Adding Dining Plan - Financial privacy?

Sarahraegraham

Mouseketeer
Joined
Aug 8, 2016
I have a question I was hoping to get some opinions on.

I have an open DVC rental reservation. I added the dining plan on the company’s website. I understand that only the owner can add the plan for me, but what it seems like is happening here is that the company is providing my full payment (i.e. credit card number, expiration and ccv) to the owner. That seems extremely dangerous to me! Is this normal? Shouldn’t the process be that I pay the company I am dealing with, they charge me, then they have a separate transaction with the owner?

I don’t think I’ve seen or read anything about this issue on the forums or on DVC rental sites (any that I’ve researched).
 
I have a question I was hoping to get some opinions on.

I have an open DVC rental reservation. I added the dining plan on the company’s website. I understand that only the owner can add the plan for me, but what it seems like is happening here is that the company is providing my full payment (i.e. credit card number, expiration and ccv) to the owner. That seems extremely dangerous to me! Is this normal? Shouldn’t the process be that I pay the company I am dealing with, they charge me, then they have a separate transaction with the owner?

I don’t think I’ve seen or read anything about this issue on the forums or on DVC rental sites (any that I’ve researched).
That’s how I’ve always added DDP for renters via David’s. It’s just the way it has to be done 🤷🏼‍♀️
 
That’s how I’ve always added DDP for renters via David’s. It’s just the way it has to be done 🤷🏼‍♀️
Yeah, I thought that might be the case. This is my first time renting, so my first time dealing with it, and it just makes me cringe. I can’t control how well *that* person will protect my privacy, you know?
 
Just load a Disney GC with the amount you need for the dining plan. If you can only get a pre-determined amount ($50, $100, etc), buy what you need to go over the DDP by just a little. If you have multiple GC's, just make sure to consolidate them onto one at https://disneygiftcard.com/ . As an owner, I would prefer a renter to do it this way.
 


Just load a Disney GC with the amount you need for the dining plan. If you can only get a pre-determined amount ($50, $100, etc), buy what you need to go over the DDP by just a little. If you have multiple GC's, just make sure to consolidate them onto one. As an owner, I would prefer a renter to do it this way.
That’s a good idea. I will do that in the future. Wish I hadn’t already provided my cc info but what are you gonna do? Live and learn I guess.
 
Yep. That is how it works. We rent out a good many points every year, and I have done this for renters numerous times. If it were me, I would go the Disney gift card route :)
 


The one time I rented I just bought a Disney gift card in the amount of the dining plan. The gift card was the only number given to the owner.
 
As far as Disney is concerned, they'd rather you pay rack rate for the room, rather than renting a DVC member's points.

They're not going to program mechanisms to make it a safe and convenient transaction for renters.:confused3
 
Try to remember that you are renting a reservation of the owner. You are simply the guest of that owner. Until you check in, it is completely in the hands of the owner and therefore, why Disney only deals with the owner to add things like the Dining plan.

Even once a renter checks out if there were to be issues with damage or u paid charges, they will freeze and owners account until they get their renter to clear it up. While it doesn’t happen often, there have been a few owners on the hook for the charges in order to use the account.

But, for next time, the GC is a great way to go!
 
If an owner is such a bad person that they would abuse your credit card info, couldn’t they also be someone who would cancel the reservation on you?
That’s not the point. Plenty of good people have their financial information compromised because they make a mistake or it just happens. That’s life. What I don’t like is the idea that this exposes me to a preventable risk. The company can simply charge my card and use those funds to purchase a Disney gift card themselves and provide that to the owner. That’s a simple solution that solves the problem of financial privacy completely while still respecting the DVC owner rules. I don’t believe my fears are unfounded in this day and age, or that I am being unreasonable in expecting that a company keep my financial information private like every other company I do business with. Could you imagine the outrage if Amazon passed on the consumers financials to the third party sellers? Or Wal-mart? More hands equals more risk. It’s common sense business. I just can’t comprehend why these business are operating this way and no one seems to care.
 
That’s not the point. Plenty of good people have their financial information compromised because they make a mistake or it just happens. That’s life. What I don’t like is the idea that this exposes me to a preventable risk. The company can simply charge my card and use those funds to purchase a Disney gift card themselves and provide that to the owner. That’s a simple solution that solves the problem of financial privacy completely while still respecting the DVC owner rules. I don’t believe my fears are unfounded in this day and age, or that I am being unreasonable in expecting that a company keep my financial information private like every other company I do business with. Could you imagine the outrage if Amazon passed on the consumers financials to the third party sellers? Or Wal-mart? More hands equals more risk. It’s common sense business. I just can’t comprehend why these business are operating this way and no one seems to care.
Could you also use a pre-paid credit card? Load it up with the exact amount and give the rental company that number (I am assuming it would funtion like a GC, but honestly have never used one before)?
 
Could you also use a pre-paid credit card? Load it up with the exact amount and give the rental company that number (I am assuming it would funtion like a GC, but honestly have never used one before)?

Should be able to do that!

OP, what you can do, if you don't feel comfortable having given that credit card information to the rental agency is to find out whether the charge has gone through (check your company). If it has, close the account and get a new account number (let them know that you authorized that large charge by Disney).
 
If you use a gift card, be sure to keep it until after the trip. If you ever need to cancel a dining plan, the money would be returned to the gift card originally used to pay for it.
 
Could you also use a pre-paid credit card? Load it up with the exact amount and give the rental company that number (I am assuming it would funtion like a GC, but honestly have never used one before)?
Yes, I thought of that as well. They typically charge a fee, though, so I would likely go the gift card route in the future.
 
Should be able to do that!

OP, what you can do, if you don't feel comfortable having given that credit card information to the rental agency is to find out whether the charge has gone through (check your company). If it has, close the account and get a new account number (let them know that you authorized that large charge by Disney).
Thank you, yes, I plan on having the card replaced when all is said and done, just for my own peace of mind. Just another learning experience.
 
That’s not the point. Plenty of good people have their financial information compromised because they make a mistake or it just happens. That’s life. What I don’t like is the idea that this exposes me to a preventable risk. The company can simply charge my card and use those funds to purchase a Disney gift card themselves and provide that to the owner. That’s a simple solution that solves the problem of financial privacy completely while still respecting the DVC owner rules. I don’t believe my fears are unfounded in this day and age, or that I am being unreasonable in expecting that a company keep my financial information private like every other company I do business with. Could you imagine the outrage if Amazon passed on the consumers financials to the third party sellers? Or Wal-mart? More hands equals more risk. It’s common sense business. I just can’t comprehend why these business are operating this way and no one seems to care.

I think it’s because it is really a private transaction between a renter and an owner, with the broker helping connect the two. While I certainly do agree it is something you are concerned about, it comes with the risks of a rental of DVC through an owner and not booking with a company, Disney.

It’s one of the reasons I pay for LifeLock. It is worth the peace of mind for the $120 a year it costs me.

But, at least now you know and understand the ins and outs and can plan differently in the future!
 

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