We did it! FW purchase at RIV

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Sooo after a lot of discussion and debate, we decided that adding 50 more points now is probably cheaper than at any other point in the future (assuming direct and not part of a larger purchase), so we emailed our guide to switch to 300 points, split between FW 49 for 135, and then two smaller at 85 and 80. Good gracious but the deadline today is, uh...inspiring lol.

Why did we switch FW? Honestly, while Week 7 is soo good on paper, I don't know that we'd personally really use it. Even if we go for Princess race weekends, that's more likely to be a Tuesday-Tuesday trip or shorter, especially at that time of year when the points chart is higher.

I've always enjoyed the holiday decorations at Disney, and hubs' birthday is in mid-December, which is another reason to take vacations around then. FW 50 would have been more optimal to coincide with his birthday, but we picked 49 for hopefully lighter crowds and missing the Sorcerer pass block out dates.

3 slightly smaller contracts seems like it might be advantageous if we ever decide to sell any/all, and even though we won't have one single contract with the "magic 150" on it, we'll have a few different options for combining and deciding how many points to keep down the road.

Would love some reassurance this is a good move though...what do you think?

I know I’ve been vocal about Weeks 39 and 7 being good ‘deals’ relative to point charts and hopefully a solid hedge should you need to sell BUT… purchasing a FW during a busy season you intend to use regularly (how FW were intended to be used!!) can also make a ton of sense especially if you don’t want to deal with the hassle of walking. This is why my other FW is Week 44. So I say if you’re happy, it’s worth it!!

 

[CanadianDVC2024]

We just bought two fixed week contracts week 26 and week 27. We like to go for two weeks straight and this ensures we can get a standard room during Independence Day weekend each year.

 

[SugarSweetLee]

I know I’ve been vocal about Weeks 39 and 7 being good ‘deals’ relative to point charts and hopefully a solid hedge should you need to sell BUT… purchasing a FW during a busy season you intend to use regularly (how FW were intended to be used!!) can also make a ton of sense especially if you don’t want to deal with the hassle of walking. This is why my other FW is Week 44. So I say if you’re happy, it’s worth it!!

Also, this way we should have enough points to book the 'normal way' at 11 months and then cancel the FW if we want

 

[SugarSweetLee]

We just bought two fixed week contracts week 26 and week 27. We like to go for two weeks straight and this ensures we can get a standard room during Independence Day weekend each year.

Congrats! 2 weeks in a row sounds like a dream.

 

[Genie+]

Sooo after a lot of discussion and debate, we decided that adding 50 more points now is probably cheaper than at any other point in the future (assuming direct and not part of a larger purchase), so we emailed our guide to switch to 300 points, split between FW 49 for 135, and then two smaller at 85 and 80. Good gracious but the deadline today is, uh...inspiring lol.

Why did we switch FW? Honestly, while Week 7 is soo good on paper, I don't know that we'd personally really use it. Even if we go for Princess race weekends, that's more likely to be a Tuesday-Tuesday trip or shorter, especially at that time of year when the points chart is higher.

I've always enjoyed the holiday decorations at Disney, and hubs' birthday is in mid-December, which is another reason to take vacations around then. FW 50 would have been more optimal to coincide with his birthday, but we picked 49 for hopefully lighter crowds and missing the Sorcerer pass block out dates.

3 slightly smaller contracts seems like it might be advantageous if we ever decide to sell any/all, and even though we won't have one single contract with the "magic 150" on it, we'll have a few different options for combining and deciding how many points to keep down the road.

Would love some reassurance this is a good move though...what do you think?

I think both decisions sound good.

One downside of add-on-itis is the increased cost/point when adding to same resort later. So if it’s likely you’ll want those points any time soon, rolling it into one purchase will almost always be less money. Let’s face it, around here on DIS most of us wish we bought more originally and when it would’ve cost less. We bought 150pts VGF last year and quickly wished we went to 200pts lol. That’s VERY common.

December FW is also something we regretted not doing with our purchase. It’s such a popular time of year between a very fun WDW season and low season point chart. The 2 major roads that can happen is Dec keeps getting harder to book, or DVC increases point chart to solve the demand. FW proves useful in both cases.

 

[Genie+]

I'd read a much more recent post mentioning the option, which is what prompted me to ask my guide. I suppose it's possible he was wrong, but he did mention some things about FW had changed in general so maybe that was one of them. Because we decided to split up our points a different way (asked about 135FW + 114FW plus 1; instead decided on 153FW + 97), I didn't press the issue further since it didn't matter for our purchase.

This might be because the FW is sold as a complete contract and any points sold beyond that need to be separate contract and meet minimum requirement of that resort?

Thinking from the other side, like if you went on to sell them, the FW cannot be broken up so that 1pt would be selling by its lonesome. For that purpose 25pts has been the lowest minimum and I think 50pts is minimum at many resorts today.

 

[mistysue]

When I look at the Welcome home, I'm seeing an amount for 150+ points, 200+ points, or 250+ points. Is there an additional amount for 300+ points that is not on the site?

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Also, this way we should have enough points to book the 'normal way' at 11 months and then cancel the FW if we want

Exactly!!

 

[SugarSweetLee]

This might be because the FW is sold as a complete contract and any points sold beyond that need to be separate contract and meet minimum requirement of that resort?

Thinking from the other side, like if you went on to sell them, the FW cannot be broken up so that 1pt would be selling by its lonesome. For that purpose 25pts has been the lowest minimum and I think 50pts is minimum at many resorts today.

Yes, but more than one person on Disboards reported talking to their guide about bundling more points into a contract than the FW required (for example buying a 115 point contract for a 114 pt FW, in my example). When I asked my guide, he said it was not possible. So, either it used to be allowed and no longer is, or you just have to give enough pushback and talk to someone higher up to get it to go through. In either case, we decided to do something different.

 

[SugarSweetLee]

When I look at the Welcome home, I'm seeing an amount for 150+ points, 200+ points, or 250+ points. Is there an additional amount for 300+ points that is not on the site?

Yes, the WH incentives go up to 1000 points.

 

[crvetter]

Yes, but more than one person on Disboards reported talking to their guide about bundling more points into a contract than the FW required (for example buying a 115 point contract for a 114 pt FW, in my example). When I asked my guide, he said it was not possible. So, either it used to be allowed and no longer is, or you just have to give enough pushback and talk to someone higher up to get it to go through. In either case, we decided to do something different.

I was told I could do this, opted against the FW contract for myself personally. But what I was told was that point (well for me it was 2) would be in the FW and would be lost every time I used the FW booking. Essentially it was paying more for the FW. I was told they could only do it for a small handful of points to be added though. But this was a few years ago at this point.

 

[Genie+]

Yes, the WH incentives go up to 1000 points.

Nice!

That Welcome Home sounds hard to resist increasing $2k in the jump from 250pts ($5.5k) to 300pts ($7.5k)

 

[Sandisw]

Sooo after a lot of discussion and debate, we decided that adding 50 more points now is probably cheaper than at any other point in the future (assuming direct and not part of a larger purchase), so we emailed our guide to switch to 300 points, split between FW 49 for 135, and then two smaller at 85 and 80. Good gracious but the deadline today is, uh...inspiring lol.

Why did we switch FW? Honestly, while Week 7 is soo good on paper, I don't know that we'd personally really use it. Even if we go for Princess race weekends, that's more likely to be a Tuesday-Tuesday trip or shorter, especially at that time of year when the points chart is higher.

I've always enjoyed the holiday decorations at Disney, and hubs' birthday is in mid-December, which is another reason to take vacations around then. FW 50 would have been more optimal to coincide with his birthday, but we picked 49 for hopefully lighter crowds and missing the Sorcerer pass block out dates.

3 slightly smaller contracts seems like it might be advantageous if we ever decide to sell any/all, and even though we won't have one single contract with the "magic 150" on it, we'll have a few different options for combining and deciding how many points to keep down the road.

Would love some reassurance this is a good move though...what do you think?

Buying more RiV is always good! I think it makes a lot of sense with all you mentioned!

 

[tx911]

Also, this way we should have enough points to book the 'normal way' at 11 months and then cancel the FW if we want

Y'all are making me want a FW at RIV now, and I'm not happy about it one bit

 

[tx911]

Y'all are making me want a FW at RIV now, and I'm not happy about it one bit

Maybe the new incentives will suck and I'll be off the hook

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Maybe the new incentives will suck and I'll be off the hook

Or you can come hang out with the cool kids in Week 39 - we are all very friendly

 

[tx911]

Or you can come hang out with the cool kids in Week 39 - we are all very friendly

Hmmm, I do like you guys...

 

[Genie+]

Y'all are making me want a FW at RIV now, and I'm not happy about it one bit

I just keep taking a deep breath then saying, “Wait for Poly,” repeatedly.

 

[SugarSweetLee]

Nice!

That Welcome Home sounds hard to resist increasing $2k in the jump from 250pts ($5.5k) to 300pts ($7.5k)

Yes! We obviously found it impossible to resist

 

[SugarSweetLee]

Maybe the new incentives will suck and I'll be off the hook

There's still time...