Let's hear it for blue card owners!

[djohn06]

Good job likely overpaying in comparison to renting out your points.



Good job being locked in to a small list of hotels which again you likely could have gotten more for your points renting them and then getting a hotel direct.



So something that happened to likely 0.01% of members


Something what maybe 5% of members get and is announced somewhat "last minute" as well in comparison to the DVC calendar of 7-11 month booking window.


A resort that is on the location of a moderate, shares transportation with a moderate, and is further away from both Epcot and HS than both BWV and BCV.

Sorry I need to point out all the downsides to your amazing blue card. Its fine though if you like it.

Bro you destroyed all the blue card benefits. Where is the positivity?

 

[sethschroeder]

I think a lot of times buying direct is viewed as ridiculous and throwing money away so if someone feels like they want to stick up for direct then go for it.

Someone buying direct is fine everyone can do whatever they want. I can point out where it's short sighted since this is the purchasing part of the sub not the DVC-Mousecellaneous

Bro you destroyed all the blue card benefits. Where is the positivity?

Haha sorry sending good vibes and working D+ service you way.

 

[Ben E N]

I don't take it as gloating either. And even if it is, you do you LOL. I think a lot of times buying direct is viewed as ridiculous and throwing money away so if someone feels like they want to stick up for direct then go for it.

To each their own!

I'm happy that people are doing it myself. The more that people pay Disney their direct prices, the more the rest of us get to reap the rewards. It's a win-win in my book.
As long as people are happy with the purchase and feel it is worthwhile, all while knowing about the resale alternatives, I fully support it.

 

[jodifla]

If only we were all so lucky to buy in 23 years ago when points were only 63 dollars.

They were there for anyone to buy, assuming you were old enough. It wasn't luck, just weighing the choice and deciding if it was right for our family.

It pays to be an early adopter sometimes. We felt DVC was as close as you were going to get to a sure thing in the timeshare world.

 

[jodifla]

I'm happy that people are doing it myself. The more that people pay Disney their direct prices, the more the rest of us get to reap the rewards. It's a win-win in my book.
As long as people are happy with the purchase and feel it is worthwhile, all while knowing about the resale alternatives, I fully support it.

I view it the opposite way. The resale market has given more perk value to early buyers, as they differentiate between the two.

 

[bumbershoot]

If only we were all so lucky to buy in 23 years ago when points were only 63 dollars.

I didn’t buy then, but almost feel like the OP.

Sorry I need to point out all the downsides to your amazing blue card.

Seth, everyone does that here ALL THE TIME. There was literally no need for you to do it. The OP was posting something unique. Something about their joy of doing things they way they did things, and having perks *that they use and they like and have value to them*. That’s not done here much.

But what you said is done all the dang time. Ugh.

 

[mmmikey]

But what you said is done all the dang time. Ugh.

It's a forum about Purchasing DVC that exists in 2019. General sentiment of those purchasing at this point in time is going to be affected by current market forces. Not everyone has been exposed to the WDW experience for 20-30 years either. The current market makes buying direct alot less desirable. Blue card benefits do not add up financially at the moment. EDIT: I should add, the problem is ppl are feeling like the legacy purchase is devalued somehow by those not wanting to buy it today.. It's not. Your purchase has value, especially to you. I just don't understand the need to defend it.

This thread feels like someone bragging about how cheap their house was in a hot real estate market cause they bought it 50 years ago. Things change... it was good at one point, now it's not worth it for someone buying TODAY.

Now if I had a little lottery win or they lowered it to 25 pts min again (lol) ... I would totally jump at it. I get the prestige factor and all that. But not for an extra $10K+

 

[sethschroeder]

But what you said is done all the dang time. Ugh.

This is meant to be an informative purchasing board.

Positing things that basically won't happen to the vast majority of people without that clarification will confuse people. I know I was one of them over the summer hearing about moonlight magic until I heard from people how hard it would be to get tickets and how limited timing wise the events were.

As far as posting their positive opinion with no discussion I would see that as something more so in the trip reports or DVC-Mousecellaneous area.

Personally if I could have a blue card I would totally take it. Don't think anyone would turn it down.

 

[cvjw]

If only we were all so lucky to buy in 23 years ago when points were only 63 dollars.

We purchased resale points at OKW and SSR about 10 years ago for $65 AND got the blue card . You don’t have to go back 23 years for low buy in prices!

I could take or leave our blue card. I don’t think we use any of the perks associated with it. We have done exactly one MM event and it was chaotic and crowded. None of our other trips have ever coincided with one.

 

[Mike valera]

Oh good for You

 

[Chuck S]

Thinking back to 1992, when Mom and I purchased, the price was right. Over our 4 direct contracts, we paid an average of $53.50 pp, no closing costs, free passes until the year 2000...that was the golden age. I enjoy the current perks, I have had an AP for several years. When this one expires, I'm not going to renew it, simply because I only plan to go to WDW once during that following year, saving points up for a big friends & family trip in 2021 with 11+ people. The one trip that is scheduled during 2020 has a military person in the group, so I will use a military ticket.

Would I buy direct today?...probably the minimum, but the rest would be resale. I do like the perks.

 

[DrewT]

I bought resale prior to the restrictions imposed by Disney and have a Blue Card, because of this I really haven't followed the effect of the changes. I'm now looking at adding my adult daughter to my account and am trying to figure out if she will get full member status. I was not aware of the blue card/white card controversy until I started looking into this.

I was under the impression that current resale purchasers did not receive a membership card, do they received a white card? Is there a source on these boards or else ware that clearly ex planes the benefits of direct over resale? We have always combined two or three trips in a 12 month period and purchased the gold annual pass, is this pass available to current resale purchasers? This is the primary benefit that I would not want to give up.

Thanks for any info you can give

 

[CanadaDisney05]

The AP discount was great a couple of years ago, when the economy was suffering & Disney really wanted people to visit and spend $, but they’ve been slowly raising the DVC AP price - remember original DVC members got free admission, so there’s no guaranty that the discount will continue.

The DVC AP price has increased, but so has the non-DVC AP price. I'm not sure what the difference was few years ago, but currently the difference between the Platinum pass and the DVC Gold Pass (which is the difference for most of us who do not live in FL) is about $400. A family of 4 is seeing a savings of about $1600 per year. The difference to get a blue card vs white card is about $6,000 ($60 PP x 100 points). While the perks can change at anytime, as long as things stay relatively the same over the next 4 years, the breakeven point for a family of 4 is less than 4 years on a 30 to 50 year contract.

This is meant to be an informative purchasing board

Informative does go both ways though. There are pros and cons that go with getting a blue card today. I think the important thing to point out as I did above is that the difference is NOT tens of thousands of dollars today. The blue card benefits come at a price of around $6,000ish depending on resort and contract. You only need 100 points to get the blue card. Depending on family size & travel schedule, the savings can actually be pretty substantial over the long run.

Of course, there is always the risk that they can take away the perks at anytime. Then again, there is also the risk that Disney+ absolutely tanks, which brings the whole company down with it, which leads to such major cutbacks at WDW and DLR that the places are no longer appealing, which brings hotel prices down, which leads to a collapse in the value of our timeshare interest. There are always risks with any major purchase. You just have to weigh the odds, and potential damage that they can cost against the benefits. For me personally, the extra $2900 (I purchased when the minimum was 75, and saw an immediate savings of $1600 on annual passes), was worth the risk.

 

[ScubaCat]

I'm now looking at adding my adult daughter to my account and am trying to figure out if she will get full member status.

You'd have to add her onto the deed as an owner, then she'd get the blue card. (Up to 4 people can be on the deed.) Associate members, the people you simply log on and add to the account in order to grant them booking privileges, don't get a blue card.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

The DVC AP price has increased, but so has the non-DVC AP price. I'm not sure what the difference was few years ago, but currently the difference between the Platinum pass and the DVC Gold Pass (which is the difference for most of us who do not live in FL) is about $400. A family of 4 is seeing a savings of about $1600 per year. The difference to get a blue card vs white card is about $6,000 ($60 PP x 100 points). While the perks can change at anytime, as long as things stay relatively the same over the next 4 years, the breakeven point for a family of 4 is less than 4 years on a 30 to 50 year contract.

That's only if you are buying a pass every year. We've always bought them every other year and try to alternate our trips around 11 months apart. So the first AP we go the beginning of Nov and then the next year we go end of October. Get two years worth of trips in one pass. Obviously though, your B/E is spot on for the families going on multiple trips per year. For people who try and be a bit more "thrifty" the B/E takes a bit longer

 

[Sandisw]

You'd have to add her onto the deed as an owner, then she'd get the blue card. (Up to 4 people can be on the deed.) Associate members, the people you simply log on and add to the account in order to grant them booking privileges, don't get a blue card.

It is up to 6 on a deed. I just added my 3 adult children so we now have 5 on our SSR and RIV contracts...all eligible for blue card benefits

 

[CanadaDisney05]

That's only if you are buying a pass every year. We've always bought them every other year and try to alternate our trips around 11 months apart. So the first AP we go the beginning of Nov and then the next year we go end of October. Get two years worth of trips in one pass. Obviously though, your B/E is spot on for the families going on multiple trips per year. For people who try and be a bit more "thrifty" the B/E takes a bit longer

I agree. And in fact, I'm in your category where we are trying to plan our trips about 51 weeks apart.

 

[SL6827]

I have a blue card, and I don't even own DVC.

 

[Sandisw]

That's only if you are buying a pass every year. We've always bought them every other year and try to alternate our trips around 11 months apart. So the first AP we go the beginning of Nov and then the next year we go end of October. Get two years worth of trips in one pass. Obviously though, your B/E is spot on for the families going on multiple trips per year. For people who try and be a bit more "thrifty" the B/E takes a bit longer

Yes, it would most likely double that time frame, but still make it worth it in the long run. That is why everyone’s situation is so different and only once can judge if it’s worth it.

 

[DebbieB]

I was one of the lucky ones who bought 20 years ago. One thing that bugs me is when people complain about many perks being taken away. I haven't seen that. The only one that I recall is free valet parking, which happened when Disney decided to outsource the valets. When I bought, there was no DVC AP discount. The only park ticket discount was 10% off length of stay tickets. The addition of the Gold AP is over a $400 discount compared to the non-member platinum pass (assuming you don't go during blackout dates). I go about twice a year but plan my dates to get 3 uses out of an AP, so I'm buying about every 18 months.

To be honest, I would not be buying at today's prices. I think $188 is ridiculous (I paid $65) plus the point cost inflation for new resorts. I have a stay at Riviera in April, 160 points for a preferred studio compared to 111 for a boardwalk view studio for the same dates. I want to try it out but it will likely be a one time thing.