Just wondering-do points at different resorts matter?

[Simba's Mom]

When deciding which DVC resort to stay at, do you factor in the number of points it costs? We never did before. DH's favorite resort is OKW, and the fact that the points are lower than most others has nothing to do with it. He says that he'd want to stay there even if the points were higher. On my solo trips, I used to always stay at BCV and never compared points with other resorts. Then I tried the value studios at AKV, which I liked. I knew they were fewer points than at BCV, but I didn't know how much. But for a possible trip of a week, I could stay there for 35 fewer points-for a week...in a studio! Suddenly, I'm shocked and I've decided I love those value studios. This is all new to me-the comparison of point values. We planned vacations based on when we wanted to go, not when point values were lower. Is this part of DVC ownership that we naively didn't pay much attention to but should? Do others plan their vacation times and places considering point values? Or should we continue not making much issue of points?

 

[TLPL]

When I first consider DVC, I thought points at different resorts matter a lot, I tired to get the most out of the points I have, and stayed only at value rooms in AKV (where I own), but then I started to try staying at other resorts to have different experience each trip. So now I don't think points does not matter as much to me anymore.

 

[disneynutz]

We bought where we love to stay and we bought enough points to stay when we want.

Why spend money if you can't stay where you want when you want.

Bill

 

[BWV Dreamin]

We initially bought enough points at BWV to stay 6-7 nights in a one bedroom, knowing the times of year would make a difference in the points needed. We purchased a smaller number of points at BLT to bank and borrow for larger accommodations but still have enough for a studio stay every year. My first concerns were to have enough to stay at the resort I OWNED. If they get me into other DVC resorts, great. If not, oh well, I'll try again another time or rent the few extra points needed. So I guess to answer your question, other resorts DID NOT factor into the amount of points purchased.

 

[Sandisw]

We bought in to DVC to stay at BLT so for us, points are what they are. We tried a BWV and VWL last summer and will be doing BCV this summer, along with nights at BLT.

While it would be nice to save on points, I wouldn't stay somewhere that I didn't want to be just because it uses less points. We will try to maximise our points at BLT by doing SV rooms most of the time.

 

[spiceycat]

most dvcers are not cheap. I am.

so staying at BWV standard, AKV value or standard, OKW or BLT standard is definitely what I do.

now that have brought BLT will sometime be staying at VWL and BCV more than before.

that say love BLT and it will be hard to go elsewhere.

the only one that is not worth the points is SSR - sorry owners at SSR - but since the cash price is the same at OKW - the points should be the same as well.

 

[Sammie]

I don't consider it being cheap, we just don't have one resort we love that much over the others, so we go with either what is available, as sometimes we can't book even 7 months out, or if we can we go with what is available for fewer points.

After seeing the photos on AllEars of new rehabs to OKW, I am loving it even more.

 

[ticofan]

We originally bought 150 points at OKW thirteen years ago. We stayed in studios Sunday through Friday in low point seasons. Our goal was five stays a year every other year. It worked for many years.

Now our kids are larger and we like 2 bedrooms. We also have 800 points instead of 150. We still travel in off seasons because we don't like the crowds.

Now we usually do 10 day stays Sunday to Thursday (of the next week) to take advantage of the low points on weekdays compared to weekends. (We also travel from Utah so when we fly to Florida we like to stay!) Now that they have taken away that weekday advantage through rearranging the point charts, that habit may change.

Oh Yeah!! We also love OKW -- it would be our favorite even if the points weren't lower. But we also like the Treehouse Villas for the three bedrooms and BLT for the closeness to everything. And then we love BC for the pool and the ability to walk to Epcot. And .... and .... and.... We love all the DVCs!! We love Disney!!

 

[rentayenta]

No. They should probably matter more to me than they do but once I get my mind set on something, I am stuck Just spent 225 in a 2 bedroom at the GCV and it was worth every single point. At Disneyland there aren't other options but we could have shifted dates a bit or stayed in a smaller villa(s).

For our next trip, I am trying to decide on a 2nd resort. We like split stays on long trips. AKV SV is in the running but the Value view would save me 67 points. I know that's a lot of points but the SVs are so cool.

 

[Crystal_27]

Well, we bought into BLT which has one of (if not THE) the highest point chart out there. The cost of staying there didn't even factor into our decision...we wanted BLT and nothing else. We looked at the point charts and purchased the number of points we thought we needed in order to have the type of vacations we want. And, honestly, although BLT gets a bad rap for being points rich, I've found that the standard views (which we will likely always opt for) are comparable to other resorts that are within walking distance to a park.

 

[Dean]

When deciding which DVC resort to stay at, do you factor in the number of points it costs? We never did before. DH's favorite resort is OKW, and the fact that the points are lower than most others has nothing to do with it. He says that he'd want to stay there even if the points were higher. On my solo trips, I used to always stay at BCV and never compared points with other resorts. Then I tried the value studios at AKV, which I liked. I knew they were fewer points than at BCV, but I didn't know how much. But for a possible trip of a week, I could stay there for 35 fewer points-for a week...in a studio! Suddenly, I'm shocked and I've decided I love those value studios. This is all new to me-the comparison of point values. We planned vacations based on when we wanted to go, not when point values were lower. Is this part of DVC ownership that we naively didn't pay much attention to but should? Do others plan their vacation times and places considering point values? Or should we continue not making much issue of points?

I do factor it in but as only one factor unless I'm bumping up against the number of points I have available.

 

[rlovew]

Right now for the last 2 years and this one we go for the rooms with the cheapest points- becasue DH needs to be in Orlando for classes a bit and we use our points for his class that last over a week or weekend. But once he finishes school and we are going to enjoy Disney itself than I won't be going for the lowest cost rooms. I already know my first reservations will be for MK rooms at BLT where we own.

 

[TIGGERmetoo]

We bought as many points as we could afford at the time. It's enough to give us at least 1 week at BLT but I DO watch my points. This past spring I had BLT studio booked for 6 nites but at 7 months was able to change to BWV std view and get an extra nite and used no extra points. This how I plan our vacations.

 

[Mouse511]

I do factor it in but as only one factor unless I'm bumping up against the number of points I have available.

Same here - but we love OKW - so we usually stay there.

 

[Dean]

Same here - but we love OKW - so we usually stay there.

I think there are certain situations where it is more of a consideration. Those include things like the higher BLT options, 3 BR units in general (esp outside OKW), AKV concierge and booking a 1 BR and studio separately as compared to a 2 BR lockoff. Those that have less points have to pay more attention. I actually pay more attn with one of our contracts than the other as I have only 100 AKV points and 333 BWV points.

 

[ercrbc]

Wow! It surprises me that some don't think about the cost of points as much as others! Our first DVC trip was renting points (a value at AKV, I love a good bargain!)
After our trip I researched DVC extensively and it came down to AKV and BWV. I found these two resorts to be the overall best point values in DVC. AKV because of the values and the standard rooms that not only sleep an extra person but also add an additional bathroom for such LOW pts per night. BWV b/c of location!!!!!

We opted for BWV because of location and low standard room points. Also since it is a smaller resort I figured I would be more likely to get a standard or even value room at 7 months at AKV than if I tried to get a standard view at BWV at 7 months. Not to mention for the same amount it would have been to buy 150 AKVpts we were able to buy 175pts at BWV. (the longer contract didn't factor in as much in our decision)

I didn't consider buying at OKW b/c based on the size of the resort I figured 7 month availability wouldn't be tough. Sure enough, 5 months out I was able to book a 2BR there for our first trip "home" We are taking the inlaws and didn't have to blow a lot of extra pts for a 2BR. I can't wait to try OKW, doubt it will be our last trip there!

I have to agree about the point cost at SSR being too inflated, I would like to try it but may be too darn point cheap to ever see it being worth it. Now WLV and BCV....I would like to "splurge" at least once and try these resorts at some point

So yes, I think about the number of points necessary per trip, lol. A bit more than others apparently

 

[Dean]

Wow! It surprises me that some don't think about the cost of points as much as others! Our first DVC trip was renting points (a value at AKV, I love a good bargain!)
After our trip I researched DVC extensively and it came down to AKV and BWV. I found these two resorts to be the overall best point values in DVC. AKV because of the values and the standard rooms that not only sleep an extra person but also add an additional bathroom for such LOW pts per night. BWV b/c of location!!!!!

We opted for BWV because of location and low standard room points. Also since it is a smaller resort I figured I would be more likely to get a standard or even value room at 7 months at AKV than if I tried to get a standard view at BWV at 7 months. Not to mention for the same amount it would have been to buy 150 AKVpts we were able to buy 175pts at BWV. (the longer contract didn't factor in as much in our decision)

I didn't consider buying at OKW b/c based on the size of the resort I figured 7 month availability wouldn't be tough. Sure enough, 5 months out I was able to book a 2BR there for our first trip "home" We are taking the inlaws and didn't have to blow a lot of extra pts for a 2BR. I can't wait to try OKW, doubt it will be our last trip there!

I have to agree about the point cost at SSR being too inflated, I would like to try it but may be too darn point cheap to ever see it being worth it. Now WLV and BCV....I would like to "splurge" at least once and try these resorts at some point

So yes, I think about the number of points necessary per trip, lol. A bit more than others apparently

I think most of us that have been members for a while and understand the system have an inherent feel for the value that we're getting on a given option thus we don't have to think about it to understand where we stand. What I find interesting is those that agonize over the purchase price and other purchase specifics on buying then totally forget about he inherent value once they own. Example, some exchange options that are overpriced. Anyone's prerogative what to spend points on but just interesting that one who agonizes over purchase price and other specifics ceases to care what the value is once they own. Just not my nature but to each their own.

 

[Inkmahm]

We bought where we love to stay and we bought enough points to stay when we want.

Why spend money if you can't stay where you want when you want.

Bill

Same here. We've kind of adjusted with add ons so that our points at each resort match the time of year we tend to stay there. We have the most points at Kidani for our March vacations. We have the least points at BWV for our F&W trip in October (shortest trip of the year for us). We have a few more points at VWL for our December trips.

At the resorts, we stay in boardwalk view if possible at BWV and in savanna view at Kidani. In that way, we aren't really looking at the number of points as we spend more than needed with the nicer views.

 

[El&Asmom]

On paper when I'm planning out a year or two, I look at rooms that are the fewest number of points. When I'm on the phone with MS, I end up booking what they have available. For dh and my parents only trip in Jan, I tried to get a value studio at AKV, then a std at BWV neither of which were available. Since I couldn't book there, I booked a studio at BCV. I could have got OKW, but didn't want the two beds. Oh well, I suppose we'll survive.

We started out with a lot of banked and developer points when we bought in. Since we blew through those in two years, we may need to become more conservative since we only have 210 points. Sadly, I want to continue going 2-3 times a year. It may be time to add on again.

 

[ercrbc]

I think most of us that have been members for a while and understand the system have an inherent feel for the value that we're getting on a given option thus we don't have to think about it to understand where we stand. What I find interesting is those that agonize over the purchase price and other purchase specifics on buying then totally forget about he inherent value once they own. Example, some exchange options that are overpriced. Anyone's prerogative what to spend points on but just interesting that one who agonizes over purchase price and other specifics ceases to care what the value is once they own. Just not my nature but to each their own.

Oh, I agonized alright, and I think I will continue to do so. Part of the fun of planning for me will be to 'maximize' my points/vacation values in the future. One of the reasons I wanted to join was my love of planning and how much I enjoy obsessing about details like pts per night, size of rooms, resort amenities, ect.

I can see where it would seem silly to look for a good deal on the initial purchase and then throw pts into less valuable uses like RCI, cruises ect right of the bat. One of the reasons I love the DIS boards, it feeds my planning obsession while educating me on the best methods of using my points!