Ways to maximize savings when purchasing direct DVC contract.. (credit card rewards etc)

[VGCgroupie]

Did you ever do the referral and ask for the match? With the 40k referral and only 100K SUB it's still better than doing the 120k directly but to get the referral AND the match would be super sweet

Not yet. Was trying to wait it out for the referral to show 120k rather than asking for a match. There’s always a chance they deny the match. But, if no referral in the next week or two I’ll just move forward and then request a match since the referral bonus is going down in Sept.

 

[chlwodud85]

Didnt seem like this was mentioned but I would create two SW credit card (one personal and one business). Anyone can create a business CC using there personal SSN (as long as you have had some type of business transaction ie: sold stuff on ebay or online store, etc..)

This way you can obtain SW companion pass that allows free flight for the full year + next year (this is the best if you claim the bonus in January as you will get full 11 month + following full year)

Additionally, all the bonus miles you received from the welcome bonus you can use toward your flight and those would generate additional bonus miles and your companion will get free flight even when you purchase with miles

I did this last year and flew out to Florida, California quite a few times (even for short 2-3 night trips) because all my flights basically became BOGO.

This works for new purchase or annual due or any time (make sure to get referral for additional bonus)

 

[OHIOVACATIONER]

When I purchased my direct contract I used the chase 6 mos. free interest and it worked great. My resale contract will close soon and I was going to do the same but I found out today that final payment has to be made with cashiers check. I found that odd because I paid the escrow with a CC. Just an FYI for others in case you are planning your strategy with a card you might want to verify with the closing company. It burst my bubble

 

[VGCgroupie]

When I purchased my direct contract I used the chase 6 mos. free interest and it worked great. My resale contract will close soon and I was going to do the same but I found out today that final payment has to be made with cashiers check. I found that odd because I paid the escrow with a CC. Just an FYI for others in case you are planning your strategy with a card you might want to verify with the closing company. It burst my bubble

Yeah only deposits are able to be made with a CC with some title companies. All the rest has to be wire, or a cashiers check

 

[jess2022]

When I purchased my direct contract I used the chase 6 mos. free interest and it worked great. My resale contract will close soon and I was going to do the same but I found out today that final payment has to be made with cashiers check. I found that odd because I paid the escrow with a CC. Just an FYI for others in case you are planning your strategy with a card you might want to verify with the closing company. It burst my bubble

You might want to ask if you can use the credit card if you pay the cc fee. We were able to do this (cc had a higher cash back than the fee) for a recent contract with Mason.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Didnt seem like this was mentioned but I would create two SW credit card (one personal and one business). Anyone can create a business CC using there personal SSN (as long as you have had some type of business transaction ie: sold stuff on ebay or online store, etc..)

This way you can obtain SW companion pass that allows free flight for the full year + next year (this is the best if you claim the bonus in January as you will get full 11 month + following full year)

Additionally, all the bonus miles you received from the welcome bonus you can use toward your flight and those would generate additional bonus miles and your companion will get free flight even when you purchase with miles

I did this last year and flew out to Florida, California quite a few times (even for short 2-3 night trips) because all my flights basically became BOGO.

This works for new purchase or annual due or any time (make sure to get referral for additional bonus)

I wish we were a SW family because between the CCs and the discounted GCs it seems like a real deal to fly. We're just entrenched in the Delta and tangentially the JetBlue ecosystems. We also need more choices in direct flight times that SW doesn't seem to have from where they fly out of around us.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I wish we were a SW family because between the CCs and the discounted GCs it seems like a real deal to fly. We're just entrenched in the Delta and tangentially the JetBlue ecosystems. We also need more choices in direct flight times that SW doesn't seem to have from where they fly out of around us.

Southwest used to be great for us, but the last few years the routes are terrible and prices aren't amazing either.

 

[STPfan]

First Get a couple Shop Your Way (SYW) cards. These cards come out with amazing offers and all the offers stack which makes this card absolutely mind blowing. You can easily profit upwards of $3k off this one card per year per card. Couple this card with Fluz for the bonus categories to truly maximize it.

Then you can sign up for Amex biz cards every 90 days Biz Plat and Biz Gold. Just make sure they have no lifetime language (NLL) or else Amex will deny you the sign up bonus (SUB) But recently the offers on the Plat was 250k MR and the Gold was 200k. That's 450k Membership Rewards. Sell those for a minimum of $0.0125/point for $5,625. This can be repeated every 90 days. Wife does the same.

This is just a VERY small example of what I'm doing in the miles/points game. This is only a little of what I'm doing geared towards DVC.

 

[VGCgroupie]

First Get a couple Shop Your Way (SYW) cards. These cards come out with amazing offers and all the offers stack which makes this card absolutely mind blowing. You can easily profit upwards of $3k off this one card per year per card. Couple this card with Fluz for the bonus categories to truly maximize it.

Then you can sign up for Amex biz cards every 90 days Biz Plat and Biz Gold. Just make sure they have no lifetime language (NLL) or else Amex will deny you the sign up bonus (SUB) But recently the offers on the Plat was 250k MR and the Gold was 200k. That's 450k Membership Rewards. Sell those for a minimum of $0.0125/point for $5,625. This can be repeated every 90 days. Wife does the same.

This is just a VERY small example of what I'm doing in the miles/points game. This is only a little of what I'm doing geared towards DVC.

I remember shop your way, way back in the day and didn’t realize they were really a thing anymore. I will have to look into it, thanks!

I just did the Amex Biz Gold 200k last month and was going to do the. Amex Biz Plat this month, I hadn’t seen any 90 day warnings. Guess I have more research to do. Thanks again!

 

[VGCgroupie]

Utilized Disney 90 pay plan to keep my money in savings a bit longer and earn interest, final pmt due 10/30.

I got all my cards applied for to take advantage of spend bonuses. I will update all my final totals once I redeem points. Points with Amex can really vary in value based on how you use them. Right now I will calculate those at a 1% return in value.

Total value as of now is $8423 savings for my DVC purchase utilizing credit cards with a portion not needing to be paid off for 6+ months.

Did my down payment on Disney Visa and got 2% back and 6 months no interest.

Applied for 4 new credit cards.
Amex Biz Gold 200k Bonus - 1 point per dollar for DVC purchases - 6 months 0% interest
Amex Biz Platinum 250k Bonus - 1.5 points per dollar for purchases over $5,000
Chase Ink Preferred 120k bonus + 40k referral bonus - 3 points per dollar for DVC purchases (should get a pay over time no interest offer once posted)
My husband also got a Chase Ink Preferred 120k bonus + 40k referral bonus - 3 points per dollar for DVC purchases (should get a pay over time no interest offer once posted)

 

[WeIcomeHome]

Utilized Disney 90 pay plan to keep my money in savings a bit longer and earn interest, final pmt due 10/30.

I got all my cards applied for to take advantage of spend bonuses. I will update all my final totals once I redeem points. Points with Amex can really vary in value based on how you use them. Right now I will calculate those at a 1% return in value.

Total value as of now is $8423 savings for my DVC purchase utilizing credit cards with a portion not needing to be paid off for 6 months.

Did my down payment on Disney Visa and got 2% back and 6 months no interest.

Applied for 4 new credit cards.
Amex Biz Gold 200k Bonus - 1 point per dollar for DVC purchases - 6 months 0% interest
Amex Biz Platinum 250k Bonus - 1.5 points per dollar for purchases over $5,000
Chase Ink Preferred 120k bonus + 40k referral bonus - 3 points per dollar for DVC purchases
My husband also got a Chase Ink Preferred 120k bonus + 40k referral bonus - 3 points per dollar for DVC purchases

Nice. I bought before the Visa promotion ended with a 90 day close. Allows me to upgrade to fall incentives if they improve. 1st payment is due Wednesday. I went with the sapphire reserve, Disney Visa, and Chase ink preferred. I'm adding a discover daily spend card with matching cash back first year to extend my zero APR on at least 10k of my purchase for 15 months and earn more interest on savings. Depending on how I redeem my points, I'm looking at around 5k in rewards on my 250 point purchase plus the extra interest on my savings.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Nice. I bought before the Visa promotion ended with a 90 day close. Allows me to upgrade to fall incentives if they improve. 1st payment is due Wednesday. I went with the sapphire reserve, Disney Visa, and Chase ink preferred. I'm adding a discover daily spend card with matching cash back first year to extend my zero APR on at least 10k of my purchase for 15 months and earn more interest on savings. Depending on how I redeem my points, I'm looking at around 5k in rewards on my 250 point purchase plus the extra interest on my savings.

The discover deal is super smart!

 

[R2Daddy]

First Get a couple Shop Your Way (SYW) cards. These cards come out with amazing offers and all the offers stack which makes this card absolutely mind blowing. You can easily profit upwards of $3k off this one card per year per card. Couple this card with Fluz for the bonus categories to truly maximize it.

Then you can sign up for Amex biz cards every 90 days Biz Plat and Biz Gold. Just make sure they have no lifetime language (NLL) or else Amex will deny you the sign up bonus (SUB) But recently the offers on the Plat was 250k MR and the Gold was 200k. That's 450k Membership Rewards. Sell those for a minimum of $0.0125/point for $5,625. This can be repeated every 90 days. Wife does the same.

This is just a VERY small example of what I'm doing in the miles/points game. This is only a little of what I'm doing geared towards DVC.

How do you sell 450k points for $5,625? According to the Amex rewards calculator, 100 points = $600. $600 * 4.5 = $2,700

That’s not subtracting the yearly credit card fee for each card. Are you paying the yearly fee or canceling before it hits? If canceling, does Amex revoke the sign up bonus?

 

[VGCgroupie]

How do you sell 450k points for $5,625? According to the Amex rewards calculator, 100 points = $600. $600 * 4.5 = $2,700

That’s not subtracting the yearly credit card fee for each card. Are you paying the yearly fee or canceling before it hits? If canceling, does Amex revoke the sign up bonus?

Amex points can vary greatly. The Amex calculator doesnt give you the point worth when transferring to a partner.
https://www.thepointcalculator.com/us/travel/membershiprewards/amex-points-value-calculator

The annual fee is offset if you are able to utilize all the benefits. $120 towards cell phone bill. $199 clear credit. $400 at Dell, plus others. If you cancel before a year is up yes they can revoke your points (or send a bill)

 

[eticketplease]

Did my down payment on Disney Visa and got 2% back and 6 months no interest.

Will that qualify for Chase's Pay Yourself Back program?

If so you maybe able to keep more of your cash in the bank and use it towards the bill instead of getting gift cards or transferring it to the Merchandise Card.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Will that qualify for Chase's Pay Yourself Back program?

If so you maybe able to keep more of your cash in the bank and use it towards the bill instead of getting gift cards or transferring it to the Merchandise Card.

I haven’t looked yet since it’s a pretty small amount. My down payment was only $1700. so far in my Disney card I’ve never had to do a merchandise card I’ve always gotten statement credits.

 

[eticketplease]

Amex points can vary greatly. The Amex calculator doesnt give you the point worth when transferring to a partner.
https://www.thepointcalculator.com/us/travel/membershiprewards/amex-points-value-calculator

The annual fee is offset if you are able to utilize all the benefits. $120 towards cell phone bill. $199 clear credit. $400 at Dell, plus others. If you cancel before a year is up yes they can revoke your points (or send a bill)

I agree they vary widely but I'm with @R2Daddy on this one as the post was "Selling the points".

In my eyes that is a statement credit that is only worth $0.006 a point so not sure how @STPfan was able to achieve a minimum value of $0.0125 by selling the points.

Are we wrong on this? I certainly hope so and that someone can explain it as it would be much easier than transferring to partners if it is possible.

Sell those for a minimum of $0.0125/point for $5,625

 

[VGCgroupie]

I agree they vary widely but I'm with @R2Daddy on this one as the post was "Selling the points".

In my eyes that is a statement credit that is only worth $0.006 a point so not sure how @STPfan was able to achieve a minimum value of $0.0125 by selling the points.

Are we wrong on this? I certainly hope so and that someone can explain it as it would be much easier than transferring to partners if it is possible.

I somehow missed the word “sell” my mind automatically went to a transfer of some kind. The 35% bonus for booking travel with Amex pay with points looks like it can yield a high value at times but I wouldn’t call that selling.

Interested to see what more info @STPfan can provide.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Utilized Disney 90 pay plan to keep my money in savings a bit longer and earn interest, final pmt due 10/30.

I got all my cards applied for to take advantage of spend bonuses. I will update all my final totals once I redeem points. Points with Amex can really vary in value based on how you use them. Right now I will calculate those at a 1% return in value.

Total value as of now is $8423 savings for my DVC purchase utilizing credit cards with a portion not needing to be paid off for 6+ months.

Did my down payment on Disney Visa and got 2% back and 6 months no interest.

Applied for 4 new credit cards.
Amex Biz Gold 200k Bonus - 1 point per dollar for DVC purchases - 6 months 0% interest
Amex Biz Platinum 250k Bonus - 1.5 points per dollar for purchases over $5,000
Chase Ink Preferred 120k bonus + 40k referral bonus - 3 points per dollar for DVC purchases (should get a pay over time no interest offer once posted)
My husband also got a Chase Ink Preferred 120k bonus + 40k referral bonus - 3 points per dollar for DVC purchases (should get a pay over time no interest offer once posted)

Just updated this because I completely forgot that I am hoping that once my transaction posts I will be given the Chase first time pay over time w/ no fees no interest offer. Will update if I get that and how many months it allows me to stretch it out.

 

[byurick]

Are you able to use all these business credit cards since DVC counts as travel?