When did you add points?

[Batuuwanderer]

Our family is really into Star Wars. Once Batuu West and East opened, it was all over.... as our trips every year seem to revolve around Disneyland and/or Disney World.
I bought 150 VGF points September 2022. In less than a year I have added RIV (small point resale), VDH (small point direct), and VGC (resale, recently passed ROFR and awaiting long agreed upon close). Never thought I would be in this boat, but the Disboards have enabled me. Everyone is wonderfully supportive and a wealth of information! I stalk resale sights for fun now. Add-on-itis is a real problem. (If only BCV wasn't expiring in 2042!)

Also, agree with others splitting larger direct contracts. Worth the extra closing costs since I've noticed small contracts get snapped up within days of posting.

Am I done buying, probably not......the lure of 1 and 2 bedrooms....

Long story short, not much of a thought process involved. Bank account took a hit but worth the lifetime of happiness.

 

[Straulin]

We are a first-time buyer with a trip coming in August. We purchased 180 points at SSR. Our resale contract came with 90 banked points so we had 270 for this trip. We will bank 2 points so we will have 182 points for August 2024. We have a week at BLT this trip.

We can take the exact same trip August 2024 if available at 7 months by borrowing 86 points from August 2025. If I do my calculation correctly, we will even have enough points for a trip August 2025 by borrowing from August 2026 points. Other acceptable resorts would be less points-most likely SSR, Kidani or BRV.

I would need to add points or skip a trip prior to August 2026.

While August trips are not my preference until my daughter leaves teaching that is what we will book. Our preference is January/February and that period is better for points than August.

While I want additional points, I also believe it makes sense to see how our trips pan out and waiting makes more sense than purchasing points at this moment.

I see there are some good deals on direct points now and while I think our next purchase will be direct. I am concerned about buying more right now.

I am interested in the experience of other DVC owners and the process you took in making an additional purchase. Was it immediate or did you wait until you had taken several trips?

Thanks

We took an extended family trip for a week at Yacht Club. That was our first deluxe resort stay. We went home and a few months later (June 2022) bought our first contract resale (BCV). We booked a split stay a few months after closing and we unable to book our home resort due to timing (BCV in October is hard to get). So we stayed AKL for a couple nights and Grand Floridian the rest. We added on at VGF in April. The final straw on our decision was annual passes coming back. For our family of four, the Scorcerers pass save about $1,700 on our passes. So we bought direct to get the blue card benefits.

 

[tom1944]

We took an extended family trip for a week at Yacht Club. That was our first deluxe resort stay. We went home and a few months later (June 2022) bought our first contract resale (BCV). We booked a split stay a few months after closing and we unable to book our home resort due to timing (BCV in October is hard to get). So we stayed AKL for a couple nights and Grand Floridian the rest. We added on at VGF in April. The final straw on our decision was annual passes coming back. For our family of four, the Scorcerers pass save about $1,700 on our passes. So we bought direct to get the blue card benefits.

We are going for 7 days and purchased 5-day tickets with park hopper.

Since we plan to go only once a year at this point, I do not see the need for an annual pass.

As our once-a-year trip grows to more days I will revisit that.

 

[DDuckSouthBend]

We took our 1st trip in November of 2013. When we got home we called our guide and bought another contract with the same amount if points as the original contract.

 

[intamin]

Bought Riviera (150) direct in December.. then 3 weeks later put in an offer on sub dues Aulani (200).. and then 2 months after that AKV (125). I don’t have my first points stay until tomorrow .

Since buying in December 2022, we’ve been to Disney World 4 times and I’m typing this from a medical conference at Boardwalk right now to make it 5 so far since December. Our next trip is in September for moonlight magic. All I regret is not buying earlier and being able to book some of these trips with points instead but at least I got my work to cover the room for several of the trips including this one where I’m doing a split between Boardwalk cash then our first points stay on points at OKW and AKV.

 

[Frederic Civish]

We are a first-time buyer with a trip coming in August. We purchased 180 points at SSR. Our resale contract came with 90 banked points so we had 270 for this trip. We will bank 2 points so we will have 182 points for August 2024. We have a week at BLT this trip.

We can take the exact same trip August 2024 if available at 7 months by borrowing 86 points from August 2025. If I do my calculation correctly, we will even have enough points for a trip August 2025 by borrowing from August 2026 points. Other acceptable resorts would be less points-most likely SSR, Kidani or BRV.

I would need to add points or skip a trip prior to August 2026.

While August trips are not my preference until my daughter leaves teaching that is what we will book. Our preference is January/February and that period is better for points than August.

While I want additional points, I also believe it makes sense to see how our trips pan out and waiting makes more sense than purchasing points at this moment.

I see there are some good deals on direct points now and while I think our next purchase will be direct. I am concerned about buying more right now.

I am interested in the experience of other DVC owners and the process you took in making an additional purchase. Was it immediate or did you wait until you had taken several trips?

Thanks

Of course it is always hard to say when to add points and it will be different for each individual. The main thing, I think, is to realize how you want to travel. Will you be going twice a year? Every year? Every 2nd year? Every 3rd year? How many of you? DO you plan to use Studios? 1 bedroom? 2 bedroom?

If you have enough points to get the units you want, for the number of people you want, for the frequency of visits you want, then you have ENOUGH. Does that mean you can't have MORE? Of course not. You can INCREASE your frequency of visits and your level of 'luxury' by choosing more points.

But the main thing I think is to first make sure you are satisfied. That you DO have enough. And once you have that, then everything else is just extra goodness.

I think from a financial point of view you likely are going to be able to get your money out of anything 'extra,' when you sell it. If you sell it. So, if you can afford it and you want it, then go for it.

 

[DonMacGregor]

Our first DVC stay (not first WDW stay) was in a 2BR at OKW. We had stayed in a mix of moderates and deluxe (POFQ, GFH, CSR) previously, in regular hotel rooms, but the OKW stay was our first in a dedicated DVC villa. We got it on a CM discount through my sister, and really just thought of it as a novelty as we were just happy to get a bigger room at 40% off the cash rate.

Big mistake. After that trip, we've never stayed in anything smaller than a 2BR, even though it's usually just me, DW, and 20-something DS (and his GF if timing works out). Of course DS isn't the same kid that was cool staying in a hotel room with mom and dad, or the teenager that put up with it, and now we have no choice in room size, but even if he was still 12 years old, we'd likely never go back to anything smaller than a 1BR (and even that would be questionable). He still likes going on trips with us (no complaining there), and the focus is now more in taking our Land Rovers overlanding and in other motor sports trips, so other interests and life in general means he'll obviously go fewer and fewer times in the future. But, we just like the space, so 2BR it is. For Aulani, if it's just the two of us I could see a 1BR/studio mix in the future as we never spend much time in our hotel room in Hawaii, regardless of resort.

ETA; I did stay solo in a CCV studio earlier this year. I was attending a conference and added a day on to three days at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes, just because I didn't want to travel home on a Saturday. Man, did that space seem tiny.

 

[Twohsieh]

A friend introduced me to the DVC timeshare. Before we stayed at the VGC, we bought the timeshare contracts. We bought direct at VGC in 2010 (3x100 point contracts) with a June UY.
We added on a subsidized AUL contract in 2020 (270 points) with a April UY.
We were using the VGC points at Aulani but we wanted the priority booking benefit, so we added on a resale contract ten years from our first purchase.

 

[Straulin]

We are going for 7 days and purchased 5-day tickets with park hopper.

Since we plan to go only once a year at this point, I do not see the need for an annual pass.

As our once-a-year trip grows to more days I will revisit that.

Yeah, the math doesn’t work out until you are taking at least two trips in the year, generally the third trip gets you to the cost savings.

 

[disneyfan123]

We bought 160 SSR points via resale in June of 2021; on our first DVC trip the following March, we added on 200 points at VGF when they released more points. I'll be interested to see how Poly2 plays out; we may add on there.

 

[KPeterso]

Originally bought 150 direct in 2007 at SSR. And first add on was 50 VGC direct in 2009 or 2010. I made those work a long time, but added a second WDW each year and was staying value and decided that was not going to continue. Resale add on 2017 for 50 VGC which would only be used at VGC did not help the WDW vacations. 2018 add on 75 direct AKV. 2019 add on resale 100 AKV (this was a second UY). 2021 add on SSR 120 resale (stayed in a 1 bedroom and decided that was now necessity for longer trips with Mom). 2022 add on AKV 50 resale (to the 2nd UY). And 2023 add VDH direct 55 points.

So apparently, I was good for a long time and then started adding more vacations so needed more points and then stayed in a 1 bedroom that led to even more points. I am up to 650 now and hoping to be good for awhile now!

 

[DonMacGregor]

So apparently, I was good for a long time and then started adding more vacations so needed more points and then stayed in a 1 bedroom that led to even more points. I am up to 650 now and hoping to be good for awhile now!

+/- 600 seems to be a decent plateau to settle on...until it isn't.

 

[tom1944]

We bought 160 SSR points via resale in June of 2021; on our first DVC trip the following March, we added on 200 points at VGF when they released more points. I'll be interested to see how Poly2 plays out; we may add on there.

Same with Poly.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

We added on once, a few years after buying. That allowed us to go from shorter annual trips or longer every year and a half, to longer yearly trips. We would really like another 100 points to move up to 2 bedrooms, so with all the incentives out right now, I sat down and did all the math. Short answer is I think it's a decent deal, but we're uncomfortable taking the cash away from other things we're saving for. We're probably going to enter the borrowing cycle for a few years, something we've always tried to avoid, then add on after saving up for it.

 

[tom1944]

+/- 600 seems to be a decent plateau to settle on...until it isn't.

I think our next step will be to get somewhere around 300-350.

That still might be done incrementally.

 

[KPeterso]

+/- 600 seems to be a decent plateau to settle on...until it isn't.

Yeah - hoping I will be good for a long while now. I fear that I will want more again in the future!

 

[Spivey378]

Never!

 

[shairpdrh]

We bought 75 points direct at CCV in Sept 2017 (75 points was the minimum for new members and 25 was the minimum for a blue card at the time). We started with direct because I wanted CCV specifically and it was new enough that resale didn't make sense.

Our first add-on was 160 points at PVB in August 2018 and we are in ROFR for 125 at CCV now. The first add-on was planned at the time of our initial purchase (after one stay to confirm we liked how it all worked) and was to let us travel with family/friends.

Our second resale purchase is to allow for 1 bedroom villas for most trips. We like the laundry, full kitchen, and two rooms.

If we buy another contract, it will likely be OKW or SSR for sleep around points (though I like both enough to enjoy staying there too). Should have probably done that this time, but we wanted more CCV points for stays there and so we can book at 11 months to guarantee we have a room.

 

[Frederic Civish]

Add-on-itis is a real phenomenon among DVCers.

I take that as excellent evidence that DVC is a wonderful, worthwhile option - if you can afford it.

How soon does it 'strike?' Who does it affect?

Everybody is different.

In our case, I have a very large family. We often travel not just with ourselves but with our adult children and their families. So, I started off with a whopping 325 points, DIRECT from Disney, at Polynesian. I had already stayed in a 2 bedroom at AKV and love love loved it.

But then I found out that I didn't really appreciate Polynesian that much. I'm not impressed with their Studio rooms, which is all that they have (unless you want to spend a TON of points and stay in a Lake Bungalow). And even though we would get two adjoining Studios with connecting door in between, it wasn't what I really liked.

SO, as I learned the system, I very quickly added on by purchasing RESALE at BLT and AKV for a final total of 8 contracts and 1060 points. Then some of my adult children, and some of their close relatives also purchased their own DVC memberships. They all got AKV.

Anyway, WHEN should you add on? SHOULD you add on? That will be up to you, but it is very likely that you will WANT TO.

 

[shairpdrh]

Same with Poly.

Totally contradicting what I just said in my other post, but same. If it is the same association as PVB and they have decent incentives, we would add more at POLY2. So easy to buy direct and we would be excited to stay in 1-bedrooms at the poly!