Purchasing direct then adding resale and booking questions

[Kronk182]

Hello! I had a few questions about how points would work when mixing direct and resale! Me and my wife are wanting to finally join the club and purchase 125 points direct for OKW or AK so we can have the benefits that come with direct. We plan on only using these points for DVC hotels. We also understand there might be a waitlist for getting points to a hotel Disney isn’t directly selling at the moment. y questions are

1.Can I buy resale OKW points and combine them with the direct points? Does the use year need to be the same? Trying to figure out if I should just get 200 direct or go the smallest amount for the perks and then add on through resale to save money. Would I be missing out on anything by doing direct with resale?


2. if I were to buy resale points for a different hotel then I can’t use the direct OKW points until the 7 month mark?

3. Staying on resale points one trip and then direct points on another trip doesn’t get different treatment does it?

4. What hotels are hard to get at the 7 month mark? Trying to see if I should do 125 okw and then another resort like bay lake or poly

5. How hard is it to get those value rooms at animal kingdom lodge?

thanks everyone! Really looking forward to becoming a member!

 

[Dismom18]

I don't have answers to all your questions, as I am a new member. I bought into DVC around end of summer/early fall, and I would say that if I could do it again, I would've bought resale first, as many on this forum have advised From my understanding the value rooms at AKL are very difficult to get unless you own there. And as far as booking availability, it seems that certain seasons are more difficult than others, however, I believe that due to COVID the current availability may be a little skewed due to the excess number of points in the system. Good luck with your purchase!

 

[macman123]

1.Can I buy resale OKW points and combine them with the direct points? Does the use year need to be the same? Trying to figure out if I should just get 200 direct or go the smallest amount for the perks and then add on through resale to save money. Would I be missing out on anything by doing direct with resale?

Yes, you can. If you have the same use year it will show on one account. If you have different use years they are 2 memberships and you need to call MS to have the points transferred.

Its far easier to have the same UY. I have 1 direct contract and 12 resale. All same UY

2. if I were to buy resale points for a different hotel then I can’t use the direct OKW points until the 7 month mark?

Correct. Only home points can be used 11 months out.

3. Staying on resale points one trip and then direct points on another trip doesn’t get different treatment does it?

No difference whatsoever.

4. What hotels are hard to get at the 7 month mark? Trying to see if I should do 125 okw and then another resort like bay lake or poly

It really depends on the time of year and accommodation. If you wanted a studio at VGF on New Years eve that is going to be hard to book 7 months out. On the other hand if you wanted a 1BR in January that's easy enough 7 months out.

5. How hard is it to get those value rooms at animal kingdom lodge?

These are the first to go because they are low on points. If you picked a quiet time of year, then you may be ok

 

[Kronk182]

Thanks for the info! Why resale first?

 

[Kronk182]

thanks for the info! Why resale first?

 

[macman123]

Thanks for the info! Why resale first?

I had 1 direct first then 12 resale after. I only had 155 points direct for the blue card benefits, which dont really exist now.

 

[Dismom18]

Thanks for the info! Why resale first?

There are a few reasons for this, the main one being that you are not confined to a specific use year when searching for a resale contract. If having two use years doesn't bother you then this would not apply. Moreover, the incentives buying direct are better for existing members, so I would've "saved" more on my direct purchase had I bough a resale contract first.

 

[macman123]

Ok, well you can add direct and the same UY as your resale.

DVC will generally allow you to match the UY when buying direct.

 

[Kronk182]

1.Can I buy resale OKW points and combine them with the direct points? Does the use year need to be the same? Trying to figure out if I should just get 200 direct or go the smallest amount for the perks and then add on through resale to save money. Would I be missing out on anything by doing direct with resale?

Yes, you can. If you have the same use year it will show on one account. If you have different use years they are 2 memberships and you need to call MS to have the points transferred.

Its far easier to have the same UY. I have 1 direct contract and 12 resale. All same UY

2. if I were to buy resale points for a different hotel then I can’t use the direct OKW points until the 7 month mark?

Correct. Only home points can be used 11 months out.

3. Staying on resale points one trip and then direct points on another trip doesn’t get different treatment does it?

No difference whatsoever.

4. What hotels are hard to get at the 7 month mark? Trying to see if I should do 125 okw and then another resort like bay lake or poly

It really depends on the time of year and accommodation. If you wanted a studio at VGF on New Years eve that is going to be hard to book 7 months out. On the other hand if you wanted a 1BR in January that's easy enough 7 months out.

5. How hard is it to get those value rooms at animal kingdom lodge?

These are the first to go because they are low on points. If you picked a quiet time of year, then you may be ok

Thank you!

 

[princesscinderella]

The tricky thing about OKW is if you buy them direct you get the later expiration date, vs most resale contracts expire in 2042, there are some that pop up in the resale market but not as frequently as most owners did not extend their contracts, this is unique to OKW. No other resorts have this issue.

 

[RanDIZ]

Current direct price AKV $186
Avg resale AKV $118(DVCResalemarket blog)

On a 125pt contract you’re talking around $8500 difference. There’s not many benefits left to justify that in my opinion.

 

[chalee94]

1.Can I buy resale OKW points and combine them with the direct points? Does the use year need to be the same? Trying to figure out if I should just get 200 direct or go the smallest amount for the perks and then add on through resale to save money. Would I be missing out on anything by doing direct with resale?

5. How hard is it to get those value rooms at animal kingdom lodge?

1. Yes...BUT you can book Riviera with direct points but not resale points. (Will probably also lock you out of future new resorts also, so if BCV flips to BCV 2.0 in 2042, resale won't have access.)

5. Realistically, own at AKV to even try for the value rooms. There just are not that many and owners will almost always grab them before the 7 month window.

 

[Kronk182]

Hey thanks for all the replies! The two benefits of direct for us are the future hotels that won’t accept resale and the AP discount.... even though that could be taken away one day haha. As far as owning resale first and then buying direct what is the benefit? Is there a discount to adding points?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

As far as owning resale first and then buying direct what is the benefit? Is there a discount to adding points?

haha no discount hahaha.

It's really about matching Use Year. If you buy direct first, then you have to find a resale contract in that Use Year o you will have a bunch of headaches not recommended for the novice DVC user.

If you buy resale first, Disney Direct can match that UY easy-peasy.

 

[princesscinderella]

Hey thanks for all the replies! The two benefits of direct for us are the future hotels that won’t accept resale and the AP discount.... even though that could be taken away one day haha. As far as owning resale first and then buying direct what is the benefit? Is there a discount to adding points?

Yes there is usually a small extra discount when you are already a member. It’s also easier to add on direct once you already have your UY of the points you got on resale. If you buy direct and then buy resale you will be limited to only the resale contracts that match your UY.

 

[Ruttangel]

1.Would I be missing out on anything by doing direct with resale?
No but Doing resale first is easier to match UY

2. if I were to buy resale points for a different hotel then I can’t use the direct OKW points until the 7 month mark?
You can’t match contracts at 11months unless it’s same resort.

3. Staying on resale points one trip and then direct points on another trip doesn’t get different treatment does it?
No
4. What hotels are hard to get at the 7 month mark? Trying to see if I should do 125 okw and then another resort like bay lake or poly
This depends on time of year, sounds like you need to look at availability thread
Poly is usually an easy one to get as it has a lot of studios
5. How hard is it to get those value rooms at animal kingdom lodge?
2BR and Studios are pretty much impossible, 1BR are a smidge easier but there’s not many of them so don’t buy thinking you’ll definitely get one.

 

[Kronk182]

1.Would I be missing out on anything by doing direct with resale?
No but Doing resale first is easier to match UY

2. if I were to buy resale points for a different hotel then I can’t use the direct OKW points until the 7 month mark?
You can’t match contracts at 11months unless it’s same resort.

3. Staying on resale points one trip and then direct points on another trip doesn’t get different treatment does it?
No
4. What hotels are hard to get at the 7 month mark? Trying to see if I should do 125 okw and then another resort like bay lake or poly
This depends on time of year, sounds like you need to look at availability thread
Poly is usually an easy one to get as it has a lot of studios
5. How hard is it to get those value rooms at animal kingdom lodge?
2BR and Studios are pretty much impossible, 1BR are a smidge easier but there’s not many of them so don’t buy thinking you’ll definitely get one.

So for AK are you saying it’s impossible at the 7 month only or 11 month as well? We are torn between this resort and OKW. So if even 11 months out is hard it would make sense to go OKW. Thanks!

 

[Ruttangel]

So for AK are you saying it’s impossible at the 7 month only or 11 month as well? We are torn between this resort and OKW. So if even 11 months out is hard it would make sense to go OKW. Thanks!

People walk value and club rooms before their 11 month window to their actual vacation date starts as they are super hard to get.
You could walk them but it could take 2-4 weeks of constant modifying/waitlisting and walking.
That's my experience and seems to reflect others too.
Even More competition for these rooms Oct-Dec.

 

[BillPA]

Do you know the AK has 2 resorts? Kidani and Jambo. Jambo is in the original AK lodge building 5th floor.

 

[chalee94]

Do you know the AK has 2 resorts? Kidani and Jambo. Jambo is in the original AK lodge building 5th floor.

Yep - it's a lot of AKV owners competing for a maximum of 18 value studios (8 dedicated studios and 10 2BR lockoffs).

During Fall Frenzy, there is definitely a lot of walking.

Skier Pete's old booking thread shows there were about 6 weeks a year that had availability at all at 10 months out:

Predicted DVC booking patterns - Studios, 1-BD & 2-BD charts (September 2019 2-BD added!) | The DIS Disney Discussion Forums - DISboards.com

I like the less expensive studios at OKW that are less stressful to book, but AKV is a great resort. But if you decide to purchase at AKV, you may want to budget for standard view at AKV to be conservative...