Use of Points

[DME-1971]

Lisa - Kids go back to school the end of August. So we can pretty much do any week in August except the last week.

 

[GrumpyInPhilly]

This is my plan. I'm going to buy Poly retail. UY is August and have enough for one week during Magic season. Then later on buy SSR resale. With the hopes that I can combine both when I need to and stay at a 2-bedroom Villa from time to time. Combining the points of both locations to offer me one week. So in this case, do I want the same UY or different ones? This is where I get stuck.

Is Aug the UY your guide says that are selling now? If Aug isn't the best UY for your normal stays tell them that you want a better UY (you pick it) and make the deal contingent on it.

 

[LisaS]

Lisa - Kids go back to school the end of August. So we can pretty much do any week in August except the last week.

So you would never go in June or July? An August UY would be perfect if you plan to visit WDW in August - March but if you might go in June or July, August would be the worst UY.

 

[DME-1971]

Yea he said it would be August. But if I'm going mostly in the summer, what would be a good UY to request?

 

[Matty B13]

Yea he said it would be August. But if I'm going mostly in the summer, what would be a good UY to request?

Are your kids in school? Do you go during February or April vacation? We are finding that we should have gotten a December UY because of the school vacation schedule.

If going during the summer a June UY would be good.

 

[DME-1971]

Yup. Kids in school now. We'd mostly only go in The summer months at least for the next ten years. So a UY in may/June would be better?

 

[Matty B13]

Yup. Kids in school now. We'd mostly only go in The summer months at least for the next ten years. So a UY in may/June would be better?

There is no May UY, but June and March.

 

[Matty B13]

There is no May UY, but June and March.

And April UY

 

[GrumpyInPhilly]

Yup. Kids in school now. We'd mostly only go in The summer months at least for the next ten years. So a UY in may/June would be better?

Yep. You got it.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Yea he said it would be August. But if I'm going mostly in the summer, what would be a good UY to request?

If summer is going to be your main travel time I'd definitely skip buying Poly. Save your money and just get SSR or SSR/BLT combo resale and then do a 25 point add on at either of those direct if the missing perks are going to be a loss for you. Poly has a TON of studios and you'll be able to book there in the summer at 7 months without owning there. And if you decide that larger villas are the preference as your kids get older it would just be throwing away that premium you'd be paying for PVB points to use them to stay anywhere else.

Also your guide isn't listening very well if he was going to set you up with the August UY and you said your travel could be anytime in the summer. You'd be giving up the free insurance against last minute cancellations that come with having a good UY that starts just before the times you plan to travel. I'd wonder about other things they said to you to get the sale. Maybe nothing, but maybe something.

 

[DME-1971]

That's an option I'm now thinking about Kat. I'd really like to stay at Poly but if my home resort is at SSR and it's only the 4 or 5 of us we can stay in a studio and if we chose to we can upgrade to Poly. But if I have more guests we can upgrade to a 2Bedroom Villa. So am I allowed to buy points direct from Disney for SSR? Or can you only buy points from locations they're currently selling? If yes I would buy at SSR resale and then just buy 25-50 points direct.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

That's an option I'm now thinking about Kat. I'd really like to stay at Poly but if my home resort is at SSR and it's only the 4 or 5 of us we can stay in a studio and if we chose to we can upgrade to Poly. But if I have more guests we can upgrade to a 2Bedroom Villa. So am I allowed to buy points direct from Disney for SSR? Or can you only buy points from locations they're currently selling? If yes I would buy at SSR resale and then just buy 25-50 points direct.

DVC sells points at all the resorts. Many guides won't talk about it because they want to sell the ones that are in current sales - not certain if it's a better commission or just what they are told to do. Some of them they may not have right when you want in the UY you want and you have to wait (usually VGF, VGC, BCV) but I'd expect them to have 25 SSR points most any time you wanted to buy.

 

[DME-1971]

That's fantastic!!! So since the kids are still in school, a March or June UY is better than August?

 

[cedricandsophie]

We have over 1400 points at seven different resorts, with about half bought resale and four use years. I sometimes combine points by transferring from one contract to another but it usually works out that I don't have to. I don't find the different use years or contracts a problem in terms of keeping track. All the info is available online.

I would never put two people in a BL studio let alone four. And the poly studios don't look that much bigger. The biggest studios are old key west. We never get less than a one bedroom when we book even if it's for two people but especially for more. We use the kitchen for breakfast and some dinners. And I couldn't live without the washer and dryer.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

That's fantastic!!! So since the kids are still in school, a March or June UY is better than August?

Having a UY that starts just before your normal travel plans will give you the most time to rebook or even bank points should you ever have a last minute cancellation. Wheas if you are traveling just prior to the start of a UY a last minute cancellation might mean you'd have a month or less to try and use points before they expired. If you never cancel it won't matter but even one cancellation with a trip just before the end of the UY could mean a years worth of lost points.

So, pick out the earliest month you think you might travel in the summer. If it's June then the June UY would work but so would April or even March. If you might travel in May ever then you'd want to look at April or March.

FYI - The banking deadline for a June UY is Jan 31, April is Nov 30 and March would be Oct 31st so all of them would give ample time from a summer cancellation if the need ever arose. Or if it were a cancellation that happened 30 days or less before check in and the points went into holding you'd have several months to almost a year to try and use or rent the points before they expired.

 

[Dean]

DVC sells points at all the resorts. Many guides won't talk about it because they want to sell the ones that are in current sales - not certain if it's a better commission or just what they are told to do. Some of them they may not have right when you want in the UY you want and you have to wait (usually VGF, VGC, BCV) but I'd expect them to have 25 SSR points most any time you wanted to buy.

I'd do June in this situation so you'll have all summer as an option. I agree with skipping Poly for summer. I'd definitely buy the resale first then the retail, much easier and safer and if you proceed now, not any more expensive. Once you lock in UY, you'll have a lot less to chose from resale though for SSR it shouldn't that big of a deal either way.

 

[DME-1971]

So buy SSR resale with a spring UY and then buy SSR retail for 25 points or so so I get the Disney perks. You're sure I can buy SSR retail?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

So buy SSR resale with a spring UY and then buy SSR retail for 25 points or so so I get the Disney perks. You're sure I can buy SSR retail?

Yes, you can buy SSR direct from DVC.

Buy a spring UY if you might travel in May. Otherwise a June UY will work well for summer travel.

 

[Dean]

So buy SSR resale with a spring UY and then buy SSR retail for 25 points or so so I get the Disney perks. You're sure I can buy SSR retail?

I can't guarantee availability but I'd be willing to bet on it. Obviously your situation is going to be different than the next person. You need to spend enough time so you truly understand the nuances of what you're getting into as it applies to you. Effectively so you could answer this question for someone in a few months. IMO that takes about 6 months of active investigation. I'm a big proponent of underbuying and getting into the system but it's not for everyone. If you have sufficient on property Disney experience, it's not a bad ploy to buy SSR resale and let the usage help you figure out some of the rest going forward. I'd far rather you own SSR and figure out it doesn't work for you than Poly retail with the same conclusion. One of the best ways to do this is to go for a contract that's modestly smaller than what you need, say 150-170 or even slightly less when you think you need 220 long term. If you find a good loaded SSR contract, it'll feel like around 200 for 3-4 years anyway. Then if you find one that's 190 or 200 that's a great deal and perfect otherwise, it wouldn't be the end of the world to pull the trigger there since that's where you want to end up anyway with the current thoughts. That with a 25 pt add on gets you to 175-225. If you do go smaller and decide SSR isn't perfect, simply buying something else to add to it can be a great option and cheaper than selling all and rebuying all. Worst case scenario is you buy SSR, hate owning it then sell again in 2-3 years. Total cost roughly zero if you used or rented it out in the interim. Of course any replacement might be slightly higher but it might not, Poly should be more available then resale if that's where you ended up deciding was best.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The only week of summer that might, and to date I don't think it has been, might be an issue at Poly at 7 months is July 4.

The first week of December is an issue, and through fall frenzy 7 month booking can be a matter of luck and internet speed. Summer is easy season at all of the on-property WDW DVC.