How many points

[disneydisneydoo]

I am very close to purchasing, but I cannot decide how many points I need of should I say want. Do you think it would be best to purchase 150 now and add on later if I need more? We would typically try to stay at a studio at our home resort for six nights - Adventure season and at a studio at OKW during Dream season for six nights (will this be difficult at 7 month window - looking at early May)?

Someone from MS is calling me at home tonight!!!!! I am very excited, but want to have the points down before I get on the phone with her.

Also, are they still buying back 2003 points?

Thanks everybody!!!

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

One thing to keep in mind is that the BCV's are selling out so if you don't buy what you need/want there now, you may not have an opportunity to do a small add-on. Plus if you did a small add on in a couple of months, you wouldn't get the MB on it. You could do it by re-sale but small ad-ons are expensive (on a per point basis) and it will probably be a while before you start seeing any of them.

Also what is your family situation? Do you have children? Are you going to have more? You may need to plan for future growth.

Good luck. And it doesn' matter how many points you settle on. It won't be enough.

HBC

 

[spiceycat]

If you want BCV in dream that is 82 points and adventure season for OKW that is 74 points = that is a total of 156 points - so I go with a little more - or only stay 5 days once in a while.

now you are sure you will always be happy in a studio? how about relatives/friends - would you ever bring them?

 

[westjones]

We bought 150 points last year, and although I could easily figure out ways to use twice that many points, we are finding that the 150 points can give us very nice vacations. We are fine with studios also (before DVC we stayed in regular off site hotels anyway). We think we will be combining the Disney Cruise with our trip to WDW, but we will usually pay cash for our cruise and not use DVC for that (although this year we are taking a 3 day cruise with our points because we banked all of them last year and had extra points to spend).

I guess my point is for you consider what you can afford and what you would use. We don't want to get into 'renting' points. I just don't want to bother with that. I don't mind borrowing points if I need them. And with studios, we can get in 2 nice WDW vacations a year! That is all we could handle time wise anyway.

So for each person it may be different. But we are finding that 150 points can work well for us. And the monthly dues are around $46, not too much of a drain on our budget (we paid off our loan in February, so now we only have dues to pay).

Good Luck on your decision. We are very pleased with our investment after our first trip and can't wait until we return in September and try out OKW!
DJ

 

[jacobnjulie]

I would go with at least 160. The reason for this is then you can be sure of trading (if you ever plan to?) into I.I. for one week at the high season.

 

[kgkmom]

We're thinking of buying into DVC too, and the way I've figured out our usage, we'll need 200 points. This would cover our normal traveling style (one week in August and a long weekend in October).

I tried different resorts, and kept coming up with a total between 180-190 points. We could, of course, change how we vacation, and easily only need 150. But as others have said, and as the DVC CM I spoke with said, you should buy as many as your budget can handle, because you *will* use the points!

Now I just have to convince hubby that this is a great idea!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I don't think 150 points will do it.

Perhaps I'm not interpretating things correctly, but I show 6 nights at BCV (5 weekdays and 1 weekend) to be 82 points.
Dream at OKW would be 74 points (again, 5 weekday, and 1 weekend).

That already puts you 6 points in the hole. I would buy about 175, that way you will have a little buffer for the unexpected...

Later, if you choose to stay in a 1 or 2br, you will need to add-on. It is the itch we all get, so if you can afford it now, it would be best to buy additional points.

Good luck.....

 

[westjones]

I have a feeling it is just 'my thinking', but personally, I prefer borrowing a few points each year instead of banking. If I 'bank', I must use those points the next year (I have noticed a few people with extra points that are going to expire if they don't use them this year). We plan to 'skip' a trip to WDW every so often and take a 7 day Disney Cruise for our vacation instead of going to WDW. Those years we will bank whatever points we have left for the next year. Our 150 points are working good for us. I have the next 4 years already mapped out as to how we want to use them . But I am sure 175 or even a lot more would be great.

It kind of gets down to what you can afford without it being a 'burden'. Right now, our 150 points are paid off, our monthly fees are not a problem for our budget, and we can enjoy dreaming of how we are going to use those points.

One thing that I think is SO great about Disney, they have a way of being Magical for just about any budget! We money was tighter and we stayed at the All Star Resorts: There was Magic! When we tent camped for less than $40 a night at Fort Wilderness: There was Magic! When we sail on the Disney Cruise in our Catagory 11 cabin: There is Magic! And with our 150 points that we have managed to purchase in the Disney Vacation Club: There is Magic!

I think it takes a very special company that can give so many people at so many different income levels that same feeling of 'Magic'.

So whatever you can afford when you buy into DVC (without burdening your budget), you will find Magic!

 

[DisneyPhD]

We bought WLV at 170, and we are making it work, but always borrowing. (can't end up losesing any points that way!) Studios are a great vaule, but those one and 2 bedrooms are NICE! If I could start again I would get at least 200, maybe 220. That way we could stay in a one bedroom for a week every year and have more wiggle room for extra vacations or inviting guests. I love the fact that every year you have a new bunch of points to borrow from!

We are making the 170 work, but wish it was just a bit more.

My advice is to buy what you want right away, (if you can afford it right now, you don't get was much value in add ons). Also the more points is more dues, keep that in mind. Also any add on now would have to be a different resort or find resale for VWL.

We bought our points in cash (CC actually over 3 months to get the points!) and that helps us see the vaule of DVC right away since we aren't paying off a loan or have interest on a loan, so we might do an add on in a few years if we find we really need the points.

 

[Granny]

Originally posted by Happy Birthday Cat


Good luck. And it doesn' matter how many points you settle on. It won't be enough.

LOL, HBC! This is probably the third axiom of these boards.

1. Buy where you want to stay the most.
2. Buy sooner than later (a.k.a. "I wish I'd have bought sooner").
3. You can never have too many points!

 

[CK1]

We bought 175 in 1999, b/c at the time, we figured that's what we would need to get a nice Sunday-Thursday stay in. We figured we would always drive down (still true), and since I have family along the way of our 15 hr drive, we would invariably end up pit-stopping and consuimng some of our vacation time with them. And we didn't want to rent -- it's just not us, it's a hassle.

Well, a few things that I didn't count on:
* Every new resort is more pts than the one before!
* We are totally spoiled by a 2 br with our family of 5!
* Sunday to THursday is just not enough time!
* Kids in school and sports means using some of the most expensive points-times of the year!

We tried to work around this by, instead of taking a mid-sized trip every year, we take one big trip (10+ days) every 18 mos to 2 yrs. THis is working, except even on this plan, I have forecasted that we're spending more than we're getting each year. We are always borrowing (increasingly more and more) from the year ahead... I looked at add-ons (but June use year is hard to come by, and we will be most likely split between resorts.) I considered resales... renting/borrowing... etc. And to be an honest Grinch, I am not sure I want to pony up the dues and fees on more points. So for now, we are making the most of our 175. Would I use more pts if I had 'em? Oh you betcha, in a heartbeat! But for now, it's not something we feel we should do. Maybe I'll win the lottery and all this will change, but for tonight, sign me..

Cindy with 175 and coping...

 

[Granny]

Originally posted by CK1
Well, a few things that I didn't count on:
* Every new resort is more pts than the one before!

Actually, the point structure has been identical for Boardwalk (preferred), VWL and now BCV. It will be interesting to see what they do with Saratoga Springs point requirements.

And I do agree about one thing....people who buy thinking a studio will be enough seem to often find out that the kitchen, space and washer/dryer in the 1BR is a really great way to vacation.

We thought a 1BR would do for our family of four, but are now convinced we want 2BR for the ultimate vacations!!