A dollar today versus a dollar tomorrow

Image: Disney

With the elimination of the Membership Extras perks for resale members, an evaluation of direct purchase vs. resale is no longer cut and dried. In my prior evaluation, I noted that the only true benefits of direct purchase involved the usage of DVC points for Disney cruises. That practice has always been an abysmal use of points since a member can make more money renting their points and then using those earnings to purchase the cruise. The other advantage of direct ownership prior to 2016 was the ability to book at other Disney locations that also came with steep points costs. In other words, buying direct was cosmetically the same as buy via the resales market.

Today, the issue is a bit more opaque. A person purchasing DVC membership directly through Disney must invest a minimum of $5,500, which buys 50 points at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort or Disney’s Hilton Head Resort. With those points, you could vacation every other year at a Disney property for the upfront fee plus a recurring annual maintenance fee of $300-$350.

Purchasing a used contract through the resales market would add 100 points for about $6,500. In other words, for $1,000 more upfront, you’d get double the points.  I suspect that most savvy consumers would lean toward the latter offer, all other things being equal. It would double the amount of Disney vacation time for about $20 a year over the lifetime of the timeshare.

The catch now is that things aren’t equal. Membership Extras such as annual pass discounts are no longer available to DVC resales buyers. All that these timeshare owners receive are the points themselves. Some theme park tourists are fine with such transactions. Others rightfully feel a bit slighted by Disney’s decision. The good news is that a compromise option exists.

Two great tastes that go great together

Image: Disney

At this point, Disney execs are satisfied with the changes they’ve made. They haven’t closed any loopholes yet, which means that some DVC members are investigating a sort of Plan B. The key to gaining access to all Membership Extras is owning a DVC membership card. From this point forward, Disney only hands those out to people who purchase directly through them.

One of the unheralded aspects of membership is that two types of purchases exist. Customers who are not DVC members must purchase at least 50 points at all times. Occasionally, that number is 100 points. The policy forces an investment of more than $10,000 in many instances.

Disney fans seeking a discounted method to enjoy all the benefits of DVC membership have a method to do so. Once they’ve bought a contract via the resales market, they can purchase 25 points directly through Disney, which would get them a membership card. It would make them both a direct buyer AND a resale buyer at a cost of at least $2,750 but no more than $4,500. It’s a hefty price to receive a few Membership Extras. Given that the savings on an annual pass through DVC can be $150 per person each year, it’s something potential buyers should at least explore by crunching the numbers. Whether the benefits justify the cost is a choice that’s in the eye of the beholder.

The rules of the Disney Vacation Club have only changed dramatically twice in 25 years. It’s regrettable that the 2016 modifications seem so customer unfriendly, the polar opposite of how people generally perceive Disney as a company. The result of these alterations is that everyone has to do some new calculations to determine whether DVC is for them and, if so, whether to purchase directly from Disney or through the resales market.