Question about adding additional points and where they are purchased

[Toveck]

We are looking to buy into DVC and most likely will be doing so with my holiday bonus this December. We are probably going to buy in with a minimum amount of points to get things going and try to add additional points in later years as we see what our usage is and as we feel more comfortable with the system.

My question is that I see there are resales from different resorts for different amounts per point. Once I make my initial purchase (and establish my "home" resort) does it matter what resort I buy resales from?

The reason I am asking is that I see the Vero Beach resales seem to be a much lower cost per point. So, would it be best to buy just the minimum from Disney to establish my home and then bulk up with low cost points from Vero or HH? Or is there something I'm missing or don't know about the points?

 

[robert@dvcstore]

You can add points to your initial membership and those points can be from another resort. Just remember that you will then have 2 home resorts with the advantage in making reservations at each home resort at the 11 month window, but only with the points you own at each resort. You will have to wait until the 7 month window to combine the points from the two resorts when making one large reservation.

Also keep in mind that even though the buy in price point is lower at Vero Beach and Hilton Head, those 2 resort have the highest annual dues of any of the DVC resorts ($6.61 per point at VB and $5.57 per point at HH).

Robert

 

[ToddyLu]

Your intial purchase can be a resale also. You are not treated any differently than if you purchased direct from Disney. If you are wanting a say 50 pt BWV contract to start...Email the main resale vendors and they will put you on their email list and send you postings regularly. If you are after a contract smaller that 100 points and are interested in resale this is one of the ways to get those contracts first, before they are posted on the website. Small resale contracts go very quickly.

 

[Toveck]

We were looking to going directly thru Disney for the financing, then adding on thru resales.

I also didn't realize that buying a resale gives you another "home" resort.

So, theoretically, If I would by initially into SSR and then do resale for say AKL and OKW, I could have 3 "home" resorts?

 

[chalee94]

So, would it be best to buy just the minimum from Disney to establish my home and then bulk up with low cost points from Vero or HH? Or is there something I'm missing or don't know about the points?

as stated, if you buy 50 pts at BLT and then add another 500 pts at VB, you would have 50 BLT pts with a home resort advantage at BLT (for booking BLT at 11 months and other resorts at 7 months) + 500 VB pts with a home resort advantage at VB (for booking VB at 11 months and other resorts - like BLT - at 7 months).

if you bank 50 BLT pts and borrow 50 BLT pts, then every third year you could use the BLT contract to book a 150 pt stay at BLT at 11 months out. this is what many multi-resort owners do.

otherwise, you would have 550 pts for booking any resort at 7 months out, but your VB pts would never become BLT pts for booking BLT at 11 months (nor vice-versa) under any circumstances.

 

[chalee94]

So, theoretically, If I would by initially into SSR and then do resale for say AKL and OKW, I could have 3 "home" resorts?

yep - but only for the pts you own at each resort. see above...

 

[5forDiz]

We were looking to going directly thru Disney for the financing, then adding on thru resales.

I also didn't realize that buying a resale gives you another "home" resort.

So, theoretically, If I would by initially into SSR and then do resale for say AKL and OKW, I could have 3 "home" resorts?

Yes, you can buy at as many different DVC resorts as you'd like but points from different resorts cannot be combined for a reservation until 7 month window or less, so let's say you wanted to book 10 days at SSR for Sept 12 2011 but your SSR points only cover 7 nights : on Oct 12 2010 using your SSR points at 11 month owner's priority window you would book 7 nights and then on Feb 19 2011 you can call to reserve additional 3 nights using your AKV & OKW points.

Good luck

 

[Toveck]

otherwise, you would have 550 pts for booking any resort at 7 months out

How difficult is booking the different resorts at 7 months?

It's made to seem like a big benefit, the extra window for the home resort. Is it that big of a deal?

Sorry about all the questions, but I really want to do this and just want to have as much information ahead of time as possible. And it seems like every question I get answered spawns 2 more questions!!

 

[joandegennaro]

How difficult is booking the different resorts at 7 months?

It's made to seem like a big benefit, the extra window for the home resort. Is it that big of a deal?

Sorry about all the questions, but I really want to do this and just want to have as much information ahead of time as possible. And it seems like every question I get answered spawns 2 more questions!!

I think the best thing if for you to READ READ and READ somemore. There is a wealth of info on these boards...not to mention a wealth of info from the experienced DVC members. It was on here that the most of my questions were answered. Dis board members don't mind helping those of us with a multitude of questions about DVC.

While I am fairly new to this here's what I think I know....

You don't have to buy intially from Disney....you can and many do buy in via resale.

You will get all the same advantages via resale and be treated the same by members services as those who purchase from Disney directly. (there has been some talk but I think it is just that, that Disney will but some restrictions on those who purchased via resale however again I think as do many on these boards that it is just talk to get you to buy from Disney)

You can have as many "home resorts" as you want (I meet someone who had all except BLT) but the points for each resort only have the 11 month advantage at that particular resort.

If you have more home resorts the points can be combined at the 7 month window from your desired check in date (UY has nothing to do with when you can go just which points you can use ie: 2010, 2011,2012)

You are able to bank, and borrow from the UY. You want to travel in Oct 2011 with an Oct UY....You can bank your 2010 points into 2011 and borrow 2012 into 2011 and use all 3 UY points for a great trip!

Most importantly: These boards will give you the most helpful info from people who truly love their DVC and know the in's and out's of the program so go ahead and ask away...no one will turn you away

 

[chalee94]

It's made to seem like a big benefit, the extra window for the home resort. Is it that big of a deal?

it can be - which is why some people buy in at specific home resorts.

if you must stay in an AKV concierge villa each year, then you had better own at AKV and book at 11 months out. the same if you want to stay in a BLT MK view villa in early december (early december is a peak season for DVC bookings even though it's slower in the parks in general).

but if you don't care where you stay, SSR and OKW are very large resorts which often have availability at 7 months out. if you are flexible, other resorts will also have availability at 7 months. but once in a while, you do risk being locked out at 7 months.

read through some old threads - some posters claim to have no problem booking 2-3 months out...others have been trying to find something since the 7 month window opened but are locked out.

if you own at the resort you love most and can book there at 11 months, it's easy. otherwise, DVC usually works out but can be frustrating for some owners.

take your time and do some research and figure out what your expectations are...

 

[AlwaysDreamofDisney]

The first question you need to answer for yourself is: can you really make plans 11 months out for a vacation? If you have a job like my DH then you're lucky if you can make plans at 5 or 6 months out. He works in IT so there are always projects going on and a lot of times vacations are "forbidden" at certain points in the IT cycle. If this is the case then the 11 month window doesn't really help you very much!

We purchased at the California property based on cash value directly from Disney in July. We were able to take our first trip in September at BLT for 8 days in a 2bedroom.

We've already decided that the 250 points we purchased are not really enough for our family of 5 and will probably buy more points via resale in the future.

 

[Sandisw]

How difficult is booking the different resorts at 7 months?

It's made to seem like a big benefit, the extra window for the home resort. Is it that big of a deal?

Sorry about all the questions, but I really want to do this and just want to have as much information ahead of time as possible. And it seems like every question I get answered spawns 2 more questions!!

It depends on when and where you want to stay. Nothing is impossible but some resorts and room types are difficult at 7 months and others are not.

How important is being at a certain resort to your vacation? If you are okay with staying at different places and won't be disappointed if you can't get something at the 7 month mark (assuming you can book vacations during the home resort booking period), then it is of less importance.

However, if you want to be somewhere every time you stay, then buy there. We bought BLT because we want to be at BLT unless we make the choice to stay elsewhere. We can book at 11 months since I teach and only go during summer.

I wanted to be able to book SV rooms for my entire trip and wanted to know I could call and book right at 11 months. While there are people out there getting SV rooms at 7 months (not easily but it has happened), I did not want to chance it and be on pins and needles hoping that what I wanted was still there.

Now, I have traded out and tried VWL, BWV, and BCV. I realized that BLT remains my favorite but doing a split between BCV and BLT is enjoyable. We will be doing this again next summer if I can get BCV at 7 months. If I can't, no big deal since I have BLT reserved.

If you really have no resort preference at WDW, buy for price. I would caution about buying VB or HH if those are not resorts you want to stay at. Owning there prevents you from ever booking WDW prior to the 7 month window. SSR or OKW are going for decent resale prices and would allow you to get something on property at 11 months so that at least if your plans at 7 months don't work out, you at least have a WDW reservation.

Plus, while VB is cheaper per point to start out, the MF's are higher than other WDW resorts so in the long run, it may not end up to be the great deal that it seems.

Good luck!

 

[Toveck]

Thank you all for answering my questions. I have been doing alot of reading and researching over the last 6-8 months and most of the things I asked here I haven't been able to find elsewhere. It's probably out there somewhere, but....

So, when you book a trip, it sounds like you can still keep trying for other reservations then? Example, if I have 180 points at SSR and I book a trip there at 11 months, I can still try to book another resort at 7 months and if I get it, then cancel the SSR?

 

[chalee94]

So, when you book a trip, it sounds like you can still keep trying for other reservations then? Example, if I have 180 points at SSR and I book a trip there at 11 months, I can still try to book another resort at 7 months and if I get it, then cancel the SSR?

exactly, if you are happy just to be on property, you can buy a cheaper resale at SSR and book at 11 months to make sure you have a villa locked in onsite.

then at 7 months, you can call and see what is available. even if nothing is available, you can still add 2 waitlists (although they recently added a limitation of 2 waitlists - so waitlisting a BLT MK-view studio and a BLT standard view studio would use up both waitlist requests) and if a waitlist comes through, then your SSR reservation will automatically be canceled.

that is a popular way of trying different resorts...

 

[westcoastsunshine]

After the 7 month home resort window it really doesn't
matter.