Increase in minimum number of points for initial purchase

[WendyinNC]

I just received a post card that states in addition to the price going up from $101 to $104, as was previously reported by someone on DIS, the minimum vacation points package will increase from 150 to 160 effective March 5th.

 

[ssonley]

The only reason I didn't purchase directly from Disney was the 150 pt minimum... Since there is only two in my family we didn't feel we needed that many to start.

Makes those small point packages/addons a little more valuable IMHO.

 

[byoung]

If so will cost new member more to join.

 

[Lisa_M]

well I guess when we buy in we will definitely be doing a resale. There are only two of us and we don't need 160 points. We didn't need 150 points either.

 

[senecabeach]

Well... we all know DVC isn't cheap and the way I see it...10 more pts. at the highest price of $95. (resale & Disney wait list) is only $950. or the $1040. for SSR w/no incentives....one time buy in !!
Not much difference to me for 35+ yrs. of ownership and at deluxe timeshare resort and cheaper than a 3 night deluxe stay (for now) in WDW for a "hotel room"!!

Thought I'd only need 150 pts. too...its just me and extended family a/t. I've doubled that now and its certainly nice "not" having to stay in a studio, if I don't want to, having the family in a 2 bdrm or gv, not needing to borrow pts....and extending my stays..

 

[TenThousandVolts]

Wow- when I bought SSR last month I bought 160- I figured the 10 extra poinys would be nice and as a bonus if I ever have to resell my 160 point contract would set me apart slightly from the throngs of 150 point contracts. Oh well. I don't plan on selling anyway.

QUICK QUESTION EXPERTS: I know they have lowered the min. buy in several times- is this the first time they raised it?

 

[RobDoc]

Yes, this would be the only time the minimum purchase was raised. DVC began with a 230 point minimum and by summer, 1993 it had been lowered to 210 and has been lowered once or twice since then to the present 150.

 

[LisaS]

Could Disney ever enforce a minimum buy-in via resale? Is there any way they could refuse to put someone in the system unless they purchased at least some minimum number of points? We've seen some evidence they are trying to make it harder for people to buy in with a small contract, so I've been wondering if ROFR is their only option or if they could in fact put some limits in place.

I'm also wondering if this 160-point minimum is an indication that the points required to stay at AKV will be higher than the other resorts.

 

[Granny]

Could Disney ever enforce a minimum buy-in via resale? Is there any way they could refuse to put someone in the system unless they purchased at least some minimum number of points? We've seen some evidence they are trying to make it harder for people to buy in with a small contract, so I've been wondering if ROFR is their only option or if they could in fact put some limits in place.

I'm not sure that Disney would have any control over the sales of smaller contracts since they are "owned" by the DVC owners and I wouldn't think Disney could add restrictions to the sale of that asset after selling it without the restrictions.

I'm also wondering if this 160-point minimum is an indication that the points required to stay at AKV will be higher than the other resorts.

That could very well be. Or it could just be a way that the accountants at Disney sold in to management a 6.7% increase in minimum buy-in commitment from new owners. It may simply be a reflection of continued strong demand for DVC new ownership.

 

[Starr W.]

Could Disney ever enforce a minimum buy-in via resale? Is there any way they could refuse to put someone in the system unless they purchased at least some minimum number of points? We've seen some evidence they are trying to make it harder for people to buy in with a small contract, so I've been wondering if ROFR is their only option or if they could in fact put some limits in place.

I'm also wondering if this 160-point minimum is an indication that the points required to stay at AKV will be higher than the other resorts.

Some interesting points Lisa, especially about ROFR for 1st time buyers of small contracts. Maybe there won't be too many studios at AKV.

 

[mcr5298]

Wow. I can't believe the direction of point costs through Disney rising that quickly. Espeically if you factor in 2042 is coming closer every year.

What year will we actually start to see a decline in Disney cost per point and a deciling value of our personal points?

 

[MrsToad]

We don't trade, so I don't know all the figures however, when we bought in 2003, our guide said we should buy a minimum of 160 because that was the minimum we would need to trade out for a 1 bedroom somewhere else. Could that play into this change at all?

 

[Figment2]

JMHO, I think they raised the minimum because the points to stay are higher at the newer resorts (SSR, BCV, etc.).

150 points was not enough for me (and I'm single). Now up to 330 and it's still not enough.

Cyn

 

[JudyTL]

This makes sense. I think AKV will be a higher status place. I am not thinking Disney is going to have 50 point addons. It is getting everyone ready for the 160 minimum. I gather the SSR newbies would be very upset to think that in a couple of months their points would not be able to get them into AKV. So, it appears that the points of 160 will be the minimum number needed for the new resort. Get ready guys for a buy in of 160 points for AKV. I do not think we are going to see the 50 and 100 points there. So, look deep into your pocketbooks. It all makes sense.

Judy

 

[Starr W.]

This makes sense. I think AKV will be a higher status place. I am not thinking Disney is going to have 50 point addons. It is getting everyone ready for the 160 minimum. I gather the SSR newbies would be very upset to think that in a couple of months their points would not be able to get them into AKV. So, it appears that the points of 160 will be the minimum number needed for the new resort. Get ready guys for a buy in of 160 points for AKV. I do not think we are going to see the 50 and 100 points there. So, look deep into your pocketbooks. It all makes sense.

Judy

I'm a SSR newbie, but bought enough points to get my family 2br 2trips per year, including a premier week(spring break) trip.

As what I think the increase in min. point purchase is for, I'll keep to myself as I don't want to get bad points or get people mad at me.

I think we'll see less studios and more 1br's set up for 5 person capacity at AKV.

I don't see us staying there to start with, too far away from everything and the "African safari" theme doesn't make up for location IMHO.

 

[RobDoc]

Could Disney ever enforce a minimum buy-in via resale? Is there any way they could refuse to put someone in the system unless they purchased at least some minimum number of points? We've seen some evidence they are trying to make it harder for people to buy in with a small contract, so I've been wondering if ROFR is their only option or if they could in fact put some limits in place.

I'm also wondering if this 160-point minimum is an indication that the points required to stay at AKV will be higher than the other resorts.

The only limitation DVC can use with resales is ROFR. Since they have been willing to sell smaller contracts to members and title each one separately, they have embraced the ability of those owners to sell their "proprerty" and , other than ROFR, DVC has no authority to restrict how those contracts are used or sold. The POS is the guide for all utilization of the program and there is no mention of any restriction except ROFR.

DVC does have the authority to modify how the resorts function (reservations, banking, borrowing, point charts, adding pools, etc. ) , but they really cannot easily change the body of the POS.

If AKV has a different point structure where more points are needed to stay for a certain period of time, the higher minimum might be necessary. When the minimum was 230, it was at that level to allow members to use the exchange features of the program. When minimums were later lowered there was some disclaimer information that there were some aspects of the DVC program that might not be accessible with the lower number of points. I think that disclaimer has been removed due to the fixed point charts now in place for World Passport reservations.

 

[korbbec]

This makes sense. I think AKV will be a higher status place. I am not thinking Disney is going to have 50 point addons. It is getting everyone ready for the 160 minimum. I gather the SSR newbies would be very upset to think that in a couple of months their points would not be able to get them into AKV. So, it appears that the points of 160 will be the minimum number needed for the new resort. Get ready guys for a buy in of 160 points for AKV. I do not think we are going to see the 50 and 100 points there. So, look deep into your pocketbooks. It all makes sense.

Judy

I can't make sense of this.

"I am not thinking Disney is going to have 50 point addons." -I thought the minimum was 25 points for addons. And how does doing away with 50 point addons (?) prepare anyone for a 160 pt buy in. You can't addon unless you have already bought in. Also, I think that if someone bought in minimum (150) at SSR, they will be able to stay at AKV, unless it is going to be 100 points per night?!!? "I do not think we are going to see the 50 and 100 points there."- refering to resales? buy ins? points per night? I'm just utterly confused. It is probably just me, but could you help a girl out here?

 

[LisaS]

The only limitation DVC can use with resales is ROFR. Since they have been willing to sell smaller contracts to members and title each one separately, they have embraced the ability of those owners to sell their "proprerty" and , other than ROFR, DVC has no authority to restrict how those contracts are used or sold. The POS is the guide for all utilization of the program and there is no mention of any restriction except ROFR.

DVC does have the authority to modify how the resorts function (reservations, banking, borrowing, point charts, adding pools, etc. ) , but they cannot really change the body of the POS.

If AKV has a different point structure where more points are needed to stay for a certain period of time, the higher minimum might be necessary. When the minimum was 230, it was at that level to allow members to use the exchange features of the program. When minimums were later lowered there was some disclaimer information that there were some aspects of the DVC program that might not be accessible with the lower number of points. I think that disclaimer has been removed due to the fixed point charts now in place for World Passport reservations.

Thanks Doc and Granny! My add-on at VWL is less than 150 points and I am considering adding on at AKV, again less than 150 points. Back when Disney started exercising ROFR more aggressively on small contracts, I started thinking about this, wondering if Disney could ever enforce a minimum buy-in on nonmembers buying a resale, thus making my small contract difficult to sell if I ever needed to do so. With this announcement of higher minimums when buying from Disney (and with AKV sales about to start) I thought I should ask about this before buying myself another small contract.

Thanks for putting my mind at ease!

 

[bluslag]

Do you think DVC will do away with members calling to purchase 25 point add on's? Is that why DVC has been grabbing up a lot of the smaller contracts? Just curious and have been thinking about sometime because I don't see any thing different if DVC is trying to get away with small contracts if they get the points and turn around and sell them to exsisting members as small contracts. I am also surprised that they just raised the first point purchase by 10 points. Wondering if all this helps us as we hold older contracts that will sell sooner than the new resorts. Hope some of this makes sense!!

 

[keys2kingdom]

I can't make sense of this.

"I am not thinking Disney is going to have 50 point addons." -I thought the minimum was 25 points for addons. And how does doing away with 50 point addons (?) prepare anyone for a 160 pt buy in. You can't addon unless you have already bought in. Also, I think that if someone bought in minimum (150) at SSR, they will be able to stay at AKV, unless it is going to be 100 points per night?!!? "I do not think we are going to see the 50 and 100 points there."- refering to resales? buy ins? points per night? I'm just utterly confused. It is probably just me, but could you help a girl out here?

Ditto. Equally confused.