Newbie point use question

[jjimerson80]

Hi all! Very new to the possibility of buying DVC and have a couple specific questions. If I buy at a home resort AKL, is there any point upcharge from the posted rates if I want to stay somewhere else on property? I know it changes the window from 11 months to 7, but will it also cost more points? For example, if I buy AKL and want to stay at the OKW, is there any point difference than what is posted for OKW for those who have it as their home resort? (I'm not considering Riviera at all as we have no desire to stay there due to Skyliner transportation being the primary option...some in our crew are super afraid of heights.) Just trying to see if there's something else I need to take into consideration before locking in a contract.

I am considering buying into two smaller contracts (50-75 pts max) at separate resorts through resale...really contemplating AKL along with OKW or Boardwalk. I know to be mindful of contract end dates, use year windows, etc. What else should I be mindful of before making an offer?

To offer a little insight, we are a family of 7 but our oldest two are grown and away in college/grad school. Our next two are in high school (junior and sophomore). Our youngest is in elementary school. We will not need a huge space because we do not all go as a whole family often due to schedules. It's likely parents and 1-2 kids more often than not. We don't really do week trips as much as an extended weekend here or there. My goal would be eventually to gift each of them a small contract at the resort they love most once they have children...so I clearly have time to use what is available now and buy others later.

Any advice is greatly appreciated! Please go easy on me if there's a place this has been asked already. I just joined today and tried searching for my point use question lots of ways.

 

[Bucketfoot]

Every resort has its own points chart. No upcharge, you simply use that resorts point chart for booking.

 

[jjimerson80]

Every resort has its own points chart. No upcharge, you simply use that resorts point chart for booking.

Thank you so much for the info! That's a relief. I see you have Kidani Village in your signature...for AKL, do you buy into a specific section? I haven't gotten that far into my research. If so, what convinced you to choose Kidani?

 

[Bucketfoot]

I wouldn't buy Boardwalk points unless you plan to use them at Boardwalk. We loved our stay there and would love to own there, but IMHO they are overpriced for someplace that expires so soon,

 

[SteveMouse]

Each DVC resort has its own point chart that applies to that location, for the year. If you are booking at a resort other than where you own, you would use that resort's chart for that stay. Think of points like cash and resorts like hotels. Different hotels mag charge different rates for any given night. Points are the currency, instead of dollars.

 

[Bucketfoot]

Thank you so much for the info! That's a relief. I see you have Kidani Village in your signature...for AKL, do you buy into a specific section? I haven't gotten that far into my research. If so, what convinced you to choose Kidani?

You can buy at either and both are considered a home resort with the 11-month booking window.

We didn't pay attention to if the contract was Jambo or Kidani. It was simply the number of points we wanted at a price we were good with

 

[Bucketfoot]

It all seems quite daunting at first, but you get the hang of it pretty quickly. We are only 1.5 years into our DVC ownership and I can certainly remember trying to figure things out.

In our house both my wife and I have things that we are better at or understand better. Understanding DVC is one that falls on my side, so I'm quite used to getting questions!

 

[tx911]

With such small contracts, I would consider getting both at the same home resort, so that you have enough points in one place to really take advantage of the 11 month window.

 

[Bucketfoot]

With such small contracts, I would consider getting both at the same home resort, so that you have enough points in one place to really take advantage of the 11 month window.

That said having contracts at different resorts would give an 11 month window for more than one place. You could then bank/borrow points and alternate staying at each resort.

This is where you need to review the points charts for the placed you would be interested in to make sure you have enough points to cover your planned stays.

 

[SteveMouse]

And remember that home resort 11 month advantage is only applicable to the points associated with the contract(s) for that resort.

 

[jjimerson80]

And remember that home resort 11 month advantage is only applicable to the points associated with the contract(s) for that resort.

I think I understand this correctly but if you can confirm/deny, that would be greatly appreciated.

If I buy 50 pts AKL and another 50 pts Boardwalk, then my 11 month window only allows me to book up to the 50 points associated with that resort unless I have used banked points to use more. Is that understanding correct?

We were thinking one year Boardwalk using 100 points and the following year AKL for 100 points and using OTU points if necessary to make those stays work. Is there ever a way to take 50 banked AKL/50 CYU AKL/50 banked Boardwalk/50 CYU Boardwalk if we wanted to stay at a bigger space or for longer?

 

[jjimerson80]

With such small contracts, I would consider getting both at the same home resort, so that you have enough points in one place to really take advantage of the 11 month window.

It seems like most places we are interested in staying, for a long weekend, 50 points would be enough given we don't require a huge space. We were thinking that it made more sense to buy the OTU points if we needed more than 50 because then we weren't responsible for the dues on those when we don't need them. Then again, I'm not certain I have a solid understanding of those just yet either. LOL

 

[tx911]

It seems like most places we are interested in staying, for a long weekend, 50 points would be enough given we don't require a huge space. We were thinking that it made more sense to buy the OTU points if we needed more than 50 because then we weren't responsible for the dues on those when we don't need them. Then again, I'm not certain I have a solid understanding of those just yet either. LOL

I have VGF, so I'm not used to points going very far

As long as you are sure you have enough points for the room and length of stay and time of year you are going, you should be good. As was mentioned, if you own 2 different resorts you can always alternate them and bank/borrow to go every other year. For example, you have 50 point contracts at BWV and AKL, you could take 100-point vacations at each every other year, or 2 50-point vacations in same year, using the 11 month advantage every time.

Also bear in mind that there are some resorts, and OKW is one in particular, where rooms are readily available even at 7 months, so you don't necessarily need to own there to get whatever rooms you want.

 

[Bucketfoot]

Keep in mind that OTU points can't be used until the 7 month window.

 

[10CJ]

When do you typically plan to travel? What size room are you looking to book? As a family of 7, I think you may find you need more space, especially in a few years. I know you said you probably will not all travel together in the short term, but what about in 5 years? What if one of your older children wants to bring a spouse? grandkids?

I think I would start with points at one resort to give you more flexibility on room size/booking at 11 months. If you do add on another resort, I would try to keep the same use year.

 

[jjimerson80]

When do you typically plan to travel? What size room are you looking to book? As a family of 7, I think you may find you need more space, especially in a few years. I know you said you probably will not all travel together in the short term, but what about in 5 years? What if one of your older children wants to bring a spouse? grandkids?

I think I would start with points at one resort to give you more flexibility on room size/booking at 11 months. If you do add on another resort, I would try to keep the same use year.

My oldest two are out of state in grad school and college. The sophomore is hoping to play college softball wherever the road takes her so I don't anticipate her being home in a few years. There's no telling on the junior and the youngest seems a lifetime away to consider. LOL

We try to avoid high occupancy park times like Spring Break and summer or right at the holidays. Mid-August and early September are birthdays as are May/June. The June we usually celebrate with the others in May before school gets out.

Our thought is we would be adding more points in the future once we know the program better and have experienced that side of things. We are thinking of just starting with a couple small contracts to get a taste of different resorts and to see what resorts the kids prefer in the short term. Long term, my goal would be to have 75 points or so in their preferred resort to gift them. It would not be a total solution but it would be like a vacation nest egg to get them started basically.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I would highly recommend a comprehensive resource like https://www.dvcfieldguide.com/ - it's not a lot of money to spend for a super thorough guidebook that covers pretty well every question you have. The website itself also has a ton of helpful info.

 

[CarolynFH]

for AKL, do you buy into a specific section?

The contract will be deeded to either Jambo or Kidani, but they’re simply two parts of the same resort, so you have 11 month booking for either one.

Is there ever a way to take 50 banked AKL/50 CYU AKL/50 banked Boardwalk/50 CYU Boardwalk if we wanted to stay at a bigger space or for longer?

To stay at AKV, you could book at 11 months using the banked, current year and borrowed AKV points and then modify the reservation at 7 months to add nights (or book a larger villa) using the banked/current/borrowed BWV points - and/or OTUP. Obviously, that would work better at AKV, where 7-month availability is better, than it would at BWV, where availability can be more limited.

 

[SteveMouse]

I think I understand this correctly but if you can confirm/deny, that would be greatly appreciated.

If I buy 50 pts AKL and another 50 pts Boardwalk, then my 11 month window only allows me to book up to the 50 points associated with that resort unless I have used banked points to use more. Is that understanding correct?

We were thinking one year Boardwalk using 100 points and the following year AKL for 100 points and using OTU points if necessary to make those stays work. Is there ever a way to take 50 banked AKL/50 CYU AKL/50 banked Boardwalk/50 CYU Boardwalk if we wanted to stay at a bigger space or for longer?

Banked points from that resort can be used for that resort any time in the subsequent year. Someone else will need to clarify whether banked points can be used at non-home resorts to (kind of) circumvent 11 month priority

 

[CarolynFH]

Banked points from that resort can be used for that resort any time in the subsequent year. Someone else will need to clarify whether banked points can be used at non-home resorts to (kind of) circumvent 11 month priority

No, not even transferred points can circumvent 11 month home resort priority.