New minimum of 75 points for Membership Benefits as of 2/25

[TheGuyThatMakesSwords]

Now - background.... my dear wife and I own 275 points, Direct From Disney, at the WL.... We have Blue Cards.

I would suggest that one LOOK at what you get for having that "Blue Card". As perks sink? It's value goes down, and resale becomes more attractive. We get ALL the perks. And they are becoming rather insignificant.

1) WE can get TIW - as can a resale owner (likely 80% of direct buy value).
2) WE could care less about "exchange points" - generally viewed as a bad use of points. EMH (what's left of it) is determined by basic on property stays. Same for 60 day FP.

Now, we are happy that we bought direct. Hitting "break even" this year. But given the "perks" for direct? Our opinion is that they are few, getting fewer, and not worth the price differential.

All personal opinion - I'm not necessarily right, no one else is necessarily wrong.

 

[Phonedave]

Couldn't they? The spread is enormous. People are paying $200+ for direct-from-Disney points while the resale market is hovering around $100 per point at AKL. If I were in the market, I'd gladly pay $120 to get my AKL points direct.

I wonder if the 25 point add on's were making it not worth it. I don't know about Florida, but in NJ there are certain fixed costs for every real estate transaction, regardless of the transaction size. For example, a title search costs - I forget, a couple of hundred - but it is the same no matter the purchase or the company you go with.

On these small 25 point contracts, DVC may not think it is worth it to exercise ROFR on a contract and flip it, if the spread is not large enough. They have to take into account title fees, filing fees, the cost of their time, etc. They may have done the internal calculations and decided that the ROI is not worth it to them unless the contract size is 75 points.

-dave

 

[Phonedave]

Not knowing any better, I had purchased 150 points direct in 2005 at SSR. A few years ago, I added 35 points at the same location and use year. Based on how I use my points (DVC resorts only) had I had more info, I would have went resale. Obviously prices were different 13 years ago. If you cant always use your points, renting them is a great option. It really depends on how you want to use the benefits. But as has been said, they can be taken or added any day.

We are pretty close in our stories. I bought direct at SSR for 160 points in 2008. Last year we added on 50 resale in the same use year,

I like the perks of membership, and we do use some of them. But, in hindsight, I don't think they are worth the premium I paid for direct points.

-dave

 

[Phonedave]

Absolutely I do! It shows value in the product and provides a security blanket for those on the fence about it. Showing that the customer can recoup their money better than a traditional timeshare is a huge selling point, IMO.

It was for me. In fact, it was not so much about recouping my investment, but being able to get out of the contract. I know plenty of people who have traditional timeshares. Ones that have no expiration date at all. Many times lives change and people want to get rid of the timeshare - they get older, their tastes change, they move, airline flights change (a big deal for some island timeshares), finances change, the maintenance costs go through the roof (because a hurricane took OFF the roof), etc. There is NO resale market for these contracts - you will find them for $1 on various boards. People just want to get out of them, but they can't.

That was one of the things that appealed to me about DVC - there was an end date. The addition of a robust resale market is all the better - if I have to, I can get out quickly, and even make some of my investment back - that's a deal.


-dave

 

[LuvtheGoof]

All of our points were bought direct, but well over a decade ago. We are planning on adding on this year again, and will go resale. No way would we pay $200/point.

As far as the 75 point minimum, we all thought that Disney would raise the 25 point minimum at some point. Well, now they have. Does it make sense for someone to buy resale, and then add on a 75 point contract? Completely an individual decision depending on what is important to them.

You can get 75 points direct at SSR for $11,325. Resale is averaging $103/point, so that would cost you $7,725, for a $3,600 savings. For a family of 4 that saves $100 per AP every year, it only takes 9 or 10 years to break even, and if you add in other savings on merch and food, it can be quicker. So each family is different, and needs to run the numbers in their situation to decide if it is worth it or not.

 

[correcaminos]

As far as the 75 point minimum, we all thought that Disney would raise the 25 point minimum at some point. Well, now they have.

This like 1000x over. I am not shocked this happened. I am more shocked it didn't happen earlier and that they didn't make the minimum higher. I would expect the minimum buy in to raise. It'll be a pain to retroactively get all the older DVC owners on the same type of restriction level, but as time goes on they will gain with this. Every resale that happens, they could lose a member with perks saving them money. Obviously old timers wouldn't be affected with adding on but still.

I never would have bought for perks though. They were pretty pathetic when I bought in anyway (free tickets were tossed a few years prior and no real ticket discounts at the time).

 

[LuvtheGoof]

I never would have bought for perks though. They were pretty pathetic when I bought in anyway (free tickets were tossed a few years prior and no real ticket discounts at the time).

We didn’t either. Perks never entered the equation for the decision to buy. We just love saving thousands on our resort costs!

 

[EOD K9]

They were pretty pathetic when I bought in anyway (free tickets were tossed a few years prior and no real ticket discounts at the time).

Wasn't there a time that whenever you stayed there you received free tickets for the amount of people in the room?

 

[correcaminos]

Wasn't there a time that whenever you stayed there you received free tickets for the amount of people in the room?

It was given per occupancy. More or less half occupancy had free for duration. Studios and 1 bedrooms had 2. 2 bedrooms had 4 and GV had 6. Given we have 3-4 in a 2 bedroom it would be ideal

Sadly we bought in after they stopped doing it.

 

[dennis-in-ct]

if I buy into the DVC program and purchase a resale for 70 points, does this mean I am not eligible to purchase DVC discounted park tickets? For example, there is a DVC annual pass for about 550.00

 

[nickys]

if I buy into the DVC program and purchase a resale for 70 points, does this mean I am not eligible to purchase DVC discounted park tickets? For example, there is a DVC annual pass for about 550.00

You need to buy 75 points direct now (well, as of Feb25th) to get perks, such as discounted AP, access to Midnight Magic, shop and food discounts.

 

[FrostyNaples]

Lucky not only did we add the 25 through DVD just before the nominal per point increase, but this as well! I was on a waiting list for BLT add-on from Oct 2017 through early January. Was beginning to think I would miss out on the double points, as my UY is Feb, so we were hoping to bank the 25 for 50 in 2018.

All worked out for us. Now that we are grandfathered in, going back to the resale market for the future purchases

Just got out blue cards in the mail a few weeks ago.