Yes - if that end run worked, w/ the $$$ I spent on my VGF contract I could have bought a few VGF points and a lot more SSR points and always stayed at VGF!It would have been nice though if you could buy 10 points at each resorts and then one big contract at SSR and have home resort advantage with all points at all resorts
They are cheaper. For now, if your plan is to stay consistently in non-studios/lockoffs during off peak times (mid-Jan-early Sept, minus holidays), are flexible with your travel dates (plus or minus x days), it's more cost effective to get SSR points (on a $/pt/year basis). I think a lot of people who do this successfully are very relaxed about where they stay. If they end up at SSR, it's not the end of the world, but there are no plans to stay there regularly.
@Dean is a proponent of exactly this approach and it’s a solid approach to ownership; using a low entry point buy in to get to know the system. The idea is that if it ends up you REALLY like a particular resort, you can transition there at a much less costly change than say buying at VGF and finding out the resort/system isn’t what you thought it was and trying to transition out.
Until you own 8,000 points, you’ve got room to grow.
IMO it's all about value, choices, preference and what one can afford. It's very common in timeshares to buy at a resort one doesn't intend to stay at whether it be Hilton, Wyndham, Marriott Weeks or DVC. That can be a great choice for one who's educated and a horrible choice for one who isn't and makes a bad choice. I didn't mention Bluegreen or Marriott Trust points because they don't have a home resort priority thus it's a moot point. IMO one needs to be OK with the risks but if they are, I feel it's often the best choice for many. That's esp true since very few new buyers actually know what their preferences are though many think they know. I've owned a number of timeshares I never intended to stay at including out of the country in places I'd never visited. And yes the difference for DVC is quite substantial. For example, it's roughly 20% more to own AKV than SSR at the same # of points. That equates to around $1000 up front per each 100 pts and yearly about $100 difference per 100 points indexed for inflation. Whether that's a little or a lot depends but long term it's quite a lot in terms of $$$, whether the savings or extra costs are worth it simply depends. In reality DVC today often doesn't make for a wise purchase for many people compared to a few years ago and often buying something like SSR might make sense but VGF doesn't even if that's one's preference. And in reality SSR would never have sold out if there weren't a lot of people planning to use points elsewhere.
