I love credit cards so much!

[jhoannam]

I have a little Florida trip fast approaching that I was going to cancel when the accident happened. I haven't canceled yet, and after looking at availability to rebook my points this evening, I'm thinking of first tossing the reservation on the rent/trade board. It's only 3 nights at BWV in a studio Jan 11-14, Fri to Mon, so not too big a deal. The flip side is maybe I'll still go as I doubt anyone is coming home before mid January. Decisions, decisions! I have 11 nights booked going to and from Florida included, but not all DVC.

That's marathon weekend, you might be able to get rid if of pretty fast. I will be there, but I would need it to be the 11-15th. I so wish I could buy this from you but I'm going with 2 newbies and I think it would be a tough explanation.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I don't own but I have sat through a presentation and the big selling point is that "you'll never need more points." I would be very upset at the reallocation if that was no longer true.

Really depends on now you travel...the one around 2010...moved points from weekend nights...use to cost double the points to book a Friday or Saturday to weekday nights since the weekends weren’t being fully booked.....
People who only booked Monday to Friday saw points per night go up...other people who booked weekend trips used less points.....

 

[trenty]

Have any of you DVC owners been following the stuff about the 2020 point reallocation? I have and it is seriously depressing me to the extent that I am not even as excited to take our first DVC trip in a couple weeks. What do you guys think . . . are they overreacting? I keep reading it all (there are pretty much three huge threads going on right now) and basically it is making me regret buying both the direct and resale contract this year. It would be beyond dumb to sell before I even really use it but I am actually tempted the more I read.

I have not been following but just looked. We have always stayed in a 2 bedroom so looks like those are going down. We have rented out studios and those went up. So if we continue to rent out we will use more points, but get more for them. Not sure how I feel about that. More money is good, but we never want to rent out all of our points. And as the kids get older we will probably be looking for one bedrooms or even studios for ourselves so I have mixed feelings about the whole thing in general. Still would not sell. We enjoy our time in Disney even if we just go every few years. And renting out a studio the years we don't go usually at least covers our dues.

 

[hsmamato2]

AmEx cards typically take 2 cycles to show your CR. I was able to seek the CIC in while I waited for the Plat and Gold to hit my CR.

so...... since that last amex doesn't show in P2 reports yet..... what do I do? hit the CIP right now,then the Hyatt tomorrow? since they reports say he's still 3/24,when in reality he's 4/24 as of this moment? or will this backfire in some way?

 

[hsmamato2]

Download the hotel canary add on if you need help identifying. I been checking them so long now that I am confident in my own ability to identify. Let me know if you need help. The others on that thread are good at it too!

wow.... just got that loaded.... now I have to go figure out how to use all this-thanks!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

This was me when I was trying to justify the numbers. We are fortunate to have the mil rate available so I tried and tried to figure out how it would be beneficial for us and couldn’t. Now that we no longer go I think I made the correct decision (one of the few LOL) for our family and vacations.

Happily everyone can travel the way it best suits them

I have tried and tried as well. I am just too good at finding great deals. Of course that could change someday. The other issue I wanted to raise my hand and ask about is lack of availability for last minute trips. I am enjoying popping down on a whim these days, not the long 7-10 day trips we used to do, and I always check about renting points and never have any luck. The only situation where I think it could be beneficial is traveling to Hawaii/Aulani every 2 years once DD3 is a bit older. Then again, I can use hotel points for free.

ETA: I did find out I could buy with a discount while DD19 is in DCP though.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

They LOVE to reference rack rate when mentioning the break-even point

I have to assume most people have some sort of discount, so he really should factor that into the presentation to make it more realistic.

 

[Judique]

A point n shoot and my iPhone X. The point n shoot is a Sony DSC HX 400 V, the other point n shoot is a Sony DSC HX 90V. I don’t know how to use a real camera so I got a camera for people that don’t know how to use one but want nice pictures. This seems to work.

The ship has satellite and offers Wi-Fi for a price. DH got the Wi-Fi package because he has clients he can service remotely. He said running speed test is 2 MB download and 11 MB upload. I have no idea what that means. It’s $50 for 120 minutes or $200 for the length of the cruise. It works out to about $20 per day. It’s gone down a couple of times we’ve noticed due to weather but remarkably more reliable than I expected.





We’ve been going to different areas each day and it has ranged in the 20’s to the 30’s.

Thank you to you and everyone else for the compliments on the pictures!

Thank you to you for sharing with us. Unless I win a lottery I will never personally have this experience, so your pictures and details are like 'living it' for myself and others because it puts a personal spin and connection on it. We relate to it because it's your experience and you also have a nice way of sharing it with us. I'm already talking proudly about my 'internet friend' who has just gone through the Drake passage and is taking pictures of seals and penguins in Antarctica on a NatGeo ship (The Orion or Explorer?). I relate strongly to National Geographic Society to begin with for other personal reasons, so it is all very exciting to me.

 

[hsmamato2]

Yes I did and thank you.

amazing!!

 

[hsmamato2]

@mmmears those considering the Hyatt card before the current 60,000 points offer apparently disappears I sent the email to my husband on the refer a friend and it has the current offer and says to use by January 24th. So while I do think the current offer will expire that is another option.

so you're saying you (and prob others) can send a referral and get the deal thru the 24th? Can it be used more than once (on different people?)

 

[Judique]

I have tried and tried as well. I am just too good at finding great deals. Of course that could change someday. The other issue I wanted to raise my hand and ask about is lack of availability for last minute trips. I am enjoying popping down on a whim these days, not the long 7-10 day trips we used to do, and I always check about renting points and never have any luck. The only situation where I think it could be beneficial is traveling to Hawaii/Aulani every 2 years once DD3 is a bit older. Then again, I can use hotel points for free.

ETA: I did find out I could buy with a discount while DD19 is in DCP though.

Yes, that would be the time to do it. That's somewhat how I did it - small CM discount for getting a seasonal job at Disney Store - I think I worked about 30 hours all told - 2-3 hours at a time over the Xmas holiday that year.

I can't justify today's prices. Especially since there are so many new options just outside the gate. Off site wasn't always as nice as it is now - there were a few higher end spots and a lot of Knights Inn and Travelodge just 20 years ago.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Got the email for one of my 3 staples chase deals. It says getting $5 back...which is 10%. I had both 10% and 30% offers on my card. Ugh.

Also got the email for $12 back on $120 at Lowes.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

so...... since that ;ast amex doesn't show in P2 reports yet..... what do I do? hit the CIP right now,then the Hyatt tomorrow? since they reports say he's still 3/24,when in reality he's 4/24 as of this moment? or will this backfire in some way?

I was thinking about this too. I need to do a chase biz for DH next but want the Hyatt. Was considering doing CIU and then next morning the Hyatt. Isn't that the new double dip? I need to go check dischurners.

 

[Judique]

It’s $50 for 120 minutes or $200 for the length of the cruise. It works out to about $20 per day. It’s gone down a couple of times we’ve noticed due to weather but remarkably more reliable than I expected.

That sounds cheaper than a regular weeklong cruise! I have another friend who sends me trip reports to my email and she always puts in trip costs.

 

[hsmamato2]

I've been through point reallocations a couple of times. Going into my 19th DVC year. They only make certain parties happy. I've never been that party so I've seen my points needs rise each time by a few points here and there. Initially we were studio dwellers. Eventually we started using one bedrooms as family needs grew and then 2 bedrooms for Hilton Head. From what I can see they did not reallocate at Hilton Head and I'm unlikely to get a two bedroom at WDW. So that means my studios and one bedrooms at BWV (my main resort) will be a few points higher depending on dates or length of stay. I am sort of back to studios for about half my stays and I definitely go less.

Obviously I've never gotten upset enough to sell. I don't like the move to over water villas and fancy cabins that most members will never enjoy, me included, but I've long ago accepted that DVD (Disney Vacation Development) is business oriented and will figure out how to make money and attract customers who will buy and sell at will. Disney only has to sell the unit once, but they have to build what people want - I'm no longer their key demographic - and they have to make that price point somewhat within reach of the customers they are trying to attract, so they use their powers to take what they need to run DVD and keep building. I especially don't care for dues increases for stuff like 'security checks' but they hit us with that also even though they have their ways of saying this is what the members ask for'.

I'm not following the threads at present. I've been reading Dis for quite a few years and I've read it all before. It's pretty much the same rehash we hear over and over. You vote with your dollars in situations like these, and I'm far enough into it to realize that I'm not going anywhere. There's really only one Disney. But, I've got 'just enough' points. Just 300 now. Some of my friends have 1500 to 3000, but some of my friends go more than me and have a lot more money than me. Even so, they are not regularly renting bungalows or cabins. The other thing is I like to mix it up and go to other areas for a night here and there or a week here and there and have no problem with offsite but also enjoy onsite. My mind is not locked into Disney as the only vacation.

I remember the true golden days of DVC when OKW was the only choice and they were selling points....DH and I were on our honeymoon,and it seemed crazy expensive at the time,so we said no thanks... but in hindsight....I wish we had done what my mom chose to do and buy a chunk...I think it cost her like 8k(?) and she got a week in a 2 BR plus FREE park tix for (I can't recall how many now) years!!! as part of the incentive to buy deal...... then when she had to sell a few years back, she quadrupled her initial investment..... so a good deal at that time....I don't think things are the same anymore (but I have great memories of my kids growing up at OKW)

 

[Judique]

That's marathon weekend, you might be able to get rid if of pretty fast. I will be there, but I would need it to be the 11-15th. I so wish I could buy this from you but I'm going with 2 newbies and I think it would be a tough explanation.

I hear you. I'm getting ready to call DVC to see if I can get an exemption to be able to bank before I put them up. I'm not really going to lose anything as my use year is October and even if they go into holding I'm sure I can get some kind of use out of them before that, but it probably wouldn't be BWV. So funny also - I had shortened it to 11-14 a while back. First I only had one or two nights because I was doing the other resort, then I popped it up to more nights, then changed it again.

And, last night when I was looking all dvc WDW studios were booked solid. I don't think I saw any for the whole month of January at WDW.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I remember the true golden days of DVC when OKW was the only choice and they were selling points....DH and I were on our honeymoon,and it seemed crazy expensive at the time,so we said no thanks... but in hindsight....I wish we had done what my mom chose to do and buy a chunk...I think it cost her like 8k(?) and she got a week in a 2 BR plus FREE park tix for (I can't recall how many now) years!!! as part of the incentive to buy deal...... then when she had to sell a few years back, she quadrupled her initial investment..... so a good deal at that time....I don't think things are the same anymore (but I have great memories of my kids growing up at OKW)

Wow, what a deal!!
Yeah, I first looked back in 2004 when DD19 went on her first trip for her 5th bday. I couldn't afford it as a single mom, but thats one situation where I wish I'd been irresponsible and done it anyways.

 

[elgerber]

Who needs the stock market?! There is some intriguing math! So, do you expect to save that much by keeping it and using it over the years or are you considering a sale?

I have no interest in selling. I love my DVC, I still tear up everytime I walk in the lobby of the BWV. It truly feels like home to me. We use it, and on the odd year we don't, I rent out points to help pay for whatever vacation we are taking at that point. The rack rate of the rooms we stay in is insane, the 2 bedroom we stayed in in September has a rack rate of $750 to over $1000 per night. We only have 230 points, I would love to have more, but that's it. We have been doing one bedrooms, we did the 2 bed this year because we hadn't gone the year before, so we had some extra points. The space is so nice, but the 1 bed is fine too. If it's just two or even 3 of us, I will do a studio to save points. We paid cash when we bought, so no interest on anything, it seems like a money saver to me. Whether or not it actually is, I have no idea LOL, I haven't tried to do any math.

 

[Judique]

I remember the true golden days of DVC when OKW was the only choice and they were selling points....DH and I were on our honeymoon,and it seemed crazy expensive at the time,so we said no thanks... but in hindsight....I wish we had done what my mom chose to do and buy a chunk...I think it cost her like 8k(?) and she got a week in a 2 BR plus FREE park tix for (I can't recall how many now) years!!! as part of the incentive to buy deal...... then when she had to sell a few years back, she quadrupled her initial investment..... so a good deal at that time....I don't think things are the same anymore (but I have great memories of my kids growing up at OKW)

The tickets were good until the end of '99, I think. No longer available when I bought in 2000. I think they stopped the incentive in '98, but if you bought earlier, you had tickets. I didn't want to buy until I saw BWV. I don't like the OKW studios, but I love their other villas. I prefer the bed and sofa layout.

 

[Judique]

Wow, what a deal!!
Yeah, I first looked back in 2004 when DD19 went on her first trip for her 5th bday. I couldn't afford it as a single mom, but thats one situation where I wish I'd been irresponsible and done it anyways.

That's what I was - single Mom with 3 kids trying to buy on a budget! It really did work out for me. But even though I was a single mom, I had a good job(s) and a responsible ex who did his part. Not complaining.