Understanding Stripped vs Loaded Contracts

So here's a conversation I have probably three times a week. Someone calls me up and says, "Mark, I found two contracts at the same resort, same number of points, but one is $20 per point cheaper. What's the catch?" And the answer is almost always the same: one contract is loaded with points, and the other one is stripped. That price gap exists for a real reason, and understanding it can save you thousands of dollars or help you start vacationing months sooner than you expected.

I've been brokering DVC resale contracts for over 25 years now, and this loaded-versus-stripped question comes up more than almost anything else. People get confused by it. They see two listings side by side and can't figure out why there's such a big difference in asking price. Let me break the whole thing down for you in plain English.

What Does "Loaded" Actually Mean?

A loaded DVC contract means the current year's points (and sometimes banked points from the prior year) are still sitting there, unused, ready for you to book a vacation the moment the sale closes. Think of it like buying a house where the seller left the fridge fully stocked. You're getting something extra on top of the property itself.

Here's what that looks like in practice. Say you're buying a 150-point contract at Saratoga Springs with an October use year. If the contract is loaded, you might be getting all 150 points for 2026, maybe even 150 banked points from 2025 that haven't expired yet. That's potentially 300 usable points waiting for you on closing day.

Those points have real dollar value. If you were renting DVC points from someone, you'd pay somewhere around $18 to $21 per point depending on the resort and the season. So 300 available points? That's roughly $5,400 to $6,300 worth of vacation sitting in the account.

A fully loaded contract gives you immediate flexibility. You can book a trip right after closing. You don't have to wait for your next use year to roll around. For a lot of families, that's the whole reason they're buying resale in the first place. They want to take a trip THIS year, not next year.

What Does "Stripped" Mean?

A stripped contract is the opposite. The seller has already used the current year's points, maybe rented them out, or let them expire. When you buy a stripped contract, you're buying the ownership and future point allocations, but you won't have any usable points until your next use year comes around.

Back to our Saratoga Springs example. If that same 150-point October use year contract is stripped, you'd close the sale and then... wait. Your first batch of points wouldn't show up until October 2026 (or whenever the next use year falls). If it's November and the contract just had its points allocated and immediately rented out by the seller, you could be waiting almost a full year before you can book anything.

Some contracts fall somewhere in between. Maybe the seller used half the points and there are 75 remaining. Or maybe current year points are gone but there are banked points still available. Every contract tells its own story, and you have to read the listing details carefully to understand exactly what you're getting.

How Being Loaded or Stripped Affects the Price

This is where the math gets interesting. On average, a loaded contract sells for about $5 to $15 more per point than an equivalent stripped contract at the same resort. The exact premium depends on the resort, how many points are included, and current market conditions.

Let me run through a real-world scenario. Two contracts pop up at Boulder Ridge, both 160 points with a December use year:

• Contract A (Loaded): $135 per point. All 160 points for 2026 available, plus 120 banked from 2025. Total purchase price: $21,600. Available points: 280.
• Contract B (Stripped): $120 per point. Zero current year points, zero banked. Total purchase price: $19,200. Available points: 0.

The price difference is $2,400. But the loaded contract comes with 280 usable points. If you value those points at $19 each (a conservative rental rate), that's $5,320 worth of vacation included in that $2,400 premium. You're essentially getting $5,320 in value for $2,400 extra. That's a pretty good deal.

But wait. You can't just look at it that simply. You also need to factor in closing costs and the $500 Disney administration fee that every buyer pays regardless of the contract type. Those fixed costs don't change whether the contract is loaded or stripped. On a cheaper stripped contract, those fixed costs represent a higher percentage of your total investment. Something to keep in mind.

The Value Calculation You Should Actually Do

Here's the framework I walk buyers through. Grab a calculator or open a spreadsheet.

Step one: figure out the total price difference between the loaded and stripped options. In our example, that's $2,400.

Step two: count the available points in the loaded contract. We had 280.

Step three: divide the price premium by the available points. $2,400 divided by 280 equals roughly $8.57 per point.

Step four: compare that number to what you'd pay to rent points. Current rental rates run $18 to $21 per point. You're getting those included points for $8.57 each instead of $19 or $20. That's less than half the rental value.

Any time the per-point premium works out to less than $15 or so, I'd say the loaded contract is the better deal. You're getting immediate vacation value at a discount. When the premium creeps above $15 per point for the included points, it starts making more sense to buy stripped and either wait for your allocation or rent points separately for your first trip.

I explain this same calculation in more detail in our complete buyer's guide, but the short version is: do the math, don't just go by gut feeling.

How Loaded Contracts Affect ROFR Risk

Here's something a lot of buyers don't think about. Disney has the Right of First Refusal on every resale transaction, and they tend to exercise it more often on loaded contracts. Why? Because Disney gets the same deal you do. They get the ownership AND all those available points at whatever price you negotiated.

Think about it from Disney's perspective. If they buy back a stripped contract at $120 per point, they get the deed and future allocations. If they buy back a loaded contract at $135 per point, they get the deed, future allocations, AND 280 points they can immediately put into their rental inventory or use for direct sales perks. The loaded contract is just more attractive to them.

I've watched this pattern play out hundreds of times over the years. Disney's ROFR behavior isn't random. They're running a business, and loaded contracts at reasonable prices are exactly the kind of deals they like to snap up. If you're buying a loaded contract at a below-market price, your ROFR risk goes up significantly.

That doesn't mean you should avoid loaded contracts. It means you should price them appropriately and not try to lowball. A fair-market offer on a loaded contract will usually pass ROFR. A steal-of-a-deal on a loaded contract? Disney might grab that one for themselves.

When Buying Stripped Makes Sense

Stripped contracts aren't bad deals. They're just different deals. Here are the situations where I'd actually recommend going stripped:

You're not in a rush. If your first DVC trip is 8 or 10 months away, you might not need points right now. Buying stripped, saving the per-point premium, and waiting for your allocation is perfectly logical. Patience pays in this market.

You're adding on to an existing membership. If you already own DVC and you're adding points at a second resort for the 7-month booking window, you probably have enough points in your existing contract to cover your next trip. The add-on contract is for future years.

Your use year timing works out. Understanding how use years work is critical here. If you buy a stripped February use year contract in January, your new points are literally one month away. That's barely a wait at all. The use year calendar can make a stripped contract almost as good as a loaded one depending on when you close.

Budget is tight. Sometimes the loaded premium pushes a contract outside your budget. A stripped 200-point contract might cost the same as a loaded 160-point contract. If you need those extra 40 points annually for the next 30-plus years, the stripped contract with more points is the smarter long-term play.

You're planning to bank and borrow anyway. Some buyers have a specific trip in mind that requires banking points from one year into the next. If your strategy involves combining two years of points for a big trip, starting with zero doesn't really matter since you're accumulating toward a future reservation either way.

When Buying Loaded Is the Move

On the flip side, here's when loaded contracts make clear sense:

You want to vacation NOW. This is the big one. If you're buying DVC because you have a trip planned for the next few months, you need points in the account. A stripped contract won't help you. Period.

The math works out in your favor. When the per-point premium for included points comes in under $12 or $13, you're getting a genuine bargain. Those are points you'd have to rent for nearly double that price. Take the deal.

You want maximum flexibility in year one. Having a large bank of available points lets you book premium rooms during peak seasons. You can try out a Grand Villa or a Bungalow at the Polynesian without worrying about not having enough points. That first year of ownership should be exciting, and loaded points make it exciting.

You're buying at a resort with limited availability. Some resorts book up fast at the 11-month window. If you buy loaded at a popular resort like Riviera or Polynesian, you can start making reservations immediately and grab those hard-to-get dates before they disappear.

Partially Loaded Contracts: The Middle Ground

Not every contract fits neatly into "loaded" or "stripped." Plenty of listings fall somewhere in between. Maybe the seller used 60 of their 200 points, leaving 140 available. Or they have all current year points but no banked points.

These partially loaded contracts can actually be the sweet spot. The seller typically prices them lower than fully loaded because they can't advertise "all points available," but you still get a chunk of usable points on closing. Run the same math I outlined above. Calculate what you're paying per included point and compare to rental rates.

I see a lot of buyers skip over partially loaded contracts because they want the "perfect" listing. Meanwhile, a contract with 70% of its points available at a fair price can be a better value than a fully loaded one where the seller is charging a hefty premium.

Watch Out for These Red Flags

A few things to be careful about when evaluating loaded versus stripped listings:

Banked points with short expiration windows. If banked points expire in two months, they're not as valuable as points that are good for another 10 months. Make sure you know when banked points expire and whether you can realistically use them before they vanish.

"Current year points available" without specifics. Always ask for the exact number. "Points available" could mean 200 out of 200, or it could mean 12 out of 200. Good brokers list the exact point breakdown. If a listing is vague, that's a yellow flag.

Sellers who stripped the contract by renting points. This happens more than you'd think. A seller lists their contract, and while it's sitting on the market, they rent out the current year's points for some extra cash. The listing might have been loaded when it first appeared but is stripped by the time you make an offer. Always verify point status before submitting your offer.

Use year timing traps. A "loaded" contract with a use year that just started isn't the same as one where the use year ends in six weeks. In the second scenario, any unused points need to be banked immediately or they're lost. Make sure you understand the timeline.

Real Numbers: What the Premium Looks Like Across Resorts

Based on transactions I've seen over the past year or so, here's a rough idea of the loaded premium at different resorts:

• Saratoga Springs: $5-$8 per point premium for loaded
• Old Key West: $5-$8 per point premium
• Animal Kingdom Villas: $8-$12 per point premium
• Beach Club: $10-$15 per point premium
• Polynesian: $10-$15 per point premium
• Riviera: $8-$12 per point premium
• Boulder Ridge: $6-$10 per point premium

The higher the base price per point, the higher the loaded premium tends to be. That tracks logically. Points at Beach Club are worth more than points at Saratoga Springs, so having them available in the account commands a bigger markup.

You can browse current pricing across all DVC resorts to see where loaded and stripped contracts are falling right now. Prices shift month to month, so checking recent sales data is always better than relying on numbers from six months ago.

The Bottom Line

Loaded versus stripped isn't a question of which is "better." It's a question of which is better FOR YOU, right now, given your budget, your timeline, and your vacation plans.

If you can afford the premium and you want to start vacationing immediately, loaded is almost always worth it when the math checks out. If you're patient, budget-conscious, and playing the long game, stripped contracts offer genuine savings that compound over the decades you'll own the timeshare.

Run the numbers. Compare the per-point premium to rental rates. Factor in your use year timing. Think about ROFR risk. And if you're still not sure, give us a call. I've walked thousands of buyers through this exact decision, and I'm happy to look at specific contracts with you and break down what makes sense.

Check out our current resale listings and you'll see both loaded and stripped contracts across every resort. The descriptions tell you exactly how many points are available. No guessing required.