Talk me off the ledge- to sell vgc and buy aul or no?

[CaliAdventurer]

I have xxxx VGC points xxxxUY full points avail. I’m one signature away from listing them for sale to take advantage of the high pricing atm and use the money to buy double or more points at Aulani where I already own 600 points. Help me walk through this and decide if we hit send!

Here’s where my head is at;
Pro:
We use our VGC points the least as I won’t trade then into the rest of the system.
We have a home in SoCal so now we just drive home or I’ll want to make impromptu trips and end up staying off prop overnight because VGC is now a 7-11 month plan or nothing.
We can always rent points during home window at either VGC or VDH in future
We can always pay a day or two rack if need be
We can get 600 more points at Aulani where we are always borrowed out. We love Aulani though it’s point intensive. 600 only gets you a week ocean view. We can also use those as SAP at SSR or higher priced preferred view rooms at WDW at 7 mos and have never had a problem if we’re willing to throw points down for the rooms that book last.
We could later buy into VDH resale as there are more contracts there. We have a blue card already.
More points, more trips and/or the ability to take more people.
No more renting when I need points or using my HHI points as SAP and able to use at HHI as intended.
Aulani is easy to rent if need be. Also it makes the best wedding gift, family and clients trips)

Con:
We will never be able to get those points back and there’s 34 years to go where the rack rate will increase.
We will sell the house in SoCal when the kids go to college and we’ve decided not to repurchase in CA due to weather, water, taxes etc.
Grandkids (fingers crossed)
We may want to go for C33 at DLR also and then will want to stay more often. (This is a minor consideration)
More dues on more points
Aulani points will not appreciate and are harder to sell (that’s never a given of course but a consideration)
Rack rates are high and difficult to get larger rooms
FOMO

We are definitely torn. I’m leaning sell. My husband is leaning keep. Gotta decide if I pull out or sign by EOD tomorrow.

 

[Sandisw]

I removed the details of your post so that it doesn't seem as though it is a For Sale post.

 

[WDWfantasy]

I have xxxxx VGC points xxxxx UY full points avail. I’m one signature away from listing them for sale to take advantage of the high pricing atm and use the money to buy double or more points at Aulani where I already own 600 points. Help me walk through this and decide if we hit send!

Here’s where my head is at;
Pro:
We use our VGC points the least as I won’t trade then into the rest of the system.
We have a home in SoCal so now we just drive home or I’ll want to make impromptu trips and end up staying off prop overnight because VGC is now a 7-11 month plan or nothing.
We can always rent points during home window at either VGC or VDH in future
We can always pay a day or two rack if need be
We can get 600 more points at Aulani where we are always borrowed out. We love Aulani though it’s point intensive. 600 only gets you a week ocean view. We can also use those as SAP at SSR or higher priced preferred view rooms at WDW at 7 mos and have never had a problem if we’re willing to throw points down for the rooms that book last.
We could later buy into VDH resale as there are more contracts there. We have a blue card already.
More points, more trips and/or the ability to take more people.
No more renting when I need points or using my HHI points as SAP and able to use at HHI as intended.
Aulani is easy to rent if need be. Also it makes the best wedding gift, family and clients trips)

Con:
We will never be able to get those points back and there’s 34 years to go where the rack rate will increase.
We will sell the house in SoCal when the kids go to college and we’ve decided not to repurchase in CA due to weather, water, taxes etc.
Grandkids (fingers crossed)
We may want to go for C33 at DLR also and then will want to stay more often. (This is a minor consideration)
More dues on more points
Aulani points will not appreciate and are harder to sell (that’s never a given of course but a consideration)
Rack rates are high and difficult to get larger rooms
FOMO

We are definitely torn. I’m leaning sell. My husband is leaning keep. Gotta decide if I pull out or sign by EOD tomorrow.

My questions are;

1) Do you usually plan DL trips less than 7 months out? I know that we plan our DL trips usually a few months out (also California residents), therefore owning at VGC would be pointless (no pun intended lol) for us. We used to own there and sold several years ago for this reason.

2) Are your VGC points restricted where you would be unable to use them to stay at VDH?

If it were me and the answer to either of those is yes, I’d probably sell

 

[kboo]

From someone who used 600ish SAP points for a spectacular stay at AUL recently, I think in your situation it makes sense! VGC contracts seem to be sitting a bit longer now but still move at a premium. I recently went through this analysis too, and was deciding between AUL resale or VGF direct, having given up on VGC. Since we are east coast and go to WDW often, VGF made more sense for us, and we will just use our WDW points for oceanview at AUL next time...

ETA: what would be your yearly dues increase if you got more AUL points? The dues was another nudge to VGF for us.

 

[CaliAdventurer]

Good points! I used to plan way ahead but now that we have a place about 2 hours away, it’s been more impromptu.

Our points aren’t restricted so yeah, we could trade into VDH. Maybe it’s worth seeing how that shakes out.

 

[CaliAdventurer]

From someone who used 600ish SAP points for a spectacular stay at AUL recently, I think in your situation it makes sense! VGC contracts seem to be sitting a bit longer now but still move at a premium. I recently went through this analysis too, and was deciding between AUL resale or VGF direct, having given up on VGC. Since we are east coast and go to WDW often, VGF made more sense for us, and we will just use our WDW points for oceanview at AUL next time...

ETA: what would be your yearly dues increase if you got more AUL points? The dues was another nudge to VGF for us.

it would def be a few grand more and we already pay a pretty healthy chunk for all our points. So that’s def a big consideration for my husband but what he doesn’t realize is that each year I spend a few grand renting more points to use at WDW anyway. Maybe it’s really another SAP WDW contract we need! lol (but true!). I would lean that way if we didn’t have our full points available while my HHI, AUL, and VGF points are all borrowed out which leads me to believe that VGC is not where we need the points as much any longer. But again that wasn’t the case before. Ugh. It’s really the FOMO I think that has me in a choke hold.

 

[Shellyred8]

If I wasn't able to use the VGC points in the 7-11 month range and I didn't want to deal with renting those points out each year, I would sell them if I was able to get a really good price on them.
In regards to buying more points, if I were mostly going to use them as SAP points at the 7 month mark, I would look at buying one of the WDW resorts with a lower buy-in cost and lower dues. If there is one resort that I really wanted to be able to book at in the 7-11 month window at WDW, I might look a little harder at that resort first to see what I could get on the resale market. For us, we ended up buying a resale contract at BLT because we wanted to be able to get a Studio during early December since that is one of the times we usually visit.
Good luck with your decision!

 

[CaliAdventurer]

If I wasn't able to use the VGC points in the 7-11 month range and I didn't want to deal with renting those points out each year, I would sell them if I was able to get a really good price on them.
In regards to buying more points, if I were mostly going to use them as SAP points at the 7 month mark, I would look at buying one of the WDW resorts with a lower buy-in cost and lower dues. If there is one resort that I really wanted to be able to book at in the 7-11 month window at WDW, I might look a little harder at that resort first to see what I could get on the resale market. For us, we ended up buying a resale contract at BLT because we wanted to be able to get a Studio during early December since that is one of the times we usually visit.
Good luck with your decision!

Thank you! Yeah, that’s kind of how I’m feeling but we are west coast and use Aulani. I would love more WDW points but if want an EPCOT resort as we already have VGF but that 2042 or resale restriction on DRR opens another can of worms. Do other timeshare owners agonize the way DVC owners do? Ha!! The struggle is real!

 

[Curiousporpoise]

I would never sell VGC points if I had them! It looks like VGC is a little easier to book now that VDH is going to open. I would wait to see if you like VDH before selling VGC, as the location at VGC can’t be beat! Also, I would hold since you are going to sell your Southern California home at later date and might need to closer once you do.

On another note, Aulani points are pretty inexpensive on the resale market, have you thought about adding resale points? I have seen people paying between $80-105/pt. on this board.

 

[longboard55]

We do the staycations at VGC, we are 1/2 hour away. Spend days at the pool and nights at the park. We have booked Aulani a few times, never an issue if school is in session

 

[WDWfantasy]

I would never sell VGC points if I had them! It looks like VGC is a little easier to book now that VDH is going to open

I just looked at all VGC inventory over the next 7 months and there is literally nothing available in any category. If you’re going to own VGC points and plan to use them there, you really need to have your vacation plans firmed up more than 7 months out, and for some room categories at 11 months out.

 

[CaliAdventurer]

I would never sell VGC points if I had them! It looks like VGC is a little easier to book now that VDH is going to open. I would wait to see if you like VDH before selling VGC, as the location at VGC can’t be beat! Also, I would hold since you are going to sell your Southern California home at later date and might need to closer once you do.

On another note, Aulani points are pretty inexpensive on the resale market, have you thought about adding resale points? I have seen people paying between $80-105/pt. on this board.

Yes! We’d definitely go resale as we have our blue card and plus if we find a big contract, which we are fine with, hopefully I can get them in the low end.

 

[RoseGold]

This is the worst mathematical DVC move I can imagine. And no, you don't have to decide anything tomorrow (unless you're under contract or something???). DVC and VGC will be there next month and six months from now.

If you aren't using your VGC, decide whether you want to sell or rent it out. Those are your options for these very expensive points. If you aren't up for renting them out, then I don't see how you can keep them. They're too expensive to use elsewhere, especially right now.

That's a different discussion than buying Aulani. If you want to buy into Aulani, I recommend spending some time on TUGS. Unlike VGC, there are a lot of competitors in Hawaii. There are a whole lot of hotels and timeshares in Hawaii, and it's not like Aulani points are hard to rent. Even if you do choose to sell, I wouldn't be in a rush to buy Aulani.

 

[WDWfantasy]

That's a different discussion than buying Aulani. If you want to buy into Aulani, I recommend spending some time on TUGS. Unlike VGC, there are a lot of competitors in Hawaii. There are a whole lot of hotels and timeshares in Hawaii, and it's not like Aulani points are hard to rent. Even if you do choose to sell, I wouldn't be in a rush to buy Aulani.

They already own 600 points at Aulani, so I can understand why they might consider buying more there. Especially since they are using all of those points already and still coming up short on points.

 

[LilyJC]

Ooof, this is a tough call… We live in So Cal and really only had our VGC contracts for runDisney events. With only one event seemingly returning, I mentioned selling a contract to make some serious bank at these prices! Not sure how old your kids are, but we have one in college and one in high school. They were 100% opposed to selling ANY of our VGC contracts as was my husband. No one wants to give those points up for anything.

We all also love Aulani and are currently waiting to close on a subsidized contract I found. Anyhow, the teenagers love being able to invite friends along on our VGC staycations as DLR is a much easier commitment for families to agree to as opposed to WDW and Aulani trips. …BUT if you really aren’t able to plan within the owner booking period, I guess it does seem silly to own at VGC. Ugh, so tough!

 

[CaliAdventurer]

Ooof, this is a tough call… We live in So Cal and really only had our VGC contracts for runDisney events. With only one event seemingly returning, I mentioned selling a contract to make some serious bank at these prices! Not sure how old your kids are, but we have one in college and one in high school. They were 100% opposed to selling ANY of our VGC contracts as was my husband. No one wants to give those points up for anything.

We all also love Aulani and are currently waiting to close on a subsidized contract I found. Anyhow, the teenagers love being able to invite friends along on our VGC staycations as DLR is a much easier commitment for families to agree to as opposed to WDW and Aulani trips. …BUT if you really aren’t able to plan within the owner booking period, I guess it does seem silly to own at VGC. Ugh, so tough!

You know, this really hit me. My husband wants to hold them and my kids love both but we’re definitely kind of quiet. They are 12 & 14. I’ve asked the fam which is their favorite resort between AUL, VGC, VGF and they had a really hard time answering with 2/4 saying VGC. As it stands now, our contracts are very similar in value at those 3 resorts despite VGC having half as many pints and we have 3 kids so it’s pretty even and easy to gift them when they grow up.

You’ve got me leaning “no deal” now. I think the best solution is maybe some SSR points. We love the refurb and the kids like DS more each trip and can walk over from preferred view easily. Never really considered it but if we’re gonna increase our dues by selling anyway but we will end up even more tied up with The Mouse. Our financial planner is gonna love this! Haha. TY for the clarity!

 

[Royal Consort]

I have been in the same boat. I have a small and larger VGC contract and was considering selling the small one. Then I was tempted to buy Aulani which I have shied away from (but which I love). I am probably not going to sell the contract because VGC points are far too precious and since our intention isn't to visit WDW annually, I have more than enough WDW points to book Aulani at seven months. Which is what I usually do! My issue is that the pandemic messed up my points and it's thrown our trips all over the place, rather than using the points as they were purchased. The ultimate clincher was that I do not need any increase in my annual dues thank you very much.

The other problem I have with Aulani is that it's more challenging to 'get out' of ownership there and I hestitate on Hawaii regulatory issues moving forward. I'm not saying it's bad or you're trapped, clearly not. It just isn't ever going to have the universal appeal of DLR or WDW, it's too niche. I feel relatively confident that I can always sell my VGC points if I wanted down the line.

 

[highmac]

You know, this really hit me. My husband wants to hold them and my kids love both but we’re definitely kind of quiet. They are 12 & 14. I’ve asked the fam which is their favorite resort between AUL, VGC, VGF and they had a really hard time answering with 2/4 saying VGC. As it stands now, our contracts are very similar in value at those 3 resorts despite VGC having half as many pints and we have 3 kids so it’s pretty even and easy to gift them when they grow up.

You’ve got me leaning “no deal” now. I think the best solution is maybe some SSR points. We love the refurb and the kids like DS more each trip and can walk over from preferred view easily. Never really considered it but if we’re gonna increase our dues by selling anyway but we will end up even more tied up with The Mouse. Our financial planner is gonna love this! Haha. TY for the clarity!

My 2c would be to sell VGC now. Imho VGC prices will decline in the future as VDH resale contracts inevitably hit the market. If prices are similar to RIV or somewhere along $150-$160 rate I would view it as a very favorable trade to move from VGC ~$300pp to VDH ~$150pp plus the extra years.

Again imho I would expect VDH to still be available direct from Disney by the time VDH resales start to show up so that puts a ceiling on resale prices, maybe VDH resale needs to be at least 20% discount to VDH direct for most buyers?

If you find that you really want to stay at VGC you still have the option to rent points and the funds from selling VGC, for every $10,000 worth of VGC points one can currently aim for ~6% yearly return (speak to you financial advisor or research from money market or treasury funds available). Add to that the maintenance fees you are not paying for those points and that imo is plenty of reason to unload the VGC points right now.

AUL prices seem pretty depressed at the moment, I was looking into it to purchase a resale contract. If you have other business uses or gifting AUL stays and need more points, now would be a good time to purchase imo. For personal stays you might want to consider mixing it up a bit and maybe renting a week from a timeshare owner in one of the many other properties in HI. With small kids (3, 7) I tend to avoid that, but at 12 & 14 I would try one week at AUL and even one week at Maui MOC or Waikoloa Ocean Club.

 

[kboo]

You’ve got me leaning “no deal” now. I think the best solution is maybe some SSR points. We love the refurb and the kids like DS more each trip and can walk over from preferred view easily. Never really considered it but if we’re gonna increase our dues by selling anyway but we will end up even more tied up with The Mouse. Our financial planner is gonna love this! Haha. TY for the clarity!

If you're looking at reasale SAP, the fact that you can get AUL or SSR for under $100 and lower dues at SSR does make this a valid option. We were able to get a room at Aulani with our SAPs, we were just "Stuck" with oceanview.

 

[CaliAdventurer]

If you're looking at reasale SAP, the fact that you can get AUL or SSR for under $100 and lower dues at SSR does make this a valid option. We were able to get a room at Aulani with our SAPs, we were just "Stuck" with oceanview.

It’s true. That does change the calculation to go with lower dues. I completely appreciate the luxury that it is to use more points. Makes the 7 month window a completely different proposition.