Not for everyone at this point

[Humpbacks1962]

Well, the self-proclaimed queen of consumer skepticism here of course did some analysis of her personal situation...

And, in theory it sounds like a good deal but I booked the following early in January: 3 nights at the HRH, Entertainment rate. Later on, 2 nights at ASMo and 5 nights at AKL savannah, all AP rates. Travel dates are Aug 20 - Aug 30. Room only, passes are all taken care of by now, Delta flies us for $180 round trip. So I e-mailed someone regarding an inquiry to see how good of a deal this would be for me.

I have not yet received a response , but...

Figured that maybe HRH's Entertainment rate rooms are absolutely unavailable by now, so it may be very difficult to beat my $125/night X 3 to begin with. For those dates, I believe my AP codes for ASMo and AKL are the lowest rates available at the present. It all comes to (very roughly) ~ $1500 in resort expenses for 10 days. So, figuring the $70 + $15 = $85 in membership & fees a rough 10% refund would equal about $150, but I only see $65 after my trip. If anyone convinced me strongly enough of joining before the deadline then I'd get $85 back, right?

OK, so this "accidental partnership" arrangement would buy my family a buffet meal and some knick knacks (or pay for it when the credit card bill comes), though it itches to lose at least 50% of my comission refund just like that. And that is, assuming I'll get the refund for booking Universal as well and not merely Disney's rooms!

Dissavers' plan is nearly "half for you/half for me even if your fingers do the walking" in cases when you'll at least break even and assuming you do not find a better rate later on or you'll be whacked with a $15 charge, right?

I guess the catch in my case is, you can't beat the rates I got by booking early and on my own, or could you still? If I booked now, at some higher rates, *I* lose although the plan still makes the same amount of money from me, regardless of whether I get a deal or not. Moral of the story: Perhaps it is too late for many of us to even consider joining, having done very well by booking and researching early enough. And unless you book an expensive vacation, you'll barely cut even so it may definitely not be for everyone.



Wanda

 

[Kelsie]

Very impressive Wanda But, personally I would love to get back $85 that I would not have received otherwise. It is a personal decision each person must make and each reservation will be different and have different factors to consider. Another issue for me is that I make multiple trips each year (not just to Disney) and in most cases my membership will pay for itself on the first trip and the rebates will become larger.

As I said, it is not for everyone but there are many who could definitely benefit from the extra money .

 

[SuzyQue]

and assuming you do not find a better rate later on or you'll be whacked with a $15 charge, right?
As I understand it, if you find a better rate later on for the same time frame your ressie is made for, there is no charge for applying the new rate or discount. ~~

 

[WebmasterAlex]

That's correct SuzyQue, there is no charge for a change to a better rate, only if you switch resorts or dates etc, etc.
I have to agree with Kelsie here, for doing very little, $85.00 is $85.00, why not put it in your pocket instead of someone elses?

 

[Janet2k]

I agree. A penny saved is a penny earned. Thanks to DISavers, I will be getting back quite a few pennies on my upcoming vacation. Each vacation is unique and each person will have to figure out what benefits them the most. In my case, the answer was simple -- DISavers. I am already planning what I'm going to do with my pennies from Heaven.

 

[Humpbacks1962]

Well, I received information that the Universal ressies may not transfer over BUT as long as the WDW ressies are not yet paid in full, Dissavers does not need to make new ones. Which is nice because you do not have to do it all over again and transfer your requests, etc...

But,

My rebate would come to $96 based on my current reservations! Take away membership and fees and it is altogether that minus $65 if I join now or $85 if I do it later... Way over half of my rebate (the rebate is on pre-tax amount!) goes elsewhere.

Eh.. I know, even $11 after my trip is $11 I didn't have before but it just doesn't motivate me to go through it all if someone else makes more than I will...

But yes, this is not a bad program to join if your totals come to $4000 - $5000! Then you'll be in the gravy and it would be foolish not to consider it.
Thanks all for your input!

Wanda

 

[Penny12]

I tend to look at things in reverse...

If I was walking down the street and dropped $31 from my pocket (the amount you'd save if you joined now) would it be so valueless that I wouldn't bother turning around and go pick it back up again? If not, remind me to walk down the street behind you

$31 is $31.

Penny

 

[SuzyQue]

Way over half of my rebate (the rebate is on pre-tax amount!) goes elsewhere.

Unless you book another trip within your year's membership......

 

[Humpbacks1962]

I know, Penny, I hear you... It is just that picking up $96 that I dropped makes me happier than thinking about picking up only $31 and donating $65, where if I'd never seen it anyway if would not face me.

And I do plan to return within a year, but spend hopefully about as much or less on ressies. I still will want to do all my research and feel I chose the best rates and the "half for you-half for me though your fingers do the walking" still just doesn't cut it for me.

Not ill intentioned, just hard to express! Like I said before, the plan is a good one but the more you spend on your ressies the better you do. I don't know, consumers are just different...

Wanda

 

[RobDoc]

... It is just that picking up $96 that I dropped ...

Ahh, but without DISavers, you won't be picking up anything. You will have already "donated" all of those dollars to whomever you booked the reservation with yourself. If you do book another trip within the year with DISavers, the only additional "cost" is the $15 charge ...and that's not even an additional charge since it's simply deducted from the rebate- not another out-of-pocket expense.

It certainly a personal decision. If you'd like to get at least part of your cost returned, DISavers is the way to go. Otherwise, you don't need to do anything differently.

Enjoy!

 

[Humpbacks1962]

Well Doc,

I just don't like investing to get far less of what I put in.

If you'd like to get at least part of your cost returned, DISavers is the way to go

Just doesn't feel right to have someone else get more than I will, in spite of me doing all the work... Ending up with over half of that comission, regardless!

Hey the plan may be good, but certainly is not for everyone's situation and does not appeal to all consumers...

Wanda

 

[RobDoc]

To each his own!

When you do all the work and book it yourself, you'll get nothing back as a rebate from Disney. With DISavers, you'll at least get some of it back...especially on that second trip- all but $15 of the 10% commission.

Have a great trip!

 

[Humpbacks1962]

When you do all the work and book it yourself, you'll get nothing back as a rebate from Disney

Yes but at least you aren't keeping over half of *my* comission!

Have a great trip!

Always have, always will, my dear...


Wanda

 

[Kelsie]

I know it is a personal decision and as I said before, each situation is different. But I do have to agree with Doc!

You are correct, if you book through Disney, DISavers will not be getting part of 'your' commission, Disney will be getting 'all' of it. It is a choice, nothing more

 

[kbeverina]

It makes sense that we "do all the work" since we're getting the commission back.

If we want someone else to do all the work, we can go through a travel agent and they can get the commission back.

As for the $50 to join the club, someone is going to get that money, be it DISavers or CRO. Either way you're still paying that $50 of the 10% commission. But if you pay it to DISavers, the remainder of the 10% comes to you. If you pay it to CRO, the remainder of the 10% goes back to CRO. And if you book another trip within a year, all the 10% (minus the $15) goes to you.

 

[SuzyQue]

We probably would never take more than 1 trip per year, as it is now we're only making it to Disney every other year. Our last trip was $968 for 8 nights at POR with the AMEX discount and I purchased our passes ahead of time at the Disney Store (before one of the price increases) with DC discount, so my rebate after my annual fee & $15 ressie charge wouldn't have been much. With that said, I still think I would join when planning our next trip. I guess I don't see it as DU taking part or most of my commission, because it never was my commission to begin with. I got the deals I did when planning my trip because I read these boards for free, and I think what Pete Werner has done here and with DU is a wonderful thing. They aren't trying to con or scam us, they are answering all questions up front no matter how many times they have to repeat themselves. And they aren't putting us in a situation where you have to join, you still have choices. You can still do it yourself and pay no annual fee & receive no rebate. You can still let DU do it all for you and pay no annual fee and receive no rebate. Or you can still do your homework, figure out your final price and see if it's worth it to you to pay the annual fee and receive the rebate!! ~~

 

[kbeverina]

I don't see it as a scam either. If you have a large total, you get a 10% rebate and the DIS boards get $50 to go towards running the boards. They're not really losing out on the commission because most people wouldn't have booked through Dreams anyway.

If you don't have a large total, you might only get a little bit back, but your $50 goes towards running the DIS boards instead of to CRO. That may be worth it for some people to join, it may not be worth it for others. If you're somehow bothered by that $50 going to the DIS boards, then don't join and give the $50 to Disney.

 

[Humpbacks1962]

Yes, Disney may keep "my" comission unless I sign up and Disavers retains over half of it in membership and fees. However, if the plan is not appealing to rational consumers, it is not we the big time losers here, Disavers does not get the fattest portion it would have either.

Cracks me up when they put it as "oh well, it is *your* pennies from heaven you lose"... Well, they lose bucks from heaven when a consumer decides not to go along because it is not in his/her best interest! So the approach should be different, not all consumers are gullible.

A well-structured plan that would otherwise appeal to the most demanding consumers is most effective. This is not a bad idea but you have to spend quite a large amount to come out ahead. That is my whole point.


Wanda

 

[WebmasterAlex]

I think you have it SuzyQue...
If you want to book your own with CRO... go for it...
If you want to use DISavers and get some part of the commision back...do that
If you want to use Dreams and have your vacation planned... do it that way

Your money, your choice.....

Either way the boards will be here to help you plan your trip!

 

[Gillian]

I don't quite understand why someone has a problem with DISavers making money! What I am hearing from Wanda is that she is ok with Disney keeping ALL of her money but not with the DIS getting ANY of it, even if it means she herself will get a little back.

Well, I love the DIS & these boards & will do whatever I can to help support the company that runs them! Financial decisions are very personal, but why wouldn't you want to participate in a program that benefits both you and a company that runs a great community like the DIS boards?

And hey, $11 is $11.