Recommendations Sought: Buying 25 Add-on Points Direct

[JWhiz]

The news about Copper Creek has gotten me excited and thinking about adding some points to my DVC membership. I am a relatively new member, and haven't even taken my first trip yet. But I have a 100 point contract purchased resale for Animal Kingdom Villas (AKV). I purchased after the latest changes to benefits, so I have the most limited of benefits via resale.

Background: I purchased at AKV because I liked that you "owned" both at Kidani and Jambo, because it is the only DVC with club rooms, and personally I love the resort. Given the purchase was a bit crazy as I haven't annually visited WDW since I'm on the west coast, I settled on purchasing a place that I would be proud to own. It helped that financially it was one of the best values in resale with its low buy-in cost per point and long contract life, which help balance out the relatively high annual dues compared to some others.

Potential New Purchase: Given that my heart won out somewhat over my head with the original purchase, if I buy-in direct from DVC this time, I want it to be a bit more strategic of a purchase. By purchasing a 25 point contract direct, I am hopeful I can get exactly what I want (resort and use year) while getting access to the benefits I currently don't have, even though I will pay a premium price to do so. At least direct I should be able to get exactly what I want instead of hoping to find a small contract resale which will be harder to track down, and not as much savings anyway as the smaller contracts have higher prices per point.


Four Potential Options: Bay Lake Tower, BoardWalk Villas, Villas at Grand Californian, Copper Creek Villas

BLT -- Even though I haven't stayed here, I really love the resort. Location on the monorail close to MK is big. I love the style of the rooms. The price point because of the current low annual dues and long contract life are a selling point as well. But it also seems like a place that is not necessarily hard to book at seven months, so maybe it's not the best strategic purchase.

BWV -- Now we are getting warmer. I love the location between DHS and Epcot, and love the resort, even though I'm not crazy about the rooms. This resort definitely seems more difficult to get into than BLT, even though it has a large quantity of rooms. Or is the difficulty only really during Food & Wine? Shorter contract life doesn't make this the best financial value even though the annual costs are pretty much in the mid-range of all DVC properties.

VGC -- On the surface, this one seems to make the most sense. A resort I would likely never consider in resale due to high buy-in cost per point becomes more attractive when I'm paying direct prices which makes the buy-in the same for all potential choices. It is the most difficult to get a reservation in at any time of the year at seven month, so the home resort would probably be most advantageous here. The other wrinkle is that I'm a resident of Southern California at the moment living 15 miles from the Happiest Place, so why the heck would I need a very pricey resort room? I am likely relocating in the next couple of years, but it's not 100%. So is there some risk that makes this not as smart as it may look on paper? Probably. The number of rooms at VGC are so small compared to any other DVC resorts, that it's likely always going to be difficult to book here. The high number of points per room is also a concern particularly with a small contract. It might be difficult to even stay three days with banking and borrowing.

CCV -- The one that sparked all these thoughts. Other than it being new and having a relatively small number of rooms, there isn't much particularly advantageous. Hard to know how difficult it will be to book here. I like the new rooms more than those at BRV at least "on screen." If VWL has been one resort like AKV instead of two, it probably would have been more incentive to buy here for me. The location is great, though less so than a monorail resort obviously. I'm not sure how disappointed I will be with the temporary lack of trees as the resort has to develop again after all the construction. I probably don't have the same passion for this as the other three, but perhaps there is something that makes this one the most sense that I'm not totally seeing at the moment.


Anyway, so there you have it. What do you think? What makes sense? What would you do? I'm open to alternatives too, but the ones above are predominantly what I would be interested in. Though I would certainly stay at other resorts too, I'm not sure their attraction or advantages are enough for me to consider something else.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[disneynutz]

My thoughts are that only you can decide if the perks are worth it, which resort is your favorite, are you jumping the gun or should you wait until you have time to stay in the different resorts. What ever you decide, you get to live with your decision until you sell.

Bill

 

[disneynutz]

Forgot to add that the reported minimum buy at CCV is 50 points.

Bill

 

[keishashadow]

25 point add on isn't going to get you many nights, even @ BWV standard studio unless you bank & borrow or try to combine AK points

The benefits for direct purchase as to AP, etc. are always subject to change as it is a perk

 

[Minniesgal]

I don't see the point at owning only 25 points at any resort it is way too few to do anything sensible with.

If perks are that important to you buy 25 at AKV and at least have an 11 month advantage that is worth having

 

[mustinjourney]

Those standard view rooms can be very difficult to snag even at 8 am 11 months out. So you can't even count on being able to get those.

25 points would really only get you 5 nights standard during FW every other year. If that works for you, then it could be a good option.

@supersnoop did something similar I believe.

 

[supersnoop]

I don't see the point at owning only 25 points at any resort it is way too few to do anything sensible with.

If perks are that important to you buy 25 at AKV and at least have an 11 month advantage that is worth having

@supersnoop did something similar I believe.

25 points can be plenty if they have a specific purpose. I do own 25 points at BWV which we use to get a standard studio for Food & Wine. 25 points will get us a weekend each year (26 points), or a five weekdays every other year (50 points), or a six days (including two weekend days) once every three years (66 points). That seems sensible to me.

 

[JWhiz]

25 point add on isn't going to get you many nights, even @ BWV standard studio unless you bank & borrow or try to combine AK points

The benefits for direct purchase as to AP, etc. are always subject to change as it is a perk

I understand. I guess there's a part of me that doesn't want to feel like a second class DVC member, and this is the cheapest way to do so. You can't purchase this amount on an initial direct purchases. I understand that I will likely need to bank, borrow and steal to even stay a few days, but most of my trips will likely be 3 or 4 nights at most, not a whole week.

 

[JWhiz]

25 points can be plenty if they have a specific purpose. I do own 25 points at BWV which we use to get a standard studio for Food & Wine. 25 points will get us a weekend each year (26 points), or a five weekdays every other year (50 points), or a six days (including two weekend days) once every three years (66 points). That seems sensible to me.

I like the way you think.

I'm just looking for additional options besides always having to hope something is available 7 months out. There is no advantage to me purchasing more at AKV other than finally getting the full membership benefits. Not having enough points on my original contract is not likely to be an issue given the size of room I need and how long I will traditionally visit.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I think the whole "50 point minimum add-on at CCV" may be a harbinger.

 

[JWhiz]

I think the whole "50 point minimum add-on at CCV" may be a harbinger.

of evil?

 

[Wakey]

I understand. I guess there's a part of me that doesn't want to feel like a second class DVC member, and this is the cheapest way to do so. You can't purchase this amount on an initial direct purchases. I understand that I will likely need to bank, borrow and steal to even stay a few days, but most of my trips will likely be 3 or 4 nights at most, not a whole week.

You've fallen for the sales pitch! Question isn't whether you are a second class member (you arent) , it's whether you can use those perks and they are worth paying a chunky premium for. If the perks can be utilised by you, and the financials work, go for it. If not, don't do it based on some notion of being a second class member. I'd also get my 25 point add on same resort and use year but it seems you only need a few days so it would work. I wouldn't buy CCV due to huge dues and the rumour is it may be 50 min.

 

[Nie0214]

We are likely going to do this (add 25 points) if our BLT gets through ROFR. While I'd like to own another resort, I think we'd just keep them at BLT because it's too small for anything long enough to justify the airfare.

Our reasoning is primarily the AP discount.

 

[JWhiz]

We are likely going to do this (add 25 points) if our BLT gets through ROFR. While I'd like to own another resort, I think we'd just keep them at BLT because it's too small for anything long enough to justify the airfare.

Our reasoning is primarily the AP discount.

I'm not understanding. If you are buying direct to get the AP discount as part of the DVC membership, there is no ROFR. That only happens with resale.

 

[Nie0214]

I'm not understanding. If you are buying direct to get the AP discount as part of the DVC membership, there is no ROFR. That only happens with resale.

Yes, we're waiting on a resale BLT contract, it's in ROFR right now. Once that goes through, we plan to add-on 25 directly through DVD in the next year.

 

[JWhiz]

Yes, we're waiting on a resale BLT contract, it's in ROFR right now. Once that goes through, we plan to add-on 25 directly through DVD in the next year.

Great! Good luck with it!

 

[Minniesgal]

I understand. I guess there's a part of me that doesn't want to feel like a second class DVC member, and this is the cheapest way to do so. You can't purchase this amount on an initial direct purchases. I understand that I will likely need to bank, borrow and steal to even stay a few days, but most of my trips will likely be 3 or 4 nights at most, not a whole week.

To me a member is a member is a member. No such thing as second class. Point are primarily for DVC stays and we all have equal access to those. Don't buy retail points due to a false perception.

Really think long and hard about the value of the perks. We have done AP trips and used the discounts but after a while the parks get old. We no longer do enough park days to buy AP and do more and more resort time. Yeah we get 10% discount on resort merchandise but it never amounts to a whole hill of beans.

 

[Disn3yVision]

As a fellow Californian I would say VGC. Amazing resort and it's o hard to book. Plus you can have a great vacation without having to fly or travel much. We stay 20 minutes away from DL and have AP's. Wea did a week at VGC last month and loved it.

I will say that 25 points doesn't seem enough at VGC though. May I suggest also possibly adding 25 points to your AKV contract?

 

[zavandor]

If you like split stays, then a 25 points add-on can make sense. AKV is only remote from the MK, so a monorail resort looks like a good idea: with 25 points and banking/borrowing you can get a couple of nights in a MK resort for the MK days, then you move to AKV for the rest of the stay.
My last trip to Orlando I did a uber-split stay:
- 4 nights at SSR for DS and AK days
- 4 nights at BWV for Epcot days
- 4 nights at PVB for MK days
- 2 nights at Cabana Bay for Universal
I had a blast, I liked it so much that I'll probably book split stays every time from now on. But I travel alone and I don't mind to live out of a suitcase. Families with children may very well not like it.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

As a fellow Californian I would say VGC. Amazing resort and it's o hard to book. Plus you can have a great vacation without having to fly or travel much. We stay 20 minutes away from DL and have AP's. Wea did a week at VGC last month and loved it.

I will say that 25 points doesn't seem enough at VGC though. May I suggest also possibly adding 25 points to your AKV contract?

Disney won't even waitlist folks for VGC direct.