To add my two cents: we closed (i.e. the points showed up on our account - we haven't actually signed anything yet) on a 50 point add-on to Copper Creek yesterday. We had a 150 point resale (with no membership extras) at Boulder Ridge.
We added on for a few reasons:
1) 200 points has always been a longer-term target for how often we want to go
2) We are young (late 20s) - and diversifying a bit from the 2042 Boulder Ridge expiration was a priority
3) We love Wilderness Lodge
4) We did want the Membership Extras - a lot of people will suggest these aren't worth buying direct, listen to them as you likely won't make up the difference. But remember two things: a) only you can put a value on inclusion and b) everyone's situation is different.
For (b), we did some math - ~$8,800 for 50 points at CC (where we want to stay (and own with the longer expiration date) - since our # of points there is so small, we aren't too worried about the MFs). Since we wanted CC, the only alternative would be to wait 2-3 years and buy resale. At that point, maybe we save 25% (~$2,200). As of now, with the Membership Extras we get from buying the small contract direct (we already have our Member Card!!), we can save $200/pp on annual passes every year. There's two of us (for the time being), so that's $400/year. In less than six years, we make up the difference. Considering this calculation completely ignores the intrinsic value of "being included", we are really happy with our decision.
As for the 50 points vs. 25 points. With 50 points, we get three nights in a studio every year. If we play with banking/borrowing, we could get larger accommodations or more nights in a studio. First, we wanted 200 points total; second, we didn't want to NEED to bank/borrow to get value out of our purchase (we will for a specific purpose, but we are happy as can be doing 3 nights in a Copper Creek studio every year).
Finally, we had the money to make the purchase. It goes without saying here (you seem quite well informed), but we would never "stretch" our finances to buy direct or buy 50 points instead of 25 points.
Good luck with your decision making process and let me know if you have any questions!
We added on for a few reasons:
1) 200 points has always been a longer-term target for how often we want to go
2) We are young (late 20s) - and diversifying a bit from the 2042 Boulder Ridge expiration was a priority
3) We love Wilderness Lodge
4) We did want the Membership Extras - a lot of people will suggest these aren't worth buying direct, listen to them as you likely won't make up the difference. But remember two things: a) only you can put a value on inclusion and b) everyone's situation is different.
For (b), we did some math - ~$8,800 for 50 points at CC (where we want to stay (and own with the longer expiration date) - since our # of points there is so small, we aren't too worried about the MFs). Since we wanted CC, the only alternative would be to wait 2-3 years and buy resale. At that point, maybe we save 25% (~$2,200). As of now, with the Membership Extras we get from buying the small contract direct (we already have our Member Card!!), we can save $200/pp on annual passes every year. There's two of us (for the time being), so that's $400/year. In less than six years, we make up the difference. Considering this calculation completely ignores the intrinsic value of "being included", we are really happy with our decision.
As for the 50 points vs. 25 points. With 50 points, we get three nights in a studio every year. If we play with banking/borrowing, we could get larger accommodations or more nights in a studio. First, we wanted 200 points total; second, we didn't want to NEED to bank/borrow to get value out of our purchase (we will for a specific purpose, but we are happy as can be doing 3 nights in a Copper Creek studio every year).
Finally, we had the money to make the purchase. It goes without saying here (you seem quite well informed), but we would never "stretch" our finances to buy direct or buy 50 points instead of 25 points.
Good luck with your decision making process and let me know if you have any questions!
