Summer 2024 Direct Incentives

[Doberge]

Could disincentivitize buying for outside personal use. Keeping large point purchases from being more attractive than typical contract sizes would help achieve a better ratio of personal to non-personal use. Maybe DVC is extra keen on protecting CFW.

That's a good point, like if they have seen large purchases at FW and are thinking about business use. As it stands, the only two weeks of the year requiring more than 176 points are New Year's and Easter weeks and even those are "only" 232 for one week. Yes, some will want to stay more than one week but that has to be a low percentage compared to people buying more than needed and planning to rent out.

 

[Genie+]

I have been speaking to a guide about CFW. I am looking to purchase 150 points and my guide is telling me that Feb UY. Any tips to get the best bang for my buck besides the 1k Disney Visa and the 2k welcome bonus?

The short answer is there’s a cost advantage to buying direct closer to your UY, but keep in mind:
to also consider how important UY may be to you over the years before trying to ‘time’ a direct purchase
incentives change (waiting 4 months might improve the dues advantage though risks lower incentive cycle)
date of sale together with your UY determines how many years of points are in the contract (+/- one year difference)
planning a special trip could mean buying asap is best.

Have you thought about Use Year and what works best for your travel patterns? Start here.

We like visiting different months, so the way we chose our UY was looking at which block of months we’re least likely to visit. That was summer. Sept or Oct UY looked best because most/all of our trips would happen before those banking deadlines.

That’s one part of the decision. The next part is timing your best UY choice(s) with best months to buy for limiting prorated dues. For example, last year I bought a Sept UY direct - in June. Now I could’ve pushed the purchase out 2 more months to August and saved the cost on 2 months of dues (in my case was only around $200, but higher point purchases and higher dues resorts can quickly increase that amount). That would not have changed total amount of points we got, in both cases we would’ve gotten 2022’s points and beyond; the only thing that would’ve changed was paying 2 months less dues and having to wait 2 more months before using those points.

 

[EPCOT Terran]

I talked to my guide and he said you can put just a small portion on the Disney Visa to qualify for the 1k, it doesn't have to be everything. @Tatebeck

I just got off the phone with my guide and he said I just have to be a cardholder. I don't have to put any of the purchase on the card. Sounds like there is confusion amongst the guides. I'm hoping my guide is right so I can put the costs on my sapphire reserve for the travel-coded points.

Tag: @Tatebeck

 

[tx911]

The short answer is there’s a cost advantage to buying direct closer to your UY, but keep in mind:
to also consider how important UY may be to you over the years before trying to ‘time’ a direct purchase
incentives change (waiting 4 months might improve the dues advantage though risks lower incentive cycle)
date of sale together with your UY determines how many years of points are in the contract (+/- one year difference)
planning a special trip could mean buying asap is best.

Have you thought about Use Year and what works best for your travel patterns? Start here.

We like visiting different months, so the way we chose our UY was looking at which block of months we’re least likely to visit. That was summer. Sept or Oct UY looked best because most/all of our trips would happen before those banking deadlines.

That’s one part of the decision. The next part is timing your best UY choice(s) with best months to buy for limiting prorated dues. For example, last year I bought a Sept UY direct - in June. Now I could’ve pushed the purchase out 2 more months to August and saved the cost on 2 months of dues (in my case was only around $200, but higher point purchases and higher dues resorts can quickly increase that amount). That would have changed about total points we got, in both cases we would’ve gotten 2022’s points and beyond; the only thing that would’ve changed was paying 2 months less dues and having to wait 2 more months before using those points.

When I initially bought I didn’t understand UY and just took what they gave me (Feb).

Now I just keep Feb bc I don’t want the hassle of multiple UY. Fortunately some of the months I enjoy going to WDW are Feb-May, so it worked out.

 

[CastAStone]

I have been speaking to a guide about CFW. I am looking to purchase 150 points and my guide is telling me that Feb UY. Any tips to get the best bang for my buck besides the 1k Disney Visa and the 2k welcome bonus?

Yes, try to demand a UY that comes with 2022 points (currently Aug-Dec)

 

[Genie+]

When I initially bought I didn’t understand UY and just took what they gave me (Feb).

Now I just keep Feb bc I don’t want the hassle of multiple UY. Fortunately some of the months I enjoy going to WDW are Feb-May, so it worked out.

Yes. And I meant to point this out and forgot to

A guide might try to steer a buyer to certain UY, but that doesn’t always mean that’s the only thing available. In most cases all the UY are available, except under very specific circumstances (and those often don’t even mean 100% impossible). Whether they get current year’s points can depend on whether a resort just opened or has had over a year in active sales.

 

[supercarrie]

When we visit Starview Station (family of 4) we have about 6-8 sodas between us and my kids will usually eat the bag of chips….so that’s gotta be close to $27 in quick service savings, right?

True! My 8 year old visited for the first time this weekend and tried about 10 different flavors on the Freestyle machine and then I got 30 minutes of peace while he watched cartoons. I guess the lounge is worth more than I think.

I just got off the phone with my guide and he said I just have to be a cardholder. I don't have to put any of the purchase on the card. Sounds like there is confusion amongst the guides. I'm hoping my guide is right so I can put the costs on my sapphire reserve for the travel-coded points.

Tag: @Tatebeck

Thanks! My guide is off today but emailed me to let me know we can likely modify our contract to include the $1K off. If not, we are still within our window to rescind. My current thinking is we won't rescind just to save a couple months of dues given we value the lounge access, already have trips booked using our new contract, and are likely going to stick with Riviera anyway versus Poly. I get why people are considering it, though.

 

[Tatebeck]

I just got off the phone with my guide and he said I just have to be a cardholder. I don't have to put any of the purchase on the card. Sounds like there is confusion amongst the guides. I'm hoping my guide is right so I can put the costs on my sapphire reserve for the travel-coded points.

Tag: @Tatebeck

Amazing if true! My guide is off today so I'll have to wait a day or two to confirm with her. We have a Disney visa under my wife's name. We should be able to get the extra 1000 off but still use my sapphire reserve for effective 4.5 percent cash back. And we opened an amex platinum with a 150k bonus offer. This is going to be a great combo.

If we cancel and wait a month and a half, then buy before the visa credit expires it will be just 2 or 3 weeks before our use year for the lowest first years dues with around $400 extra savings and just about the best "double points" we can get with a Sept use year.

But is the extra 400 savings worth cancelling and restarting everything again? IDK, I may just keep the points I have so I can start booking in case I want to do anything besides my grand cal points next summer

 

[EPCOT Terran]

Thanks! My guide is off today but emailed me to let me know we can likely modify our contract to include the $1K off. If not, we are still within our window to rescind. My current thinking is we won't rescind just to save a couple months of dues given we value the lounge access, already have trips booked using our new contract, and are likely going to stick with Riviera anyway versus Poly. I get why people are considering it, though.

My guide indicated he needed to rewrite the contracts but didn't mention anything about needing to rescind anything. He made it sound like there's paperwork but it still should be done this afternoon. Doesn't sound too bad. Of course, he was probably happy to do the work since I'm adding a 50-point contract to get to 302 total (odd number because the other contracts are favorite weeks). Getting to 300 keeps the Welcome Home from the Spring incentives. The 250-point Welcome Home lost some money.

 

[EPCOT Terran]

But is the extra 400 savings worth cancelling and restarting everything again? IDK, I may just keep the points I have so I can start booking in case I want to do anything besides my grand cal points next summer

I'm not planning to push my contracts out. One of my fixed weeks is in September and I've got an August UY because of that, so I'm feeling pretty good about the timing. I'm also planning to replace a cash stay in late August with points (reservation made before DVC got me) and looking at adding an October stay (though the availability is not as good), so I'm anxious to get in there and start using my points.

 

[CourtneyAshley]

My guide indicated he needed to rewrite the contracts but didn't mention anything about needing to rescind anything. He made it sound like there's paperwork but it still should be done this afternoon. Doesn't sound too bad. Of course, he was probably happy to do the work since I'm adding a 50-point contract to get to 302 total (odd number because the other contracts are favorite weeks). Getting to 300 keeps the Welcome Home from the Spring incentives. The 250-point Welcome Home lost some money.

How do you get your home resort in your signature?

 

[TexasJedi]

For anyone who's had experience modifying contracts before, does it in any way affect future plans?

I've already booked my Welcome Home stay during a window that's completely sold out across WDW. I'm paying on a 90-day plan with my Disney Visa so would like to take advantage of the extra $1000 if I can, but if it would rescind my points/future plans to revise the contract, it may not be worth it...

 

[EPCOT Terran]

How do you get your home resort in your signature?

I think you need to get 10 posts before you can modify your signature. Assuming you've gotten there, you click on your account profile and there will be a signature section. That gives you a window that looks a lot like the post window. I then went out to an existing thread that had different signatures posted for people to copy. I got mine from this post: https://www.disboards.com/posts/63764147/ (there are others in that thread). In that post, I right-clicked on my resort and selected 'Copy Image Link'. I then posted that link into my signature and clicked 'Save'. It really was fairly easy, but only because someone else (NeutralNovice) went to the trouble of loading pictures for each of the resorts.

 

[SugarSweetLee]

Yes, try to demand a UY that comes with 2022 points (currently Aug-Dec)

2023 points?

 

[SugarSweetLee]

Thanks! My guide is off today but emailed me to let me know we can likely modify our contract to include the $1K off.

Amazing if true! My guide is off today so I'll have to wait a day or two to confirm with her.

Are all the guides off today?

I emailed mine this morning and haven't heard back yet, was starting to think maybe he just didn't want to deal with our fourth (fifth?) contract rewrite jk

 

[VGCgroupie]

Are all the guides off today?

I emailed mine this morning and haven't heard back yet, was starting to think maybe he just didn't want to deal with our fourth (fifth?) contract rewrite jk

Mine called me. Guess I got lucky. Although he was supposed to call yesterday to tell me my OKW waitlist didn't come through but I assume he was very busy yesterday.

 

[DonkeyHoTay]

Looks like (at least the first 299 pts) are captured here

https://dvcfan.com/general-dvc/dvcs-spring-2024-direct-sales-incentives-revealed/

Thank you for this! Looks like the welcome home credit improved for existing members, and the visa credit.

This is where I think buying CFW makes perfect sense. It’s a high demand time during a low point season. Owning a FW will be the cheapest most reliable path to regular stays that time of year. FW protects you from being locked out or having December point charts raised more in-line with demand.

That's how I'm looking at it. Any other time of the year I'm glad to roll the dice on getting a random weekend whenever it shows up (which is my view on every other resort too), but holidays at fort wilderness are a big draw for my clan and I want to know I can be there. Buy where you want to stay right? There is another great thread on FW contracts for new resorts - I'm really coming around to that idea, particularly the high demand holidays, to lock in stays I don't have to obsessively stalk in order to book.

I have been speaking to a guide about CFW. I am looking to purchase 150 points and my guide is telling me that Feb UY. Any tips to get the best bang for my buck besides the 1k Disney Visa and the 2k welcome bonus?

At 150 points, the welcome home credit is $2,750 for existing members: https://dvcexplorer.com/fin/m/FortCabins_Member_Welcome_VISA.pdf

 

[Jimsboy]

For anyone who's had experience modifying contracts before, does it in any way affect future plans?

I've already booked my Welcome Home stay during a window that's completely sold out across WDW. I'm paying on a 90-day plan with my Disney Visa so would like to take advantage of the extra $1000 if I can, but if it would rescind my points/future plans to revise the contract, it may not be worth it...

I did it last year and it didn’t affect my reservation at all. It should not affect your reservation by rewriting your contract.

 

[WeIcomeHome]

True! My 8 year old visited for the first time this weekend and tried about 10 different flavors on the Freestyle machine and then I got 30 minutes of peace while he watched cartoons. I guess the lounge is worth more than I think.


Thanks! My guide is off today but emailed me to let me know we can likely modify our contract to include the $1K off. If not, we are still within our window to rescind. My current thinking is we won't rescind just to save a couple months of dues given we value the lounge access, already have trips booked using our new contract, and are likely going to stick with Riviera anyway versus Poly. I get why people are considering it, though.

We did Magical Beginnings and aren't planning a trip for over a year after the date we will repurchase in August so it was more black and white for us. If you already are booking travel the two months of dues has to be weighed against the inconvenience of redoing the contract(s) and rebooking reservations.

 

[sarahlord]

I just got off the phone with my guide and he said I just have to be a cardholder. I don't have to put any of the purchase on the card. Sounds like there is confusion amongst the guides. I'm hoping my guide is right so I can put the costs on my sapphire reserve for the travel-coded points.

Tag: @Tatebeck

My guide just said you have to show the online notary the card

Is there a zero annual fee one available?