Annual Pass Renewels

[JennyL1984]

I've read on the forums that if you use flexpay to buy your APH, you won't be able to get the discounted rate on next year's pass, but I can't find that information anywhere on the Universal website.

Also, if I buy a preferred pass now, can I upgrade to the premier pass in a few months when I'll be using the extra perks? (and have a little extra money!)

 

[damo]

If you continue with the flexpay you don't get the renewal rate.

http://www.universalorlando.com/Theme-Park-Tickets/Annual-Passes/Flex-Pay-Details.aspx

What happens at the end of my 12 month term?
Flexible Payment Annual Passes automatically renew at the end of the 12 month billing period. After the initial 12 month term, monthly payments are subject to change because you won’t be charged a down payment when you renew.


I think that once you start the flexpay payments, you are locked in for a year, so you can't change things.

 

[JennyL1984]

Thanks! Do you know of anyone that sells discounted gift cards to US? I know Costco sells bonus gift cards for Disney.

 

[cmwade77]

I live in Southern California, so we have a few theme parks here that offer monthly payments and all of them work the same way, EXCEPT Disneyland.

• You pay 1/12 of the cost of the pass upfront (i.e. your first month's payment) or a downpayment, which may or may not exceed this amount.
• You are then locked into continuing to pay for your pass for 1-2 years (depending on pass)
• After the initial term, your pass "renews" on a monthly basis and is charged 1/12 of the current cost of the pass. (Some parks allow you to lock in a renewal price and the cost for a year, but not require a commitment for another year, for example Sea World works this way).

I would imagine that it is very similar in Florida.

 

[Metro West]

I've read on the forums that if you use flexpay to buy your APH, you won't be able to get the discounted rate on next year's pass, but I can't find that information anywhere on the Universal website.

Also, if I buy a preferred pass now, can I upgrade to the premier pass in a few months when I'll be using the extra perks? (and have a little extra money!)

As long as you pay for the Preferred AP in full, you can upgrade but not if you use FlexPay. You would then pay the difference between the Preferred and Premier APs...but again you cannot upgrade using FlexPay.

 

[JennyL1984]

Thanks for the help guys!

 

[DCTooTall]

I know this thread is a couple weeks old, but I thought I'd add and clarify a few things based off information I received when it was time for my flex pay to renew.

When your initial 1yr period comes to an end, you have essentially 3 options available

1. After making your final payment, You can call in to cancel the flex account, and then renew using the current AP Renewal rate. (Your AP will then effectively be the same annual renewal cycle as one purchased in full at the start.)
2. You can let it auto-renew on the flex payment schedule. After your final payment of the initial term, you basically would take whatever the downpayment amount was, divide by 12, and add that to your existing monthly payment. The disadvantage to this is that you are basically paying the full price for the AP again instead of getting a renewal discount. The advantages however are that you are now month-to-month and can cancel at any time.... AND your monthly payment is now locked, meaning that future AP price increases [and renewal price increases] won't impact your AP cost. While you may be paying more now than if you just renewed in full, it could end up being cheaper in a few years...like after the latest expansion opens and prices get a big bump again.
3. Call and cancel the flex pay account after your final payment and don't renew.


Also, while your flex account will be dated for the purchase date, Your AP valid period wouldn't start until you actually activate your pass at the parks. So say you bought your pass the beginning of June, but didn't go to the park until the beginning of July, You would essentially still have an extra month to use your pass after you cancel your flex pay account.

 

[senseoffender]

I'm kinda confused...

My fiance and I are looking to buy Non-Florida annual passes (because we plan on being there enough days this October, it would be silly not to). I was not aware there was a discount for a renewal.

Would we be eligible for this? Even if we don't live in Florida, and we only go for the Power Pass (the lowest, I believe)?

If so, what kind of discount might we expect? I ask this because one of us was considering the FlexPay, but if the discount is good enough for renewal, perhaps we should both pay it all at once.

Thanks so much!

 

[Metro West]

I'm kinda confused...

My fiance and I are looking to buy Non-Florida annual passes (because we plan on being there enough days this October, it would be silly not to). I was not aware there was a discount for a renewal.

Would we be eligible for this? Even if we don't live in Florida, and we only go for the Power Pass (the lowest, I believe)?

If so, what kind of discount might we expect? I ask this because one of us was considering the FlexPay, but if the discount is good enough for renewal, perhaps we should both pay it all at once.

Thanks so much!

Annual passes have the same renewal rate for everyone so it doesn't matter if you're a FL resident or not. The resident discount comes into play when you purchase...not when you renew.

 

[senseoffender]

Annual passes have the same renewal rate for everyone so it doesn't matter if you're a FL resident or not. The resident discount comes into play when you purchase...not when you renew.

Okay, great. Thanks!

If we can, sounds like we should just pay up front so we can potentially get the discount, however much that may be.

 

[DCTooTall]

I'm kinda confused...

My fiance and I are looking to buy Non-Florida annual passes (because we plan on being there enough days this October, it would be silly not to). I was not aware there was a discount for a renewal.

Would we be eligible for this? Even if we don't live in Florida, and we only go for the Power Pass (the lowest, I believe)?

If so, what kind of discount might we expect? I ask this because one of us was considering the FlexPay, but if the discount is good enough for renewal, perhaps we should both pay it all at once.

Thanks so much!

Okay, great. Thanks!

If we can, sounds like we should just pay up front so we can potentially get the discount, however much that may be.

Even if you go with the FlexPay, you can still utilize the full-payment renewal to get the discount. It works a little differently, but it can be done.

After you make your final Flex payment on your initial term, You would need to call to cancel your Flex Pay account. You can then renew your AP using the Lump-Sum method to get the renewal discount rate. This will then convert your AP to the annual payment cycle instead of the monthly payment cycle.

 

[Rip]

I know this thread is a couple weeks old, but I thought I'd add and clarify a few things based off information I received when it was time for my flex pay to renew.

When your initial 1yr period comes to an end, you have essentially 3 options available

1. After making your final payment, You can call in to cancel the flex account, and then renew using the current AP Renewal rate. (Your AP will then effectively be the same annual renewal cycle as one purchased in full at the start.)
2. You can let it auto-renew on the flex payment schedule. After your final payment of the initial term, you basically would take whatever the downpayment amount was, divide by 12, and add that to your existing monthly payment. The disadvantage to this is that you are basically paying the full price for the AP again instead of getting a renewal discount. The advantages however are that you are now month-to-month and can cancel at any time.... AND your monthly payment is now locked, meaning that future AP price increases [and renewal price increases] won't impact your AP cost. While you may be paying more now than if you just renewed in full, it could end up being cheaper in a few years...like after the latest expansion opens and prices get a big bump again.
3. Call and cancel the flex pay account after your final payment and don't renew.


Also, while your flex account will be dated for the purchase date, Your AP valid period wouldn't start until you actually activate your pass at the parks. So say you bought your pass the beginning of June, but didn't go to the park until the beginning of July, You would essentially still have an extra month to use your pass after you cancel your flex pay account.

Also be aware, if you purchase an AP using flex-pay and you wait until you activate it, then decide to cancel flex-pay at the end of 12 months you must renew your AP within 30 days of cancelling your flex-pay. I was not made aware of this and I attempted to renew within 30 days of my AP expiring (which is when you normally renew to get the discounted rate) and was informed that it couldn't be done because it had been more than 30 days since the flex-pay had been discontinued.

 

[Metro West]

Okay, great. Thanks!

If we can, sounds like we should just pay up front so we can potentially get the discount, however much that may be.

You're welcome and I would advise paying all at once...if you can. It's less confusing and you don't have to fool with making monthly payments...even though they will be charged automatically. Just remember...the discount you're speaking of is not on the purchase but the renewal. You will need to wait a year until the pass is ready to expire before you'll get the discounted renewal rate.

 

[freediverdude]

I can confirm what DCTooTall is saying. I have been on the flexpay for several years now (I think the pass was purchased in 2007). And my monthly payment has stayed the same all that time, I think it is $16 and some change per month. So times 12, I'm currently paying less than the current preferred pass price, although I don't know what the current renewal price is.

Oh, and to add, one time when I was on the phone with Universal to change my credit card expiration date, I did ask what the procedure would be if I wanted to upgrade to the premier pass. They told me at that time that I would have to completely cancel my preferred pass flexpay plan, like I was cancelling the pass, and start with a brand new premier pass with new down payment and everything.

 

[senseoffender]

You're welcome and I would advise paying all at once...if you can. It's less confusing and you don't have to fool with making monthly payments...even though they will be charged automatically. Just remember...the discount you're speaking of is not on the purchase but the renewal. You will need to wait a year until the pass is ready to expire before you'll get the discounted renewal rate.

Yeah, sounds like paying all at once is a winner. And yeah, I understand the discount won't apply til a renewal, which we don't know if we will renew yet, but it'd be nice to see some savings if we do.

Thanks again.