DVC Newbie advice please

[Deb & Bill]

I do not like the digital card, so I get a pdf of my temporary card (good 30 days) on my phone and use that for discounts. It worked great on our trip in March.

To the original poster: When and if you spend a ton of money on DVC points depends on when you want to go and what size accommodations you need. Riviera tends to be a point hog. We are OKW owners for 26 years and we enjoy staying at OKW. Right now we have lots of banked points and current year points since we are only going for a single short trip each year. We booked at two bedroom at OKW so our two sons could stay with us for two of the four nights. Two nights it was just Bill and I. You'll want to look at what the point requirement would be for a regular resort, regular time of year, regular size of villa. Then see if it would be worth it to buy direct points. A two bedroom villa at Riviera is going to require a lot more points than a two bedroom at OKW. And booking at seven months out during many times of the year is getting harder with Aulani, HHI and VB points in the mix.

The mantra has always been buy where you want to stay. One trip a year doesn't really need the Blue Card, unless you need to buy Riviera and resale will only let you stay at Riviera. We haven't booked a stay at 11 months out that matched with the DVC Blue Card events that are usually announced after 11 months out. We don't need the DVC AP because we can get the weekday FL resident pass (we live in SW Florida). However, it's been a few years since we actually entered a theme park. We just enjoy the resort and dining (and not needing to walk the dog three times a day). We used the DVC discount on dining, but we could also have used the Disney VISA discount on most of these meals.

 

[marciaheitz]

I own Marriott and DVC as well as Wyndham. I would never give up my DVC. There is no comparison to staying on grounds during a disney trip. I bought the minimum required points direct to be a recognized member (much lower then 150 when I bought) and bought 400 grand floridian on the resale market. Those points now sell for more than I paid for them. I'm very satisfied that I did it that way. It saved me money without giving up any perks. I have been able to take advantage of the DVC only parties they have each year at various resorts and those are AMAZING! Free food, very few people and rides you can get right on as well as special merchandise for the party goers. I think you should do something similar and begin enjoying your Disney trips even more

 

[DeeCee]

We are owners since 2000, so the restrictions don't apply....but....if they did, I think we would seriously rethink what the concession on our part would be. If we were not willing to give up staying at the Riveria, and want the DVC perks and discounts, we would then consider just buying Riveria direct. Although, buying resale will also ensure being able to stay at your first pick resort. They say, "buy where you want to stay the most", and that's GREAT advice. If you are going to spend the money, you should consider getting as close to your priorities as possible.

That said, renting is also an excellent option if your priority is to just be on property once a year. You won't get the DVC perks or discounts, but if staying on property once a year - specifically in Riveria is your main goal, you can save a lot of money just renting points for that one trip per year.
It also allows you to stay in any of the resorts, so you can try them all and not be obligated to the purchase price and annual maintenance fees.

There are alot of ways to do this, some more costly, some with less options than others, so it really all comes down to what you personally want out of the membership (or visits) the most.

Good luck with your decision.

Dee

 

[DanCali]

We are owners since 2000, so the restrictions don't apply....but....if they did, I think we would seriously rethink what the concession on our part would be. If we were not willing to give up staying at the Riveria, and want the DVC perks and discounts, we would then consider just buying Riveria direct.

Just keep in mind that buying direct at Riviera means you are losing at least 40% of the upfront cost once you can't rescind since riviera resale can be bought for $120-$130. On a 150-point contract, are the discounted meals and and lounge access worth a $12K+ capital loss?

There is a good argument to be made that resale prices would be much higher if resale buyers could use their ownership to book at 15 resorts instead of 1. I have a very hard time knowingly rewarding a corporation that intentionally destroys the value of the product they sell. I am not sure how many resale buyers, who are generally informed buyers, will prefer to pay a higher price for Riviera versus resorts like Boulder Ridge or Boardwalk which have virtually identical annual dues but substantially greater usage flexibility. It really would not surprise me if the newest (restricted) resorts had the lowest resale values in the DVC system 5-10 years down the road as the novelty of the resort wears off, the dues will not be controlled/subsidized and start to rise at rates similar to other resorts, and the reality about the restricted ownership fully gets priced in.

To me, if you like the idea of buying direct and care about how your ownership retains its resale value, buying Grand Floridian direct (lowest capital loss relative to resale + Riviera and VDH access at 7 months) makes a lot more sense than buying a restricted resort direct.

 

[Huskerpaul]

To me, if you like the idea of buying direct and care about how your ownership retains its resale value, buying Grand Floridian direct (lowest capital loss relative to resale + Riviera and VDH access at 7 months) makes a lot more sense than buying a restricted resort direct.

I think the new DVC at Disneyland Hotel has a chance to retain a lot of its value even with resale buyers restricted to using points only there.

 

[DanCali]

I think the new DVC at Disneyland Hotel has a chance to retain a lot of its value even with resale buyers restricted to using points only there.

It may very well be the case that there are enough people willing to pay a high resale price just to play at that one resort. But over time, the economics are what the economics are... 14 resorts are better than 1 and resale prices are strongly inversely related to annual fees, especially when you have a single location with multiple DVC resorts like Orlando.

If anything, from what I've read about the nightly fees and high maintenance fees, you may get the opposite effect where Grand Cal becomes the most viable CA option for the informed resale buyers (much lower fees/dues, access to 14 resorts) so those prices are likely to go higher while resale buyers are more likely to stay away from the newer resort. But, despite my tug ID, I live in Florida now so I wouldn't buy either one of them

 

[DeeCee]

OP didnt say anything about affordability so I didnt touch on cost analysis or comparison, all great points though.

 

[DanCali]

This ability is separate from 'blue card' membership - you can now buy less than 150 points directly from DVC which would allow you to use those points at any future resort but doesn't get you a 'blue card' membership. Also note that the 'future resort' system which was first written into Riviera's offering documents gives DVC the ability to allow resale points to be used at the new resorts once a fee has been paid. Thus far DVC has not chosen to do so.

Is the "blue card" membership perpetual or do you need to retain the developer contract to retain the benefits?

Suppose you start with a resale contract and then add on a 150+ points DVD direct purchase, which gets you the blue card. Then a few years down the road, you sell the directly-purchased points and retain your original resale purchase. Are you still a "blue card" member for the life of the resale contract? And does the size of the resale contract matter at all?

 

[frank808]

Is the "blue card" membership perpetual or do you need to retain the developer contract to retain the benefits?

Suppose you start with a resale contract and then add on a 150+ points DVD direct purchase, which gets you the blue card. Then a few years down the road, you sell the directly-purchased points and retain your original resale purchase. Are you still a "blue card" member for the life of the resale contract? And does the size of the resale contract matter at all?

You need to own the points that grant you blue card status. If those 25, 50, 75 or whatever points are the only ones that qualify you for blue card, once out of your account, you lose the blue card status.

In 2042, there are going to be a lot less blue card members than 2041.

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[bnoble]

You must retain it.