Wow. 2021 Annual Dues

[RoseGold]

The dues at BWV are giving me major pause about buying there, and I was SO SURE that is where I wanted my next contract to be. Now I’m reevaluating.

If you plan to actually stay at BW, the better point charts make the dues/room cheaper than most, especially the standard rooms. BWV’s chart is a major advantage, and thus its 11 month window.

So, even though the dues are higher per point, they are lower per room.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

The dues at BWV are giving me major pause about buying there, and I was SO SURE that is where I wanted my next contract to be. Now I’m reevaluating.

The dues at the WDW resorts are all within about $1.50/point of each other. If you have 100 points, that's only $150 difference a year to be where you really want.

Annual fees do need to be part of your decision when purchasing, but don't lose sight of the big picture.

 

[EM Lawrence]

If you plan to actually stay at BW, the better point charts make the dues/room cheaper than most, especially the standard rooms. BWV’s chart is a major advantage, and thus its 11 month window.

So, even though the dues are higher per point, they are lower per room.

That is true, and a good point. I do love that points chart, but I’m not sure I want to always stay there. I did think so, but we recently stayed there and my husband said he doesn’t care for the aesthetics. We also noticed a lot more deferred maintenance than I normally see. For instance, a lot of the lightbulbs on the Boardwalk needed replacing, and I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that before. I‘m sure its Covid related, as all things seem to be these days, but it still gave us some bad vibes. Then to see the dues go up so high. It’s just giving me some weird juju all of a sudden.

 

[DVCjj]

Dues are officially coming out late December MS told me. They are due January (I could swear it was always around Valentine's Day).

Can I pay my lump sum dues NOW (I will estimate and tweak later) and they will definitely be credited for 2021 since they really officially listed yet?
I use Disney gift cards and would like to get that settled while I'm home before I leave for Snow-birding by the time the dues really do come out.

Anyone pay early?

 

[Sandisw]

Dues are officially coming out late December MS told me. They are due January (I could swear it was always around Valentine's Day).

Can I pay my lump sum dues NOW (I will estimate and tweak later) and they will definitely be credited for 2021 since they really officially listed yet?
I use Disney gift cards and would like to get that settled while I'm home before I leave for Snow-birding by the time the dues really do come out.

Anyone pay early?

Yes, you can prepay. Dues are due mid January...however, there are no late penalties if you pay by mid February.

I have been prepaying one of my contracts using my CC already.

 

[ScubaCat]

Annual fees do need to be part of your decision when purchasing, but don't lose sight of the big picture.

I need something to complain about, though. This the internet!

 

[Lorana]

Yes, you can prepay. Dues are due mid January...however, there are no late penalties if you pay by mid February.

I have been prepaying one of my contracts using my CC already.

I've always paid my dues in one large lump sum. I save the MFs by putting aside money every paycheck the year prior. I know we cannot actually pay monthly by credit card, but I could switch to monthly payments and then pay off a contract by credit card at a time, correct? But I can also pay the monthly amount due in advance by gift card so long as I do it by the contract date? I'm just thinking that if I'm willing to go through the extra steps, I could make my cash last longer (in terms of earning interest) and get extra Chase points by buying Disney gift cards at Staples for 5% back. I like to be "prepaid" for my dues but it just occurred to me that doesn't mean I need to pay it all at once. I had been doing it before by CC to get the 2% back on my Disney Visa (which goes towards our APs).

 

[DVCjj]

Yes, you can prepay. Dues are due mid January...however, there are no late penalties if you pay by mid February.

I have been prepaying one of my contracts using my CC already.

Thank u for replying. Does your amount simply show up as a minus (credit) which gets applied as soon as 2021 fees are official?

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

I've always paid my dues in one large lump sum. I save the MFs by putting aside money every paycheck the year prior. I know we cannot actually pay monthly by credit card, but I could switch to monthly payments and then pay off a contract by credit card at a time, correct? But I can also pay the monthly amount due in advance by gift card so long as I do it by the contract date? I'm just thinking that if I'm willing to go through the extra steps, I could make my cash last longer (in terms of earning interest) and get extra Chase points by buying Disney gift cards at Staples for 5% back. I like to be "prepaid" for my dues but it just occurred to me that doesn't mean I need to pay it all at once. I had been doing it before by CC to get the 2% back on my Disney Visa (which goes towards our APs).

Here's what I started doing a few years ago:
I put back money each month for the next year. For example, this year I have been saving for my 2021 dues. I then buy GCs at Kroger to get the 4x fuel points. I use my Chase Freedom which gives me 2% cashback on groceries. Here pretty soon, I will buy a GC for three months of dues (January-March). I am set up on monthly withdrawals from my bank account, but I will go ahead and pay that amount using the GCs, which will make my next payment due in April. In April, I will buy enough GCs to cover the rest of my payments. Most of the time, April-June is 5% cashback on grocery purchases, which is why I wait until April to buy the rest of the GCs I need. If I get 4x fuel points for each purchase, I will save 16% on the first three months and 19% on the rest of the year. Next year, it looks like I will save around $325 on 200 points doing it this way.

 

[i<3riviera]

͏

 

[badeacon]

I've always paid my dues in one large lump sum. I save the MFs by putting aside money every paycheck the year prior. I know we cannot actually pay monthly by credit card, but I could switch to monthly payments and then pay off a contract by credit card at a time, correct? But I can also pay the monthly amount due in advance by gift card so long as I do it by the contract date? I'm just thinking that if I'm willing to go through the extra steps, I could make my cash last longer (in terms of earning interest) and get extra Chase points by buying Disney gift cards at Staples for 5% back. I like to be "prepaid" for my dues but it just occurred to me that doesn't mean I need to pay it all at once. I had been doing it before by CC to get the 2% back on my Disney Visa (which goes towards our APs).

That's a good idea about buying Disney cards at staples for 5% back if one has the Ink Cash, but also Chase Reserve gets one 3% back if paid dues with it. it is up to each if 2% more is worth multiple trips to office supply store to buy Disney GC's.

 

[gharter]

Am I happy about dues going up? Of course not. But we've owned DVC long enough to more than break even so even with the increase in dues, we are still saving money compared to a normal resort room, and staying in a much nicer resort room than we would ever pay cash for.

 

[CastAStone]

I never knew about subsidized Vero contracts. Does anyone know approximately what percent of Vero contracts are subsidized? I would assume relatively small. Would love to find one on resale

The annual member materials make it seem like it’s about half! But the subsidized contracts basically are never available to buy. I’m not sure what the deal is there. I wonder if someone from the DVC Store could shed some light.

I'm wondering if these increases change the math for SAP... is SSR still the best value, or has another resort, maybe BLT, closed the gap significantly in the long term? It's only 20 cents separating those two, and BLT still has a much higher buy-in, so I assume SSR is still the best value, no?

Now, if I could only find a subsidized AUL contract with Oct UY...

SSR is the best still, but here’s my concern:

Dues are going up the most Percentagewise on the oldest resorts and the least on the newest. They increased almost in perfect order (among WDW resorts). This expands on a pattern that has held true for years; OKW used to have the lowest dues!

So SSR is several years older than BLT, PVB, VGF, all of which have low annual MFs. Are these resorts worth the buy-in difference based on today’s MFs? No. But are they based on what the difference will be in 2030? I don’t know. Based on current trends, probably.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

That is true, and a good point. I do love that points chart, but I’m not sure I want to always stay there. I did think so, but we recently stayed there and my husband said he doesn’t care for the aesthetics. We also noticed a lot more deferred maintenance than I normally see. For instance, a lot of the lightbulbs on the Boardwalk needed replacing, and I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that before. I‘m sure its Covid related, as all things seem to be these days, but it still gave us some bad vibes. Then to see the dues go up so high. It’s just giving me some weird juju all of a sudden.

I'd pay more attention to your gut feeling about which resort to add than the updated dues.*

*Disclaimer: Not sure I'd apply this method to the east coast beach resorts. Yikes! $11?! Really, Vero?

 

[Sandisw]

a few views I found helpful in understanding what is going on; I would recommend the second and last ones if you're trying to draw any conclusions ...

View attachment 538256

View attachment 538258
note: see point chart adjustment methodology if you're interested

View attachment 538259

View attachment 538260

View attachment 538269

my takeaways ...

1. admin front desk is down in most places
2. housekeeping is up everywhere
3. the RVA housekeeping increase is outrageous

edit: typo

That RVA increase is puzzling and I am planning to contact them this week to get information as to why it is so much higher than the rest,

I do wonder if it has to do with the resort not all declared? I’ll post when I get info.

 

[CastAStone]

a few views I found helpful in understanding what is going on; I would recommend the second and last ones if you're trying to draw any conclusions ...

View attachment 538256

View attachment 538258
note: see point chart adjustment methodology if you're interested

View attachment 538259

View attachment 538260

View attachment 538269

my takeaways ...

1. admin front desk is down in most places
2. housekeeping is up everywhere
3. the RVA housekeeping increase is outrageous

edit: typo

That RVA increase is puzzling and I am planning to contact them this week to get information as to why it is so much higher than the rest,

I do wonder if it has to do with the resort not all declared? I’ll post when I get info.

Is it that unreasonable to assume that after running an actual operation they’ve realized that Housekeeping and Security costs were higher than expected? Has this happened in the first year for other resorts?

 

[Sandisw]

Is it that unreasonable to assume that after running an actual operation they’ve realized that Housekeeping and Security costs were higher than expected? Has this happened in the first year for other resorts?

Since the dues did not go up that much it is just odd that this is so much more than other resorts

Not sure if it has happened before so it will be interesting to see what they say!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Is it that unreasonable to assume that after running an actual operation they’ve realized that Housekeeping and Security costs were higher than expected? Has this happened in the first year for other resorts?

I'd think so. It's not their first rodeo even if sometimes it kind of seems like it.

 

[CastAStone]

I'd think so. It's not their first rodeo even if sometimes it kind of seems like it.

After posting this I recalled the Aulani fiasco and realized that if I ran that department we’d sure as shootin be overestimating everything.

 

[CarolynFH]

After posting this I recalled the Aulani fiasco and realized that if I ran that department we’d sure as shootin be overestimating everything.

My recollection of the Aulani fiasco was that it was intentional almost to the point of being criminal, not just an innocent “underestimate.”