Disney Vacation Account.. Success!!

[GOOFY D]

As long as you keep the account open for at least 6 months, you are eligible for the bonus. You are allowed to use the $$ in your account during that time - just leave a few dollars in it.

Are you saying that if I opened an account today and put in enough to cover a vacation plus a little more, and pay the vacation off in a month, I would still get credit for spending that money (towards the gift cards) as long as I kept the account open for 6 months?

 

[Marionnette]

So you call and tell them you want to pay with your DVA account? Or can you do it all online?

Not speaking for the others who have tried this, but I just said that I was paying with a gift card and then gave the CM the 12-digit DVA account number. It worked fine. Since you cannot pay using a GC online, I don't think using a DVA account # online will work either.

 

[jillmc40]

Not speaking for the others who have tried this, but I just said that I was paying with a gift card and then gave the CM the 12-digit DVA account number. It worked fine. Since you cannot pay using a GC online, I don't think using a DVA account # online will work either.

Cool, thanks!

 

[MrBean]

Are you saying that if I opened an account today and put in enough to cover a vacation plus a little more, and pay the vacation off in a month, I would still get credit for spending that money (towards the gift cards) as long as I kept the account open for 6 months?

Yes, I did something similar. Opened my account, bought the DVC PAPs a few days later, and after 120 days requested my bonus and received everything I expected. The giftcard they send you is a pretty cool Scrooge McDuck card too.

 

[GOOFY D]

Yes, I did something similar. Opened my account, bought the DVC PAPs a few days later, and after 120 days requested my bonus and received everything I expected. The giftcard they send you is a pretty cool Scrooge McDuck card too.

Wow, thanks for the info.

 

[gmi3804]

Here's what I owe in dues:

Contract 1: $ 872.87
Contract 2: $2,108.76

I just funded my DVA with $2,000 (the DVA balance limit) from my Chase Sapphire Preferred card (double Chase Ultimate Rewards points for Hotel/Resort purchases) and paid off $2,000 from Contract 2, by calling MS and giving my "Gift Card" number (no Security Code needed). I should get 2 $20 gift cards since my account was opened last January.

I can pay the balance by doing the same thing for the remaining $981.63, and get another $20 gift card once I spend an additional $18.37. There's a $500 lifetime GC limit, which would come to $25,000 in DVA purchases. Not sure I'll reach that limit by the 2017 GC offer expiration date. Unless I fund my Poly add-on, $2,000 at a time!

 

[gmi3804]

I like buying Disney Gift Cards with my Chase Ink Business card at office supplies stores since Chase gives me 5X rewards on office supplies stores purchases.

It just dawned on me that I can fund my DVA account with the $50 GCs, and use the balance for Disney Store online purchases. I usually group my Disney Store online purchases to $75 and higher to get the free shipping (when they don't have a promotion going), but DSO won't accept more than one GC. But if the DVA is treated like a GC, I can use my account number to charge my entire purchase, instead of leaving a credit card number for the balance.

This account is also helpful for any refunds I may get, either from DS online or WDW/DLR, since it will be credited to my DVA, and not those pesky individual $50 GCs.

 

[MrBean]

I like buying Disney Gift Cards with my Chase Ink Business card at office supplies stores since Chase gives me 5X rewards on office supplies stores purchases.

It just dawned on me that I can fund my DVA account with the $50 GCs, and use the balance for Disney Store online purchases. I usually group my Disney Store online purchases to $75 and higher to get the free shipping (when they don't have a promotion going), but DSO won't accept more than one GC. But if the DVA is treated like a GC, I can use my account number to charge my entire purchase, instead of leaving a credit card number for the balance.

This account is also helpful for any refunds I may get, either from DS online or WDW/DLR, since it will be credited to my DVA, and not those pesky individual $50 GCs.

Actually, no, that won't work. The DisneyStore.com is the only place so far that did not take the DVA. I tried this a couple of weeks before Christmas when they had the Vera Bradley sale. I'm sure that'll probably change at some point as well

 

[gmi3804]

Actually, no, that won't work. The DisneyStore.com is the only place so far that did not take the DVA. I tried this a couple of weeks before Christmas when they had the Vera Bradley sale. I'm sure that'll probably change at some point as well

I imagine it will too, if it hasn't already. After all, the DVA number is accepted as a Gift Card elsewhere, why not DSO? Unless it has something to do with a licensing agreement.

 

[nalajms]

Actually, no, that won't work. The DisneyStore.com is the only place so far that did not take the DVA. I tried this a couple of weeks before Christmas when they had the Vera Bradley sale. I'm sure that'll probably change at some point as well

I just tried it 2 days ago for the semi-annual sale. The website did not recognize it as a valid GC.

I've also tried a few times to apply it to room charges (BWV, VGF, AKV) at the front desk, but have yet to succeed. I've read posts where people have been able to do that, so I'm not sure how they succeeded.

 

[WalleandEve]

I have not heard back from my TA yet. Can anyone tell me if we can use a DVA to pay for our cruises through DU. That would be a great benefit.

 

[erionm]

I have not heard back from my TA yet. Can anyone tell me if we can use a DVA to pay for our cruises through DU. That would be a great benefit.

From the DVC FAQs:

How can I make a payment using my Disney Vacation Account on my reservation booked directly with Disney through my travel agent?
Once your travel agent has booked your reservations and you are ready to make a payment, your travel agent can provide you with your reservation number. Please call the telephone number specified below to make your payment using your DVA account. If you have any additional questions or requests about your reservation, please contact your travel agent. Participating Disney Destinations and Disney Vacation Account Payment numbers:

• Walt Disney World® in Florida: 407-939-7626
• Disneyland® Resort in California: 714-520-7032
• Disney Cruise Line®: 800-511-9333
• Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina Hawai'i: 714-520-7032
• Adventures By Disney®: 855-223-2231

 

[WalleandEve]

For clarification, I talked to DCL. In normal circumstances, once you have a TA, you cannot make any payments directly to DCL (or other Disney entities), and all must go through whatever travel agency you use. Since the terms of the DVA state that the user agrees to keep confidential their account number, DCL (and I would presume other entities of Disney, but that is not confirmed) will allow you in this limited instance to pay towards your balance, and even allow for extra funds to be deposited as on board credit. They will not contact your TA, so you must provide your payment info to your TA. John has confirmed that the TA's do not get any notice when using your account in this way.

This makes the DVA very interesting. I can fund the account with Disney Gift Cards from Target, saving 5%, or I can use my Chase Ink Plus at Office Max for Disney Gift Cards, getting 5x rewards, then transfer them to Southwest where they will be worth more like 8% as miles. Add in the 2% back as a gift card bonus, and 10% looks pretty good to me.

The one drawback? if I do not communicate well with all parties, a mistake or misplaced decimal could mean that if I pay my DU TA $5 too little, I may forfeit 99% of what I already paid for the cruise if I pass the PIF date and still have a balance.

Better open up another spread sheet....

 

[MrBean]

I have not heard back from my TA yet. Can anyone tell me if we can use a DVA to pay for our cruises through DU. That would be a great benefit.

Yep, just typed it in the online form as a gift card. Also added onboard credit the same way. Very easy.

 

[shpdem]

What about purchasing tickets and dining plan add ons with using dva, is that possible? Online it only shows you can do it if you purchase a package.

 

[IrishTink]

Thank you so much for the info on using the Disney Vacation Account! I was able to successfully add all my $50 gift cards a few days ago and just got off the phone with Member Accounting, paying my dues in full with the vacation account #. So much easier than trying to call in or fax all those individual cards

 

[gmi3804]

What about purchasing tickets and dining plan add ons with using dva, is that possible? Online it only shows you can do it if you purchase a package.

It should work. When you purchase online and you go to check out, check "Disney Gift Card" as the form of payment, and enter your DVA number.

 

[jillmc40]

Add me to the list of people it worked for!!

I was thinking about buying one gift card a month and adding them so that at the end of the year it wouldn't be a big deal to go out and lay down a chunk of money, but with my luck they would stop letting you do this next year

PS - Sam's also has a 3 pack of 50.00 gift cards that are 5% off, so if you buy those and use a credit card that gets you extra points you can save that way too!

 

[kristenrice]

Add me to the list of successes!

I hesitantly opened a DVA today with a $10 deposit on my Disney Visa card. Then, I added in the 19 $50 cards I bought at Target. I called Member Accounting and told them I would be paying with a gift card. The CM asked me how many gift cards I would be using today and I said, "Just one." I heard the sigh of relief...she said so many people are calling up and using 20-30 gift cards. She asked for the gift card number and I read off the DVA number and told her it was for $950. She entered it and gave me my confirmation number. Then, I paid the remaining $14.08 with my debit card. Super easy!

Now that I have the account, I will probably use it to consolidate Target/Sam's Club gift cards for my "solo" trip in October. I won't be using points so I will actually have a resort reservation to pay for this time. I should be able to earn the $20 bonus by then too.

 

[disneybirds]

Add me to the list as well. Opened an account today and added lots of $50 gift cards. Called MS and paid with the DVA number. Love this! I am so glad that I saw this thread because I had read the terms and conditions that you couldn't use the DVA to pay dues.

Thanks!