Finally going to take the plunge - RIV direct

[Tatebeck]

What is the RIV add on price for 150 points?

29,700 or 198pp before MB, 178pp after MB

 

[SugarSweetLee]

I would say the sweet spot is definitely 250 or 300 points if you can afford it, and if not then 150 is the next best. 164pp and 161.33pp vs 178pp after MB respectively. 100 points just seems like a dead zone you shouldn't stop in with no MB and no Welcome Home either.

Your number for the "next 50" points from 100 to 150 is incorrect. You are using the MB from the whole 150 points when you should be using 50 only to compare apples to apples even though MB isn't available at 100 points. You would be going from an extra 100 points the first year (or renting them yourself) to having 0 extra points the first year to get to that math. It would actually be figured at 178pp or 158pp after MB for those 50 points from 100 to 150. If I did that same trick from 250 to 300 points (applying all MB to the last 50 points) it would look like the last 50 points were 48pp! What a steal!

You skipped over 200 at $173pp, just curious why?

 

[Frugal Fairy Tales]

29,700 or 198pp before MB, 178pp after MB

Thank you! Tempting!!

 

[Tatebeck]

You skipped over 200 at $173pp, just curious why?

Just because it doesn't seem like a good stopping point for most buyers. Welcome Home offers that stack on top of the $17 discount for members increases as follows

• starts at $1500 at 150 points
• increased by $1500 to $3,000 at 200 points
• increased by $3,000 to $6,000 at 250 points
• increased by $2,000 to $8,000 at 300 points

If increasing the number of points bought to get a better discount, it makes sense to stop at a $2,000 or $3,000 step vs a $1,500 step, unless you really want exactly 200 points

 

[Tatebeck]

Congrats - good choice! I also bought 300 pts this incentive cycle and had been leaning towards 250 for a while. Ultimately going the FW route pushed me over 250 but either amount means good times ahead - enjoy!!

Sounds like we're pretty similar.

Just curious, which fixed weeks did you choose and how did you get to 300? I think you did 2 fixed weeks right? Did you do 2 cheaper fixed weeks + a 50 point contract or 2 more expensive fixed weeks? I want week 50, but not sure if I want a second fixed week or just a few smaller contracts for the rest. Thanks!

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Sounds like we're pretty similar.

Just curious, which fixed weeks did you choose and how did you get to 300? I think you did 2 fixed weeks right? Did you do 2 cheaper fixed weeks + a 50 point contract or 2 more expensive fixed weeks? I want week 50, but not sure if I want a second fixed week or just a few smaller contracts for the rest. Thanks!

One not-so-cheap [Week 44] + one super cheap [Week 39] + the add-on.

What ultimately pushed me to go from 250 to 300 tier was that I wanted enough points to have a shot at booking Week 44 without using the FW and if I had only done the two FWs, I wouldn’t have had enough.

I also wasn’t direct yet so it was important to me to have one contract that got me to 150 just in case I ever wanted/needed to sell the others…but you already know my internal conflict around that

Depending on your UY, you could do Week 39 + Week 50 + 51 pts?

What are you thinking for your 2nd?

 

[Tatebeck]

One not-so-cheap [Week 44] + one super cheap [Week 39] + the add-on.

What ultimately pushed me to go from 250 to 300 tier was that I wanted enough points to have a shot at booking Week 44 without using the FW and if I had only done the two FWs, I wouldn’t have had enough.

I also wasn’t direct yet so it was important to me to have one contract that got me to 150 just in case I ever wanted/needed to sell the others…but you already know my internal conflict around that

Depending on your UY, you could do Week 39 + Week 50 + 51 pts?

What are you thinking for your 2nd?

I wanted week 50 first because I wanted something in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. My wife loves Thanksgiving and will never want to go somewhere during the holiday. And during actual Christmas week is unbelievably crowded and expensive point-wise. So its a popular week that would sell well as a resale that would guarantee us a cheap-ish room during a time that is getting very hard to book to see WDW during the Christmas season

For the second week I was considering doing week 49 as well, but that puts it at 270 points so I would have to do at least 320 (I don't think they let you do a small add-on for less than 50 points as a standalone contract, right?)

So then I was thinking maybe just a room during food and wine since that is very popular also and would also sell well in case of an emergency. Weeks 36-39 does seem to work pretty well as that would be 249 points with both weeks, needing just a 51 point third contract. But yeah I think your idea of week 39 works well to get closer to late Sept/early Oct and not strictly Sept when it's still hotter. Then I would be able to do exactly 300 points, and have a week in food/wine/Halloween season and a week for Christmas! And we'd be neighbors

I'd be able to sell any one of the three and still keep benefits, though I would sell some resale contracts first in an emergency to keep these as direct SAP+.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

I wanted week 50 first because I wanted something in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. My wife loves Thanksgiving and will never want to go somewhere during the holiday. And during actual Christmas week is unbelievably crowded and expensive point-wise. So its a popular week that would sell well as a resale that would guarantee us a cheap-ish room during a time that is getting very hard to book to see WDW during the Christmas season

For the second week I was considering doing week 49 as well, but that puts it at 270 points so I would have to do at least 320 (I don't think they let you do a small add-on for less than 50 points as a standalone contract, right?)

So then I was thinking maybe just a room during food and wine since that is very popular also and would also sell well in case of an emergency. Weeks 36-39 seem to work pretty well as that would be 249 points with both weeks, needing just a 51 point third contract. Probably week 39 to get closer to late Sept/early Oct and not strictly Sept when it's still hotter. Then I would be able to do exactly 300 points, and have a week in food/wine/Halloween season and a week for Christmas!

I'd be able to sell any one of the three and still keep benefits, though I would sell some resale contracts first in an emergency to keep these as direct SAP+. Thoughts?

My vote is Week 50 + Week 39 + 51 pts.

I know I’m biased but Week 39 kinda feels like a hidden gem if you have the flexibility to travel then. When Riv first launched, that FW was 129 pts vs the 114 today…not to mention the following week 40 shoots up to 153!

Plus, I do like that you’d have a week during F&W - that’s when Riv’s location is especially convenient.

Edited to add: I just saw your update - yeah we’d be neighbors

 

[Tatebeck]

I'm really leaning towards weeks 39 + 50 now. It works really well since my main use year is September so they would both be towards the beginning of the use year leaving room to cancel and use them somewhere else if I wanted

 

[SugarSweetLee]

What ultimately pushed me to go from 250 to 300 tier was that I wanted enough points to have a shot at booking Week 44 without using the FW and if I had only done the two FWs, I wouldn’t have had enough.

Help! I feel super dumb. Why wouldn't you have enough points in this scenario?

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I could never own a 51 point contract. I have a hard enough time with our 125 point one. I like multiples of 50 much better than multiples of 25.

 

[Tatebeck]

Help! I feel super dumb. Why wouldn't you have enough points in this scenario?

The week 44 fixed week is 153 points. I think they wanted to be able to book it with their other points without cancelling the week 44 fixed week (to save the 10% fixed week extra charge). So they are guaranteed to have a fixed week 44 as insurance with a chance to book it with their other points as well before cancelling. This would require 306 points, so 250 wouldn't cut it

I could never own a 51 point contract. I have a hard enough time with our 125 point one. I like multiples of 50 much better than multiples of 25.

I wouldn't ever really use it on its own. I would cancel one or both of the fixed weeks and use it with those points as direct SAP+ points. And it would an easier to sell a small contract like that at a restricted resort, just in case

 

[SugarSweetLee]

The week 44 fixed week is 153 points. I think they wanted to be able to book it with their other points without cancelling the week 44 fixed week (to save the 10% fixed week extra charge). So they are guaranteed to have a fixed week 44 as insurance with a chance to book it with their other points as well before cancelling. This would require 306 points, so 250 wouldn't cut it

Ohhh I see! That makes sense, thank you for explaining.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

The week 44 fixed week is 153 points. I think they wanted to be able to book it with their other points without cancelling the week 44 fixed week (to save the 10% fixed week extra charge). So they are guaranteed to have a fixed week 44 as insurance with a chance to book it with their other points as well before cancelling. This would require 306 points, so 250 wouldn't cut it

I wouldn't ever really use it on its own. I would cancel one or both of the fixed weeks and use it with those points as direct SAP+ points. And it would an easier to sell a small contract like that at a restricted resort, just in case

I didn’t know the specific numbers but I knew it was something like that. But for my own peace of mind, I would be buying 325 or better yet, 350 instead of 306!

 

[Tatebeck]

Actually it would be a little less than 306 thinking about it, since the second booking wouldn't have the 10% extra fixed week fee. So around 300, but still more than 250

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

The week 44 fixed week is 153 points. I think they wanted to be able to book it with their other points without cancelling the week 44 fixed week (to save the 10% fixed week extra charge). So they are guaranteed to have a fixed week 44 as insurance with a chance to book it with their other points as well before cancelling. This would require 306 points, so 250 wouldn't cut it

I wouldn't ever really use it on its own. I would cancel one or both of the fixed weeks and use it with those points as direct SAP+ points. And it would an easier to sell a small contract like that at a restricted resort, just in case

Thank you for explaining!

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

I'm really leaning towards weeks 39 + 50 now. It works really well since my main use year is September so they would both be towards the beginning of the use year leaving room to cancel and use them somewhere else if I wanted

Perfect combo for Sept Use Year! Keep us posted - you’re waiting til last week of June, right?

 

[JackosinDIS]

I could never own a 51 point contract. I have a hard enough time with our 125 point one. I like multiples of 50 much better than multiples of 25.

I’m with you… I bought a 54 point contract last year and the fact that it makes my total points an odd number drives me crazy

 

[Tatebeck]

Perfect combo for Sept Use Year! Keep us posted - you’re waiting til last week of June, right?

Yeah, just before the current incentives expire. That gives us 10 days to see the new incentives and decide whether to take the spring incentives or use the new summer incentives. If the summer incentives are very similar or better we may wait a bit longer just to see what they do with the Poly tower. It also saves us a bit on dues for the first year of points. The longer we wait the less we pay for 2024 dues, and as long as I buy by the end of August I'll still get the 2023 points to use for MB.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Yeah, just before the current incentives expire. That gives us 10 days to see the new incentives and decide whether to take the spring incentives or use the new summer incentives. If the summer incentives are very similar or better we may wait a bit longer just to see what they do with the Poly tower. It also saves us a bit on dues for the first year of points. The longer we wait the less we pay for 2024 dues, and as long as I buy by the end of August I'll still get the 2023 points to use for MB.

It really is perfect timing all around!

Excited to live vicariously through you this month and give my wallet a much needed break (from buying DVC, that is...we'll actually be in WDW so clearly no true savings will be had )