General DVC questions

[LuvtheGoof]

Thank you. sorry for all the questions. I literally have today where I'm spending it all on spreadsheets to see what works out most effective.

Don't hesitate to ask whatever you need to know. We're happy to answer anything.

 

[cmwade77]

I see what your saying. Me personally, I’d look at it as an option but I know the rest of the family won’t. It’s been a battle to get them to look at resale DVC over direct but I have won’t then round on that.

Do you need the blue card to be able to get a Tables in Wonderland card or is that open to everyone? That would take the sting out food especially if dinning plan isn’t returning anytime soon.

I agree on the Dues but I think that I can really soften outlay with yearly cashback and deals I get from just doing my regular shopping. AKL dues I’m looking at around $1600 but I know I can get over $400 off that total just from my regular shopping

I was doing some looking, depending on the number of points you want and where you want to buy, depending on incentives, buying direct may be about the same price as buying a resale. You could also buy a small contract direct, just enough to get the blue card and then buy resale.

 

[cmwade77]

1. The only value rooms are at Jambo House at AKL. Ownership at AKL gives you home priority at both Jambo and Kidani. Value rooms get booked right on the dot at the 11 month window; in fact many people will “walk” those rooms. You absolutely must own at AKLto have any chance at all of booking them.

When calculating how many points you need, you should never bank on getting the cheapest type of studio at any resort. Get enough so you can book the next type up.

I have booked the value at AKL at 7 months, but I do agree you should never bank on getting the cheapest rooms when determining the number of points. The DVC site actually has a handy calculator that will ask a few questions and help you figure out how many points you should start off with and I say start off with because you will likely add additional points down the road.

 

[cmwade77]

If I may add my two cents...
You are a newlywed, you may need more room (more points) someday
It’s cheaper to buy them now than 5 or 10 years from now.

This is absolutely true, we bought into Grand Californian 10 years ago, we were some of the last to buy and today we could literally sell them for three times what we paid for them. We bought 206 points at the time and if I could go back in time, I would probably double that number if we could. We are considering adding on now, not sure which resort, so it would have been good to do then, as Grand Californian is a unique resort to own at. We have traded reservations with other members 11 months out so we can get the resort we want and they could get Grand Californian, basically meaning we could book at 11 months for all resorts if we put enough effort into it. Honestly though, we have come to like the idea of booking where something is available at 7 months out (or less), it encourages us to try new resorts.

On another note, we did 206 points because we initially needed that to book a trip we wanted to do; however, we have since found that having an unusual number has worked in our favor more than once allowing an extra day or a nicer room without needing to buy one time use points that would have had to do otherwise and honestly 6 extra points doesn't break the bank when buying or in dues.

 

[Indy_UK]

I was doing some looking, depending on the number of points you want and where you want to buy, depending on incentives, buying direct may be about the same price as buying a resale. You could also buy a small contract direct, just enough to get the blue card and then buy resale.

Don’t think Disney are likely to sell me a small contract for AKL though are they. Isn’t the minimum also 75 or 100 points, which is still quite a premium.

 

[nickys]

Don’t think Disney are likely to sell me a small contract for AKL though are they. Isn’t the minimum also 75 or 100 points, which is still quite a premium.

Yes, it varies by resort but usually 100 for the older resorts. Very occasionally they have gone down to 50.

 

[Indy_UK]

Right, may not be buying straight away buy Husband has given me the 'Go Ahead' to look at purchasing.

We are thinking of maybe buying and going in August 2022.

If we were to get a contract with say 200 points for 2022 available in the February, can I still book at the 11 month mark of September 2021 because they know at the time of travel, the points will be available and also be able to borrow some from 2023? Or have they all got to be available at the time of booking?

If I book September 2021, will it allow me to borrow points from 2023 for a 2022 trip?

Does that make sense?

 

[nickys]

Right, may not be buying straight away buy Husband has given me the 'Go Ahead' to look at purchasing.

We are thinking of maybe buying and going in August 2022.

If we were to get a contract with say 200 points for 2022 available in the February, can I still book at the 11 month mark of September 2021 because they know at the time of travel, the points will be available and also be able to borrow some from 2023? Or have they all got to be available at the time of booking?

If I book September 2021, will it allow me to borrow points from 2023 for a 2022 trip?

Does that make sense?

Points only need to be available at the time of the actual stay.

So yes, you can book at the 11 month mark. If you want to be able to book in September you need to bear in mind that closing on a resale contract can take between 60 & 90 days from the closing date to getting points in your account. So don’t leave it too late to buy.

Now a question for you - do you know about Use Years? Because points don’t work on a calendar year.

For example I have a December Use Year so August 2022 would fall in the 2021 use year. That means I could use current 2021 points, banked 2020 points and borrowed 2022 points for an August vacation.

 

[Indy_UK]

Points only need to be available at the time of the actual stay.

So yes, you can book at the 11 month mark. If you want to be able to book in September you need to bear in mind that closing on a resale contract can take between 60 & 90 days from the closing date to getting points in your account. So don’t leave it too late to buy.

Now a question for you - do you know about Use Years? Because points don’t work on a calendar year.

For example I have a December Use Year so August 2022 would fall in the 2021 use year. That means I could use current 2021 points, banked 2020 points and borrowed 2022 points for an August vacation.

That makes sense.

I say September for 11 month mark if I plan to go next August. TBH, If we go ahead, it will be this week and from what I hear, 1 bedroom Villas tend to be the last to go at most resorts including AKL.

I think I guess use years. The sale I'm looking at allocates 200 points every Feb with the first being Feb 2022. If I don't think I was going to use them that year then 4 months before the new points allotted I need to bank them for the 2023 year?

 

[Indy_UK]

The original Deed we wanted for 220 points sold and we missed out but got accepted for another for 210 points. We did manage to get it for $106 a point so hopefully Disney wot refuse on ROFR. Monera Finance approved us in principle so just waiting for our contract to come through DVC Resale Market.

Original Deed we wanted was Feb use year but the one we got was December which does push our first trip from 2022 into 2023 but we are OK with that. We'll go to DLP next year instead for Marvel Hotel and Avengers Campus.

We are incredibly excited but im personally nervous as im the one doing all the legal documents and money transfers.