Disney Vacation Club Increases Minimum Purchase | Opinion
If you’ve visited Walt Disney World at any point during the last 30 years, you may have heard a little something about Disney Vacation Club. In a nutshell, ‘cause goodness knows we could go on and on about this topic, Disney Vacation Club is a membership program. Guests who choose to buy into the program are purchasing a real estate interest that allows them the use of points which can be used to book Walt Disney World Resort hotels. [It also allows members to book at hotels and resorts pretty much anywhere around the world, but that’s a discussion for another day.]
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There are a lot of perks that come with Disney Vacation Club membership including the ability to book rooms at some of Walt Disney World’s best and most expensive resorts for what works out to be a fraction of the rack rate, discoints, member lounge access, member exclusive merchandise and even special events. However, not all Disney Vacation Club members have access to all perks.
Let me explain. . . .
If you’re thinking about buying into Disney Vacation Club, there are 2 routes you can take; buying direct from Disney or buying resale through a 3rd party vendor. Buying directly through Disney makes you what is known as a blue card member. This means that you’ll not only get a physical blue membership card, but you’ll also have access to all of the Disney Vacation Club benefits. Those Disney Vacation Club members who choose to go the way of purchasing resale are known as white card members. These members do not get a physical membership card, nor do they get most of the member benefits.
The list of reasons that you might want to buy direct from Disney or through resale is a long one. However, another reason to lean towards resale has been added to the list. . . . at least for some who have been considering Disney Vacation Club membership; minimum point requirements.
Remember those points we mentioned at the top of this discussion? The ones that you use annually to book resort hotel rooms at Walt Disney World [or other locations around the world]? Well, the amount of money you pay to become a Disney Vacation Club Member is based on the number of points you purchase. [Plus other fees, taxes and so on. . . but again. . . that’s a discussion for another day.] In order to have access to all vacation destinations and membership benefits, you’ll need to make a minimum purchase when buying direct from Disney. That minimum purchase was increased to 125 in October, but has increased again with the current minimum purchase to take advantage of Disney Vacation Club Membership benefits to 150.
This increase is not the first of its kind. Disney Vacation Club has been steadily increasing the minimum points requirements for a number of years. The minimum was increased to 75 in February 2018, 100 in September 2019 and 125 in October 2020 before arriving at the current minimum of 150. Of course, Disney Vacation Club members who met the minimum points requirement prior to the changes have been grandfathered in and will not lose their member benefits.
As is the case when anything changes, news of this increases did not sit well with some. Various reasons for disappointment and flat out frustration with Disney Vacation Club over this increase have been expressed on social media since the information was made available. Some state that this makes direct purchase of Disney Vacation Club unattainable, while others say that the benefits of buying direct don’t outweigh the savings of buying resale. Personally, I do not agree with either of those sentiments. In fact, as controversial as this opinion might be, I’m actually perfectly fine with the increase.
Specifics that fuel my personal opinion on this matter aside, because that topic is a discussion we’ll dive into some other time, I see this as a matter of 2 perspectives. On one side are those who will purchase direct from Disney so that they can enjoy the full list of Disney Vacation Club Membership benefits. Then there are those who value the savings they get purchasing resale over the membership benefits. Put in another way, they either value the full list of membership benefits or they don’t. I’m of the opinion that those who are considering Disney Vacation Club and really want the full list of benefits won’t be too swayed by the additional 25 points they’ll need to purchase in order to get those benefits. Likewise, those who are already considering resale are probably bolstering their argument to avoid direct sales due to the increase.
At the end of the day, as you might have gathered from this discussion, Disney Vacation Club is. . . . . complicated. There is a lot to consider and if you do go ahead and become a member there are lots of moving parts to keep track of. It’s also the type of thing that works differently for different people, further complicating things. While I’d love to break down in clear and concise terms how it works, what it costs and the dollar value of some benefits you may or may not have access to, it’s just not that simple. Of course, we’ll do our best to keep explaining Disney Vacation Club Membership and what you might want to know if you’re considering it in the future.
Until then, we’d love to hear your thoughts on Disney Vacation Club and the recent increase in minimum points that must be purchased direct in order to receive member benefits. Let us know your thoughts by joining the conversation HERE.
[Written: June 7th, 2021]