Did you charge WDW?

[BethR]

Although I've never heard of someone taking a short term loan on a truck to pay for a Disney trip (the interest rates on those kinds of loans are astronomical!!), I've read posts where people have maxed out 3-4 credit cards with $500-$1000 credit limits!

Send them to the Budget Board!!!

 

[jimmalru80]

We charge the whole trip and then we pay it off.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Send them to the Budget Board!!!

Good idea! Never thought of that! God knows they could use a little direction...

 

[Bellybee]

Yup we will be putting our trip on our credit card.
Life is too short to pay in advance is our view lol

 

[Eeyore2142]

I charge everything - right down to a $2.00 cup of tea at Starbucks. - all on my Disney Visa So does my husband (although he doesn't have a Disney card). We pay everything off at the end of the month every month. I think the lesson here is that just because you charge something, doesn't mean you can't afford it. I can afford to pay for my vacation in cash, but why when I can get cash back by charging it?

Now, taking out a loan against your truck....that doesn't make sense

 

[disphoto]

While it sounds like most people here are financially responsible, you have to remember that a lot of people are not. They feel they 'deserve' something, are jealous of others having/doing things, so they charge it all. A lot of people are in heavy debt today than ever before. They have a house payment, an equity line of credit, and multiple credit cards.

Would I do that? no way, but some people don't care

 

[fla4fun]

Count me in as another who uses the cc for points, but already has the money in the bank to pay it off when the bill comes. I book room only, which means they only take a deposit. So I make sure I have all the money in the bank, even the money I plan to spend on souvenirs, and then I use the card. Using a cc also helps get express checkout, which I always do. Since I don't do the dining plan, I do take cash for food, but that's the only cash I take with me.

 

[aimeeg]

I am not really sure. I did not ask. He just said that he wanted his DD to have the best posssible trip and did not care how. He was not about to go down there and say no. I understand.

My father took a loan against his Harley to pay for my wedding. We did not have enough money saved for the enitre thing. He ended borrowing $10,000 and paid it back over three years. A wedding is a little different than a vacation. Although, I am sure some would agrue about borrowing for a wedding.

Six years ago my wedding cost $18,000. People were schocked when I told them. They thought it was more like $50,000. We had a year to plan and prepare. We have planned and prepared for our WDW vacation for nine months. I would consider this a dream vacation. Our little girls are going to be spoiled to pieces. Are entire 10 day trip is only costing $3100. (Loding, Airfare, Rental Car, BBB, Dining, RPDE!)

 

[Moonstorm]

In 1999 we didn't have a major CC, so our package was paid in full before we left home. We carried about $1000 cash/debit card for food and souviners. We drove our own car, stayed on-site and didn't need anything else. I started saving at least one year in advance in order to make the week-long trip happen.

In 2006 we had one major CC, but again, spent close to a year saving to pay everything in advance, relying on the CC for emergencies only. Again, carried less than $1000 cash/debit card for food and incidentals. We flew to MCO and used Magical Express and Disney Transportation.

This year we are saving again because I don't expect to use the CC except as backup for emergencies and rental car. We have a second CC now; I just upgraded a gas card to a Visa logo with rewards. I will use this card to pay for our return airfare, pay off our package, the rental car and Univeral admisstion. I'll be transfering the allotments I had planned from checking/savings as payment on the CC.

I see you're in Pa, so am I! We're driving to WDW next year. How long was the drive for you? Whee did you stop along the way for lodging? Thanks!!!

 

[Donald&Tinkerbell]

and then send it to the card company a couple of weeks before we go. The room is reserved on the card so the first night has been paid off long before we go. I prefer to put everything on the card and carry very little cash. Meals, souvies, bar tabs, and when I get home it usually comes out equal. Last time though, I came out ahead! I also prefer this method because if something comes up during the year, we can use the vacation savings account to take care of it and postpone the trip if necessary. This is also why I don't buy DVC even thought it would save us a ton of money. I don't have the cash to do it, and don't want to borrow the money.

 

[ransom]

Like many, we do charge it, then pay it off as soon as it's billed, to get those credit card point rewards.

I'd have a hard time enjoying a vacation that I knew would be costing me interest for the next X months or years. I just don't have the personality for holding debt. I even freaked out when we bought our home, even though mortgages are supposed to be "good" debt.

 

[jeepgirl30]

I use my Amex for everything. It has to be paid in full each month. I get points but its also more secure to me. I can't imagine carrying wads of cash on vacation and worrying about losing it.

 

[SC Mouse Fan]

I also use my Disney Visa to make payments so I earn points. Sometimes I don't even wait to get the Visa bill. I go on line to Chase and make a payment within the next few days after making a payment. I saved for over a year for this trip. It takes a while to save because we get two rooms. This year we are taking a girlfriend also so it is 5 people with dining for 10 days. At least I know when we go I won't have to have a lot of spending money since the meals are paid for. I don't quite have our trip paid yet but we aren't going until November.

 

[Cory's Gal]

We have the money to go before we book, BUT I charge it all on my Disney Visa which gives me six months to pay it off, I WILL NOT deplete our second savings account all at once, paying it off slowly at zero interest gives us plenty of time to get EXTRA padding in there and when I pay it all off (before the 6 months is up), we have already put money back in there. You never know what may come up in life and you made need the EXTRA cash last minute!

 

[suzimar57]

i use my disney visa to charge everything (even food) to get the reward points, but i always have the money available

i'll even send the amount charged before the bill shows up, and avoid the finance charge altogether - thus: zero balance!

and use the reward points for disney souvenirs

(only wish i'd thought to charge my DS's college tuition, too - think of all those lovely reward points i could have had....)

 

[kparc]

Always use my credit card. Since Disney Visa has 6 months interest free, I get can earn some extra interest on the money in savings and points to spend on the trip. Plus if there is ever a problem with the purchase or a dispute, I feel better having used a credit card rather than trying to get my cash back. Some credit cards also give you extra travel protection. There are some benefits to paying with credit, you just have to use them wisely!

 

[disneymom99]

We save all year for our Disney vacation. Never charge anything. We either use cash or travelers checks for meals, souvenirs etc.

 

[aimeeg]

(only wish i'd thought to charge my DS's college tuition, too - think of all those lovely reward points i could have had....)

My inlaws my DH college tuition instead of using savings bonds. He graduated six years ago and still owe as much as they charged!

 

[ForeverDance]

We put our trip on our CC last year. Paid it off in about 6 months. This year we planned the trip on the basis that we would be able to have most (if not all) of the money saved up front.

But life happens. DH's grandmother fell ill and we ended up paying for a few thousand dollars worth of unexpected expenses. So we have a balance on our CC and we are still going to Disney which will also go on the CC. I dont' feel we are irresponsible because we will pay it off eventually and we aren't charging anything we can't handle the payments on. For us it was an easy choice... charge it and let the family continue to enjoy the time we have together!!!

 

[momof2intx]

We don't use credit cards so we always pay everything in advance with our check card and bring cash for spending. We usually save for about 6 mo prior to going but next time we are going to start saving sooner so that we can afford to stay at a Disney Deluxe Resort!