New BankOne/Disney Visa "0% Interest on DVC Down Payment" Offer

[JeffPort]

I just noticed this today when reviewing my credit card statement online:

A lifetime of magical memories awaits you once you discover the best kept Disney secret—Disney Vacation Club! And now—as a Disney’s Visa® Cardmember, you’ll receive 0% APR for 6 months on your down payment towards a Disney Vacation Club Membership!*

It sounds like the DVC purchase will now be treated just like other Disney Vacation Package and Cruise Line purchases. The nice part of these offers is that payments during the 6 months are applied to this special purchase LAST -- meaning that you experience no interest charges on the account so long as you pay off all other charges incurred during each month (or the minimum payment, whichever is greater).

If you use this offer, be sure to check your card statements for accurate treatment ... When we used this offer to purchase a Disney Cruise last year, BankOne's system mischaracterized one of my credit card payments. I had to call them to correct it and remove the misapplied interest fees on the account.

 

[PamOKW]

Thanks for pointing out this offer. The Disney Visa seems to have the most convoluted, complex system of offering bonuses, special rates, etc. etc. This is a good one to know about!

 

[tjkraz]

Thanks for the info, Jeff.

I actually saw the blurb myself the other day, too, but didn't realize they would let you carry the promotional balance while paying off other charges. We always pay off the balance each month, but in considering an add-on, it would be nice to float that 10% for few months interest free.

For anyone else reading, this offer is available both for new purchases and add-ons. According to the web site, the offer is good through the end of '05.

 

[jennypenny]

I just got my disney visa (an add on seems like a good way to break it in . But I was wondering, how do you view your statement online? Can you pay the bill online?

 

[tjkraz]

I usually go to:

http://www.bankone.com/disney

It will forward you to another more specific address, but you should see the Disney Visa logo. From there you should find a "New User" link.

There are a lot of things you can do on-line including schedule payments, view statements, view recent activity, view reward balances, transfer reward points to the reward card, view special offers, etc.

 

[momsgoofy]

I just noticed this today when reviewing my credit card statement online:



It sounds like the DVC purchase will now be treated just like other Disney Vacation Package and Cruise Line purchases. The nice part of these offers is that payments during the 6 months are applied to this special purchase LAST -- meaning that you experience no interest charges on the account so long as you pay off all other charges incurred during each month (or the minimum payment, whichever is greater).

If you use this offer, be sure to check your card statements for accurate treatment ... When we used this offer to purchase a Disney Cruise last year, BankOne's system mischaracterized one of my credit card payments. I had to call them to correct it and remove the misapplied interest fees on the account.

We did put our DVC membership downpayment on our Disney Visa. We were limited at the time...we bought while on our Thanksgiving Disney Cruise last November...not easy to access the bank from the ship so we opted to use the Disney Visa...especially when the DVC rep said it would qualify for the promotional 0% for 6mos. deal. Yippie!

I called Disney Visa when our first statement arrived to be sure that the DVC downpayment qualified for the promotional rate. I was told it did indeed! YIPPIE AGAIN!!

Until the second statement arrived a week ago....we had been charged over $50 in interest! I called the Disney Visa customer service phone # right away to correct their error. I was told that NO!! the DVC downpayment did NOT qualify for the promotional rate. The customer service rep was kind enough...after I explained the situation fully to her...she was kind enough to remove the interest charged for us. I also told her their customer service reps and the DVC reps need to be reprimanded for giving us incorrect information. So, we just paid it in full anyway.

DH is getting really ticked about the customer service aspects of the Disney Visa...he assumes it must be because of the merger with Chase. I don't think so. I just know that we will only use that card for vacation purchases when we use cash and not points.

So, be sure that you have something in writing about the DVC down payments qualifiying for the promotional interest rates! We were lucky to get those finance charges removed due to my record keeping...I always note the date and time I call the business and who I spoke with about the matter.

Laura ºoº

 

[livinforvacation]

Thanks for the info. I just called and changed my method of downpayment for the balance. :thewave:

 

[tjkraz]

Thanks for the heads-up. Here is the fine print from the Bank One web site on this particular offer:

If you use your Disney's Visa(r) Credit Card in making the down payment on your purchase of a real estate interest in a Disney Vacation Club Resort, the Daily Periodic Rate for the down payment for the first 6 billing cycles following the date of the purchase is a promotional fixed rate of 0% corresponding to an APR of 0%, so long as any payments due on your Account are not past due at the time of purchase. This rate will apply to your initial down payment and add-on purchase for the lesser of $2,500 or 10% of your total purchase price. After this promotional period, the applicable APR for purchases will take effect on any remaining Disney Vacation Club purchase balance. This 0% APR does not apply to Disney Vacation Club purchases made using a Convenience Check. Payments and credits are allocated to balances with lower Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) (such as promotional APRs) before balances with higher APRs except promotional balances on qualified Disney Vacation Club or Disney vacation package purchases. Offer valid 2/1/05-12/31/05.

The way I read this, payments would be applied to the "qualified Disney Vacation Club" purchases last. And, as long as other charges are paid-off within the 20-day grace period, there shouldn't be any interest accruing.

Anyone disagree?

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

If you have a promotional balance on your Disney Visa, any payment you make will apply toward the promotional balance first. Any other purchases/balance you have on the card you will pay the going interest rate on.

The only way to really "get" 6 months free interest, is to NOT have any balance on your card when you make your DVC down payment purchase. The same applies for DCL and WDW package purchases. If you routinely carry a balance or have other purchases on your card, I'd avoid trying to take adavantage of this benefit. It's kinda lame.

 

[JeffPort]

The only way to really "get" 6 months free interest, is to NOT have any balance on your card when you make your DVC down payment purchase. The same applies for DCL and WDW package purchases.

This is not accurate.

As tkjraz pointed out, there is a clear exception made for the special Disney Vacation Packages and DVC Down Payments ... stated as follows: "except promotional balances on qualified Disney Vacation Club or Disney vacation package purchases."

The problem is that the Bank One tracking system is full of bugs. Therefore, you have to stay on top of your bills if you elect to use this feature. I made multiple payments on the card for my cruise. Most worked fine ... so long as I paid the balance on all other charges to the card each month (or the minimum payment due amount, if higher), I received $0.00 interest on the card. However, on one of the charges, the system did not recognize the special treatment. I had to call and talk to 2 different people to get it corrected.

Keep in mind that this special offer is completely counter to how banks normally handle promotional rates. Most representatives at Bank One just assume that the Disney Vacation deal is the same -- so they instinctively give customers incorrect information. It's a training issue.

 

[owensamo]

I have a question. It doesn't seem to indicate that the downpayment has to be made *to Disney* - it just specifies a DVC purchase. Does this mean that if you can find a resale place that will take credit, you can charge your resale purchase on the Disney Visa and be eligible for the promotional rate?

Are there any DVC resale outfits that take credit?

Mur!

 

[tjkraz]

I have a question. It doesn't seem to indicate that the downpayment has to be made *to Disney* - it just specifies a DVC purchase. Does this mean that if you can find a resale place that will take credit, you can charge your resale purchase on the Disney Visa and be eligible for the promotional rate?

I shutter to think of the hours you might spend trying to defend your position on that one.

 

[goofy4wdw59]

delete

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

This is not accurate.

The problem is that the Bank One tracking system is full of bugs. Therefore, you have to stay on top of your bills if you elect to use this feature. I made multiple payments on the card for my cruise. Most worked fine ... so long as I paid the balance on all other charges to the card each month (or the minimum payment due amount, if higher), I received $0.00 interest on the card. However, on one of the charges, the system did not recognize the special treatment. I had to call and talk to 2 different people to get it corrected.

Keep in mind that this special offer is completely counter to how banks normally handle promotional rates. Most representatives at Bank One just assume that the Disney Vacation deal is the same -- so they instinctively give customers incorrect information. It's a training issue.

Whether its a bug in the system or a training issue, along with yours, there have been several other reports concerning goof-ups with the Disney Visa's promotions resulting in over-payments. The easiest way to to track whether your getting the 0% is to not have any other purchases on your account. I wonder how many customers weren't as savy as you and paid the non-promo rate on their vacation purchase?

 

[Valentine]

FYI... the correct website for the Disney Visa card is now..

www.cardmemberservices.com

Just so you know.. I called customer service after failing to get the website to work for me like it usually did and they told me.. Oh.. this is the new website.. I couldn't believe a company would just completely change their website without informing their customers... or have a redirect on the system or anything... OY!!!


Kathy

 

[gchiker]

Is the Disney Visa card really worth the effort? Granted that there is no annual fee and assuming that the balance is paid in full every billing cycle, don't you still get a better rebate from an airline card? It sounds like it is quite a hassle to use the credits and you have to stay on top of everything and fight for your rights. Am I off base on this one?

 

[tjkraz]

Is the Disney Visa card really worth the effort? Granted that there is no annual fee and assuming that the balance is paid in full every billing cycle, don't you still get a better rebate from an airline card?

Probably depends on the user. I MAYBE fly twice a year for business and hardly ever for personal reasons. We don't even fly to Disney most trips, so the airline miles aren't all that great of a bonus. If we want to fly, there are at least two noteworthy charter carriers that give us much better rates for direct flights to Orlando than what we get from the major airlines.

Based upon the little I know about airline miles cards, I'm sure there are MANY people that would do better going that route. We just don't think we are in that group.

It sounds like it is quite a hassle to use the credits and you have to stay on top of everything and fight for your rights. Am I off base on this one?

Maybe I'm being naive, but I don't think the issues reported in this thread are different than any other bank / credit card out there. If I had to make a phone call to protect a benefit that was clearly spelled-out, I wouldn't have a problem with that.

We've had the Disney visa for almost 18 months now, and have never had a problem with them. And in that time we've earned about $600 worth of rewards. Bank One has a great web site. The reward dollars are made available at the end of each month, and can be transferred to my reward card right from the web site. We've never had problems redeeming the reward points at WDW, The Disney Store and even on Disney's web site when buying tickets for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.