Will the Disney direct points minimum ever be lowered?

[Bruggok]

Disney can't even communicate out to the CMs on the correct benefits between the 2 tiers in their system now. Imagine if it did go to 5?

That’s when they let go their super polite/nice DVC sales and instead hire cutthroat timeshare sales who pressure people into buying and have no problem sleeping at night. Those sharks won’t have any problem with 5 tiers.

 

[RoseGold]

Even the O14 has the ability to charge non-home resort points with an upcharge.

All they have to do is slap a 20% premium on DLT if you aren’t using DLT points with your black card California VIP points. Win-win for Disney, because people will both pay the upcharge and buy the black card points. Maybe we will see a few more tiers

 

[jkips]

That blue card costs a lot of money when you are comparing direct vs resale. I toy around with pulling the trigger on it every now and then but then remind myself that paying that additional $1 for the otherwise free popcorn refill at the Aulani is still a MUCH better deal.

 

[starry_solo]

Do you think the 150 points minimum for a direct purchase is here to stay? You’d think they’d make it easier to buy into places like Aulani and Riviera instead of harder. And the jump from 75 to 150 seemed to happen over a fairly short period of time.

What would convince you a direct purchase is worth it if you could buy in directly?

When a really bad recession hits. I think we toured in 2012 and they told us the minimum to buy was 50 or 75 points.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

When OKW was The Disney Vacation Club the minimum purchase was over 200 points. Then it eventually dropped to 160 then 150 which is where it was at a little more than a decade ago. But then they decided they could sell more by reducing minimums. And yes, there were some that got in at 25 points. The lowest official minimum for a new member was 50 points though I believe and the 25 pointers were rare but could be pushed for.

So could/would DVC drop it again? In a heartbeat if they felt they would make more money vs keeping it high. As others have mentioned there's a cost to the entire system in having it low but DVC/DVD has only rarely displayed concern about that. Do I think they will? Probably not in regards to benefits minimum. I would never be surprised at a lower new member buy in happening again if they would benefit monetarily.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I also think it depends on the economy.
Disney lowered point minimums during the Great Recession right?

I don't think so. They did stop ROFR though.

That's exactly when it started going lower. When AKV went on sale the minimum was still 150 or 160. During that time is when they started allowing buyers to split up their minimum purchase into multiple contracts I believe. By BLT the minimum hitting 100 points. I forget when you started being able to become a member for 50 points.

 

[kdm31091]

Until and unless DVC has a problem with sales figures, no, I don't think the minimum is going anywhere. They want you to purchase direct (and not just purchase a tiny amount direct and then add on resale).

 

[Brian Noble]

That's exactly when it started going lower.

I mis-understood; I thought we were talking about the Blue Card minimum, not the new-purchase minimum.

I can't see the former going down. The latter? Much more possible, but maybe not likely.