Used vs. New Points?

[janebanks]

Hello all,

We're on the verge of buying DVC and are in agony over buying new vs. buying on the resale market.

We do understand that buying on the resale market now means you can't use those points for Disney cruises or Disney hotels (those that aren't in the DVC family).

Can anyone else who has made this decision tell us what choice you arrived at and why?

A very good friend of ours has shared plenty of math to back up her argument that we would never want to spend points on a Disney cruise or a Disney hotel anyway because the value of those points (based on how many are required) is so low. And, of course, the whole kit and kaboodle is cheaper on the resale market anyway.

But our emotions are not falling in line with the math. ;)

Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts.

[DizneyRox]

The uses they took away are a VERY VERY VRRY VERY BAD use of points with regards to value. If you are buying to be able to use them like that, don't.

DVC resorts are "fixed" point stays, for the most part. They can change a little, mostly to avg out point use, but cruises, Disney hotels, and Adventurer collection points change like the wind. A cruise this year that costs 150 points (an example) could cost 200 points next year, and 250 the year after that. They WILL go UP (not down) as prices for the rooms/cabins etc go up. What that means is any points you get now may not cover what you need in the future.

We used points at the Grand one time, blew three years worth of points for a 1 week stay. We can stay AKLV for almost a month in what that trip "cost" us.

[janebanks]

The uses they took away are a VERY VERY VRRY VERY BAD use of points with regards to value. If you are buying to be able to use them like that, don't.

This is what our friend keeps stressing, with words like, "I can't imagine why anyone would EVER spend their points on a cruise or a Disney hotel! That would be insane! Why would anyone..." and it goes on and on in that vein.

Our worry is that we would never spend cash on those things if we already owned points (we would always reason, "We've already paid for these points, therefore we need to stay on land at DVC to get their full value."), and so would never again feel like we could/should go on a Disney cruise.

Are there other benefits of new over used, or is that the only one (cruises and Disney hotels)? If that's the only one, then math will probably win in the end. It always does. :thedolls:

[DizneyRox]

November 19 - 7 Day Eastern Caribbean Cruise

Point cost: 182 per person & 2 people
Point Rental: $11 per point

"Cost": $4000 in point equivalents
Cash cost: $2800

That is why you would NEVER NEVER NEVER want to use your points for a cruise. You would be better off renting those to someone else, use the money to pay for a cash cruise. You can get airfare AND the cruise and still probably get yourself something on one of the islands.

The Timeshare Store I think has a pretty good explaination on what got taken away. The general consensus is, it's really not much of a hit as the point uses are a poor value anyway.

[Basket Mommy]

We bought resale before the rules changed, and I would buy resale again if I wanted more points. You just cannot beat the discounts. We bought HHI at an average of $60 per point when Disney was selling them for $104 (back in 2008). Our initial purchase was 150 points; it was a loaded contract, so we had double our points to work with that first year. We bought another loaded contract in 2009 and used the extra points for a Villa. Great deals both times.

We would love to take a Disney cruise or do an Adventures trip, but I would *NEVER* buy as many points as it takes for our family of 6 to do either. We have 350 points right now, and we use those to go to Disney (or HHI) about every 6-8 months. I just don't see the need to buy more points, because we don't want to cruise that often. It's a ridiculous waste of money to buy points just to cruise. I'd rather cruise in the off-season (taking our kids out of school) so we can take a more affordable cruise every 3 years or so. The money is better spent paying cash on cruises vs. buying points to take those trips. As for the Adventure trips, I see those as a once in a lifetime trip, or trips that are taken for celebrations like a child's graduation or a wedding anniversary. I wouldn't buy points to do those, either. We just don't take those huge trips that often because we're going to Disney so much!

[faline]

We looked at buying directly from Disney and we looked at the resale market. We spent three years looking before we bought. We bought last year on the resale market and would do it again if we buy more points. We bought through the Time Share store and it was a wonderful and totally professional experience!

[MinnieMommie]

A few thoughts: If you only want to stay at DVC locations then it is easier to consider buying resale. I think in general for a first time buyer the resale market is very appealing and hard to pass up. One nice feature in addition to the cost is the ability to purchase your first DVC for a smaller amount of points than would be required if purchased as a first time buyer through Disney.

We bought directly through Disney and were lucky to buy at a a time when we got decent prices and also received double the points for 1 year only each time we purchased. We were able to get the use year we wanted and to get the same use year for each purchase. One other thing to note is that there is no closing cost when purchased directly through Disney.

Right now there is a large disparity between the resale and DVC direct prices.