Charging to your room key...help me figure this out!

[Jenny-momof3]

We've always done the DDP so haven't bothered to charge anything to our room key. But this trip we've decided to purchase the TIW card and not do the DDP.

I like the convenience of having the DDP only because I don't have to pull out $$ everytime we get something to eat! So I thought maybe I would just charge everything to the room instead.

When I go to check out will they give me an itemized print out of what we spent? I really want to keep track of what we spend by paying OOP this trip vs. DDP on previous trips so see if this makes more sense for us $$ wise. Also, I have a bunch of Disney gift cards that I would like to use to pay off our room charge...this is allowed correct?

TIA for any info you can give me!

 

[jedijill]

We've always done the DDP so haven't bothered to charge anything to our room key. But this trip we've decided to purchase the TIW card and not do the DDP.

I like the convenience of having the DDP only because I don't have to pull out $$ everytime we get something to eat! So I thought maybe I would just charge everything to the room instead.

When I go to check out will they give me an itemized print out of what we spent? I really want to keep track of what we spend by paying OOP this trip vs. DDP on previous trips so see if this makes more sense for us $$ wise. Also, I have a bunch of Disney gift cards that I would like to use to pay off our room charge...this is allowed correct?

TIA for any info you can give me!

Yes, definitely allowed! This is how I pay for things every trip now. You will recieve an itemized list of room charges on your door your last morning. You can also request an itemized list at guest services at anytime...if you want to use your gift cards you need to apply them prior to your last night (or before you hit your spending limit!) or they will charge the credit card you put on file. For example, if you are staying at a value, you have a $500 limit and would have to make sure you put your gift cards on your account prior to hitting $500 in room charges or else they will charge your credit card on file and then reset your spending limit. Hope I explained that ok...its early!

Jill in CO

 

[Jenny-momof3]

Wonderful..thanks so much! We're doing a split stay at Wilderness Lodge/ SSR so I'll need to go down the night before each checkout and apply the gift cards then?

Also...DH is concerned that someone could get a hold of one of our room keys and go have a shopping spree courtesy of us! Does Disney have any sort of policy in place to deal with something like that happening?

 

[Karenj2]

At least at PC, they had a spending limit of $500, so someone could have a spending spree, up to that limit.

I'd rather use the key card than my CC - IMHO, pulling out your regular CC has more of a chance of fraud than using the key card. First of all, if someone physically stole it, you'd notice the next time you went to buy something OR you tried to enter a park. If they just steal the number, they can't do anything with that, because the stores/restaurants have to have a physical card to swipe for the key cards (and CCs, actually).

Just a FYI (a bit off topic), take a picture - or scan - the backs of the GCs, in case THEY are lost or stolen. You'll have a better chance of getting them back if you have that info.

 

[prncess674]

the room bill will list where you charged, but not what you charged, so if you want to remember what you ordered at each restaurant you will need to hold onto the restaurant receipt and match it up to your hotel bill.

 

[ygracey]

If you know that you will be charging more to your room during your first stay than you have available on your Disney gift cards, you could just ask the front desk to go ahead and run the value of that card and post it to your room account as a credit. So let's say you know first full day in the park you know you are charging a total of at least $100 for dining. Take your $100 Disney gift card and have the front desk put that credit on your room account. You won't need to remember to bring the Disney gift card to the park with you, and you won't have to remember to switch from a credit card to the gift card before express checkout or you hit your credit limit on your room acct and they charge the card on file.

In the event you put all of the gift cards' total value on your room acct and didn't exhaust that total amount, they should be able to transfer the credit left to your new resort. We did transfers of credits all the time when I worked at Wilderness Lodge (10 years ago) and I hear they have new software at frontbdesk and it's even easier.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

1. You can deposit your Gift Cards in advance at the Front Desk of your Resort. If you do not use all the money deposited, when you check out you will receive a new Gift Card with the unused balance.

2. If you also put a CC or DC on file, they will only use that if the money deposited in Gift Cards is exceeded.

3. The charging limits are Value $500, Moderate $1,000 and Deluxe/Villas $1,500. This applies only to CC/DC; it does not apply to Gift Cards (or cash) predeposited.

4. At the water park Guest Relations we often get people who will report loss of their KTTW. We will put them in contact with their Resort Front desk which will immediately cancel the specific missing card completely. When they return to their Resort a new KTTW (with a different number) will be issued.

5. As far as someone else using the KTTW, it is actually more secure than a CC. From the system it can be seen the exact register and exact time the card was used. I would not be giving away any secrets, but I would strongly suspect that with Disney's video security they could see from the tapes exactly who used the card. Using a CC/DC the bank would have to be contacted (which could take a few days) and more than likely they could not identify the exact location of use.

 

[usnuzuloose]

If I may ask what is a TIW card?

 

[Ayla]

the room bill will list where you charged, but not what you charged, so if you want to remember what you ordered at each restaurant you will need to hold onto the restaurant receipt and match it up to your hotel bill.

Our bills in the past have shown the amounts. Maybe it's changed recently?

 

[Ayla]

If I may ask what is a TIW card?

Tables In Wonderland.

 

[Jenny-momof3]

Thanks so much for the detailed info!!

When I check in I will put my gift cards on my account then. I think this will be just as easy as having the DDP...but hopefully saving me some money! My DD's are both adults in Disney terms...yet they eat less than my 6 yr. old. Many days they just want a snack for lunch vs. a whole meal.

Definitely sounds like it will be more secure than a CC. Thanks for chiming in Cheshire!

 

[prncess674]

Our bills in the past have shown the amounts. Maybe it's changed recently?

Your hotel bill received at the end of your stay showed details of everything your ordered at each restaurant and shop? Yes it shows $100 at Ohana, but it doesn't show 3 cocktails $20, 4 dinners $80, etc.

 

[Ayla]

Your hotel bill received at the end of your stay showed details of everything your ordered at each restaurant and shop? Yes it shows $100 at Ohana, but it doesn't show 3 cocktails $20, 4 dinners $80, etc.

No, it showed the amounts of the transaction, not what was purchased.

 

[DisneyEater]

Our bills in the past have shown the amounts. Maybe it's changed recently?

I think the poster meant that they do not show itemized detail of the purchases at each restaurant, just the restaurant name and the total amount spent.

 

[puffkin]

You can also have them turn charging priveleges on/off the cards. For instance, we always stay in a 1 bedroom villa (DVC) and my mom stays with us. I turn the charging off on her card and my DS6's card so only my DH and I can charge. My mom just uses her own funds to pay for things.

 

[Ayla]

I think the poster meant that they do not show itemized detail of the purchases at each restaurant, just the restaurant name and the total amount spent.

Yes, we were saying the same thing.

 

[prncess674]

My point with saying, that they only show totals would make it hard to determine if you saved money over the DDP. Sure you will spend less if you only order sandwich and a cup of water with no dessert.

The biggest benefit to not using the DDP is you aren't ordering on Disney's term, but your own terms. DIS folks love to rave about how much they "saved" by using the DDP, but we don't dine like Disney. Maybe we want to order only a cocktail and an appetizer at a TS restaurant, or maybe we aren't hungry for dessert, but using DDP logic we ordered XX dollars worth of food (whether it is what we wanted, but we did it because it was "free" mentality never makes sense to me.