Need DVC purchase advice

[RanDIZ]

After doing extensive research, I’m ready to join DVC but I’m torn between if it’s better to get (2) contracts worth 60 points giving me 2 home resorts or (1) 120 point contract at a single home resort. The (2) contracts would force me to split stay at 2 resorts due to not having enough points for the 7 days I vacation.

I will be traveling the first Sat to second Sat in Dec every year during the “new” 2021 travel period of Dec 1-23. So based on points required, 120 should be enough. I’ve found some room inventory on several websites that I’d hope are accurate.

With that said, will I have a better shot of booking 1 resort using up to 120 home points or split stay using the 2 (60) home points over my 7 days?

We are a value oriented traveling family of 3 and prefer studios. I really like BWV and BCV, but it seems to be very limited in room inventory.

If (2) contracts is the way to go, my goal is to have a Magic Kingdom and Epcot/ Hollywood home resorts. AKL would not be out of the question either since it appears to be plentiful of studios.

Please share your experiences and opinions. Thanks in advance.

 

[Jenniebee]

I would just buy one honestly. I know the conventional wisdom here on the boards is to buy 2 smaller contacts, but this is only with the hope that when you resell them you can get more per point for each that way. Just don't loose the forest for the trees, you have to own what will work for you while you own it and are taking & planning your vacations. It's a timeshare, not a flip investment. JMO.

Also, if you have calculated that exactly 120 works for the dates you want, I would go up to 130 or even 150. Everyone always says they wish they had more.

 

[ziravan]

First two weeks of Dec is DVC’s busiest weeks. You’re gonna want maximum home resort advantage and you’re gonna want a pad.

I’d buy 150 points at one resort.

Add on at a different resort later if DVC works for you.

Another option would be two 75 point contracts at different resorts and bank borrow such as to use 150 points at each resort in alternating years. But in that case, you’re really gonna want/need the padding of a few more points.

How that would work is year one use points and borrow next year’s points at first resort; bank 2nd resort points.

Year 2 use banked/current year points at 2nd resort, no points avail at first resort.

Year 3 same as year one. But, since you’re already using banking and borrowing as part of your strategy, you won’t have those tools avail to cover point shortages; you’ll need a pad.

 

[ziravan]

Small point contracts cost more resale. Not only will you pay two separate closing costs, expect to pay $15-20/point more for a 75 point contract over a 150 point contract.

 

[ziravan]

https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...-bd-charts-september-2019-2-bd-added.3689931/
This will give you an idea of how popular the first two weeks are in Dec.

Dec week 2 is THE busiest DVC week and I think Dec week 1 is the third busiest DVC week as far as booking windows at 11 months.

 

[jkips]

If you are buying direct then go with the 2 contracts since the purchase price will be effectively the same and it will give you more flexibility down the road. If you are buying in the secondary market buy the points in one contract - you’ll save time and money in the closing costs. I would highly recommend saving the money by buying in the 2ndary market.

 

[jkips]

If you do buy in 2 separate resorts the bank and borrow functions provide enough functionality to allow you the functionality to switch between resorts on alternate years.

 

[SCDVC2000]

The problem with 2 contracts is, you’ll use 60 points to book the first half of your trip (at 11 months out from the home resort where you’ll be vacationing next) and then have to wait until 7 months out to complete your booking with the other 60 points. What if there’s no availability at that point? Are you prepared to potentially have your trip cut in half and have to bank 60 points?

I say just choose your favorite resort and put all your eggs in that basket.

 

[Dawn T.]

We started with 150 points resale at Boardwalk, and added on GF and BR for split stays. I quickly grew tired of splits because it effectively cuts into valuable vacation time the day of the move. If you do buy two contracts, I agree that banking and borrowing alternate years would be the way to go. BWV remains our favorite for walking to Epcot and HS, but I love the BRV points for the weekend after Thanksgiving. But both of these resorts expire in 2042, which is a major consideration for younger families. First and foremost buy a resort that you love. Best of luck on your decision!

 

[SCDVC2000]

Maybe I’m biased— you should just buy at Poly actually. It’s the best

 

[jkips]

The problem with 2 contracts is, you’ll use 60 points to book the first half of your trip (at 11 months out from the home resort where you’ll be vacationing next) and then have to wait until 7 months out to complete your booking with the other 60 points. What if there’s no availability at that point? Are you prepared to potentially have your trip cut in half and have to bank 60 points?

I say just choose your favorite resort and put all your eggs in that basket.

If you were going to go with 2 contracts the most efficient way to book on an annual basis if you didn’t want to switch resorts midway through would be to borrow on the contract from the resort you wanted to stay at the first year - i.e. use your 60 2020 points plus the 60 2021 points - to be able to book everything at the 11 month window. You would then bank the 60 2020 points from the resort you would not be staying at in 2020 and use those points in 2021 combined with the 2021 points to book your other home resort for the 2021 vacation. This way you are able to book 11 months ahead at both resorts using just your points.

 

[RanDIZ]

If you do buy in 2 separate resorts the bank and borrow functions provide enough functionality to allow you the functionality to switch between resorts on alternate years.

That’s a great way to utilize both contracts. Thanks.

 

[RanDIZ]

First two weeks of Dec is DVC’s busiest weeks. You’re gonna want maximum home resort advantage and you’re gonna want a pad.

I’d buy 150 points at one resort.

Add on at a different resort later if DVC works for you.

Another option would be two 75 point contracts at different resorts and bank borrow such as to use 150 points at each resort in alternating years. But in that case, you’re really gonna want/need the padding of a few more points.

How that would work is year one use points and borrow next year’s points at first resort; bank 2nd resort points.

Year 2 use banked/current year points at 2nd resort, no points avail at first resort.

Year 3 same as year one. But, since you’re already using banking and borrowing as part of your strategy, you won’t have those tools avail to cover point shortages; you’ll need a pad.

Thanks for the information. I guess I chose a busy time to do Disney.

 

[SG131]

I agree with the previous posters that said buy more than you think you’ll need. Right now there is an imbalance in dvc and the most popular times of the dvc year are also the cheapest point wise. Dvc started to make minor adjustments for the 2021 year making those weeks a little more expensive. However, I would not expect this to be the last adjustment so I would be prepared for those weeks to cost more in the coming years.

 

[MY-DVC]

Maybe I’m biased— you should just buy at Poly actually. It’s the best

I agree! Poly is a great resort and probably one of the best deals on the resale market at this time.

 

[Jenniebee]

If you were going to go with 2 contracts the most efficient way to book on an annual basis if you didn’t want to switch resorts midway through would be to borrow on the contract from the resort you wanted to stay at the first year - i.e. use your 60 2020 points plus the 60 2021 points - to be able to book everything at the 11 month window. You would then bank the 60 2020 points from the resort you would not be staying at in 2020 and use those points in 2021 combined with the 2021 points to book your other home resort for the 2021

The problem with doing this is then at 11 months you only have access to half the amount of points. If you were to have one 120 pt contract at one resort and use 2020 and 2021 points at 11 months you have more to work with.

You have to think it through and do what works. Just know what it is you want to accomplish. When do you want to go, how often, and how long, and get the contract that matches that. It does not need to be over complicated.

 

[SCDVC2000]

I agree with the previous posters that said buy more than you think you’ll need. Right now there is an imbalance in dvc and the most popular times of the dvc year are also the cheapest point wise. Dvc started to make minor adjustments for the 2021 year making those weeks a little more expensive. However, I would not expect this to be the last adjustment so I would be prepared for those weeks to cost more in the coming years.

that’s right. Actually a week in Oct 2020 in a PVB studio is 130pts. In 2021 it will be 139pts. With the growing popularity of F&W, I see this >150pt in the next 4 years

 

[Sandisw]

The problem with 2 contracts is, you’ll use 60 points to book the first half of your trip (at 11 months out from the home resort where you’ll be vacationing next) and then have to wait until 7 months out to complete your booking with the other 60 points. What if there’s no availability at that point? Are you prepared to potentially have your trip cut in half and have to bank 60 points?

I say just choose your favorite resort and put all your eggs in that basket.

They would only need to wait until 7 months to get same resort. OP said they would book a split stay if they had two resorts.

Personally, I enjoy split stays and try to do an MK area and Epcot area when I do.

 

[RanDIZ]

They would only need to wait until 7 months to get same resort. OP said they would book a split stay if they had two resorts.

Personally, I enjoy split stays and try to do an MK area and Epcot area when I do.

I def like the idea of split stays. I’m leaning more toward that by way of bank/borrow method and hope that I can accomplish that. Little taste of two resorts and in different areas such as MK n Epcot. My main concern going into DVC as a newbie is being able to book studios since that’s all I need with a family of 3 who spends little time in the room. I love the predicting availability charts on these boards. Very informative. It seems that the best option for one of my contracts would be AKL. The other I’d hope to get along monorail or boardwalk area.