Using Gift Cards to pay DVC dues - no longer allowed?

[Rat-a-too-ee]

I just got off the phone with member accounting. I have paid my monthly dues (not the full amount due) with gift cards about 8 times in the past 18 years since I became a member.

Today, they told me they cannot accept gift cards until I pay the entire amount due for the rest of the year because the system is different now.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

 

[LauraLea]

Are you trying to pay monthly dues? Gift cards cannot be used for this.

Are you prepaying 2015 dues? Then this is indeed a change.

Are you catching up late 2014 dues? May very well be the case if the dues were not paid by the due date.

Laura

 

[Rat-a-too-ee]

Are you trying to pay monthly dues? Gift cards cannot be used for this.

Are you prepaying 2015 dues? Then this is indeed a change.

Are you catching up late 2014 dues? May very well be the case if the dues were not paid by the due date.

Laura

I don't think they are past due. They are the only ones showing as being payable on my account, called "Statement Year 2014" I used to just pay them in full at the beginning of the year. Then I added onto my membership (twice in one year) giving me three contracts. Disney started drafting the dues at that point as a monthly deduction from my checking account along with monthly payments on my new points. Then I paid off the loan and the dues stayed on a monthly checking debit.

The last time they let me use a gift card to pay my dues was in April 2014. So I am not sure if this is just for me or for everyone?

 

[supersnoop]

I don't think they are past due. They are the only ones showing as being payable on my account, called "Statement Year 2014" I used to just pay them in full at the beginning of the year. Then I added onto my membership (twice in one year) giving me three contracts. Disney started drafting the dues at that point as a monthly deduction from my checking account along with monthly payments on my new points. Then I paid off the loan and the dues stayed on a monthly checking debit.

The last time they let me use a gift card to pay my dues was in April 2014. So I am not sure if this is just for me or for everyone?

Were you using gift cards to pay your dues monthly? That's pretty well documented as not allowed, so I'd be surprised if it worked in the past.

Annual dues are due by February 15th for everybody, so they would be late if not paid by now. If gift cards worked for you in April, well, I'm not sure what was going on then.

 

[LisaS]

Is this a Disney gift card or another type? I was able to apply a VISA gift card towards my dues balance last summer but I will never do that again. The billing system treated the transaction as if I was paying a restaurant bill so it would not allow me to apply the full balance on the card. When paying for a meal with a credit card or VISA type gift card, the system assumes you will be adding a tip to the total so they want enough funds left on the card to cover it.

The CM in accounting ended up making one large charge then a series of increasingly smaller charges to inch her way as close to the full balance as possible. Some of those charges were for 12 cents. I still ended up with a small balance on the card. Had I known that is how it worked I would have used the gift card at the grocery store instead. If you are using something other than a Disney gift card and things still work this way, I'm not surprised they don't want to accept them unless you have a high enough balance on the card to pay off your dues in full taking the tip allowance into consideration.

 

[Rat-a-too-ee]

Were you using gift cards to pay your dues monthly? That's pretty well documented as not allowed, so I'd be surprised if it worked in the past.

Annual dues are due by February 15th for everybody, so they would be late if not paid by now. If gift cards worked for you in April, well, I'm not sure what was going on then.

Yes, they were gift cards The same type they accept "everywhere" with the little Disney logos on the back. I have used them on the Disney Cruise Line, in the parks, at the Disney Store, etc. I didn't realize that they were making an exception for me. And also I didn't realize my dues were considered late. As I mentioned before, I used to pay them in a lump sum so the monthly billing is not as familiar to me. Thank you for letting me know I was late, I will make sure to pay off my dues ASAP.

 

[Rat-a-too-ee]

Is this a Disney gift card or another type? I was able to apply a VISA gift card towards my dues balance last summer but I will never do that again. The billing system treated the transaction as if I was paying a restaurant bill so it would not allow me to apply the full balance on the card. When paying for a meal with a credit card or VISA type gift card, the system assumes you will be adding a tip to the total so they want enough funds left on the card to cover it.

The CM in accounting ended up making one large charge then a series of increasingly smaller charges to inch her way as close to the full balance as possible. Some of those charges were for 12 cents. I still ended up with a small balance on the card. Had I known that is how it worked I would have used the gift card at the grocery store instead. If you are using something other than a Disney gift card and things still work this way, I'm not surprised they don't want to accept them unless you have a high enough balance on the card to pay off your dues in full taking the tip allowance into consideration.

Disney gift card with the assorted logos on the back. I have used the same type at various Disney outlets, like the cruise line, the parks, and Disney Store retail stores at the mall. And those prepaid Visa gift cards drive me crazy, I usually just use them at Target for an exact same denomination Target gift card (then you don't need to know the exact balance before you checkout) or for utility bills. Even then sometimes there is a $.50 or $1 charge for each use so luckily you didn't get dings with all of those transactions.

 

[LisaS]

And also I didn't realize my dues were considered late. As I mentioned before, I used to pay them in a lump sum so the monthly billing is not as familiar to me. Thank you for letting me know I was late, I will make sure to pay off my dues ASAP.

If you are signed up for monthly auto debit then you're fine -- you do not need to pay off the balance ASAP. You have two options with dues: pay in full in January or "pay as you go" through monthly direct debits from your checking account.

If you are paying monthly by direct debit, you should be able to pay off part of your balance at any time during the year. You shouldn't have to pay off the entire balance, you can pay off some of it. I've done this lots of times. Just an FYI: It doesn't reduce your monthly debit amount, but the payments will stop earlier in the year than December. (If your payment is less than a month's worth of dues, the December debit will be smaller than usual.)

I don't know why they won't apply a Disney gift card (especially if it's just one) towards your balance. You might want to call back in case the first CM you spoke with misunderstood what you were trying to do or was misinformed. If you get the same answer from another CM, I would ask for more information -- why is this no longer allowed. Some members have reported paying their dues with a stack of gift cards and I can understand why Member Accounting might prohibit that due to the time needed to process so many cards but if you just have one, I don't see why they wouldn't accommodate that, unless as I posted earlier, it's due to the billing system treating it as a restaurant tab.

 

[jonida3]

Since I am still kind of new at this I was wondering if there is an advantage to DVC members who buy/use gift cards? Seems like members utilize the gift cards in many ways and since I'm always looking at ways to stretch my vacation dollars, could someone share why gift cards are a good idea? thanks!

 

[vicki_c]

Since I am still kind of new at this I was wondering if there is an advantage to DVC members who buy/use gift cards? Seems like members utilize the gift cards in many ways and since I'm always looking at ways to stretch my vacation dollars, could someone share why gift cards are a good idea? thanks!

People often buy gift cards for small discounts or rewards. You can buy Disney cards at Target and get 5% off for paying with your red card. Other people use gas rewards at their grocery store so might buy gift cards there.

 

[Rat-a-too-ee]

Since I am still kind of new at this I was wondering if there is an advantage to DVC members who buy/use gift cards? Seems like members utilize the gift cards in many ways and since I'm always looking at ways to stretch my vacation dollars, could someone share why gift cards are a good idea? thanks!

Exactly what Vicki said. I just found out about the Target card discount on gift cards a little less than 2 years ago and I have had the Target card since 2006.

Plus I am not a quick thinker... I completely forget this discount on a regular basis. I often forget to pay for on-site food at Disney with the gift cards. On the day the Norway itineraries were bookable, I paid off my Northern European cruise in full on the day of booking using my Disney Visa (got me $32 in rewards) vs. paying it off in increments and saving $160 if I would have used gift cards. I have to remember to buy some more and put them on my onboard account for the cruise (you can actually do it before hand while you are at home by calling the DCL number so then you cannot forget) - it can be used towards your bill which includes excursions, merchandise, fancy drinks, gratuity, etc).

People often buy gift cards for small discounts or rewards. You can buy Disney cards at Target and get 5% off for paying with your red card. Other people use gas rewards at their grocery store so might buy gift cards there.

Thanks for the tip on the gas rewards, I have to look into that too!

 

[MSUmom]

I have used gift cards for the last two years $1,500 for dues - no problems

 

[Rat-a-too-ee]

I have used gift cards for the last two years $1,500 for dues - no problems

Thank you for the reply, have you done so recently - like in the past two months?

 

[tjkraz]

Just to recap, if you pay your dues in an annual lump sum (due by January 15 with a 30 day grace period), you can use a wide variety of payment methods including:

Check
Credit Card
Gift Cards
Disney Visa Reward Points

If you are set-up on a monthly payment plan, the funds must be debited from a US checking or savings account. Those on the monthly plan can also log into DVCMember.com and use a credit card to make additional payments.

The payment method you have selected will continue until you contact member accounting and request a change. When the new year begins, members scheduled for the monthly plan will not get a lump sum bill--they will simply have the revised payment amount debited beginning in January.

 

[deltapilotwife]

I had a change when I went to pay my bill this February. I'm on monthly debit and usually after the first debit I would get my disney visa rewards points and call them into member services. In the past it would reduce my overall monthly debit. this year, they said they couldn't recalculate and instead i didn't have the monthly debit for a few months.

they told me if I wanted to lower my debit to prepay the bill in december before the annual dues are calculated. we'll see what happens in December when I try.

 

[LisaS]

I had a change when I went to pay my bill this February. I'm on monthly debit and usually after the first debit I would get my disney visa rewards points and call them into member services. In the past it would reduce my overall monthly debit. this year, they said they couldn't recalculate and instead i didn't have the monthly debit for a few months.

they told me if I wanted to lower my debit to prepay the bill in december before the annual dues are calculated. we'll see what happens in December when I try.

That is consistent with what I experienced when I did this a few years ago. The monthly debit amount doesn't change but depending on how many reward dollars you apply, either your payments will stop earlier than December or your December payment will be much smaller than normal.

Example: Your monthly debit amount is $100. You call MS and apply 80 Disney VISA reward dollars. You continue to be debited $100/month until December when your final payment is $20.

Same debit amount ($100) but you apply 150 reward dollars. You continue to be debited $100/month until November when your debit amount drops to $50. You owe nothing in December.

 

[ChrisNY2]

If you are set-up on a monthly payment plan, the funds must be debited from a US checking or savings account. Those on the monthly plan can also log into DVCMember.com and use a credit card to make additional payments.

Those on a monthly payment plan can also call member services and use a gift card to make an additional payment. That payment won't count as that month's dues payment, but it will reduce the monthly payment for the rest of the year.

 

[Rat-a-too-ee]

Those on a monthly payment plan can also call member services and use a gift card to make an additional payment. That payment won't count as that month's dues payment, but it will reduce the monthly payment for the rest of the year.

That is what I was doing earlier this year but member services told me last week that I couldn't use the gift cards anymore to pay down my balance.

I was just confused it if was just me, or everyone that was told gift cards can no longer be applied to dues.

I am still going to be done paying before the year is over since I applied about $550 in gift cards.

Happy that I will at least be able to use some gift cards on my cruise next year (unless they tell me my giftcards cannot be used there too, lol).

 

[Sur]

I'd say there should be a notification if they are no longer taken, being they are non-refundable. I buy them in $500 increments to pay dues.

 

[dcfromva]

Thank you for the reply, have you done so recently - like in the past two months?

My memberships is split up into several smaller contracts. I have the monthly payment plan set up for dues.

Lately, whenever I receive a gift card I apply it to my dues of one of my smaller contracts. I first apply the gift card and then the remaining balance to my CC. I was curious if partial payments would be accepted, so I asked. As of June, member services told me that it was required to pay the remaining balance--but that only applies to the specific sub account I was making a payment on not of the whole membership.

So, for example if I have accounts 12345.1, 12345.2 & 12345.3.
I can call up member services and just pay the dues (for the rest of the year) for 12345.2.