How many points are enough.

[pogo]

My DW and I are trying to decide if we really want to join DVC. We try to vacation every year but we think we want to do more, like the F&W and maybe a pre-Christmas trip to enjoy the decorations.

It is just my DW and I in our middle to late 50's so a studio would be fine most of the time.

How many points do you have and do you use them every year ?

[Horizon93]

DW and I are new to DVC. We are in a similar situation. We like to go twice a year for about 11 or 12 total nights. We think our points should work. If it doesn't over time, we can always add more.

Check the points tables you received on the tour, (if you took the tour) and figure out your average year.

Good luck with your decision!

[dlpmikki]

I think you can discount our points number - it's only 2 of us but we tend to stay in one beds (especially at OKW) and for 4-6 weeks a year. Now we are down to a probable once a year we don't need as many points and I have even rented some out this year. Banking and borrowing make it very flexible!

[Ian]

Because we paid cash for ours, we opted to start off with the minimum and build it up over the years.

We didn't really see the benefit in going into super-hock to buy a ton of points up-front. I'd rather save up and pay cash for them as we go along.

[DVC2004]

Most folks add on over the years. We have a little more than the minimum and have been able to do alot. We don't have enough vacation time to use a larger point package!

[sillyolbear]

We bought 160. Both of us are in our forties with no children.

We arrived at the number by planning a theoretical year's worth of vacations using the points chart. We prefer to travel in the less than packed times of year.

First year we took three 4 day/3 night trips in studios Sunday-Wednesday and banked points for the next year.

The second year we will take four similar trips with two stays in one bedrooms and still bank a few points.

Ian's suggestion to save up and add-on incrementally would give you a chance to see what you really need or will use.

[pogo]

Thanks for all the help. :thumbsup:

We really want to do this but we want to make sure it is right. :confused:

I think it's all starting to become a little clearer that it would be right for us, even at our age. :D

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

We bought the minimum of 150 points (at the time) at SSR with the same idea as Ian. We are planning on adding on in the future.

We go to WDW once a year, usually for 8 nights. We are just over the 150 points this year but, with the extra 150 they gave us we just borrowed a few and banked the rest. We will probably do the same thing again next year and then add on more points in 2009.

Have fun deciding if DVC is right for you. We wish we would have done it years ago.

[mprewitt]

You can never have enough points...!

[Carol]

Because we paid cash for ours, we opted to start off with the minimum and build it up over the years.

We didn't really see the benefit in going into super-hock to buy a ton of points up-front. I'd rather save up and pay cash for them as we go along.Us too - except we bought 220 points since we based our numbers on large accommodations.

I agree Ian. We've never financed a vacation. There was no way my husband would have borrowed money for DVC. It took him nearly 10 years to commit as it was. :laughing:

We've never not had enough points to make a vacation doable. I think the only way I'd buy more is if they were offered on the Monorail loop.

[FiggyFan]

How many points are enough?

I once saw the results of a survey that asked "how much money is enough?" The survey found that for every income level, the most popular answer was "twice what I make now!"

That said, we started with 150 points, and now have 350 :blush:.

[pogo]

Because we paid cash for ours, we opted to start off with the minimum and build it up over the years.

We didn't really see the benefit in going into super-hock to buy a ton of points up-front. I'd rather save up and pay cash for them as we go along.And we are thinking the same thing. We do not want to finance. :D


Us too - except we bought 220 points since we based our numbers on large accommodations.

I agree Ian. We've never financed a vacation. There was no way my husband would have borrowed money for DVC. It took him nearly 10 years to commit as it was. :laughing:

We've never not had enough points to make a vacation doable. I think the only way I'd buy more is if they were offered on the Monorail loop. We are thinking we could enjoy DVC with the minimum also but we are thinking of buying resale at this time. We are still not sure of what resort though. We are leaning towards BCV or BWV if resale and SSR if we buy from Disney.


How many points are enough?

I once saw the results of a survey that asked "how much money is enough?" The survey found that for every income level, the most popular answer was "twice what I make now!"

That said, we started with 150 points, and now have 350 :blush:. Do you mind me asking how many there are in your family ?

Thank you all for the help. This is one of the reasons I love this site. :D

[MsMin]

I would go in the back door on this one! How long do you like to stay? For us we can't imagine staying over a week. My dad bought 200pts for my sister and I to share and we are banking 39 points this year and both of us are going (2 separate trips). A week (not prime time) @ ssr is 97pts for a studio. For us 200pts is just enough. If we wanted to bring friends etc we would need more.

[Maleficent's Dad]

We have 300 points.

I'd like to get up to 500 points. I don't think I can sell the idea of 200 more points to DW, however! :plot: ........;)

[dolphinmickey9170]

We bought 200 and are making three trips this year.

But, my Dh would like to be at a total of 500!!

[NewmanFamily6]

We have 350 currently at SSR. We are a family of 6 though and must have a 2 bedroom every time. So our points work out to about one week of vacation for us a year. We are definitely planning to add on in the future:mickey:

[tinktude]

We originally purchased 150 points in March of 2005. We immediately booked a trip for September that year for 5 nights. The next year we took two trips and had to borrow points.

For us it was like once we bought in we started taking more trips, thus using more points. Late last year we added an additional 115 points on our contract. We like to stay in a one bedroom just for the extra space, so it was just better for us to add on.


In September this year, we are taking a 8 night trip in a two bedroom(DH, DS, DD, SIL and I) and a studio for MIL and FIL. We are already talking about a trip to Disneyland early next year.

We take more vacations now that we are DVC members.

[pogo]

I would go in the back door on this one! How long do you like to stay? For us we can't imagine staying over a week. My dad bought 200pts for my sister and I to share and we are banking 39 points this year and both of us are going (2 separate trips). A week (not prime time) @ ssr is 97pts for a studio. For us 200pts is just enough. If we wanted to bring friends etc we would need more.We like to stay in April for a week and we'd also like to try a week in the fall as well. :D



We take more vacations now that we are DVC members. And that's exactly why we are interested in buying DVC. We also know that we will want an extra trip or two during the year. :D

[rsumrall]

We own 210 pts, but bought an existing contract with 95 pts banked.

We are staying 5 nights next Feb in a Grand Villa at OKW with two other families. What they are pitching in for the rooms ($8 pt for 1/3 of the pts) will buy our APs next year plus some towards our maintenance fees. Plus we get to have friends and they go for cheap. We'll also go in June (a new use year for us) for a record long vacation for us, 9 nights! Gotta love the DVC!

[LovinWDW]

We go every year for 14 nights so when we bought in we purchased 250 points. 1 year later we bought another 50. I can see up buying up to 200 more in the future but, paying cash for them as we did for the extra 50 we bought. We like doing a 2 week trip in the summer and now we're hooked on MNSSHP and going every October for 7-10 days. Just can't get enough of Disney. :thumbsup:

[Ian]

But, my Dh would like to be at a total of 500!!By the time we're ready to retire, we'd like to have about 1,000 points.

[mprewitt]

We're at 462 points and holding, waiting to see what the next DVC resort is going to be.

[True Disney Fan]

:cool:We first started with 350 pts.Oct.'1.We are now at 600pts.

They come in handy for several trips a year. Now that grandchildren are around, we have larger rooms.

Plan to add more for more fun.:mickey:

[FiggyFan]

How many points are enough?

I once saw the results of a survey that asked "how much money is enough?" The survey found that for every income level, the most popular answer was "twice what I make now!"

That said, we started with 150 points, and now have 350 :blush:.


Do you mind me asking how many there are in your family ?



There are three of us (4 if you count BIL who comes with us). We frequently have family members visit for a few days while we are there, and get a studio for them. We have also started taking the occasional winter weekend - about every other year. We are also looking ahead to more frequent trips when we retire.

[Horizon93]

We are at 210 right now. That should be plenty for the two of us for a few years. We are definirely planning on adding more down the line. Maybe get to 350 or 400.

[pogo]

There are three of us (4 if you count BIL who comes with us). We frequently have family members visit for a few days while we are there, and get a studio for them. We have also started taking the occasional winter weekend - about every other year. We are also looking ahead to more frequent trips when we retire.
Thank you for sharing. I think we've made up our mind to join. Now we have to wait for the right time and deal. :D


We are at 210 right now. That should be plenty for the two of us for a few years. We are definirely planning on adding more down the line. Maybe get to 350 or 400. Thanks Ed.... I think any more than 200 points may be overkill for us at this time. We are thinking resale with double points to start and we'll be patiently watching for the right deal to present itself. :D

[DonLefNY]

Curently we have 435 (in 3 contracts). Some years we have to borrow and some years we bank unused points, so I guess we are doing okay in the points department.

[CandleontheWater]

I agree with the previous posters who suggested not financing to get extra points. You can always add on in the future as your family grows or your vacation habits change. I am in a contract with my parents and we currently hold 390 points. Enough for DH and I to take a weekend or two and the whole family (all 7 of us) to do one larger trip a year. As Dh and I grow our family we plan on adding more points (hopefully at the Contemporary ;) ) but for now we are content with what we have.

[pogo]

Curently we have 435 (in 3 contracts). Some years we have to borrow and some years we bank unused points, so I guess we are doing okay in the points department. Thanks Don. I don't think we'd have time to use that many points every year, with just the two of us.


I agree with the previous posters who suggested not financing to get extra points. You can always add on in the future as your family grows or your vacation habits change. I am in a contract with my parents and we currently hold 390 points. Enough for DH and I to take a weekend or two and the whole family (all 7 of us) to do one larger trip a year. As Dh and I grow our family we plan on adding more points (hopefully at the Contemporary ;) ) but for now we are content with what we have.Thanks for your input. I hope my DW never surprise's me by saying our family is growing. :faint: I couldn't afford DVC and a college fund again. We just finished with paying for two. :D

[Tink65]

Please be gentle with me since this is my first post. We have 5 different contract with 520 points. We live only 6 hours and I try to get down as much as possible. I would love to have more points however DH says NO.

[Horizon93]

Welcome to Intercot Tink65! We are a gentle but enthusiastic bunch.

[pogo]

Please be gentle with me since this is my first post. We have 5 different contract with 520 points. We live only 6 hours and I try to get down as much as possible. I would love to have more points however DH says NO.

My DW and I live in Western NY and we will not get down to WDW as much as you.

We like to visit during the end of April, but we'd also like to attend the F&W Fest and also early December to see WDW all decked out for Christmas.

We think maybe buying resale is our best bet, starting out with some extra points. Starting small and buying more as we go. We are in no hurry at this time and we are gathering information from our Intercot family before we join up.

I am very impressed that you would make this your first post. Thank you so much. I hope you will continue to contribute to our knowledge base. You will love it here on Intercot. :D

[mprewitt]

Apparently I didn't have enough. Just did another small add-on of 30 more points at VWL yesterday. The points were immediately available from DVC.

I now have 492 points split among 4 resorts. Yippee!

[Horizon93]

Congrats on adding the points. So far we are OK, but I can see us needing some more at AKV in a couple of years.

[mprewitt]

Apparently I still didn't have enough points. Just did another small add-on of 30 more points at BWV today. The points were immediately available from DVC.

I am now the proud owner of 522 points (210 at AKV, 120 at VWL, 120 at BWV and 72 at BCV).

Again, yippee! I guess this means I will get to spend even more time at WDW! :mickey:

[Horizon93]

Wow, that is a great choice of home resorts! Congratulations and welcome home home home and home.

[Tiggerish]

It's interesting to see how many other "couples only" there are in DVC!

We bought 220 points, reasoning that we wanted enough points to stay for a week at our home resort (OKW) in a 1BR during Magic season. We take two trips, one in May for our anniversary/F&G Fest, the other in the fall for F&W, and usually stay in a studio. We have sometimes done three trips by staying away from Saturday nights.

We feel we have just the right amount of points for us.

[DVC Mike]

I just called my guide this morning and added-on another 30 points at BCV. :woohoo:

I now have 582 points spread across four home resorts. :cloud9:

Does this qualify me as a "Disney freak"? My friends sure seem to think so!

[Tink&Goofy]

We have 260 points now, after just adding on at AKV. We started with 160 - with the idea of going every other year or banking and borrowing and going every third year, since we are coming from the west coast. Well, the first trip down blew that plan out of the water!:D We are a family of 5, and have stayed mostly in the 1 bedrooms (which they allow), but its kind of tight, and I can see needing a 2 bedroom in the near future.

One thing that was not mentioned is the size of the contracts. If you purchase thru Disney now, the minimum will be 160 - which may be what you are looking for, or may not. If you purchase resale, you could opt for a smaller point amount - maybe purchase a couple of small contracts at more than one resort - allowing you the 11 month advantage at more than one resort. When we added on at AKV, we added 100 points - but split it into 2 separate contracts. This was primarily so we could give these to the kids eventually, but it also allows flexibility in selling off part if we choose.
We would love to own more - but likely won't at this point - unless (until) they announce villas at DL. Then we would be first in line!

I would do a hypothetical year. Determine when you would go, where you would stay, and for how long. Then add up the points. Banking & borrowing makes it flexible too.

[dephenn]

I only have 150 points and manage to make that work with a family of four, but I try and stay Sun-Thurs., taking first flights out and last flights home. It basicly comes down to what you feel you can afford and how long and how much you want to vacation and when. Will you want to vacation with anyone else like children or grand children some day, I know we got cought up in all that and are now catching up with our points again, but its worth spreading the joys of disney, and would do it again. So I guess I would suggest start low, you can always build it up. Best of luck and welcome home. Be care with resales, I notice most people put there vacation up for resale after they have used all their points for the preasent year and borrowed most if not all their points for the following year there for canceiling any savings when you average them out over the length of the contract.

[DVC Mike]

We have 637 points, which is just enough for my wife and I.

We're considering a small add-on at the Grand Californian at Disneyland once that goes on sale next year.

We also have our fingers crossed that the construction at the CR really does turn out to be fully or partially DVC.

[princessjojo]

Right now we only have 160pts, but we want to within the next few years have around 400. We just bought our earlier this year, so we haven't used them yes, but do like having the 2br choice. The boys are old enough that they don't like sharing a bed and want to start bringing friends along. We also like the space idea. But we have planned for June 08 and it's costing us 387 for 9nights. Our thoughts are that with 400 we can take 2-3 shorter vacations each year or at least 1 long vacation per year. But if someone wants to buy more points for me, I'll definitly take them.

[DisneyGiant]

I've been reading a lot of anti-financing comments here - so I just thought I'd add a financing voice to the thread!

I originally purchased 270 points in 2004, with the idea that our family of 8 would go every other year, and I'd have enough points for a two-bedroom during the Easter time frame. I'm the single one in the family - so I have less expenses than the married ones.....

As my nephews are growing, we're discovering that we just can't wait for the every other year option! And seeing as they had a point "sale" earlier this year - I purchased another 115 - which gives me a total of 385 - which just so happens to match the total of points needed for one full week in a 2 bedroom in August!

I look at the monthly payments like a car payment. And I've only got 7 more years to go on the first batch of points! :) And I get a tax deduction on the mortgage interest.

I also participate in the Disney stock program - so I rationalize the extra money I pay (I chose Disney financing) helps the stock, which eventually helps me! LOL

I just looked at my last stock statement - I've got over 400 shares in there! A nice little nest egg when I need to cash it in!

Those two bedrooms kill you on points......... But they make it easier to switch resorts too - because they are less popular.