Disney Vacation Account

[DizMagic]

Does anyone have experience using the DVA with an ABD trip? Specifically, I was wondering if I have the payments put on my Disney Rewards Visa will I get the 2x rewards (I am premier) as a Disney cost and will I get the 0% interest for 6 months? I was thinking this may be a way to "finance" my upcoming Alaskan trip.

 

[tgeorge]

I have a DVA that I used for my DCL (I even used it to put an OBC to my cabine) and I used it to pay my deposit for my upcoming ABD. It worked great! You just have to have the agent book the reservation and then you have to call the 800 number to make payment (since you can't give your account number to a third party), but it was very easy! I am putting money on it to pay for the ABD in full when it is time to make final payment.

855-223-2231...that is the number you would have to call after you book it to use your DVA to pay.

I don't have a Disney Rewards Visa, but I do have a Chase Sapphire that I use that I get the points for. The charge comes through as Disney Vacation Account. I'm not sure if that will be enough for the rewards card to recognize the 2X rewards or not. Maybe someone else can help with that or maybe there is an FAQ section on the DVA page that may answer that question directly. That seems like it would be a very common question.

I will say...I've considered changing my Chase United Explorer Card to the Disney Reward Visa with Yoda on it, but I'm just not sure.....

 

[AquamarineSteph]

Okay, this may be a silly question, but what is a Disney Vacation Account and what is the benefit of having one?

 

[tgeorge]

AquamarineSteph...it is an account through Chase that you can set up (up to 5 years in advance of your trip) and make payments to it. So, it is a savings account for your Disney trip (WDW, DL, Aulani, DCL, ABD). You can set up automatic payments to it if you like. It works really nice and you can tell them what your budget is and it will calculate how much you need to save in the timeframe you have.

You get a $20 Disney Gift Card for every $1000 you spend (2% return on money). Granted, you have to spend it on something Disney, but I have niece and nephew who love Disney stuff not to mention that I'm not addicted to the Body Wash, Shampoo and Conditioner that was on the cruise...so I can easily spend it at the Disney Store. Although, if you're going to the parks or on a cruise, you can use the GC there too. Better than the return on a savings account

I just like having a separate place to save up and not one that I have to think about too much. I have an automatic withdrawal set up with my Chase Sapphire card. However, some have figure out how to work the system even more. They go to raise.com and buy Target gift cards at a reduced rate (5-10% depending on the day and what you find)...then they go to Target.com and buy Disney GC. If they have a Target Red card...they can get an additional 5% off...so that is a 10-15% savings off of a Target gift card that is then used to buy the Disney GC. Some have reported that all you need to do is check the box that you have a red card to get the 5% off, but they will then use a travel card to get the points. I have not tried this, but my friend did and she said it worked great.

Then the Gift Certificates get loaded onto the DVA.

Note...the money can be returned from the DVA, but it will go back onto the original form of payment. So, for me, it will go back to my credit card. If you have GC I have heard that they will put the money back onto the cards....so if you go that route...DO NOT throw the GC away. It can be a bit cumbersome because the cards are $50-$100 denominations, but hey...if you can save 10%, get points on your travel card and then an additional 2% from Disney...it is a little something.

But, I just go with the card to make it easy for myself

Google Disney Vacation Account...you'll see it pop up. It can probably answer any questions that you have that I wasn't able to answer

 

[Cousin Orville]

Does anyone know if you earn 2% on the money contributed in the first 120 days of the DVA? I understand you can't request a gift card before the initial 120 days after opening the DVA, but I read a DISBoards post that says the money invested in that first 120 days does not qualify for the 2% gift cards. That's not true, is it?

It seems pretty straight forward, so I'm going to give it a try. I'd also be interested if anyone knows if you still earn the rewards from a Chase Disney card. A Disney Premier Visa + the Disney Vacation Account would earn 4%.

 

[tgeorge]

Yes, you earn the 2% on all money you contribute....but, yes you do have to wait 120 days before you can request the gift card. Although, I've recently read somewhere they may change to 90 days.

But, I did earn it on all of my money that I've contributed so far (even the money I contributed when I first opened it)

My friend has a Disney Card....I'm going to ask her if she used it for her DVA to see if she got the additional benefits

 

[tgeorge]

Unfortunately, she used her Chase Sapphire as well.

Maybe someone with a Disney Chase can call and ask them? Like I said, looking at my statements, it does say Disney Vacation Account. I'm not sure what Chase considers a 'Disney charge'. Sorry I couldn't help with that question. I hope you guys are able to find the answer.

 

[calypso726]

We have used the DVA to pay for our ABD trips, DCL trips, Annual passes etc. We've already maxed out the $500 in Disney gift cards back per household. Now, it is a convenient place to consolidate our Disney gift cards. How we buy depends on whether we are focusing on miles or saving money. If focusing on miles, we purchase Target gift cards through Staples online with a Chase Ink card for 5 miles/$ then use the Target gift cards to purchase Disney gift cards through Target online with our Target Red card set as default payment to get the 5% off then edit final payment to gift cards.

Currently we are doing using a miles earning card to purchase discounted Target gift cards on Raise dot com that tgeorge mentioned above and then purchasing our Disney gift cards at Target using our store card as default and editing to gift cards at the end. We just bought $2100 in Disney gift cards for $1855 using this method. That is an 11.67% savings.

CousinOrville, I don't think that is true. We've received $20 for every $1000 we've spent through there up to the maximum amount. I know we added well over $1000 the first 120 days.

Sorry I can't answer about the Chase Disney Visa. I haven't used it with the DVA. The only thing I use it for now is the Chase early booking day for events at Epcot's Food & Wine festival.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

AquamarineSteph...it is an account through Chase that you can set up (up to 5 years in advance of your trip) and make payments to it. So, it is a savings account for your Disney trip (WDW, DL, Aulani, DCL, ABD). You can set up automatic payments to it if you like. It works really nice and you can tell them what your budget is and it will calculate how much you need to save in the timeframe you have.
...

Thank you so very much for the explanation! I really appreciate it!

 

[tgeorge]

Yes, Calypso explained the raise dot com scenario much better than I did! Thanks! I think I got myself confused with the purchase part of it

Good to hear there is someone else out there who has used it and been successful. 11% is a great savings!!

Yeah, I've gotten the rewards for all of the money I've put into the account too.

I think it is a great tool and one that we can utilize to help save a little bit. But, I too, am more focused on the travel miles for my airline or hotel...so I'll stick with that, but if you can get the Disney perks from the Disney card, I can see how that would be advantageous as well.

Happy traveling.....

 

[Cousin Orville]

Good to know. Is there a cap to the amount of Disney gift cards that can be purchased this way through Target getting the 5% off? And what is the largest amount that you can get on any one single Disney gift card from target. I'm surprised the 5% off applies to gift cards.

 

[calypso726]

I recall reading in the Budget thread that it is 3 $100 Disney gift cards per transaction. I forgot how many $50 Disney gift cards per transaction. I think these get the 5% off since they are considered entertainment cards. I usually focus on miles too but this time we decided to try for saving a little cash due to adding on a pre trip to Ireland before our ABD River cruise. We are still using miles earning credit cards though just not maxing out bonus categories.

Oh for those that collect Anerican Airlines miles, I received an email for 3 miles/$ with my AA credit card for online purchases up to 2500 bonus miles. So, the next round of Target gift cards from Raise will go on this card

 

[jakespop]

Great thread. Had no idea about this and am definitely looking into it for our next trip

 

[tgeorge]

The limit, from my understanding, is 8 x $50 cards plus 4x $100 cards. Maybe it has changed since my friend did it a couple months ago? I haven't done it yet since our trip is next year. Although, I guess it is never too early to start saving

Yeah, I'm all for getting as many miles as I can. I'll have to see if my United card is offering anything like your AA card. My husband thinks I'm crazy...except for the cruise when we were able to fly in first for free....then he was all about it

Jakespop...glad you found this helpful. I know I was very excited about it when I discovered it. Hope it works just as well for you.

 

[calypso726]

Ok I got clarification on the first 120 days. Anything you put in will count towards your first $20 gift card. Anything you spend out of it in the first 120 days will not. Therefore, just make sure the account has been open 120 days before you use it to pay for anything.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Ok I got clarification on the first 120 days. Anything you put in will count towards your first $20 gift card. Anything you spend out of it in the first 120 days will not. Therefore, just make sure the account has been open 120 days before you use it to pay for anything.

Thanks! I was wondering about this as well.

 

[Darci Thordarson]

Thanks for the great info

 

[kphamousbr]

We have used DVA to purchase dining plan , AP and paid dues without any problems . Have a magical weekend.

 

[DCPhotoGal]

I recently opened up a DVA for our upcoming ABD Wyoming trip. I did a quick calculation, and I had a little over 120 days until I had to make the payment to ABD, so I think it will qualify for the $20 gift card/$1000 spent. I am making my payments with my Chase Disney card, and I called and they confirmed that all of the regular Disney charge perks apply to these contributions (2% cashback, and 6 months no payment/interest).

In terms of gift cards, I haven't tried getting them through Target, but I was able to get discounted Disney GCs through Sams Club online with free shipping, and pay with my Chase card. You save $7 for every $150 purchased (about 5%).