Buying a DVC Contract: More Points vs. Preferred Home Resort

While the common advice for purchasing a DVC contract is to buy where you want to stay, some find it best to prioritize buying as many points as possible by choosing a more economical home resort, even if it’s not their top pick for where to stay. 

With more points, you could book more stays or larger accommodations. Since Studios tend to be the most competitive room type to book, having the points to book larger accommodations can help when you want to modify your reservation at the 7-month mark to still stay at your favorite resort.

Is it better to prioritize buying more points or buying at your preferred home resort? Here are some questions to help figure out what works best for you.

Would You Be Disappointed Without Your Preferred Resort?

For some guests, the resort that they stay in is a very important part of their Disney vacation.  Whether it’s spending time relaxing at Stormalong Bay at the Beach Club, enjoying the convenience of the monorail when staying at the Grand Floridian, Bay Lake Tower, or Polynesian, or spotting animals on the savannas of Animal Kingdom Villas, sometimes there’s a specific resort that just elevates your trip.

Uzima Savanna at Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House

If you know your trip would feel incomplete without your favorite resort, it may not help to purchase a different home resort just to get more points. 

When Do You Like to Travel?

Perhaps you decide that you wouldn’t mind having a more economical home resort if you can stay at your favorite resort at least on occasion.  If you decide to purchase more points by choosing a more economical home resort, know that the ability to modify your reservation to your preferred resort at the 7-month mark all depends on availability.  

For example, the beginning of December is one of the hardest times of year to book for DVC Members.  Between the relatively low points charts and holiday decorations that time of year, many DVC Members like to travel in early December.  If you purchase a Saratoga Springs contract and book the first week of December, it’s much harder to switch resorts at the 7-month mark than it would be at a less popular time of year, such as early May.  The more flexible you can be with your travel dates, the more you will get out of economical DVC points.  

Beach Club Gingerbread Carousel

Is Your Favorite Resort One of the Newest DVC Resorts?

If you want a contract for stays at Riviera, the Villas at Disneyland Hotel, or the Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, it’s important to know that there are resale restrictions at these resorts.  Resale points from the original 14 DVC resorts cannot be used at the newer resorts like Riviera, Disneyland Hotel, and the Cabins at Fort Wilderness.  

The original 14 DVC resorts include:

1. Animal Kingdom Villas
2. Aulani
3. Bay Lake Tower
4. Beach Club
5. BoardWalk
6. Boulder Ridge
7. Copper Creek
8. Grand Californian
9. Grand Floridian
10. Hilton Head
11. Old Key West
12. Polynesian
13. Saratoga Springs
14. Vero Beach

Resale points from Riviera, Disneyland Hotel, and the Cabins at Fort Wilderness can only be used at their home resort.  That is, resale Riviera points can only be used at Riviera, Disneyland Hotel points can only be used at Disneyland Hotel, and points for the Cabins at Fort Wilderness can only be used at the Cabins at Fort Wilderness.  If you want to regularly stay at one of these resorts, you’ll want to make that your home resort. 

Access all available Disney Vacation Club resale listings, or learn more about buying and selling with DVC Resale Market.

If you’d like to make an offer or request a free consultation about buying or adding to your DVC contract, the DVC Resale Market team is here to help!