Another Disney Visa question: using for everyday purchases AND 0% vacation financing

[Jen D]

We just got a new Disney Visa and we are planning on now using it in lieu of our debit card for shopping and bills to try to rack up rewards points. We will pay all of this in full every month.

Except... I am interested in possibly utilizing the 6 month, 0% interest deal on booking packages. Could come in handy. But will this be a problem when I make my payments on my regular charges? I know many cards insist on applying the payment to the balance with the lowest finance charge. So for instance when I make my monthly $1800 payment or whatever on all my household charges would they instead apply it to my vacation package that I am supposed to have six months to pay off? Does using the card for other things negate the benefit of getting 0% interest on vacations?

Anyone with experience here let me know.

Also, when you book the package do you only pay the deposit or do you have to put the entire amount on the card at once or do you wait until 45 days before?

I'm kind of afraid of using it for the vacation package because of this issue.
I usually pay in full well in advance anyway but I like the flexibility of the six month deal.

 

[BethR]

We just got a new Disney Visa and we are planning on now using it in lieu of our debit card for shopping and bills to try to rack up rewards points. We will pay all of this in full every month.

Except... I am interested in possibly utilizing the 6 month, 0% interest deal on booking packages. Could come in handy. But will this be a problem when I make my payments on my regular charges? I know many cards insist on applying the payment to the balance with the lowest finance charge. So for instance when I make my monthly $1800 payment or whatever on all my household charges would they instead apply it to my vacation package that I am supposed to have six months to pay off? Does using the card for other things negate the benefit of getting 0% interest on vacations?

Yes it will. Unless you use the card EXCLUSIVELY for your Disney vacation, you willl end up paying interest. Kind of stinks, doesn't it?

when you book the package do you only pay the deposit or do you have to put the entire amount on the card at once or do you wait until 45 days before?

You can pay the deposit and you don't have to pay the balance until 45 days before.

I'm kind of afraid of using it for the vacation package because of this issue.
I usually pay in full well in advance anyway but I like the flexibility of the six month deal.

I just had this dilemma this past week. I had to pay the balance on our trip and because I use the card all of the time for our daily purchases, we basically lose out on the 6 months free interest. Grrrrrr! I will have to pay the ENTIRE credit card balance (including our trip balance) if I don't want to pay ANY interest. It is infuriating...

 

[Michigan Minnie]

I have done this. I use my Disney Visa for all purchases during the month and then pay it off when I get the bill. I also used it to purchase a package last year. As long as I paid the entire balance (other than the package amount) I did not get charged any finance charges. I paid down the vacation balance a little at a time during those 6 months with no finance charges also.
When I purchased the package, I believe I had to put a deposit down right away and then the balance at 45 days out.
Hope this helps

 

[BethR]

I have done this. I use my Disney Visa for all purchases during the month and then pay it off when I get the bill. I also used it to purchase a package last year. As long as I paid the entire balance (other than the package amount) I did not get charged any finance charges. I paid down the vacation balance a little at a time during those 6 months with no finance charges also.
...
Hope this helps

REALLY??? I did not know this!!! Well, if that is the case, then I will pay down our trip balance gradually over the next 6 months.

 

[poohj80]

Maybe you could use the Disney Visa for normal purchases but when you use it for a vacation package, back off using it for the everyday things for awhile.

 

[branv]

If your card is brand new and you got the same special I did, you may be okay. We just got ours, and it included 6 months vacation financing AND 6 months free interest on all purchases. As long as you pay every single thing off in 6 months, then you're good If you don't know, I'd call and ask what offer you recieved.

 

[LorieDisneyLover]

I have done this too!

When I rec'd my first statement with the disney vacation charge it clearly separated out the 'promo 0%' charges.

For instance, let's say my package was $3000 and I charged that in May 2005. Also, in May 2005 I charged about $1000 in grocercies, etc.

Now... normally I pay my balance in full to avoid any finance charges. When I received my bill in June I paid the $1000 in grocercies, etc and subtracted out the amount of the vacation package. This worked perfectly (as per a talk with customer service to insure this would work).

Then in July I rec'd my bill and vacation promo is still listed separated. I paid my July bill which included any charges I made besides the vacation packages.

I haven't accurred any finance charges.

Now... there is a little catch I discovered that you need to be sure you watch for. In the above scenario when I paid the $1000 for the groceries, etc. I had also had a credit that month of a couple hundred dollars from things I had returned to stores. That credit -- because it was over and above what I owed for the charges that month -- went against the vacation package bringing the amount I owe on that less -- therefore I can no longer subtract out the original $3000 I charged for the vacation .... only what remains of the balance ... which is fine with me and works well.

Just be sure to pay the entire amount you charged that month and you will have no finance charges.

 

[Jen D]

Thanks everyone. And yeah, now that you mention it branv, I think there is some sort of introductory period where there are no interest charges on anything anyway.

Anyone know if this card includes rental car coverage?

 

[Kira G.]

Just another person confirming that you can use your card ongoingly and keep the 0% financing for Disney packages.

We booked our Free Dining Package in June, and I called Chase and asked about this before we put our deposit down - we would not be able to afford it without having the 6 months payoff period at 0%, and were unwilling to pay finance charges, so if the answer was "no" we were not booking the package.

They confirmed that it would stay at 0% even if we continued to use the card, and we have had 2 billing cycles since then which have confirmed that. Also, we got our card last September, so this is not just true for new cardholders.

So don't worry! It's an actual Disney Visa perk, not a trick! (and now we will be in WDW in 8 days!)

 

[cynjam]

Thought I should let you know about something I found out the hard way. Last Feb. I put $1000 deposit for a cruise on my Disney Visa, and it showed up in "special promo' area. I paid my "new purchases" balance each month along with payments toward the $1000 deposit. No problems. In July I put the remaining balance of my cruise on the same card. The 6 months for the deposit ends in Aug., the 6 months for the remaining balance ends in Jan. '06. However, when I made a separate payment to pay off the Deposit amount, they (Chase) applied the payment to the remaining balance that's not over until Jan. When I called to have it fixed they told me I couldn't decide where they applied my payments. So now, I have to come up with more money to pay off the remaining balance and the deposit before the end of this month. So much for 6 months free financing.

 

[Jen D]

Good to know Cynjam! Sorry that happened to you. So if I put down a deposit amount I should have that totally paid off before I pay for the rest of the package, I guess.

 

[LorieR]

Just caught up with this thread. This answered a lot of my questions but I did have one more regarding the 0% interest for 6 months on packages -- when are the reward dollars for the packaged added? Are they added for the month when you book the package (like any usual purchase) or are they added after the full amount is paid off?

Thanks.
Lorie

 

[cynjam]

I think they add the points when you are charged, not when you pay for it.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Yeah, personally, I'd be VERY hesitant to use this deal. I don't like having an outstanding balance on the CC period. IF something should happen, and for some reason you couldn't pay off your balance one month (or you just made a mistake even), you'd be screwed because you'd have to pay charges on the entire amount. Trust me, Chase is counting on people doing just that. And if you do screw up, they can raise the interest rate they charge you - read the fine print on your agreement. Not only that, but the Disney card cycles twice each month, making it even worse.

Avoid the temptation, unless you have enough reserve funds sitting in a savings account earning interest, and and you like to gamble a little, and even then, I'd rather pay it off.

 

[airplane]

Just caught up with this thread. This answered a lot of my questions but I did have one more regarding the 0% interest for 6 months on packages -- when are the reward dollars for the packaged added? Are they added for the month when you book the package (like any usual purchase) or are they added after the full amount is paid off?

Thanks.
Lorie

I just called Chase about this. I'll give you my scenario:
I am going to WDW Oct 13. I paid for the remainder of my vacation package right at the 45 day mark (aug 29) so I would have more time toward the 0% interest grace period. At that time I also ordered my Rewards Card. They did not add the rewards from my $4000.00 package yet b/c the WDW Travel Company did not submit the charges to Chase yet. So I had to wait until my next billing cycle (9/20) to get the points transfered over to my Rewards Card. Just make sure you if you make any big purchases and you need the points, ASAP, that you make the purchase at the beginning of you billing cycle. If this is confusing, let me know and I will try to explain it better.