Newbie question. Buy 150 AKL points now or hope for promo?

[deplion]

Hello. Brand new DVC member here.

Recently purchased 75 AKL points resale. Want to get the blue card by purchasing 150 points direct, also at AKL.

For those who have been doing this for a while, am I better off buying now before the price increase, or waiting until later to hope for a promo?

Or, is there an even better strategy I am not even considering?

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide!

 

[byurick]

Buying 150 direct AKL at full price is not a great idea and since incentives are set to change very soon I would at least wait to see if an AKL deal comes back on the table.

Do any of the other active resort interest you? Or is it AKL only, period?

 

[VGCgroupie]

AKV has not been confirmed to be having a price increase that I am aware of. While it can happen it's not been published like the actively selling resorts have been.

If you must buy AKV I would wait for an incentive.

Best advice is really think and decide if AKV is 100% where you need your direct points to be. The price is very high compared to active resorts and very high compared to resale AKV.

 

[AstroBlasters]

First and foremost, welcome to the DVC family! We’re delighted to have you.

Could you share a bit more about why you specifically chose Animal Kingdom as your home resort?

It’s generally considered an easy resort to get into during the non-home resort period. With a vast inventory, depending on the type of room you choose.

Since there aren’t currently any incentives, some members are questioning whether they truly need to be Animal Kingdom points that are direct or if it might be more beneficial to purchase something that offers an incentive, potentially lower annual dues, and still allows you to use those points for stays at Animal Kingdom.

 

[deplion]

Thank you all for your answers. Love this board!

AK is our favorite hotel at Disney which is why I have been looking for points there.

I hadn't really considered other resorts, but thanks to your feedback, I'll start looking into them now.

Any further advice anyone has will be greatly appreciated as well!

 

[muppets3d]

I would certainly not buy direct AKV points without an incentive. Incentives on sold out resorts are rare, but they typically have one or two on offer every cycle. Right now CCV is the sold out resort they're offering incentives on. Maybe AKV will be next. We'll know early next week when the new incentives begin.

 

[MyDogTink]

Welcome! You've already received great advice from the experts in the community. I will echo that while you love AKV, I wouldn't suggest buying direct. Look at the direct vs resale prices and you will see that if you need to sell it, you will take a tremendous loss. If you book AKV at non-peak times, you have a good chance of using other points there. If you really want direct points, I would suggest Poly. That contract will hold up well is you have to sell. If you really want more AKV, then go resale.

Didn't AKV have an incentive a few incentive rounds back? I recall this because I was considering picking up some direct points to turn my resale membership into a pseudo-direct but even with the incentives couldn't make direct work over the resale prices.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Didn't AKV have an incentive a few incentive rounds back? I recall this because I was considering picking up some direct points to turn my resale membership into a pseudo-direct but even with the incentives couldn't make direct work over the resale prices.

Yep, since I have been paying attention AKV has happened more than once. But even with incentives the price vs resale was still too high imo.

 

[juliebee]

Ahhh, add-on-itis has gotten to you too? If you are interested in the current resorts that have an incentive discount for purchases, here is the thread for that- https://www.disboards.com/threads/winter-dec-25-jan-26-direct-incentives.3976354/
We are just days away from new incentives, so if any of these sound appealing, you may want to reach out to your guide but not sign anything yet. Then if the new incentives are better, they can change you to the better deal.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Thank you all for your answers. Love this board!

AK is our favorite hotel at Disney which is why I have been looking for points there.

I hadn't really considered other resorts, but thanks to your feedback, I'll start looking into them now.

Any further advice anyone has will be greatly appreciated as well!

Do you have a particular timeline for when you would like to use the new points for a vacation?

 

[deplion]

Don't really have a time frame for my next trip yet. Thinking December 2026, but am pretty flexible.

I do like the Polynesian as well.

Based on the advice I am seeing here, I am thinking I will ask for a quote on that now and then see if any better deals come out in a few days.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Don't really have a time frame for my next trip yet. Thinking December 2026, but am pretty flexible.

I do like the Polynesian as well.

Based on the advice I am seeing here, I am thinking I will ask for a quote on that now and then see if any better deals come out in a few days.

December can be very popular at Walt Disney World and so I can understand your desire to want to get points as soon as possible to get a reservation locked in.

 

[Girlstar30]

Last February had an akv direct incentive round, I would wait until at least tomorrow night for the new incentive round to see if akv has something going on.

With that being said, I think it was $210-$215 direct last year during that very short sale, something around there. I think thats pretty comparable to currently active resorts with incentives right now.

As others have said, resale akv is way cheaper but if youre looking for direct and thats the one you love and you dont like split stays, it is worth considering if it goes on sale imo. I used to think akv wasnt worth having as a home resort with all the room availability, but that is not correct if youre looking for a studio during Christmas time, which we loved Christmas time there. Even 11 month booking window is tough for a studio during Xmas time!

Plus owning gives you a good shot at the more unique room types aka club. We are very happy we purchased where we love.

 

[deplion]

Last February had an akv direct incentive round, I would wait until at least tomorrow night for the new incentive round to see if akv has something going on.

With that being said, I think it was $210-$215 direct last year during that very short sale, something around there. I think thats comparable or cheaper than currently active resorts with incentives right now.

As others have said, resale akv is way cheaper but if youre looking for direct and thats the one you love and you dont like split stays, it is worth considering if it goes on sale imo. I used to think akv wasnt worth having as a home resort with all the room availability, but that is not correct if youre looking for a studio during Christmas time, which we loved Christmas time there. Even 11 month booking window is tough for a studio during Xmas time!

Plus owning gives you a good shot at the more unique room types aka club. We are very happy we purchased where we love.

Great insights.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Girlstar30]

Great insights.

Thanks for sharing!

Youre welcome

 

[sndral]

I’ve owned AKV for over a decade & although I often read about how easy it is to book, IME, for what I want when I want to visit for as many nights as I like to stay (10-12) that has not been the case. We like to go in December/early January, we stay in Jambo house & often book resort view there to save points (many of the resort view villas actually abut Sunset or Uzima savannas) & we’ve needed home resort priority to book even 1 br.s &, of course, the 2 br.s are all lock offs - so they disappear as soon as the studios are booked.
Now someone who is ok w/ Kidani & travels during non peak times for a week or less will be able to easily book into AKV at 7 months. So whether buying direct elsewhere will work really depends on your future travel plans.
What I personally like about Jambo is the spacious lobby & none of the current direct sales resorts offer that.
Riviera’s lobby is compact, the OG Poly lobby is in the ceremonial house & the PIT lobby is what I’d describe as ok.
CCV, which is currently offering incentives as a sold out resort, has the WL’s fantastic lobby + much of the serene away from it all feeling that I get w/ AKL (minus the animals) so that might be worth a look.
It also might be worthwhile to wait a year or so & see how the new Lakeshore Lodge turns out.