Best way to purchase Annual Passes

[Prowler]

Hi everyone, I am purchasing Florida resident annual passes for a family of 5. I am looking for insight on which way you think is best to purchase. We will purchase 4 Power Pass and 1 Preferred. The Power Pass is 164.99 and the Preferred is 224.99. When I spoke to a US customer service rep they explained I could pay the total cost now and would get discount pricing next year if I continued to pay the full amt @ time of purchase but he could not tell me the cost of the passes this yr to compare. The other option is I could do the Flex Pay and my ticket price would not change for as long as I pay for the passes. I had read somewhere that the Preferred Pass renewal this yr is $159. Which way would you guys and gals recommend I purchase my passes and why?
Thanks for your responses in advance!!

 

[Rip]

Hi everyone, I am purchasing Florida resident annual passes for a family of 5. I am looking for insight on which way you think is best to purchase. We will purchase 4 Power Pass and 1 Preferred. The Power Pass is 164.99 and the Preferred is 224.99. When I spoke to a US customer service rep they explained I could pay the total cost now and would get discount pricing next year if I continued to pay the full amt @ time of purchase but he could not tell me the cost of the passes this yr to compare. The other option is I could do the Flex Pay and my ticket price would not change for as long as I pay for the passes. I had read somewhere that the Preferred Pass renewal this yr is $159. Which way would you guys and gals recommend I purchase my passes and why?
Thanks for your responses in advance!!

You can actually do Flex Pay first, then cancel it and renew at the discounted rate next year provided you pay it in full at the time, however it's a little tricky. I got burned on it because you have to write the people in charge of Flex Pay that you are not going to continue once your initial balance is paid in full, then you have to renew your AP within 30 days of that rather than when the pass itself actually expires. I cancelled Flex Pay appropriately, but since I had done it about 3 months prior to activating the passes, I didn't renew it at the time. When I tried to renew it at the "normal" window, I was informed that I couldn't because with Flex Pay the window is when you actually made the initial payment.

 

[Metro West]

To keep things simple...pay for the AP all at once if you can. Flex Play is nice but can get complicated so just do it at one time.

 

[Prowler]

You can actually do Flex Pay first, then cancel it and renew at the discounted rate next year provided you pay it in full at the time, however it's a little tricky. I got burned on it because you have to write the people in charge of Flex Pay that you are not going to continue once your initial balance is paid in full, then you have to renew your AP within 30 days of that rather than when the pass itself actually expires. I cancelled Flex Pay appropriately, but since I had done it about 3 months prior to activating the passes, I didn't renew it at the time. When I tried to renew it at the "normal" window, I was informed that I couldn't because with Flex Pay the window is when you actually made the initial payment.

With the current promo that US is running I would get 15 months for the cost of a year. I would then have to cancel and renew within 30 days of the 12th month or the 15th month? So I can get the discount rate on year 2 even though I did flex pay the 1st year. I can see how timing will be key on this.

So you feel its better to take the yearly discount cost opposed to locking in at the current price forever with flex pay?

 

[Prowler]

To keep things simple...pay for the AP all at once if you can. Flex Play is nice but can get complicated so just do it at one time.

So you feel the one time payment with annual discount outweighs the locking of the price with flex pay?

 

[Metro West]

So you feel the one time payment with annual discount outweighs the locking of the price with flex pay?

Just for sheer ease? Yes. As I stated above...Flex Pay can get complicated and you're asking for trouble to do it frankly. Maybe I'm the type of person who just likes to do keep things simple? Do what ever is easier for you and your pocketbook but my opinion is to pay for it at one time.

 

[Rip]

So you feel the one time payment with annual discount outweighs the locking of the price with flex pay?

Yes, and I agree with Metro that you shouldn't fool with Flex Pay at all. I was just pointing out that you could if you really wanted to.

 

[Prowler]

I would rather pay in full (hate monthly reoccuring charges) just didnt know if I was better in the long run to price lock. I was told with flex pay I could pay the whole thing off when my 1st payment comes due. I just wanted the best deal long term.

thanks for your opinions, you know far more than I!!

 

[Rip]

I would rather pay in full (hate monthly reoccuring charges) just didnt know if I was better in the long run to price lock. I was told with flex pay I could pay the whole thing off when my 1st payment comes due. I just wanted the best deal long term.

thanks for your opinions, you know far more than I!!

It's pretty unlikely that they will raise the renewal rate over and above what the current regular rate is any time soon and that's the only time you would have been better off locking in the current rate with Flex Pay.

 

[kmc]

I would pay for them in full if you plan on renewing. I did flex pay a few years back --cancelled it and paid it off 3 months in and when it came time to renew was told that I can not get the renewal discount because I originally bought the pass using flex pay. So it was not worth it because then I had to pay full price for 3 power passes as opposed to saving $$. Also if you have AAA buy them there as you will save a little $

 

[damo]

So you feel the one time payment with annual discount outweighs the locking of the price with flex pay?

By a ton! If you get the flex pay, you don't get the huge discount for renewals. Even after a couple of years you will have saved a few hundred dollars with renewal discounts. The annual price passes aren't going to go up that much.

 

[DCTooTall]

It's pretty unlikely that they will raise the renewal rate over and above what the current regular rate is any time soon and that's the only time you would have been better off locking in the current rate with Flex Pay.

By a ton! If you get the flex pay, you don't get the huge discount for renewals. Even after a couple of years you will have saved a few hundred dollars with renewal discounts. The annual price passes aren't going to go up that much.

I COULD foresee a potential AP price bump coming after Harry Potter v2 opens, similar to how we saw one after the original WWoHP opened....

...but then again... Prices for Universal were INCREDIBLY inexpensive for years prior to WWoHP, so it may not be as big of a jump when the expansion opens.



I also don't know exactly how the 15mo promotion for residents would work for Flex Pay accounts considering it's a reoccuring charge and the way the renewals and timing work. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if it can apply to a flex pay account, if the AP just has it's expiration date extended the 3 extra months while the monthly payments continue as normal. It would be easier for Universal to handle it similar to how Flex pay works with passes purchased a month or 2 before activation, rather then to suspend the payments for 3 months after a year before then resuming them as normal. [the existing system wouldn't need to be changed any]

 

[heyitsmejosh]

i would pay for it all its much easier and if you have an AMEX i would use that to pay for them as well, because you get access to the AMEX lounge which is nice to get free drinks and stuff.