So how many points do you own...

[zachatak]

I have a feeling this has been asked before but my wife and I were talking about it and I was curious to see what the norms are. We bought our first contract a little over a year ago of 200 points and thought that would be enough for us and our family. We were wrong... we've picked up 2 more contracts since and we are beginning to think we are nuts. I understand people have different circumstances and availability to travel but I think it would interesting to see if lots of folks on this board have the same problem we do!

I'm also interested in how you use your points. Do you go 12 times/year for 4 day weekends in a studio at OKW or do you bank points for a year and then blow it out for 10 days in a bungalow at Poly?

 

[pinklotusflower]

we're from the UK and have 300 points at BWV which gives us two weeks one bed in a standard view in September.

 

[Fiveresorts]

We have 1040. Started with 220 BRV added 25 SSR then 100 BLT then 160 BLT then 170 BCV then 160 BWV then 50 CCV and finally 125 VGF. I am an addict we live in Ohio and travel to WDW during holidays during the school year.

 

[princessbride6205]

We own 50 VB and 50+40 AKV. We would add a small contract resale every few years after saving up. It's been more than a few years since our last add on, and we're looking at a bigger add - hoping to double our points this year!

ETA: I forgot to say that we typically use it for 7-10 nights in a studio in January. This year we used it for 6 nights in a PVB studio in April. When we take more than one trip a year, we will stay value or moderate for the additional stays.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

We started with a loaded 160 pt AKV contract. The extra year of points spoiled us, and within a year we bought two 150 pt SSR contracts. We go minimally twice a year, one week in a two bedroom or larger often with family, and one long weekend just my husband and I. This year we have annual passes and will make four trips before they expire.

 

[kboo]

I'd also be interested to hear how many people/kids are on these trips. We bought 160 BLT (have yet to use them), with the plan of adding on 25 pts direct and then staying once a year in a 1BR or studio depending on length of stay and resort. However, we've gotten spoiled by stays in 1BR (pixie dusted BWV studio) and 2BR (BLT point rental) that I have a feeling that a large studio will be "ok" but we'll move up to wanting a 1BR all the time once the baby is out of a crib. Especially since our BLT contract is "semi-loaded" (had most of its 2017 points but we weren't planning to use it until 2018 anyway), I think we might get spoiled like @DisneyRegulars and add on some more.

It doesn't "help" that both DH and I have multiple friends who own more >800 points at multiple resorts; one keeps talking about Aulani (that it will become our favorite resort), another loves VGF and BLT, another AKV savanna, and another was an original OKW owner who is now retired and takes each set of kids and grandkids on their own trips *and* an adult trip to F&W each year.

 

[keishashadow]

I refuse to answer on grounds it may incriminate me

 

[zachatak]

We typically go 8-10 times per year and now have 730 points. We started with a 210pt BLT then snagged a 200pt BCV for Food and Wine. We recently picked up a 320pt AKL contract. Before we had DVC, we always had AP discounted rooms but we still went about as often. I can actually say DVC will save me money in the long run. We are very fortunate in that we have more Southwest points than we can use in a given year so our plane tickets are covered. When I do my fuzzy math to justify all the insanity, I say plane tix are free, park tix are covered with the APs, and our rooms are covered with DVC. All I have to pay for is maint fees and whatever we spend on food. If you simply ignore the upfront costs of buying into DVC, its an awesome deal!

Our travel habits are as follows - we do 1 trip for 9 days with another family and we get adjoining studios at the Poly. The other trips are long weekends. Half of those its just me and the wife. The other trips are all 5 of us - 6 yr old, 8 yr old and 13 yr old and we stay at BCV, AKL, and PVB depending on availability. We still mostly fit into the PVB studio but my oldest wants to go less and less so I see the majority of our trips becoming 2 adults and 2 smaller kids.

 

[DduzDis]

Right now we have 175 at BLT with the plan to go every other year. But, I imagine the difficulty in getting into some resorts at the 7-month mark may cause us to spread our wings in the future.

 

[DduzDis]

We typically go 8-10 times per year and now have 740 points. We started with 210pt BLT then snagged a 200pt BCV for Food and Wine. We recently picked up a 320pt AKL contract. Before we have DVC, we always had AP discounted rooms but we still went about as often. I can actually say DVC will save me money in the long run. We are very fortunate in that we have more Southwest points than we can use in a given year so our plane tickets are covered. When I do my fuzzy math to justify all the insanity, I say plane tix are free, park tix are covered with the APs, and our rooms are covered with DVC. All I have to pay for is maint fees and whatever we spend on food. If you simply ignore the upfront costs of buying into DVC, its an awesome deal!

Our travel habits are as follows - we do 1 trip for 9 days with another family and we get adjoining studios at the Poly. The other trips are long weekends. Half of those its just me and the wife. The other trips are all 5 of us - 6 yr old, 8 yr old and 13 yr old and we stay at BCV, AKL, and PVB depending on availability. We still mostly fit into the PVB studio but my oldest wants to go less and less so I see the majority of our trips becoming 2 adults and 2 smaller kids.

I like your math!

 

[zachatak]

I like your math!

Yes... when the numbers don't work in your favor, just make some assumptions and adjust as needed.

 

[DougEMG]

We have 600+ points, so I guess I am in the addict category. Coming from the west coast we do 1-2 trips a year and typically spend about 4-5 weeks a year at WDW. We kind of view our DVC as our home away from home.

 

[jscottnc]

We started with 200 VGF points bought direct during a cruise (DCL of course) for our family of three to stay in a studio for a week any time of the year. By the time we could make our January reservation, all that was left was a 2 bedroom standard view villa (easily in our budget since we had 2 years' worth of points). Me got spoiled by the space and almost immediately after our first trip bought another 200 points resale so we could always travel this way.

 

[ktmo]

We have 150 BCV and 130 BLT points. My goal is to be able to stay for 1 week in a 1 bedroom at the beginning of June (family of 4). I think I am almost there. I want to alternate my points BCV one year, BLT the next.

But we are talking about traveling with friends and family. That means we need more points.

 

[jscottnc]

We have 150 BCV and 130 BLT points. My goal is to be able to stay for 1 week in a 1 bedroom at the beginning of June (family of 4). I think I am almost there. I want to alternate my points BCV one year, BLT the next.

But we are talking about traveling with friends and family. That means we need more points.

By splitting your points across 2 resorts, you lose the 11 month booking window for a 1 bd BLT (either standard or lake view) AND 1 bd BCV. 7 month window could be a problem for BCV. When you add points, I recommending adding at one of your two DVC homes until you have enough points for the type of villa you want. For early June that means 275 points total at BLT (lake view unless you are VERY lucky and can get a standard view) or 255 points total at BCV. Unless you change your plans from early June to early January (my wife's favorite time -- she hates the heat).

 

[ITGirl50]

We have 400 between BLT and AKV. We are waiting for RFOR for a 170 Point BCV contract. So hopefully 570. If that one doesn't work out I'm thinking we will go for a Boulder Ridge 200-220 point contract. We will see. We alwayds stay in 1-bedrooms for the three (DH, me and DD-20) of us. We stayed in a two bedroom in March and really want to have that more often.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

By splitting your points across 2 resorts, you lose the 11 month booking window for a 1 bd BLT (either standard or lake view) AND 1 bd BCV. 7 month window could be a problem for BCV. When you add points, I recommending adding at one of your two DVC homes until you have enough points for the type of villa you want. For early June that means 275 points total at BLT (lake view unless you are VERY lucky and can get a standard view) or 255 points total at BCV. Unless you change your plans from early June to early January (my wife's favorite time -- she hates the heat).

It seems like they are looking to stay one year at BLT and then the next year at BCV so would be utilizing banking and/or borrowing to get the points required. By doing this they would essentially have 300 BCV points available for their stay and 260 BLT if they go every year but alternate resorts.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

This thread reminded me of another one which I hadn't seen for awhile:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/dis-dvc-1000-point-club-post-1-updated-12-12-16.872388/

 

[robndani]

We have 480. We're a family of 4 that comes 2-3 times per year. We usually stay in 1 BR if it's just us or 2 BR if we bring family or friends. Want to buy more but now we're moving to Florida so I'm not sure I can convince my husband. LOL

 

[cedricandsophie]

We have 1410 spread across seven resorts...Bay Lake, animal kingdom, old key west, Vero beach, Boardwalk, aulani and wilderness. About half of our points were purchased on the resale market so we have four different member numbers. All points are on the web site and I dint find it that hard to coordinate use. We never get less than a one bedroom for four of us and often a two bedroom, we give points to friends and family. We go to aulani once a year for 10 days, we go to DW in mid march every year for two weeks, my husband goes to vero beach in early march for spring baseball, and we often go for a week in early December. We usually roll over points from year to year. In most cases, because we rarely travel during prime times, we can make reservations seven months out. The most points we ever use is for aulani which takes about 500 points in a one bedroom ocean view for 10 nights.