Small contract for home resort booking advantage, am I understanding this right?

[VGCgroupie]

I have been deep diving into DVC research. From the info I have gathered I think the following scenario would work the way we want. Please let me know if this is not how it works. We frequent DL more than WDW but cant afford a large VGC contract.

Become a member either via resale or direct with a majority of my points at say AK. Buy a small 50 point resale contract at VGC. At 11 months use all our AK/VGC points to book VGC.

PS. We stayed at VDH and did not love it.

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

I have been deep diving into DVC research. From the info I have gathered I think the following scenario would work the way we want. Please let me know if this is not how it works. We frequent DL more than WDW but cant afford a large VGC contract.

Become a member either via resale or direct with a majority of my points at say AK. Buy a small 50 point resale contract at VGC. At 11 months use all our AK/VGC points to book VGC.

PS. We stayed at VDH and did not love it.

No sadly that isn’t how it works, otherwise it would defeat the purpose of the 11mo andvantage and everyone would do that. You’d be able to use your 50 point contract at VGC at 11mo and X point contract at AKV at 11mo and as long as they’re in the same UY, you can then use the combined points at 7mos.

 

[VGCgroupie]

No sadly that isn’t how it works, otherwise it would defeat the purpose of the 11mo andvantage and everyone would do that. You’d be able to use your 50 point contract at VGC at 11mo and X point contract at AKV at 11mo and as long as they’re in the same UY, you can then use the combined points at 7mos.

Okay I must have misunderstood one of the many you tube videos I watched. I was thinking it felt too easy of a way to to get in there. I wish I liked VDH better but we just didnt

 

[tx911]

With a 50 point VGC contract you could get a few nights in a studio every other year, by borrowing from the subsequent year.

Then, at 7 months, you could bring your AK points into play, and maybe get a 1-BR or an extra night or 2 in your studio, but that certainly can't be counted on.

 

[AwfulWaffle]

All the above is true. Also, if it were me and DL is my home park and DW is our away park then I would look into buying direct so you have access to any resorts that get added as part of DL forward because it will be very likely any resale points won’t be usable in any future DL resorts. Even if it’s okw direct, at least you still have a chance at 7 months which you won’t with resale points. Yes, you may get lucky here and there at VGC with AKV resale points but GCV is the smallest DVC resort so you need to be VERY flexible with dates to be fortunate enough to get 3+ days in a row here. Just a thought but yes it is very expensive but it’s California, isn’t everything out there expensive

 

[VGCgroupie]

All the above is true. Also, if it were me and DL is my home park and DW is our away park then I would look into buying direct so you have access to any resorts that get added as part of DL forward because it will be very likely any resale points won’t be usable in any future DL resorts. Even if it’s okw direct, at least you still have a chance at 7 months which you won’t with resale points. Yes, you may get lucky here and there at VGC with AKV resale points but GCV is the smallest DVC resort so you need to be VERY flexible with dates to be fortunate enough to get 3+ days in a row here. Just a thought but yes it is very expensive but it’s California, isn’t everything out there expensive

Yes planning our cash booking for WDW trip for August just returning from DL in April and the room prices are shockingly different. Been crunching the numbers on direct vs resale for many many hours now. Another upside to direct is I think there's a sliver of a possibility for using points for our stay in August which with resale seems like that would for sure never be possible.

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

Okay I must have misunderstood one of the many you tube videos I watched. I was thinking it felt too easy of a way to to get in there. I wish I liked VDH better but we just didnt

Yeah, it’s a bit of a bummer, especially since your desired home resort is the most expensive in the entire DVC catalog. Truthfully, I’d love a 75ish point contract myself since my parents are about to become SoCal natives so that basically means I’m about to become a SoCal native lol and will be visiting DL more often, but man, I just can’t justify those prices. I’ll just take my chances at 7mo or do a lot of stalking.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Yeah, it’s a bit of a bummer, especially since your desired home resort is the most expensive in the entire DVC catalog. Truthfully, I’d love a 75ish point contract myself since my parents are about to become SoCal natives so that basically means I’m about to become a SoCal native lol and will be visiting DL more often, but man, I just can’t justify those prices. I’ll just take my chances at 7mo or do a lot of stalking.

yeah the price pp there is insane. Im actually pretty great at stalking so maybe it would work out for me

 

[aammtt20]

Yeah the problem with stalking VGC is that it is almost impossible to string together a trip from the random dates that pop up here and there. I live in SoCal and I own DVC in a WDW resort, because I don’t feel the need to stay onsite at Disneyland since it’s only a 40min drive for me. But I like to check VGC 7 month availability every now and then because if I have extra points and can swing a 1 night stay - why not, it’s a nice little staycation and if I go to the park the next day I’ll get early entry.

I’d say 50% of the time I find 1 night available for a studio or 1 br (sometimes multiple nights, but they’re never consecutive.) which means it's definitely possible to find random nights at VGC without owning there, but to actually stay for a multi night trip without owning there would be very difficult, if not next to impossible.

 

[intamin]

Okay I must have misunderstood one of the many you tube videos I watched. I was thinking it felt too easy of a way to to get in there. I wish I liked VDH better but we just didnt

Unfortunately a common misconception. However, if that were the case, everyone would buy the smallest contract possible at the most expensive resorts like VGC and then use SSR points at them. Or simply buy the smallest contract possible at every single DVC resort and have 11 month priority everywhere and be able to flex all of the points around like that. The way the system is set up makes the most sense so people who bought there can actually book their home resorts.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Yeah the problem with stalking VGC is that it is almost impossible to string together a trip from the random dates that pop up here and there. I live in SoCal and I own DVC in a WDW resort, because I don’t feel the need to stay onsite at Disneyland since it’s only a 40min drive for me. But I like to check VGC 7 month availability every now and then because if I have extra points and can swing a 1 night stay - why not, it’s a nice little staycation and if I go to the park the next day I’ll get early entry.

I’d say 50% of the time I find 1 night available for a studio or 1 br (sometimes multiple nights, but they’re never consecutive.) which means it's definitely possible to find random nights at VGC without owning there, but to actually stay for a multi night trip without owning there would be very difficult, if not next to impossible.

Thanks for the heads up. We never do park same day as travel so we usually stay 3-4 nights. We aren't in CA but flights to DL are $30 1.and getting a decent flight to MCO is getting harder and harder these days.

 

[NVDISFamily]

yeah the price pp there is insane. Im actually pretty great at stalking so maybe it would work out for me

If you like 1BR units then VGC at the right price is a solid value. Look at room rates for the Grand Cal for larger rooms. A) it's very hard to even find to price on the website as most days are sold out and B) when you do they are $$$

If you only stay in Studios then the return on investment of VGC vs just getting rack rate rooms on 25% discount with the Disney Visa or other deals will take a long time. VGC is awesome value if you like the larger rooms.

Sorry you don't like VDH. We love VGC more, but to us VDH is magical less that TOT at the end

 

[VGCgroupie]

If you like 1BR units then VGC at the right price is a solid value. Look at room rates for the Grand Cal for larger rooms. A) it's very hard to even find to price on the website as most days are sold out and B) when you do they are $$$

If you only stay in Studios then the return on investment of VGC vs just getting rack rate rooms on 25% discount with the Disney Visa or other deals will take a long time. VGC is awesome value if you like the larger rooms.

Sorry you don't like VDH. We love VGC more, but to us VDH is magical less that TOT at the end

We used to be fine in studios but now we travel with my daughter and granddaughter so 1 beds will be more useful moving forward.

At the end of the night walking past VGC, then DLH then that extra little bit to get to VDH was such a downer for me. The duo studio was tiny, the deluxe was okay in size but the view was terrible. The lobby smelled like sewer, the rooms decor was missing things. It just really didnt live up to the 5300 cash price we paid... but I still left wanting to be a DVC member none the less. Haha.

 

[Royal Consort]

yeah the price pp there is insane. Im actually pretty great at stalking so maybe it would work out for me

It's not as absurd when you consider you're paying the majority of the price at VGC upfront. If you buy VDH, you're paying a lower buy-in up front but it will cost as much/more than VGC resale over time due to the transient tax (which VGC doesnt have) on top of your annual dues.

 

[Instagramhusband]

No sadly that isn’t how it works, otherwise it would defeat the purpose of the 11mo andvantage and everyone would do that. You’d be able to use your 50 point contract at VGC at 11mo and X point contract at AKV at 11mo and as long as they’re in the same UY, you can then use the combined points at 7mos.

Its an easy thing to confuse. Many on here cite over and over how the Same Use year matters so much with different contracts, so I assumed it worked the way the OP posited. I was basically about to buy a third contract in three months when I realized the same use year gave no advantage like this. In essence the best advice I have seen over and over here is buy at the resort you want to stay at the most.

 

[intamin]

Its an easy thing to confuse. Many on here cite over and over how the Same Use year matters so much with different contracts, so I assumed it worked the way the OP posited. I was basically about to buy a third contract in three months when I realized the same use year gave no advantage like this. In essence the best advice I have seen over and over here is buy at the resort you want to stay at the most.

The benefit of buying with the same use year is being able to pool all of your points together at 7 months as opposed to having to book a couple nights under one membership and then the remainder with the other. During which time, it's possible by the time the second half of your trip is allowed to be booked at 7 months, it may not be available. You could transfer between memberships but you'll have to keep track of which points came from where. Having multiple memberships you are also more likely to strand leftover points.

Not to mention when booking it can be confusing for people who don't fully understand use year. Just as an example if you have a February and a June use year and were booking for a trip in April 2025, you would be booking using February 2025 points and June 2024 points.

Not saying there aren't benefits to owning multiple such as for separate trips during different times of the year, more waitlists but for the average DVC member it is better to keep the same use year.

 

[tx911]

The benefit of buying with the same use year is being able to pool all of your points together at 7 months as opposed to having to book a couple nights under one membership and then the remainder with the other. During which time, it's possible by the time the second half of your trip is allowed to be booked at 7 months, it may not be available at that time. You could transfer between memberships but you'll have to keep track of which points came from where. Having multiple memberships you are also more likely to strand leftover points.

Not to mention when booking it can be confusing for people who don't fully understand use year. Just as an example if you have a February and a June use year and were booking for a trip in April 2025, you would be booking using February 2025 points and June 2024 points.

Not saying there aren't benefits to owning multiple such as for separate trips during different times of the year, more waitlists but for the average DVC member it is better to keep the same use year.

Yeah, I think it would take a lot for me to buy a contract in a different use year. Too much of a headache for me personally, unless it was an insanely good deal.

 

[D-Trick]

my parents are about to become SoCal natives so that basically means I’m about to become a SoCal native

lol

obvs we know what you mean but you can't "become a native" unless you're somehow being reborn... though I suppose that's a great way to ensure you'll see out the life of your DVC contracts.

 

[Shoktherapy]

Buy the 50 point VGC contract - Year 1 bank 50 points into Year 2. Year 2 has 100 pts. Year 2 you can book at 11 months for 100 pts. You can stay at AKL in Years 1 and Year 3. Repeat doing the bank, borrow method knowing that the most you can ever use in one year for booking at the 11 month mark is 150 points. The months you are banking or borrowing the VGC points you can stay at AKL.

 

[Instagramhusband]

The benefit of buying with the same use year is being able to pool all of your points together at 7 months as opposed to having to book a couple nights under one membership and then the remainder with the other. During which time, it's possible by the time the second half of your trip is allowed to be booked at 7 months, it may not be available. You could transfer between memberships but you'll have to keep track of which points came from where. Having multiple memberships you are also more likely to strand leftover points.

Not to mention when booking it can be confusing for people who don't fully understand use year. Just as an example if you have a February and a June use year and were booking for a trip in April 2025, you would be booking using February 2025 points and June 2024 points.

Not saying there aren't benefits to owning multiple such as for separate trips during different times of the year, more waitlists but for the average DVC member it is better to keep the same use year.

I guess to me the most simple thing to do is buy the resort you love to stay at the most. The OP's desire was similar to my initial thinking. Now I essentially already bought two contracts as SAP's(255) at a resort I like, at a cost I am happy with, but not the resort I most want to stay at. In my case I knew I was going to end up with 600 or so points so I don't feel regret but it may have altered what I started with.