why do you add on?

[fflmaster]

when i first purchased the dvc in 02 i thought 285 points would be enough for my family.

it has been exactly the amount needed year in and year out, but i always see so many people talking about adding on at the newer resorts.

why? do you need more points or is there another reason i don't understand?

do you get any advantages? i was told that you can only use the add on points for the 11 month window and thus a small 50 point contract wouldn't be enough to stay a whole week.

 

[Let'sGoAgain!]

We first bought DVC in 1993 when lived in Chicago. We bought enough points for one week in a 1BR in March, when we usually traveled.

THEN, in 1994, we moved to Atlanta -- closer to WDW.

AND, in 1996, when it opened, we discovered Hilton Head.

So, we were able to easily make more than one trip a year, and had more than one destination.

At our peak, we owned over 900 points. We sold 200 of them, because our kids are older now and we don't need a 2BR all the time like we did before.

We also recently sold some OKW points and purchased some at BCV because we prefer to stay there for F&W each year and need the 11-month window.

DH has always loved the Contemporary and would love to own points at BLT. If we buy them, we will probably just buy enough to go every third year, with banking and borrowing. Just not sure if it's the smartest thing for us to do, unless we sell off some other points. We have some thinkin' to do!

 

[TiffanyW1]

We own 180 at Saratoga (it never seems to be enough) and just added on 65 points at BLT. That amount will allow us to stay at BLT every other year for a several days in October. As owners, it will give us the 11 month booking advantage and frees up our other points for summertime use at the other resorts

 

[WALTSAGOD]

when i first purchased the dvc in 02 i thought 285 points would be enough for my family.

it has been exactly the amount needed year in and year out, but i always see so many people talking about adding on at the newer resorts.

why? do you need more points or is there another reason i don't understand?

do you get any advantages? i was told that you can only use the add on points for the 11 month window and thus a small 50 point contract wouldn't be enough to stay a whole week.

Many decide to go more than once a year, since its "FREE".

50 points is enough if you want a short weekend getaway or bank and borrow.

 

[stopher1]

One full week per year is great, yes, but it's nice to be able to go for additional short trips too... or just a romantic getaway with your spouse (no kids along)... or perhaps you need additional space because you want to bring the grandparents along... or that one week per year that you "always" go has to change to a different time of year (and subsequently a different point value) due to a job change or some other life event that makes it so you can no longer go every year at the same time. There are lots of reasons - and no two members' reasons for adding on (or not adding on for that matter) are going to be exactly the same.

 

[kim_d]

We bought 175 points at BCV in 2002. It was just my DH and I and we figured WDW once a year in a studio-- so 175 would be fine.

Now here we are 2008 with an almost 6yo and 4yo. Not only was a studio not big enough we were going more than once a year and staying more than a week. We continually borrowed points or my parents gave us some . So we decided to add another 130 at AKL last month.

As our kids get older and our vacation plans change (maybe go to WDW less) we can bank our points and go every other year and stay 2 weeks in a 2 bedroom. So I don't think the points will ever go waste.

We actually are thinking about 50-75 points at BLT.

 

[jekjones1558]

We bought when DH was retired and I was 53. We started with 220 points. We stayed in a studio and were in heaven. Then we began treating friends and family. We stayed concierge in Hawaii. I retired and we made multiple trips each year. We discovered the joy of Hilton Head. We have done lots of add-ons and I still sometimes borrow points!

 

[inloveindisney]

We bought last year and only got 170 at Saratoga Springs (we're teachers and that's just all we can afford at the moment) We have a 1 year old and we're already realizing that those one bedrooms are going to be nice! (We've not even taken our first DVC vacation yet). So, we're considering either adding on to SSR or adding BLT (because it's so cool).
We hope to get to 300 points one day and I'm sure it will come as our salaries continue to grow (and our daughter quits wearing diapers!!

 

[wdwnut]

We started out with 210 BWV points, and added another 150 just before the price increase to $67, and added another 60 a few years ago to make it easier to split the contracts for our children. We will probably add on again (possibly 2 smaller BLT contracts) since we love to take a lot of family and friends. Our October trip this year has 19 of us going.

 

[Blahnde]

when i first purchased the dvc in 02 i thought 285 points would be enough for my family.

it has been exactly the amount needed year in and year out, but i always see so many people talking about adding on at the newer resorts.

why? do you need more points or is there another reason i don't understand?

do you get any advantages? i was told that you can only use the add on points for the 11 month window and thus a small 50 point contract wouldn't be enough to stay a whole week.

It sounds like you treat your DVC membership like a "traditional" timeshare. In order for a specific number of points to be exactly the amount you need year after year, you are probably taking the same vacation year after year. Most DVC Members do not do that. As previous posters have mentioned, they take different types of trips: some trips are short, some long, some trips are in studios, some in grand villas, some trips in value/standard, some in concierge, some trips at home resort(s), some at non-home resort(s), some trips during peak season, some at low season, some trips are at DVC resorts, some are cruises, II trades, Disneyland hotes, or other adventures. This is one of the greatest benefits of the DVC point system compared to "traditional" timeshares. Many people realize that as their family grows or shrinks, the number of points they need does too. There is nothing wrong with using DVC either way, but this flexibility is the main reason that some people add-on AND why some people sell.

And to answer the specific question about why people would buy small contracts (under 100 points), they do it because through banking and/or borrowing this could be enough to stay where they want, when they want, for as long as they want (doesn't have to be a full week!) at a specific resort every 2 -3 years. As an example, if you bank your 50 2008 points, and borrow your 50 2010 points, you could use 150 during 2009. But more importantly for resale, these small contracts sell for more money than large contracts. Any contract under the standard DVC direct buy-in (had been 160 points for the last few years until quite recently when they promotionally lowered it to 100 points) will sell for a significantly higher rate per point than larger 200-300 point contracts. As an add-on you can buy as few as 25 points for cash or 50 points with financing. Also, even if you plan to buy 200 points, it may be better to break it up into 4x 50 point contracts (or 2x 50 + 1x 100, or other combinations) because you cannot sell partial contracts. For example, you cannot sell only 50 points of your 285 point contract; you would have to sell the whole thing and then repurchase 235 points, and ususally this is not financially beneficial. And as mentioned by a previous poster, willing individual contracts when you die is also easier than one large contact to multiple heirs.

The more you learn about DVC, the more you realize how fleixible a system it is!

Blahnde

 

[aurorafan]

We bought 160 AKV points this March because it's what we could afford. I know we'll need more (shouldn't be too hard to convince DH since we're already borrowed into 2010 ), so we'll have to add on. When we do it will probably be in 50 point increments, not only for ease of selling but also to help with leaving contracts to the kids and so we can pay them off as we buy them .

 

[moredisneyplease]

I added on so I can stay longer and/or get a bigger place so friends/family can come with! 150 wasnt enough and now I'm at 310........lets see how long that lasts me

 

[DisneyMama27]

When we do it will probably be in 50 point increments, not only for ease of selling but also to help with leaving contracts to the kids and so we can pay them off as we buy them .

We have three kids, and our guide advised us to buy our points in 3 contracts so that they could be willed to them later on. We have added on the same way, so now we have 9 contracts! I know, I know. DH has addonitis worse than me! But we manage to use our points every year! We take small trips, long trips (2 weeks), and big trips (family reunion at Thanksgiving). We use our points all throughout the year, including holidays. We love DVC for the flexibility, as Blahnde pointed out, and it works for us.

We are amazed at those DVCers who know exactly the # of points they need for the exact size room at the exact time of year! I'm impressed, it's just not the way we travel.

 

[dianeschlicht]

If DVC was a traditional timeshare, your observations would be right on, but it's not. We actually have two add on contracts. One was 150 points that we added on a year after our initial 230 point purchase. Those 380 points have been perfect for us over the past 10 years, but we also knew we wanted to have home resort advantage at AKV, so we did a small add-on there (69 points) so that with banking and borrowing, we would have a 2 bedroom visit at AKV every 3rd year.

 

[edk35]

I added on so I can stay longer and/or get a bigger place so friends/family can come with! 150 wasnt enough and now I'm at 310........lets see how long that lasts me

It won't last long my friend. We have 300 at SSR and we joined Jan. 31st 07 and then we added on 100 at AKV on Aug. 22nd of this year.

We have been going more than once a year so we needed more points right after our Dev. points ran out. LOL I think people just fall in love with Disney and can't stay away and then .....we add on more or we want to have more home resorts. People have kidded me about my latest add on because we have never even been in the AKV and all 5 of us are so excited about that 100 pt. contract. I would not be surprised if we don't add some points there sooner than later. I really do. It is such a unique resort from all I have been reading I am surprised we have not visited it yet.

 

[edk35]

We have three kids, and our guide advised us to buy our points in 3 contracts so that they could be willed to them later on. We have added on the same way, so now we have 9 contracts! I know, I know. DH has addonitis worse than me! But we manage to use our points every year! We take small trips, long trips (2 weeks), and big trips (family reunion at Thanksgiving). We use our points all throughout the year, including holidays. We love DVC for the flexibility, as Blahnde pointed out, and it works for us.

We are amazed at those DVCers who know exactly the # of points they need for the exact size room at the exact time of year! I'm impressed, it's just not the way we travel.

Hi Disney Mama.....we too have 3 kids and our guide suggested the same thing. When we bought in we got three 100 pt. contracts for that exact same reason. Then we added on a 100 pt. contract in Aug. I guess we should have broken that down too....maybe into three 50 pt. contracts. I have a feeling that down the road we will add on some where else too....so it will all come out in the wash.

 

[janni518]

We started out with a conservative amount of points (160) that fit easily into our budget and will add on as circumstances allow.We want to go on vacation at least once a year and we also want to bring additional guests occasionally.

 

[goingsouth]

Initially, we added on to treat ourselves to a larger unit or to have the ability to invite friends and family members to stay with us. Our future plans are to use the points for just my husband and myself to be "snowbirds" for about 6 weeks in a studio every winter. We pay for it now while we have the income rather than during our retirement years when our budget might be more conservative.

Joanne

 

[flyingcat2003]

So, if I have 260pts at SSR and 50pts @ HH, I can only use the 260pc at SSR and the 50pts @ HH? I was under the impression that I could use my 310pts as I wanted. Owning at either resort just gave me a bigger booking window (11 months) at HH and SSR. I'm confused.

 

[jekjones1558]

You have the 11 month advantage at SSR only with your SSR points and HHI 11 month advantage only with your HHI points. At 7 months you can combine the points at any DVC resort. With borrowing and banking you could potentially use 150 HHI points at 11 months and 780 SSR points at 11 months.