Payoff Question

[KaterBell]

I have a question about paying off our balance before our scheduled payments even begin...

Here's the whoop -

We bought 210 points, and put $500 down. We owe the down payment by next week. That's fine, I'm going to call up and put it on my Delta Amex Card.

The problem is that I originally planned to put the entire balance on the AmEx card before June - but that's when I assumed they raise the credit limit of the Amex - When I called to raise the limit, they said it was after the first 30 days of holding the card, I missed the deadline, and that I'd have to wait 6 months (till August.) Our payments start officialy in July. After the downpayment is paid, we'll owe around $12,000. Is there a way I can charge "chunks" of that in May and June to pay down the balance considerably before the payments start getting deducted automatically in July from our checking account? Like, Can I call up Member Services each month and say, "can you charge our Amex another $5000 to pay down the balance?" Or will they have a fit?

It really screwed me up to not be able to raise the limit on my Amex. ARGH.

What do you think? I just want to get around finance charges as MUCH as possible.

 

[SAKPEG99OKW]

You can not make monthly loan payments or dues payments on your amex. DVC only accepts Visa/MC for monthly plans. You could have put the whole thing on your Amex at closing. Tried to do this today. Was shot down by MS.

Scott

 

[tomi]

We just bought an add on of 175 points at Beachclub. I asked my guide if I could pay half one month and half the next (on Amex). He said no problem. So, I paid half and waited until the bill came in the mail. Then I paid off the balance. Than I called member accounting and asked them to charge the rest of it. They did it with no problem. I did it to get the points on my Delta card ! Good Luck!

 

[DebbieB]

Talk to your guide or member accounting. I put my purchase on AOL Visa but had a credit limit problem. They put half one month, I paid that half right away, and then the other half the next month before closing so I would stay within the limit. I got the money from other sources, but my guide had the idea of running it through my VISA. I got 6 months free AOL.

 

[BobH]

I split the purchase up on my mastercard. One payment in Oct. Then I paid it off and put the second payment on the same card in November. Got 14,800 miles toward an airline ticket with American. It can be done with the right guide and timing of the charges.

 

[JALaP]

Wait a second! I asked to have my monthly payments put on a credit card. But I was told by my guide and closing man that they would not put the monthly payments on a credit card, only dues payments. They said the automatic monthly payments could only come from a checking account. When I said I thought I'd read differently on these boards, they said that the only monthly payments on cards were for international dvc'ers.
If they were wrong, can I change my arrangement now? HELP!!! Judy

 

[BobH]

I purchased in oct of 2000 through Disney. I was able to put my deposit (about $7500) on a credit card as I stated above. I was allowed to put my remaining balance on a card about 1 month later. I was told I could put my annual dues on a credit card only if
I paid it in full each year on Jan 15th. If I wanted to have dues paid monthly I had to arrange for a deduction from a bank account. Monthly dues could not be paid by credit card. I have read on this board that some people have had trouble with Amercan Express and I believe this is because they charge more of the seller when you charge sommething on it. I have always been of the understanding that credit cards charge anywhere from 3 to 6% of the vendor (in this case DVC) when you charge items. Some companies will not bear this cost and will not allow you to use cards. Some companies will allow the use of Mastercard and Visa - but not American Express (they charge more of the vendor). And as we all know the buyer also gets charged via interest payments if the balance is not paid on time.

 

[JALaP]

Just to clarify: what about monthly loan payments? Can they be put on a VIsa card? judy

 

[Peter Johnson]

Originally posted by JALaP
They said the automatic monthly payments could only come from a checking account.

That's definitely not true, since we've had all our loans (and dues) paid from a money market account -- quite a different animal than a checking account.

I have put downpayments on credit cards, but only Visa, never tried Amex.

 

[disneyma]

Doesn't it seem strange the the OFFICIAL CARD OF THE WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT IS AMERICAN EXPRESS. However you can't call MS to have a charge put on it to pay down a debt? They will take it for a down payment but not for a pay down?

What sense does that make??

?????

 

[KaterBell]

I said the EXACT same thing when our Guide told us we couldn't use the Amex to pay down the amount... So I said, "So the Amex is the not-so-official card of DVC, then huh?"

He said that AmEx sees it more as a Cash Advance or some hooey.

 

[HookdonWDW]

My guess is that the problem with AMEX lies in the fact that DVD has to pay a higher percentage to AMEX to process the charge than they do to V/MC. Therefore, they are losing more money with this transaction, and it's not profitable.

I know when I managed a retail store, we had negotiated a flat rate fee for each V/MC charge, but we paid a percentage to AMEX.

 

[BobH]

As I said above the cost to Disney is definitely the issue with AMEX. I have also found that banks will not take any type of credit card for payments as well. They are in the business of making interest off of all of us. Not paying interest to someone else - whether it be Amex, Visa etc. I tried getting frequent flyer miles by charging everything then paying it off and I have always run up against a brick wall with lending institututions and some companies when trying to use credit cards. Disney evidently has an agreement with Amex but it only goes so far. I have seen this issue on these boards many times in the last few years.