Buying a 50 point contract for 75 point stays

[BobCharlie]

Recently discovered DVC and I'm thinking about buying in. If the stay I'm interested in costs 75 points, would buying a 50 point contract and going one time two out of three years work? Is there a risk of having unused points that I would lose? I put together a usage spreadsheet (partially shown below), does it look correct or am I missing something? Is a December stay with a February use year going to be a really bad idea, or acceptable in this scenario? Thoughts and opinions are appreciated!

February Use Year/Points In/Points banked/Points Borrowed/December Stay
UY2016 / 50 / 50 / 0 / No Stay
UY2017 / 50 / 25 / 0 / 75
UY2018 / 50 / 0 / 0 / 75
UY2019 / 50 / 50 / 0 / No Stay
UY2020 / 50 / 25 / 0 / 75
UY2021 / 50 / 0 / 0 / 75

 

[disneynutz]

You are missing the fact that most buyers start small and soon end up taking longer vacations for a few years, maybe a couple each year then after doing it all several times they may cut back and spend more resort time. Some also start in studios and soon decide that larger accommodations are better suited for their vacation lifestyle.

Bill

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Consistently going in Dec and having a Feb UY is pretty much giving up any little free insurance against last minute cancellations that having a UY that starts just prior to your stay provides. If you ever had a last minute cancellation the time would be short to either use or rent the points or lose them.

The other issue can be a point reallocation for the time you wish to go so that your 75 point stay now becomes 85 or 90. It wouldn't kill the plan but might require some adjustment. I'll add that if this is for VGF in early Dec it's a bad plan IMO because studios cannot be guaranteed there. You didn't say where but just wanted to point out that many people bought a small amount of points there to stay studios for the Christmas season and it's causing a few headaches for those people. Buying for a few other studios types in early Dec could also be a cause of frustration. Boardwalk - boardwalk view and standard view, AKV - value and concierge, BLT - standard view. When you have a small amount of points bought for a very busy time that doesn't allow any wiggle room if you can't get the room you bought for you can have issues.

 

[BobCharlie]

You guys bring up some good considerations. Might be better to wait for a 75 point contract to give some wiggle room or even be able to save for two years and get a 1 bedroom instead of a studio when the kiddo gets older. She's only 3 now, so it's no problem sharing a studio with her. But eventually a 1 bedroom might be better for privacy when she's much older. We may also eventually go in June instead of December as well, so a Feb UY might be OK. But a June or Dec UY would probably be better.

As far as getting a studio for VGF in early Dec., is it really that difficult even if it's your home resort? One of the reasons I'm considering buying points instead of renting (as we do now) is that 11 month booking advantage at your home resort. If owners can't even get a studio at 11 months maybe I should reconsider buying altogether.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

December is one of the busiest seasons of the year for DVC. Grand Floridian has a total of 47 studios. Some of them were purchased as fixed weeks in December. It can be a challenge even for members to book even at 11 months, in December, for a studio. A lot of people bought points as you are thinking of, for that exact purpose, and competition is high for a small number of units.

If you are buying for a December VGF studio, you are likely to end up staying elsewhere using a 7 month window more than you think right now.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Yes, VGF in early December is that difficult. Other resorts do not have as much difficulty because most are larger, but expecting to always get a lower cost accommodation at any of them for early Dec might be a problem. That's where having a few extra points that either allow a more expensive "view" or a larger room can be a huge plus. As I mentioned - a lot of people bought a small number of points to be able to stay at VGF for a few days to enjoy the Christmas season there. The first 2 weeks of Dec are low point season and and the absolute most popular weeks for DVC. So at VGF any studio view will be difficult those weeks.

So VGF for early Dec - I couldn't recommend it if you would have to have a studio there. Other resorts should be fine. June will be fine anywhere too book at 11 months.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

VGF Studio in December is a challenge but doable. I was able to get a studio for the 1st week of December this year, and I was able to get Poly for the same week last year. You have to be online at 8AM of the day when the 11 month period starts. Yet this is another reason to buy more than the absolute minimum of points. The standards were gone when I booked so I happily took a lake view. I am sure not everybody who was online at 8AM got one, so you need a plan B.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

I think if you want to join the 50 point gets you in the door. you can always look to add more as you need. you can also buy 24 one time use points from DVC member services if you call them to make a reservation. If you find you are needing to borrow more you can always add on. Use year really only matters if you plan to always go during a certain time.

 

[Dean]

Recently discovered DVC and I'm thinking about buying in. If the stay I'm interested in costs 75 points, would buying a 50 point contract and going one time two out of three years work? Is there a risk of having unused points that I would lose? I put together a usage spreadsheet (partially shown below), does it look correct or am I missing something? Is a December stay with a February use year going to be a really bad idea, or acceptable in this scenario? Thoughts and opinions are appreciated!

February Use Year/Points In/Points banked/Points Borrowed/December Stay
UY2016 / 50 / 50 / 0 / No Stay
UY2017 / 50 / 25 / 0 / 75
UY2018 / 50 / 0 / 0 / 75
UY2019 / 50 / 50 / 0 / No Stay
UY2020 / 50 / 25 / 0 / 75
UY2021 / 50 / 0 / 0 / 75

IMO a Feb UY planning routinely for Dec is a bad idea, better not to buy than purposefully put one's self in that position. IF going 2 of every 3 years for something that costs 75 points currently, I'd look at 75-100 points total as a minimum, possibly more. Don't forget you might not be able to get what you're wanting, esp for a VGF studio or you might end up having to get a 1 BR more often than not. Plus if they reallocate such that it raises the points, you don' want to be stuck and many of us think they will reallocate early Dec at some point.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I think if you want to join the 50 point gets you in the door. you can always look to add more as you need. you can also buy 24 one time use points from DVC member services if you call them to make a reservation. If you find you are needing to borrow more you can always add on. Use year really only matters if you plan to always go during a certain time.

It's important to note that one-time-use points cannot be used in the home resort window, so won't help an 11-month December booking at VGF. They can only be used at 7 months.

 

[Lauren in NC]

Another thing to keep in mind - the smaller contracts are going to be more expensive per point than larger contracts, since they're much more in demand as add-ons. Cherrypicking from the ROFR thread, 50 pts at AKV went for $92 per point, while 100 points went for $88 per point. A 200 point contract went for $78 per point! If there's a good chance that you may want something larger later, or may need more flexibility in booking a different view or resort, and you can afford it, you might be better off buying a larger contract rather than going back later and paying the higher price per point multiple times.

 

[MouseOfCards]

It's important to note that one-time-use points cannot be used in the home resort window, so won't help an 11-month December booking at VGF. They can only be used at 7 months.

Good reminder!

 

[MouseOfCards]

. . . The first 2 weeks of Dec are low point season and the absolute most popular weeks for DVC. . .

Does this also mean that the parks are very crowded at these times?

 

[DisBuckMan]

Does this also mean that the parks are very crowded at these times?

Not really, but even at full capacity, DVC guests don't make up a significant percentage of the total guests in the parks on a daily basis.

 

[MouseOfCards]

Not really, but even at full capacity, DVC guests don't make up a significant percentage of the total guests in the parks on a daily basis.

Is there any correlation between the DVC seasons and how packed the theme parks are?

 

[DisBuckMan]

Is there any correlation between the DVC seasons and how packed the theme parks are?

Actually, most of the heavy DVC season (Sept-Feb) are some of the lowest crowd seasons, other than the obvious holiday periods, and some of Food and Wine.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Does this also mean that the parks are very crowded at these times?

Not really, although the parks have little that resembles the slow times of past years.

Is there any correlation between the DVC seasons and how packed the theme parks are?

Not so much, other than many holidays are still popular DVC times and the parks are very busy. Otherwise, for example, summer is a busy parks time but DVC is less while the last 3 months of the year are very popular DVC times but overall a little slower park time compared to summer.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

We went the week before christmas through christmas and found that the first two days weren't too packed and then as it got closer to christmas they became more crowded. they did close the parks to staff and one day tickets but thats it.

thanks for the reminder that one time use can only be used at the 7 mo mark.

 

[MouseOfCards]

We went the week before christmas through christmas and found that the first two days weren't too packed and then as it got closer to christmas they became more crowded. they did close the parks to staff and one day tickets but thats it.

thanks for the reminder that one time use can only be used at the 7 mo mark.

Does that mean the parks were packed/maxed out? And was this only on Christmas day?

 

[Bosco69]

I think if you want to join the 50 point gets you in the door. you can always look to add more as you need. you can also buy 24 one time use points from DVC member services if you call them to make a reservation. If you find you are needing to borrow more you can always add on. Use year really only matters if you plan to always go during a certain time.

The 24 points that you buy cannot be used St the 11th month mark only the 7th