To be or Not To be

[Willow Ufgood]

I’m getting a bit gobsmacked at the current prices I’m seeing for WDW in December. Thought of reserving Gran Destino CL but but hot dang that’s over 1K @ night and no transport choices?!

Do you mind discussing or pointing in the general direction? TIA!

The deals that we got had to do with airfare, food and park tickets. In a sense we don't need to pay for a hotel room because we use our DVC points. We bought our Boardwalk contracts shortly after it opened and only pay dues every year. A 1 bedroom villa will cost us around $250 per night in dues which have to be paid whether we go to Didney World or not. The same 1 bedroom would run about $775 per night if we didn’t own and rented points from one of the rental websites. I buy Disney gift cards throughout the year for at least 10% off of the face value and then I use them to pay my dues.

We joined South West Rapid Rewards program years ago and got their credit cards. We use those credit cards for a lot of everyday expenses and the rewards add up over time. We haven't flown with them in a few years because they don't go to Europe. That just means we have more points to burn now. Booking through South West was 20% off when Amazon Prime had their Prime Days deals so we jumped on it for a short trip. Surprisingly, we were able to pay using the Rapid Rewards points.

There was also a 20% off Prime Days deal for Viator (a travel website). They have MVMCP and other theme park tickets. I used PayPal to pay for our tickets. PayPal had an offer for 10% back in PayPal rewards for Viator bookings. My Discover card is linked to PayPal and I used my Discover cash back bonus to pay. We don't use the Discover card often but we use it if there's a better cash back on it than on our other credit card.

I use a business rewards credit card for a small business that I run from our home. All overhead goes on it. I used some of the rewards points from it to purchase an Instacart gift card (they are on "sale" for 10% fewer points right now) and I will order groceries for our villa. I also ordered a Lyft gift card to cover the cost of getting to and from the airports. And I still have a lot of points left if I need another Instacart order or more credit in my Lyft account.

As you can see a lot of our discounts have to do with using credit card rewards combined with the shear dumb luck of stumbling upon some short-term deals that played into using them.

 

[reddog21]

If you can't get away and enjoy life, what's the point?? Bills and expenses are always going to exist however your good health/sanity may not.

 

[NYCgrrl]

@Willow Ufgood, Thanx!
I opted out on DVC for a variety of reasons but seems like you are making it work for you .
Points on c/c and air travel I’m aware of but the gift card purchase is not part of my cost cutting methods; something to think on

 

[LuvOrlando]

Process is so annoying now the travel industry talks me out of it before I even book, so that might be a good deterrent.... or just watch all the news reports of stranded people, does the trick for me.

 

[AquaDame]

I buy Disney gift cards throughout the year for at least 10% off of the face value and then I use them to pay my dues.

May I ask where you find them for 10% off? I usually get them through Target for 5%.

 

[robinb]

May I ask where you find them for 10% off? I usually get them through Target for 5%.

I usually get a minimum of 12% on Disney Gift Cards that I use to pay my DVC dues and expenses while there. There is a bit of work to it, though. I follow this thread: https://www.disboards.com/threads/updated-disney-gift-card-deals-and-more.3784942/ the first page usually has the current deals. If worse comes to worse, I will buy DGC at Target because 5% is better than nothing.

 

[AquaDame]

I usually get a minimum of 12% on Disney Gift Cards that I use to pay my DVC dues and expenses while there. There is a bit of work to it, though. I follow this thread: https://www.disboards.com/threads/updated-disney-gift-card-deals-and-more.3784942/ the first page usually has the current deals. If worse comes to worse, I will buy DGC at Target because 5% is better than nothing.

The 5% is the only one I saw when I read through a few pages of it; I must just need to watch out for when something better comes along! Thank you!