If you had to do it over again, would you change your direct/resale strategy?

[macman123]

I have 1,000 direct and 3,000 resale. No regrets. I got VGF2 and AUL direct when it had a great firesale

I also love RIV - even with restritions

 

[RamblinWreck]

In hindsight I would have gone all resale, all VGF, and bought in much, much sooner.

 

[Curiousporpoise]

I have Aulani resale and wish that I had purchased direct during the fire sale (but I didn’t even know about it).

I started to look at resale in 2013, thought it was too crazy to figure out and gave up. In hindsight, I should have joined this board and read up about it. Now I’m waiting for the VDH announcement and pricing to determine my next strategy,

 

[DonMacGregor]

I thought SS expires in 2054?

Typo. Fixed.

 

[BamaGuy44]

Yes. We bought a little over a year ago. We knew we wanted AKV, and wanted to save the money going resale. Paid 140 pp, which wasn’t a screaming deal but reasonable for AKV at the time. If I had it over I would just pay the 186pp for direct, which now looks like a great deal.

DW has fallen victim to the Disney FOMO and not being a “full member” bugs her. I admit I have a tinge of it too. It doesn’t help that there was a MM event at HS, our favorite park, during our very first trip as owners that we were shut out of.

Also, we already had a stay at RIV booked when we bought, and it turns out we absolutely love it. And of course our points are not welcome there, lol.

Strongly considering adding on direct at Poly 2, depending on association, pricing, etc

 

[intamin]

Strongly considering adding on direct at Poly 2, depending on association, pricing, etc

You should! Def have no regrets buying both resale and direct. It seems so stupid because you're paying significantly more for those direct points but idk something about knowing you're included and eligible for every event/lounge whatever makes it worth it. Also knowing you'll be able to try out any new resort you want assuming availability. Also it's not like you need to buy more direct points than the 150. Could you imagine if they made a rule where 50% of your total points have to be direct as opposed to just a 150 minimum?

 

[BamaGuy44]

Honestly that’s one reason we are leaning towards our next buy being direct. To get grandfathered into the current rules before they make it even harder to be blue card.

And for frivolous luxury purchases like DVC, I don’t beat myself up trying to pay the absolute minimum possible. More like hmm, I can afford it, and I want it, therefore good deal!

Let’s face it, if we were trying to get the most bang for our vacation buck, we’d never go anywhere near WDW

Could you imagine if they made a rule where 50% of your total points have to be direct as opposed to just a 150 minimum?

 

[Minniemoo15]

We are resale only and I have no regrets. We saved so much money. We were very close to adding on direct last year at VGF2 when they went on sale but ultimately didn't. We may get Poly 2.0 points direct. But we are very happy with our white card resale Poly 1.0 points for the moment Sure, I miss that I can't do the Tron preview when we go in a couple of weeks. But we have stayed at some amazing resorts (AKV, BCV, SSR, PVB and VB). That's the real value of the membership, IMO.

 

[jakecaputo]

Only regret is not buying direct when it dropped down to 25 pts to get blue card. Back then though kids were young and we stayed at moderate hotels and didn’t think DVC was for us in UK as loads of free dining deals.

Dropped down? It was higher and they dropped it to 25? When was this?

 

[MickeyismyCat]

3 contracts, all AKV resale. 570pts total
Family isn't large enough yet, if ever, and we don't go long enough to make use of season passes even if they ever come back.
Special events... not something I would try to hit if it wasn't already happening during my visit.
Lounges, not even sure what I'm missing.
Dining discounts don't offset the delta of what direct would have costs either. Even over 30+years...

For what its worth, our first contract was bought in mid 2019, lasts one a late 2022.
Based on what we paid resale vs direct pricing at the times we bought, we saved around $42,500.
If we bought one of them direct, vs resale, it would be about $10,000 premium. Again, that's a lot of discounts needed...

So, resale all the way unless I could go back to before I bought my first and bought in when the threshold was sub 50pts for bluecard...

 

[tidefan]

We bought all direct, but with incentives, we got SSR at $94/pt, BLT at $110/pt, GFV1 at $145/pt, and PVB at $165/pt, so I don't think that we did terrible. I do think that if you do purchase direct, you need to do it right when the property goes on sale. If I recall, the GFV at $145 was only to existing members (I think it went onside to the general public at $155), and that offer only lasted a few weeks.

 

[kilik64]

Dropped down? It was higher and they dropped it to 25? When was this?

A good while ago. It was 125 before it bumped to 150 in Oct 2020 was the last time it changed.

 

[Ruttangel]

Dropped down? It was higher and they dropped it to 25? When was this?

I think it was 2016 as it ended up with lots of small contracts at CCV

 

[jakecaputo]

A good while ago. It was 125 before it bumped to 150 in Oct 2020 was the last time it changed.

Right, but it wasn't higher and then it dropped down to 25? 25 is where it started, right?

 

[Lumpy1106]

No.
We bought resale, just before the restrictions went into effect (so we CAN use our points on RIV, but do not have a blue card). If anything we would have bought sooner, but it wasn't even on the radar - we were pretty happy staying in Moderate studios until our family of 5 outgrew them. One stay in an AoA suite and we were spoiled and could not go back.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Started with resale and then purchased 200 direct to have 7m access to VDH and DVC-Y. I’ll probably pick up another 100+ direct points so kids can keep DVC-Y if they want it transferred to them in the future.

Very happy with my decision.

 

[Sammie]

All points are direct, no regrets.

 

[D-Trick]

Right, but it wasn't higher and then it dropped down to 25? 25 is where it started, right?

Correct. It was never lowered.

It did not start at 25. It started at zero until 2016 where it has slowly increased incrementally from 25 to the current minimum of 150.

When it was 25, the (paraphrased) verbiage was actually "you need to have a contract purchased direct from DVD." So all you had to do then was buy a minimum 25 point add on and qualify for what is now DVC-Y. It wasn't until the minimum was raised to 75 that they actually specified a number.

 

[intamin]

If we bought one of them direct, vs resale, it would be about $10,000 premium. Again, that's a lot of discounts needed...

So, resale all the way unless I could go back to before I bought my first and bought in when the threshold was sub 50pts for bluecard...

How you phrase it really matters.
On one hand you can say you're saving 10,000 dollars up front.
On the other you can say you're paying an extra 260 dollars per year to get access to any and all new resorts, special events, annual pass discounts and exclusive lounges for the next 38 years (2019-2057).

Just depends what matters to you more.

 

[Jayunit09]

How you phrase it really matters.
On one hand you can say you're saving 10,000 dollars up front.
On the other you can say you're paying an extra 260 dollars per year to get access to any and all new resorts, special events, annual pass discounts and exclusive lounges for the next 38 years (2019-2057).

Just depends what matters to you more.

100%.

We went direct and it will cost us $163/year over the life of the CCV deed. Worth it for us.