Minimum points you would own at one resort?

[arthur06]

I am just curious as to what some people might think and would love to hear any opinions or past experiences that people may have.

DW and I bought a 30 point BWV resale last year... then added on 125 BLT points shortly there after... 30 BWV points doesnt go very far (dont get me wrong I knew this going in) but I wanted to pay cash and get my foot in the door, which would open up smaller add-ons for us.

I am thinking about adding on again, but not sure where I want to... I would love another 50-70 at BWV, another 75 at BLT or 75 at BCV...

We have 2 sons (9,3,1) so a studio is out for us! Any suggestions on minimum points you would carry at one resort?

 

[Sandisw]

I definitely think that it depends on whether you want to do split stays or take the bank/borrow approach to alternate at different resorts for the trips.

I would look at the point charts and see what you would need to do a split stay at BLT and BWV for your trip and then what you would need for one year all at BLT and the next at BWV and go from there. While, yes, you can trade out as well, at least using your home resorts gives you an idea of what would be needed.

If it were me, I would probably add on more at BWV to get those two contracts closer to each other so that you have enough to book your whole stay at 11 months without borrowing.

We originally had 130 at BLT and 50 at VWL. But, those 50 points at VWL were not enough to book 2 nights during Magic Season when we travel so unless I borrowed, I could only book one night (with points left over) at 11 months. My 130 at BLT were not enough to book our whole trip either. So, I ended up selling VWL, 2 months after I bought it, and just did all of them at BLT.

 

[cvjw]

You have to decide how you want to vacation - the season, the size room, etc. and then figure out how many points you need to make the reservation. If you own at 2 resorts, and plan on doing split stays, then the points should be fairly even between the resorts. We currently own 3 contracts with almost the same size of points on each one. We have enough points to do split stays in a 2 bedroom twice a year, or bank and borrow 2 years worth of points if we want to stay at only one resort for the whole week. I personally wouldn't want a really small contract, they would be almost useless you stayed in a studio for a few nights a year.

 

[OKW Lover]

I'd want to have enough points to book at least a 4 day "weekend" in a studio. That's because about half of our trips are like that.

 

[LIFERBABE]

I would make sure I have enough points in my preferable unit size or larger for at least 1 week before I started adding smaller contracts at other resorts

You can get really jammed up at 11 months not having enough points to book what you want, especially during busy times like Magic season or even Adventure Season can be tough.

With the new point charts next year, small contracts are going to be even more detrimental for certain times of the year. I dont like to move so the plan of 2-3 days here and there got old pretty quick. If I book at short notice I will do that but that is definitely not the plan at 11 months out.

I have a small OKW and if I had to do it over again, I should have used that money for more BCV points. After that, I started building my point totals with add ons instead of spreading out thin. I recently booked our entire Christmas/NYE at 1 resort and I would not have gotten what I wanted if I did not build up my points at AKV.

There are lots of ways to look at it, but with 3 kids, I would look at the resorts that sleep 5 in a 1 bed like AKV or BLT (soon OKW) and build up point totals for a week, 1 season up from when you think you will normally travel as extra cushion.

 

[arthur06]

So, would you sell the 30 point contract?

 

[Sandisw]

So, would you sell the 30 point contract?

Only if you don't want to really add more points on at BWV and have two home resorts.

When we sold VWL last year, we did take a small loss since we sold only 2 months after we bought, but we knew it made sense. We did get one trip out of it with the 2009 points and when we rebought BLT, we got 2009 points back so that helped offset what we lost.

But, we love having all the points in one place and I liked booking the whole trip at 11 months without having to worry about things. Of course, I love BLT and if I want to try something else and can't book it, I will be okay with that.

 

[bobbiwoz]

The minimum that we have at a resort is 100 at SSR. We own most of our points, 250, at BWV because we love the Epcot area and the standard view villas really stretch our points! OK...we have 6 home resorts, but the 100 is the least and the 250 is the most at any one resort. We take all sorts of multiple villas family vacations, and we like to book as much as we can at 11 months out. We heavily borrow points.

Bobbi

 

[bnk1120]

I would add on at BWV. You can alternate years with banking and borrowing and do BWV one year BLT the next. We currently own at VWL but will do an add on at another resort and alternate years.

 

[robertdangelo]

50 points is the minimum I would add on or own at any resort. through banking/borrowing, you can do a decent stay every 2 years or so.

 

[DVC Mike]

The minimum number of points we own at one resort is 125 at VGC, which allows us to go there every 3 years.

 

[Crystal_27]

For me, the minimum I would own at a second resort would be 75 points. I don't particularly care for the thought of split stays, so I would have to own enough points at a particular resort to make sure that I could bank/borrow enough points for a week+ vacation every three years. BUT, I don't know that for me the hassle of owning at two resorts is really worth it and, if we ever did decide to add on, we would likely just add on BLT points and take our chances at the 7 month mark.

 

[Derby4me]

We only have 50 points and honestly, we do a lot with it! For us, it's enough to stay for 4-5 days each year. We only use our points Sunday - Thursday and stay at a different resort if we want to stay longer. We love it!