Rumor by agent - Blue Card min. going up

[Dean]

I think they should create a VIP club with amazing perks for owners of minimum 215 points (direct or grandfathered). The fact I own 215 points is really just a coincidence.

If they do so they could make it direct only and not grandfathered.

 

[zavandor]

If they do so they could make it direct only and not grandfathered.

But in that case I wouldn't get it, so I think it's much more resonable to grandfather existing owners

 

[Dean]

But in that case I wouldn't get it, so I think it's much more resonable to grandfather existing owners

I wouldn't either in all likelihood since I only have 100 pts that are retail. While I'm surprised they haven't gone this route, I doubt they will this far into the game but you never know.

 

[sethschroeder]

Disney can do what they want but I will go with everyone being grandfathered in. Any VIP would also include anyone with benefits now.

The issue they have is likely a ton of communication around getting all benefits that DVC offers for a purchase of X.

Constitute a contract? No but it's likely not worth the time, money, or bad press to divide up the group.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

If my memory serves correct, when OKW first opened I think it was a 150 point minimum (it could have been more idk). Resale had full benefits of direct. At some point after 2011 (I cannot remember exact years, I just remember 2011 as the first change to resale) you had to have 25 points direct to get full member benefits, then it was changed to 50 points, then it went up to 75 then 100. Obviously this method has been working for DVC as i am sure it has supported their direct sales. I can certainly see them raising the 100 point minimum, but at what point do the scales tip to resale instead of direct? The only perk we use is the AP and we only purchased the AP the year they had the 399 special - purchased it and kept it ever since. Because of the AP pass, we started making extra trips that we would not have made, and that meant adding on more points. The only thing we use consistently now are the AP discounts - if that goes away direct is definitely Not worth it. Hence if they raise the minimum point requirment - I do think it might push those on the fence to resale.

 

[CastAStone]

If my memory serves correct, when OKW first opened I think it was a 150 point minimum (it could have been more idk).

It was a whopping 230!!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

It was a whopping 230!!

Which is even crazier when you consider the points chart at OKW!

 

[heynowirv]

Maybe it’s already been mentioned on here but my agent said there’s a rumor that the direct minimum for the Blue Card is going up in October to 125. I wasn’t needing convincing to buy, so I don’t think it was a closing trick, but he did say it so passing on the info.

I just read this in a blog that it's a "Real" rumor.

 

[MB_Ellie]

I just read this in a blog that it's a "Real" rumor.

Yup! https://dvcfan.com/2020/08/17/rumor...c-perks-increasing-to-125-points-october-1st/

 

[iheartglaciers]

It was a whopping 230!!

Which is even crazier when you consider the points chart at OKW!

Which is why there probably wasn't a studio shortage in the beginning!

 

[Dean]

Disney can do what they want but I will go with everyone being grandfathered in. Any VIP would also include anyone with benefits now.

The issue they have is likely a ton of communication around getting all benefits that DVC offers for a purchase of X.

Constitute a contract? No but it's likely not worth the time, money, or bad press to divide up the group.

If they were to go with a VIP option it would leave out a number of people even if everyone were grandfathered as qualified points because it would be based on number of points owned. And any VIP system tends to add real benefits and keep them from the others such as a more liberal banking window or better reservation options. I know there are potential issues in doing this with DVC but I've seen it happen with other timeshares so I do not believe the idea is accurate that says they couldn't do so.

If my memory serves correct, when OKW first opened I think it was a 150 point minimum (it could have been more idk). Resale had full benefits of direct. At some point after 2011 (I cannot remember exact years, I just remember 2011 as the first change to resale) you had to have 25 points direct to get full member benefits, then it was changed to 50 points, then it went up to 75 then 100. Obviously this method has been working for DVC as i am sure it has supported their direct sales. I can certainly see them raising the 100 point minimum, but at what point do the scales tip to resale instead of direct? The only perk we use is the AP and we only purchased the AP the year they had the 399 special - purchased it and kept it ever since. Because of the AP pass, we started making extra trips that we would not have made, and that meant adding on more points. The only thing we use consistently now are the AP discounts - if that goes away direct is definitely Not worth it. Hence if they raise the minimum point requirment - I do think it might push those on the fence to resale.

230, then 210 then 190 then 150. I believe 160 was in there somewhere but not recalling exactly when. Of course there were a lot of other differences such as you could only bank 50% and the banking options were much different with a staged approach.

 

[ohmyminnie]

Which is why there probably wasn't a studio shortage in the beginning!

We purchased direct at OKW in '95 and were able to buy 210 and get all benefits, including those park passes. I can't remember how long they lasted, but I think it was a few years.

 

[CastAStone]

Which is why there probably wasn't a studio shortage in the beginning!

Maybe I'm wrong, but it sure seems to me that the Studios were designed mainly for short 2 person getaways, the 1 bedrooms for longer 2 person vacations, and the 2 bedrooms and GV were intended to be where a family would stay. I believe they way they gave out the free park tickets in the beginning supports this theory as well. The way the program was originally marketed was as a home away from home (hence "welcome home") and the larger spaces, full kitchens, and multiple bedrooms were intended to emulate the accommodations of home, with a pull out couch only as a last resort sleeping surface.

The massive change in how the manage and market the program, selling families studios and selling new contracts as small as 50 points (for some resorts) has made the studio far more in demand, and the pull-out couches a major hurdle hence why they are beginning to move away from them.

 

[CastAStone]

230, then 210 then 190 then 150. I believe 160 was in there somewhere but not recalling exactly when. Of course there were a lot of other differences such as you could only bank 50% and the banking options were much different with a staged approach.

Based on the substantial number of 160 point AKV contracts on the market, I'd guess somewhere thereabouts.

 

[Dean]

We purchased direct at OKW in '95 and were able to buy 210 and get all benefits, including those park passes. I can't remember how long they lasted, but I think it was a few years.

End of 1999 for Qualified buyers at VB & OKW. I think they cutoff the option to get passes around 96 or so. Initially the stated you could not use borrowed points in 1999 to get passes but they changed that largely because they didn't have a legal right to deny it.

 

[Dean]

Maybe I'm wrong, but it sure seems to me that the Studios were designed mainly for short 2 person getaways, the 1 bedrooms for longer 2 person vacations, and the 2 bedrooms and GV were intended to be where a family would stay. I believe they way they gave out the free park tickets in the beginning supports this theory as well. The way the program was originally marketed was as a home away from home (hence "welcome home") and the larger spaces, full kitchens, and multiple bedrooms were intended to emulate the accommodations of home, with a pull out couch only as a last resort sleeping surface.

The massive change in how the manage and market the program, selling families studios and selling new contracts as small as 50 points (for some resorts) has made the studio far more in demand, and the pull-out couches a major hurdle hence why they are beginning to move away from them.

I've gotten flack for this before but my opinion is that in the timeshare world in general studios and 1BR are more aimed at 2 people, and 2 BR for 4-6. It does seem to me that room stuffing (over contractual capacity) is more common with DVC than with other timeshares but it happens all over.

 

[Brianstl]

To accommodate those that only owns 50-75 points direct and therefore wont qualify for the perks(assuming they bought in with the current 100 point) they could go with a model that demanded xx $$$ per point + a flat fee. You would have to pay for all the points you own. So if you haven't walked down the forbidden path and only have direct points its fairly "cheap" but if you have taken the walk it will be more expensive.

I think their goal isn't as much to spike sales but rather to sell the most points for the most profit long term, as it should be. To me it seems they've learned that the higher minimum required for perks, the more they'll actually make. They've also learned that such a rumored increase will spike sales so they get both. The guides have been uncharacteristically chatty and open with these rumors which strongly suggests to me that not only is DVD OK with the leak, they've planned for it. So they really get both more points sold per contract going forward and a spike in sales as people scramble anticipating an increase coming up with likely more total points sold over time. I suspect the number of buyers who jump will be smaller than each previous increase, partly because some of them have already bought in to qualify but there will be a few that will not buy now that might have at 50 or 75 but in reality that's likely a relatively small percentage. There is a tipping point to this direction but I'm suspecting it's higher than 125, maybe 150, which is where I suspect they're going but possibly even higher. The other direction they could go is a VIP program which would almost certainly be based on number of qualified points though since they haven't gone there so far and have had ample opportunity and other examples in the timeshare world, I'm not expecting they will.

I understand why they keep raising it. It is good business when it comes to first time direct buyers who are pixie dusted. I just think that an offer of a one month deal every few years to people that already own DVC contracts would be a way to bring buyers in that they would otherwise never get. With a 50 point minimum for that group, you could pick up those resale buyers that have blue card envy and are thinking about adding on. For me the math wouldn't make sense at even 50 points, but it is clear that blue card envy is real for many. I think you could hook many of that group at 50 points as opposed to 100 or more where the math makes even less sense than 50 points.

 

[Brianstl]

Which is even crazier when you consider the points chart at OKW!

The crazy thing is when adjusted for inflation the price per point when it opened would only be $92.29 today. So 230 points would cost you basically $21,228 in today's dollars. That will get you 113 points at RIV today to use at resort with a far worse point chart.

 

[Matty B13]

Wouldn’t a VIP system benefits have to be paid out of the DVC budget and not the MF’s? And given the current situation with Covid wouldn’t DVC be on the hook to provide these benefits no matter what? Isn’t this a big deterrent against a VIP system?

 

[RoseGold]

The point charts are inflating faster than before. OKW/SSR were 12 years apart with roughly equal point charts. Even AKL,16 years later wasn't too far off the 2042 resorts.

Then BLT (2008) got spendy and VGF/Poly got crazy, but are at least backed by location. The RIV point chart seems crazy to me -- a BLT theme park studio is now equal to a RIV preferred studio. I would expect whatever the next resort is to be even more point heavy, maybe even surpassing VGF.