Purchase the 25 as insurance plan?

Nope, you'd need to know me though... the "club" idea as it is bandied about here I find hilarious. It's a Disney marketing ploy that I guess appeals to people who want to be a part of what they paint as "exclusive". Look at me, I'm special!

Moonlight Magic is an additional benefit of a timeshare that I bought in 2005 solely for future accommodations. Didn't even consider that I was buying anything else, didn't think about resale value, etc. Disney's marketing strategy has worked to my benefit... certainly not part of my plan. As an old f*rt, I loved the Downtown Disney location and wanted SSR... that was what they were selling so I bought it. Hard to believe, but it was years and years before Disney made any distinction between direct and resale... so frankly, the thought really never crossed my mind. I will say, however, that I thought that if price per point ever got over $100, people would stop buying... just goes to show what I know! LOL

I see what you're saying there. I'm in the same shape. Loving knowing that I have the benefits of the club, but I have no desire to flash my tote bag or learn the secret handshake. I just want to go to Disney, stay in nice accommodations, and save a few hundred a year on APs and dining and merchandise discounts.
 
I did it, I currently own 150 its BCV prior to 2011 so all perks (which I may sell so benefit would be gone) and 150 SSR (no perks resale after 2016) I got 25 direct at SSR. figure I can rent the 25 points out at 13 pre point minus the fees and 25 points equals about $175 per year. I like having the annual pass discount and being able to sell my BCV contract which has gone up quite a bit. We enjoy staying off property at Marriott timeshare which we own so no need for now for DVC (except maybe future grandkids).
 
Been thinking the same thing but financially the numbers don’t work out for me. I can’t see the member benefits being way more than it already is and the way it is right now doesn’t seem enough.
 
As I only have resale contracts (3), I have requested 25 direct at BWV for my same UY to beat the 2/25 date thinking the same thing as "insurance". I currently all the benefits prior to the change after April of 2016. I understand the benefits are not guaranteed and are just a side benefit of owing this timeshare. I have been on a wait list for about two weeks. My Guide knows if these points do not come through by the dead line, I am not interested. I followed up today with her. At this point, she questioned why I would not just add on 25 Aulani points. Even though I feel sure she knew the reasons, I replied. She told me there was more than 10 people ahead of me on the wait list. I will be curious to see if DVD will attempt to fill these type of low hanging fruit orders by the deadline knowing that 99% of these 25 points wait listed orders will go way.
 


Been thinking the same thing but financially the numbers don’t work out for me. I can’t see the member benefits being way more than it already is and the way it is right now doesn’t seem enough.

There is a chance that the benefits can become enticing. However, they probably won't be available to those with 25-pointers.

LAX
 
DH & I bought the 25 points last Sunday - definitely as insurance. We bought our resale in December. 25pt add-on was always the plan. When the price increase was announced, we decided that $125 wasn't enough to rush in at that moment, but the risk of it going to 50pts or higher was discussed - so we suspected we were buying those 25 points at some point in the next 2 years, probably in November bc we've got two trips planned and APs would be beneficial. Didn't really expect it to be a month later, but it was always the plan - just have to "repay" ourselves when our tax return comes in.

Will the 25 points be enough? Will the benefits go away? My crystal ball is in the shop with my magic wand, but we'll save $ on APs this year, we'll use the dining discounts, and we've done our best to set ourselves up where we want to be.
 
This will probably one of the best months ever for DVC sales, with all people rushing to buy points before the deadline. If that will turn out to be true, then DVD management wil start thinking: what else can we do to convince people to add on small contracts more and more? Unfortunately, because I don't like the idea, tiered benefits could be next.
What if the AP discount starts at 100 points? Then everyone who purchased 75 will have to add-on just 25. It's not that much and it will pay itself in just a few year...
A 1000 points club has been hinted multiple times, however 1000 is such a far away goal for the vast majority of members that it won't do much for sales. If tiered benefits will be introduced, there will be multiple, lower tiers so people will have just to be nudged to the next tier.
 


I currently own an Aulani resale and decided to add some points this week. I don't know if I'd call it "insurance" or not. I was planning on adding points on later this year anyway. So I decided to go ahead and buy 50 more points direct now before the change goes into effect. It was an easy decision for me with my situation. However, each of us is different and have different motivations. Just be sure to think it through carefully before making your decision.
 
This will probably one of the best months ever for DVC sales, with all people rushing to buy points before the deadline. If that will turn out to be true, then DVD management wil start thinking: what else can we do to convince people to add on small contracts more and more? Unfortunately, because I don't like the idea, tiered benefits could be next.
What if the AP discount starts at 100 points? Then everyone who purchased 75 will have to add-on just 25. It's not that much and it will pay itself in just a few year...
A 1000 points club has been hinted multiple times, however 1000 is such a far away goal for the vast majority of members that it won't do much for sales. If tiered benefits will be introduced, there will be multiple, lower tiers so people will have just to be nudged to the next tier.

I'm not completely convinced that this will be one of the biggest sales months. The percentage of DVC owners who even know of this change is probably not all that high, and of those owners, many already own direct. I bet direct sales were higher just after D23, when people got excited about the future of the parks and started purchasing 150-250 point contracts. Those are worth a lot more than even a bunch of 25 point ones.
 
The percentage of resale owners buying add ons is a tiny fraction. Most of the sales come from impulse buys in the parks.
I'd love to get an undercover guides' take on this, but I suspect masses of 25 point add ons has been a time sapper.
 
If I buy 25-75 pts direct then I can only use those 25-75 pts for Collection, cruises etc, correct? So I would assume that if they were to lessen the booking windows, I could only use those direct points?
If so, it seems pretty useless to have only 25-75 pts as insurance. Frankly, I’ve never used any perks not living near Orlando where you can easily take advantage of special events. My premier passes have the same or better discount in shops etc and walked in the temporary lounge once and turned around and walked out. I’m not sure what the scramble is about unless the APs really pencil for a family. But maybe I’m missing something?
 
If I buy 25-75 pts direct then I can only use those 25-75 pts for Collection, cruises etc, correct? So I would assume that if they were to lessen the booking windows, I could only use those direct points?
If so, it seems pretty useless to have only 25-75 pts as insurance. Frankly, I’ve never used any perks not living near Orlando where you can easily take advantage of special events. My premier passes have the same or better discount in shops etc and walked in the temporary lounge once and turned around and walked out. I’m not sure what the scramble is about unless the APs really pencil for a family. But maybe I’m missing something?
IMO, adding direct points to qualify for ME is not even close to worth it for those who mostly visit DL & CA.
 
You are in a unique situation. I see so many others (who Aulani is no their home resort) adding on at Aulani will no desire to use at Aulani so they are buying them for just 7 month use. For you since this will actually help you in your home resort, it is a **better** plan than most. Let’s be real, if you can afford them, why not?
 
This will probably one of the best months ever for DVC sales, with all people rushing to buy points before the deadline. If that will turn out to be true, then DVD management wil start thinking: what else can we do to convince people to add on small contracts more and more? Unfortunately, because I don't like the idea, tiered benefits could be next.
What if the AP discount starts at 100 points? Then everyone who purchased 75 will have to add-on just 25. It's not that much and it will pay itself in just a few year...
A 1000 points club has been hinted multiple times, however 1000 is such a far away goal for the vast majority of members that it won't do much for sales. If tiered benefits will be introduced, there will be multiple, lower tiers so people will have just to be nudged to the next tier.

I agree that it is feasible that they start restricting everyone to a tiered system. However, I think members will be grandfathered in but there will be changes going forward. There are both legal and practical reasons for this. If Disney can figure out a way to restrict benefits to only those with 100, 200, 300 pts, etc, they might. However, you have to be careful not to enrage your current owners who may rush to sell out of anger thereby making prices crash in the resale market which will hurt direct sales. Think about it: would you rather buy 200 points direct at $200+ per point or 200 points in the resale market for $60pp if it crashes? I don’t know that any perks could cover that $28k spread. In the last recession, people were scooping up contracts at $20pp on the super low end. It seems crazy now, but it all happened and goes into the analysis Disney does.
 
Bought the 25pt add on at AKL. How long until I see the membership/points when I log into my account? Does it pop up into my page automatically where I view my current contract points? Thanks guys, just so happy the waitlist came through today, was ready to pull the trigger on aulani if I had to.
 
Bought the 25pt add on at AKL. How long until I see the membership/points when I log into my account? Does it pop up into my page automatically where I view my current contract points? Thanks guys, just so happy the waitlist came through today, was ready to pull the trigger on aulani if I had to.
Congratulations! Our points showed up in our account the next day. By the way, what UY did they give you?
 
I agree that it is feasible that they start restricting everyone to a tiered system. However, I think members will be grandfathered in but there will be changes going forward. There are both legal and practical reasons for this. If Disney can figure out a way to restrict benefits to only those with 100, 200, 300 pts, etc, they might. However, you have to be careful not to enrage your current owners who may rush to sell out of anger thereby making prices crash in the resale market which will hurt direct sales. Think about it: would you rather buy 200 points direct at $200+ per point or 200 points in the resale market for $60pp if it crashes? I don’t know that any perks could cover that $28k spread. In the last recession, people were scooping up contracts at $20pp on the super low end. It seems crazy now, but it all happened and goes into the analysis Disney does.

If implemented properly, grandfathered members won't necessarily have access to any new and perhaps more lucrative benefits. All DVC needs to do is maintain a minimum level of benefits as the lowest tier, which would be all the grandfathered members are eligible for. As the number of direct points a member accumulate, he/she moves up to the next tier of benefits. I honestly can't see a 25-point direct member can get upset at DVC for giving a free annual AP as a reward for any member with, let's say, 500 direct points. As long as DVC doesn't strip some of the more meaningful current benefits (ie: AP discount), I don't see how any current member would be "enraged to sell out of anger."

LAX
 
Last edited:
If I buy 25-75 pts direct then I can only use those 25-75 pts for Collection, cruises etc, correct? So I would assume that if they were to lessen the booking windows, I could only use those direct points?
If so, it seems pretty useless to have only 25-75 pts as insurance. Frankly, I’ve never used any perks not living near Orlando where you can easily take advantage of special events. My premier passes have the same or better discount in shops etc and walked in the temporary lounge once and turned around and walked out. I’m not sure what the scramble is about unless the APs really pencil for a family. But maybe I’m missing something?
Since buying to use for Cruises and other cash options has ALWAYS been a bad idea, that really isn't an issue. But to have qualified points to have for possible future perks/changes is desirable IMO even for those that have never used it and don't see they ever will. It may be worth paying the additional between resale and retail if you need the points already. For some it would be worth just buying the extra points to get the option but likely only if the perks were a $$$ value. I doubt it'll ever make sense to buy 75 points mainly for that purpose or to go retail for that purpose where there is significant money to be saved resale.
 
If implemented properly, grandfathered members won't necessarily have access to any new and perhaps more lucrative benefits. All DVC needs to do is maintain a minimum level of benefits as the lowest tier, which would be all the grandfathered members are eligible for. As the number of direct points a member accumulate, he/she moves up to the next tier of benefits. I honestly can't see a 25-point direct member can get upset at DVC for giving a a free annual AP as a reward for any member with, let's say, 500 direct points. As long as DVC doesn't strip some of the more meaningful current benefits (ie: AP discount), I don't see how any current member would be "enraged to sell out of anger."

LAX

I agree with you. People keep talking about the grandfathered members being excluded completely which is what I was referencing. If someone buys hundreds of points directly from Disney, they SHOULD be getting more benefits like a free AP and perhaps a gold bar. ;) That’s a lot of $$$!

My point was while I cannot see grandfathered members being excluded completely, I can see a new tier system that applies to all members like “You buy at least 100 points direct, you get 4 free FP’s at time of purchase and into perpetuity”. They used to do this at time of purchase apparently, but not anymore. However, I would need a new car or membership to the new Club 33 or something to really get up there in the 500+ range of direct points.

OTOH, all these extras cost money, including “free” FP’s for current members, earlier booking windows, etc. because every change results in more oversight of accounts, more phone calls, etc. Nothing is free, and Disney seems to be doing just fine with a clear delineation between past “full benefits” members, post 2011-pre 2016 members, and now the 75 point minimum. It’s all just conjecture for now, so it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!




Latest posts






Top