What price would you put on Blue perks?

[bitbelle]

I'm looking at buying SSR for annual trips (once per year).

There's about a 15k difference between resale and direct.

If I buy 150 points direct for perks and the rest resale it's about a 6.5k difference.

If I buy direct I can't imagine ever getting 15k value from perks via discounts etc but being able to book future resorts is a plus.

If I buy a mix, I wouldn't have enough points on a 150 point direct contract to use at new resorts unless I did split stays (I'm not sure if I'd want to do that often) or used 3 years of points at once.

So, are the incidental perks - discounts, moonlight nights, Epcot lounge etc worth 6.5k? 15k?

I don't really know if the Sorcerer pass is competitive comapred to the UK 2 week tickets (which include Memory Maker and water parks) but with some planning I could make a Sorcerer pass last two trips.

What would you do?

 

[RyanDisneyDad]

We probably would never of bought dvc without the perks. We're out of state and usually have APs. Save almost half. The value is completely subjective based on what you do and how/much you travel. Moonlight magic nights are neat but hard to plan for, seems like locals have a big advantage there. Discount savings in the beginning were higher but now that we've done everything they are fairly low. We have 846 pts. It might save us 1000 a year without AP savings.

 

[lowlight]

The Epcot lounge is a joke, I put zero value in it. The AP is what determined it for us, but they raised the price of it, sold it to white card members, and then discontinued it completely. The DVC discounts are no better than AP discounts in most places. I’d value the blue perks at 5k over the course of 10 years, and double it if APs come back at a sane price. Take that 15k and enjoy it, but resale.

 

[gregskellington]

The perks are worth exactly 0 dollars and 0 cents to me. Disney expressly tells you to NOT purchase based on membership extras, so I think it's pretty sound advice to also consider them worth nothing.

 

[wilkydelts]

It will be YEARS before you recoup the difference in discounts.

The AP available to DVC members isn't a discount but a different level pass. If you need to be able to attend parks at Thanksgiving and Christmas than the cheaper level pass isn't even an option.

Discount for food and merchandise can be offset partially with a Disney Visa card and equally offset with Incredi-pass level AP if they come back

 

[nuhusky123]

Right now $0 given annual passes are not on sale and until they are back is there and blue card value

 

[bbeagle]

Perk 1: If this is your first purchase, and you want to stay somewhere that's available now which won't be available in 2 months from now (like say a Poly lake view for a week during Christmas), then buying direct will give you the option to stay there. You'll have your points within 24 hours.

You'll miss out on this if buying resale. How much is this worth it to you? Would you stay, say, at Poly Lake for a week at Christmas anyways - and pay $7,000 for this in cash?

If what you want to reserve, you can do more than 2 months out, then this is not a perk to worry about.

Perk 2: Epcot Lounge. Nice for a quick break on a hot summer day. Free drinks. Relaxing. Worth maybe $50-$100 the one time you try it?

Perk 3: Annual pass discounts - could be worth $40,000 over 40 years if you're saving $1,000 for your entire family per year. But will Disney offer them again - at a discount? I think so, but nobody knows.

Perk 4: All the 10% discounts? The AP pass has all of those anyways? Or the Disney Visa has those too? Maybe that will change later? Maybe it's worth $100 per trip? $4000 over 40 years?

Perk 5: All the extra moonlit nights, etc. - really nice if you happen to be vacationing at that time, worthless if you aren't. Maybe you'll be 'lucky' for 5 trips in 40 years - worth like $1000 total?

Perk 6: Do you want to be 'official' with Disney? How much is it worth to you? Some people it's worth $0, other people it could be worth thousands. Just like if I met Billie Eilish, it's worth $0 to me, but someone else would pay $5000 for that opportunity.

 

[lowlight]

Perk 1: If this is your first purchase, and you want to stay somewhere that's available now which won't be available in 2 months from now (like say a Poly lake view for a week during Christmas), then buying direct will give you the option to stay there. You'll have your points within 24 hours.

You'll miss out on this if buying resale. How much is this worth it to you? Would you stay, say, at Poly Lake for a week at Christmas anyways - and pay $7,000 for this in cash?

If what you want to reserve, you can do more than 2 months out, then this is not a perk to worry about.

Perk 2: Epcot Lounge. Nice for a quick break on a hot summer day. Free drinks. Relaxing. Worth maybe $50-$100 the one time you try it?

Perk 3: Annual pass discounts - could be worth $40,000 over 40 years if you're saving $1,000 for your entire family per year. But will Disney offer them again - at a discount? I think so, but nobody knows.

Perk 4: All the 10% discounts? The AP pass has all of those anyways? Or the Disney Visa has those too? Maybe that will change later? Maybe it's worth $100 per trip? $4000 over 40 years?

Perk 5: All the extra moonlit nights, etc. - really nice if you happen to be vacationing at that time, worthless if you aren't. Maybe you'll be 'lucky' for 5 trips in 40 years - worth like $1000 total?

Just fyi with perk 2, they have had standby lines to get into Epcot lounge every time I tried to get in the last few times. So if you think you’re going to take a moment away from the big lines and big crowds in the lounge, you’ll get to queue for that pleasure too.

 

[AliceIn]

It really depends. My first contract was direct in November 2019. I had 2 fully paid for cash reservations when we signed, one in December (Beach Club 1 bedroom) and one in March (Poly). Member Services switched the cash reservations to points for both stays. I got refunded the cash price. Getting the points so fast was a huge perk for us.

 

[cheryl.UK]

$0 without the AP. 10% discount at table service? Big wow. The discount on Merch is good but TBH we don't buy many. (Yes we are the type of guest that Mr Paycheck doesn't like). How many meals and Mickey ears would you need to buy to break even?

 

[Lumpy1106]

I'm looking at buying SSR for annual trips (once per year).

There's about a 15k difference between resale and direct.

If I buy 150 points direct for perks and the rest resale it's about a 6.5k difference.

If I buy direct I can't imagine ever getting 15k value from perks via discounts etc but being able to book future resorts is a plus.

If I buy a mix, I wouldn't have enough points on a 150 point direct contract to use at new resorts unless I did split stays (I'm not sure if I'd want to do that often) or used 3 years of points at once.

So, are the incidental perks - discounts, moonlight nights, Epcot lounge etc worth 6.5k? 15k?

I don't really know if the Sorcerer pass is competitive comapred to the UK 2 week tickets (which include Memory Maker and water parks) but with some planning I could make a Sorcerer pass last two trips.

What would you do?

Re: Future resorts. So far that's just RIV - do you want to stay there? Are you aware of the substantial # of points it takes compared to SSR? If you are aware and you do see that as a bucket-list stay, then it's worth considering. Otherwise it is not. We own at BLT and have stayed there and BWV. Our next stay we hope will be CCV or BRV. We may some day stay at RIV and we jumped when they announced the restrictions to make that a possibility, but honestly I would not be surprised if we never do. It doesn't change my decision to buy in to DVC (resale) one bit.

 

[RoseGold]

I think it really depends on your exit strategy. If you plan to sell in ten years, who cares about a couple free Mickey bar events and maybe one or two more resorts coming online.

If you plan to hold your whole life, then my considerations are different. (But I still wouldn't buy direct SSR.)

Also, there currently is no Sorcerer Pass or any other AP for sale. I am seriously considering selling contracts this summer if this doesn't change. My DVC plans don't work without at least some form of AP. I bought resale, so this isn't a huge deal. Being able to sell when I change my mind was important to me.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

It depends. Originally I would have valued it at $0 - we buy the top tier annual passes, so get the discounts that way, and our LO is too young to benefit from Moonlight Magic. Heck, I feel so old I like to be in bed by 10pm most nights!

But now as I am older, I am seriously considering buying 150-200 points direct. I currently have 300 points resale. The differential I’m looking at for this potential purchase is about $8k. And surprisingly I’m okay with it. The blue card itself is meaningless but 1/ I’m tired of feeling less than, of being referred to obliquely as a non-eligible member, and just generally being a fourth class citizen that can’t borrow points online, and 2/ I’d like to stay at new resorts and try them out.

 

[bbeagle]

Just fyi with perk 2, they have had standby lines to get into Epcot lounge every time I tried to get in the last few times. So if you think you’re going to take a moment away from the big lines and big crowds in the lounge, you’ll get to queue for that pleasure too.

I've never been there, I've only seen videos on YouTube of people using it, and I've never seen a line in those videos. Good information, thanks.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I love the Epcot lounge myself. I go there every trip. I like it becuse it is always available, every day, unlike the moonlight parties that are a crap shoot to coincide with a trip by the time they are announced. (advantage-locals!) It is relaxing to me, great on a hot day. We miss the ipads for use (my autistic son still looks for them). The snacks have gone down in variety, sadly, but at least you no longer have to wait for the randomly timed cart to arrive. The "assigned" seating is better too, they place groups in a spot that fits the party size.

The moonlight parties are pretty good, we live in NJ but have been to several, MK and Studios. The MK one was the better one of those 2. The rare characters are a highlight.

I don't use the AP discount, as I am a retired CM, but I would actually consider buying one now with the way CMs are limited in going to parks, but they are paused. I also don't use the other discounts, for the same reason (CM is better), they are similar to AP and Disney CC.

Put it all together, I think resale is the way to go. We sold some points, and currently have small number of direct (for blue card) and 200 resale.

 

[DontTalkAboutDues NoNoNo]

I'm looking at buying SSR for annual trips (once per year).

There's about a 15k difference between resale and direct.

If I buy 150 points direct for perks and the rest resale it's about a 6.5k difference.

If I buy direct I can't imagine ever getting 15k value from perks via discounts etc but being able to book future resorts is a plus.

If I buy a mix, I wouldn't have enough points on a 150 point direct contract to use at new resorts unless I did split stays (I'm not sure if I'd want to do that often) or used 3 years of points at once.

So, are the incidental perks - discounts, moonlight nights, Epcot lounge etc worth 6.5k? 15k?

I don't really know if the Sorcerer pass is competitive comapred to the UK 2 week tickets (which include Memory Maker and water parks) but with some planning I could make a Sorcerer pass last two trips.

What would you do?

The blue card perks have different values depending on how you plan on using your membership.

#1 Buying direct is super easy and you can spread out the upfront costs into payments over 90 days and put the charges on a credit card to earn points. Convenience and cc points are probably worth $2k in my book.
#2 Annual pass discounts are have value as well depending on the size of your family (assuming you can actually buy them). Call it a ~$150 per person annual value. Family of 4 for 5 years and it has a $3k value.
#3 Being able to use the points at Riviera and any future resorts is of value (albeit a "soft" value). To me I think that would be worth $1k.
#4 Special events like Moonlight Magic are fun. I'd place a $500 value on it for a family.
#5 Dining and merchandise discounts are probably worth $2k over a 5+ year period of time (but you can get these with the Disney Visa so no real value in my eyes)

So roughly, I'd say perks are worth $6k-$8k if you use the points for more than 5 years.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I’ve been a member for 19 years. For me, DVC is more than the resorts, and parks, and some of the extras have added a whole lot to my and my whole family’s experiences. I love cruising and have been on at least 7 DVC member cruises. So, yes, being a blue card member has been very important to me and my family. Family has been with me to Moonlight Magic and they were especially nice experiences. Once we “hit” a movie preview and that was fun.

I’m looking forward to the DVC Cruise on the Wish.

If we were starting out, I know I would buy whatever it took to get the blue card experience. After that, maybe bUY resale, but so far I’ve stayed at all resorts except Riviera, darn Covid, but once again, I do have a reservation there this July. I would want to be able to book future resorts.

Bobbi

 

[Lilsia]

If it is truly the same contract, with the same expiration date, then I would probably go resale. I bought direct several years at the Poly, so that I had the longest contract possible. If you buy resale, when does the contract expire compared to purchasing direct? That is what I would be concerned with.

 

[TCRAIG]

My opinion - UK 2 WK tickets are better than Sorcerer AP…since AP does not include Photo Pass or water parks.

 

[Spivey378]

350 USD