Looking to upgrade points, need advice

[donkortajr]

In August I will have the money to pay off my BLT loan and am looking to expand my points. I currently have 250 points. I am trying to decide two questions.

1. Should I just add on to my BLT point, or purchase points in another.
2. Should I purchase through Disney or resale? (What are the upsides/down sides)

My biggest concern is which ever way I go, say I add 150 points. Is that added to my 250 for a total of 400 to use on reservations, or do I have to make separate reservations which each amount?

Thanks, Don

 

[DenLo]

In August I will have the money to pay off my BLT loan and am looking to expand my points. I currently have 250 points. I am trying to decide two questions.

1. Should I just add on to my BLT point, or purchase points in another.

Only you can decide. Many DISboard DVC members have more than one home resort so we can have home resort advantage at two resorts.

2. Should I purchase through Disney or resale? (What are the upsides/down sides) I personally do not think having the ability to use my points for DCL cruises or the Disney Collection exchanges is worth it because buying direct is just so expensive compared to buying resale.

My biggest concern is which ever way I go, say I add 150 points. Is that added to my 250 for a total of 400 to use on reservations, or do I have to make separate reservations which each amount?

Thanks, Don

If you have two separate home resorts, the points can only be combined at the 7 month mark. Otherwise the points for BLT can be used at the 11 month mark at BLT and your second home resort can only be used there at the 11 month mark. E.g. we own BLT and AKV points. We make a reservation at each resort at the 11 month mark and then at the 7 month mark move one reservation to the other resort, assuming a villa is available.

 

[disneynutz]

You have plenty of time before your payoff. I suggest that you spend a few weeks reading through the Purchase posts here on the DIS.

Then I would decide what your favorite resorts are, take the time to stay there, then spend your money on a different resort with the same UY.

Bill

 

[Kidanifan08]

If 250 is all you need for BLT, then look at another resort. You can always do BLT every other year with 500 pts and then what ever other resort you choose every other year for 300 pts. We own at AKV and have added on only at that resort. I have a desire to own BWV someday, but our initial purchase of 268 pts at AKV was not meeting our needs, so we have added 50, 55, 105 to get to a point total that works better for us. This will allow us to do the concierge level on occasion as well as 2BR units for an extended period, if desired.

It all depends on what you want to do with your points.

Question 2 is easy . . . resale. All of our add-ons are resale and I have no regrets. The perks that come with direct purchasing are not worth it, IMHO.

 

[ELMC]

Question 2 is easy . . . resale. All of our add-ons are resale and I have no regrets. The perks that come with direct purchasing are not worth it, IMHO.

Plus, if you ever did decide you needed the "perks" that are only available to direct purchasers, you do have 250 direct points that you can use. Now's the time to start saving some money...go with resale.

 

[nikknyc]

If 250 is all you need for BLT, then look at another resort. You can always do BLT every other year with 500 pts and then what ever other resort you choose every other year for 300 pts. We own at AKV and have added on only at that resort. I have a desire to own BWV someday, but our initial purchase of 268 pts at AKV was not meeting our needs, so we have added 50, 55, 105 to get to a point total that works better for us. This will allow us to do the concierge level on occasion as well as 2BR units for an extended period, if desired.

It all depends on what you want to do with your points.

Question 2 is easy . . . resale. All of our add-ons are resale and I have no regrets. The perks that come with direct purchasing are not worth it, IMHO.

i'm a new owner. what are the perks of the direct resale? we just purchased and already i'm looking at getting more points.

 

[ELMC]

i'm a new owner. what are the perks of the direct resale? we just purchased and already i'm looking at getting more points.

The perks of direct resale is the ability to use your points to book Adventures by Disney, Disney Cruise Line and the Concierge Collection. However, these perks are NOT guaranteed and can be removed or modified at any time. Also, depending on the situation, they are typically not considered to be an efficient use of points. As with most timeshares, the best use of points is to stay on the properties that timeshare is associated with.

I would strongly suggest you investigate purchasing resale, where you can save 60% or more off of direct costs and still maintain the same DVC resort privileges as direct buyers. Good luck with your decision!

 

[JJSWDW]

Another vote for resales because of the big savings!! We have been members for 8 years and have never had a desire to uses our points outside of DVC because the exchange rate isn't that great. As always do your homework, swim at your own risk, your mileage may vary, and void where prohibited. .

 

[Mick West]

Resale all the way, just make sure it is the same use year

 

[Orsino]

If you have two separate home resorts, the points can only be combined at the 7 month mark.

Just to clarify. If I had two resort points, say BLT and SSR with the same use year, and I had 3 points left in BLT and 40 points left in SSR for the current use year. If I wanted to book a room that needed 43 points exactly (within 7 months), would I be able to do that?

Thanks!

 

[taaren]

Just to clarify. If I had two resort points, say BLT and SSR with the same use year, and I had 3 points left in BLT and 40 points left in SSR for the current use year. If I wanted to book a room that needed 43 points exactly (within 7 months), would I be able to do that?

Thanks!

Yes you could. But not before 7 months.

Oh, and when you purchase the resale of the same Use Year, make sure you reference your first membership number/contract number so that Disney adds the second contract to your one membership number so that they can be used this way.