Thinking about DVC direct and have some questions...

[lizzebeth13]

My husband and I are considering buying DVC direct. We think 75 pts a year will be good for us. Does anyone know if 75 points direct is possible or do we have to buy 100pts? Also, are Copper Creek and Aulani the only options for direct purchase? We would prefer somewhere else. Thank you!!

 

[Marionnette]

My husband and I are considering buying DVC direct. We think 75 pts a year will be good for us. Does anyone know if 75 points direct is possible or do we have to buy 100pts? Also, are Copper Creek and Aulani the only options for direct purchase? We would prefer somewhere else. Thank you!!

The minimum direct buy-in for first time buyers is 100 points. CCV and Aulani are the two resorts which are currently being promoted but if pressed, your guide can try to get you the points that you want at another home resort. From what I understand, they will not take a wait list for BCV and VGF is not an easy purchase. But all of the other resorts are fair game as long as you are willing to wait for them.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

https://dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-program/financial/pricing-a-promotions

I've found that they are not entirely strict on selling 100+ points to new members. 75 is probably obtainable at many resorts. They will definitely sell them to you at OKW and SSR. I was offered 75 at CCV as a new buyer and I bought only 60 @ BWV in October. I know someone that recently bought 75 at AKV.

In all cases, they obviously have to have the inventory.

 

[Mumof4mice]

I was offered 75pt as an initial buy in at either ccv or aulani. Didn't even have to ask the guide.

 

[lizzebeth13]

Thanks everyone for the responses. I feel better making the call to DVC now.

 

[Dean]

My husband and I are considering buying DVC direct. We think 75 pts a year will be good for us. Does anyone know if 75 points direct is possible or do we have to buy 100pts? Also, are Copper Creek and Aulani the only options for direct purchase? We would prefer somewhere else. Thank you!!

Just make sure you understand what you are and are not getting for the direct purchase over resale. You could get more points for the same price and have more choices in terms of resorts and possibly better contracts as well. If you do decide to buy such a small package, make certain you have enough for trip variations and in case of a reallocation. For most at this size level, I'd buy 20% more than you think/calculate you need.

 

[kristenrice]

Just a friendly heads up....

With only 75 points, I am making the assumption that you are planning to book mostly studios. Over the past few years, the popularity of studios has increased dramatically as the rental market has flourished. Studios have become very popular and availability can disappear very quickly at 7 months, or sooner depending on when you are planning to travel. Be prepared to book at 9-11 months out on a regular basis in order to secure a studio. If you plan to book more than 3-night stays and you must wait until 7 months out, be prepared to be flexible and know that you may need to use the waitlist or perhaps split your stay between different resorts. I am not saying this is going to always be the case, but it is just a friendly "heads up" because it has become more and more difficult to book studios at ALL times of the year. When I see new buyers looking to purchase just enough points to get a studio, I cringe because I fear that when they start to have trouble finding availability, they will see their points going to waste and that makes for a very unhappy owner.

 

[patclairesmom]

75 is the minimum. With the incentives, if you can, might make sense to buy more.

 

[gharter]

How much research have you done about DVC? There is a lot to know to be sure it is a good fit for you. As well as how many points you need and what Use Year to have. And then the entire discussion of buying direct vs resale.
I would take time to read through the information they have about DVC here before making a decision about purchasing.

 

[lizzebeth13]

How much research have you done about DVC? There is a lot to know to be sure it is a good fit for you. As well as how many points you need and what Use Year to have. And then the entire discussion of buying direct vs resale.
I would take time to read through the information they have about DVC here before making a decision about purchasing.

Thank you all. We have been doing a lot of research. We will mostly be staying Studio or 1 bedroom. We don't mind switching resorts if we need to. We want to do 75 points to start out since that is what we need direct to get all the perks. We will likely add on down the road but for now all the numbers work so that 75 pts with banking and borrowing should work out well. There has been a lot of spreadsheets created over the last few weeks. We will also not be financing.

What do you mean by what Use Year to have? Isn't that based on when you buy for direct sales or are you able to choose? I know with resale it will be set based on the original contract.

 

[bumbershoot]

What do you mean by what Use Year to have? Isn't that based on when you buy for direct sales or are you able to choose? I know with resale it will be set based on the original contract.

For the most part you can choose. Sometimes you have to be firm with them, though. We weren't and ended up with a February UY, but that has never mattered much in practice for us.

 

[chalee94]

What do you mean by what Use Year to have? Isn't that based on when you buy for direct sales or are you able to choose? I know with resale it will be set based on the original contract.

It has nothing to do with when you buy and also nothing to do with when you can book (that is based on home resort). But it does impact when your banking window closes, so picking a UY where you typically travel early in the UY can provide a little insurance against losing your pts for zero value of you have to cancel.

Be sure to review and bookmark this thread:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/understanding-use-year-updated-april-27-2016.1942668/

 

[lizzebeth13]

It has nothing to do with when you buy and also nothing to do with when you can book (that is based on home resort). But it does impact when your banking window closes, so picking a UY where you typically travel early in the UY can provide a little insurance against losing your pts for zero value of you have to cancel.

Be sure to review and bookmark this thread:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/understanding-use-year-updated-april-27-2016.1942668/

Thank you all for explaining. That link was very helpful. We tend to not stick to any one time of year since we like to experience different seasons and festivals at WDW. I guess that means any UY should work out for us since in the rare event that we need to cancel we could just shift to a different time (we just did this last year because of a hurricane shifted a September trip to December).

 

[chalee94]

I guess that means any UY should work out for us since in the rare event that we need to cancel we could just shift to a different time (we just did this last year because of a hurricane shifted a September trip to December).

If you are traveling in the last 3 months of your UY, you would likely find it very difficult to shift a reservation or get any value from your pts before they expire, but at least you will be aware of the additional risk.

Be aware that any banked or borrowed pts cannot be moved again to a new UY, so they will expire at the end of the UY that they were originally moved into. Current UY pts will be stuck in their UY once you pass the banking window at 4 months prior to the end of that UY. You may also run into trouble trying to rebook something on short notice. So your only options might be to give the stay away to friends or family - or else try to rent it as-is on short notice...

 

[CraigInPA]

Also, since you mentioned it, you should know that the direct buyers "perks" are NOT guaranteed to last forever. There's been a recent change in the management of DVC. It's unknown whether they will continue things like discounted annual passes, moonlight magic events, special DVC tours, the Epcot lounge, etc...

 

[Debbie Jean]

Thank you all for explaining. That link was very helpful. We tend to not stick to any one time of year since we like to experience different seasons and festivals at WDW. I guess that means any UY should work out for us since in the rare event that we need to cancel we could just shift to a different time (we just did this last year because of a hurricane shifted a September trip to December).

That's the point though, you can't always shift. If you had a December UY those points would have expired at the end of November. You need to understand what the banking deadlines are for your UY

When I was doing Food & Wine in the fall I had a BWV contract with a September UY. Sold that when I decided I preferred Flower and Garden in the spring and have a couple of December contracts that UY suit my needs better.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Thank you all for explaining. That link was very helpful. We tend to not stick to any one time of year since we like to experience different seasons and festivals at WDW. I guess that means any UY should work out for us since in the rare event that we need to cancel we could just shift to a different time (we just did this last year because of a hurricane shifted a September trip to December).

As others mentioned, UY is about giving yourself the best chance to still use the points should you have to change. You would have a difficult time with DVC doing a last minute change from Sept to December. Now say that you bought a Dec UY and you had a late cancellation to that September trip you would have been trying to find a room to use the points during Oct or November before they expired. And those 2 months are tough with little or no availability that close to check in. But, if you had an August or Sept UY then you would have had almost a full year to use those points before they expired and a much easier chance to find availability.