50 Points Enough?

[Craho]

Hi! I am in ROFR for a 50 points resale contract at BWV. I do realize it’s 2042 expiration and we are fine with that. Quick info… we travel to WDW every other year..always Deluxe. Big Disney fans but kids are teens now so trying to think long term. We love EPCOT resorts. My husband and I particularly love BW and want to stay for maybe 4-5 days every other year hence the small contract. We do want to stay in a one-bedroom occasionally when kids are still willing to join but mainly looking at studios. We are ok to bank/borrow but I am thinking I should pick up one more 50 point contract either a) direct at RIV b) resale at BCV or c) resale AKV as we do love that resort as well although we have never stayed there.
Realistically, what are the minimum points to not go crazy every other year? We also do want a little flexibility to have sleep around points occasionally.

 

[DVCsloth]

Hi! I am in ROFR for a 50 points resale contract at BWV. I do realize it’s 2042 expiration and we are fine with that. Quick info… we travel to WDW every other year..always Deluxe. Big Disney fans but kids are teens now so trying to think long term. We love EPCOT resorts. My husband and I particularly love BW and want to stay for maybe 4-5 days every other year hence the small contract. We do want to stay in a one-bedroom occasionally when kids are still willing to join but mainly looking at studios. We are ok to bank/borrow but I am thinking I should pick up one more 50 point contract either a) direct at RIV b) resale at BCV or c) resale AKV as we do love that resort as well although we have never stayed there.
Realistically, what are the minimum points to not go crazy every other year? We also do want a little flexibility to have sleep around points occasionally.

I would keep an eye out for an additional BWV contract with the same use year. Great location and point chart.

 

[tom1944]

I am clearly not an expert but in doing my research (potential first time buyer soon) I take the point chart and look at the period with the highest point requirement that I plan vacation and calculate the points I will need.

Since I plan to alternate between resorts I cut the number in half. For the resorts that require more points I calculate a Sunday to Thursday stay and balance that out with weekends at a lesser point resort.

I am bouncing 6 or 7 resorts through the model. I am going to attempt to settle on 3 or 4.

I figured we would base everything on a 1 bedroom but I may start to use a calculation with some studio use.

For example 3 days Sunday to Tuesday at the Riviera in a studio followed by 4 days at the AK in a 1 bedroom.

The next year 7 days at CCV or BRV in a 1 bedroom.

It can never be perfect but I can set some reasonable purchase amount.

 

[Craho]

I would keep an eye out for an additional BWV contract with the same use year. Great location and point chart.

We staying at BCV next June on rented points and we will visit RIV. People love it but you are right. The point chart is so high there. We will not get much with 50 points..like 2 nights max! I was just thinking we could do a split stay if we love it.

 

[Craho]

I am clearly not an expert but in doing my research (potential first time buyer soon) I take the point chart and look at the period with the highest point requirement that I plan vacation and calculate the points I will need.

Since I plan to alternate between resorts I cut the number in half. For the resorts that require more points I calculate a Sunday to Thursday stay and balance that out with weekends at a lesser point resort.

I am bouncing 6 or 7 resorts through the model. I am going to attempt to settle on 3 or 4.

I figured we would base everything on a 1 bedroom but I may start to use a calculation with some studio use.

For example 3 days Sunday to Tuesday at the Riviera in a studio followed by 4 days at the AK in a 1 bedroom.

The next year 7 days at CCV or BRV in a 1 bedroom.

It can never be perfect but I can set some reasonable purchase amount.

In all my research it seems experts seem to advocate smaller contracts. We are kind of dipping our toes in the water before we make a big commitment but I do see us buying a few small contracts with the same UY as opposed to one big.
I think Sunday-Thursday stays are smart point wise. We can work school vacays into that time frame.

 

[NEW-B]

I did just that with two 50 point resale contracts, one at BWV and VGF. Every other year gives us 200 points for a nice split stay in a 1 bed or a longer stay in studios. I plan on adding another 50-75 direct for the possibility of booking the new hotels down the road.

 

[DVCsloth]

We staying at BCV next June on rented points and we will visit RIV. People love it but you are right. The point chart is so high there. We will not get much with 50 points..like 2 nights max! I was just thinking we could do a split stay if we love it.

I think Riviera is an awesome resort! I think a resale contract there would be nice to have as well. Just realize the fact that you can only stay there with it. BWV is awesome because of the location and point chart. It ends in less than 20 years, so this can be a good thing. I think you can still get the math to work as far as comparing it to cash reservations. One of my friends has been doing BCV "Yacht Club" for cash stays over 20 years and is perfectly happy with doing it that way.

 

[igrsod]

We started with 100 at AKL and that truly is enough to go every other year comfortably. We have since added on.... didn't need to, just wanted to.
I would probably get 100 points at the same resort and use year to make booking easier.

 

[Craho]

I think Riviera is an awesome resort! I think a resale contract there would be nice to have as well. Just realize the fact that you can only stay there with it. BWV is awesome because of the location and point chart. It ends in less than 20 years, so this can be a good thing. I think you can still get the math to work as far as comparing it to cash reservations. One of my friends has been doing BCV "Yacht Club" for cash stays over 20 years and is perfectly happy with doing it that way.

She has been renting at BCV? I payed $28/point for BCV for next June which I think is high but BCV and BWV are high demand. I will probably get another 50 points and then rent/cash if I need to add. We likely will not go every year so hoping that will be enough.

 

[Craho]

We started with 100 at AKL and that truly is enough to go every other year comfortably. We have since added on.... didn't need to, just wanted to.
I would probably get 100 points at the same resort and use year to make booking easier.

I think this is a good idea! Although my youngest son tells me he loves SAB at BC. Oh well, we can always pay cash for a few nights there adding on to our BWV stay.

 

[Frederic Civish]

Hi! I am in ROFR for a 50 points resale contract at BWV. I do realize it’s 2042 expiration and we are fine with that. Quick info… we travel to WDW every other year..always Deluxe. Big Disney fans but kids are teens now so trying to think long term. We love EPCOT resorts. My husband and I particularly love BW and want to stay for maybe 4-5 days every other year hence the small contract. We do want to stay in a one-bedroom occasionally when kids are still willing to join but mainly looking at studios. We are ok to bank/borrow but I am thinking I should pick up one more 50 point contract either a) direct at RIV b) resale at BCV or c) resale AKV as we do love that resort as well although we have never stayed there.
Realistically, what are the minimum points to not go crazy every other year? We also do want a little flexibility to have sleep around points occasionally.

I think 50 points is just not enough. You should get twice as much, or more, if you can. I REALLY don't think you would ever REGRET having the additional points. But DO make sure they are the same resort and Use Year, so you can roll them into one account. 50 points each in two different accounts would just be frustrating. I kind of run into that because I have Animal Kingdom points with two different Use Years and I always wish they were together. I get by and make it work, but it is just an extra hassle.

I would NOT recommend buying the additional points at BCV or Riviera. 50 points scattered out here and there just IS NOT ENOUGH to be comfortable with. At 7 months to 11 months you would have to book at two different resorts and only try to combine them into one resort after 7 months, and by that point EVERYONE else is booking, too, and it is hard.

I say this from experience. I have over 1000 points at 3 different resorts (AK, Poly and BLT) so I have enough to play around with and I can ALWAYS get something I like, BUT, I have a lot of points. If I had less, I can see exactly how hard it would be.

Trust me on this. Get the same resort and Use Year.

 

[tom1944]

I think 50 points is just not enough. You should get twice as much, or more, if you can. I REALLY don't think you would ever REGRET having the additional points. But DO make sure they are the same resort and Use Year, so you can roll them into one account. 50 points each in two different accounts would just be frustrating. I kind of run into that because I have Animal Kingdom points with two different Use Years and I always wish they were together. I get by and make it work, but it is just an extra hassle.

I would NOT recommend buying the additional points at BCV or Riviera. 50 points scattered out here and there just IS NOT ENOUGH to be comfortable with. At 7 months to 11 months you would have to book at two different resorts and only try to combine them into one resort after 7 months, and by that point EVERYONE else is booking, too, and it is hard.

I say this from experience. I have over 1000 points at 3 different resorts (AK, Poly and BLT) so I have enough to play around with and I can ALWAYS get something I like, BUT, I have a lot of points. If I had less, I can see exactly how hard it would be.

Trust me on this. Get the same resort and Use Year.

I have a question about having different use years with different resorts . I will post it on a different thread later.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I have a question about having different use years with different resorts . I will post it on a different thread later.

@tom1944 - Having different use years with different resorts if one is Riviera AND both are purchased resale doesn't matter, because you can't mix the 2. But otherwise, it is highly preferable to have the same use year so that contracts can be combined easily to make 7 month reservations.

You may not think that you want to try to stay at other places, but it's fun to try out new resorts, and a total pain to think about "I have 100 points, but they are in the wrong place and hard to combine." We're going through this at the moment trying to make a VGC reservation for next year, but unfortunately the "extra" points where with the wrong contract. We figured out a workaround, but it would have been much easier if all of our points were all together (we have 2 different BC UY purchased direct when it was really hard to buy BC, so my mom took what she could get).

Unless there is a specific reason why you might want 2 use years (travel at different times of the year and you KNOW you will want to stay at specific places like CCV at Christmas, need 2 sets of waitlists, etc), your life will be much easier if you don't complicate your DVC holdings.

 

[Nursemanit]

I have 100 and will go for a week every year with leftover points- but I am a masochist and like September.

 

[Cfabar1]

September is the best time if you have the availability…. Great points chart, and also lowest crowds at WDW….

 

[Ensusieasm]

Hi! I am in ROFR for a 50 points resale contract at BWV. I do realize it’s 2042 expiration and we are fine with that. Quick info… we travel to WDW every other year..always Deluxe. Big Disney fans but kids are teens now so trying to think long term. We love EPCOT resorts. My husband and I particularly love BW and want to stay for maybe 4-5 days every other year hence the small contract. We do want to stay in a one-bedroom occasionally when kids are still willing to join but mainly looking at studios. We are ok to bank/borrow but I am thinking I should pick up one more 50 point contract either a) direct at RIV b) resale at BCV or c) resale AKV as we do love that resort as well although we have never stayed there.
Realistically, what are the minimum points to not go crazy every other year? We also do want a little flexibility to have sleep around points occasionally.

Remember, annually you can buy up to 24 one time use points at $19 each. You purchase these at the time you make the reservation. That could help you just a bit.

 

[supersnoop]

For a few days every other year, 50 points is plenty at BWV. I have a 25 point contract that I use for an annual Food & Wine weekend; I'll have to skip a year every 4, but it's plenty for that purpose.

The problem, however, is that you won't likely stick with "a few days every other year." I have many more points for all the other trips I take.

 

[Cfabar1]

How often can you buy the one time use points? Can you buy them in separate increments throughout the year?

 

[Sandisw]

How often can you buy the one time use points? Can you buy them in separate increments throughout the year?

You can buy up to 24 each UY. They can only be bought when making a reservation but you can do them over the course of several trips.

If you need to cancel those pints would still expire at the end of the UY.

 

[tom1944]

Remember, annually you can buy up to 24 one time use points at $19 each. You purchase these at the time you make the reservation. That could help you just a bit.

I was not aware of this

Thank you