Do you think minimum direct points required will ever go down?

[BeachClub2014]

I've never really viewed DVC ownership as an investment, other than maybe an "investment" into the family and our vacations. DVC allows the member to lock in base prices on deluxe accommodations versus paying cash for the same room. Our experience is that owning DVC has actually resulted in us spending way more at Disney than we would likely have done otherwise. Simply because we go far more often. Between AP's, flights, meals, swag DVC ownership has cost us serious bucks over the years.

But it has all been worth it for the memories, special moments, and family time. That's all the ROI we needed.

 

[kilik64]

I have to imagine there are a lot of spur of the moment buyers who buy in while on vacation and swept up in the magic. We just aren't buying on credit people, so writing a check for $30k vs $42k feels very significant. I can see that if it was just a matter of your payment going up a few dollars it wouldn't feel like a big difference.

Basically the same way a sleazy used car salesman works...

For only a few dollars more per month I can get you into this ride!

 

[Sandisw]

I do not see them lowering the level for perks and at least now, the minimum buy in and the number for perks match. So, new buyers who start out direct get them automatically, which is what they want.

When they didn’t, you had people going resale and then adding on the 25 and become qualified. Not sure they had that in mind and why we have seen it raise from. 25 in 2016 to 150 in 2021.

Now, if you want whatever perks might be there, you need to get to that level!

 

[Brian Noble]

I THINK, but obviously can't say for certain, that most Direct buyers have absolutely no idea what the resale market looks like or even that it exists.

Agreed; timeshare is a product that is sold, not bought.

To answer the OP's question: it is possible that the minimum purchase might go down, but I don't think the minimum required to qualify for Membership Extras ever will.

 

[gregskellington]

I hope they keep minimums high, I don't know that it's good for the system to have a ton of members with sub-100 points.

 

[zavandor]

I can see only one scenario for the minimum to go down: if they cancel Membership Magic. It at some point they decide it doesn't help with sales, they'll discontinue the programme. At that point, maybe some perks will be offered to every member, even resale, specifically the discounted AP.

 

[Ashlotte]

I do not see them lowering the level for perks and at least now, the minimum buy in and the number for perks match. So, new buyers who start out direct get them automatically, which is what they want.

When they didn’t, you had people going resale and then adding on the 25 and become qualified. Not sure they had that in mind and why we have seen it raise from. 25 in 2016 to 150 in 2021.

Now, if you want whatever perks might be there, you need to get to that level!

I also feel like the minimum buy in for a new member is super high and out of reach for most people, unless they don't mind financing. It seems like even 100 would be high, but more reasonable.

 

[Ashlotte]

I do not see them lowering the level for perks and at least now, the minimum buy in and the number for perks match. So, new buyers who start out direct get them automatically, which is what they want.

When they didn’t, you had people going resale and then adding on the 25 and become qualified. Not sure they had that in mind and why we have seen it raise from. 25 in 2016 to 150 in 2021.

Now, if you want whatever perks might be there, you need to get to that level!

Did the people who bought a 25 direct account just for perks get to keep the perks once the level was raised to 150?

 

[CarolMN]

Did the people who bought a 25 direct account just for perks get to keep the perks once the level was raised to 150?

Yes, they were grandfathered.

 

[zavandor]

I also feel like the minimum buy in for a new member is super high and out of reach for most people, unless they don't mind financing. It seems like even 100 would be high, but more reasonable.

Since Disney does the financing, they really like that. 10% interests on top of the purchase price and no risk, because if the purchaser defaults the points go back to Disney for free to resell.
If it would stops people from buying, then it would be a problem, otherwise it's very welcome extra profit. But people don't worry about interests while on vacation and buying 50 years of pixie dust.

 

[Artemis Fowl]

People having too few points is one reason for the intense studio competition, but even with people who have enough, its a BIG jump in point cost to move to a one bedroom. We'll be gunning like majority seems to for studios mainly, even though we have enough points for a one bedroom for when we go at our home resort.

Lots of people turn into a cheap miser when it comes to spending their dvc points lol.

We're the total opposite of your last point. We initially bought at Poly but wanted to also have access to 2BR so we added another contract at BLT. I'm not trying to spend every waking moment in the parks, so I spend on the nicer rooms.

 

[kilik64]

Since Disney does the financing, they really like that. 10% interests on top of the purchase price and no risk, because if the purchaser defaults the points go back to Disney for free to resell.
If it would stops people from buying, then it would be a problem, otherwise it's very welcome extra profit. But people don't worry about interests while on vacation and buying 50 years of pixie dust.

Not entirely accurate. If they default on the loan it still has to go through the foreclosure process and they have to buy the contract back through that.

That process is how the board sponsor seems to get a ton of the contracts that they sell.

 

[Brian Noble]

I also feel like the minimum buy in for a new member is super high and out of reach for most people,

It's $30K---about the price of a car.

If someone can imagine buying a new car before they "need" one, then they can probably imagine buying DVC. Many might finance either of those purchases, and financing the former is common.

 

[Sandisw]

Did the people who bought a 25 direct account just for perks get to keep the perks once the level was raised to 150?

Yes, and they raised it over time. IMO, I am not sure they thought about that as a strategy when they first made the move and people figured it out. So, they decided to raise it slowly over the 5 years to get it where it is today.

 

[RichVIII]

I would bet overall satisfaction and NPS (net promoter score - would you recommend DVC to friends and family) is higher the more points you have. I know that seems like, duh? but hear me out. The new buyer who sees AKV value studios at 7 points thinks with a 50 point contract they can stay a week in September. Or a week every other year in a standard studio at Boardwalk. And what they find is they can rarely get these rooms and with banking and borrowing they are stretched or something like COVID hits and borrowing is now limited to 50% so 50 points now are only 125 for three years and they can't get the room they want. And they didn't book at the 11-month mark. They are upset. Look, we all see those people posting regularly. Having more points provides so much flexibility for people to get reasonable accommodation. At this point, it doesn't seem to stop people. People can always buy resale. I am glad our first contract was 160 resale since that was the minimum from when our seller purchased. We found the 160 limiting to start so I can only imagine trying to book with 50 or so points.

 

[hhisc16]

I wish we bought direct when the minimum was 25 points for a blue card.
We have 2 resale (50+25) and 1 direct (25), but without a blue imaginary card.

 

[RoseGold]

It goes along with the escalation in charts. a 50 point contract won't get you far at RIV/VGF, like it really would have at OKW.

This matters when you add in the resale restrictions, which is when the minimum really went up. A bunch of 50 point contracts stuck at RIV is bad news because there's not much they can book. If charts keep escalating, which I think they will, so will the minimum.

 

[Minniesgal]

At the next global recession I bet it will

 

[lovethesun12]

It's $30K---about the price of a car.

If someone can imagine buying a new car before they "need" one, then they can probably imagine buying DVC. Many might finance either of those purchases, and financing the former is common.

I agree so can't say the minimum buy in is out of reach, I just think it's impossible to justify (for me). I guess moonlight magic is a perk, but you can purchase DAH for a couple hundred dollars vs. tens of thousands (when it returns).

I'd like a blue card but every time I run the numbers on direct vs. resale I can't find a way to justify that size of a purchase for the "perks". That said, I have been in the market for VGF (This was before the poly tower news) and seeing the direct price shrink the gap with resale did make me consider it.

 

[Lee Matthews]

It would need to drop to 25 points again for me to even consider otherwise Im not too bothered