What is your Point Buffer?

[bwvBound]

In post 484 of the mega thread regarding 2010 point changes, Dean suggests buying/owning a 10% margin over your initial planned usage. In an earlier post from August 2002, his suggestion was similar w/out an exact number:

... I just would not buy EXACTLY the number of points for a certain stay. I'd buy a small buffer, how much depends on travel habits and room size comparisons. Anyone buying exactly the number of points for a low season (adventure or dream) Sunday to Friday is nuts. One buying enough for a full week in a 2 BR high season (Magic or Premier) is less likely to be affected adversely by any changes.

My DH and I are fortunate to have a point buffer -- even if owning the buffer was unintentional. Our intended planned visit was 200 points (1 week, BWV, 1BR in January). We started with 150 points (the minimum purchase offered in 2004) knowing we'd be able to live for a few years on banking/borrowing and that an add-on was certain. Our first add-on was a tiny 25-point contract at our home resort as soon as we found the available cash. We were still 25 points shy of the goal -- but flush with banked points from the initial purchases. Our 2nd add-on hit us by surprise while playing at Disneyland in 2007. We said, "Yes!" to 160 points, far more than we needed, thanks to the incentives offered that day. Our plans were to use the contract for a year or two then sell it stripped. Oh, no -- we've come to love having the extra points! This year our "200 point" intended stay grew to "312 points" (10 nights, not the original 7) ... and I still have points to bank into next year.

Our "buffer" is 135 points more than our original plan. If you don't mind sharing, what is yours?

thanks: Thank you, Dean, for the good advice.)

 

[bobbiwoz]

I do not plan like that. I look at what I have and what I can do. I never bought DVC to do "this" exclusively. When we looked at DVC in 1996, that was one of my problems, trying to figure out what our vacations would be. Another problem was that our DS's had no interest and one was against it completely.

Our points and vacations have changed even since '03 when we bought. We have 3 DGC that has increased our options of when/where to go. We work with what we got, or do an add on. We hope we have at least 10 more years to fully enjoy our DVC...after that we will probably downsize.

Bobbi

 

[PrincessV]

I do not plan like that. I look at what I have and what I can do. I never bought DVC to do "this" exclusively.

Pretty much the same for me. I live nearby, so my vacation times vary a lot, using a variety of point scenarios throughout a UY. I'd say I average about a 3-8 point buffer.

 

[Lady V]

We started at 200 points. Really didn't have ny idea of an exact amount needed. Just knew it would get us at least a week every year in a studio. figured some years we would have extra to bank. A year later I decided I wanted more!! I bought 150 more!! So now I sit at 350 points and I still am always wanting more! As a matter of fact-in two weeks we leave for 8 days at BCV on my mothers points!!! I really don't have a buffer amount...I use everything I have every year...I bought the max i could comfortably afford at the time because I knew that for me I would always wish I had bought more!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

We started at 200 points. Really didn't have ny idea of an exact amount needed. Just knew it would get us at least a week every year in a studio. figured some years we would have extra to bank. A year later I decided I wanted more!! I bought 150 more!! So now I sit at 350 points and I still am always wanting more! As a matter of fact-in two weeks we leave for 8 days at BCV on my mothers points!!! I really don't have a buffer amount...I use everything I have every year...I bought the max i could comfortably afford at the time because I knew that for me I would always wish I had bought more!

We did the same thing bought what we could afford at the time..170 pts at VWL..then added 100 at BWV..then another 50 at BWV.....we wind up using them all every year as well

 

[El&Asmom]

We have 210pts. Fifty are at HH, and 160 at SSR. We have only owned since July '07. So far we have not fallen into a distinct pattern. We tend to plan pretty late, and thus far has worked out fine for us. Last year we went in Sept and Jan. We went again in Sept '08, and have decided to go in May '09 and Jan '11. We may try to fit a Nov '10 trip in since we will have APs this year.
We definitely were not ones to look at a specific week each year and buy exactly that may points to go at that time every year.

The changes with the point charts will affect those of us with small contracts the most, because we have less of a buffer. Our 50pt HH contract will be used every 3 years in the summer for a 1bd which is now 145pts compared to 130pts it used to be. Thankfully we will still have enough points for this. Had we bought only enough to have 130 points every 3 years, we would not have had enough for the 145 pts that it now takes for those nights.
Bottom line though, is that it will require 15 more points for the same room which stinks.

 

[DeeCee735]

The first contract we bought we figured on a specific accomodation for a specific week per year (Pres week - 6 nights - one bedroom). It was 171 points. I just rounded it up to 185 as a place to start, and have added an additional 50 to that at our 1st home resort of BWV. A few months back I bought another 50 at AKV, making that a second home resort, and really only to get a couple of nights a year in a studio.
I just booked three nights in November Sun, Mon & Tue and it's only 36 points for a studio savannah view, so even with the points increase in Sun-Thurs, I'll still be able to pull off a studio for three nights a year

I'm a happy girl

 

[bwvBound]

Fresh comment from my husband, "Planning DVC point purchase is like asking, 'How much disk space will I need in 2, 5, 10 years?'" Always buy more than you think ...

 

[hellerjw]

We started with 200 and did (2) 100 pt add-ons last year. Our buffer never makes it past the desire to squeeze another yearly trip in, hence the need for the add-ons. I'm hoping our 400 pts will allow us 3 trips a year now and provide some banking/buffer for a 4th trip or longer stays during the other trips.

I attribute the amount of points you own to the amount of storage space you have in your home, there is never enough no matter how well you plan.

 

[Inkmahm]

We didn't buy with definite stays in mind, either. We bought BWV, then bought VWL and then bought AKV. Once we had 530 points, I sat down last year and figured out how to best use them so we don't end up doing split stays based on what points we've banked/borrowed/need to use up.

I came up with "standard" stays for us at AKV in spring for 208 points. We own 200 there so there would be borrowing involved and a year in a studio instead of a one bedroom now and then. Under the new charts, we still need 202 points. The plan has not changed. No cushion.

Our "standard" trip to BWV in October was 142 points and we own 150. Now that will be 134 points so we can add an extra night now and then. Cushion I guess would be 16 points.

Our "standard" trip to VWL in December was going to take 178 points and we own 180. A cushion of 2. Now the new charts say our vacation will take 180 exactly so no cushion there, either.


In reality, I "make" cushion for saving points for trips with family members, etc. by booking us into a studio sometimes instead of a one bedroom when it is just me and DH. That saves points so that we can use them for a 2 bedroom when we bring family along. While I like the one bedrooms, I don't die if I have to stay in a studio. Points can be manipulated and saved pretty easily by "roughing" it now and then in a studio.

 

[bwvBound]

In reality, I "make" cushion for saving points for trips with family members, etc. by booking us into a studio sometimes instead of a one bedroom when it is just me and DH. That saves points so that we can use them for a 2 bedroom when we bring family along. While I like the one bedrooms, I don't die if I have to stay in a studio. Points can be manipulated and saved pretty easily by "roughing" it now and then in a studio.

 

[helenk]

I bought my first points this past August, 160 at AKV. I bought that amount based on my vacations now. I generally go to WDW in May and December, and I would book a savannah studio from Sun to Thurs for Dec (55 pts) and Sat to Thurs for May (91 pts) for those 2 trips I would need 146 points so I had 14 pt buffer.
Then I realized that I would not be going solo every year because I now have a grand-daughter. While she's young I have to include my son and his wife, so now I'll need a 1 bedroom for at least 1 trip every other year. A 1 bedroom in June from Sun to Friday is 209 points so I bought 50 more points. With 210 pts I will have a buffer for my solo trips of 64.
Everyother year I'll need 264 pts which I will have with banking the 64 pts from the year prior.
Now, if the new point charts comes to fruition, then a 1 bedroom in June will be 220 pts, and my December trip will be 65 pts for a total needed of 285 for my every other year trips. I'll be shy a few points, unless I downgrade to a standard view (50 pts) for a total needed points 270, and I'll be fine.
The nice thing about staying at the AKV is that you have the standard view or the value rooms so I have a bit more room to "play". If I stay in another DVC resort I will pay cash for a weekend day but that's fine as I would like to be able to try out other resorts.

 

[kerickson]

We also initially bought what we could afford. We were initially just going to buy 160 pts for the VGC Founding Member program, but the 225 incentives were good so we bought that. We live on the West Coast so we knew our vacations would vary every year since we probably wouldn't be able to fly out to WDW every year. I plan to use the 225 for WDW, DCL, DLR trips, and we'll stay for as long as we can depending on our room needs and the season.

For VGC, we are also buying what we've budgeted ($10k). Initially I was thinking that would be 90 pts, but with the 100 pt min and $5 incentive, we'll buy 100pts. I've put together a spreadsheet of all the different ways we can use 100 points figuring we'll visit twice every 3 years. I'm 5 pts over for the combination I think we'll use the most, but I'd rather be 5pts over than 5 pts under... But, I'm not going to get locked into the idea of a specific trip every year. With 2 small kids and 2 working parents, our schedules need to be flexible...

 

[kristenrice]

We had a 15 point buffer. Our kids (ages 3 and 5, just starting school) have spring break as the first week of April every year. We planned on using our 100 points and taking two trips every three years. Trip #1 would be in a standard 1BR, Su-Th at AKV in premiere season (160 points). We'd borrow the 60 points. Then, trip #2 would fall in magic season. We'd get a standard 1BR (125 points) for a Su-Th which would leave us 15 points to bank. At least 1 out of every 3 years, the first full week of April falls into Magic season so we would have been fine. We'd have to tinker with how we rotated our 2 out of 3 years, but it was a completely reasonable plan. If the transportation and ticket costs got too great, we could back down to every other year and get a savanna view 1BR in premiere season and still have a 5 point buffer.

Oh well, back to the drawing board .

 

[TSMIII]

Like many others, we bought what we could afford. That turned out to be 173 points.

We figured through banking & borrowing, plotting & scheming, we could cobble together at least one vacation every year. Some years would be 1BRs while others would be Studios. Some years would be 7 or 8 nights while others may only be 5 or 6. And some years would be in Dream or Magic season while others would be in Adventure or Choice.

So we will essentially "manufacture" our own buffer.

And eventually, once some more $$ are saved, we'll add on and have some more flexibility.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

We bought what our guide said we needed, so that would be a big fat ZERO which is why based on how the program is sold, I think this change is wrong, especially for BLT and AKV Kidani purchases which aren't even opened yet.

 

[Starr W.]

On my SSR contract, I have a buffer of about 130 points if I continue with are regular plans.

My VB now has a 50 point buffer if I use them as we planned every other year.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

We too bought what we could afford back in 98. And we have made due with 200 points ever since. We could probably use a few extra points now and then, but it all seems to work out. Now, when we retire (which now looks a million years away) we might have a serious need for more points.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

We bought what our guide said we needed, so that would be a big fat ZERO which is why based on how the program is sold, I think this change is wrong, especially for BLT and AKV Kidani purchases which aren't even opened yet.

I'm a little confused as to what you mean. Care to expand?

Edit: I'm confused the big fat ZERO. I get the change in points part. We've always stayed Sunday thru Thursday and I expect this is going to be felt by us. I'm guessing once the extra demand swings back to the weekends they'll change things again.

 

[KLR-wlv]

We bought 135 VB points to bank and get a Beach cottage every other year for Thanksgiving or summer. At Thanksgiving - we'd have 35 points left over - now we are short by 10 points. The 10% buffer doesn't work when they excersize the legal limit of a 20% increase. And they could do another re-allocation in any coming years. So I guess the only smart buffer now is to buy a full week of points for the accomodations you want (around 600 points for a beach cottage) Maybe since demand is so high for sun - thursday - those points should be higher than weekends.