DVCNews Debates: Not enough points

[jstarcze]

I've used banked points and purchased points. I don't want to get into the habit of borrowing. That's probably why I've added on twice.

[peabody58]

Only 160 pts at BLT for just the two of us, but we are maximizing their use and value very well. We are in a vacation cycle of doing an 'AP Year' with 2 - 3 trips in that 365 day period. Then we will take 1 - 1 1/2 years off from WDW to build up our points for another 'AP Year'. Here are the strategies we are using to not only stretch our points, but also to maximize our AP/TIW usage and minimize overall vacation costs.

- Banking/Borrowing to match our long term planning. Yes it takes a lot of planning, but I enjoy my spreadsheets, color coding, what-if scenarios and forward dreaming.
- Buying some of the 24 pt allotment. We bought 4 pts last year to snag a 2 day trip to HHI. This is not the most economical way to acquire points, but it is a great option to have.
- Squeeze an extra trip into our 'AP Year' by staying at WBC for a week. Only $700 for a 1 BR! This option for us is way cheaper than adding on points and dealing with more MF's.
- Doing a split stay on our 9 nt trips. A Deluxe studio the first 4 nts to save on pointsand then a 1 BR for the last 5 nts for the really relaxing portion of the trip. Doing our first Split Stay in 09/2013 and are very excited about having 2 vacations in one.
- Only doing a Deluxe Studio for shorter stays. Being able to spend more time at WDW vs. having a 1 BR for just 2 of us is a trade off we are willing to make.
- Staying at lower pt cost DVC resorts. OKW is awesome and we will be going back in the future.
- We vacation in low DVC pt usage times. Sept/Oct mostly, and use WBC for April/March window.

[mboone]

Since the start of our ownership, a little over a year now, we have had to add points on twice, purchase one time use points, bank, and borrow. Never rented though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Minne's Friend]

Never have enough points - I am always banking/borrowing and doing a lot of planning. But can't seem to decide if I should wait for the GFV until I add on or just go with something else.

[pretty_bird]

We bank, borrow, rent points from other members, and bought the single use points from Disney. We also try to plan our trips so they're not on weekends unless necessary to make the most of our point values. We're resale buyers. Using the points for cruises and Adventures by Disney is likely to never be an option for us so resale is the way we go. We're always on the look out for points that have our use year for an add on. So far we've missed the bid every time. But we've got a huge trip multifamily WDW planned for summer 2014 and we plan to add on before we make our ressie. When our points are spent from a previous trip we've also gone the route of staying at a mid like we did this past Feb for DH's bday.

[winnie61]

We bought 150 pts. for SSR in 2005. We are always borrowing! We've never had to bank. To stretch our trips we stay in a value or moderate for 2 - 4 days depending on whether we are bringing guests or not. We also rent the one time use points. We are satisfied with studios though we have stayed in a one and a two bedroom at times. When we try to get the best deal for our points we go with a Value AKV or OKW. We also go Sept./Oct. which saves us points and $. As soon as we are able, a couple of years, we will add on with resale. We usually take an annual trip but I'm trying to talk dh into an AP to get two trips in one year and then take a year off to let our points catch up. Our first purchase was through Disney, my husband surprised me for our 25th anniversary! It took time but I've convinced him to go resale next time!

[Ranger275]

A few years ago we borrowed some points for DCL. Since then we are borrowing so we can go every year on some Disney vacation. I would like to get back to our normal year but everytime I say that I can't go a year without going. I figure we will catch up at some point but if we don't we will just be out of points for our last year and I don't really worry about that, way too far in the future.