as soon as I got the email.

 

[pmaurer74]

we just bought 210 and really like it. 12 nights in a studio or 5 nights in a 2 bedroom, 6 nights in a 1 bedroom... depends of course on the time of year and resort. Enables us to take family or go on our own.

 

[DizBub]

We started with 210. Added 100 a year later and 160 about a year and a half after that. We go at least 3 times a year, sometimes 4, mostly studios but treat family once a year so we need a 2 bedroom for that.

I really want 150 more but the additional MFs give me pause. Addonitis, the struggle is real.......

 

[Jessiemendez1]

I recommend starting small, with whatever you need for every other year and then adding on. However, make sure you pick a common use year to facilitate an add on later

 

[goofy4prez]

I purchased ours a couple of years ago and went with 200 points. For me and my family it is the perfect amount of points for our needs.