Considering buy.....is this a valid idea?

[8 Points Mike]

We would like to go to WDW every three years. So I figure, if we get a 50-75 pt resale contract, we could:

Year 1 - Bank
Year 2 - Go to resort
Year 3 - borrow
Year 4 - Bank

Year 5 - Go to resort
Year 6 - borrow
Year 7 - Bank
Year 8 - Go to resort
Year 9 - borrow

and so on....

I realize with resale, getting year 1 and 2 lined up may not be clear, cut and easy at first. But when we get the routine down, should it work? Is this a feasible? Or should I just save a bunch of money and rent points every 3 years?
​

 

[Madame]

We would like to go to WDW every three years. So I figure, if we get a 50-75 pt resale contract, we could:

Year 1 - Bank
Year 2 - Go to resort
Year 3 - borrow
Year 4 - Bank

Year 5 - Go to resort
Year 6 - borrow
Year 7 - Bank
Year 8 - Go to resort
Year 9 - borrow

and so on....

I realize with resale, getting year 1 and 2 lined up may not be clear, cut and easy at first. But when we get the routine down, should it work? Is this a feasible? Or should I just save a bunch of money and rent points every 3 years?
​

It is, but it’s also risky in the sense that if you have to cancel you’ve got a limited time to use at least 2 years worth of points (the banked & borrowed). I’d just rent in your position.

 

[Ben E N]

You'll also get antsy paying dues over the course of three years, just to go for one them. I agree that you would be better off just renting.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Generally, the every 3 year plan is not considered a good one because you end up either stranding points/losing points every three years, or a realignment of what a room costs will really screw you up.

 

[ElizabethG]

Every three is hard because you have to use all of the points on a reservation, or you can lose some.

For example, with a 50 point contract, you have to use all 150 points on every stay. If your stay is 145 points, what are you going to do with the extra 5? Even if you only borrow 45 points from year 3 and bank the 5 points into year 4, they will be forfeit by year 5.

It is a lot easier to plan if you go at least every other year.

 

[8 Points Mike]

So renting sounds like the best option. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[skippytx]

One of the FB groups I'm in, someone had a 100pt contract to use every 3 years with the bank/borrow method and the 2020 point reallocation left her 1 point short of the stay she wanted. 1 point. You can't buy OTU points until the 7 month mark and her trip was scheduled around Christmas. No idea what she'll do.

You could do it, but there's too much that could happen every 3 years to not make it worth it.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

All good info from everyone so far.

We are making due with a small contract by doing a 2 years "on" 1 year "off" plan and taking advantage of discounted APs by booking 11 months apart. It is saving $.

But, the cancellation risk of using banked and / or borrowed is always there but at least on the borrow end we can leave points out there - not have to use them all up.

It is very difficult to be flexible at all though, like to try to switch resorts at 7 months or alter your days after flights are released. Because you've locked in your points on a 11 month booking, the switch needs to Use the same or more points or else things get messy.

I'd say, it's easier if you are just going to buy the cheapest resort and book only at 7 months. In which case I'd buy bare minimum rather than any cushion and realize OTU points will be a fact of life.

 

[kniquy]

Or should I just save a bunch of money and rent points every 3 years?

With banking and borrowing to go only every 3 years it is a bit risky - you could lose points if for some reason you need to cancel a trip and can't re-book. You would be much better off renting every three years vs buying.

Going every other year is feasible but stretching to every 3 doesn't make sense - so you would end up paying MF for 2 years and not really have anything to show for the money you are forking out. That same money would be better in a savings account or CD where you could earn $$.

 

[mamaofsix]

If we were buying, that's totally what we would do -only we would probably buy about 200 points per year. We would go every 3rd year and rent a 2 bedroom or a grand villa while the kids were still at home. Once they got older, we'd use our points yearly or biannually if it was just the two of us traveling.

I did the math and if we bought 200 resale, it would put us at about $2000 / year for maintenance fees and the cost of points per year. So, using it every 3rd year would cost us about $6,000 for a week at a Grand Villa at somewhere like AKL, OKW, etc. Alternatively, if we rented points the cost for a Grand Villa would be between $10 - $15,000. That is, quite simply, out of the realm of affordability for us. Buying would be a SIGNIFICANT savings over renting, even when only using every 3 years. And it would allow us to stay on property instead of offsite, which is what we currently do to keep costs down.

 

[spacepoints]

Mike, that's how we started out. We did the every three years deal with 115 BLT. Of course, once you start going, it's never enough. Since then, we have added on at SSR through resale, and have another contract pending ROFR. 115 points turned into a potential 300 points. DVC is a great way to stay at beautiful resorts for longer times, and just enjoy your time.

If I went back to my original contract, I'd probably see where I'd like to stay, how many points it would take to stay for as long as you usually stay in a preferred room size, and then add 10% to that number to allow for reallocations of points from year to year.

 

[ElizabethG]

One of the FB groups I'm in, someone had a 100pt contract to use every 3 years with the bank/borrow method and the 2020 point reallocation left her 1 point short of the stay she wanted. 1 point. You can't buy OTU points until the 7 month mark and her trip was scheduled around Christmas. No idea what she'll do.

You could do it, but there's too much that could happen every 3 years to not make it worth it.

Well, she should be good to go for 2020. Disney reversed the reallocation. The new point charts are available on the DVC website.

 

[DSLRuser]

I bought more points then i needed to cover us with a similar strategy and we already are looking to ad more points. When you become a member, and actually begin to use it. you never have enough points. and 1 x every 3 years....no thanks. every other year is more realistic

 

[skippytx]

I bought more points then i needed to cover us with a similar strategy and we already are looking to ad more points. When you become a member, and actually begin to use it. you never have enough points. and 1 x every 3 years....no thanks. every other year is more realistic

So true it's not even funny. We started with 160 resale, added on 25 for a few extra points, the blue card and benefits. Figured every other year trips in a 2 bedroom for a week would be great. We just got back and planned an adults only trip for our 10 year for next month (so we bought AP's), and now we're booking race weekend next year and maybe a short trip this November around an IT conference I go to in Orlando (gotta use those APs!)

 

[brent02139]

You could also consider selling the points you don't use. So buy 75 points then

Year 1 - Borrow
Year 2 - Go to resort
Year 3 - SELL
Year 4 - Borrow
Year 5 - Go to resort
Year 6 - SELL
Year 7 - Borrow
Year 8 - Go to resort
Year 9 - SELL

I sold 42/50 points in the first week I posted for sell through 3rd party website. Had I waited for someone who was buying closer to 50 points, it would have been twice the amount I pay for annual dues.

 

[kboo]

So true it's not even funny. We started with 160 resale, added on 25 for a few extra points, the blue card and benefits. Figured every other year trips in a 2 bedroom for a week would be great. We just got back and planned an adults only trip for our 10 year for next month (so we bought AP's), and now we're booking race weekend next year and maybe a short trip this November around an IT conference I go to in Orlando (gotta use those APs!)

This is us. We are at almost 500 points, 3 trips in 2018 (1 not even on DVC points), 3 trips in 2019, and then mmmmmmmaybe in 2020 we will start the once-a-year plan we had when we bought in. And 2020 will likely only be 1 trip because we are out of points, unless we buy more.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

You could also consider selling the points you don't use. So buy 75 points then

Year 1 - Borrow
Year 2 - Go to resort
Year 3 - SELL
Year 4 - Borrow
Year 5 - Go to resort
Year 6 - SELL
Year 7 - Borrow
Year 8 - Go to resort
Year 9 - SELL

I sold 42/50 points in the first week I posted for sell through 3rd party website. Had I waited for someone who was buying closer to 50 points, it would have been twice the amount I pay for annual dues.

By SELL I'm assuming you mean to rent out the points?

 

[Dean]

We would like to go to WDW every three years. So I figure, if we get a 50-75 pt resale contract, we could:

Year 1 - Bank
Year 2 - Go to resort
Year 3 - borrow
Year 4 - Bank

Year 5 - Go to resort
Year 6 - borrow
Year 7 - Bank
Year 8 - Go to resort
Year 9 - borrow

and so on....

I realize with resale, getting year 1 and 2 lined up may not be clear, cut and easy at first. But when we get the routine down, should it work? Is this a feasible? Or should I just save a bunch of money and rent points every 3 years?
​

I personally wouldn't go that route. I'd rather see you buy enough for every 2 years and rent the extra than go this route. Too much risk. Plus one probably needs a minimum cushion of 20-25% for this plan even if they do go for even 3 years banking/borrowing and maybe even more for cheaper points resorts. Can it be done, sure, maybe. But IF one goes that route UY and home resort become VERY important. You want to reserve day one 11 months out and travel almost exclusively early in the UY with enough flexibility to change dates if one has a hiccup. For example, doing this and being tied to the school calendar is a recipe for disaster.