need to vent...extra charge when booking dp

[lilgurl25]

i booked a myw package with aaa. 7 nights at pop with 5-day base tickets for me and my dh, ds5 and dd2. when i paid off the trip at the end of sept my ta said that i could add dining up to 5 days prior to my trip. when i picked up our travel vouchers 2 weeks ago the ta agent again stated that i could add dp 5 days prior to the trip. she priced out what it would be for the 3 of us (dd2 does is not included b/c of age) on the dp. well...i went to aaa today to add on the dp and it was $150.00 MORE than what she originally quoted me. i was in shock! she said that part of the $150 is her commission. i asked wasn't her commission taken when i booked the room and tickets and she said yes but now that i am adding dp to my package the total cost of the package is increased and therefore increasing the amount of commission. i was flabbergasted. i wish she would have told me up front that there would be an additional charge when i came in to add dp to the package.
i was so upset after that encounter that i told my dh that i had to get on the dis boards and find out if anyone else has had a similar encounter. this does not sound right.

 

[TANYABETH]

I can't remember the last time I booked a trip using a travel agent. I just call Disney directly and book all my other trips on line. I think this is easier and cheaper.

 

[lilgurl25]

believe me, after the encounter this afternoon i went home and called disney and tried to add dp to my package and the cm dais that since i boodked with aaa ta i needed to go through them to add the dp.

 

[Colleen27]

i booked a myw package with aaa. 7 nights at pop with 5-day base tickets for me and my dh, ds5 and dd2. when i paid off the trip at the end of sept my ta said that i could add dining up to 5 days prior to my trip. when i picked up our travel vouchers 2 weeks ago the ta agent again stated that i could add dp 5 days prior to the trip. she priced out what it would be for the 3 of us (dd2 does is not included b/c of age) on the dp. well...i went to aaa today to add on the dp and it was $150.00 MORE than what she originally quoted me. i was in shock! she said that part of the $150 is her commission. i asked wasn't her commission taken when i booked the room and tickets and she said yes but now that i am adding dp to my package the total cost of the package is increased and therefore increasing the amount of commission. i was flabbergasted. i wish she would have told me up front that there would be an additional charge when i came in to add dp to the package.
i was so upset after that encounter that i told my dh that i had to get on the dis boards and find out if anyone else has had a similar encounter. this does not sound right.

It isn't right. You should be paying the same for a Disney package through AAA as you'd pay booking direct (or less, if you have AAA discount applied). The TA's commission comes out of the mark-up on the package price, not as an addition to it!

 

[mickeymousemom]

There are realy good places online you can book thru. Dreams Unlimited and Magical Journeys are both very respectable online travel companies with TA's who are Disney specialists. We book every onsite trip thru Magical Journeys and there is no charge. They do all the work and I do nothing. Believe me, they know their stuff when it comes to the discounts and if one comes up after I've booked, it's credited to my account and then my ta emails me to let me know. I will never use a local ta or book thru WDW myself. Ever. Just a suggestion.

 

[lilgurl25]

i looked into some great disney specialist ta online. i wanted someone local and i wanted to be able to pay for the trip in cash and not have to put it on my credit cards. my ta was great and very informative except for in the end and the dp.
can anyone tell me if the extra charge for the dp has happened to you.

 

[HelenePA]

i looked into some great disney specialist ta online. i wanted someone local and i wanted to be able to pay for the trip in cash and not have to put it on my credit cards. my ta was great and very informative except for in the end and the dp.
can anyone tell me if the extra charge for the dp has happened to you.

I paid for everything with my debit/visa card.. nothing went on a credit card.. I hope you can get it worked out! that 150$ extra sounds fishy to me!

 

[bicker]

Seems to me that TAs, in general, are hurting. Many people simply don't need them, so demand for their services is very low, so many of the larger, consumer-oriented agencies are having a hard time keeping their operations profitable. I'd expect to see more and more fees and surcharges, as this whole group of TAs necessarily price themselves out of existence, in favor of smaller or all-electronic TAs, with far less overhead. AAA might be the one that holds on the longest, because it attracts enough customers via its other operations, many of whom are simply willing to pay more than they have to in order to have the (perhaps false) sense of security that comes from booking with AAA.

 

[Allison]

I have never been charged a fee for using a travel agent. The ones I have used got their commission from Disney not me.

I would call the AAA office and find out if they in fact do charge a fee to the customer.

 

[dqpowell]

The extra $150 charge doesn't sound right. I booked our Dec trip through AAA, and the total package cost including the hotel, park tickets and DDP was $400 less than booking straight through Disney or an independent travel agent.

I actually contacted Dreams Unlimited, when I was shopping around, and they told me there was no way they could book a trip for me that would cost less than going through AAA!

David

 

[PlutoPony]

Call the AAA office (without identifying yourself), tell them you're interested in booking a WDW trip with them and ask if they charge customers for their service. If the answer is yes, get specifics on how much it costs, whether it's based on cost, etc.
Also check your documents from AAA-there should be some fine print about these type of charges. Arm yourself with info before going back to the agent......
Edit: Now that I think about it, wonder if AAA is charging $50/person to make a change to a package paid for in full? This may not be as simple as "adding the dining plan", it may be a case of needing to cancel an existing package and rebooking a new package w/ dining.... Not saying it's right but that may be what's going on...

 

[JLKennedy]

We always book with AAA and save a lot of money, almost 50% off what Disney's list price is and other TA's. How far until your trip? AAA does charge if you make changes to your plan "x" amount from days 45-30 and another "y" amount for days 30-0, so is it possible that you're traveling soon and the fee isn't a "commission" fee, it is a change of package fee that they place on all reservations booked with them.

 

[Mickiethepooh]

believe me, after the encounter this afternoon i went home and called disney and tried to add dp to my package and the cm dais that since i boodked with aaa ta i needed to go through them to add the dp.

I don't understand the whole commission thing first of all MOST TAs work on a commission paid by the service provider, hotel etc.
Second and more important travel services is part of what you pay for being a AAA member there should be no other charge and if there is where you are use a different AAA agency or better yet call AAA headquarters and telling them you are not renewing your membership and why then book direct with Disney from now on.

I would not let it be I would get the manager and complain.

 

[bicker]

It's really quite a shame, for TAs, with regard to how their commissions have been reduced, and in some cases eliminated, over the years.

Beyond that, the AAA travel agency is a profit center; "free" access to its services is not part of the benefits of AAA membership.

I would definitely verify that the TA isn't creating their own personal fee schedule to boost their own revenues, but also I would not be surprised if the charges being discussed are all on the up-and-up.

 

[NMW]

I have always called the place I wanted to go (Disney, Marriot in Aruba, etc.) directly, so I'm not sure what travel agents do or don't do. The only time I EVER used a travel agent was my honeymoon. That was really before internet really took off though-1995. Hearing about this crazy fee sure doens't ever make me want to use one.

 

[DCDisney]

I wonder if she booked you a room only and AAA tickets before and then changing to a package to do dining resulted in a worse rate? They shouldn't charge you extra for commission. I use a AAA agent who isn't local to me but is a WDW specialist (reads the boards more than me even . My rate is over $200 less than the next best offering--WDW pays them commission not me. I think you should call and ask to speak to the manager because it sounds like she has messed up and is trying to cover it up some how.

Yvonne

 

[lilgurl25]

YEA! my ta agent just called and said that the original price she quoted for adding dp to my myw package is what i will be charged nothing extra.
she said that the disney redp she spoke to yesterday might have been new and did not know what she was talking about when the added the extra $150 to my dp. anyhow, problem solved and we leave in 9 days for our first trip to the land of mickey.
thanks everyone for your input.

 

[bicker]

Great news.

 

[catalexander]

That's great news!

Sounds like the Disney CM was applying a $50pp change fee incorectly.

FWIW: I added the dining plan today(Friday) and we arrive in 2 days (SUNDAY), and was charged only a $10 "processing" fee. I booked directly through WDW CRO.

 

[antmaril]

Deleted.