Using more expensive points at cheaper resorts

[PSUDinsey]

Do you guys who own at the more expensive resorts use your points are the cheaper resorts? Both in cost of points and maintenance fees? I am mulling aulani now but would want to stay at WDW every other year probably but assume OKW or SSR would be my most likely options.

 

[BillPA]

Yes

 

[PSUDinsey]

Yes

Bill, you just accept that as the cost of doing business? Do you mainly stay at your home resort?

I guess i should have asked two question in the original post. Is it unwise to purchase at aulani if I plan to use whatever resort is alvailable at 7 months 50% of the time?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Do you plan to travel more frequently to AUL or to WDW?

What season are you most likely to travel to AUL? To WDW?

Those answers steer you towards buying expensive AUL or getting cheap SSR points.

 

[BillPA]

Purchase where you want to stay, or at least where you would not mind staying. As we get more and more members, it is getting more difficult to book at 7 months. Also the maintenance fee are the most costly factor in the long run, not the buy in cost. Check for a resale, you will save 40-50% over buying from Disney.

 

[PSUDinsey]

Do you plan to travel more frequently to AUL or to WDW?

What season are you most likely to travel to AUL? To WDW?

Those answers steer you towards buying expensive AUL or getting cheap SSR points.

It would literally be split 50/50

I have a 4 year old so travel times would be during school breaks.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

It would literally be split 50/50

I have a 4 year old so travel times would be during school breaks.

I believe June is a high season for booking Aulani.

September-marathon is high season for booking at WDW. So it depends "what school breaks."

 

[Minniesgal]

Not so much we bought VGF to use at VGF and CGC to use at VGC and I hate if circumstances mean we have to stay elsewhere

In your case I would half and half my points, half at Aulani and half at WDW and borrow for each booking

 

[GrumpyInPhilly]

We own @ BCV and our 1st stay was there. Since then we have stayed at SSR (treehouse) & VGF - so one less expensive resort & one more expensive resort. If you like to stay at multiple resorts I think it all evens out in the end if you purchase a middle of the road resort (cost wise) via resale like we did.

 

[Kidanifan08]

Minniesgal actually made an excellent recommendation. You could buy half the points you need to stay at Aulani every other year during your preferred season and bank or borrow to use those points every other year. Then, you could buy half the points you need for your preferred WDW resort to have the 11 month booking advantage. That way, if you get tired of Aulani, or vice versa, you could unload the points you don't want and purchase more of the desired property. That plan does double the closing costs, but in the long run, may save money. If the WDW location does not matter to you, you could really save by simply buying SSR points and using those at the 7 month window to stay where you want at WDW every other year. Great response, Minniesgal!

 

[DenLo]

We own at Aulani, BLT and AKV. We use our Aulani points mainly at Aulani and stay there every other year. If we have some dangling points left over from Aulani that cannot be use in our next Aulani reservation because they will expire then we use those points towards a WDW vacation. Our AKV and BLT points are used for our stays at any DVC resort of our choice, although we often stay at BLT and stay at AKV at least every other year as we love our home resorts.

Like Kidanifan08 said we purchased roughly half the number of points (rounded up slightly) we needed to stay at Aulani every other year, planning on using those points strictly for Aulani stays in a studio. It isn't because of the cost of the points but because we wanted the 11 month advantage at Aulani.

 

[PSUDinsey]

We own at Aulani, BLT and AKV. We use our Aulani points mainly at Aulani and stay there every other year. If we have some dangling points left over from Aulani that cannot be use in our next Aulani reservation because they will expire then we use those points towards a WDW vacation. Our AKV and BLT points are used for our stays at any DVC resort of our choice, although we often stay at BLT and stay at AKV at least every other year as we love our home resorts.

Like Kidanifan08 said we purchased roughly half the number of points (rounded up slightly) we needed to stay at Aulani every other year, planning on using those points strictly for Aulani stays in a studio. It isn't because of the cost of the points but because we wanted the 11 month advantage at Aulani.

The only sucky part of doing that is the smaller contracts are 5-10 dollars more expensive per point- other then that I like the idea.

Same use year for all three contracts?

 

[Dean]

Do you guys who own at the more expensive resorts use your points are the cheaper resorts? Both in cost of points and maintenance fees? I am mulling aulani now but would want to stay at WDW every other year probably but assume OKW or SSR would be my most likely options.

It has to be part of your thought process up front. First one decides if DVC makes sense at all, then one decides the best home resort, UY & number of points. Then one goes back to the first question to double check it. For many, buying cheaper may make sense but more expensive may not. And for school breaks, esp Easter & Xmas, it may be as cheap or cheaper to do cash as it is points and it's never a good idea to buy DVC just to break even on the same option. In this situation and making the assumption that DVC actually makes sense, one simply has to decide what's more important. For a true 50/50 and if I were OK with anywhere at WDW, I'd likely try to get points at both so I could reserve at 11 months out. Xmas and Easter will be tough both locations, summer will be easier but not necessarily automatic. I'd be willing to pay more for a subsidized Aulani contract if that were the best choice others.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

The only sucky part of doing that is the smaller contracts are 5-10 dollars more expensive per point- other then that I like the idea.

Edit: whoops! Big error in my math there. Will need to recalculate.

OK, corrected below:

100 pts SSR @ $90 PP buy-in and $5.44 MFs = $30,212
100 pts AUL @ $105 PP buy-in and $6.79 MFs = $42,413
Total $72,625

200 pts AUL @ $95 PP buy-in and $6.79 MFs = $82,826

SSR ends in 2054 (vs AUL at 2062), so it's not quite fair. You could add 8 years of SSR MF's for comparison ($4,351) and it would ~$77,000, though that's still not quite fair. But I still think half/half is better.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

It would bother me to use my VGF points at a cheaper resort, but I would consider it 1) If we decided to do an Epcot-centric stay, or 2) If it enabled me to get a Grand Villa without borrowing.
If we ever start staying a lot at one of the less point-intensive resorts, I would probably just buy some points there.

 

[Dean]

It would bother me to use my VGF points at a cheaper resort, but I would consider it 1) If we decided to do an Epcot-centric stay, or 2) If it enabled me to get a Grand Villa without borrowing.
If we ever start staying a lot at one of the less point-intensive resorts, I would probably just buy some points there.

Every time you do you decrease the value of the more expensive points and increase the cost. To do this routinely could easily make owning more expensive than just paying cash.

 

[McCrae]

I think the best rule is to stay where you want to visit and not focus on the different point cost for each resort.

 

[Dean]

I think the best rule is to stay where you want to visit and not focus on the different point cost for each resort.

IF one already owns possibly but certainly one should look at this very critically buying in.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

You are paying, in part, for an 11-month window. This is one of the reasons I always ask if people really want studios when they look at Poly. Paying $160+ per point for a 7 month booking window is not financially prudent IMO, and I feel like I have a good argument on that.

 

[PSUDinsey]

I think part of the joy and downfall of DVC or atleast the people who care enough about it to post here is it draws planners and tinkerers. Every plan and idea I come up with or others give me here has equal downsides as ups.
Last night in my buying ALunai and SSR research Google prompted me with a Disney promotion of 30% off a 5 day stay a 150 dollar resort credit- a daily meal at one of the restaurant and free memory maker.

I think the only monetary value in DVC is if you buy SSR and are able to trade into basically any other resort- but being totally content on staying only at SSR every trip. That is not me I want to stay at all the resorts - maybe I should remain a renter/sale shopper for life.

I am staying at the Disney hotel in August just to check it out.

Ehh maybe one day I'll fall into a DVC deal.