Which is better - add-on points or second DVC home?

[Mommy2JulietJocelyn]

We have decided we want 100 more points - the question now is add-on to AKV or new home (resale) if we can get the same use year - which do think is better? Why?
I don't always want to stay in the same place but wantto be able to try out the other resorts, would like to go to DL ( i have never been there) and maybe even go on DCL.
TIA for any input.

 

[bobbiwoz]

It depends on what you want. Do you want the home advantage of this new home at 11 months. 100 points won't get you many nights in a one bedroom but if you have the discipline to bank/borrow and only use those 100 points at the new resort, then get the second resort.

We have found that the family loves VB and a Beach Cottage. We have 150 points there and for the most part, I only use our VB points at VB so we can have an all family vacation with a BC and Inn rooms every two years. I'm planning '10's vacation right now!

Bobbi

 

[Disneypirate85]

We bout 160pts @ SSR, then we stayed at BWV, Now we have addonitus for there would like 75-100pts and use it primarely for our Christmas trip. We like to resort hop so that would be my question to you, if you do then buy into another resort.

 

[bwvBound]

You might want to edit your title to clarify "second DVC home"?

 

[Mommy2JulietJocelyn]

Any other views?

 

[starbox]

Well, this JMHO, but I would not own all my points at AKV unless I knew I wanted to consistenly reserve units that took all the AKV points. The MF and purchase cost are high at AKV.

We own at AKV and SSR - I've been using my SSR points to stay at VB. The MF at SSR are significanly lower (as is the purchase price). Now, with the treehouses opening, it's likely that I'll want my SSR points to reserve a THV at 11 months.

If we add on, it will most likely be at SSR because the cost for a resale is cheap, MF are cheaper than other DVCs, and we get the longer contract.

 

[DVC Mike]

Any other views?

Since I have 5 home resorts, you can probably guess my preference. I would rather have multiple home resorts to get the 11-mo booking advantage at more than one place. I prefer variety.

 

[LSchrow]

we own at BWV, BCV, & SSR.

we love bwv & wish we had more than 240 points there (we do tend to book at 11 months for the F&G and F&W festivals, when BW view is unlikely at 7 months out). we only use our BCV points to trade out or rent (we just don't really care for the resort).
as much as we enjoy our 2nd love, SSR, we've never needed the 11 month window to get what we wanted (100 points).

buy into one of the smaller resorts (especially if you want a more difficult to get room size/view), if that's really where you want to stay. else i would suggest just buying into the resort with the longest contract, & lowest price & MF's. since you seem likely to trade out, that would also give you most value for your money.

 

[disneynutz]

Since I have 5 home resorts, you can probably guess my preference. I would rather have multiple home resorts to get the 11-mo booking advantage at more than one place. I prefer variety.

We're going to change your name to Mickey Mike.

 

[jbrowna]

We have decided we want 100 more points - the question now is add-on to AKV or new home (resale) if we can get the same use year - which do think is better? Why?
I don't always want to stay in the same place but wantto be able to try out the other resorts, would like to go to DL ( i have never been there) and maybe even go on DCL.
TIA for any input.

An add-on does not have to be at the same resort that you currently own. So if you want a new home, you don't have to go through a resale -- which would involve closing costs, ROFR, etc. -- you can purchase directly through Disney. Any add-on through Disney would automatically have your current use year, and Disney does not charge any closing costs. It is possible to add-on at a resort that is technically "sold out" also, but you may have to wait until Disney has some points available. It used to be that you could add-on anything from 25 points and up, but if you added on less than 50 you had to pay cash and could not finance the addition. As of right now, however, the minimum to add on at BLT is 100 points.

As you can see from my signature, we have points at 4 different resorts. All of them were purchased through Disney. We like having an 11 month window for those resorts. That being said, we have also stayed at BCV and BWV, and are planning a trip to VB soon -- but for those resorts we are content to take what we get at the 7 month window. By the way, our OKW points were purchased long since it was "sold out". So if you decide you really want your 100 points to be at a sold out resort, just ask, and if you are patient you can get what you want.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We have 5 home resort too, but I want to be able to book at least the largest villa for the whole trip in one shot. I don't want to wait until 7 months to find I can't extend the original stay going forward or back. I'm struggling with a decision regarding AKV...we have 140 points there, and it's not enough to book a long enough stay in a GV...I would love to have a GV stay there, but I'm not sure I want more AKV points.

Do you want the add on primarily to book AKV longer, or do you want to branch out?

Bobbi

 

[Mommy2JulietJocelyn]

a little of both - we like to stay more than a week if we are able to - school & work permitting, i don't mind splitting stays if I have to. Then again I want to be able to stay BLT with a MK view at least once and would like BWV with a BW view too. both I think will be hard to get at 7 months. How hard is it to extend a stay either before or after @ the 7 month window?

 

[Leenie74]

We are planning to add on at some point, and we've already talked about doing it at a 2nd resort (most likely VWL or BLT). Because if you bank or borrow those 100 points, you'll have 200 to use at the new home every other year.

 

[CPTJAK]

I would add on where the 11 month window is most important to you. If that is BLT than you need to go through DVC direct and pay more and also note BLT has high pt values.

Otherwise I believe the 11 month window is critical for BCV, HH in summer & BWV, VWL xmas season.

When I call for ressies on short notice OKW and SSR are usually have availability.

 

[Buckeye Fan]

Wow. For me, so many factors go into this decision.
1) Do you want a booking advantage at another resort? If so, definitely buy at another resort.
2) Do you want to book longer trips or bigger rooms 8 - 11 months out? If so, then add on at AKV. I'd still check resale. You can find great contracts at great prices with your current UY if you're patient.
3) Do you want a beach location? Then buy at HHI or VB. We bought at Vero so we could have a 1-BR 5 days a year.
4) Is it about price and MFs? If so, SSR is one of the best deals via resale right now. Low MFs, low buy-in price, and 2054 expiration date.
5) Is it the most points for the money, and you don't care about expiration date? Then check out OKW. You'd be surprised what you can get for your money. And, at 7 months, you can use those points anywhere.

Personally, I love staying at all of the DVC resorts, and a booking advantage means very little to me. If I were buying right now, I would buy at SSR or OKW to get more points for my money with lower MFs. Just think, if the seller pays closing costs, you could get around 150 - 175 points at SSR or OKW for the same price you'd pay for 100 AKV points through Disney. Just something to consider.

Best of luck! I know we're probably confusing you more than helping you!!!

 

[bblanch]

I bought a resale at BCV, site unseen, a couple of years ago. We studied the resorts thoroughly and decided that was the one we wanted. Howere, I wish we would have studied up a little more on the operations of DVC a little more.

It's pretty obvious that we are just not the plan ahead types. We've booked 2 DVC trips so far... one at 2 months out and one at 4 months out. Neither time were we able to get our home resort of BCV, but we were able to get some great resorts... BWV & VWL. We loved BWV... the VWL trip is still 3 months away but we've stayed at the Lodge before & loved it. We visited all of the DVC resorts our last trip and saw good things in all of them. Due to our work & family schedules it looks like we'd very seldom book at the 11 month window.

I wish we would have done as Buckeye Fan suggested and just bought at OKW or SSR with the longer life and lower MFs. Would buying a SSR or OKW resale or multiple smaller resales then selling the BCV contract make sense?

 

[wildernessDad]

You can add on at a different resort through Disney. It doesn't have to be via resale.

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

I originally bought at BWV and then added on another 30 points there for a total of 180 points. We just recently did another add on at the BLT for 160 points.

I bought two different "home resorts" for the main reason of location, location, Location!!!!!!!!!!! With the BWV and the BLT I feel I can do splits stays and be within walking distance to 3 parks. Also, even though I just love the BW, I think owning at the BLT will be just as awesome and be a nice change of pace. (Best of both worlds)

Since you own AKV you would be able to enjoy the that Resort with it unique features, such as the awesome pool at Kidani, the animals in your back yard, BOMA,Jiko etc and then be able to enjoy a whole other resort such as the BLt with the monorail or BWV with the entertainers and hustle and bustle. Also, how cool would it be being so close to the MK IMHO, it just adds so much to the experience to be able to jump on the monorail and be home in 5 minutes or if you purchase at the Epcot resorts to be able to walk home in 5 minutes. (I hate taking the buses,especially at park closing --I think its dangerous how everyone stands up and falls onto everyone especially if you have young kids with you)

Plus if you book at 11 months out, you will be able to stay exactly where you want to stay. With the purchase of the BLT we got developer points which we could use to stay at SSR. I had already booked BW with a BW View studio and even though SSR would be "FREE" I just couldn't give up my BW stay, because I felt that it would be another year before I'd get to stay at the BW. So I took the 3 free nights at the BW and upgraded to a 1 bedroom because I just really love the BW and my vacation wouldn't have been the same.

 

[BroganMc]

How many points to you have at AKV? What are your intended travel plans (how often, what size unit, etc.)?

If you're looking to hop around at 7 mos. then the only thing that matters is purchase price and maintenance fees. All points have the same purchasing power then so it's really just a question of how much those points cost you to own. (Kinda like shopping around for the cheapest currency converter.)

For us, we fell in love with our home resort SSR and did two add-ons based on how we intended to travel there. We have enough to go 2-3 times a year and stay in various size units. We can take guests or go solo. And we have some extra points we either bank for a longer stay or trade at 7 mos. That's essentially play money for us.

But we also really wanted to add a weekend stay at BLT for our future travels. Due to the restrictions on the booking windows there, we opted for just enough of an add-on to fund those weekend stays (60 pts).

As you get to know the system and the resorts, you'll figure out how you best like to use it. I know I prefer a BLT and BWV stay in the Fall and a AKV or VWL stay in the Spring. I have little interest in VWL, OKW or offsite resorts. And I'm happy at SSR any time of the year.

 

[alldiz]

For me I added on . I wanted the convenience of having all of my points in 1 place.
I just booked a DCL cruise....I wouldn't have been able to do that if I didn't have my points together. You would have to wait till the 7 mth mark and hope for availability.

Unless you really want a 2nd 11month advantage at a second resort....that seems to be the only advantage of having 2 resorts.
Kerri