More and more questions...

[Crisi83]

Sorry I can't study all your posts u til I'm off the ship, but I did decode not to buy for the moment.

Unfortunately I did figure out that when they were talking about discounted price it was only Aulani and I'm not that interested in that place. Sure I'd like to go there eventually at least once, but it's not a focus. Polynesian seems like it could be a decent fit, but all I would habe gotten was $500 in on boardeck credit for that, so not enough value to push a decision.

I did book a placeholder for next cruise, so I do get that 10% off if I don't book a blackout and within 2 years.... I need to read all of your posts more closely when I get home and really crunch some numbers....... you all are doing alot of advanced math!

One thing I did notice that I wasn't sure about though was a few people talking about paying income tax... was that related to point resale or something with DVC points in general?

 

[disneynutz]

Sorry I can't study all your posts u til I'm off the ship, but I did decode not to buy for the moment.

Unfortunately I did figure out that when they were talking about discounted price it was only Aulani and I'm not that interested in that place. Sure I'd like to go there eventually at least once, but it's not a focus. Polynesian seems like it could be a decent fit, but all I would habe gotten was $500 in on boardeck credit for that, so not enough value to push a decision.

I did book a placeholder for next cruise, so I do get that 10% off if I don't book a blackout and within 2 years.... I need to read all of your posts more closely when I get home and really crunch some numbers....... you all are doing alot of advanced math!

One thing I did notice that I wasn't sure about though was a few people talking about paying income tax... was that related to point resale or something with DVC points in general?

Remember that Disney's discount price is all fake, they raise the price then offer a discount at the resorts that are not selling as expected. Discounts at the other resorts have pretty much disappeared because they are selling. Your best discount is found by buying resale if that works for you.

Bill

 

[coastalhh]

Grand Californian is one I might be more interested in...
My hesitation on resale is that it looks far more complicated and I can't use it on cruises which is one of the uses I'd be considering, though I understand it might not be the best uses age of points (though doing some quick math on what we paid for this room and how maNY points it would take to have booked, points would habe been cheaper I believe by quite a bit.)

I was considering starting the paperwork which still gives me 20 days to cancel so I have more time to research and debate...

DL is by far my closer park, but I may continue to pay that as cash cause you can get cheap rooms off site and use DVC for WDW and cruise every other year perhaps. I also interested in being able to use it to stay at partner locations.

The cruise chart is per person. Not per room. It would not be cheaper by quite a bit. You save no money at all and your upfront fee is worthless if you use it for cruises. Please don't buy. You have a lot to learn and will regret it. You can always buy in a month for the exact same price after careful consideration

 

[JWG]

Looks like the right choice was made. DVC is an emotional decision which is what Disney counts on. As others have said, if you want to use points for a cruise or to stay at the DL hotel, you'd be much better off renting out your points for cash and using that money for a cash reservation.

Additionally, if VGC is what you think you'd use most you need to buy there. The wait list is apparently closed through Disney, so a resale would be your best option. In addition to owning where you want to stay (which you need at that resort) you'd be able to demand a premium if ever renting out your points for the same reason you need to own there. Reservations are hard to get and in high demand.

We've been thinking that if we want a reservation there we'd rent poitns from a VGC owner and then rent out our points to offset the cost. Sort of a "swap" if you will.

 

[DisDadDVC]

Sorry I can't study all your posts u til I'm off the ship, but I did decode not to buy for the moment.

Unfortunately I did figure out that when they were talking about discounted price it was only Aulani and I'm not that interested in that place. Sure I'd like to go there eventually at least once, but it's not a focus. Polynesian seems like it could be a decent fit, but all I would habe gotten was $500 in on boardeck credit for that, so not enough value to push a decision.

I did book a placeholder for next cruise, so I do get that 10% off if I don't book a blackout and within 2 years.... I need to read all of your posts more closely when I get home and really crunch some numbers....... you all are doing alot of advanced math!

One thing I did notice that I wasn't sure about though was a few people talking about paying income tax... was that related to point resale or something with DVC points in general?

The poster was referring to paying income tax if you rent your points out (resale or direct). I assume that poster is also remitting his use tax annually for any online purchases he makes where they haven't collected sales tax from him.

 

[Savagekids]

I think you made smart choices. Have fun researching DVC when you get home.

 

[disneyberry]

The thread got hijacked anyway. The important thing is you made the right choice and didn't get fooled by the DVC Guides' attempt to make you believe you can get a great deal only if you buy on the cruise.
Also, IMO using DVC points for Disney Cruises is pretty much throwing your money away.

 

[Dean]

Let's look at that....if you have SSR/AKV/OKW which are some of the cheaper resales to purchase....you are getting $11.30 per point from David's to rent which is the most hassle free---though hassle free and renting are almost mutually exclusive terms...

So after you pay your MF, you're making about $6 per point, which you then have to pay income tax on...once that's gone...

Are you sure that's how much the cruise is?...and is it worth all the bother and aggravation?

Or is it worth something to the OP to simply book the cruise with MS and say "use my points.".....DONE. What's that worth to you?

Let's look at the time involved Renting the reservation....dealing with the particulars of adding it and dealing with relevant expenses for it on your taxes...paying your accountant more....

Then, waiting to eventually be paid the entire sum for the rental ...then calling and booking your cruise.

IMO it's not only a better return but actually easier and safer to rent privately than to use a service. I've rented some every year or two (and many non DVC timeshare rentals) for 20 yrs and it's really not that big of a deal. When one looks at the limitations of using points for cruising, the risks of renting are clearly less than the limitations on using the points for a reservation done well in advance. Once you get to around the cancelation window the risk equilibrate. Points insurance only limits about half the risk.

Precisely my point, I'm merely responding with the information the OP gave us....if it is just Aulani, that's no great deal. But if it's PVB it's almost a no-brainer...

To me is's a no brainer to not buy retail unless one wants to use the points almost exclusively at that resort AND the price between retail and resale is fairly small or there is limited resale availability that one can get retail and feels it's worth it (VGC for example). Someone in this situation, researching to make a first purchase is in the unique position to buy what they want, at the best price and just what they need to make DVC easy, simple and the cheapest possible. IF one buys retail and to use for non DVC options, they'll both pay more per points AND have to buy more points at the higher price, roughly double to chose a round number compared to just buying for DVC alone for a mid size contract and paying cash for the other options. That makes buying the Poly to use also for a periodic cruise literally four times as much up front as say SSR or AKV.

Don't get me wrong...I'm acknowledging that Cruises are not the best use of points...I'm just saying, if you are inclined to use them that way, it wouldn't be crazy...there are plenty of folks that do it and feel it's a perfectly good use of their points. When taking into account the multiple steps, risks, and time involved, it could certainly be argued that many people would feel perfectly happy using their points for cruises at the end of the day...while being fully away of the financial aspects....and it wouldn't be a foolish decision...for them.

Furthermore, point costs for these types of things are an ever changing environment and who's to say the point costs wouldn't go down in the future....or that the advantage between Direct and resale couldn't suddenly become MORE pronounced or less pronounced without any warning. It certainly wouldn't surprise me if Disney articulated more advantages for Direct purchases vs. Resale.

If one already owns and has the points, it's a different playing field though it'd still only be reasonable for certain situations. Of course anyone can do what they want with their points, reasonable or not. DVC doesn't have a history of changing things for the members benefit, while it could happen, any changes are far more likely to be negative over positive. They have a long history of changing things to the negative. The fact there are no guarantees and no protections are a portion of why it's a poor choice to buy currently retail for non DVC options.

 

[bethy]

I don't think the big question is if they should buy direct or resale. To me, both Aulani and Poly seem like bad choices for the op no matter how you buy them. If they were going to sell them VGC on the cruise, then I would say go for it.

This.

And as a West Coaster and a VGC owner who has been on the waitlist for 1.5 YEARS, I can tell you they will not sell it to you on a cruise! The waitlist is closed. And even if you could get on it the current price and any incentives would expire after 6 months.

We are booked on two cruises and are not using our DVC points but paying cash. fyi.

edited to add that I am a longtime owner and am well aware that some might wonder why we don't just buy VGC resale. It's a long and complicated scenario. But believe me we are informed of all the options and trade offs. For any other resort we'd likely buy resale but we want more VGC and that's it.