DVC…which month to buy points? And why not Vero or HH since they're so much cheaper?

Hi! We’ll be purchasing DVC this year and will add more points as finances permit. My question is which month is the most common for an anniversary date and therefore will be easiest to add points to?

Also, has anyone purchased Vero Beach or Hilton Head because they are so much cheaper but only used points at Disneyworld?

Thanks!!!

The annual dues per point at Vero and Hilton are much higher than at most WDW resorts. HH about $1,30/pt more than SSR, and Vero is $2.90/pt more.

A quick look at DVC resales listings shows that Hilton Head is going for around $56-$66/point. Old Key West is going for around $54-$80. (Both of those depend on the number of points per contract). So your initial costs are lower at Vero or HH, but after about 2-10 years of paying dues, you’re worse off at Vero or HH.

I could be completely wrong on this math, but that’s the way I see it.

I’ve not seen any information on which anniversary date has the most points associated with it. My guess would be the month that a given resort opened (you can find that out at http://dvcnews.com/), but that is just a guess. If no one here has an answer, you might want to try at http://www.mouseowners.com/, a board that is dedicated to DVC.

At any rate, I don’t think that it really matters if you match the anniversary date when you buy additional points. With banking an borrowing you have quite a bit of flexibility to deal with any timing issues that may arise when trying to use points from both contracts.

@len makes a good point about looking at the total cost when comparing resorts (initial cost plus annual dues). If you are buying resale, also check to see how “loaded” the contract is, i.e. how many unused points from the current year are included.

Also, you can add points with any use year. If you buy a (for instance) October contract, you don’t have only add on with more October points. Having the same use year can make keeping up with stuff easier, but it’s not rocket science to manage multiple contracts.

As a DVC owner, I wouldn’t pass up a great deal on resale points just because the contract is for a month that I don’t already have. I don’t think there is any “most common” use month, but if you look over the contracts at one of the resales sites, you should be able to see which are most often for sale.

I just bought resale with an April use year at GF. Since then I’ve made lots of spreadsheets. I figured out that SS is the cheapest in the long haul, with Bay Lake and OKW close.

For us, we are Military so booking 11 months out is never a choice. Now I’m looking for a small amount of points with an April use year and it’s not easy. I’d like Bay Lake in case our circumstances change, it’s not that much different for the point value I’m looking at. I’ll SS if I can find it, and talk husband into buying more points :smile:

Good luck.