Why take developer points?

[squirrlygirl]

Okay, I've seen several posts stating that "obviously" the developer points are a better deal, and I don't get why. I mean, I get that you could rent those points and get more money than the incentive gives you off, but that also includes quite a bit of hassle, esp. if you're a newbie (like me ) and would have to do a ton of research. So what's the big draw? I've run the numbers, albeit quickly, and every time I come up with the incentive being a better deal (at SSR at least). You get the points once, but you get to use your original points bought at lower cost every single year. By the time you divide those extra points out over your contract, it doesn't amount to anywhere near the savings that the incentive does.

So am I missing something totally obvious, or are the people who obviously would take the points have trips planned that the points they're buying won't cover?

Maybe I'm just jealous , because for some reason I was not offered developer points when we bought in (last month) and so I'm thinking of this in a way that makes me feel better

 

[nderh2o]

I'll tell you why we had our guide re-write our contract to take the developer points when we found that they had extended the time to use them to 12 months.
1. We got 370 (185 X 2) without having to pay dues on them. At 4.62 per point that would have run $1709.40 verses $1480.00 saved if we had bought 185 point using the $8/point discount
2. We can use our 370 developer points for our trip in June 2008 - who cares if we can't book until 7 months out - we should be able to get a 2BR at one of the resorts.
3. We can bank all of our April 2007 points so we can take a second trip between April 2008 and 2009 or we can just use them for larger accomodations this time around or to invite others along.
4. We don't have to touch any of our 2008 points to take our trip in June 2008. We can bank them into April 2008 and then get a 2BR again. This allows us to take Disney vacations 2 years in a row and then take a break for the 3rd year. Pretty good deal for us since we only purchased enough points for a 2BR every other year.
5. When we looked at renting points, we saw them at least for 10/point. Again, we don't need to rent to supplement our allottment. By not taking the discount, we effectively have paid 8/point for them.

Well,
that's my 2 cents. Nothing earth shattering but I believe we got a better deal for what we want to get from DVC.

 

[ScottakaMickey]

For me it was the cash value of the double developer points far out weighed the cash discount. I didn't look at paying $8 more per point over the 50 years as it is really just that I paid $1280 more for my purchase initially, but what I got for that was in effect $0 downpayment and a free cruise

 

[flyerron]

Everyone has to evaluate their own situation. Some folks can only travel to WDW once a year or everyother year. Some need the cash discount to make it work. Some want to travel more frequently & of course the points are a better deal. There is no right or wrong way to make the deal. The most important thing is making the deal & becomming a member.

 

[global_mom]

We also did the developer points from the standpoint that it saved us a ton on a couple of "extra" vacations.

If we had taken the incentive discount we would have saved about $1150 on our add-on purchase. The retail value of the extra trips is about $2800. We were very pleased with this! (and got 2006 points to bank into 2007 and will be able to bank our Dec. 2007 points into 2008 b/c we wont need them until then)

We did the scientific method of cost per point with the discount and decided that the developer points just worked better for us. We really worried about paying $104 per point but we plan to own them for a loooonnnnggg time and there are plenty of others who also paid $104 so we know that we are in good company.

 

[zalansky]

We took the developer points because at AKV we would have received an $8 per point credit in lieu of developer points. On 100 points, that was a savings of aabout $800. 200 vacations points are worth much more than $800, in my mind at least. We are fortunate to live close by, so we can use those points easily.

And thanks to the people on these boards, we transferred our current reservations (5 nights at BCV = 110 points & 2 nights at BWV = 36 points) to developer points. They are going to bank our "regular' points. This was just too good a deal to pass up.

 

[sjdisneywedding]

Theres many ways to look at it.

These points are costing $4 dollars each. You'll never find any points that low after initial cost and MF's. So if you can use them you cant beat it.

Even if you rent none its a great deal, if you want to rent even half of them out you are already ahead of the 8 pp you just saved

For me saving $800 dollars is pretty worthless when I am spending $10,400 anyway. The 200 developer points will far outweigh $800 in the long run

 

[global_mom]

Developer points cant be rented but you could rent your "regular" points instead and use your developer points. The hassle seems way too great to us but I guess it works for some. The 12 month usage window really made the developer points attractive to many more buyers.

 

[tjkraz]

Developer points cant be rented but you could rent your "regular" points instead and use your developer points. The hassle seems way too great to us but I guess it works for some. The 12 month usage window really made the developer points attractive to many more buyers.

Sure you can rent them. "Renting" points is simply making a reservation in the name of another individual at a rate that you personally negotiate. You can't transfer or bank the points, but they can certainly be rented.

To a member buying 200 points, the $8 discount is worth $1600.

Now, if you take the Developer's Points (400) and rent them at even $9 each, that's $3600 in your pocket--an increase of $2000 over DVC's cash discount. Many people rent for as much as $12 per point, so the net savings could be even higher.

Those who aren't familiar with renting will probably have to do a couple hours' worth of research and then spend time renting the points and coordinating reservations. It might take you 8-10 hours to do all of that. Now, if you've got some other money-making venture that will earn you more than $200 per hour, go for it. Otherwise, I can't think of a good reason NOT to take the points and rent them.

 

[EEyorelover22]

Okay, I've seen several posts stating that "obviously" the developer points are a better deal, and I don't get why. I mean, I get that you could rent those points and get more money than the incentive gives you off, but that also includes quite a bit of hassle, esp. if you're a newbie (like me ) and would have to do a ton of research. So what's the big draw? I've run the numbers, albeit quickly, and every time I come up with the incentive being a better deal (at SSR at least). You get the points once, but you get to use your original points bought at lower cost every single year. By the time you divide those extra points out over your contract, it doesn't amount to anywhere near the savings that the incentive does.

So am I missing something totally obvious, or are the people who obviously would take the points have trips planned that the points they're buying won't cover?

Maybe I'm just jealous , because for some reason I was not offered developer points when we bought in (last month) and so I'm thinking of this in a way that makes me feel better

When we bought they had to be used in 7 months and there was no way we could do that. Even with 12 months we for sure can only go once a year for a max of a week and maybe not for the next two years in a row so even looking at this now, I might have still taken the discount on the points because of our situation. And, being new to all of this, renting points would have put me over the edge. I know I could have banked the points, but we still would have had left over with only a week in the World. If we didn't have kids that had tight summer schedules perhaps I would think differently. As someone stated, everyone's situation is different.

From what I have read too they can be used at 7 months to book. I could have not taken the wait from 11-7 months to know whether there was a room at AKV or not. My family will only stay there.

There will always be some deal that beats the last perhaps. I know that if I had waited this long into the summer to buy DVC, I would have talked myself out of it too. So, I'm thrilled we bought when we did.

I saw that thread before dinner and I've moved on

 

[global_mom]

Our guide was quite adamant that Developer points could not be rented, transferred or banked but he could be incorrect. For those that are willing to go thru the extra effort of renting them (not getting a confirmation number right away to give to a renter, matching the time schedule before the points expire etc.) then it could be beneficial to some folks. Its still not for us but that is great for those that want to rent.

 

[ScottakaMickey]

Our guide was quite adamant that Developer points could not be rented, transferred or banked but he could be incorrect. For those that are willing to go thru the extra effort of renting them (not getting a confirmation number right away to give to a renter, matching the time schedule before the points expire etc.) then it could be beneficial to some folks. Its still not for us but that is great for those that want to rent.

I rented all 320 of my developer/incentive points, no problems. He was partially correct in that you can not transfer or bank them.

 

["Got Disney"]

We found it more lucrative to take the cash discount. Pts were up to $100 each but we bought at $86 a pt saving us more than if we took 4oo extra pts. We were not pllanning on another vacation soon since we were on a cruise when we bought.

Do what works for you ...

 

[Maistre Gracey]

We wern't able to use them, and I have no desire to go through the renting thing.

The discount worked for us..

MG

 

[mjf]

It's funny... I was going to make a similar posting titled "Why wouldn't you take the developer points?"

For us, the extra points will come in handy for our vacation this winter and we can bank our Dec 07 UY points until next year so essentially we get two years of double points. And then... we'll probably need to buy more.

 

[hellerjw]

Its all relative to each DVCer's personal situation.

Some can't travel right away (before the developer points expire) and aren't interested in renting, so the cash discount works best for them.

Others take the developer points, rent them, and usually come out with more cash than the discount provided. They can pay down their principal or pocket it.

A 3rd group may simply want to take an extended vacation or bring a large group and the double-developer point incentive will allow them to do that quickly.

As has been mentioned, there is no right or wrong answer. Not everyone was offered developer points, most weren't offered double developer points, and others simply had no use for them.

For us it was basically a wash either way (although had we been offered double developer points I probably would have gone that route). We took the cash discount and haven't looked back.

 

[JBCP]

I've run the numbers, albeit quickly, and every time I come up with the incentive being a better deal (at SSR at least). You get the points once, but you get to use your original points bought at lower cost every single year. By the time you divide those extra points out over your contract, it doesn't amount to anywhere near the savings that the incentive does.

I think it all depends on how you look at it. When I calculate value, I don't look at it in terms of points being at a lower cost per year. What I do is look at cost outlay vs value received. Period. So for cost outlay, I look at the amount of the contract (19+K for 185 points), plus closing, plus annual dues. I'll add the amount I pay in annual dues each year into this column.

For value received, I figure out what I would pay for the lodgings I'm getting if I were not a DVC member. I looked at the rack rate, adjusted down a little since I have AAA, and then added on tax. I know that there are ways to get rooms cheaper, but honestly, I probably would not use them. The last time we went to WDW, we stayed in a DVC resort (VWL) and booked (through a travel agent) from Disney.

Anyway, when I worked out our rooms for our big trip in February (for which we used all our developer points and almost all of our 2007 points) it came to over $13000. (We have two 2-bedroom villas at AKV, one with a savanna view). this means I have already earned out over half of my intial cost for my points!

Or, you could say that my developer points paid for two-thirds of my vacation. That would be over $8000. By contrast, if I'd taken the incentive, I'd have gotten off $1480.

Of course, if you can't use your developer points in the time allotted, they're worth nothing to you (unless you want to rent them out.)

Julie

 

[TTFN!]

Originally (back in February) you only got single developer points and they had a 7 month shelf life from closing, IIRC.

So for us, 7 months to use points expiring in late November or early December (with the busy F&W - Sept & Oct and busy Thanksgiving & DVC December timeframes) the DPs were just not worth it. (Also our July accomadations were already sold out, which would prevent reallocation), thus DPs were useless to us. With the extra 5 months they would have been very useful. Especially at the rates many experienced renters charge, which are higher than the rates noted in tjkraz's post above.

Just another POV!