Host: Aaron Rittmaster
Panel: Kevin Bentley, Tim Hicks, Brett Williams
In Part 2 of our discussion of the Disney Vacation Club, the panel digs a bit deeper into the details. We begin by talking about buying into DVC directly with Disney vs. buying a contract on the secondary market. Then we move on to a discussion about how to use those point, including talking about important DVC terms like Use-Years and banking, borrowing and transferring points. We wrap-up the show talking about way to leverage the value of DVC points by using the point rental market and trading into other time share opportuhnities.
Has our DVC discussion answered your questions? Are there other DVC issues you would like to hear about? Send us your thoughts at podcast@DisDads.com; tweet us at DisDadsPodcast on Twitter; join in the online discussion of the podcasts on our DISDads Discussion Boards; and check out our DISDads Podcast Facebook page.
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Hi guys… sorry I missed this podcast, I was looking forward to it. I just got a chance to listen in and I thought I would give some insight on some points made and some that weren’t mentioned in regards to buying after market points. Just a couple of thoughts… 1) It was mentioned that one of the reasons to buy direct is that you never know if they are going to remove some of the features to the points like they did when they said no booking from the Disney Collection (which included DCL). This is a valid point but just in case someone got the impression that Disney can go back and change the flexibility of your contract, that isn’t exactly true. I owned an after market contract when they made the change, and in speaking with them directly they assured me that any changes can only be applied to “future” contracts not ones already existing. So my after market points can still get anything a direct contract can because all existing contracts are grandfathered in to what existed when they were bought. Also… when I first bought 9 years ago, I actually used my points to book a cruise, then it actually made sense. Now, you would be CRAZY to use your points to book. I ran the numbers when the latest point charts came out and the value of your points using them to book DCL was around $7 a point. But you can rent your points through David’s for $11 and up. That would save $1,000’s to just rent points and book directly with DCL. So, avoiding aftermarket contracts because of the lack of extra benefits is really not something you need to worry about too much. Truth is, ALL of the alternative uses for your points are convenient but they are not a value.
2) Aaron mentioned the difference in cost between direct & secondary market prices and guessed around 20% difference. Then someone mentioned looking for a Boardwalk Villas contract and seeing them at $115 point. It is true, the after market search can get overwhelming with different company’s and varying prices. I recommend you go to the ROFR thread on the DIS … http://www.disboards.com/threads/rofr-thread-2015-january-june-please-read-1st-post-for-instructions.3364441/ …. this actually shows what contracts are selling for and what ones are clearing ROFR (right of first refusal). If the contract you are looking for is a small 50 pt contract to just bolster your points, those contracts always sell for a little more, while large contracts are less. If you look at ROFR report, you see will most contracts around 150-200 points are selling for $75-90. The highest small contract was $100. DVC-Resales shows 2 BWV contracts with sale pending and they sold for around $88/point…. so it is pretty accurate to get a contract for around $80-90/point. DVCNews currently lists the direct price for BWV at $155/point, which means the after market price is 40%+ less. That is about $13,000 savings on a 200 point contract.
There really are valuable reasons to buy direct least of which is “peace of mind” which was mentioned. I just wanted to try and give clear picture why after market is a reasonable choice as well… just make sure you do your homework before you buy after market.
My resale cost info in 2) were for Boardwalk Villas contracts specifically 🙂
Not sure what your plans are for episode 3, but I have been very interested so far and hope to hear another episode soon.
DVC membership has been on my mind for awhile so I appreciate your laying out the specifics. Particularly I am interested in staying at Bay Lake Tower with my small children. Since they are still frightened by the booming of the fireworks I would love to pipe in the music on the TV and watch the fireworks from a theme park facing BLT room. What I am not entirely clear about (and maybe part 3 will help clear this up for me) is how to make that happen. From what I understand my only options are 1) try to find an Bay Lake contract either through a DVC agent (and their right of first refusal) or buying privately from an individual, 2) renting DVC points from an individual either privately or through third parties, or 3) paying all cash to rent unreserved rooms directly through Disney (which seems like a low probability). Any insight you might have would be appreciated.
I’ve stayed at Bay Lake Tower twice, once renting points and once as a cash booking through Disney. Depending on the room type you’re looking for and the dates you’re interested in, it’s absolutely doable to stay at Bay Lake Tower as a regular hotel guest.