Current DVC Perks for Direct vs. Resale

[Heightshero]

Hi - I tried to search, but couldn't find the exact thing I was looking for.

I am currently in the process of buying resale, and should be closing soon, but have not ruled out purchasing a DVC Contract direct in the future, to get the perks. But I'm currently searching and realizing that the Perks aren't really there right now?

What do typical perks consist of? It seems like there's currently no Annual Pass option to buy, there's no pool hopping between DVC resorts (this wasn a thing at some point right?), and the shopping/dining discounts?

With the way things are going, it seems like the difference in price of the contract vs. the dining/shopping discount likely isn't worth it?

Do we expect things like Pool Hopping and Annual Passes to come back? Am I missing anything besides the lounge access?

 

[CarolynFH]

My personal opinion is that pool hopping is gone, because prepandemic the list of allowed pools was being steadily reduced, but it was available to both direct and resale members.

Sale of new APs is currently suspended, and return is hotly debated.

About the only Membership Extras for eligible members are discounts at restaurants and some merchandise locations and the chance to vie for limited Moonlight Magic and (presumably) Tron preview slots.

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

It’s not a lot and Annual Passes is the biggest which haven’t been offered for new members for a while - but likely will return.
Moonlight Magic of course.
Yes dining and merch discounts are great (though don’t close the gap on themselves).
Of course one of the biggest reasons for some to go direct is if you want to book at Riviera or likely other upcoming resorts. New resale owners can’t use points at Riviera and people are guessing Villas at Disneyland Hotel. Poly 2? Not sure. If you’re happy with anything before Riviera then you’re golden.

 

[tjkraz]

It's going to be very difficult to justify on a spreadsheet.

Speaking as a 20-year DVC member, I can confidently say that the member perks have returned thousands of dollars in value. We've attended Moonlight Magic events 3x which are nearly identical to Disney After Hours which runs $150+ per person. We've saved on shopping (20%), meals, park tickets and annual passes. We've used the member lounges dozens of times.

You can play it safe and assume that ticket discounts are gone forever. But what if the AP discount returns by summer? Or what if some MYW or other discount is introduced for members? If you buy all of the points you need via resale, all of those options are forever off the table.

If you're actually in the market for points at Riviera, Grand Floridian or Aulani, I think it's worth considering a minimum 150 point direct contract just to qualify for the perks. If you don't value any particular Home resort, it will be a lot tougher to justify something like Riviera direct vs SSR or OKW resale.

Bottom line is you need to come to grips with the decision. If DVC announces Moonlight Magic or an attraction preview during one of your trips 10 years from now, you simply won't be permitted to attend. If you're staying in a lake view room at Bay Lake Tower, you can't hop on the elevator and visit Top of the World Lounge for a 16th floor view of the fireworks. You won't be able to use resale points to stay at Riviera, Disneyland Hotel or any other resort they build in the future. Whatever new perks DVC introduces in the coming years will be unavailable to you. If you're comfortable with those limitations for years to come, then stick with resale.

 

[The Jackal]

There are some dining and merch discounts. Ability to go to the 2 lounges, Epcot and Top of The World Lounge. TOTWL has new restrictions now, if they have an event going on. You can still get up there if one is going on, but not until 30 minutes prior to fireworks and if there is room. No Annual Passes as of now. Like others states limited dates for previews for new rides and the ability to enter the queue for Moonlight Magic. It is a personal call to be a blue card member. Some people save $5,000, $10,000 or more by buying resale (depends on contract size). Some might never recoup the difference.

 

[JodyK]

FWIW This was my thinking... a lot of the discount perks are able to be recreated either through annual pass or Disney credit card so they weren't worth purchasing direct.

I think the biggest perks I feel like I miss out on being resale is something like Moonlight Magic and the ability to book at Riviera or future resorts that may be built. I also found those to be replicable in other ways MM is really similar to an AA event so I figure I can always just buy tickets to that (although it is nicer to get it as a perk and feel like it is free). If I did want to stay at another resort I figured I could rent my points and use the profits to book a stay at that resort.

Of course it is the new perks that never existed and we don't know exist yet that are also a risk.

 

[Sammie]

From Disney.

https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/dvc-direct-vs-resale

 

[kilik64]

The only perk that truly matters is ability to use at all resorts if they stick with the restrictions like Riv. The rest is (dining/merch discount etc) too small to make a dent in the amount you save (especially right now with prices the way they are for resale).

IF you go or plan to go often enough that getting an ap makes sense, the difference between the top pass and the dvc level ap saves you some (like couple hundred?). If it is the same like it was, the dvc ap had some major travel dates for dvc blocked out. So if that is when you travel you’d be stuck going with the higher tier ap anyways so that becomes a moot point. Plus who knows if when ap will come…

Blue card is all about fomo, don’t fall for the trap.

 

[Sandisw]

The only perk that truly matters is ability to use at all resorts if they stick with the restrictions like Riv. The rest is (dining/merch discount etc) too small to make a dent in the amount you save (especially right now with prices the way they are for resale).

IF you go or plan to go often enough that getting an ap makes sense, the difference between the top pass and the dvc level ap saves you some (like couple hundred?). If it is the same like it was, the dvc ap had some major travel dates for dvc blocked out. So if that is when you travel you’d be stuck going with the higher tier ap anyways so that becomes a moot point. Plus who knows if when ap will come…

Blue card is all about fomo, don’t fall for the trap.

Just to add, the block out dates on the Sorcerer Pass are 5 days around Thanksgiving and then about 2 weeks around Xmas.

 

[Heightshero]

Thank you all for the replies! I feel like sticking with the resale is the move. Even though they are a Chelsea supporter, i think @kilik64 is right. Blue card is all about FOMO. My only thing is wanting an AP, and as an out of state resident, I dont know if I'll ever get one, but I think the price of tickets once or twice a year won't be all that different than the AP price.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Thank you all for the replies! I feel like sticking with the resale is the move. Even though they are a Chelsea supporter, i think @kilik64 is right. Blue card is all about FOMO. My only thing is wanting an AP, and as an out of state resident, I dont know if I'll ever get one, but I think the price of tickets once or twice a year won't be all that different than the AP price.

FWIW, I went with mostly resale and 200 points direct. I’ll probably add 100 or so at VDH so I can pass down DVC-Y to my two kids in the future.

The hybrid approach still saves you a bundle of $, gets you whatever perks are available in the future, and gives you a bucket of points that can be banked/borrowed to stay at future restricted resorts.

I’d go with resale first so you can buy direct at the lower “member add on price”.

 

[Heightshero]

FWIW, I went with mostly resale and 200 points direct. I’ll probably add 100 or so at VDH so I can pass down DVC-Y to my two kids in the future.

The hybrid approach still saves you a bundle of $, gets you whatever perks are available in the future, and gives you a bucket of points that can be banked/borrowed to stay at future restricted resorts.

I’d go with resale first so you can buy direct at the lower “member add on price”.

What do you mean by "member add on price?"

thanks!

 

[kanerf]

Dining and shopping discounts. Access to special events. Access to member lounges. That is all that I know of right now.

 

[AstroBlasters]

What do you mean by "member add on price?"

thanks!

https://dvcfan.com/2023/01/19/winter-2023-disney-vacation-club-incentives/?amp=1

Current member incentive pricing can be better than new member incentive pricing.

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

What do you mean by "member add on price?"

thanks!

Existing members get a discount when adding on direct points compared to new members. And no it doesn’t matter if their originals points were direct or resale.
Another plus for doing resale first if you are going to have some of both is you can find the contract that works for you and Disney directly points can match that use year. Much easier than starting with direct with a set use year and then trying to find a contract with that use year. You can have contracts with different use years but I’d avoid it if possible.

 

[tjkraz]

Thank you all for the replies! I feel like sticking with the resale is the move. Even though they are a Chelsea supporter, i think @kilik64 is right. Blue card is all about FOMO. My only thing is wanting an AP, and as an out of state resident, I dont know if I'll ever get one, but I think the price of tickets once or twice a year won't be all that different than the AP price.

Well, it's not just fear of missing out, it *IS* missing out. What value you attach to the things that will be missed is up to you.

Up until November 2021, my family of 4 could easily get a couple thousand dollars per year in value from the DVC perks. The big one were obviously Moonlight Magic (~$150 per person value) and the AP discount ($300 each.) But also shopping, dining, lounge visits, and a bunch of other stuff both new and old. And we still have two active APs today so...still saving.

If your numbers are different and/or you don't believe any form of theme park admission discount will return, so be it. As long as you agree not to come back 6 weeks, 6 months or 6 years later raging over "DVC has some nerve treating us white card plebs this way!", we're cool.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Also, sometimes buying resale can go smoothly and sometimes it can be a huge drawn out nerve racking pain that waists months of your time. With direct, everything is quick and easy.

I’d still go resale first in most cases, but not if it is a small contract with an actively sold resort where I could get double points directly.

 

[tjkraz]

I’d still go resale first in most cases, but not if it is a small contract with an actively sold resort where I could get double points directly.

That's a good point which is easy to overlook. If you buy a March Use Year now, DVC will give 2022 points and allow them to be banked. And then the 2023 points will arrive in a few weeks. The prior year points can be rightfully valued at about $20 each with essentially no annual dues paid on them.

Yes you can similarly hunt around for loaded resale contracts. The ease of finding something that matches depends on how specific you want to be.

 

[LSchrow]

Thank you all for the replies! I feel like sticking with the resale is the move. Even though they are a Chelsea supporter, i think @kilik64 is right. Blue card is all about FOMO. My only thing is wanting an AP, and as an out of state resident, I dont know if I'll ever get one, but I think the price of tickets once or twice a year won't be all that different than the AP price.

The DVC AP is huge (when APs are available again, of course). A 7-day Park Hopper for the least expensive week in May and October is over $784 each or $1568 for both, whereas the DVC Sorcerer AP is $1032 (a $536 savings per person per year, $2144 for family of 4) & includes discounts, free events, etc. AP Renewals are even less, Of course, if you don't go at least twice within a single rolling year, an AP might not be worth it. We use APs, and the IncrediPass is about $400 per person more than the Sorcerer (adding up to about $1600 for a family of 4, or $16,000 savings over just 10 years....enough to purchase a decently sized Resale ). As much as we also love Moonlight Magic & have gotten every single one we've tried for, have used the dining, merchandise, & tour DVC discounts, & have gone to quite a few events, & received various DVC "swag", I seriously doubt we would even own DVC any longer if not for the DVC AP. Btw, we own both Direct & Resale.

 

[kilik64]

IF you can make it to a MM event, sure thats a decent perk, but the amount of members who have been or can go to one has to be a pretty small percent. Will you make or change your trip to go to one once they are announced? Id guess that not a majority of folks can or would do that. If one were to happen the dates you were already going to be there, sure, but for what I would guess to be the biggest majority, MM is not something they will ever make it to.

Oh and for the dining 10% off perk, you can get half of that for free if you have a Target red card, just buy up disney giftcards at 5% off. Or watch for other promos to get that or more.