Polynesian - Credit on balance at check-out?

[Ityldu]

If we have extra money on our account when we check-out of the Polynesian, how will they reimburse us that money.

Upon check-in, we plan to pay off the room and give them extra money to cover expenses for purchases charged back to the room. We'll be switching to the Dolphin after checking out of the Polynesian and will need that money for the rest of our trip. Will they give us cash if that's what we give them upon checking in?

 

[dBugged]

Just my 2 cents...

I've never had a credit balance on checkout before -- we usually just pay any left over balance when we leave. Why not just pay for the rooms and take care of the incidentals on check out? That way you won't have to worry about a credit balance. Unless you use the phone a lot or your disney resort key to pay for a lot of things, you probably won't have much in the way of incidentals when you leave. Plus, if you give them a credit card, the charges are pretty much handled automatically.

 

[Ityldu]

Thanks for your reply.

This is our thinking. We've finally got all credit cards to zero and are trying to avoid using them at all costs. We've budgeted $200/day for food/incidentals/etc. We don't want to walk around with $2000 in cash, even the money orders were a bit of a pain last time. We're just trying to figure out a way not to carry much cash, but still pay for everything w/o using credit cards. We're not sure how much we trust the safes either.

Just trying to figure out what the best option would be.

 

[GoldenOldie]

You can always prepay the credit card company and charge against it. You know you'll be able to use up any leftover funds eventually. That way you don't have to worry about carrying extra cash or traveler's checks to Florida.

Just curious, why don't you trust the safes at WDW resorts? They are only accessible by your key (there is no master key to these locks in anyone's possession). WDW Security are the only ones who can open a safe due to a lost or broken key or replace the lock if needed.

 

[wdisneyaholic]

How about using travelers checks? They are safe and can be replaced if lost. I can completely understand not wanting to charge stuff. My credit cards are out of control and I am trying to pay them down.

I would not want the hotel to have my money especially if there was a chance that I would have a balance at the end, you never know how long it would take to get it back. You may need it to travel home.

 

[dBugged]

I like GoldenOldie's suggestion! If you do that, you don't even need to bring your credit card in the park, you can just use your room key to pay for everything and not have to worry about losing a credit card or dragging around cash. Then, when they charge back your credit card it will be pretty much like you pre-paid since you are working against a credit balance on the credit card you gave Disney when you checked in. Pretty cool. I use the room key all the time to pay for stuff as it's easier. I usually only carry $20-40 with us to pay for water or drinks. Anything else goes to the room key or we snag it from the concierge before we head out to the parks.

 

[LtlTee]

We stayed at the Poly last August. I had the room completely paid off way before our vacation but was able to get a discount not long before we went so our room rate went down (what a nice surprise!). As a result, we had overpaid so we just used that extra money to charge against. We still had a balance of about $40 upon checkout, and I was told that this could not be given back in cash, even though that's how the room was paid for (by check vs. a credit card). We received a refund check about two weeks after we got home.

 

[jel0511]

If you have a debit card with your checking account, one with a m/c or visa logo, why not use that. You can deposit the money in your account and just place your debit card down at check-in. This way, you won't have to worry about using a credit card, and you'll be safegarding your cash by leaving it in the bank at home. If you don't you can always open up a new account, or ask if your bank offers one.

 

[Ityldu]

Thank you so much for all the great replies. I didn't realize the only person with a key to the safe was security. That makes me feel so much better. I always assumed whoever could open our door could open our safe.

On our last trip, we really enjoyed the privelege/convenience of charging back to the room. I mean REALLY ENJOYED it. That's why I'm shying away from credit card and even the debit card. Before we blinked we were over our budget. One year we budgeted a certain amount for each day and split it into sep. envelopes for each day. That worked fantastic for keeping us on budget, but made us a nervous wreck carrying around all the cash the entire trip.

We tried the traveler's checks and thought they were too much of a pain. The safe is going to be our ticket, we'll divide the money into sep. envelopes and use the safe. Thanks again.

 

[dalepool]

I read somewhere---(note below) that there is a credit /debit card that lets you put money into an account and then you can freely charge upto that amount---you are not allowed to go over the amount until more money is credited to your account. ( certain cases exempted)-- I know it sounds like a debit card but it really wasn't. I would suspect there were other benefits to this card that a debit card didn't have. I saw the info in literature from our credit union. On another note some credit card co. will not let you pre-pay ( Our credit union would not let me pay on the card card even though I had just charged--- until that charge posts to the account. But with a little help understanding the rule I just put the money into savings and made a request the funds be transferred when the charges show up).

I hate letting someone have control of my money----I don't prepay anything ---unless I could get a discount. That's my .02. Have a most wonderful trip!!!!!!

 

[Poly Pal]

IMHO I would NEVER carry thousands of dollars in cash on vacation (or anywhere else for that matter.) If it is lost or stolen on the way to Disney, you'll be stuck. I would either pre-pay a credit card, keep the money in a checking account and pay the resort with my debit card, or use travelers checks (if you get large denominations they might not that much of a pain.)

We use the safes at the Polynesian every trip without a problem.

Have a great time whatever method of payment you choose!

 

[dBugged]

I've got another option for ya that might work ok. Setup a paypal account (http://www.paypal.com) and request one of their debit/credit cards. Just toss enough funds into paypal and you can use the credit card you get from them to drain down the account.

I use paypal for selling stuff (mostly old junk) on auction quite frequently and it's a pretty handy having that card when I want to buy stuff -- it just burns off the cash from the auctions.

 

[Ityldu]

Thanks again for all your input. It all makes so much sense. I'm leaving this one to DH. I've taken care of every little detail of this trip, the money is his. I'll show him all your suggestions and let him decide. He's much more practical then I am with this stuff, I always make too much of these little things.

 

[Steven Forrest]

Originally posted by GoldenOldie
You can always prepay the credit card company and charge against it. You know you'll be able to use up any leftover funds eventually. That way you don't have to worry about carrying extra cash or traveler's checks to Florida.

Just curious, why don't you trust the safes at WDW resorts? They are only accessible by your key (there is no master key to these locks in anyone's possession). WDW Security are the only ones who can open a safe due to a lost or broken key or replace the lock if needed.

We had an experience with the safes on our Feb02 trip. We had to pick up our son in Norfolk so we decided to drive down, never again!
We never used the room safes, but this trip my wife kept her wallet there. We checked out of the Poly and headed north.
During a fuel stop in northern S.Carolina my wife was looking for something in her purse. What she found was the key to the safe.
We called the Poly from the gas station, they were great about it. They had to call a locksmith to open and rekey the safe, my wifes wallet was sent FedEx overnight. No shipping charge and no charge for taking the key, I believe there is supposed to be a charge for lost keys.
All my wifes credit cards and $60 in cash was still in her wallet.. We also have a souvener of our trip, a Poly safe key <g>.

 

[Steven Forrest]

Get an American Express card. You have to pay the balance every month and it's the official card of WDW, hehe.
steve

 

[Gail T AGAIN]

Poly credited my AMEX the 59 dollar balance that I still had when I let, by the time I came home it was posted to my charge.

 

[donnamerry]

can you write a personal check upon checkout?

 

[donnamerry]

can you write a personal check for the balance of your room upon checkout?

 

[Carrieberry]

Yes, with two forms of Id you can write a check.

We also just paid off our cards anf refuse to use them other than little purchases to pay off in full.

We always use the debit credit card on check in and whatever we want to pay in cash we just go up to the desk at the end of the day, when it's usually empty, and pay off with cash. I never knew about the Paypal thing though, that is a great idea! No interest and no cash carrying, and a seperate little card to send money to as the months go by, so by the time we go, we'll have a credit card to use! I'm going to look into that!

 

[elfbo]

Im glad i found this thread, because I didnt want to carry around cash either. I didnt know if disney took money orders, travelers checks, or certfied checks.

The paypal idea is great. Im going to the bank in the morning to deposit my cash (cept for the 1$ bills, keep those for tips) and use my paypal card for debiting.