Question about fixed week

[TinkB278]

I purchased a fixed week in October and was wondering if at the 11 month window if my week were still available, could I cancel and rebook it to save the extra points we spent on making it a fixed week? If so, what would be the best way to go about this? Wake up at 7 am on the 11th month mark to make sure it’s available and then call to member services to have them cancel/rebook? I wish that there was a way to cancel a FW without having to call member services to do it.

 

[Lorana]

I purchased a fixed week in October and was wondering if at the 11 month window if my week were still available, could I cancel and rebook it to save the extra points we spent on making it a fixed week? If so, what would be the best way to go about this? Wake up at 7 am on the 11th month mark to make sure it’s available and then call to member services to have them cancel/rebook? I wish that there was a way to cancel a FW without having to call member services to do it.

Yes, it is possible to do this. You’d need to call to have it cancelled but MS could also rebook it for you, though there’s always the risk you’d lose it if there’s a waitlist filled or someone snags it between cancelling and rebooking.

 

[Sandisw]

The key is that if you have a room that goes quickly at 11 months, the call to MS loses you an hour,

It also means that when your room is put back into the system, the CM may not be able to get it back if others are on trying to book as well.

 

[masupo]

Thank you for asking this question - I was wondering about it myself. I have my Welcome Home call with MS scheduled for tonight and that was one of my questions. But everyone here on the board always knows more!

 

[RoseGold]

I thought you could cancel before the 11 month mark?

 

[Sandisw]

I thought you could cancel before the 11 month mark?

Actually, you are right, Owners have to opt out more than 30 days out. If it’s less than 30 days, the points are in holding. Here are the rules:

 

[masupo]

I thought you could cancel before the 11 month mark?

You can cancel it before 11 months. But the balancing act we're talking about is holding onto the fixed week reservation until the 11 month window opens. That's when you can see whether there's availability to reserve the week at the standard point total, rather than paying the point premium of the fixed week.

The risk is in trying to cancel the fixed week (to get some points back) and reserve the same dates at the same time.

 

[Sandisw]

You can cancel it before 11 months. But the balancing act we're talking about is holding onto the fixed week reservation until the 11 month window opens. That's when you can see whether there's availability to reserve the week at the standard point total, rather than paying the point premium of the fixed week.

The risk is in trying too cancel the fixed week (to get some points back) and reserve the same dates at the same time.

I just read again what I posted and i misunderstood.

So, it goes back to needing to call to opt out and you’d need to either do it the day before So you can try at 8 am at the 11 month window. Or cancel it at 9 am that day by which time it would be gone.

I think the question to MS is if you cancel on that day, does your room go back as soon as it’s canceled?

 

[masupo]

I just read again what I posted and i misunderstood.

So, it goes back to needing to call to opt out and you’d need to either do it the day before So you can try at 8 am at the 11 month window. Or cancel it at 9 am that day by which time it would be gone.

I think the question to MS is if you cancel on that day, does your room go back as soon as it’s canceled?

I chatted with MS earlier and she confirmed that you need to call in to cancel the FW then you can make the new res on the phone or online. She suggested telling them on the call what I'd be trying to do, but there's no guarantee.

It's an interesting experiment I'll try at some point. My FW 44 at RIV is 130 pts vs 118 pts currently. In 2021, the same week will be 123 pts with the reallocation.

I think I'm going to keep my Nov 2021 guaranteed reservation because of the 50th. It'll be worth the 7 points. But after that I'll be willing to play the game of Fun With Fixed Weeks

 

[BWV Dreamin]

The fixed weeks have not been booked right at 11 months. If your points are still there, book the room you want with the points, then call MS to make sure they don’t book your GW.

 

[TinkB278]

The fixed weeks have not been booked right at 11 months. If your points are still there, book the room you want with the points, then call MS to make sure they don’t book your GW.

Do you know at about what point the FW reservation is made?

 

[Sandisw]

Do you know at about what point the FW reservation is made?

I have read anywhere from one week early or one week later.

 

[Lorana]

The fixed weeks have not been booked right at 11 months. If your points are still there, book the room you want with the points, then call MS to make sure they don’t book your GW.

I was told by my guide that if you use your year's point in an existing reservation and thus are not available 12-11 months in advance, that is the same as having cancelled your FW. Can anyone with a FW who has done this confirm if it's true?

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I was told by my guide that if you use your year's point in an existing reservation and thus are not available 12-11 months in advance, that is the same as having cancelled your FW. Can anyone with a FW who has done this confirm if it's true?

I have also read this but have not personally did it. Last year, our December FW was not booked until January. They assured us it would be there to book but were behind in making the reservations. So in theory I could have booked at the 11 month mark as the points were still available. But I didn’t and just waited for Disney to make the reservation.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I was told by my guide that if you use your year's point in an existing reservation and thus are not available 12-11 months in advance, that is the same as having cancelled your FW. Can anyone with a FW who has done this confirm if it's true?

I can’t say I know 100% but that’s the way it should be and MS would not cancel an existing reservation to make something new. However the fixed week is supposed to be booked prior to 11 months. If someone has used the points elsewhere it would be completely different dates and again MS should not be able to then cancel it.

 

[EYL]

Sorry to bring up an older thread, but I have a related question for clarification and didn't want to start a new one...

With a fixed week, are my points locked to book other dates before the FW is booked and until I cancel the fixed week with MS?

For example, if I have a December FW (June UY), I know that the FW will be automatically booked approximately in December a year beforehand. What if during that November, I decided to use the points to book a room in October and foregoing my FW? Will I be able to? Or would I have to wait until the system books my December Fixed Week, cancel it, and then be able to use the points to book October?

 

[RoseGold]

With a fixed week, are my points locked to book other dates before the FW is booked and until I cancel the fixed week with MS?

There's no reservation to be locking up the points. It just shows as available points, like any contract. If you book something with them, like borrow against them or whatever, it won't do it because you don't have enough.

 

[Sandisw]

Sorry to bring up an older thread, but I have a related question for clarification and didn't want to start a new one...

With a fixed week, are my points locked to book other dates before the FW is booked and until I cancel the fixed week with MS?

For example, if I have a December FW (June UY), I know that the FW will be automatically booked approximately in December a year beforehand. What if during that November, I decided to use the points to book a room in October and foregoing my FW? Will I be able to? Or would I have to wait until the system books my December Fixed Week, cancel it, and then be able to use the points to book October?

Yes, you can book and then they won’t fill the FW because the points are gone.

I don’t know if you need to notify them after you book something or not.

But, nothing prevents you from using the points.

 

[Lorana]

Sorry to bring up an older thread, but I have a related question for clarification and didn't want to start a new one...

With a fixed week, are my points locked to book other dates before the FW is booked and until I cancel the fixed week with MS?

For example, if I have a December FW (June UY), I know that the FW will be automatically booked approximately in December a year beforehand. What if during that November, I decided to use the points to book a room in October and foregoing my FW? Will I be able to? Or would I have to wait until the system books my December Fixed Week, cancel it, and then be able to use the points to book October?

You can just use the points as you normally would for any other reservation. However, it means they will NOT book your fixed week at the 12-month mark, because the points are not there/already used.

In other words, fixed week (which really are Guaranteed Weeks!) contracts are exactly like other point contracts UNTIL 12 months before your guaranteed week. At that point, DVC confirms your Guaranteed Week and moves the points into the booking for that week. Once that happens, you can cancel at any point and get the points back for that week (the points spent on the week, not the points it actually is to book the week. This is where it can get confusing, because once the reservation is made, the reservation will show the number of points it would cost to book that week normally, not the number of points your guaranteed week cost you to purchase. When you cancel, you'll want to call MS to make sure you get the correct number of points back. It did not happen automatically/correctly for me last year when I did so on my account).

 

[EYL]

You can just use the points as you normally would for any other reservation. However, it means they will NOT book your fixed week at the 12-month mark, because the points are not there/already used.

In other words, fixed week (which really are Guaranteed Weeks!) contracts are exactly like other point contracts UNTIL 12 months before your guaranteed week. At that point, DVC confirms your Guaranteed Week and moves the points into the booking for that week. Once that happens, you can cancel at any point and get the points back for that week (the points spent on the week, not the points it actually is to book the week. This is where it can get confusing, because once the reservation is made, the reservation will show the number of points it would cost to book that week normally, not the number of points your guaranteed week cost you to purchase. When you cancel, you'll want to call MS to make sure you get the correct number of points back. It did not happen automatically/correctly for me last year when I did so on my account).

Thank you (and the others) for responding. It's been very helpful. We are looking at a guarantee week that we may use 50% of the time and wanted to make sure that there are no negative effects if we use the points before the GW is booked by DVC. This also sounds like a good way out of a GW without needing to call MS to cancel your GW - just use some of the points beforehand and you won't need to call.