Read a lot of info now need help

[mrsp1030]

I've read these boards a lot the past 2 years and we've debated about purchasing points. We've rented previously and loved even a studio space over a regular room We are considering purchasing enough points to use every 2 years. Our family is now a 5 family and we usually go at thanksgiving or summer and stay 5/6 nights. My biggest question is what month use would be a good idea to purchase in for travel in November and/or summer. Also I plan to start with 125 points and then add as our boys get older

 

[chalee94]

Our family is now a 5 family and we usually go at thanksgiving or summer and stay 5/6 nights. My biggest question is what month use would be a good idea to purchase in for travel in November and/or summer.

5 means a 1BR. OKW has space and sleeps 5 with the sleeper chair. AKV-kidani and BLT have the sleeper chair and a 2nd bathroom.

april or june is probably your best bet for UY month. ideally you never want to travel in the last 3 months of your UY, so that means it's better to avoid trips in may if you get a june UY. (or if "summer" trips include trips in may, then an april UY is better (if you avoid travel in jan/feb/march)).

 

[lorie13]

VGF sleeps 5 in the studio.

 

[mrsp1030]

We like to travel in November as 1st choice but as boys get older summer might be easier. Our oldest is 7 and I think we will add points down the line. I love the looks of Grand Floridian and wonder if the rumored Poly studios will be same design

 

[chalee94]

VGF sleeps 5 in the studio.

well, realistically, 4 and a half. that last fold-down bed isn't much...

 

[jerseyduke]

Travel early in your use year.

If you cancel within 31 days, points go into holding, so it doesn't matter too much, but you would prefer that that 31 day mark come before your banking deadline.

April or June as Charlie said seem to be the best UYs for those travel "patterns"

 

[mrsp1030]

Even for a November stay? Since I would be banking it would allow enough to book 11 months in advance. Well, our youngest just turned one so that 1/2 bed would work for awhile!

 

[Missyrose]

Even for a November stay? Since I would be banking it would allow enough to book 11 months in advance. Well, our youngest just turned one so that 1/2 bed would work for awhile!

UY has nothing to do with when you can book. You book your home resort 11 months before your arrival day, no matter what UY your contract has.

 

[Nabas]

Even for a November stay? Since I would be banking it would allow enough to book 11 months in advance. Well, our youngest just turned one so that 1/2 bed would work for awhile!

I agree with a few earlier posts. With 5, plan on a one-bedroom.

BLT and AKV offer the foldout chair (large enough for my teenage son). AKV, BWV, and OKW require the fewest points per night for their Standard rooms. OKW is the least expensive resale. AKV is not that much more. BWV is a lot more and BLT way more. AKV is readily available right now through direct sale.

Let's start with a one-bedroom Standard View villa at AKV for Thanksgiving week. You mentioned 5 or 6 nights. I'll assume Tuesday to Sunday (5 nights). That will run 151 points. Looking at just MF, this works out to 151 X $5.67 = $856 for a 5-night stay.

Now, let's look at BLT which also offers similar amenities for a family of 5. A Standard View one-bedroom for the same 5 nights is 179 points. Cost wise, that works out to 179 X $4.50 = $806.

The nice thing about AKV-Kidani and BLT is the one-bedroom includes 2 bathrooms. Once your family of 5 stays in a one-bedroom with 3 beds and 2 bathrooms, you'll never want to go back to a Studio.

So, if you can afford the buy-in and like the resort, consider BLT. Otherwise consider AKV.

Either way, your plan to buy 125 points and go every other year should be fine.

And April or June UY if you are considering summer or Thanksgiving trips.

P.S. Thanksgiving is a very popular week. You'll probably need to book 11 months out.

 

[Missyrose]

I agree with a few earlier posts. With 5, plan on a one-bedroom.

BLT and AKV offer the foldout chair (large enough for my teenage son). AKV, BWV, and OKW require the fewest points per night for their Standard rooms. OKW is the least expensive resale. AKV is not that much more. BWV is a lot more and BLT way more. AKV is readily available right now through direct sale.

Let's start with a one-bedroom Standard View villa at AKV for Thanksgiving week. You mentioned 5 or 6 nights. I'll assume Tuesday to Sunday (5 nights). That will run 151 points. Looking at just MF, this works out to 151 X $5.67 = $856 for a 5-night stay.

Now, let's look at BLT which also offers similar amenities for a family of 5. A Standard View one-bedroom for the same 5 nights is 179 points. Cost wise, that works out to 179 X $4.50 = $806.

The nice thing about AKV-Kidani and BLT is the one-bedroom includes 2 bathrooms. Once your family of 5 stays in a one-bedroom with 3 beds and 2 bathrooms, you'll never want to go back to a Studio.

So, if you can afford the buy-in and like the resort, consider BLT. Otherwise consider AKV.

Either way, your plan to buy 125 points and go every other year should be fine.

And April or June UY if you are considering summer or Thanksgiving trips.

P.S. Thanksgiving is a very popular week. You'll probably need to book 11 months out.

Adding to this, if you plan to buy AKV, BLT or even OKW, buy resale. Direct prices on those resorts are astronomical.

 

[Nabas]

Adding to this, if you plan to buy AKV, BLT or even OKW, buy resale. Direct prices on those resorts are astronomical.

I thought the same thing.

 

[Deb & Bill]

VGF sleeps 5 in the studio.

And so does an OKW one bedroom villa. And it requires about the same number of points. Plus you get a king sized bed in the master bedroom, jetted tub in the bathroom, full sized washer and dryer in the laundry room, queen sized sleeper sofa and twin sized sleeper chair in the living room. And a full sized kitchen.

And twice the space (if not more).

 

[mrsp1030]

Great. You all have been very helpful. We really like AKL and WL first and foremost. I like the idea of GRand Floridian for now but as boys age, too small.

 

[Dean]

I've read these boards a lot the past 2 years and we've debated about purchasing points. We've rented previously and loved even a studio space over a regular room We are considering purchasing enough points to use every 2 years. Our family is now a 5 family and we usually go at thanksgiving or summer and stay 5/6 nights. My biggest question is what month use would be a good idea to purchase in for travel in November and/or summer. Also I plan to start with 125 points and then add as our boys get older

I'd buy planning for a 1 BR at AKV given your stated info. You should likely look at slightly larger contracts around 150 due to much more availability and slightly better pp pricing. June UY will be the best for your stated situation, April is the next best option, Oct is OK if most of your trips will be in Nov but will be worse for summer. I would not buy Dec or Feb for this situation because I do think UY is fairly important. SSR would be my second option based on your stated info though it's be my first option were I in your situation because of the cheaper price and lower yearly dues.

 

[staceymay00]

And so does an OKW one bedroom villa. And it requires about the same number of points. Plus you get a king sized bed in the master bedroom, jetted tub in the bathroom, full sized washer and dryer in the laundry room, queen sized sleeper sofa and twin sized sleeper chair in the living room. And a full sized kitchen.

And twice the space (if not more).

Yes, what Deb said...a 1BR is the way to go with a family of five...even better is a 2BR! We really enjoy the separate bedroom and bathroom for our three kids, but if we needed to stay in a 1 BR. I would probably go with AKV or BLT for the extra bathroom. A 2BR at OKW is actually not much more expensive in points than a 1BR AKV Savannah View or 1BR BLT Lake View, if I recall. The 2BR AKV standard view villas are similar in points to OKW 2BR villas.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[mrsp1030]

So as I will have enough points by my stay I can still make a reservation at my home resort 11 months out, correct?

 

[Nabas]

So as I will have enough points by my stay I can still make a reservation at my home resort 11 months out, correct?

Let's say you buy 125 points with an April Use Year (UY) and want to book a 200 point stay for November at your Home Resort.

11 months before, in December, you log onto dvcmember.com to book your stay. At that moment in time, you have 0 points available. But the system is smart enough to know that you have 125 points coming in April. It automatically assumes you want to use those 125 points and asks you if you want to borrow another 75 from the year after that.

It's important to know that once you borrow points, you cannot "unborrow" them. They have to be used in that year. With an April UY, that means they have to be used by March 31. Otherwise, they are gone even though you still have to pay for them.

The danger in borrowing is that if your vacation plans change, you need to either book another vacation quickly or rent them out to someone on short notice, which usually means at a lower price.

Remember, DVC is a forced vacation scheme. If you combine banking and borrowing, you can vacation as infrequently as once every three years. But you can't accumulate points indefinitely. You will have to use (or sell) them at least once every 3 years.

It's also possible to transfer points to another DVC member but banked & borrowed points cannot be transferred.

Please let me know if you have other questions.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Let's say you buy 125 points with an April Use Year (UY) and want to book a 200 point stay for November.

11 months before, in December, you log onto dvcmember.com to book your stay. At that moment in time, you have 0 points available. But the system is smart enough to know that you have 125 points coming in April. It automatically assumes you want to use those 125 points and asks you if you want to borrow another 75 from the year after that.

It's important to know that once you borrow points, you cannot "unborrow" them. They have to be used in that year. With an April UY, that means they have to be used by March 31. Otherwise, they are gone even though you still have to pay for them.

The danger in borrowing is that if your vacation plans change, you need to either book another vacation quickly or rent them out to someone on short notice, which usually means at a lower price.

Remember, DVC is a forced vacation scheme. If you combine banking and borrowing, you can vacation as infrequently as once every three years. But you can't accumulate points indefinitely. You will have to use (or sell) them at least once every 3 years.

It's also possible to transfer points to another DVC member but banked & borrowed points cannot be transferred.

Please let me know if you have other questions.

You wouldn't be borrowing the points for a stay during that UY. You only borrow if you need points from the next UY to make your stay during the current UY.

In your example, you book a stay (11 months out) in Dec 2013 (during your April 2013 UY) for Nov 2014 (during your April 2014 UY). You have an April UY. So you use your April 2014 points for the Nov 2014 trip. If you need more, you borrow from April 2015 to make your reservation. If you have enough points in your April 2014 UY, you don't borrow any.

 

[chalee94]

So as I will have enough points by my stay I can still make a reservation at my home resort 11 months out, correct?

in addition to the answers above, you may also want to read and bookmark this thread for further reference:

Understanding Use Year