When to buy AP with flex pay for 2013 trip

[chimo2u]

I am planning a trip January 2013 with my son, his bf and my bf I would like to tack on 3 nights at universal HRH club level at the end of our stay. I am interested in buying myself an AP for the discounts...,hopeful For a decent room discount! I will not be activating the AP until end Jan 2013/ beginning Feb 2013.... I would also like to use it for the discount on the other 2 passes I will need for the boys.

I would like to use the flex pay option....an easy way at least buy my tickets. I was wondering when the best time to buy my AP would be for flex pay?

I will also be planning to go back again in Fall 2014.... If I decide to renew my AP, to get the $149.00 renewal, will I have to renew by January 2014 to get that rate? I guess this might work for me as it would give me my pass for Sept/Oct 2014 at a discounted rate? Or do I have to renew from the date of purchase of my flex pay contract?

Sorry if my point was confusing!
Thanks for any advice
Marie

 

[damo]

You probably shouldn't get your AP until right before you go because it just gets confusing with the flex pay if your activation time is so different from your payment time. In order to get the renewal discount, you need to cancel your flexpay in your by your 11th month payment time and then tell them you want to renew and pay in full. You can't get the renewal rate and have flexpay as well.

 

[Bluer101]

There is no discounts on renewing flex pay AP's. The first year you put a down payment and then 11 more equal remaining payments. At the end of the first year it's the full price divided by 12 payments. The only good thing about flex pay is the price for the AP can never go up.

If you do the flex pay you can cancel the payment option and pay the balance in full then get the renewal rate. So you would have to pay the balance and the renewal all at once, no more payments.

I personally would not use the flex pay option and just buy the pass outright.

Damo beat me too it.

 

[chimo2u]

You probably shouldn't get your AP until right before you go because it just gets confusing with the flex pay if your activation time is so different from your payment time. In order to get the renewal discount, you need to cancel your flexpay in your by your 11th month payment time and then tell them you want to renew and pay in full. You can't get the renewal rate and have flexpay as well.

Hi Damo
Flex pay takes 11 months to pay off, so should I just buy it this December or Jan, then take the yr to pay it?

And yes, I find it a little confusing, but I wanted flex pay for my pass...a little less painful paying in small amounts....I won't be going through the gate to activate until Jan 2013... By then that years pass I just paid on for the 11 months prior will be paid off and active until Jan 2014, right?.... Then I will have to renew by Jan 2014, or will they be making me renew another pass at the end of my payments for my flex pay contract in Jan 2013, even though I haven't activated it yet? Yikes, this is a little confusing! Thanks for patience while I wrap my head around it all

 

[damo]

Hi Damo
Flex pay takes 11 months to pay off, so should I just buy it this December or Jan, then take the yr to pay it?

And yes, I find it a little confusing, but I wanted flex pay for my pass...a little less painful paying in small amounts....I won't be going through the gate to activate until Jan 2013... By then that years pass I just paid on for the 11 months prior will be paid off and active until Jan 2014, right?.... Then I will have to renew by Jan 2014, or will they be making me renew another pass at the end of my payments for my flex pay contract in Jan 2013, even though I haven't activated it yet? Yikes, this is a little confusing! Thanks for patience while I wrap my head around it all

Yes, you've got it right. Let's say you started now. If you don't contact them at the end of 11 months, they will just continue your contract for another year. That will give you another year of a pass you haven't even activated yet. So by the time you go in Jan. 2013 your pass will be paid for and also several months of the pass for the following year (assuming you don't cancel in the 11th month). If you don't cancel you continue your payments for another year and you get another year added on to your pass, etc. etc. etc..

However, you don't get any discount rate for your second and subsequent years by using flexpay which makes it $70 more expensive each subsequent by paying the flex pay.

That's why I wouldn't actually start the payments until the actual beginning of your activation. So if you want to go in Jan 2013, don't order it and start paying until Jan. 2013. Who knows what may happen between now and then to change your plans. I would just put that money away in a separate bank account or something if you want to be making monthly payments instead of paying Universal now and having them have your money for nothing.

 

[bumbershoot]

Hi Damo

And yes, I find it a little confusing, but I wanted flex pay for my pass...a little less painful paying in small amounts....

You could just start putting that same amount into a savings account now; by the time of the 2013 trip you could nearly have the amount for the two APs you are thinking about getting! Might just make things a bit less confusing, to just plunk down the cash for the AP, having saved in little bits each month, than dealing with flex pay.

 

[Bluer101]

Like Damo said, if you do not call up and cancel the flex pay it will go on until you call. The first year you will have to pay the whole year. After the first year you can cancel at anytime and void the pass or pay the rest and get the discounted renewal price. But if you keep the flex pay your second years payments are more per month that the first due to the no down payment.

The best thing to do is what they said, just put money aside and buy the passes before you go outright.

 

[chimo2u]

Thanks for all the advice...I really appreciate it everyone

Damo...that's exactly what I figured...I'd be paying for a pass again when one isn't even activated yet....
However, I do want an AP for 2014 too, and would like to get that cheap renewal rate of $150.00....I am thinking maybe I should just buy my pass around March/April 2012, then I'd have the 11 months to pay it off, and it would be paid off pretty much by the time I go in January 2013...then cancel the flex pay before my 11th pmt. then renew at the cheaper cost for 2014 and activate it in the fall of 2014 when we go again? Would this be a good way to achieve both outcomes I would like.....1)Flex Pay option, paying bits at a time, yes, I understand I could just open a sepereate account, put aside the money myself then pay it out...but I am not that disciplined and like the idea of it coming off my credit card and it's done, I pay my CC and don't think about it anymore....2) I want the cheaper renewal option for my trip in 2014.....so if I cancel Flex pay in time, (by my 11th month) then I can call back and renew my AP at the $150 price by paying it in a lump sum?
Hope I have this all straight!
Thanks again for your advice,it's much appreciated Hopefully this is my last post regarding this process,
Marie

 

[damo]

Thanks for all the advice...I really appreciate it everyone

Damo...that's exactly what I figured...I'd be paying for a pass again when one isn't even activated yet....
However, I do want an AP for 2014 too, and would like to get that cheap renewal rate of $150.00....I am thinking maybe I should just buy my pass around March/April 2012, then I'd have the 11 months to pay it off, and it would be paid off pretty much by the time I go in January 2013...then cancel the flex pay before my 11th pmt. then renew at the cheaper cost for 2014 and activate it in the fall of 2014 when we go again? Would this be a good way to achieve both outcomes I would like.....1)Flex Pay option, paying bits at a time, yes, I understand I could just open a sepereate account, put aside the money myself then pay it out...but I am not that disciplined and like the idea of it coming off my credit card and it's done, I pay my CC and don't think about it anymore....2) I want the cheaper renewal option for my trip in 2014.....so if I cancel Flex pay in time, (by my 11th month) then I can call back and renew my AP at the $150 price by paying it in a lump sum?
Hope I have this all straight!
Thanks again for your advice,it's much appreciated Hopefully this is my last post regarding this process,
Marie

When you do the renewal, you don't get a new activation. It is just continued from the first year activation. So if you activate your first AP in January 2013, your second year begins in January 2014.

 

[chimo2u]

When you do the renewal, you don't get a new activation. It is just continued from the first year activation. So if you activate your first AP in January 2013, your second year begins in January 2014.

Oh, okay so that would work for me? Next trip January 2013.....then it will activate at the renewal for January 2014....but still be good for the year (January 2014 -January 2015) and will cover us for our Fall (Sept/Octover 2014 time frame trip)??

 

[damo]

Oh, okay so that would work for me? Next trip January 2013.....then it will activate at the renewal for January 2014....but still be good for the year (January 2014 -January 2015) and will cover us for our Fall (Sept/Octover 2014 time frame trip)??

Yup, that is how it would work.