DVC Blue Card Ownership Is It Worth It??

[Jkarrows]

Sorry if this has been covered but I am asking myself, is it worth becoming a full member if you have already brought re-sell.

To get the Blue Card full membership you need to buy 75 points or more.

Not sure if you can buy direct any cheaper but I know you can buy Saratoga Springs direct for 160 dollars a point.

So 75 points will cost you 12K dollars

So is the full membership worth that 12K outlay, yes you can get 75 more points but you could get this on resell for around 7.5K so is full membership worth the extra 4.5K.

Do you get 4.5K worth of extras, with many benefits that could or could not be removed.

Thank you for your thoughts.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

It really depends on how you value membership. For 4.5k, you'd need a decent number of Gold AP and Moonlight Magic type events on an economic basis. The dicounts don't really make sense to compute economic benefit on, as they're 10% and you have to spend a huge amount to get to $4.5k.

I'd never include Moonlight Magic in my calcs, either, although some likely do.

Unless you're buying a lot of APs, I think it's emotional, not logical.

 

[JenboJambo]

This depends on a lot of factors. Will you be buying DVC discounted annual passes? How many? That is your best perk as a direct owner (and remember they can take that away whenever). Figure out what you would save yearly on annual passes and you should find your break even point. Are member events important to you? That's another direct perk only. Recently TOTWL has been closed for member events (July 4th and new years) on certain holidays.... that kind of sucks for resale owners (staying at BLT) who would have normally been able to go watch fireworks from there but now can't even book the event because they are resale (correct me if I'm wrong). How much will feeling like a tier 2 member bother you? It bothers my husband..... but not me! I'm totally where I belong.... tier 2! . I'm just happy to get deluxe rooms at a bargain year after year! Very personal decision. Good luck!

 

[BillPA]

The biggest perk is the Gold AP. If you typically buy an AP the DVC pass is $420 less.
So if 4 in the family that's $1680 so 3 times you cover the spread, and with the AP you get photo pass and 20% of many dining options. Your millage may vary, but it paid off in GOLD for us.

 

[Louis morrell]

Read through this thread for some insight.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/do-i-even-care-about-membership-perks.3761896/

 

[D-Trick]

Think of the other things you can do with $4500. You can use that money for...

• ...a non Disney vacation to anywhere
• ...towards remodeling a part of your home
• ...towards a new car
• ...buying a really really nice TV/fancy handbag/other expensive gift(s)
• ...savings.
• ...so many other options.

Now, the Gold Pass savings is worth it if your family is large enough and you KNOW you'll use it multiple years. My wife and I have only purchased APs once since becoming blue card members 3 years ago. We already see our vacation habits have changed with more international trips (I guess Epcot was a great teaser lol).

Perhaps down the road when I start my family we may get APs again but by then it would be 7+ years of ownership for me with only 1 year of APs-- which if put in your shoes would be an argument against spending the extra $$$ for membership perks.

 

[skippytx]

Back when it was only 25 points it was a no brainer for the more expensive resorts (for example I own at BLT and bought 25 direct).

Now, at current pricing I have mixed feelings about it. I will say I've "saved" probably 2000 dollars by now with DVC discounts used to buy MNSSHP and DAH event tickets and our Gold AP's plus dining and merch discounts. I've only been a member for 2 years or so.

I use the term "saved" loosely, as I haven't saved a damn bit of money since becoming a DVC member. In fact I've spent far more money with The Mouse than I originally envisioned.

Honestly there is way too much FOMO regarding the blue cards. I'm guilty of it. I didn't want to be a "second class citizen" and not have a blue card. I wanted to be able to visit the Epcot lounge, and get discounts. My price delta on the 25 BLT points direct vs resale though was less than 1,000 dollars though. Today I don't think I would be paying the 5600 dollars extra on 75 direct BLT points to get the blue card, especially considering discounts and "perks" are fickle in nature and can be taken away at any time. The Gold AP is a massive discount *THIS YEAR*, there's no guarantee they don't jack the rate on it in the future. I bought a pair of Gold AP's and you know what that led to? Extra WDW trips so I don't "waste" the Annual Pass we have. How much are you actually saving buying the Gold AP anyway? Unless you're planning on multiple trips ahead of time, it might not be as much as you think. You may be better off just buying standard park tickets, especially if you travel during Gold AP blackouts. 2 years ago DVC members could get a Plat Plus AP for 559 dollars. Now it's 700 for the Gold and 1000 for the Plat Plus. The 420 dollar "savings" being used... is it really a savings if the 1120 dollar pass wouldn't be purchased in the first place? I'd bet the majority of people would just buy normal tickets for their visit instead.

You should be buying DVC for one reason only, and that's to stay in DVC villas. To that end it doesn't matter if you have a blue card or not.

 

[Tommyboy18]

I'm kinda in the same boat as you OP

I was looking at buying one resale contract to cover our needs.
As of last night, I changed strategies and am leaning towards a minimum 75 pt direct at a legacy resort and the remainder via resale.

We would be looking at around $5500 in added cost buying the 75 direct over all via resale.

For family of 2 with plans for 3 and then 4, our break even is around 6-4 years.

On the flip side, we do not plan to go more then 5 days for the next two years. Thus, gold passes mean nothing to us at the moment and our break even gets pushed a bit further back. It appears Disney pre-announces DVC point cost increases so we can make the decision based on that info in 4 or months.

Buying direct now only shields us form the possible $5-$15 increase per point that is inevitable next year.

Dumping the $13000 direct money into a mutual fund or just buying DIS stock and holding til January is what I am currently doing. Work well thus far...

Additionally, as I've seen, smaller contracts (like the 75pt direct) end up selling for more via resale if you want to sell. So some costs can be recouped there eventually.

I believe I can split my 75 pt direct contract into a separate 50pt and 25pt contract while just paying another ~$200? I should be able to resale for more if need be down the road and easily recoup the added filing fee.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

that kind of sucks for resale owners (staying at BLT) who would have normally been able to go watch fireworks from there but now can't even book the event because they are resale

it sucks for EVERYONE who doesn't want to spend $100 bad per eprson for something that used to be free.

 

[jerseyduke]

It all comes down to if you will be buying GOLD APs and how many. If you are going to need Platinum APs, then its a sure no.

Your post sounds like you are comparing buying an additional 75 points at SSR that you would not be buying at all otherwise, so is it really a 4.5K different?

Technically, OKW is a little cheaper direct than SSR (156 vs 160) but dues are higher.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

It all comes down to if you will be buying GOLD APs and how many. If you are going to need Platinum APs, then its a sure no.

Your post sounds like you are comparing buying an additional 75 points at SSR that you would not be buying at all otherwise, so is it really a 4.5K different?

Technically, OKW is a little cheaper direct than SSR (156 vs 160) but dues are higher.

Also, fairly speaking, how you'd expect to use those 75 points. Would it be to do SSR stays? Is it hopes of 7 month bookings? Is it emotionally wanting to be a DVC 'blue card' and not really having explicit use for an additional 75 points?

 

[GoUgaDawgs]

We bought our 25 direct add on back when that qualified. At 2 AP so far for our family of 4 I figure we are back to even. I still would do it at 75. More from an emotional standpoint than anything else... But I wouldn't blame anybody for thinking that was crazy...I kind of think it is crazy myself.

Other thing to consider is when did you buy your resale? Thanks to Disney a new "perk" of having those 75 points direct would be the ability to book at any of the future resorts. Looking down the road that will be really nice to have in 2042 when there will be fewer original resorts to book.

Also, have you considered Riviera points instead of ssr? Not a huge difference in cost right now and it gets you a longer time horizon on your blue card membership plus a great location to have preference on during fall frenzy. I know the resale restrictions are a bummer, but my direct Disney points would be one of the last assets I would ever consider selling. I would rent them out and sell my resale points if life got in the way. Just a thought...

 

[Mamiamjo]

I would say, in my experience, No it isn't worth the extra $$.

 

[SG131]

I'm kinda in the same boat as you OP

I was looking at buying one resale contract to cover our needs.
As of last night, I changed strategies and am leaning towards a minimum 75 pt direct at a legacy resort and the remainder via resale.

We would be looking at around $5500 in added cost buying the 75 direct over all via resale.

For family of 2 with plans for 3 and then 4, our break even is around 6-4 years.

On the flip side, we do not plan to go more then 5 days for the next two years. Thus, gold passes mean nothing to us at the moment and our break even gets pushed a bit further back. It appears Disney pre-announces DVC point cost increases so we can make the decision based on that info in 4 or months.

Buying direct now only shields us form the possible $5-$15 increase per point that is inevitable next year.

Dumping the $13000 direct money into a mutual fund or just buying DIS stock and holding til January is what I am currently doing. Work well thus far...

Additionally, as I've seen, smaller contracts (like the 75pt direct) end up selling for more via resale if you want to sell. So some costs can be recouped there eventually.

I believe I can split my 75 pt direct contract into a separate 50pt and 25pt contract while just paying another ~$200? I should be able to resale for more if need be down the road and easily recoup the added filing fee.

Just a recommendation, do the resale purchase first then the direct afterwards. I found a contract I loved and now own resale at BWV but when looking to possibly add on, I have been having trouble matching my use year. With direct as your second purchase matching use year to your ideal resale contract will be easy.

 

[LYSE]

The AP discount is the only thing that can cover the spread, it's a gamble since they could take that away at anytime before you break even so I would only consider it if you can close that price difference quickly...then any extra perks are icing on the cake

 

[Supplanter]

Nothing Disney is about "value." It's all about do you want it or not.
I mean, we convince ourselves were getting a deal on a hotel room in swampy central florida at what works out to around 3 or 400 a night because they normally rent that room for 800 and dvc direct would make it 500.
You could stay off property for 150 to 200 a night in a really nice hotel or stay in a condo for 85 or 90 a night over near animal kingdom.
The question is do you want the extras, whatever they may be now and into the future, and are you willing to pay for them. I suspect most of us will, or we wouldnt have bought anything disney because its all a relatively terrible value

 

[jarestel]

It might be interesting to ask the question of the people who don't have perks to see what they think. I know many of us have been grandfathered into the direct system so since we already have direct status (at zero cost) we may not value it as highly as someone who doesn't have access to perks.

 

[BWoody]

I'm buying my first DVC contract now via resale. I just couldn't justify the higher cost of buying direct. If I had to buy direct, I probably wouldn't have bought. Most people say the AP discount is the greatest benefit. For us, we will only be going 1 week a year in most cases and only go to parks 2 maybe 3 days during that trip. An annual pass isn't right for us. That basically leaves us with just dining and merchandise discounts, and ability to get into special events provided we could even get tickets for them. That 10% isn't worth paying direct.

If I ever start feeling like a 2nd class citizen once we start making our annual trips because we don't get discounts, I just need to remind myself that I probably wouldn't be staying where I'm staying if not for buying resale. Also, not to be forgotten, that discount can disappear at any time. Only thing I may miss out on is staying at the new resorts. Neither Riviera or Reflections really appeal to us and it will be many years by the time another resort comes along after Reflections. We will be perfectly happy staying at AKV every year and anywhere else we may get lucky to get into for the foreseeable future. Also, if the desire ever arises in the future, we can buy some points direct then.

 

[McCrae]

If you decide to buy at a new resort and are able to book at 11 months then it is not such a clear cut decision. The cost difference between your purchase price and resale price when it become available may not be that large. if you plan to buy an older resort resale is probably the best option.

 

[katandmouse]

It might be interesting to ask the question of the people who don't have perks to see what they think. I know many of us have been grandfathered into the direct system so since we already have direct status (at zero cost) we may not value it as highly as someone who doesn't have access to perks.

We just bought our resale contract earlier this year and at the time I had no use for the perks - we’re an EOY family who go for a week, so we don’t normally get APs anyway.

Fast forward a few months, every time I log onto the website and see all the Member Extras and Special Events - that you have to pay extra for anyway - I’ve got FOMO. My rational side knows it’s all marketing, but it’s working... On top of that, I’m going this fall with my sister and we’ve got our big family trip next year, so an AP for me is actually less than the 2 sets of tickets. And the Gold AP price vs the platinum... (I will say that for me personally the Riviera restriction doesn’t make me want to buy direct and if anything makes me more hesitant about DVC in general, but that’s just me.)

I really want to add on direct now and be a full member. I recognize that it’s irrational - we don’t need the points so there’s no financial savings to justify the purchase - but still I’d like to be a blue card member. DH, OTOH, could care less. So I agreed not to jump in with another purchase and wait until after our fall trip at least.

For now I just got the regular AP which has its own discounts and perks. And over the next few months we’ll see how we feel and what they do - especially at the end of the year with next year’s MF increases and 2021 point charts...