Rumor: Direct Minimum for DVC Purchase Increasing to 150 Points

[rick1zoo2]

wow, we bought our direct DVC at Animal Kingdom last July for 117 points (because that's all they had available) and it's odd to see that we have already been grandfathered twice in less than a year.

 

[EYL]

I don’t remember it saying to obtain a membership card before, just membership benefits. That implies resale will not be getting even a white card now. I may be remembering or interpreting wrong.

Sorry, I thought your emphasis was on the word "obtain". I'm sure there are threads here that indicated what they printed before, but this article is consistent with the current wording when they last increased it to 125 points... Not sure of how it's worded with the previous increases, though. https://dvcfan.com/2020/10/19/direct-minimum-increase-for-dvc-perks-confirmed/

 

[nlenguyen]

Someone was saying the original buy-in was 235 points. So maybe they will eventually get to that point

 

[Sandisw]

I got a last minute phone call from my DVC guide last night at 6 pm to ask me one final time if I wanted to add on 125 points before the raise to 150 points today.
(I own 50 points resale and she was speaking to me before about adding on 25 points direct.)
She also told me she had no idea the points would be raised since she was on vacation the last week.
I think this is interesting if true about raising the points so quickly without letting their own sales employees know until the week of...

Definitely true. Guides are not given much notice when things will change.

 

[npatellye]

I wonder at what level of points the increases will stop. I've gotta think we're getting close, if not there already.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see it hit 200 direct points.

 

[Brian Noble]

I wonder at what level of points the increases will stop. I've gotta think we're getting close, if not there already.

If they follow the established playbook of other timeshare developers, at some point there will be various tiers within what is currently an all-or-nothing "Membership Card."

 

[hhisc16]

I see the website was updated today for the new information.
Starting price is 30k for Riviera and Aulani!
That is a lot of money for people to commit to while touring at DVC on their vacation I think.

 

[hhisc16]

Definitely true. Guides are not given much notice when things will change.

Does anyone know the original point minimum when DVC started?

 

[ScubaCat]

Does anyone know the original point minimum when DVC started?

For the member perks or just the minimum buy-in? I vaguely recall when my folks bought in 1996 that it was 230 points minimum. Although - not accounting for inflation of course- it was considerably less expensive back then (maybe $65/point?)

 

[BWV Dreamin]

For the member perks or just the minimum buy-in? I vaguely recall when my folks bought in 1996 that it was 230 points minimum. Although - not accounting for inflation of course- it was considerably less expensive back then (maybe $65/point?)

For the perks . Might also apply to any discounts at time of purchase.

 

[badeacon]

Someone was saying the original buy-in was 235 points. So maybe they will eventually get to that point

When I first bought in 1995 it was 230 points minimum.

 

[Minniemoo15]

I have a feeling they are targeting member benefits to first time buyers. Once you get into the resale game, it becomes harder to ever get that blue card. We have 250 resale points and I would have added on direct for 25 or 50 points. It was 75 at the time that we bought which I thought was borderline. But now at 150 it’s officially a no from us. We just don’t need that many points on top of our 250 resale. Not to mention there aren’t that many perks to speak of at the moment.

 

[Sandisw]

Does anyone know the original point minimum when DVC started?

230 when it first went for sale. It was 160 in 2009 when we bought.

In 2016, membership perks were taken away from resale but an add on of just 25 points got you the blue card.

That was changed to 75 sometime in 2018 and then to 100 in 2019 and 125 in 2020.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

230 when it first went for sale. It was 160 in 2009 when we bought.

In 2016, membership perks were taken away from resale but an add on of just 25 points got you the blue card.

That was changed to 75 sometime in 2018 and then to 100 in 2019 and 125 in 2020.

Will be curious to see if there are new benefits added for blue card holders during the 50th anniversary? If there are significant changes, that may be the catalyst to driving direct sales. Especially since resale prices are not that much lower than direct. Will be interesting to see.

 

[JETSDAD]

Does anyone know the original point minimum when DVC started?

Minimum new member direct purchases and minimum direct for member benefits were two different things then. New member direct has had varying minimums over the years starting at 230 as others have mentioned. That being said, you didn't need any direct points for member benefits. You could buy however small of a contract resale that you could find and then have full access to member benefits.

 

[MICKIMINI]

When I first bought in 1995 it was 230 points minimum.

1996 here...230 same!

EDIT: JUST LOOKED UP PAPERWORK SEPT 1996 BOUGHT 220 POINTS

 

[DisneyHumbug]

Pretty sure when I bought VWL in 2001 it was 150 points....never should have sold those....you live and learn...

 

[Yinn]

I have a feeling they are targeting member benefits to first time buyers. Once you get into the resale game, it becomes harder to ever get that blue card. We have 250 resale points and I would have added on direct for 25 or 50 points. It was 75 at the time that we bought which I thought was borderline. But now at 150 it’s officially a no from us. We just don’t need that many points on top of our 250 resale. Not to mention there aren’t that many perks to speak of at the moment.

I'm the reverse and I'm thinking the opposite. I started with 75 direct, which gave me blue card but my blue card expires 2054.

I'm looking at my 200 resale CCV points now and thinking..well gee, I can dump 200 points @ $144-172/pt (DVCResalemarket.com quotes as of today) for a total of $28,800 to $34,400. Buying 200 Riviera points with incentives right now would cost me $36,200. So it could cost as little as $1,800 or $9/pt to upgrade.

Is blue card worth that? Maybe if Gold APs come back.

More importantly, if I have any interest in staying in new resorts. That $1,800 would cover the rental costs to do so. The extra 2 years also helps if I plan on going to Disney as long as I possibly can.

 

[jodifla]

1996 here...230 same!

I bought in 1996 when they dropped the minimum to 150.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I'm the reverse and I'm thinking the opposite. I started with 75 direct, which gave me blue card but my blue card expires 2054.

I'm looking at my 200 resale CCV points now and thinking..well gee, I can dump 200 points @ $144-172/pt (DVCResalemarket.com quotes as of today) for a total of $28,800 to $34,400. Buying 200 Riviera points with incentives right now would cost me $36,200. So it could cost as little as $1,800 or $9/pt to upgrade.

Is blue card worth that? Maybe if Gold APs come back.

More importantly, if I have any interest in staying in new resorts. That $1,800 would cover the rental costs to do so. The extra 2 years also helps if I plan on going to Disney as long as I possibly can.

I wouldn't expect to get the $172/pt and I don't see an accounting for the almost 9% commission I believe they are now charging. I'd estimate it being closer to $8K to make that switch and probably a bit more.