Beware-Bad Disney Visa Change in Policy

[inkkognito]

Warning for anyone who uses the Disney Visa special offer to pay for your Disney cruise. A friend called me this morning and said they changed the way they apply the payment. I always get confused with that sort of thing, so here is part of what he emailed to DCL (he is hoping they can pressure Chase to change the terms back since Disney's name is attached to it). Hopefully those of you who this will effect will understand what he is saying and how it might affect you if you're carrying more than one cruise with a promo on your card:

I just wanted to let you know that Chase has made a change in their payment application policy that effectively eliminates the 0% interest promotion that you have on your website.

The old Chase policy always paid off the promotional balance with the shortest due date first. Their new policy flips that and now pays off the balance on the promotional balance with the longest due date first.

On our January statement, we had an $870.04 outstanding balance from our 1/2/10 Eastern which was due to expire on 3/27/10, and a $250 deposit balance on our May, 2011 cruise that was due to expire on 7/27/10.

We paid the entire $870.04 balance off (or so we thought) when we made our visa payment on 2/19/10.

Chase, however, applied the first $250 of that payment to the May, 2011 deposit, and left $250 outstanding on the $870.04 balance, effectively eliminating the 6-month promotion.

 

[vicki_c]

I thought the new cc laws required them to apply any payment to the balance with the highest interest rate first.

Do your 2 things have different interest rates?

The other thing I saw written on my credit card statement (not Chase necessarily just one I saw) was that you are now required to make a minimum payment on promotional (no interest) balances -- or something like that.

 

[inkkognito]

I'm not sure how the Disney Visa promo actually works but I think it is zero percent on each cruise so they should be using the dates to determine where the $$ goes.

 

[vicki_c]

I'm not sure how the Disney Visa promo actually works but I think it is zero percent on each cruise so they should be using the dates to determine where the $$ goes.

Check your statement though -- usually on page 2 where it shows the promo stuff and shows what the interest will be if you don't pay it off in 6 months. If you have 2 different future interest rates, that might explain it. Maybe. I'm certainly no expert on the new credit card law!

 

[Evil Queen 2]

Was the $250 deposit put on your account during the month of January? If so they probably considered it a "current" charge and applied the payment to that.

I got caught that way on one of mine last year. I was paying off the 0% interest balance in a separate payment from my monthly charges. (money was coming from a different bank account). Because the timing was after my payment due date but before my billing cycle closed they took the 2nd payment and applied to the new charges on my account, which left a balance still owing on the 0% portion.

I called Chase and after much back and forth they basically said that was the way it had been and it would not change. I moved up the line through various supervisors but they all said the same thing and would not change the way the payment was applied.

So for me it has become more of a watch the billing closing date vs. 0% final payment date.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

Was the $250 deposit put on your account during the month of January? If so they probably considered it a "current" charge and applied the payment to that.

I got caught that way on one of mine last year. I was paying off the 0% interest balance in a separate payment from my monthly charges. (money was coming from a different bank account). Because the timing was after my payment due date but before my billing cycle closed they took the 2nd payment and applied to the new charges on my account, which left a balance still owing on the 0% portion.

I called Chase and after much back and forth they basically said that was the way it had been and it would not change. I moved up the line through various supervisors but they all said the same thing and would not change the way the payment was applied.

So for me it has become more of a watch the billing closing date vs. 0% final payment date.

the OP was posting for me, and the $250 on my january statement clearly indicated that it was the promotional rate, and was due in July. Chase told me when I called that they had changed their policy, and their new policy was now to apply the payment to the one that will accrue the largest amount of interest before it's due. They also pointed out that 0% isn't really 0%, it's really 6 months of deferred accrued interest at whatever your quoted regular interest rate is, so in their eyes it has the highest liability exposure under the new regs.

The bottom line is that their change in policy, while technically legal, effectively makes the DVCard perk moot. They indicated that starting with this month's billing cycle they will always apply your monthly payment to the 0% promotional charge first, and then to the "normal" stuff second. So, unless you pay your entire bill off each month, you'll end up getting bitten severely...

caveat emptor

 

[Im_A_Princess]

I stopped putting the Disney Cruises on the Chase card a long time ago because they always changed the way they applied payments.
I pay off the "normal" balance every month.
Sometimes they would apply it to the deferred cruises and then charge me a late fee on the "normal" monthly charges. After numerous problems like the ones mentioned above and them doing that...I just pay it all off now.
They could not even explain why they process the way they do.
No more deferring for me.

 

[Im_A_Princess]

The bottom line is that their change in policy, while technically legal, effectively makes the DVCard perk moot. They indicated that starting with this month's billing cycle they will always apply your monthly payment to the 0% promotional charge first, and then to the "normal" stuff second. So, unless you pay your entire bill off each month, you'll end up getting bitten severely...

So basically there is no more deferred payment and interest free Disney vacations on the Chase Disney Card.
At least I always was under the impression it was deferred interest free. Why else would you put it on the card if they charged interest? It would then be the same as putting it on any other card.

I just gave up on it all after spending lots of time each month on the phone since a least a year ago. Not worth it.
Disney cruises do not seem to take as long to get on anymore. And if they do my debit card works better than the Chase card these days for cruises.

 

[carmie3377]

I just got off the phone with Chase. First guy I spoke to didn't have a clue. Kept telling me that payments have always been applied to 0% promo balances first then current charges. I insisted I speak to a supervisor. This is what I was told:

When there is a promo balance out there, it is 0% for 6 months. But, if the promo balance is set to expire in less than 2 months, they start applying all payments to that promo balance first. Since I pay my current charges each month, I told him then it isn't for 6 months, it's 4 months. He insisted it is 0% for 6 months. I informed him that you can't say it's 6 months if I am then forced to pay my current balance + the promo that is set to expire in 2 months to avoid interest. Sure, I could still pay just my current charges but if the promo that is set to expire in 2 months is paid off first, it leaves that amount in current charges unpaid that will start to accumulate interest. He then told me that I was correct. SO, THE ONLY WAY TO AVOID ANY FINANCE CHARGES IF YOU HAVE PROMOS EXPIRING IN LESS THAN 2 MONTHS AND USE THE CARD FOR OTHER CHARGES IS TO PAY YOUR CURRENT CHARGES PLUS THE PROMO ESSENTIALLY MAKING IT A 4 MONTHS NO INTEREST. The only way the 6 months no interest would be effective is if you don't use the card for anything else.

I asked him about payments being applied to the promo with the largest balance first and he said it is not true. I'm not saying you weren't told that, I'm just saying what he said. Who knows what is actually true. I think I'm going to call back and see if I can get a different answer.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

I just got off the phone with Chase. First guy I spoke to didn't have a clue. Kept telling me that payments have always been applied to 0% promo balances first then current charges. I insisted I speak to a supervisor. This is what I was told:

When there is a promo balance out there, it is 0% for 6 months. But, if the promo balance is set to expire in less than 2 months, they start applying all payments to that promo balance first. Since I pay my current charges each month, I told him then it isn't for 6 months, it's 4 months. He insisted it is 0% for 6 months. I informed him that you can't say it's 6 months if I am then forced to pay my current balance + the promo that is set to expire in 2 months to avoid interest. Sure, I could still pay just my current charges but if the promo that is set to expire in 2 months is paid off first, it leaves that amount in current charges unpaid that will start to accumulate interest. He then told me that I was correct. SO, THE ONLY WAY TO AVOID ANY FINANCE CHARGES IF YOU HAVE PROMOS EXPIRING IN LESS THAN 2 MONTHS AND USE THE CARD FOR OTHER CHARGES IS TO PAY YOUR CURRENT CHARGES PLUS THE PROMO ESSENTIALLY MAKING IT A 4 MONTHS NO INTEREST. The only way the 6 months no interest would be effective is if you don't use the card for anything else.

Therein lies the problem. We had a current charges balance+a promotional balance that was set to expire in two months+a promotional balance that was set to expire in 6 months. Had they applied the payments in the order you were told, there would not be an issue. We paid an amount equal to the entire current balance and the entire two-month promo balance. They paid off the current balance first - so far so good. However, they then flipped the last two and applied the first $250 of the remaining payment to the 6-month promo first - wiping it out alltogether, and not to the 2-month promo - leaving that one with a $250 balance that is now due along with our current "regular" charges.

 

[NancyIL]

I have paid for my two Disney cruises with my Disney Visa. Because I didn't want to have any problems with the 0% financing, I always paid the entire balance when the bill was due. Fortunately - they were relatively inexpensive 4-night cruises.

 

[jimmyc17]

Had the same thing happen to us with other credit cards. Was surprised Disney Chase held out this long.

 

[tvguy]

Sadly, the President and Congress's push to "reform" credit card rules are at the heart of these changes and it impacts every credit card out there. It certainly wasn't the intended that way, but sometimes politicans can't see the clouds for the rain. They were warned.
I wonder if this will prompt them to move the incentives from zero interest to on board credits?

 

[beachbratt]

we have 2 cards and 1 is used only for the cruise and we pay it off in 6 pmts and the other we use when needed to earn the Dis dollars and pay it in full so no interest either way....

 

[WeLuvDCL]

Warning for anyone who uses the Disney Visa special offer to pay for your Disney cruise. A friend called me this morning and said they changed the way they apply the payment. I always get confused with that sort of thing, so here is part of what he emailed to DCL (he is hoping they can pressure Chase to change the terms back since Disney's name is attached to it). Hopefully those of you who this will effect will understand what he is saying and how it might affect you if you're carrying more than one cruise with a promo on your card:

I just wanted to let you know that Chase has made a change in their payment application policy that effectively eliminates the 0% interest promotion that you have on your website.

The old Chase policy always paid off the promotional balance with the shortest due date first. Their new policy flips that and now pays off the balance on the promotional balance with the longest due date first.

On our January statement, we had an $870.04 outstanding balance from our 1/2/10 Eastern which was due to expire on 3/27/10, and a $250 deposit balance on our May, 2011 cruise that was due to expire on 7/27/10.

We paid the entire $870.04 balance off (or so we thought) when we made our visa payment on 2/19/10.

Chase, however, applied the first $250 of that payment to the May, 2011 deposit, and left $250 outstanding on the $870.04 balance, effectively eliminating the 6-month promotion.

It's been this way for years (unless they have been changing back and forth?). I had this same problem at least 2 years ago. And when I called Chase the op actually laughed at me when I was trying to explain my issue. I should have reported her but I didn't. I no longer use my Disney Visa except for 0% interest promotions. Everything else just goes on my Discover card and earns me at least 1% cash back. I'm not playing Chase's silly little game anymore and they will not get one more cent of interest out of me.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

we usually do three cruises a year, so typically we always have at least two promo lines going at the same time - occasionally three. Over the past three yeras there has never been an instance where they applied payments in reverse order. They've always applied from shortest to longest. TVGuy is probably right. With the change in CC law, the CC companies stand to lose 10's of Billions in revenue, and they're on record as saying they need to find "new" ways to recoup. Fine, just not on my dime. The DVCC is now fully paid off and officially retired from my wallet. In fact, I think I'll start paying for my disney fixes with my RCCL card from now on...

 

[carmie3377]

Well, half the time the operators are clueless. Once last year, I called because I had a question about the order they apply extra payments to promos when you have more than one w/different dates. The operator kept arguing with me telling me that that anything over the minimum is applied to 0% first (same thing I was first told this morning before insisting to speak to a supervisor). I told them no, it didn't and to look at my past statements as I always send in full payment minus promo balances (it was the last month of the first promo balance). Finally he asked someone and said "Oh, well, that's how all other Chase plans work but I guess Disney is different." Never did get my answer at that time about what order they apply extra payments as I just decided to pay off both promo balances at the same time. One was due that month, one the next month. So, at least until recently, they waited until the promo was actually up before applying payments toward it.

Obviously, Chase has a call center that answers calls for all their cards. One thing I can give them credit for, they always have someone that speaks clear English. I can't imagine trying to get information out of them if I couldn't understand half of what they said like my Citi card.

 

[quinnc19]

It seems the only way around this is to use your Disney card only for Disney vacations. Won't Chase will lose money on this in the long run At least from me they will.

 

[sayhello]

It seems the only way around this is to use your Disney card only for Disney vacations. Won't Chase will lose money on this in the long run At least from me they will.

I'd think you're right. They'll lose money in the long run. But in the short run, they're sure to make tons of extra interest & fees from people who don't understand the new rules.

Sayhello

 

[Sleepyluke]

We have never had a Disney Visa, but one of our old cards got bought by Chase. I have never dealt with so many inept people in my life. They are the one reason that we ahve never gotten the Disney Visa. We paid our card off every month for the most part with the exception of a few vacations and they were 2-3 months, and they NEVER applied the payment right, held checks 2-3 weeks before posting to get late fees and all of the above. After almost a year, they finally closed the account, but that was only after numerous phone calls, several letters, and finally a letter to the state attorney general telling them basically whatever they are doing to our credit is out of our control because we tried to close the account numerous times. The new rules change things, but they have always had payment issues...