Potential Resale Buyer- What Will I Miss vs Buying Direct? Also, Need Use Year Advice

[smmora]

Interesting strategy. Do you feel like that is a lot to juggle? It didn't occur to me to have multiple, smaller accounts. Will that make it harder to book reservations if you are shuffling points between accounts?

We do go to Disneyland fairly often (or did, pre-Covid and when the kids were younger), but we also have another timeshare (WorldMark) that has two properties in Anaheim with pretty decent availability. I looked at the numbers comparing how much a VGC stay would be (after translating points to maintenance fees) and it would be WAY more than to stay at our cheaper timeshare. Since we spend almost the whole day at the park, it didn't pencil out for us, hence the drive for Aulani.

I'm worldmark too - we've usually been staying at Dolphin's cove or Anaheim, but I really want to stay on-site - i used to when I was younger and honestly the Worldmark ones never make me feel like the same - I'm stalking GCV now

There's so many other choices for Worldmark - hoping to book a week at Marina Dues for next year =D
I did Auluani thinking, I can split time between there and using Worldmark or RCI for additional resorts to stay out there longer

As long as you have the same Use Year at the 7 month point you can use all your points for a booking - the 11 month - 7 month is where they are separate .... I think it will work well for how I book

Also i figured if I need to - i can bank points and book some studio nights at 11 months, then replace them .... I'm used to planning 2 years in advance (RCI, Interval)

 

[SleeplessInTO]

Calling to borrow points does seem a bit inconvenient. Are direct owners able to do it online? Is it a different system? Definitely not something I think is worth many thousand of dollars extra, but I am curious.

It’s a glitch supposedly. But it’s been so long I’m starting to think it’s a feature! A very devious way for Disney to make me buy direct because calling MS is driving me nuts. Not all resale contracts are affected based on reports here but I am an unlucky one.

 

[CarolynFH]

i can bank points and book some studio nights at 11 months, then replace them

Just remember, if you book those studio nights at 11 months, you can replace them with points from the same home resort, not a different resort. To use points from a different resort, those same villas/nights would have to be available separately at the 7 month or later window.

 

[smmora]

Just remember, if you book those studio nights at 11 months, you can replace them with points from the same home resort, not a different resort. To use points from a different resort, those same villas/nights would have to be available separately at the 7 month or later window.

yeah i meant book my backup at 11 months then switch to what i need
like my next one I'm planning for I want a split stay between GFV and AKV
I am hoping to have by booking date SSR/GFV/AUL
I'm going to book 3 reservations at 11 months
- GFV days I want to keep (theme park resort studio)
- GFV days i want to switch to AKV
- SSR days i want to switch to AKV
at 7 months hopefully able to switch to a 2bdrm Savannah using points from all 3 resorts

My mom doesnt like to fly, so this may be her only WDW trip

 

[DonMacGregor]

Hi there,

I think we have decided to buy into DVC after at least a decade of wanting to. It almost seems silly to do it now, with a kid in college and another on her way there soon, and being on the West Coast, but it has been a dream for a long time. I think we are most likely to be buying a resale Aulani account with enough points for us to go every other or every third year (probably 150-200).

West Coast here as well (So Cal), and we became members as empty-nesters about a year ago (youngest is 26). Our plan is to have everything in place for the grands, and will likely take one trip to WDW, one to Aulani (my family has been vacationing in Hawaii since I was a kid), and maybe a staycation weekend here and there at VGC if any studios pop up now and then in the mean time. We're doing twop trips toe WDW currently due to the PITA of traveling to Oahu.

300 points currently: 200 at SSR and 100 at BRV. All February UY.

 

[MBTigger]

We live on the west coast and bought during our oldest's high school graduation year. We are very happy with DVC, and we even made an add on offer this last week after visiting Aulani!
Feb UY might be good for you as others have suggested. We have an August UY as our chances of visiting during the summer are low, Winter, Spring and fall (In that order) are the most likely times for us to visit...

 

[Ruttangel]

There is no difference between direct and resale when you come to sell.
You should be honest about how long you want to be an owner for as if it's 10 years then direct perks need to be heavy to outweigh resale.

 

[Wedgeout]

When you are interested in resale, you first need to be one, like myself, that isn’t interested in Riviera or the future resorts. Happy with the home resort and other stay options available during the life of that contract. Resale is then a great way to get into DVC and save thousands. There is no minimum point requirement as with first purchasing direct. Be flexible on the UY to save the most. Your UY will tend to find you, when your choice contract is found to make the offer on.

 

[DVCanadian]

Points aren’t “loaded” into your account.
The points in your contract are sitting in every single use year waiting to be banked, borrowed, or used for reservations.

the use year is not a trigger for anything, it is the window in which points may be used for a reservation.

the 11 month and 7 month dates are the tiggers that allow you to book either your home resort or another resort.

 

[havoc315]

Particularly as a West Coaster, I'd say the biggest downside of re-sale is the inability to use future resorts. Without flying to the East Coast, your points will only be good at Aulani and Grand Califnornian, which is a small DVC and hard to book at 7 months. You won't be able to book the new Disneyland Tower. If they build additional West coast DVCs (which has a good shot of happening at some point in the next 10 years), you probably won't be able to use them.
So if you're basically buying the points solely to use at Aulani and maybe a rare trip to WDW, then not much downside to buying re-sale. But if you want to maximize flexibility now and in the future, then direct.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

It's a glitch that occurred when the 50% borrowing rule went into place following the reopening of the resorts. Some resale owners are experiencing the inability to borrow any of their points online and have to call Member Services whenever they want to borrow. This puts them at least an hour behind members who are booking right at 11 months online at 8 AM.

Maybe I'm misremembering this, but I seem to recall that the borrowing glitch existed pre-COVID. If so, then it's not because of 50% borrowing being implemented when the resorts re-opened but, rather, some other fundamental flaw in the code. I think I recall reading that it was attributed to how some contracts have the points initially loaded into the account.

 

[longboard55]

We bought resale, downsides seem minimal. You get a few discounts but can get the similar with a disney credit card. We have February. We have been is situations where you have to use the points or lose them, and travel in Nov -December is not desirable so we end up in January at Aulani. Not sure if that is desirable, April would be better. I found the whole borrow point thing a little tricky in the beginning. You need to be careful not to save too many points

 

[RichVIII]

1. Aulani is amazing. We thought it would be one and done for these East Coasters but we can't wait to go back.
2. Discounts as a member is at Aulani are smaller than being able to use discounts at WDW/DL. But as others have shared, many are similar to APs or Dis Visa.
3. Across all the DVC properties - the cheapest points/view rooms in studios typically book first. So think about that in your points planning. Don't always plan on the cheapest room being available.
4. The three year model puts one year of points in slight jeopardy if you have to cancel since those points will be pulled forward (only useable that year) and pulled in from the future (now in that year). You can't push those points back into the future year or bank those previous years points any further - you will have to use them in that year of your cancelled trip. You could push those points in the current year forward if you are not past your banking deadline. I know folks who go over three years, it is certainly doable but slightly less risky for a year year model.
5. Prices continue to rise. I continue to wish we had purchased sooner.
6. The studios are on the smaller side, especially as you bring adult children. We are aiming for a 1BR next time.

I don't think you will regret it. You can always add on more (and you will).
Best of luck!

 

[RoseGold]

If you are trying to go to anywhere but Aulani, I would not buy Aulani.

I seriously considered a subsidized Aulani contract and decided against it because of Hawaii's laws and risk factors like taxation. Also, Aulani as a timeshare has a troubled history, and might never actually be sold out on Disney's end. I plan to sell, and I don't want to be selling that product.

At a minimum, you need to look into Hawaii's probate and property transfer laws. To me, that was a complete no go, and I wouldn't buy outside of FL.

 

[Ashlotte]

Particularly as a West Coaster, I'd say the biggest downside of re-sale is the inability to use future resorts. Without flying to the East Coast, your points will only be good at Aulani and Grand Califnornian, which is a small DVC and hard to book at 7 months. You won't be able to book the new Disneyland Tower. If they build additional West coast DVCs (which has a good shot of happening at some point in the next 10 years), you probably won't be able to use them.
So if you're basically buying the points solely to use at Aulani and maybe a rare trip to WDW, then not much downside to buying re-sale. But if you want to maximize flexibility now and in the future, then direct.

Yes, that does sum us up pretty well... we'd be wanting to go to Aulani and the occasional trip to WDW (maybe once every five years?). I do have a WorldMark membership as well, and have always been able to get into their two Anaheim resorts when I have wanted to go. I don't think the new DLT will hold a ton of appeal for us because after fifteen years of WorldMark, we have all gotten spoiled with traveling and staying at condos (with full kitchens and separate rooms), and it sounds like DLT will be mostly studios. I would love to stay at VGC, but when I look at the points chart, it is still a lot more money per night (dues conversion) than we would want to spend on a regular basis, especially considering how much time we spend in the park. I would like to stay once to see what I'm missing, but overall it doesn't seem like a good use of points to me.

 

[Ashlotte]

If you are trying to go to anywhere but Aulani, I would not buy Aulani.

I seriously considered a subsidized Aulani contract and decided against it because of Hawaii's laws and risk factors like taxation. Also, Aulani as a timeshare has a troubled history, and might never actually be sold out on Disney's end. I plan to sell, and I don't want to be selling that product.

At a minimum, you need to look into Hawaii's probate and property transfer laws. To me, that was a complete no go, and I wouldn't buy outside of FL.

Interesting. What is a subsidized contract? I am nervous about the tax component, but I really do picture us going to Aulani at least twice as often as WDW, and we would use WorldMark for Disneyland.

 

[chalee94]

Interesting. What is a subsidized contract? I am nervous about the tax component, but I really do picture us going to Aulani at least twice as often as WDW, and we would use WorldMark for Disneyland.

There were shenanigans when Aulani was sold so early purchasers got discounted annual dues subsidized by Disney. Those contracts continue to have lower dues every year.

Disney Vacation Club Annual Dues | DVC Resale Market

 

[Ashlotte]

1. Aulani is amazing. We thought it would be one and done for these East Coasters but we can't wait to go back.
2. Discounts as a member is at Aulani are smaller than being able to use discounts at WDW/DL. But as others have shared, many are similar to APs or Dis Visa.
3. Across all the DVC properties - the cheapest points/view rooms in studios typically book first. So think about that in your points planning. Don't always plan on the cheapest room being available.
4. The three year model puts one year of points in slight jeopardy if you have to cancel since those points will be pulled forward (only useable that year) and pulled in from the future (now in that year). You can't push those points back into the future year or bank those previous years points any further - you will have to use them in that year of your cancelled trip. You could push those points in the current year forward if you are not past your banking deadline. I know folks who go over three years, it is certainly doable but slightly less risky for a year year model.
5. Prices continue to rise. I continue to wish we had purchased sooner.
6. The studios are on the smaller side, especially as you bring adult children. We are aiming for a 1BR next time.

I don't think you will regret it. You can always add on more (and you will).
Best of luck!

Yes, the banking and borrowing piece sounds a little confusing to me. Maybe we should aim for a 200 point account over a 150 point. Do people have any trouble renting extra points out? I don't want anything to go to waste.

I do have a Disney Visa, so maybe that will help cover some of the missing benefits of buying direct.

A studio definitely won't work for us. I told my son that we might have to stay in a one-bedroom instead of a two-bedroom, and he was like, "Huh. Is that the only option?" We had once gotten extremely lucky and had traded our WorldMark week for a week at Aulani. They gave us a fourteenth floor, ocean/pool view two-bedroom. I don't think they realize we wouldn't be traveling that way in the future, even if we buy in. That was like winning the lottery. My WorldMark dues and exchange fee for the week were $1000 or less! Although I guess in the end, that trip will end up costing me tens of thousands of dollars, as after that trip I became obsessed and couldn't get the idea of going back out of my head. As soon as I came back put in another request for an exchange. That was seven years ago. Clearly it isn't going to happen again, and I just need to give up and buy my own account.

 

[Jodi Gross at DVCRM]

Ohhh... I think this is where I am getting confused. So, if in January 2022 I had no points in my account, but had an February Use Year, I could still book because the points would be there when the reservation happened? In other words, the points need to be there at the time of the actual resort stay, NOT the time of the booking?

Yes, that is correct

 

[Jodi Gross at DVCRM]

Annual pass discounts (although they haven't really come back yet and shouldn't matter to you if you aren't coming to FL for multiple weeks.)
You don't get small dining and shopping discounts as a resale owner (although Disney VISA gets some of these discounts if you have that.)
You don't get access to the Epcot lounge (free cokes and maybe a bag of pretzels), Top of the World Lounge at BLT (still closed - maybe forever) or Moonlight Magic (assuming they come back and that they fit your schedule).
Also some behind the scenes tour discounts on occasion.



Takes a lot of free cokes at the Epcot lounge and 10% dining discounts to make up for those savings. Exactly right.

Hi there, just to correct you on one thing, resale members DO have access to the Top of the World Lounge