Change to Disney Vacation Club Membership Extras Eligibility and the Impact to You

Effective, February 25, 2018, for Members to be eligible for many of the “incidental benefits” or “extras” they must own and maintain a minimum of 75 points purchased directly from Disney Vacation Development, Inc.

*** 9/14/2019 Update*** As of September 17, 2019, for Members to be eligible for many of the “incidental benefits” or “extras” they must own and maintain a minimum of 100 points purchased directly from Disney Vacation Development, Inc.

It is important to note that all Members who are eligible for the incidental benefits as of February 24 will not be impacted by the 75 point requirement as long as they continue to meet the previously implemented requirements.

This change is a tweak to changes that came on April 4, 2016. Nearly two years ago, Disney Vacation Club made a change in which if you did not have any points purchased direct, you would not be eligible for many of the incidental benefits. Disney’s statement read, “new purchasers of Disney Vacation Club® ownership interests not purchased directly from Disney Vacation Development, Inc. will not have access to Membership Extras, including Member discounts on dining, shopping, Member-exclusive events, and certain special Membership offers.”  If you had joined prior to 4/4/16 you were grandfathered in to receiving the extras, and were not impacted.  For more information about those changes please see, “Less “Incidental Benefits” for New DVC Resale Members, But How Much Do These Incidentals Matter?”. 

How do the Incidental Benefits Changes Impact You?

Currently under contract with resale:  The most time sensitive impact is for anyone currently purchasing resale with plans to add-on 25 points or 50 points direct (if financing) to get all the incidental benefits.  For those individuals they may want to make a 50 point direct purchase prior to 2/25, if they do not want to purchase 75 points or more direct.

Thinking of joining soon and want the extras: For those thinking of eventually joining and wanting to purchase the majority of their points resale to get the savings and purchase 25-50 points to get all the incidental benefits, those individuals may want to consider purchasing 50 points direct first and do it prior to 2/25.  This is in contrast to what we typically recommend, which is purchasing resale first as it is easier to match up your use year when adding-on direct and the minimum add-on is 25 points for a cash purchase vs. a minimum of 50 points to join whether it be cash or finance.

Wanting to eventually join but not right away and you want the extras:  This change will impact you if you are joining after 2/25 by purchasing the majority of your points resale and getting the minimum amount direct for the extras.  For many, that were planning on financing their direct purchase, the change is fairly minimal, as the minimum to add-on for a finance purchase is 50 points.  So, going from 50 to 75 points is not a huge change.

For those that were planning on purchasing their direct add-on with cash, the change is a little more substantial, but not earth-shaking.  Lets say your plan is to join with around 200 points at Animal Kingdom, a very typical starting points package for many families and before to get the savings of resale and the extras of direct, you may have purchased 175 points resale and 25 points direct.  To accomplish the same task after 2/25, you could purchase 125 points resale and add-on 75 points direct.  While the savings may not be as strong as before, there are still significant savings to be realized as seen in the chart below:

Joining with 200 Points at Animal Kingdom with Receiving the Membership Extras:

Joining without Extras Joining Prior to 2/25 with Extras Joining After 2/25 with Extras Joining All Direct with Extras
Resale Price for Points Purchased* $21,600 $18,900 (175 pts.) $13,500 (125 pts.) $0
Direct Price Points Purchased** 0 $4,275 (25 pts.) $12,825 (75 pts.) $34,200
Total Price for 200 Points $21,600 $23,175 $26,325 $34,200
Savings  $12,600 $11,025 $7,875 $0

*Average resale listing price used for Animal Kingdom was $108/pt. obtained from disneydvcresale.com on 2/11/2018

**Direct price used for Animal Kingdom was $171/pt. Please see, Economics: Direct vs. Resale for a complete list of Disney direct prices

Disney's Animal Kingdom

Should I Purchase Disney Vacation Club with Reliance Upon Membership Extras?

The answer is no.  We’ve covered scenarios in this article about what to do based on an individual’s personal timeline for those that want the savings of resale and also want the incidental benefits.  Regardless of how important these extras are to anyone, they should keep in mind they are not guaranteed and Disney says it very clearly that a purchase should not be made with reliance on the continued availability of benefits. Additionally, over the years, various benefits have come and gone, one of most notable was complimentary valet parking for all DVC Members. This is an excerpt from the Membership Extras Acknowledgment and Disclosure Statement:

“The incidental benefits described in this Statement are offered to prospective purchasers of the vacation ownership plan. These benefits are available for your use a period of 3 years or less after the first date that the vacation ownership plan is available for your use. The availability of the incidental benefits may or may not be renewed or extended. You should not purchase an interest in the vacation ownership plan in reliance upon the continued availability or renewal or extension of these benefits.”

For many that were leaning towards adding-on direct to get the incidental benefits, this may give pause.  Certainly, Disney will increase direct sales for those that still add-on to get the extras, but many new Members that would have added-on direct may not, given the incidental benefits are not guaranteed, and effectively the price to get them has gone up.

Learn more about Buying and Selling DVC.

Comments

  • Jan
    July 8, 2019

    I purchased 210 points at SSR in 2005
    If I buy resale at SSR SSR use year, will they be added into my existing contract?
    Or will it just be a resale contract no other benefits?

    • Nick Cotton
      July 8, 2019

      Jan, contracts can be added to your current membership if the use year is the same and the names on the contract are the same. If use year or names are different, then a 2nd membership is created for the new contract. If you purchased in 2005 you will retain the incidental benefits regardless of whether you purchase the add-on direct or resale.

  • Rob
    May 31, 2019

    Hi, I have 2 contracts that were purchased resale, the 1st was 100 points at Saratoga in 2015 and the 2nd was 130 points at Animal Kingdom in 2017. Both contracts have the same use year. If I sell the Saratoga contract will I lose my access to membership extras?

    • Nick Cotton
      May 31, 2019

      Rob, great question. Unfortunately, since your 2017 contract is not grandfathered in (not purchased before 4/4/16), if you sold your 2015 contract you would lose access to Membership Extras unless you purchase 75 points or more direct.

      • Rob
        June 1, 2019

        Thanks Nick

  • O. GARCIA
    April 23, 2019

    Hi Nick , first congratulations , this is an excellent and very helpful article . I just have one question if you don’t mind, I purchased my first contract with dvcresalemarket in 2018 , and so far I don’t have any points bought direct from Disney. How many points do I have to purchase direct to qualify for the “incidental benefits” now ?

    • Nick Cotton
      April 23, 2019

      O. Garcia, to qualify for the incidental benefits you would need 75 points or more purchased direct. And I’m happy to read you found the article helpful, thank you!

  • Amanda C
    January 12, 2019

    Hello! Looking to buy resale and potentially buy some direct for the incidental benefits. However I saw the recent announcement regarding the restriction of resort usage if contracts are bought resale. Based on the news I’m hearing, some folks will also be grandfathered in if purchased before a particular date in the next week or so. Question on any “grandfathered” rules/perks – what keeps Disney from changing the “grandfather” status and revoking some of those benefits to contract holders that made the original deadlines for purchase period? Are these specifically outlined in contracts or is it “subject to change”. Thank you!

    • Nick Cotton
      January 12, 2019

      Amanda – Disney has never advised or asked us to put “a subject to change” clause on any of the grandfathered in language so I would not anticipate Disney to go against what they had established in grandfathered in contracts.

      • Amanda C
        January 18, 2019

        Thanks Nick! I appreciate your response.

  • Charlie
    December 18, 2018

    how does it work if I am gifted a dvc contract that? Would I have to buy my own points to get the benefits?

    • Nick Cotton
      December 18, 2018

      Charlie, the benefits will continue for gratuitous transfers. For example, if a parent passes away and leaves the Membership to their children (18 years or older), the children will receive the benefits if the Membership already had them.

  • Rick Maffei
    October 26, 2018

    Nick – I’m a new interested buyer. I’m guessing once CCV is sold out, prices will increase again, before Riviera is available. Our Guide has OKW for $151/pt, BLT for $191/pt, or CCV for $183/pt. I’m not interested in Aulani, so would I be wise to buy OKW direct 75 pts for member extras, then watch the resale market for same resort, same UY for additional pts? Most blogs advise resale first. We like OKW, but also like BLT for the conveniences of MK proximity.
    My thinking is buy OKW or BLT direct, 75 pts, then get additional at resale. Advice?

    • Nick Cotton
      October 27, 2018

      Rick – If you are looking to match same resort and same UY with a direct and resale purchase as you’ve mentioned it will be easier to buy resale first. Direct’s inventory is typically much more vast and they can divide contracts into smaller sizes. Additionally, when you buy direct there is not the threat of ROFR. For all those reasons the direct purchase will be easier to match what you have purchase with resale vs. doing it in reverse. Between OKW and BLT it really depends on what you prefer. BLT will generally be harder to get into due to its proximity to MK, and because it is smaller in size (roughly 40% less rooms).

      In regards to long term economics, BLT usually wins as well, please see: https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/blog/best-economical-dvc-resort-to-purchase-fall-2018/

      Another thing to keep in mind if you go with OKW is that the majority of OKW contracts sold in the resale market are not extended, so end in 2042. All contracts sold by Disney are extended to 2057. With your resale purchase, if you want the deed years to match you will need to buy an Extended OKW contract in resale, which is possible but to get the size and UY you want too may take awhile, especially if you have already bought direct and you are very specific to UY. The only other option would be to buy a non-extended OKW contract in resale and extend it with Disney after closing. However, last time I checked the extension was roughly $25/pt.

  • Jeanie
    May 20, 2018

    Hi!

    If I have to buy direct from Disney at least 75 points, and the only properties available are copper creek or Aulani, and then I buy the rest of my points resale at my preferred resort, which will be considered my home resort?
    The one with the most points (at resale) or the one with less points but bought directly from Disney?

    Thanks!

    • Nick Cotton
      May 20, 2018

      Jeanie, actually in this case you will have 2 Home Resorts. You would have 75 points of Home Resort Priority at Copper Creek or Aulani and you will have x amount of points of Home Resort of Priority at your preferred resort you purchase via resale.

      Also, keep in mind you can buy points at some other resorts direct too. This way, it may be possible to have all your points from the same resort buying both resale and direct. What is your preferred resort?

  • Kris Reisner
    May 14, 2018

    Does the perk for tables in wonderland come with resale? I have gotten conflicting reports about this and even gotten different responses from cast members. Don’t want to plan on getting it this summer to use for our three trips in a rolling year and then be left holding the bag

    • Tammy Scott
      November 25, 2018

      With just DVC you are supposed to be able to buy the Tables in Wonder Land card. However, anyone with an Annual pass or any Florida residents can buy the card. It is not just a DVC thing.

  • Barry Hull
    April 7, 2018

    We originally purchased 230 points at Saratoga Springs through a resale site prior to April 2016 so we get most of the incidental benefits associated with DVC. However, we have found it difficult to get reservations at other resorts even during slow times. So, we’d like to sell some of our Saratoga Springs points but keep enough to continue receiving the incidental benefits and buy into the Boardwalk resort which we prefer over Saratoga Springs. How many Saratoga Springs points do we need to keep to continue receiving the other benefits?

    • Nick Cotton
      April 7, 2018

      Barry, you would need to maintain at least 75 points. If the 230 points is all in one contract though, you will not be able to retain just 75 points as contracts cannot be split. However, if your 230 points consist of multiple contracts you would be able to sell one contract while keeping the other or others.

  • Amy B Krajci
    April 5, 2018

    Hi we just closed with you in March. Any idea if we can purchase discounted annual passes? Or is that an incidental?

    • Nick Cotton
      April 6, 2018

      Amy, the current discount on annual passes is an incidental benefit, and you would not be eligible for that discount without owning 75 points purchased directly through Disney.

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