Best way to pay for Dcl. Gift cards, credit cards help

[frostymom]

I know there are countless threads about this. Without having to read through thousands of posts would anyone update me on the current situation of how to save the most money will paying off a Disney cruise. Thank you!

 

[Marionnette]

I know there are countless threads about this. Without having to read through thousands of posts would anyone update me on the current situation of how to save the most money will paying off a Disney cruise. Thank you!

• Find a credit card with no annual fee for the first year and a huge sign up bonus. Fund a DVA using the credit card. Extra bonus if the credit card recognizes the DVA for multiplied points. There are a lot of different rewards CCs. You need to find one that suits your needs the best.
• Buy Disney GCs at a discount on the face value. Too many methods to list in a single post and they change constantly. Fund a DVA with those GCs and pay off your trip.

In either case, you get a $20 Disney GC for every $1K you spend from the DVA.*

*Restrictions apply. Check the DVA website for terms and conditions.

 

[havaneselover]

Best for me is to buy Disney gift cards at Kroger when they run 4x fuel points using my Amex Blue Preferred. Then deposit gift cards in my DVA.

 

[frostymom]

lingo...DVA?

 

[calypso726]

I know there are countless threads about this. Without having to read through thousands of posts would anyone update me on the current situation of how to save the most money will paying off a Disney cruise. Thank you!

That would depend on your timing and resources. Since the question is about saving the most money then I will go with applying for a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card in branch (offer ends March 12) for the 100,000 UR point bonus, that comes with a $300 annual (calendar year) travel statement credit. The 100,00 UR points are worth $1500, the travel credits between now and next January will be $600 and you can downgrade the card to a no fee one when the AF hits next March. The annual fee is $450. So, that gives you $2,100 - $450 AF for a net $1,650 savings towards the cruise just for getting the card and meeting the requirements to get the bonus. Purchase the cruise through the UR portal.

You can also purchase 5% discounted Disney gift cards and fund a DVA (Disney Vacation Savings Account) with them. After 120 days of having the account open you pay for the cruise with the DVA and earn an additional $20 gift card per $1,000. Together that is a 7% savings.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

lingo...DVA?

DVA = Disney Vacation Account

https://disneyvacationaccount.disney.go.com/

 

[havaneselover]

That would depend on your timing and resources. Since the question is about saving the most money then I will go with applying for a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card in branch (offer ends March 12) for the 100,000 UR point bonus, that comes with a $300 annual (calendar year) travel statement credit. The 100,00 UR points are worth $1500, the travel credits between now and next January will be $600 and you can downgrade the card to a no fee one when the AF hits next March. The annual fee is $450. So, that gives you $2,100 - $450 AF for a net $1,650 savings towards the cruise just for getting the card and meeting the requirements to get the bonus. Purchase the cruise through the UR portal.

You can also purchase 5% discounted Disney gift cards and fund a DVA (Disney Vacation Savings Account) with them. After 120 days of having the account open you pay for the cruise with the DVA and earn an additional $20 gift card per $1,000. Together that is a 7% savings.

But it's not worth $1,500 to pay for a Disney cruise since you can't buy a Disney cruise through the rewards portal.

And I'm closer to 15% on Disney gift cards. 5% is the bare minimum.

 

[frostymom]

I had no idea disney had this DVA. I have a lot of reading to do!

 

[havaneselover]

I had no idea disney had this DVA. I have a lot of reading to do!

As far as I know the bonus is only good for spending in 2017. They may extend it. My final payment for Alaska is April 2018 but I'll probably pay it all this year if they don't extend the bonus. The DVA is ok if it works like it should, but I've heard horror stories about it. They don't stop me from using it but just make sure you understand some of the issues people have run into.

 

[frostymom]

I have 2 cruises to pay for this year. I'm a cash girl. I have been for years. I am a Dave Ramsey Financial University grad. Until recently I didn't have a credit card for several years. Only my mortgage! However I read about how people save so much money using credit cards and gift cards and paying for trip using miles I'm ready to try this. I am so incredibly confused about all of these methods and lingo with them. My first Disney Cruise needs to pay off so I can begin booking by July 8th. I just thought I would be paying cash but why pay cash when there's so many offers I can utilize.

I think I am going to listen to advice to fund my DVA account with $10 so it's open and I can get the perk of having a open a hundred and twenty days then I'm going to buy gift cards using my rewards Visa from Sam's Club? Is that the best deal? And then using the gift cards into the DVA?

 

[havaneselover]

I have 2 cruises to pay for this year. I'm a cash girl. I have been for years. I am a Dave Ramsey Financial University grad. Until recently I didn't have a credit card for several years. Only my mortgage! However I read about how people save so much money using credit cards and gift cards and paying for trip using miles I'm ready to try this. I am so incredibly confused about all of these methods and lingo with them. My first Disney Cruise needs to pay off so I can begin booking by July 8th. I just thought I would be paying cash but why pay cash when there's so many offers I can utilize.

I think I am going to listen to advice to fund my DVA account with $10 so it's open and I can get the perk of having a open a hundred and twenty days then I'm going to buy gift cards using my rewards Visa from Sam's Club? Is that the best deal? And then using the gift cards into the DVA?

There isn't really a best deal. Your route is a good one. Open the DVA asap so you can pay by 7/8 and have it opened for 120 days.

 

[KalamityJane]

But it's not worth $1,500 to pay for a Disney cruise since you can't buy a Disney cruise through the rewards portal.

And I'm closer to 15% on Disney gift cards. 5% is the bare minimum.

Same - you can really stack deals. 5% is when I go through my DVA cash and didn't have time to wait for a better deal. Even then, I will still get closer to 7% (Target RedCard - you can get the debit card if you don't want the credit + DVA)

 

[WDWNY]

In either case, you get a $20 Disney GC for every $1K you spend from the DVA.*

*Restrictions apply. Check the DVA website for terms and conditions.

I didn't know there was a benefit for using DVA. maybe i should start using it.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

But it's not worth $1,500 to pay for a Disney cruise since you can't buy a Disney cruise through the rewards portal.

And I'm closer to 15% on Disney gift cards. 5% is the bare minimum.

No, but she could earn enough points to fly for free. That's a huge help. She could either book flights through the UR portal or convert them to SWA points and book through Rapid Rewards.

I always rebook my next cruise while onboard for the 10% discount and OBCs which my TA matches. So far I haven't found a better way. I have the Chase Sapphire Preferred so using that to pay for any travel/dining is 2 pts per $. When flights are free, paying for the cruise alone is not as bad.

 

[havaneselover]

No, but she could earn enough points to fly for free. That's a huge help. She could either book flights through the UR portal or convert them to SWA points and book through Rapid Rewards.

I always rebook my next cruise while onboard for the 10% discount and OBCs which my TA matches. So far I haven't found a better way. I have the Chase Sapphire Preferred so using that to pay for any travel/dining is 2 pts per $. When flights are free, paying for the cruise alone is not as bad.

True but not everyone flies in (we always drive to Port Canaveral from Central VA). The CSR 100,000 points is ending soon in branch so it's not that practical of an option for most at this point (though certainly worth mentioning). I used my 100k points for flights to MCO and a week on site at universal. I'll pay for my next cruise with gift cards--that's my optimal strategy but it's different for everyone

 

[calypso726]

But it's not worth $1,500 to pay for a Disney cruise since you can't buy a Disney cruise through the rewards portal.

And I'm closer to 15% on Disney gift cards. 5% is the bare minimum.

That's not what I've read from the bloggers and from someone else here on the DIS that have done it. I have read that you can book a Disney cruise with your UR points but you have to call UR to do it. But even if that has changed and you couldn't do it through UR anymore, you could still redeem the UR points for a statement credit after paying for the cruise with the card. So that is still over $1,000 savings on the cruise.

That is an awesome savings! My happy place on buying Disney gift cards is at least 5% off on the purchase and earning 5 miles/$ for the purchase at the same time.

 

[havaneselover]

That's not what I've read from the bloggers and from someone else here on the DIS that have done it. I have read that you can book a Disney cruise with your UR points but you have to call UR to do it. But even if that has changed and you couldn't do it through UR anymore, you could still redeem the UR points for a statement credit after paying for the cruise with the card. So that is still over $1,000 savings on the cruise.

That is an awesome savings! My happy place on buying Disney gift cards is at least 5% off on the purchase and earning 5 miles/$ for the purchase at the same time.

Didn't know that--but then would you give up any possible TA rebate/OBC? I get 8.5% back from Costco. Between gift cards and Costco I'm hoping to save about $2,000 on my next Disney cruise (this includes my mom's cabin).

 

[calypso726]

Didn't know that--but then would you give up any possible TA rebate/OBC? I get 8.5% back from Costco. Between gift cards and Costco I'm hoping to save about $2,000 on my next Disney cruise (this includes my mom's cabin).

I would imagine so if using the UR points to book, but don't know for certain as I've never done it myself. Using the points as a statement credit though, you would not since you are just paying for the cruise with your CSR and then using your points to pay the statement.

That is a great savings! I remember reading about some of the methods of stacking and churning to increase the savings on the Disney gift cards before the Target Red card hack was shut down on the Disney gift cards thread. After uncrossing my eyes and clearing my head, I decided focusing on trying to get 5X miles and 5% off was about as complex as I was ever going to get

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Didn't know that--but then would you give up any possible TA rebate/OBC? I get 8.5% back from Costco. Between gift cards and Costco I'm hoping to save about $2,000 on my next Disney cruise (this includes my mom's cabin).

So if you booked through the UR portal, is Chase your travel agent? Because you can generally book direct with the cruise company and then have your listing transferred to a travel agent, such as Costco. I know many people book cruise bounce back offers while still on the ship and have the reservation transferred to their travel agent. So I guess it would depend if when you book through the Chase portal if Chase is assigned as the travel agent or if they are actually booking for you direct through Disney and you could still transfer the reservation to a travel agent. It might be worth a call to find out, for future knowledge.

Also, when you book with UR points by calling them, can you just make a partial payment, such as a cruise deposit and then pay off the remainder before the deadline? Because in that case, I would use as many UR points as I had and then load a DVA account with either discounted gift cards or I would use my CSR to get 3x points and the 2% bonus to pay for the remainder.

The potential almost makes me want to save up my UR points towards a Disney cruise in a few years.

 

[frostymom]

thanks for the responses. I'm a little confused with lingo but have a better idea.
I have opened the Dva, have a reward card from bank and swa.

I found a gift card dealer...gift card granny..anyone with knowledge about that site. seems they are 5% off...