Is this a change to paying dues with gift cards?

[trenty]

If DVC stopped the monthly GC workaround...........

They are stopping the monthly GC workaround as of this latest announcement. It seems as if it is going to be pay in full if you turn off monthly payments after Feb 15.

 

[Sandisw]

The gift card strategy has gained in popularity. Year on year the amount of people using auto pay, gifts cards, and combined probably increases. Maybe it’s become too much impact on the bottom line and they’re making us choose one or the other, or hopefully figure out a newfangled strategy!

One thing you wonder is whether there were issues with accounts that had the gift cards and then adjust payments over time?

People still getting the withdrawal, or gift cards not applying correctly? Or maybe it just became a nightmare for accounting purposes with thr partial payments?

And it could be as simple as too many doing it so now they decided to go back to enforcing the rule.

 

[BeachClub2014]

They are stopping the monthly GC workaround as of this latest announcement. It seems as if it is going to be pay in full if you turn off monthly payments after Feb 15.

Yep, I know that they had stopped the practice. My post was more directed at why they decided to do so.

 

[BeachClub2014]

One thing you wonder is whether there were issues with accounts that had the gift cards and then adjust payments over time?

People still getting the withdrawal, or gift cards not applying correctly? Or maybe it just became a nightmare for accounting purposes with thr partial payments?

And it could be as simple as too many doing it so now they decided to go back to enforcing the rule.

I'm betting that it's this. Seems like a simple, logical explanation.

 

[sethschroeder]

I urge everyone to email DVC and let them know this change is not acceptable.

https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/contact/email

 

[Sandisw]

I urge everyone to email DVC and let them know this change is not acceptable.

https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/contact/email

I did email them to make sure they know that I don’t ever want to see the monthly option taken away.

Personally, I don’t see this as a huge deal given we were never supposed to be allowed to do it.

 

[BeachClub2014]

I urge everyone to email DVC and let them know this change is not acceptable.

https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/contact/email

What's the unacceptable part of the change you'd like us to rally against? Aren't they just opting to enforce the rules? The GC hack was awesome while it lasted, but arguably inconsistent with the autopay rules.

 

[BeachClub2014]

I did email them but not because I care about this, but to make sure they know that I don’t ever want to see the monthly option taken away.

Totally agree with you on this. My fear is that this move is an interim step towards charging a service fee for monthly autopay in the future. Let's hope not!

 

[emchen]

The website has definitely been changed. You can not pay with a GC as long as auto pay is activated

It wouldn’t even let me do it for pay the last payment for December on my one contract left.

So, people will need to drop the monthly payment option in order for the option to pay with a GC to show.

Just have to wait to see if they block people from simply dropping and then adding back in every month.

If you are not re-enrolled in Autopay by February 14, any outstanding Annual Dues balance will be considered past due on February 15, subject to late fees and interest, and due in full (bold emphasis by me). If you removed Autopay to pay in full , please remember to re-enroll if you want to continue with automatic payments for future years.

This means they won’t allow people to turn off auto-pay, pay installment with DGC, and then turn on auto-pay again.

 

[Sandisw]

If you are not re-enrolled in Autopay by February 14, any outstanding Annual Dues balance will be considered past due on February 15, subject to late fees and interest, and due in full (bold emphasis by me). If you removed Autopay to pay in full , please remember to re-enroll if you want to continue with automatic payments for future years.

This means they won’t allow people to turn off auto-pay, pay installment with DGC, and then turn on auto-pay again.

Someone noticed that and pointed it out! So, they definitely are enforcing the rule that monthly payments must come from a bank account.

Honestly they never allowed partial payments with a CC so they are simply extending that to all forms of payment.

 

[sethschroeder]

What's the unacceptable part of the change you'd like us to rally against? Aren't they just opting to enforce the rules? The GC hack was awesome while it lasted, but arguably inconsistent with the autopay rules.

What rule? What rule precludes you from additional payments?

The rules I found was you needed a method on file for payment for each month for the amount that is due.

You paying extra to avoid that amount due doesn't change that you have the payment method on file.

What we are pushing back against is a change for the sole benefit of the managing company that we employ as members.

 

[sethschroeder]

Someone noticed that and pointed it out! So, they definitely are enforcing the rule that monthly payments must come from a bank account.

Honestly they never allowed partial payments with a CC so they are simply extending that to all forms of payment.

Partial pay has been allowed for years at this point.

Partial pay is still allowed through monthly payments as well.

 

[Sandisw]

Partial pay has been allowed for years at this point.

Partial pay is still allowed through monthly payments as well.

If you wanted to use a credit card , then partial pay did not work. You had to pay in full if you were on monthly plans.

It’s the reason gift cards did because those didn’t require payment in full.

Now, what they changed is no partial payments in 2025 for both CC, GC and Disney rewards cards once you pass the deadline for setting up monthly payments

If are on the monthly plan, it will now require that it draws from a bank account, or you have to pay the balance in full.

Partial payments can be done in January. But not once the monthly payment plan begins.

The whole discussion is about the change with monthly plans.

Nothing has changed for those who pay in full in January, or those who pay some of the balance on January and then move to monthly payments for the rest of

 

[Lorana]

I hope this doesn’t change paying in full on a contract with CC if enrolled in autopay. I have several small contracts, so I often did a combination of prepaying my monthly payment with gift cards and paying off a contract per month by charging to a credit card. If I decide I want to pay my balance in full early, I shouldn’t have to risk a late fee to do it.

 

[eticketplease]

I hope this doesn’t change paying in full on a contract with CC if enrolled in autopay. I have several small contracts, so I often did a combination of prepaying my monthly payment with gift cards and paying off a contract per month by charging to a credit card. If I decide I want to pay my balance in full early, I shouldn’t have to risk a late fee to do it.

You should be fine as @Sandisw pointed out you can pay the balance in full with a cc even if enrolled in monthly payments. Just make sure to just select the one contract you want to pay.

 

[Sandisw]

I hope this doesn’t change paying in full on a contract with CC if enrolled in autopay. I have several small contracts, so I often did a combination of prepaying my monthly payment with gift cards and paying off a contract per month by charging to a credit card. If I decide I want to pay my balance in full early, I shouldn’t have to risk a late fee to do it.

That should still work because nothing in the new language changes that you can pay a balance in full at anytime.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

One thing you wonder is whether there were issues with accounts that had the gift cards and then adjust payments over time?

People still getting the withdrawal, or gift cards not applying correctly? Or maybe it just became a nightmare for accounting purposes with thr partial payments?

And it could be as simple as too many doing it so now they decided to go back to enforcing the rule.

The accounting complications may be true. My account shows that they will auto-withdraw $206.17 this month.
The top of the page indicates I owe $154.86 left across my four contracts for 2024 dues, so it's weird they're taking $50 extra.

Each individual contract shows $0.00 due, but then shows a different number beneath that for auto-pay.

Buying the gift cards at Target with the 5% discount saves me less than $200 over the course of the year, but it's still something.

If you are not re-enrolled in Autopay by February 14, any outstanding Annual Dues balance will be considered past due on February 15, subject to late fees and interest, and due in full (bold emphasis by me). If you removed Autopay to pay in full , please remember to re-enroll if you want to continue with automatic payments for future years.

This means they won’t allow people to turn off auto-pay, pay installment with DGC, and then turn on auto-pay again.

My three Florida contracts indicate "All delinquent Annual Dues payments are subject to a late fee of $25 per Ownership Interest, plus interest at the maximum rate permitted by law (currently 18 percent) accrued on the amount outstanding from the original due date."

My Disneyland contract has "All delinquent Annual Dues payments are subject to a late fee in an amount equal to the greater of $10 or ten percent (10 percent) of the delinquent Annual Dues, plus interest at the maximum rate permitted by law (currently 12 percent) accrued on the amount outstanding from the date which is thirty (30) days after the original due date."

This language is directly from the official mailer they send regarding all the financial information. I might try the method of buying gift cards and then turning off the auto-pay to pay in full, but if it doesn't let you do multiple payment methods (more than one gift card, or gift card and a credit card) in a single transaction, it could be a bit of a gamble.

 

[trenty]

My question is: what will this be like for 2026 dues? Will one be able to make a partial payment prior to Jan 15 if gift cards are accrued throughout 2025? Even if I accrue enough to pay all my dues, as others have stated - gift card max is $1000, requiring a partial payment.

If I do decide to accumulated discounted GCs throughout 2025 for 2026 dues, I probably won't combine them in large increments until ready to pay 2026 dues. This way I can use smaller denominations for gifts if further restrictions make it harder to use GCs to pay dues. We don't plan many Disney trips for ourselves anymore, but our kids use our DVC or we gift our points to other family at times. Eventually we will go, of course, so the gift cards will get used. I just don't want the uncertainty of thousands in gift cards if they will be difficult to use to pay dues.

I usually use my rakuten cash to get gift cards. I think I will stop that going forward and just pursue opportunities of 10% or greater. Then when it it time to pay dues I can make up the difference with 5% from Target.

 

[Sandisw]

My question is: what will this be like for 2026 dues? Will one be able to make a partial payment prior to Jan 15 if gift cards are accrued throughout 2025? Even if I accrue enough to pay all my dues, as others have stated - gift card max is $1000, requiring a partial payment.

If I do decide to accumulated discounted GCs throughout 2025 for 2026 dues, I probably won't combine them in large increments until ready to pay 2026 dues. This way I can use smaller denominations for gifts if further restrictions make it harder to use GCs to pay dues. We don't plan many Disney trips for ourselves anymore, but our kids use our DVC or we gift our points to other family at times. Eventually we will go, of course, so the gift cards will get used. I just don't want the uncertainty of thousands in gift cards if they will be difficult to use to pay dues.

I usually use my rakuten cash to get gift cards. I think I will stop that going forward and just pursue opportunities of 10% or greater. Then when it it time to pay dues I can make up the difference with 5% from Target.

Anything is possible but again, DVC is a Disney division and I see no reason they would change the ability to use them.

I think not combining them makes sense. The other piece is that once all the dues have been paid, the system allows you to prepay for the following year, using a gift card.

As we go through 2025, I think we will know if there is any change to this because I am sure those that do it now, will try.

 

[trenty]

The other piece is that once all the dues have been paid, the system allows you to prepay for the following year, using a gift card.

Yes. I did think of that. I usually don’t like to prepay anything, but might wind up doing that after 2025 dues are paid.