Small points contracts question

[Marionnette]

One more reason: passing your contracts down to your kids.

If you have more than one child and you want to be able to gift them an equal share of DVC points, you can purchase smaller contracts with the understanding that each of them will inherit one small contract.

 

[Sandisw]

I was thinking about this the other day and wonder whether or not the "in the know" people would break Riviera contracts down to 50-point contracts as a good exit strategy with the resale restrictions. This way, after it is "sold out," they can target the existing RIV owners as a small add on when they start travelling during a more point-heavy season to stay at their home resort...

Current owners could certainly do this. The extra closing costs may be worth it if you want to have an exit strategy going in.

Given the point chart though IIMO 75 or 100 would probably sell just as well.

 

[hhisc16]

I am just now beginning research into DVC as it's something I'd like to consider in the future, so forgive me for my lack of knowledge. Can anyone enlighten me as to why people buy small points contracts? I understand that it is an easier pill to swallow than paying five figures for more points, but what can you truly do with 25, 50, or 75 points? Looking at point charts, a 25 point contract would literally only get you two nights in a studio a year, and studios are hard to get. Do most people own small points contracts in addition to larger contracts? Do they bank and borrow a lot and only go every few years? Seems like it wouldn't be worth it. I am a single person with a very moderate income, so I wouldn't be able to afford the amount of points many people purchase, but to me the small points contracts seem silly.

We own a 25 point and 50 point contract at HHI.
They were exactly what we wanted since they were small chunks of money instead of one large chunk.
We bought in cash and saw them on the resale market.
In a studio at HHI, we could squeeze a week in with our points if we went in the offseason.
PLUS, you can always purchase up to 24 one time use points for the use year of the contract. (so we could use up to 99 in one use year if needed)

 

[ilvdisny888]

We own a 25 point and 50 point contract at HHI.
They were exactly what we wanted since they were small chunks of money instead of one large chunk.
We bought in cash and saw them on the resale market.
In a studio at HHI, we could squeeze a week in with our points if we went in the offseason.
PLUS, you can always purchase up to 24 one time use points for the use year of the contract. (so we could use up to 99 in one use year if needed)

Thanks for sharing! How much do one time use points cost?

 

[hhisc16]

Thanks for sharing! How much do one time use points cost?

I think the current cost is $19 per point for one time use points. You can purchase up to 24 per use year.

 

[ilvdisny888]

I think the current cost is $19 per point for one time use points. You can purchase up to 24 per use year.

Not too bad. Thanks!

 

[Jwaire]

Not too bad. Thanks!

Just a word of warning about one-time use points, Disney will not rent them to you within the 11-month window (only 7 months or less). So, for some resorts, this is a huge disadvantage when you only need 4 or 5 more points to book a reservation.

 

[eticketplease]

you can always purchase up to 24 one time use points for the use year of the contract. (so we could use up to 99 in one use year if needed)

This is why I would end up with a small 25 point contract. More expensive than just renting the required points for sure however, in my opinion I would get more value purchasing that small add-on that would allow me to continue to use year after year.

 

[bianca]

We use our 25 point Poly contract in an entirely different way. We have 575 additional points. We always book one night at the Poly just to hang out at the pool, watch the MK fireworks, grab a dole whip and watch the Electrical Water Parade. Sometimes we stay overnight and sometimes we don't. We will have a new grandbaby with us next trip, so the room will give my daughter a chance to take the baby for a nap. Since we usually stay at SSR, BRV or AKV (out 3 big contracts), it gives us a chance to experience the MK resort life!

 

[Lorana]

The point charts change over time, and in the last 10 years, have been changing every year, which means some owners need to add on small amount of points in order to now take their usual trips. So that's one reason people might buy small contracts.

It's also easier to add on over time, especially if you want to pay cash - start with a base contract or two, then add on 25-50 points every year till you get where you want to be, point-wise.

In our case, we have lots of small point contracts. For one, it's easier to add on paying cash with small points. For another, we have two children, and want to be able to leave contracts for them, so having smaller contracts we can split up easily helps facilitate that.

The other is if we ever need to sell, or downsize. With multiple smaller sized contracts, we can easily sell one or two contracts if needed without having to sell it all. If in the future we decide we only need small trips, we just sell to get down to the points we need. If you buy a single large contract, it's all or nothing. Small contracts also hedge your bets with selling in the future, as small contracts command more price per point in the resale market than large contracts do.

Finally, we do enjoy resort hopping. So having a small number of points at a resort we only want to stay at 1-3 days on a trip is fine by us. It can be a quick weekend getaway, or could be the first 1-2 nights in a longer stay. I am in fact debating adding on Poly points just for that reason. (Though I confess I'd really love the Poly window to have a chance at a bungalow for NYE in the future.... but that's way more Poly points than I want, even with the idea of banking and borrowing). In this case, we might not want to stay at the Poly for every year, either, so having just enough points that every 2-3 years we do 4-5 nights is also fine by us. We love our home resorts, mind you, but sometimes it's nice to stay at the other resorts.

If you enjoy resort hopping, a number of small contracts at multiple resorts allows you to plan your stay around the parks you'll visit -- a few nights up in the MK area, a few nights in Epcot/HS area, a few nights at AK or DS areas.

 

[KPeterso]

I have 4 small contracts and 1 - 150 point contract.

2 of my small contracts are 50 points each at VGC. I live local to DL and like to go over for a 2-3 night stay a couple times a year. 50 points was what I originally bought but that was not enough, so I added my other 50 point contract for there so I could have a couple more nights each year. I was not ever able to get in there with my SSR points.

2 of my other small contracts are for AKV (100 points and 75 points). I got the 75 because I just needed more points overall. And then it being a favorite resort of ours, I added the additional 100 points for AKV so I have 175 total to work with for AKV. Those are in 2 different UYs (In hindsight, I would not have done that, but I don't mind doing the transfer to myself when needed).

 

[Suzabella]

Sorry. That was not clear. I meant for a specific trip they take every year or two. . For example, someone might buy a small contract at BWV for a long weekend in October just to do F & W.

Over time, it can definitely be worth it.

Exactly what we did and why we did it. We don't do F&W every year but every trip we end up at EP. We wanted a couple nights in a studio for easy access for split stays.

 

[keishashadow]

People will buy them for specific trips to add to what they own. Some do it to get started and then add on more as time goes on.

With banking and borrowing it can get you a trip every few years for that special trip!

it’s a great way to test out DVC for new members. Last few add on’s went with smaller resales. For awhile, AK was sliding thru ROFR at a surprisingly low rate for those contracts. Seeing them sell now approximately 30 - 40% more than what we paid for like # of points, usually stripped.

In the more distant past we added onto our existing UYs directly thru DVC. This for the more popular resorts (we couldn’t find on resale) in exactly the number we wanted. Did get tripped up a bit going ‘too small’ not considering future point re-allocations.

fuzzy, as it’s been some time, do believe the closing costs were set up differently then in an more cost effective manner when adding on direct.

We own a 25 point and 50 point contract at HHI.
They were exactly what we wanted since they were small chunks of money instead of one large chunk.
We bought in cash and saw them on the resale market.

never financed any of our contracts, due to the Mr’s instance. Worked out well for us.

 

[AdamsMum]

I am just now beginning research into DVC as it's something I'd like to consider in the future, so forgive me for my lack of knowledge. Can anyone enlighten me as to why people buy small points contracts? I understand that it is an easier pill to swallow than paying five figures for more points, but what can you truly do with 25, 50, or 75 points? Looking at point charts, a 25 point contract would literally only get you two nights in a studio a year, and studios are hard to get. Do most people own small points contracts in addition to larger contracts? Do they bank and borrow a lot and only go every few years? Seems like it wouldn't be worth it. I am a single person with a very moderate income, so I wouldn't be able to afford the amount of points many people purchase, but to me the small points contracts seem silly.

A 25 point contract could be your starting point. When I first bought in 2007, the minimum buy in direct was 160 points. With a mortgage and 2 kids no way I had $16000 ( I know seems like a piddly amount today) to plop down on a timeshare. My first contract was a 60 point resale. Once I paid that off, I added 40 direct, then another 50 point resale came to me in about a year a few years later I bought another 30 direct. That's how I accumulated my membership. I'm a little frugal, so I'm not big on committing to large amounts of debt. I knew I wanted to stay in a better resort and this strategy worked out for me.

 

[ilvdisny888]

A 25 point contract could be your starting point. When I first bought in 2007, the minimum buy in direct was 160 points. With a mortgage and 2 kids no way I had $16000 ( I know seems like a piddly amount today) to plop down on a timeshare. My first contract was a 60 point resale. Once I paid that off, I added 40 direct, then another 50 point resale came to me in about a year a few years later I bought another 30 direct. That's how I accumulated my membership. I'm a little frugal, so I'm not big on committing to large amounts of debt. I knew I wanted to stay in a better resort and this strategy worked out for me.

So if I were to buy a small points contract to start, I could add another "small" number of points directly if I decided to down the line? I assumed you still had to buy the minimum number of points direct even if you already had a contract. So, for example, if I bought a 50 point contract resale, then decided to add more points, I could buy 50 points direct? Or would I have to buy 150 more points since that's the minimum?

 

[DonMacGregor]

So if I were to buy a small points contract to start, I could add another "small" number of points directly if I decided to down the line? I assumed you still had to buy the minimum number of points direct even if you already had a contract. So, for example, if I bought a 50 point contract resale, then decided to add more points, I could buy 50 points direct? Or would I have to buy 150 more points since that's the minimum?

No, once you are a member, you do not have to purchase 150 points direct to add-on. Right now it is a minimum of 50 points if you finance, and 25 points if you pay cash.

 

[ilvdisny888]

No, once you are a member, you do not have to purchase 150 points direct to add-on. Right now it is a minimum of 50 points if you finance, and 25 points if you pay cash.

I did not know that, thank you!

 

[Lorana]

No, once you are a member, you do not have to purchase 150 points direct to add-on. Right now it is a minimum of 50 points if you finance, and 25 points if you pay cash.

Both CCV and RIV are minimum 50 points, even when paying cash. They would have gotten more money from me if I could’ve added on 25pts at CCV.

 

[D-Trick]

Both CCV and RIV are minimum 50 points, even when paying cash. They would have gotten more money from me if I could’ve added on 25pts at CCV.

The member add on tool shows that the minimum for Riviera is now 25 when paying cash. CCV is reportedly down to a 25 point minimum also.

 

[Sandisw]

The member add on tool shows that the minimum for Riviera is now 25 when paying cash. CCV is reportedly down to a 25 point minimum also.

Really? Oh, that may be helpful to me!