Disney Visa...infuriating

[piratehookspixiedust]

Well crap. I am hoping to pay cash for most of our trip and pay down the balance on ours so I can link it to our magic bands for the trip. Now I am scared to do so...

 

[BSmithington]

It's not really Chase's fault. I think I understand what you are saying:

1. You carry a balance on your credit card
2. You make payments on time but not in full to clear it down to 0
3. You made a large payment (that was technically already owed)
4. Chase quickly got their money and lowered your limit

They didn't really screw you at all. You just paid back the money you already owed them and they decided not to extend more credit.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

No they didn't screw her, just screwed up the plans. Its a sorry move by Chase, but they are known for that as well.

 

[robinb]

Our disney acct was closed because we didn't keep a revolving balance on it. It was like being punished for being responsible. So no Chase for us. They seem too shady.

Really? I've had the Disney Chase card since Day 1 and we NEVER keep a balance on it. I charge everything to it ... although I am transitioning to my Costco AMEX. It's the same reward, but I get 2% on certain things and I get the rebate in real money and not "Mouse Money".

 

[tinkpower]

It was officially reversed today. I immediately booked our airline tickets.
In response to some questions, the biggest concern was we were in "paydown" mode, meaning we weren't using the card much but paying monthly then all of the sudden starting to use it. This combined with their concern that we have other cards apparently concerned them, despite the fact that we aren't late on any thing and our credit score is good.
I can't really cancel the card because I don't have the cash to pay the balance. I will no longer use the card after I use my "vacation" money that I paid on it to get the rewards.

 

[ajwolfe]

That sucks, but I'm glad you got it fixed...I just did this a couple weeks ago when I paid off my son's braces and just made another large payment today because I'm planning to put another large purchase on there in a couple days..Guess I'd better not take too long in making the next purchase.

 

[tinkpower]

Yes I would do it right away. I let a couple of weeks pass.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

If you have other cards, why would the change to this ONE card have impacted your trip? Couldn't you have just charged the trip to one or more of those other cards? Or, are they all maxed out? (If they are, that could explain Chase's action).

 

[North of Mouse]

That said, in terms of real-world points to cash ratio, from what I can tell the Disney visa is poor in terms of sign up bonuses

Dh & I both got separate Visa cards via mail invitation 3 years ago, and 'each' of us received $200 for doing so - $400 extra for Disney that year!! This was for the regular Visa card - I will not 'pay' an annual fee for a card.

We've had some problems with chase too. Most recently, my husband was in Germany and tried to make a purchase. Chase declined the purchase and sent us a fraud alert email.

This is for your protection!! Dh was caught about the same way in Japan one year when they denied his card, luckily a coworker was there to bail him out with his card. Then we found out that anytime you travel (especially out of country) let them know in advance, so they will not think someone stole your info and you are not the user! A fraudulent charge was caught that way since then, when someone charged in another country and we were called!

 

[perditax]

Dh & I both got separate Visa cards via mail invitation 3 years ago, and 'each' of us received $200 for doing so - $400 extra for Disney that year!!

Right. Comparable non-Disney-branded travel cards have signing bonuses much higher (if you do their little spending dance). I just got the Barclay Arrival+ which will return $400 bonus, and the Chase Sapphire (their actual travel card) was $500 when I got it in 2013. They also both have better reward ratios for everyday spending. I think this is one of those cases where you're sacrificing for the mouse logo.

 

[tinkpower]

If you have other cards, why would the change to this ONE card have impacted your trip? Couldn't you have just charged the trip to one or more of those other cards? Or, are they all maxed out? (If they are, that could explain Chase's action).

If you read the original post you would see thay I put our vacation cash on that card, so when they lowered the credit amount it effectively ate up our vacation money. im not interested in charging up a card.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

If you read the original post you would see thay I put our vacation cash on that card, so when they lowered the credit amount it effectively ate up our vacation money. im not interested in charging up a card.

Um, yeah I read the original post. If you had no balance on the card, and you put a credit against it, it doesn't matter what your limit is. A credit limit is what they will allow you to borrow against the card. If you have a $3,500 credit limit on the card, $0 balance, and you send them a check for $5,000, you can now charge $8,500 against that card ($5,000 that you've already paid them, plus $3,500 you can borrow).

Now, if you HAD a balance, and the check you sent was used to pay down that balance, it really doesn't matter if you planned to "run up" a card, or if you planned to simply continue to carry a balance on an existing card. Either way, you come out of there with the same CC debt - whether you use the intended card or some other card.

So, I'm still confused here how this "change" to your card created an issue.

 

[North of Mouse]

Right. Comparable non-Disney-branded travel cards have signing bonuses much higher (if you do their little spending dance). I just got the Barclay Arrival+ which will return $400 bonus, and the Chase Sapphire (their actual travel card) was $500 when I got it in 2013. They also both have better reward ratios for everyday spending. I think this is one of those cases where you're sacrificing for the mouse logo.

Nope! Not sacrificing for the mouse anymore. Have a no fee American Express, $200 signing bonus, also a free year of Amazon Prime + more percentage return in cash - this was also an invitation by mail. Enjoyed the Disney Chase for a few years as it was sort of fun to have the Disney Rewards cards for a few trips!

 

[barkley]

Really? I've had the Disney Chase card since Day 1 and we NEVER keep a balance on it. I charge everything to it ... although I am transitioning to my Costco AMEX. It's the same reward, but I get 2% on certain things and I get the rebate in real money and not "Mouse Money".

amex will also fight tooth and nail for their card holders in a dispute, and have PHENOMINAL customer service in the event of a covered theft of purchase (refunded us the cost of a stolen nook within the week so we could replace it). we've also taken advantage of the additional warranty coverage they provide on some purchases.

they've been great for us, and when we wanted to get a significant credit line increase so we could put a big ticket purchase on the card (so we could pay it in full the next month but earn the cash back reward) it took nothing but a phone call that lasted all of 5 minutes.

 

[lovemygoofy]

If you read the original post you would see thay I put our vacation cash on that card, so when they lowered the credit amount it effectively ate up our vacation money. im not interested in charging up a card.

I'm so confused. You sent your saved up vacation money to your Chase credit card bill, right? In your mind it was marked for a vacation but wouldn't it just be considered paying a balance to Chase? So I guess you paid a thousand or whatever to Chase that you could have just paid to disney? If you paid your vacation money to Chase and all it did was reduce your balance, were you just going to use the card to charge the vacation again? If that was plan, it really negated the earning of rewards if you have to pay more fees on the card. I guess I'm really confused on what the plan was to utilize vacation money and the credit card.

I do have a Chase card as well that never had any problems. I love having the out of the region fraud alerts as my husband travels alot and I don't want one of the people to take his card number and make it their own. In the years I've had my card, I've had nothing but outstanding customer service and help. I do have a SW card though not a disney because I like the miles rewards.

I'm glad you found the resolution you wanted even if I'm still really confused about the whole problem.

 

[cglaura]

The way I understand it was (using fake numbers...)

Chase balance was near max, say $5000.

They saved $2000 for trip.

Instead of paying Disney direct with maybe their checkcard from bank, they paid $2000 to Chase. Which should have made their balance $3000 / $2000 available.

They were then going to use the $2000 available to pay their trip, thereby getting points (instead of no points if had paid from checking/bankcard).

But... chase lowered their limit to $3000 thereby having nothing available to charge the trip.

Again... just fake numbers for easy math

Looks like op got it sorted out though.

 

[MillauFr]

The way I understand it was (using fake numbers...)

Chase balance was near max, say $5000.

They saved $2000 for trip.

Instead of paying Disney direct with maybe their checkcard from bank, they paid $2000 to Chase. Which should have made their balance $3000 / $2000 available.

They were then going to use the $2000 available to pay their trip, thereby getting points (instead of no points if had paid from checking/bankcard).

But... chase lowered their limit to $3000 thereby having nothing available to charge the trip.

Again... just fake numbers for easy math

Looks like op got it sorted out though.

I guess I understand now. Still though if you run a balance it makes no sense to get a credit card to try to get rewards. Just go for the credit card with the lowest interest rate.

 

[georgina]

This is for your protection!! Dh was caught about the same way in Japan one year when they denied his card, luckily a coworker was there to bail him out with his card. Then we found out that anytime you travel (especially out of country) let them know in advance, so they will not think someone stole your info and you are not the user! A fraudulent charge was caught that way since then, when someone charged in another country and we were called!

I have had Chase unexpectedly deny a charge when I was in New York (we live in PA). Sure it is for our protection, but it is a real pain when you are in a busy store with a long line and the only credit card you have on you is that one. I had to call my DH who was out by the car to come in with a different card.

 

[supersnoop]

I guess I understand now. Still though if you run a balance it makes no sense to get a credit card to try to get rewards. Just go for the credit card with the lowest interest rate.

The Chase Disney card give you 6 months interest free on Disney vacation charges. That's the incentive for charging the vacation to the card. I think that's what you're missing.

 

[North of Mouse]

I have had Chase unexpectedly deny a charge when I was in New York (we live in PA). Sure it is for our protection, but it is a real pain when you are in a busy store with a long line and the only credit card you have on you is that one. I had to call my DH who was out by the car to come in with a different card.

They haven't denied any of ours except out of country when we forgot to inform them - we never let them know when we go to Disney or any 'in the states' vacations - have had no problems!