Is Direct Worth It?

[UofMGuy423]

My reasons: unrestricted points, having a blue card, wanting Riviera as our home resort (but also access to the legacy resorts), and the super easiness of a direct transaction (same day points, our sales guide was awesome, etc.). I'm in this for the long haul and plan to let my kids and even grand kids use the points until 2071, so selling them on the resale market was never a consideration for me.

 

[DontTalkAboutDues NoNoNo]

I currently own 200 resale points at VGF. I am interested in adding on 150 direct VGF points. My husband is on the fence and does not see value in buying direct. He sees the only value in direct is the different AP tier if AP ever returns. We are a young family with two kids and 200 points seems to be adequate enough at this point. I am actually looking long term with the desire to purchase VGF direct. I know one day we will want/need one or two bedrooms. And although I know direct benefits aren’t guaranteed I like the idea of having them.

Your itch to buy VGF probably won't go away, it will likely get stronger over time. This will probably be the best direct pricing you will ever see at VGF. I'd go ahead and grab 150pts direct. With two young kids you will have plenty of trips over the next decade. Being able to book 1 bedrooms or 2 bedrooms is a game changer. That door on your bedroom is worth so much to us since it feels like you are being held hostage when you cram in a studio with two young kids. Plus the full kitchen and washer/dryer makes everything easier.

The benefits of being able to book at any future resort and being able to buy discounted APs (hopefully) are worth something. Given that direct pricing and resale aren't far apart right now...it seems like a no brainer to go direct.

 

[MSUDisney]

My reasons: unrestricted points, having a blue card, wanting Riviera as our home resort (but also access to the legacy resorts), and the super easiness of a direct transaction (same day points, our sales guide was awesome, etc.). I'm in this for the long haul and plan to let my kids and even grand kids use the points until 2071, so selling them on the resale market was never a consideration for me.

I am of the same mindset. I will be 80 when my VGF contract expires and plan to keep it until it does. My husband and I plan to use DVC for family vacations even when our own kids have kids so eventually we will need more points anyway.

 

[MSUDisney]

Your itch to buy VGF probably won't go away, it will likely get stronger over time. This will probably be the best direct pricing you will ever see at VGF. I'd go ahead and grab 150pts direct. With two young kids you will have plenty of trips over the next decade. Being able to book 1 bedrooms or 2 bedrooms is a game changer. That door on your bedroom is worth so much to us since it feels like you are being held hostage when you cram in a studio with two young kids. Plus the full kitchen and washer/dryer makes everything easier.

The benefits of being able to book at any future resort and being able to buy discounted APs (hopefully) are worth something. Given that direct pricing and resale aren't far apart right now...it seems like a no brainer to go direct.

The addonitis is real. I am assuming the pricing on VGF right now with incentives is the lowest it will get. But I do not know if that is an accurate assumption because I haven’t been following DVC long enough to know.

 

[Pinnochio]

Plus, although the perks are sparse, they’re ever-changing and the FOMO is real.

what is FOMO??

 

[CaptainAmerica]

If this VGF conversation goes well, we may see another one and with more time, I’d bet it is a new association with restrictions in less than that.

If VGF goes well and they do the next one with restrictions, they will have fundamentally misunderstood why VGF went well.

The addonitis is real. I am assuming the pricing on VGF right now with incentives is the lowest it will get. But I do not know if that is an accurate assumption because I haven’t been following DVC long enough to know.

This might be the lowest VGF gets but I don't expect it to be the lowest Direct buy-in opportunity if you consider other resorts, especially when you consider the very-unfriendly VGF points chart. You probably need 200 points there to get the same number of nights that 150 points could get you elsewhere, so price-per-point isn't the only consideration when weighing cost.

 

[Dyefrog]

what is FOMO??

Fear of Missing Out

 

[Dyefrog]

what is FOMO??

Fear of Missing Out

 

[accm]

For our family, we originally bought 100 resale pts at BLT, with the assumption that we'd be going every year and a half. And then we went to Wine and Dine Weekend and stayed at BCV, and decided we wanted to do a runDisney weekend yearly, which meant more points, and an AP 2 out of 3 years. Resale prices were (still are I think) really high, and DVC was having some good incentives, so we did the math and decided that the extra $$ was worth it for us since we're not planning on selling. I was also thinking about the fact that in 20yrs, we wouldn't be able to stay at BCV/BWV unless we bought direct, and we really like that location.

 

[lorie13]

Since the announcement last week on the pricing at VGF direct, I have been looking at the cost difference between purchasing resale vs direct.
We already own a direct VGF contract from back in 2013, so the Blue Card is not something we needed.
First thing is I really wanted the same UY as our current contract, April and the main reason is for the simplicity of booking. I know you can transfer points from one contract to the other, but that will take up both of your transfers for those UY's. We also own other contracts in Feb and Dec, so I could have added to those UY, but again, the thought of losing the ability to transfer in or out for those UY was workable, but not appealing. I know I could book separate reservations in the different UY (same room category and size), but that again requires an extra step at check in to ask to stay in the same room. So for me, I could live with another UY but having the same one was a convenience I wanted. I could not find our UY in any resale contracts. One pro for direct.
Many of the resale contract listed are stripped. We were looking for between 100 - 150 would consider a few points more for the right contract. Another pro for direct as you will receive all of 2022 points.
Time that it takes to put an offer in on resale, acceptance, waiting for a seller to sign (some have cold feet and take their time) ROFR and then 60 days or so before points are loaded to your account. Direct is done as soon as you sign a contract and pay a deposit. This one was a wash, direct was nicer, but we could wait for resale if the price was right.
Closing cost are higher on resale than direct, almost double if you ask to remove title insurance on your direct purchase. Another pro for direct. Approximately a savings of about $3.00 a point (for us).
Dues, many sellers are asking for 2022 dues on resale (of course you could negotiate this), direct you will only pay for half a year of dues, from the date the new rooms are available, was told by our guide this would be June 18th. Another pro for direct as that is a savings of about $3.50 a point.
Pricing on current resale contracts. I felt that we should at least see a 20% reduction vs direct maybe closer to 25%, though I am not really sure what I personally value the loss of not being able to use at all new resorts moving forward, but because we have a lot of other points that can be, I felt we could live with that. On a 125 points contract direct is $199 per point, so at least $159 on resale would be better at $149, 150 direct is $197, so at least $157 resale preferable $147. No resale broker is listing those prices, so it would take an offer to be presented to the seller and maybe some negotiations back and forth. This takes time and the extra incentives to current owners expires in just over 2 weeks with Disney, so very short amount of time to make an offer, wait for an answer, if reject to move on and do it again. I also thought about sellers right now, their contracts were at least 20% devalued in 1 day by the announcement of pricing by Disney, are they willing to go lower yet? I think it may take a few months to see where resale is going with VGF and by that time the extra incentives will be over. Balance again is tipped towards direct.
Now a new member who would be required to purchase the minimal 150 direct points with DVC, this may change your perspective on what you are willing to pay for resale, especially for the smaller contracts.
The best resale contracts are gone within hours and you may have to go highest and best just like the current Real Estate market, that frenzy may make me offer more than I was really comfortable with, especially if I was beaten out on the first few offers. Just human nature, you want what you want and when you can not have it, you want it more.
ROFR, IMO that is not going to be a factor in the coming months with the millions of points Disney needs to sell, but I could be wrong and they may have set a price where they take the contracts back if the offer come in at that price.
My math: On a broker site 125 points listed at $190/point (all 2022 points and forward), plus buyer pays closing costs and 2022 dues, total $25,326.25 divided by 125 equals $202.61 per point actual costs. Direct with Disney, same 125 points is $25324.80 divided by 125 equals $202.60 per point. Of course broker listing everything is negotiable.
At the end it came down to pricing, time and convenience and direct came out on top.
Now if the stars had aligned with a resale contract with my UY, fully loaded and a really good price, we may have gone with resale.
We took the plunge and bought 125 direct. Talked to our guide, told him what we wanted, he took down the information, next day we had the contract via DocuSign, paid a 1/3 deposit on a credit card with the remaining balance due in a month and points were loaded the same day. Now of course the self doubt comes in with, should I have bought more.
One item to note if you have a Disney Chase Visa card you can get 6 months free financing on a direct purchase.
Good Luck with your decision.

 

[MSUDisney]

Since the announcement last week on the pricing at VGF direct, I have been looking at the cost difference between purchasing resale vs direct.
We already own a direct VGF contract from back in 2013, so the Blue Card is not something we needed.
First thing is I really wanted the same UY as our current contract, April and the main reason is for the simplicity of booking. I know you can transfer points from one contract to the other, but that will take up both of your transfers for those UY's. We also own other contracts in Feb and Dec, so I could have added to those UY, but again, the thought of losing the ability to transfer in or out for those UY was workable, but not appealing. I know I could book separate reservations in the different UY (same room category and size), but that again requires an extra step at check in to ask to stay in the same room. So for me, I could live with another UY but having the same one was a convenience I wanted. I could not find our UY in any resale contracts. One pro for direct.
Many of the resale contract listed are stripped. We were looking for between 100 - 150 would consider a few points more for the right contract. Another pro for direct as you will receive all of 2022 points.
Time that it takes to put an offer in on resale, acceptance, waiting for a seller to sign (some have cold feet and take their time) ROFR and then 60 days or so before points are loaded to your account. Direct is done as soon as you sign a contract and pay a deposit. This one was a wash, direct was nicer, but we could wait for resale if the price was right.
Closing cost are higher on resale than direct, almost double if you ask to remove title insurance on your direct purchase. Another pro for direct. Approximately a savings of about $3.00 a point (for us).
Dues, many sellers are asking for 2022 dues on resale (of course you could negotiate this), direct you will only pay for half a year of dues, from the date the new rooms are available, was told by our guide this would be June 18th. Another pro for direct as that is a savings of about $3.50 a point.
Pricing on current resale contracts. I felt that we should at least see a 20% reduction vs direct maybe closer to 25%, though I am not really sure what I personally value the loss of not being able to use at all new resorts moving forward, but because we have a lot of other points that can be, I felt we could live with that. On a 125 points contract direct is $199 per point, so at least $159 on resale would be better at $149, 150 direct is $197, so at least $157 resale preferable $147. No resale broker is listing those prices, so it would take an offer to be presented to the seller and maybe some negotiations back and forth. This takes time and the extra incentives to current owners expires in just over 2 weeks with Disney, so very short amount of time to make an offer, wait for an answer, if reject to move on and do it again. I also thought about sellers right now, their contracts were at least 20% devalued in 1 day by the announcement of pricing by Disney, are they willing to go lower yet? I think it may take a few months to see where resale is going with VGF and by that time the extra incentives will be over. Balance again is tipped towards direct.
Now a new member who would be required to purchase the minimal 150 direct points with DVC, this may change your perspective on what you are willing to pay for resale, especially for the smaller contracts.
The best resale contracts are gone within hours and you may have to go highest and best just like the current Real Estate market, that frenzy may make me offer more than I was really comfortable with, especially if I was beaten out on the first few offers. Just human nature, you want what you want and when you can not have it, you want it more.
ROFR, IMO that is not going to be a factor in the coming months with the millions of points Disney needs to sell, but I could be wrong and they may have set a price where they take the contracts back if the offer come in at that price.
My math: On a broker site 125 points listed at $190/point (all 2022 points and forward), plus buyer pays closing costs and 2022 dues, total $25,326.25 divided by 125 equals $202.61 per point actual costs. Direct with Disney, same 125 points is $25324.80 divided by 125 equals $202.60 per point. Of course broker listing everything is negotiable.
At the end it came down to pricing, time and convenience and direct came out on top.
Now if the stars had aligned with a resale contract with my UY, fully loaded and a really good price, we may have gone with resale.
We took the plunge and bought 125 direct. Talked to our guide, told him what we wanted, he took down the information, next day we had the contract via DocuSign, paid a 1/3 deposit on a credit card with the remaining balance due in a month and points were loaded the same day. Now of course the self doubt comes in with, should I have bought more.
One item to note if you have a Disney Chase Visa card you can get 6 months free financing on a direct purchase.
Good Luck with your decision.

First off thank you for taking the time to write such a lengthy reply. We plan to use Disney Visa and our guide said he would be willing to do 3 payments across 90 days. I love the idea of having the points and blue card so quickly. When we purchased resale it took about 90 days until we had points. You made a great point about 2022 dues and I did not realize this was the case. What is the risk not having the title insurance?

 

[lorie13]

Title insurance on DVC is the same as title insurance on your home purchase. It is there to protect the buyer incase there is a lien against the title. Since DVC is considered a real estate transaction there is a possibility that a previous owner may have a lien against the deed. I am sure a title search is done when you purchase resale, just as a title search is done when buying a home so any liens should be located and paid off. Title insurance is only there just in case something is missed on the title search. As a direct purchase is direct from Disney, there will be no liens against the title, hence it is an option to purchase and is not required if purchasing cash, financing may still require this.

 

[BeachClub2014]

The relative "worth" of something is from your own perspective, i.e. What's it worth to you? Ultimately, doing the research, asking lots of questions, pondering what is best for you and your family will help lead you to a good decision for you. There are lots of opinions here relative to the value of direct vs. resale, assigning a dollar value to "blue card" perks, owning vs. renting, how to determine the true cost/value of points over time as folks can never agree on that either, whether resale restrictions are the kiss of death or just an annoyance, and whether DVC is even worth owning absent AP's and some of the recent corporate decisions, etc., etc., etc.

We have bought various contracts both directly and via resale and each time have felt very good about the decisions as they were personal, family decisions. If you've done your homework, and this is a great place to do so, then it's hard to go wrong either way.

 

[accm]

We took the plunge and bought 125 direct. Talked to our guide, told him what we wanted, he took down the information, next day we had the contract via DocuSign, paid a 1/3 deposit on a credit card with the remaining balance due in a month and points were loaded the same day. Now of course the self doubt comes in with, should I have bought more.
One item to note if you have a Disney Chase Visa card you can get 6 months free financing on a direct purchase.
Good Luck with your decision.

You may or may not want to hear this, but until your contract closes, you can technically change it/add more points. I know, because we originally bought 200 AKV points in December, then when the BLT incentive came out, our guide called and asked if we wanted to switch our points over. We did. Then, I started worrying that 200pts wouldn't be quite enough, so my husband called, and by the end of the day we had an additional 20pts. I really need this contract to close, because the longer it goes, the more I end up spending

 

[UofMGuy423]

You may or may not want to hear this, but until your contract closes, you can technically change it/add more points. I know, because we originally bought 200 AKV points in December, then when the BLT incentive came out, our guide called and asked if we wanted to switch our points over. We did. Then, I started worrying that 200pts wouldn't be quite enough, so my husband called, and by the end of the day we had an additional 20pts. I really need this contract to close, because the longer it goes, the more I end up spending

We did the same! Bought 200 initially at Riviera this past December and then after a few weeks changed it to 250 before the price increase this past February. Ended up taking 2.5 months to close after redoing the paperwork!

 

[lorie13]

I know they will be more than happy to add more , but I must resist as this contract will now take us to 905 points total in all our contracts.

You may or may not want to hear this, but until your contract closes, you can technically change it/add more points. I know, because we originally bought 200 AKV points in December, then when the BLT incentive came out, our guide called and asked if we wanted to switch our points over. We did. Then, I started worrying that 200pts wouldn't be quite enough, so my husband called, and by the end of the day we had an additional 20pts. I really need this contract to close, because the longer it goes, the more I end up spending

 

[zebsterama]

IF .... all these things are true ...

1. you really wanted more VGF
2. you were planning on buying anyway
3. you will likely be holding on to your points for a number of years going forward

I'd probably buy direct.

Why?

1. It's likely never a better time to buy VGF direct now / the resale savings are not (relatively) that substantive
2. You never know what perks might come back - and/or - what new perks might arrive

For me at least -- the difference in today's price convinced me to buy direct.

We too have resale VGF points, and this month we bought more to blue card ourselves up.

We've drank the cool aid!

Cheers and goodluck!

 

[legler2250]

IF .... all these things are true ...

1. you really wanted more VGF
2. you were planning on buying anyway
3. you will likely be holding on to your points for a number of years going forward

I'd probably buy direct.

Why?

1. It's likely never a better time to buy VGF direct now / the resale savings are not (relatively) that substantive
2. You never know what perks might come back - and/or - what new perks might arrive

For me at least -- the difference in today's price convinced me to buy direct.

We too have resale VGF points, and this month we bought more to blue card ourselves up.

We've drank the cool aid!

Cheers and goodluck!

I have been on the fence since the announcement of VGF between buying direct at $186 / 200 point contract and going resale. I have seen a couple of 100 point contracts on the resale market for as low as $176 / 100 point contracts but they are stripped of the 2022 points and do not have the desired use year. Just going to take the direct purchase plunge and spend a few extra dollars. Thanks for the post!

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

I am pro direct, for all the above-stated reasons put so eloquently, but also because you don't have nearly enough points for Grand Floridian at 200! It's the priciest resort of all of them, and with two littles who will soon be not-so-little and maybe want to bring a friend later in life, or mom and dad may want some privacy and room to spread out and relax and stay up late in a one or two-bedroom, 200 points won't go far at all. The direct incentives right now are fantastic. I would jump all over them just for the quick access to points at a very reasonable rate.

 

[MSUDisney]

I am pro direct, for all the above-stated reasons put so eloquently, but also because you don't have nearly enough points for Grand Floridian at 200! It's the priciest resort of all of them, and with two littles who will soon be not-so-little and maybe want to bring a friend later in life, or mom and dad may want some privacy and room to spread out and relax and stay up late in a one or two-bedroom, 200 points won't go far at all. The direct incentives right now are fantastic. I would jump all over them just for the quick access to points at a very reasonable rate.

I absolutely agree with you and I know eventually I need more than 200. Originally my plan was to add on in five years but I did not expect direct pricing to be so good. Even a lot of the “experts” were predicting higher so now I feel like I can’t pass this up.