Split Buying?

[Chuck96]

Good evening, Disboards! I joined last week, and I’ve been reading rather voraciously since then. I’ve been mulling DVC for the past few years, and finally rented some points for this past January at the Poly. It had always been a Disney bucket list (we’d eaten at the Stitch breakfast twice before) item, and the points rental made it reasonable. I’d considered DVC two years earlier (thanks to a marketing push on a DCL trip), but I wisely decided to analyze a bunch of angles (a bad, sometimes good, habit) first. Eventually decided there was no rush, but now I’m feeling the itch again after my last visit. There are several layers to the decision making process to work through, and I’ve been using the expertise here to work my way through some of them:
1) Yes or No (No involves renting points for future trips)
2) if yes, how many points?
3) Direct or Resale
4) Which resort?
5-999) ...

i fully expect to have more questions for this wonderful group, but I have a relatively critical question that I have not often seen discussed. I know numerous folks here possess two or more contracts, which I imagine they gathered over time (and joy). For a someone diving in, looking to procure between 100-120 points, should I consider buying at a single resort, or splitting it into 60 points at two separate resorts? My wife is the bigger Disney aficionado, and we have one son (16). Part of this purchase is to allow him to utilize this with his family in the many years to come, but let my wife and j enjoy it as well. We currently live far enough away to have to fly down, so expect we would be staying there every 18-24 months. I do expect having to expand points a little once in the event my son gets a family and we possibly go annually.

i like having two home resort options (one would be monorail, one would be resort-centric - like AKL or CCV), using last year/this year/next year points to have 150-180 points at two resorts every three years. I am slowly growing aware of the UY considerations and the 7/11-month challenges (again, voraciously parsing through these boards). I know the would be across two separate contracts, with two wait lists efforts (or ROFR experiences). We’re i to do this direct, I’d likely space out the purchases across two or three years, but I’ll save my white card/blue cards questions for another day (thinking about my son and future resorts).

i understand that this is pretty common for members with >200 points, but what about folks under that (now or when they started)?

Thanks in advance! Sorry my first post is so wordy!

 

[soniam]

You should first figure out what kind of room you want, typically when, how many days, and which resort(s). This will determine how many points you should get. Also, you might look to the future. What you need today, may not be what you need in 5, 10, 20+ years. As for renting points, it's not really a guarantee. I have attempted to rent 5 times and have been successful 3 times. The last 2 times, I put in my request before/at 11 months, because I wanted studios at popular resorts during somewhat popular times. I have finally decided that it's a hassle and doesn't really save as much as I would like. So, I have started the same journey as you. I have decided on resale for maximum savings. Maybe someday we will buy direct at a newly built resort. Good luck! Others on here will have much better and more informed advice.

 

[Cyberc1978]

regards to if you should buy 2 x 60 points contracts.

Problem with contracts below 75 points that they normally sell VERY fast at a premium, and often its not 60 points more likely 25 or 50 points contract. On top you will have the closing costs. All in all it will be more expensive to buy but if you should ever need to sell you should be able to sell for more than the larger contracts. There is however one outlier and that's VGF, those contracts are already very expensive so a smaller contract wont be that much higher than a larger contract - however it will still be higher.

Otherwise the idea of 2 or more home resorts are good as you get to book more than one location during 7-11 month home resort booking window.

 

[chalee94]

I think you should stick to one resort.

Having 2 resorts is fine if you use the contracts separately for different trips. But combining points at 7 months can be challenging and remember that you can never combine points from different resorts until that 7 month window opens. Some people enjoy split stays but a lot of us don't like being "homeless" during the transition day.

 

[CraigInPA]

People who have 2 resorts with smallish contracts tend to use bank and borrow to do yearly trips. e.g., if you have BLT and BCV, you'd go to BLT in year 1 using current year and next year's points. In year 2, you'd go to BCV with current year and next year's points. In this way, you're not likely to lose points, provided you go each use year.

Where this falls down is where you state that you will be going every 18-24 months. There is no way to do that without losing points with contracts at 2 different resorts unless you were going to stay at both resorts every time you visit (or you get lucky and can use the off-year resort points at 7 months to book additional nights at the on-year resort).

My advice is to make your first contract large enough to book your desired room type in your desired resort during the period when you usually travel, at the resort that is your favorite, and plan to go every year. Alternately, make your first contract half of that amount and plan on going every other year.

 

[Lumee23]

We are buying a small (100-125) contract direct and I have the same thoughts as you. We are planning to add another smallish contract a couple of years after we buy our first batch of points but to start I am debating getting a monorail resort and then either Riviera or AKL and splitting the points. In theory I like the idea of a split stay where we do our MK days all together at a monorail resort and then go to another resort for the other theme park days. We are doing a test split stay with our next trip to see if it works for us as I have seen that some people love it and some do not like it at all. If we end up not liking the split stay we will probably just go with one resort to start.

 

[MICKIMINI]

First of all buy resale and save a bundle - therefore you can buy more points. You'll hear this over and over, buy where you want to stay at 11 months and don't buy less than you think you will need, actually a buffer is smart. If you want to switch resorts and there is availability at 7 months you can eventually try a variety of resorts. Down the road, buy a second resort same UY with plans to stay there maybe every other year or split your visit with two resorts - it can be fun...

Decide what you budget is including closing costs and MF's. Look at the potential resorts you may want and estimate how many points you can get at each annually with your budget and how vacations may play out. It should be pretty obvious which is most advantageous. I find having a written plan that I can consult when "shopping" gives me the confidence to make an offer immediately when I come across a contract I want and I always try to look at my offer through the sellers eyes and consider ROFR, though if my offer is reasonable then I go with it.

I agree you should look down the road as we started with an 8 year old, his buddies, family and friends and now we have a 32 year old married son (they are going to Poly tomorrow) we meet at WDW for vacations and offer them points for long weekend trips. No worries, you can add to your "portfolio" as many of us seem to do! Do you research and keep your finger off the button until you are confident with your decision. Good luck!

 

[Chuck96]

Thank you for the insight! I had not thought about closing costs associated with two contracts vice one. I have read that closing costs tend to be on the order of $500. Is that accurate?

Our intent would be to alternate resorts to maximize point values each time and keep some "newness" to the trips. I would not intend to split stay across two "home resorts" on a single trip. Thank you for correctly pointing out that the math of going beyond 18 months necessitates losing points, renting points, or combining points (at a 7 month window - with all attendant risks). I conceptually like the idea of combining points every couple of years for something bigger (at 7 months), but I also understand that this is a gamble, not a reliable path to splurge where we would want, when we would want.

Regarding the where and how many points, I'll embarrass myself by stating I've built a spreadsheet with 2021 DVC point costs/seasons to assess trip budget at likely times (anniversary, wife's birthday, Food & Wine, etc) across a range of resorts and rooms. Obviously the great unknown is room availability (SEPT or JAN are our most likely months for the next decade or so). Within my little (Excel) model, the decisionspace is trip frequency. We currently fly to ORL, so no more than one long (5-7 days) or two short (2-4 days) trips a year are likely.

I think the idea of starting with one resort and then considering the addition of another in 1-3 years time (after experiencing the first) is excellent. I need to sort of plan ahead a bit, because how many points I buy (almost certainly resale) will depend on my nebulous plan. I've been lucky enough to stay at several of the resorts over the past twenty years (thanks to my parents and wife, minimal DVC usage until this year's Poly rental), so I have some experience at WL and BLT, beyond Poly. We've walked around AKL (AK is my, and our sons, favorite park - wife's fave is MK), and also stayed at Coronado Springs (pre-Gran Destino Tower), Contemporary's A-frame, and even Shades of Green. Part of my challenge: there are advantages to each of the locations, and you should buy where you want to stay. But I have multiple favorites, for different reasons. Staying at different resorts also keeps the trips magical for our family.

I believe that buying DVC to go every three years makes little sense (thanks to the maintenance fees), so we'd have to commit to every other year at a minimum. That helps to narrow down the points budget.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond. I appreciate your time and perspectives. As I work through more questions, I'll be sure to throw a thread up in here to solicit experienced wisdom.

 

[MICKIMINI]

"We currently fly to ORL, so no more than one long (5-7 days) or two short (2-4 days) trips a year are likely." We fly too and find it cheaper to go for a really long trip as the costs for traveling and time involved (one day down and one day back) are reduced. ME has made transfers easy and we rent a car at Alamo Car Care Center near MK if we need a car for a couple days. I look at MF's for per day cost (say OKW 10 points studio or $80 +/- day), try to fly free on SW (with Visa), budget an amount for meals out per day and tickets of course, so it is easy to estimate the total cost of a trip. I consider groceries the same as if we were at home and it does offset some of the pricey meals. I believe there is no more cost effective way to go to WDW then owning DVC and we love being able to provide awesome family trips that we can actually afford. You are doing your homework and should be able to make a sound decision - it is a challenge as there are pluses and minuses with each resort but you'll figure it out!

 

[eandt]

Thank you for the insight! I had not thought about closing costs associated with two contracts vice one. I have read that closing costs tend to be on the order of $500. Is that accurate?

Our intent would be to alternate resorts to maximize point values each time and keep some "newness" to the trips. I would not intend to split stay across two "home resorts" on a single trip. Thank you for correctly pointing out that the math of going beyond 18 months necessitates losing points, renting points, or combining points (at a 7 month window - with all attendant risks). I conceptually like the idea of combining points every couple of years for something bigger (at 7 months), but I also understand that this is a gamble, not a reliable path to splurge where we would want, when we would want.

Regarding the where and how many points, I'll embarrass myself by stating I've built a spreadsheet with 2021 DVC point costs/seasons to assess trip budget at likely times (anniversary, wife's birthday, Food & Wine, etc) across a range of resorts and rooms. Obviously the great unknown is room availability (SEPT or JAN are our most likely months for the next decade or so). Within my little (Excel) model, the decisionspace is trip frequency. We currently fly to ORL, so no more than one long (5-7 days) or two short (2-4 days) trips a year are likely.

I think the idea of starting with one resort and then considering the addition of another in 1-3 years time (after experiencing the first) is excellent. I need to sort of plan ahead a bit, because how many points I buy (almost certainly resale) will depend on my nebulous plan. I've been lucky enough to stay at several of the resorts over the past twenty years (thanks to my parents and wife, minimal DVC usage until this year's Poly rental), so I have some experience at WL and BLT, beyond Poly. We've walked around AKL (AK is my, and our sons, favorite park - wife's fave is MK), and also stayed at Coronado Springs (pre-Gran Destino Tower), Contemporary's A-frame, and even Shades of Green. Part of my challenge: there are advantages to each of the locations, and you should buy where you want to stay. But I have multiple favorites, for different reasons. Staying at different resorts also keeps the trips magical for our family.

I believe that buying DVC to go every three years makes little sense (thanks to the maintenance fees), so we'd have to commit to every other year at a minimum. That helps to narrow down the points budget.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond. I appreciate your time and perspectives. As I work through more questions, I'll be sure to throw a thread up in here to solicit experienced wisdom.

We are considering 2 contracts as well but most likely at the same resort. The closing costs are about $250 more to to the 2 contracts rather than the one, approx $800 vs $550. I am talking about two 50 point contracts over one 100 point one. At the moment we are going to most likely go direct first for the blue card (although admittedly we aren't sure how much the perks willl affect us) and then add on via resale if we find we need more points.

 

[Best Aunt]

My thoughts are:

a) You stated that the great unknown is room availability. Make sure you understand the trends. DVC has its own busy season which is different from Disney World as a whole. Also, there is a limited number of some rooms (AKV value, AKV Club Level, BWV standard view), making them difficult to book. The 11-month versus 7-month booking window makes a difference.

b) Be careful about what you are thinking of as resort-centric resorts. For me, CCV was a one and done. Same for AKV. I have no desire to stay at either of those again, although I stayed at AKV a second time because it was the preference of my guest.

c) If you are going to get multiple contracts, they will be easier to manage if they all have the same Use Year and if they are all titled the same.

d) I personally would not buy with the assumption that my son would utilize the contracts with his family for many years to come. Your son may end up with a spouse or partner who does not love Disney. Your son may have a child with a talent and interest which involves a lot of time, money, and/or travel which prevents trips using the contracts. Your son may not want to be locked into paying dues for his vacations. Your son may not want to pay the other costs associated with a Disney trip (airfare, park admission).