Member discounts - add on member points

[LynJ]

We are currently in ROFR on our first contract and seeing lots of conflicting advice about adding on a 25 point direct contract to get the Member benefits. If we decide to go that route, does it matter which resort we buy?

In other words, would a 25 point add on at Hilton head still get us the ability to buy discount tickets for the wdw parties and annual passes, or do the 25 points have to be at a wdw resort?

Contemplating (1) HHI points as a stopover for the drive down (also cheaper point cost) vs (2) more VWL points to have a cushion for point re-organizations vs (3) waiting for a possible add-on with new WL2 once they start selling that. Any recommendations?

 

[disneynutz]

You can buy anywhere but understand that Disney can change the perks or discounts at any time and they do.

We used to have free events, now they charge us to attend many of them. The ones that are still free are probably paid for with our dues money. The AP discount, restrictions and rules seem to change each year and you have to want to be in the parks X amount of days to make the cost worth it.

Bill

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

The 25 points will have their own home resort priority. If you wanted to combine with your other contract you would have to wait until 7 months. If the plan is to use HHI points to stay there that could make sense, and yes, it would get you the discounts. I'd suspect that the point requirements at Copper Creek will be high and thus 25 points will not go far so if your plan is a single trip you might be looking at a night or two in those rooms then moving over to VWL.

 

[supersnoop]

The ones that are still free are probably paid for with our dues money.

Any event funded by dues would be open to the entire membership.

 

[disneynutz]

Any event funded by dues would be open to the entire membership.

That would be true, good point. Can post buyers attend the Merry Member Mixers?

Bill

 

[supersnoop]

That would be true, good point. Can post buyers attend the Merry Member Mixers?

Bill

The Beach Parties has a specific disclaimer stating it was a pre-4/4 event. I haven't read the Merry Mixer invitation, but it should be spelled out if they're excluded.

 

[Dawn T.]

This whole "excluded" situation really sucks.

 

[ScubaCat]

Vague, as usual, but it is listed under Perks and the standard exclusion blurb is at the bottom.

https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/discounts-perks-offers/member-events/merry-member-mixer/

 

[Dean]

We are currently in ROFR on our first contract and seeing lots of conflicting advice about adding on a 25 point direct contract to get the Member benefits. If we decide to go that route, does it matter which resort we buy?

In other words, would a 25 point add on at Hilton head still get us the ability to buy discount tickets for the wdw parties and annual passes, or do the 25 points have to be at a wdw resort?

Contemplating (1) HHI points as a stopover for the drive down (also cheaper point cost) vs (2) more VWL points to have a cushion for point re-organizations vs (3) waiting for a possible add-on with new WL2 once they start selling that. Any recommendations?

IMO the new standard it to buy resale and do the 25 point add on. I wouldn't be surprised if they raised the minimum in some way going forward. One should just buy with that as part of the plan up front IMO. It wouldn't matter where one owns, simply buy the best resort situation that works for the add on regardless of the perks. For HHI it depends on when, how likely you are to want to do that consistently, how far out you can plan and what villa size. I wouldn't drive over to HHI just for the night as a stopover but if you wanted to spend a couple of days there up or down, that'd be more reasonable. If it were just a stopover for the night on the way to/from WDW, I'd buy the VWL (either old or new) and do priceline or similar en route and not put the extra 2 to 3 hours of extra travel time into it. For VWL 2 vs 3, I'd wait until the points chart and other info is available if that's a consideration vs buying now at a likely cheaper price.

 

[Jersey Dis]

I'm in the same boat and I was considering the add on option to get the discounts. I'm still waiting ROFR so it's still very early but seeing the price difference between resale and direct purchase even for a small 25 point contract I struggle with the justifying it. Doing some quick math approx $3500 for direct and $2250 for resale(no closing costs considered in either) Is the $1250 difference between the two worth the extra discounts?

 

[Dean]

I'm in the same boat and I was considering the add on option to get the discounts. I'm still waiting ROFR so it's still very early but seeing the price difference between resale and direct purchase even for a small 25 point contract I struggle with the justifying it. Doing some quick math approx $3500 for direct and $2250 for resale(no closing costs considered in either) Is the $1250 difference between the two worth the extra discounts?

IMO it is worth that difference to have options but likely not the whole $3500 just to get the benefits it you don't have use for the points. I believe the best way to do this is to make the decision before buying in then buy slightly less points resale then the 25 retail. BTW, the difference would be considerable less than the amount quoted because of the other costs. If one did a full closing AND title the difference would get down to roughly $400 less ignoring points availability though I wouldn't do title ins on 25 points. Since smaller contracts tend to be more likely to be stripped, there might be a points difference and that has $$$ value as well. At $10 a point you could see a $500 swing between a fully loaded and stripped contract, retail points tend to be in the middle but if one is VERY late in the UY can be nearly the same as a fully loaded contract. Ultimately I think a resale 25 point contract and a retail contract are close enough to not fool with the resale if points are available directly. There are other considerations tough including the availability of points in a given UY at the desired resort, whether one can buy directly but not on site and the like as well.

 

[Jersey Dis]

Then I have two questions

Once I close on my DVC and begin getting emails from DVC about promotions and/or events, do they every run promotions for add ons? Basically could my buy in for the extra 25 points be less than the $140 (per point) current price?

Being as the price per point for direct is very close across the different resorts, would it make sense to purchase an add on (of 25 points) at a different resort that I might want the larger booking window or is 25 points so small that it any benefit is offset by how much it complicates the reservation process?

I have a lot to learn still

 

[Dean]

Then I have two questions

Once I close on my DVC and begin getting emails from DVC about promotions and/or events, do they every run promotions for add ons? Basically could my buy in for the extra 25 points be less than the $140 (per point) current price?

Being as the price per point for direct is very close across the different resorts, would it make sense to purchase an add on (of 25 points) at a different resort that I might want the larger booking window or is 25 points so small that it any benefit is offset by how much it complicates the reservation process?

I have a lot to learn still

They don't normally give specials on 25 points, the real issue is whether they will stop allowing 25 pt purchase to qualify for the perks. As for whether 25 at a different resort is enough, it depends. One can get as many as 75 points together (100 if you crossed the UY) and that can be workable for a studio for a few days or a 1 BR for a couple. As a rule though, it makes most sense to buy the retail contract of 25 points for the same home resort and certainly for the same UY for most people. Reasons one might want to consider a different home resort for this situation might include that you plan to buy more at the 25 point resort in the future, really want to stay there at times and that it's cheaper than the current home resort would be (SSR vs Poly for example). I'm sure there are others.

 

[Jersey Dis]

Good call on the 75 points that can be accrued (combined). That could be food for thought down the road.