What's the best way to purchase Direct combined with Resale DVC?

[iSoar]

I have been trying to sort through all of the info on how the direct and resale work and specifically how they work together. I am interested in buying DVC, but would like to purchase 100 direct for the perks but save on the rest of the points by purchasing Resale. I know there is plenty of info on why the perks aren't guaranteed or likely worth it, but it's just my preference. My question is really in regard to the sequencing of the 2 purchases. It is my understanding that when you buy Direct and you already own a contract, Disney will align your Use Year to your current contract. If I am following this correctly, the best way to maximize the purchases is to purchase your initial DVC points via Resale, and get the best deal possible, and then contact Disney to add 100 points. Those add on points would match the Use Year of your original Resale Purchase and you would get the DVC card. Is that a correct understanding?

Sorry if this was asked previously. I tried searching the boards to answer this first.

 

[macman123]

If you use the same Use Year then its one membership.
Your resale and direct points will be in one account.
I have 400 resale and 155 direct.

If you have different UY then they are classed as different memberships. You can transfer points and combine, but its a call to Member Services.

So match same UY then they just get added to your account. Direct ones are available straight away. If you get 100+ direct points you get the Blue card

Its up to you whether you want the same UY. I have as it makes sense for me

 

[iSoar]

Thank you. I understand the UY issue and how they should be aligned, whenever possible. My question is, what if you are going to buy for the fist time and have no DVC points or UY, is it best to purchase your initial points from Resale and then supplement those points with Direct? And will that achieve the matching of UY? I have heard many talk about how they purchased their initial contract Direct and then added points via Resale. The issues I have heard around that is not getting a matching use year or waiting for the contracts that match the UY. I am hoping buying Resale first and supplementing with Direct points will resolve that issue. Does anyone know if that is the case? This scenario would allow you to get the best resale offer out there without the concern of needing to match the UY, because Disney will do that when you buy additional points direct.

 

[macman123]

Ah ok. Its far easier to get Direct the UY you want.

So yes, get your ideal resale contract and then add direct for your desired UY.

That is what I have done.

 

[iSoar]

I thought I was understanding it correctly, but wanted to make sure and see if there were any downsides or unexpected consequences by doing it this way. Thank you very much for your response!

 

[lovethesun12]

I've been thinking about this too and I think if you plan to buy RIV it may be an issue depending on how you plan to use the points.

I'm not an expert, so hoping someone can weigh in on this. I (strongly) considered purchasing RIV for my 100pts direct and then adding on. But am I correct in saying that if I add on, I won't be able to use the resale RIV points to book stays at other resorts? Is that the restriction? For this reason, I'm not planning to buy RIV direct because it means I won't be able to add on there if I would ever want to change my stay to somewhere else.

Of course, if you only plan to stay at RIV it won't be an issue.

 

[Lorana]

I've been thinking about this too and I think if you plan to buy RIV it may be an issue depending on how you plan to use the points.

I'm not an expert, so hoping someone can weigh in on this. I (strongly) considered purchasing RIV for my 100pts direct and then adding on. But am I correct in saying that if I add on, I won't be able to use the resale RIV points to book stays at other resorts? Is that the restriction? For this reason, I'm not planning to buy RIV direct because it means I won't be able to add on there if I would ever want to change my stay to somewhere else.

Of course, if you only plan to stay at RIV it won't be an issue.

If you were purchasing RIV resale, that is correct. You could only use those resale points at RIV.

But you could buy 100 points RIV direct, and then add on at another resort resale. You would not, however, be able to use those resale points at RIV, but you could combine your RIV and resale at 7 months for any of the original 14 resorts.

 

[lovethesun12]

If you were purchasing RIV resale, that is correct. You could only use those resale points at RIV.

But you could buy 100 points RIV direct, and then add on at another resort resale. You would not, however, be able to use those resale points at RIV, but you could combine your RIV and resale at 7 months for any of the original 14 resorts.

Thanks! That's how I understood it. The issue for me is that I don't really love split stays (well DH more than me - understandable because he doesn't like to "waste" time packing and moving in the middle of our stay) but I do like trying different resorts. This means If I purchased a RIV resale w/RIV direct I could never switch resorts. If I purchased a RIV direct and a different resort resale, I could never book the entire stay at RIV.

I considered having two different contracts initially and using my RIV points every other year, but the current borrowing restriction (as well as resale restrictions) made me eliminate that option as well.

 

[iSoar]

Ah ok. Its far easier to get Direct the UY you want.

So yes, get your ideal resale contract and then add direct for your desired UY.

That is what I have done.

I have some follow ups (sorry). Were you able to get the “blue card” this way? And when adding points can Disney simply match the UY to your resale contract or do you need to wait until they have the specifc amount of add-on points and UY match?

My assumption is that this transaction could happen quickly if Disney have add-on points available at the resort you are buying and they can apply whatever UY they want on add-on points. I had read (somewhere?) that when Disney applies add-on points they automatically match your existing UY. I’ve read and watched so much that I start wondering if I am remembering or understanding all of these things correctly.

Idealy, I’d like to find a Resale contract of around 150 points and once that’s closed, go direct to Disney and apply the 100 point add-on to achieve the blue card and matching UY’s. I suppose I have another question, how quickly do add-on contracts close?

Ugh, I just thought of another question. With recent promotions when buying direct, would it be worth buying those 100 direct points first and then waiting until I get a good matching supplemental resale contract? I know many doit this way, I was hoping I had stumbled upon an easier way to align UY by doing it the opposite.

All info and responses are appreciated! Thank you!

 

[sethschroeder]

What resort and how many points is your ultimate goal? Also is there a specific UY you want? When do you normally travel? What type of room will you normally want to get?

I have some follow ups (sorry). Were you able to get the “blue card” this way? And when adding points can Disney simply match the UY to your resale contract or do you need to wait until they have the specifc amount of add-on points and UY match?

Yes any 100 direct points total will get you the blue card doesn't matter what else you purchased for resale. On top of it you get discounts on direct for being a member already just make sure you let them know you are a member when talking with a Disney guide.

My assumption is that this transaction could happen quickly if Disney have add-on points available at the resort you are buying and they can apply whatever UY they want on add-on points. I had read (somewhere?) that when Disney applies add-on points they automatically match your existing UY. I’ve read and watched so much that I start wondering if I am remembering or understanding all of these things correctly.

When you buy through Disney if they have the points its basically within a day or two. Disney will really only want to sell you an add-on for your existing UY.

Idealy, I’d like to find a Resale contract of around 150 points and once that’s closed, go direct to Disney and apply the 100 point add-on to achieve the blue card and matching UY’s. I suppose I have another question, how quickly do add-on contracts close?

Fast as long as they have the points.

Ugh, I just thought of another question. With recent promotions when buying direct, would it be worth buying those 100 direct points first and then waiting until I get a good matching supplemental resale contract? I know many doit this way, I was hoping I had stumbled upon an easier way to align UY by doing it the opposite.

Much hard to find a specific UY, number of points, at the resort you want, for a good deal.

What resort are you looking at? Only RIV and CCV really have "deals" all the others are like $2 or nothing when buying 100 points. Plus being an existing member does get you a bump in the discount.

 

[iSoar]

What resort and how many points is your ultimate goal? Also is there a specific UY you want? When do you normally travel? What type of room will you normally want to get?

What resort are you looking at? Only RIV and CCV really have "deals" all the others are like $2 or nothing when buying 100 points. Plus being an existing member does get you a bump in the discount.

Thank you for your response! This is great stuff!

To answer your questions:

Ultimate points goal: 250-300

UY: Likely a summer month

Travel Time: Usually October through December, sometimes Spring.

Type of Room: Typically a 1 or 2 bedroom.

Resorts I am interested, in order: BLT primarily, CCV interests me, SSR for overall value, intrigued by RR but there are significant drawbacks (restrictions and maintenance fees primarily), GCV but prices and availability make this less of a possibility. There are a couple others but that’s enough for now.

 

[Lorana]

the current promotions are through September so it’s worthwhile to find the resale contract you want now, and then add on direct.

The only reason I might advocate for direct *now* is that if you are looking for an August UY and you purchase before July 31, you’ll get 2019 points you can bank into 2020. August is one of the popular UYs so it should be relatively easy to find a resale contract you’d want

 

[iSoar]

Thank you!!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

If you want two different resorts and don't want to split stay, you can bank/borrow points and alternate years if you plan to go annually.

If you're buying Riviera direct, I'd consider buying one of the other resorts you'd like as your resale contract, especially given the restrictions. Additionally, you'd have a second resort with the home booking advantage.

 

[RoseGold]

And when adding points can Disney simply match the UY to your resale contract or do you need to wait until they have the specifc amount of add-on points and UY match?

Disney (unlike resale) is allowed to change the UY.

They should have 100 points of anything but VGC right now. In the past there has been some wait, and with no buybacks, I can see this being an issue if they run out of inventory. BLT/SSR shouldn't be an issue right now. They bought back those heavily in 2019. But it doesn't hurt to call when they open again.

 

[macman123]

I brought 155 BLT direct when they opened a few weeks ago.

I wasn't wait listed but made sure I called at 9.01am!

 

[Yinn]

I have been trying to sort through all of the info on how the direct and resale work and specifically how they work together. I am interested in buying DVC, but would like to purchase 100 direct for the perks but save on the rest of the points by purchasing Resale. I know there is plenty of info on why the perks aren't guaranteed or likely worth it, but it's just my preference. My question is really in regard to the sequencing of the 2 purchases. It is my understanding that when you buy Direct and you already own a contract, Disney will align your Use Year to your current contract. If I am following this correctly, the best way to maximize the purchases is to purchase your initial DVC points via Resale, and get the best deal possible, and then contact Disney to add 100 points. Those add on points would match the Use Year of your original Resale Purchase and you would get the DVC card. Is that a correct understanding?

Sorry if this was asked previously. I tried searching the boards to answer this first.

Im not sure sequencing really matters. I purchased my direct first - and good thing I did since they increased the requirement by 25 points a week after.

I had no issues adding on my resale a month or so later.

 

[bk2019]

If you own resale and buy two 50 point contracts, does that qualify you for the blue card as well?

 

[Lorana]

If you own resale and buy two 50 point contracts, does that qualify you for the blue card as well?

If you buy 2 50 point contracts direct, yes. As long as your direct contracts total 100 points or more, you get the blue card. If you sell one of those 2, however, you will lose the benefit.

 

[sethschroeder]

Ultimate points goal: 250-300

UY: Likely a summer month

Travel Time: Usually October through December, sometimes Spring.

So with the points you will buy 100 Direct / 150-200 Resale you should find some pretty good resale contracts out there since the 150-200 range is when prices drop off as they are not really add-on amounts.

With such an open range for UY I would highly suggest looking through resale to find the right contract. Yes you could rush to buy direct for Aug/Sept/Oct and get an extra year of points but on the right resale contract you likely can do that in addition to saving money.

Another question
Is direct really worth it for you? Are you going to alternate so you can buy the Annual Pass? Another reason I would wait on direct right now is you can't even buy Annual Passes and Moonlight Magic is being cancelled (for the time being). No one has an idea when these perks (which really are the only big ones) return.

Solution
You could find the right resale contract, good UY, lower price, loaded (extra points that were banked), and just leverage the loaded points for your first trip. Giving you the next 12 months to see what happens with direct.

In September when the current incentives are going to end they likely will know what will be coming. You have 10 days to cancel your direct purchase contract so you could always buy direct and then cancel if the new incentives in September are better.

Final note
You might want to take a look at a larger 300 point contract. These ones will be even cheaper than those 150-200 point contracts and possibly that extra savings will be worth it for you to not even worry about buying direct currently. Just know if you buy a 300 point contrat you can't sell a portion of it as you can split up contracts.