25 point add on - Definately worth it!

[ClosetDisMom]

I have been trying to run numbers to make a 25 point add on better for us. I REALLY want it; my husband on the other hand...

We will take our first DVC owners' trip in July; maybe his outlook and my number will change then. Until that happens, I need to read more threads like this one. It is keeping my "DVC fever" at bay to hear other people write out how it is not necessarily AMAZINGLY AWESOME to buy direct.

As it stands, we plan to take one week-long trip every two years in a one bedroom and we will still have some points leftover for a trip or two on the "off year" - so no more points needed... yet. No use for an AP. The restaurant discounts wouldn't help us much, as we like QS enough to go to one per day. Thank you for the reassurance.

 

[Dean]

My family would have no interest in going twice within one year then not again for 3 more years. In the scheme of the total cost of ownership and other trip expenses, we wouldn't want to totally change our behavior just for a small savings on passes. Reminds me of my father who used to book a trip from San Francisco to Reno via LA and Phoenix to get more frequent flier points. Would never have been worth it to me. I'm all for savings if it works into our existing plans, but not when it dictates them.

But to each their own.

You don't necessarily have to go 3 years in between, you could always do 2 out of 3 years. By doing the pass it makes the second trip on the same pass significantly less costly than a single trip. Still, for one who already has the points they need and have no use for a few more points and the pass doesn't add a value then doing the add on might not make sense. IMO though for an investment of an additional $1200-1500 as part of an overall purchase plan it's worth the investment to give oneself options going forward and protect against future changes. The higher cost of $3-4K if one doesn't need to extra points and is just buying for the benefits is much more difficult to justify.

 

[Kim Gillihan]

I don't think for us it would be worth buying 25 direct... I want to be part of the direct club but I can't justify it..... maybe we would by AP at some point but its so hard to plan that far in advance to know for sure you would take 2 trips within a 12 month period... I would like to this year, but its up in the air.... so, unless I am missing something major that seems to be the most substantial savings. I would rather just have more points in general. Let me know if I am missing something!!

 

[Matty B13]

We are planning 2018 April trip and 2019 February trip, because Easter 2019 falls on our DD April vacation and the points for that week are crazy high. So it allows us to justify an AP with a total of 12-13 days in the park, also don’t forget about the free memory maker part of the AP, we love it and have paid for it in the past.

Just something to think about, we also didn’t think we would use an AP at first, but after planning a few years with the school vacations it became clear we would be able to use an AP.

 

[Dean]

The issue with doing the add on direct is it gives you options going forward, options you may not have later or might have to go to 50 pts or more to get. I'd look at it as insurance. Certainly if one is going for more points anyway, the cost is only the difference not the full amount in the range of $50 per point for 25 pts, maybe even less if one goes for HH or VGF or similar. The options that aren't going to be that much less resale and the cheapest options will make the most sense.

 

[Dtw002]

Agree, if you don’t need the points it’s a lot of money for perks. If you can use the points than the differential between direct vs resale gets offset fast with ap and memory maker. And it looks like the direct point prices are about to go up....

 

[Kim Gillihan]

The issue with doing the add on direct is it gives you options going forward, options you may not have later or might have to go to 50 pts or more to get. I'd look at it as insurance. Certainly if one is going for more points anyway, the cost is only the difference not the full amount in the range of $50 per point for 25 pts, maybe even less if one goes for HH or VGF or similar. The options that aren't going to be that much less resale and the cheapest options will make the most sense.

OK..... great points! thanks so much, KIM

 

[limace]

Just grabbed mine today-feels like buying insurance. Would’ve loved one at the GCV but no way that was happening-so got AKV, which we love, same use year. Guide told me about upcoming price increase at the Grand, btw.

 

[cw62803]

For me, a 25-point add on made a great deal of sense. My add-on points cost approximately $1300 more than they would have if I purchased the same number of points resale. (Keep in mind that closing costs are lower when purchasing directly than they are resale.) My points were available instantly. I could use a credit card for the purchase. I was able to use the Epcot lounge and attend two Moonlight Madness events last summer. But most of all, I could purchase discounted annual passes. Those passes afforded me the the luxury of extending my visits without the cost of adding park tickets. They give you free parking at park, and free photo pass. If you go to WDW every year, you can get two trips on one annual pass - for example, in year 1 you can go in August then in year 2 go in July.

If I didn't visit WDW every year, maybe I wouldn't be so enamored of the passes. But I do, and I am.

 

[skyywalker]

Had to laugh at Skyywalker's posts above. I'd just say I was DVC and let them work out if I'm entitled to discount or not, they set the rules.
Interesting Skyywalker did you get TIW as a resale buyer no problems?
I'm another who could not make a 25 point add on pay. I go 10+ days every other year (I'm a UK buyer, I like to travel elsewhere every other year for summer vacation).UK 14 day super tickets including everything (memory maker, park hopping, golf etc) are currently $480 incl tax, so an AP would cost me an additional $120.
However, I realised I'd under purchased by 50 or so points every other year (originally bought 160 and we stay in 1 beds in summer) if I wanted to stay in some of the more points intensive resorts, so I actually needed 25 more points.
Having scoured the resale sites for some time, it was apparent it was only a few hundred dollars extra via DVD when reduced closing added in, and I needed my points pronto for a booking I'm making this week.
So I bought direct. My wife has now had 3 blue cards sent to her, me just the one! She's never requested one and never goes on the site.

Yeah, I’m unfortunately too honest. Lol. But as someone else stated, discounts entice people to buy, so why not give a discount on very over priced merchandise? I had no issue buying TiW. I purchased it over the phone and explained to them also that I’m a resale buyer. They said no problem and sent me a nice plastic card. TiW was worth every penny to us. The DVC discount for dining doesn’t pertain to many of the places we enjoy dining.

 

[mustinjourney]

ah ok. I thought I missed that they added one ot another park.

I was wondering the same thing.

 

[mustinjourney]

I don't think for us it would be worth buying 25 direct... I want to be part of the direct club but I can't justify it..... maybe we would by AP at some point but its so hard to plan that far in advance to know for sure you would take 2 trips within a 12 month period... I would like to this year, but its up in the air.... so, unless I am missing something major that seems to be the most substantial savings. I would rather just have more points in general. Let me know if I am missing something!!

you could be like me and originally plan on going every other year and end up booking 5 trips in 15 months.

 

[zavandor]

That the CM's don't distinguish beyond someone being a DVC owners isn't too surprising to me.

I guess the only way to stop this would be to update the system to require a physical scan of the card in order to enable the discount at the till (in DLP it works this way with the AP discounts). Until that happens, probably Disney is not going to train all CM to explain the difference between a blue and white card.

 

[disneynutz]

While I don't agree with the class system that DVC has created, over the entire time of ownership, the direct perks and discounts will pay for a small contract. In addition, how you intend to vacation and use those perks will certainly change after a few stays. I also expect the minimum purchase requirement and cost per point to increase so buying now is the better deal.

Bill