So we have three days to decide

[Oyclo]

We were thinking about the DVC and our offer was 110 or so a point for the Animal Kingdom resort.

This would include this years points which we could bank.

The one thing they poopooed when I asked was buying points from other members saying that you lose a lot of perks and that you can't use bought points out of your home resort package.

Basically if I bought 220 points through Disney I could use those also for a Disney Cruise but if I bought them from a 2nd party I could only use those at the 11 DVC resorts.

So basically my question is, is it worth purchasing through Disney or is it worth saving the 20 or so a point on the secondary market?

 

[luckyman_apd]

We were thinking about the DVC and our offer was 110 or so a point for the Animal Kingdom resort.

This would include this years points which we could bank.

The one thing they poopooed when I asked was buying points from other members saying that you lose a lot of perks and that you can't use bought points out of your home resort package.

Basically if I bought 220 points through Disney I could use those also for a Disney Cruise but if I bought them from a 2nd party I could only use those at the 11 DVC resorts.

So basically my question is, is it worth purchasing through Disney or is it worth saving the 20 or so a point on the secondary market?

That's really only a question that you can decide. What is it worth to you? Is paying the premium to Disney worth getting the extra Perks? Keep in mind that Disney can take those away from members at anytime, and are not guaranteed in the contract. It's not likely at this time that they would do that, but they CAN do that. For me, it was NOT worth paying the extra $50 a point for BLT. We only plan on using our points for WDW. So for us, none of the other "perks" were anything we would use.

The only thing for me that I might want to use is to be able to swap my points for another room at Disney that is not part of the DVC. But even then the points are so high in order to do so, I'd be better off renting my points, and paying cash for that room instead. I don't feel the other things are worth using my points on, but others feel differently, so like I said, only you can decide if it worth the higher price.

Also, buying direct through Disney will give you points almost immediately. I closed on my resale a week ago, put an offer in 56 days ago, and I'm still waiting to be put into the DVC system. You will wait about 2 months to be able to use your points through resale. Are you in a hurry? or do you have time on your hands.

 

[disneynutz]

That's your decision. For our family, we have no interest in using our points anywhere but at the DVC resorts. WDW and DL are Disney to us and that is where we vacation and IMO is where you get your biggest bang for your buck.

Bill

 

[DizBub]

We were thinking about the DVC and our offer was 110 or so a point for the Animal Kingdom resort.

This would include this years points which we could bank.

The one thing they poopooed when I asked was buying points from other members saying that you lose a lot of perks and that you can't use bought points out of your home resort package.

Basically if I bought 220 points through Disney I could use those also for a Disney Cruise but if I bought them from a 2nd party I could only use those at the 11 DVC resorts.

So basically my question is, is it worth purchasing through Disney or is it worth saving the 20 or so a point on the secondary market?

We are buying resale right now for the savings but we do have points bought direct. Currently there is an incentive for AKV $10 off per point for 100/110 points plus a $500 gift card. Something to consider if you decide to go direct. Offer expires March 14. Not sure if this would be an add-on or initial purchase but Disney does charge less for closing costs.

Good luck!!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

We were thinking about the DVC and our offer was 110 or so a point for the Animal Kingdom resort.

This would include this years points which we could bank.

The one thing they poopooed when I asked was buying points from other members saying that you lose a lot of perks and that you can't use bought points out of your home resort package.

Basically if I bought 220 points through Disney I could use those also for a Disney Cruise but if I bought them from a 2nd party I could only use those at the 11 DVC resorts.

So basically my question is, is it worth purchasing through Disney or is it worth saving the 20 or so a point on the secondary market?

The information you were given isn't exactly correct. Currently you can still use points bought resale for all DVC resorts, RCI exchanges, Club cordial and Club Intrawest. I consider DVC points as pretty much being for DVC only so it did not affect us but there are still ways to use points if that is what you want. I'd recommend buying fewer points resale to just cover DVC stays and using other options for non-disney trips.

And an AKV contract could be found fairly easily for $65-$75/pt so it's more like a $35-$45/pt savings which can save a lot of money to put towards other vacations.

 

[chalee94]

Basically if I bought 220 points through Disney I could use those also for a Disney Cruise...

so have you looked at the cruise point charts to see if that is a decent value for you?

(keep in mind that trades out of the DVC system have no price protections and can increase every year.)

DVC pts can be a good value at DVC resorts. but trading out isn't worth it from a numbers perspective.

 

[disneybeachprincess]

My IMHO suggestion is to wait if you aren't sure...it is a big investment & committment...good luck with your decision...sending pixie dust your way!

 

[Sandisw]

We own both direct points and points purchased via resale. We went with the resale ones for BWV because it was closer to $60 per point difference.

You are paying extra for something that could be taken away at any time down the road. As long as you are aware that buying through Disney only guarantees you the right to use those points for cruises, etc. for as long as DVC/DVD (not sure which one) decides to keep it as a perk of membership.

At the end of the day, you are buying DVC to stay at your home resort and at other DVC resorts as long as your resort remains part of the club.

As long as you understand this, then making the decision is really personal. For us, we decided saving the money was worth not being able to use points for the other options.

Good luck!

 

[ELMC]

You have asked a great question and have already received a lot of great responses. My personal opinion is that nothing could justify the extra $8,000(ish)* cost of buying direct. I could always use this money in the future to book a cruise directly and I don't mind waiting a couple of months to get my points by buying resale. The bottom line is that when it comes to staying at a DVC property, people with resale points are treated no differently than people with direct points. My vote would be to save the money, find a good contract that is loaded with points, and negotiate a good price. [As an aside, the resale prices on AKL seem to be trending downwards lately...something to look out for].

*(The $8,000 figure is assuming a $95-100 pp cost buying direct, after incentives, and buying a resale contract in the $60-65 pp range with previous year's points on a 220 point contract).

Disclaimer: This is my opinion only and is only meant to describe what worked best for me. This post was in no way intended to offend or belittle anyone who chose to purchase DVC points directly from Disney.

 

[luckyman_apd]

I believe if we had looked into this 5 years ago or more, we might have bought direct, as I've researched, resale was not the huge discount that it is now. For me, we got BLT points for less than SSR points. That says it all for me.

I wouldn't have bought this purchase either if we didn't have the money up front. I don't think I would have financed it, but we have friends who have, and they got decent financing through Disney. So there are reasons people buy through Disney, and there is a whole thread on here about those who bought direct.

I just hope whatever choice you make is well thought out, as it's a long expensive purchase if you end up regretting it.

 

[JimMIA]

So we have three days to decide

No you don't, and I don't think there could possibly be a worse mindset to have when considering any timeshare purchase.

You have whatever time you need to make a decision that you fully understand, and which you are satisfied is in your best interest.

You are considering a 30-50 year financial committment to a timeshare.

You are considering a very large initial outlay, very little of which you will get back.

In fact, if you decide to buy direct, you're starting off 20%-50% in the hole already. Specifically with AKV, you'll start off roughly 45% in the hole. The day you close, your $24,000 purchase will be worth $13,000 on the resale market (and you need to deduct a 10% selling commission from that!).

A DVC timeshare salesperson has imposed a 3-day deadline on you in the hope of getting you to make a quick decision. If you pass the 3-day deadline, you will lose something (I'm guessing the $500 gift card).

I submit jumping into a $24,000 purchase to keep a $500 gift card is pretty poor financial management...especially when it looks like you could buy those same AKV points for about $60 per point ($13,200) on the resale market.

And especially when one of the prime benefits is the option of using your points for vastly overpriced DCL cruises. With 220 points, you won't have enough points to cruise anyway.

My advice is to ignore meaningless arbitrary deadlines. Pass on the $500 and take whatever time you need to a) FULLY understand what you are buying (and what you are NOT buying), and b) make rational decisions about which resort you REALLY want to own, what UY would work best for you, how you should buy and what you should pay, etc, etc.

And all of that is ASSUMING that you really are best-served by owning DVC in the first place.

Have you looked at other options -- like renting DVC, buying a different timeshare with great offsite options, renting something offsite...?