Outrageous pricing

I do think many people can afford it easily, others will get some deal somewhere, others can't afford it and don't mind going in to debt. I have never been to WDW and whenever i look at hotels it is so overwhelming seeing all the options available. I do not know what a deluxe compares to at DL but we love staying at DLH usually its only about $400 a night. GCH can easily be at $1k depending on the dates and no way i would ever pay that much. Even though we can afford to stay onsite at DLH i am always looking for a deal and a way to get a discount and save a few dollars I could definitely use the money saved to spend on food. Why pay rack rate when there area always better deals. Having an AP also helps with getting room discounts. Both DH and I have jobs that pay well and with only one child that leaves a bit of extra spending money.


I read somewhere that "rich people" do not vacation at DL and they go to more exotic or worldly locations but then who in the world is paying for these signature suites at $3k or more a night?
 


I think that the original question in my post was not communicated properly or just not understood in the way that I meant it.

I know that the $2000 pricing I have is good, I was more curious about the $700 a night AK or other rooms and how people afford that ontop of tickets and dining (oop or ddp).

I'm successful in my job and make just shy of 6 figures but I still couldn't afford $700 a night. It just seems unreal.
We are doing AKL for the first time this spring. 5 nights in a Savannah view studio. We rented someone's DVC points through David's DVC Rentals (they advertise on this site). Came to $320 a night, which is more than I ever pay for a non- Disney hotel room, but was a price I was really happy with for AKL Savannah view! I would recommend viewing their point and cost exchanges for various Deluxe resorts.
 
The same type of person who would buy this house for $5 million.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sa...-122.317369,47.676437,-122.319676_rect/18_zm/

Looks like that house was torn down and apartments put there after it was sold for near $5M in 2016. Someone bought up that lot and the 2 next to it on the same day in 2015, and then I'm guessing sold all three together to the developer for the $5M and the selling price got reported under that one address. That's what drove the Zillow estimate crazy. Looks like a lot of that sort of thing is going on on that block from the satellite view. In the 2015 sale, that house sold for less than $900,000. Not that Seattle prices aren't crazy (I've lived in the SF Bay area and understand that dynamic), but they typically aren't THAT crazy.
 
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I remember when I went with my mom as a kid -it was a once in a lifetime trip my parents had to save for (dad didn't go, he has a fear of flying).

My husband & I are in a different financial place. We can afford to go every year if we want and take other trips too. We live way below our means. We don't go out to eat because the kids had food allergies that are uncommon so eating at home is just safer. My husband brings a lunch to work because he's low carb.

We did buy a small DVC resale contract last year because we felt we would make good use of it.
 
There's lots of things people can afford to do that we can't, so I don't get myself too worked up about it. There will always be someone with more money than me and always someone with less. The only way to get around that is socialism where everyone gets the same no matter how hard they work or save (and that usually means not much unless you're the dictator). I feel blessed for all that we have in this great country so I can't complain!
 
I think that the original question in my post was not communicated properly or just not understood in the way that I meant it.

I know that the $2000 pricing I have is good, I was more curious about the $700 a night AK or other rooms and how people afford that ontop of tickets and dining (oop or ddp).

I'm successful in my job and make just shy of 6 figures but I still couldn't afford $700 a night. It just seems unreal.

OP -- You are doing very well and better than most people to even be able to take a vacation. You are in a high income bracket percentage wise too. It's a very small percentage of people who stay Disney Deluxe and can afford that. But it's still a ton of people as there it's a great big world out there with lots of very wealthy people (small percentage, but large in terms of sheer numbers). The people who regularly stay Disney Deluxe that I know have lots of disposable income (some own their own successful businesses, others have super high paying jobs). Paying four or five times what I pay for a typical Disney vacation week is not a big deal. We have some friends who used to have a vacation budget similar to what ours was. (He's a retired Physics Professor who developed a switching technology with some other professors some years back and got a patent. Later Cisco purchased that technology, and his share was maybe 32 million.) The Cisco deal was certainly a game changer in terms of the ole vacation budget for them. The first year after this deal they jetted off to Hawaii (stayed at a really nice resort on the Big Island), and she with her mother-in-law (He didn't want to go) did a really cool African Safari in South Africa (not the Animal Kingdom Lodge) without really even thinking about it all of a sudden.

And as others have alluded too, some look for deals and make staying Disney Deluxe a high priority by forgoing other things. This can make it reachable for many with more modest means. One woman who I work with (two income family -- IT professionals - do fine, but not overly wealthy) owns Disney Vacation club and usually just goes every other year. It's their favorite vacation and a splurge. They are careful with their money and put that in their budget / make it a priority.

Now me, I've only done Disney Deluxe three time and in all three cases DH had a seminar at the Contemporary and his company was paying for the room. We each time extended the stay, but just for one night and got the convention rate. I'm one of those bean counters who thought -- wow wouldn't it be fun to stay at the AK in a Savannah view room over spring break. Then I looked at the price (sticker shock for sure -- didn't realize how expensive that was till I looked) and said, I don't think so (didn't fit well in the ole vacation budget at all. I like to stick to my vacation budget. I also like do at least one nice vacation and mini trip somewhere annually. Days on vacation would be pretty sparse with my budget paying those prices.).

Some of us too do that occasional out of budget once in a lifetime trip with special savings. In 2020 we are doing an eight night June European trip to Paris and Belfast. This is a bucket list trip for DS and probably the last trip to Europe that DH and I will ever do. It's a one time thing not in the vacation budget, but coming out of other special funds saved. This will cost about the same as a spring break week Disney Deluxe trip would. I would never do the Disney deluxe trip though, but am doing this one.

Oh and on my last Disney trip I stayed offsite at the Marriott Residence Inn SeaWorld, did SeaWorld plus Busch Gardens - to visit my cousin in Tampa -- free bus ride there and back and three Disney Park days. My cute updated room at the Residence Inn -- two queens, pullout bed, kitchenette, free breakfast, SeaWorld fastpasses, was the same price as the POP (last minute trip, so all FP were only made seven or fewer days in advance). POP advantages would be extra magic hours, being onsite Disney which many prefer, and magical express to and from airport. I let DS 23 pick and these were the two considered. With a larger group we usually do offsite condo rentals, but didn't for this last minute trip.
 
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I am booking my vacation for my daughter and myself staying at all star movies with the ddp and tickets for 4 days we are looking at like 2000 not including flights. How do people afford to spend 700$ a night to stay at one of the nicer resorts! Is there a secret I'm missing out on?

Well, there's one secret some of us know about. Of course there are a number of ways as has been mentioned. Some folks with more disposable income due to higher salaries, lower cost of living, being on the lookout for a deal and timing vacations around finding a deal, second job or side hustle just for vacations etc. We live in FL and have Premier Passport APs. We also own DVC, bought in before the pricing went nuts and have 1300 points to play with. We are fortunate enough to be able to afford the $700 per night room, good salaries, no kids and mortgage is paid off. We would never in a million years pay real money for that. Nothing wrong with those who do. You do you.

Now, that doesn't mean we wouldn't stay at a resort that costs that much or way more. We can and do. We simply don't pay out of pocket for such expenses. I'm not going to use a Disney vacation as an example due to the fact we have DVC and are a 3 hour drive away. So, with that said, here is the vacation we have planned for next month.

First class RT flight on Emirates to Dubai, stop over and then Dubai to the Maldives. If I had to pay real money (which I would not) this flight would cost $51,548 for the two of us. That's insane and I do wonder who has over $25K per person for a flight, but I digress. We are "paying" with 300,000 Alaska Air miles each and $235.44 in taxes and fees total.

We have 4 nights at the all inclusive Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa. This is a Marriott property and the cost of a Bedouin suite is $1230 per night! Again, that's just crazy. We are "paying" 60,000 Marriott points per night and zero $. Meals are included and so are two activities per day.

Then we have 3 nights in the Maldives at the Conrad Rangali resort in an over-water bungalow. This is a Hilton property. The 30 minute sea plane to get to their island is a little over $500 per person! Again, that's just nuts. We are charging that amount to the room and receive a statement credit because we each have a Hilton card that has an annual $250 statement credit per year. We prepaid $250 each last year and the balance will be charged next month so our sea plane flights will be covered. The over-water bungalows are $1700 per night. We are "paying" with 190,000 Hilton points and one of the nights is being "paid" with a weekend night certificate that is a perk of the credit card and zero $. Food is expensive there but we have Diamond status with Hilton thanks to the credit card and breakfast, afternoon tea, snack and happy hour are all included with the status.

This is all possible to travel hacking and credit card churning. That's the secret many of us use. If someone were to have suggested to me before I discovered how to travel hack that I take a one week vacation that costs over $60,000 but only need to pay less than $500, I would have laughed. Seven years later and here I am killin' it. Go figure. We have a wonderful group of folks here on the DIS that help people accomplish their vacation goals using this method. Everyone is super friendly and helpful. It doesn't matter how modest or insanely ambitious your travel goals might be, the group will jump in to help you navigate the best way to make it happen. Come say Hi over on this thread

https://www.disboards.com/threads/i...v2-0-see-first-page-for-addl-details.3729982/

Just read the first few posts to get an idea what it's all about and then jump right in.

**Edited to add: Everything listed above is via credit card points from sign up bonuses, maximizing spending categories and utilizing transfer options when they are lucrative. I do not have a Marriott or Hilton Timeshare.**
 
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Well, there's one secret some of us know about. Of course there are a number of ways as has been mentioned. Some folks with more disposable income due to higher salaries, lower cost of living, being on the lookout for a deal and timing vacations around finding a deal, second job or side hustle just for vacations etc. We live in FL and have Premier Passport APs. We also own DVC, bought in before the pricing went nuts and have 1300 points to play with. We are fortunate enough to be able to afford the $700 per night room, good salaries, no kids and mortgage is paid off. We would never in a million years pay real money for that. Nothing wrong with those who do. You do you.

Now, that doesn't mean we wouldn't stay at a resort that costs that much or way more. We can and do. We simply don't pay out of pocket for such expenses. I'm not going to use a Disney vacation as an example due to the fact we have DVC and are a 3 hour drive away. So, with that said, here is the vacation we have planned for next month.

First class RT flight on Emirates to Dubai, stop over and then Dubai to the Maldives. If I had to pay real money (which I would not) this flight would cost $51,548 for the two of us. That's insane and I do wonder who has over $25K per person for a flight, but I digress. We are "paying" with 300,000 Alaska Air miles each and $235.44 in taxes and fees total.

We have 4 nights at the all inclusive Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa. This is a Marriott property and the cost of a Bedouin suite is $1230 per night! Again, that's just crazy. We are "paying" 60,000 Marriott points per night and zero $. Meals are included and so are two activities per day.

Then we have 3 nights in the Maldives at the Conrad Rangali resort in an over-water bungalow. This is a Hilton property. The 30 minute sea plane to get to their island is a little over $500 per person! Again, that's just nuts. We are charging that amount to the room and receive a statement credit because we each have a Hilton card that has an annual $250 statement credit per year. We prepaid $250 each last year and the balance will be charged next month so our sea plane flights will be covered. The over-water bungalows are $1700 per night. We are "paying" with 190,000 Hilton points and one of the nights is being "paid" with a weekend night certificate that is a perk of the credit card and zero $. Food is expensive there but we have Diamond status with Hilton thanks to the credit card and breakfast, afternoon tea, snack and happy hour are all included with the status.

This is all possible to travel hacking and credit card churning. That's the secret many of us use. If someone were to have suggested to me before I discovered how to travel hack that I take a one week vacation that costs over $60,000 but only need to pay less than $500, I would have laughed. Seven years later and here I am killin' it. Go figure. We have a wonderful group of folks here on the DIS that help people accomplish their vacation goals using this method. Everyone is super friendly and helpful. It doesn't matter how modest or insanely ambitious your travel goals might be, the group will jump in to help you navigate the best way to make it happen. Come say Hi over on this thread

https://www.disboards.com/threads/i...v2-0-see-first-page-for-addl-details.3729982/

Just read the first few posts to get an idea what it's all about and then jump right in.


That's impressive - but it does leave out one important fact. You have to have the capital to join those timeshares in the first place. Great use of the points you have available to you, it's just not easy to get into a position where you have those points to work with at all.

We have considered a Hilton Timeshare, but the capital needed to get started just isn't there for us right now. It's frustrating because I (like you) could maximize those points if I could just get started.
 
That's impressive - but it does leave out one important fact. You have to have the capital to join those timeshares in the first place. Great use of the points you have available to you, it's just not easy to get into a position where you have those points to work with at all.

We have considered a Hilton Timeshare, but the capital needed to get started just isn't there for us right now. It's frustrating because I (like you) could maximize those points if I could just get started.

My apologies if I wasn't clear. I do NOT have a timeshare with Hilton or with Marriott. I only have DVC and that is why I did not use a Disney vacation as an example. Nothing in my example had anything to do with Timeshares at all.

The Marriott points are from credit card sign up bonuses. The Hilton points are from credit card sign up bonuses. The Alaska air points were also with credit card sign up bonuses and lucrative transfer options that were available at the time. The only thing required to do exactly what I did is a good credit score and not carry balances.
 
My apologies if I wasn't clear. I do NOT have a timeshare with Hilton or with Marriott. I only have DVC and that is why I did not use a Disney vacation as an example. Nothing in my example had anything to do with Timeshares at all.

The Marriott points are from credit card sign up bonuses. The Hilton points are from credit card sign up bonuses. The Alaska air points were also with credit card sign up bonuses and lucrative transfer options that were available at the time. The only thing required to do exactly what I did is a good credit score and not carry balances.

Gotcha - although it's not quite as simple as a good credit score. Income factors in too, and it's awesome if your income-to-debt ratio is such that multiple cards are a possibility. It;s also a game that works FANTASTICALLY if you have the self discipline to use those lines of credit wisely....but it can be a dangerous game for a lot of people. I could get into a long discussion about how good credit is often a benefit that is born of privilege for many....but that's a WHOLE other thread :)
 
I could get into a long discussion about how good credit is often a benefit that is born of privilege for many....but that's a WHOLE other thread :)

Oh give me a break - my dad was raised in the projects and went on to work his fingers to the bone as a physical laborer to support his family never once going into debt for anything other than a mortgage. He paid cash for everything and saved a good chunk of his meager paycheck every week and taught his kids the value of a dollar. We worked part-time jobs from the time we were twelve just as he did and to this day, I never live beyond my means due to seeing his examples. And I guess then you'll say I was taught and some don't have that "privilege"- well he was never taught - he had a deadbeat dad and never had any kind of male role model. I get tired of hearing every excuse in the book for being financially irresponsible in today's world. We can learn from what our parents taught us (negative or positive) but if no generation ever stops and takes ownership for their own behavior then how can any of us ever grow as people?
 
You must be spending a ton on credit cards and flights to rack up those kind of points and miles though!

You can buy the miles from Alaska Airlines. Still cheaper that paying the $51k for first class. Only downfall is I don't believe those who are in first class using miles won't be picked up in a Mercedes and transported to the airport. I still believe you get access to Emirates first class lounge in Dubai.
 
Gotcha - although it's not quite as simple as a good credit score. Income factors in too, and it's awesome if your income-to-debt ratio is such that multiple cards are a possibility. It;s also a game that works FANTASTICALLY if you have the self discipline to use those lines of credit wisely....but it can be a dangerous game for a lot of people. I could get into a long discussion about how good credit is often a benefit that is born of privilege for many....but that's a WHOLE other thread :)

To an extent it does. It may mean it takes someone longer to reach their goal than it takes another. Like I said, besides the good credit score, the ability to pay balances in full. This means not spending beyond your means or spending more than you necessarily would. If you don’t carry credit card balances then you don’t have credit card debt.

You must be spending a ton on credit cards and flights to rack up those kind of points and miles though!

Nope. Not at all. There are ways to accumulate the points by thinking outside of the box. As an example, I have a Chase Ink Plus card that earns 5 Ultimate Reward points per dollar at office supply stores. Therefore, I purchase gift cards for Macy’s, Disney, Amazon etc. at the office supply store and earn 5 points on the dollar. If I need to get something from Macy’s for $100 online, I will get the gift card from the office supply store and earn 500 points. Then I will access the Macy’s website via a shopping portal that may be offering 8 American Airlines on the dollar. Now I will also earn an additional 800 AA miles on top of my 500 Ultimate Reward points. There is also manufactured spending as an option.

Oh give me a break - my dad was raised in the projects and went on to work his fingers to the bone as a physical laborer to support his family never once going into debt for anything other than a mortgage. He paid cash for everything and saved a good chunk of his meager paycheck every week and taught his kids the value of a dollar. We worked part-time jobs from the time we were twelve just as he did and to this day, I never live beyond my means due to seeing his examples. And I guess then you'll say I was taught and some don't have that "privilege"- well he was never taught - he had a deadbeat dad and never had any kind of male role model. I get tired of hearing every excuse in the book for being financially irresponsible in today's world. We can learn from what our parents taught us (negative or positive) but if no generation ever stops and takes ownership for their own behavior then how can any of us ever grow as people?

I was also raised in the projects. It also sounds like your dad and I had the same dad. I won’t say that I didn’t make mistakes when it came to finances as a younger person. I did and I learned from them. I got into debt. I paid it off. I learned to treat my credit cards like debit cards.
 
Not easy to manage the higher rates :surfweb:we like to treat ourselves occasionally though it takes a lot of careful savings. :scratchin
 
In 2004 we made our first "our" family trip. The twins were 9 and 9 and 4 and 4. Those were lean times for us because we were still early in our career and I could not work full time with 4 kiddos. We ended buying an RV and pulling it to Fort Wilderness from Georgia. I was able to get campsites with a military discount back then. They don't do that anymore.

Knowing what I know now, I wish we had bought into DVC because prices were great then. But, I thought with the RV we could go other places too. We still have the RV. It has double bunks and lots of memories now! We are selling it this spring sadly. The kids are all grown.

I still enjoy getting the biggest bang for our buck. No matter what our income will be, that is part of the fun for me.

Looking back, I might have bought DVC. Now, I think probably a new RV is the best bet even though the sites are sure going up in price at Fort Wilderness.
 

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