Considering Disney Vacation Account

[OffToDWD]

We are considering opening a Disney Vacation Account for our cruise next summer. Trying to figure out if it's beneficial. After reading their FAQs, still a bit unclear. If I open an account now, do I have to immediately start scheduled contribution? Can I just do one time contributions instead of scheduling contributions? Would I be able to use the savings to apply towards onboard expenses like gratuity, excursions, etc? Would we get the $20 bonus gift cards in time to use on the cruise? Sorry for so many questions! Any clarification would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[havaneselover]

I funded my last cruise with my DVA. To open it you have to make or schedule a contribution I believe. It can be for $10 or more. You want to open it asap to start the clock on your 120 days.

I don't trust DVA to debit my credit card or bank account--there have been horror stories. I strictly use it to deposit gift cards.

For my last cruise, I paid the fare, funded my onboard account for tips, souvenir purchases, excursions, etc. with it. I also used it to book two placeholders. I believe 100% of my spending was through my DVA which was 100% funded with gift cards.

I believe unless they extend it, the bonus will only be given for spending done by the end of the year. I'm going to try my best to have my 2018 Alaska cruise paid for by December 31 to maximize the bonus.

My bonuses are sent automatically every time I hit a $1,000 threshold. I then just deposit the bonus in my DVA. Other people have said they have to request theirs. You should get it in plenty of time--I believe it's supposed to be sent within 4 weeks of your trip date.

Customer service is hit or miss. If you don't have an issue it's a great product. Last cruise it paid for a night at pop pre-cruise. But if you have issues it can be a major pain to get them resolved. The DVA concept is great, but the implementation is not so good.

 

[hanscarlet]

We got this yesterday for $80 for essentially doing nothing but saving so we are huge fans of DVA and think it's beneficial... that said I've had my fair share of problems with them... I think they are run like a small company that still hasn't figured out customer service yet... the customer service reps you call don't have access to looking into the financial side of your account so they always have to create a ticket for you to fix whatever issue you have.... all of my issues have been taken care of but it's not instantaneous, you have to wait until they investigate and most of the fixes are communicated via email... sometimes they will call but they are very e-comm driven

I had a major issue when they upgraded disney's website and put the same username on all of the disney sites... it was a pain in the butt and resulted in my having to close the account and create a new one...I got all of my money back but it was a pain in the butt

 

[OffToDWD]

Thank you both!!

 

[jdb in AZ]

How much of a bonus do they offer?

 

[squirk]

We are considering opening a Disney Vacation Account for our cruise next summer. Trying to figure out if it's beneficial. After reading their FAQs, still a bit unclear. If I open an account now, do I have to immediately start scheduled contribution? Can I just do one time contributions instead of scheduling contributions? Would I be able to use the savings to apply towards onboard expenses like gratuity, excursions, etc? Would we get the $20 bonus gift cards in time to use on the cruise? Sorry for so many questions! Any clarification would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Yes, when you apply your DVA funds to your cruise, it actually shows up as a "gift" credit to your account. When you get to your stateroom, there will be little cards reminding you "a gift of $XXX has been applied to your onboard account", even though it was, in fact, you doing the gifting.

The credit will be used against your folio and anything you can charge to it, including gratuities, DCL excursions, drinks, gift shop merchandise, etc.

If the 2% credit goes away, I don't know what the point of this account would be, unless you really want or need to see your vacation funds segregated like that. That 2% is not a bad return on idle cash right now.

So what you should do is buy get a credit card with a sweet cash-back or discount on purchases at a wholesale club like Sam's or Costco. Buy Disney gift cards with the credit card. The card will give you some sort of reward equivalent to 1%-5% savings, and the wholesale club will give you a 5% discount on the cards themselves, so your savings are 6%-10% right there. Deposit the cards into your DVA for another 2%, assuming it's still around. 8%-12% savings on a Disney cruise is nothing to sneeze at.

 

[danielocha30]

just wanted to add that if you're from Florida and book a Resident offer online, Disney ask for a credit card with a florida address for payment, I pay $9 with my credit card and the rest with the DVA. Also if you deposit your Disney gift cards keep the cards! if for any reason you need your funds back, whatever you deposited in cards will be reimbursed on the same card.
The account is a great tool for people who have hard time saving, once the money is there you can only used for Disney purposes.

 

[havaneselover]

How much of a bonus do they offer?

$20 per $1,000 of spending.

 

[havaneselover]

Yes, when you apply your DVA funds to your cruise, it actually shows up as a "gift" credit to your account. When you get to your stateroom, there will be little cards reminding you "a gift of $XXX has been applied to your onboard account", even though it was, in fact, you doing the gifting.

The credit will be used against your folio and anything you can charge to it, including gratuities, DCL excursions, drinks, gift shop merchandise, etc.

If the 2% credit goes away, I don't know what the point of this account would be, unless you really want or need to see your vacation funds segregated like that. That 2% is not a bad return on idle cash right now.

So what you should do is buy get a credit card with a sweet cash-back or discount on purchases at a wholesale club like Sam's or Costco. Buy Disney gift cards with the credit card. The card will give you some sort of reward equivalent to 1%-5% savings, and the wholesale club will give you a 5% discount on the cards themselves, so your savings are 6%-10% right there. Deposit the cards into your DVA for another 2%, assuming it's still around. 8%-12% savings on a Disney cruise is nothing to sneeze at.

I use Amex Blue Preferred at Kroger to buy Disney gift cards. My total discount is around 18%.

 

[squirk]

The account is a great tool for people who have hard time saving, once the money is there you can only used for Disney purposes.

I think you can get the money back out if need be.

 

[danielocha30]

I think you can get the money back out if need be.

yes you do but takes time, at least is not on hand for impulse buying

 

[OffToDWD]

Thanks for all the tips!

 

[RysMomma]

We have had one for a few years now and really really like it. We made our first deposit with it for our cruise when we booked in February and it was really nice not to have to worry about the charge showing up on our regular credit card. We haven't received any gift cards yet because this is the first trip we're using it for, so I'm hoping for an extension in the dates!

 

[Neptune's Fork]

The question I have is, once you have opened it, do you keep using the same account, or do you just do it for the particular vacation you are saving for then open another for the next vacation? If you just keep using the same one then that means every vacation you'll get the bonus gift cards no matter how long before the vacation?

 

[havaneselover]

The question I have is, once you have opened it, do you keep using the same account, or do you just do it for the particular vacation you are saving for then open another for the next vacation? If you just keep using the same one then that means every vacation you'll get the bonus gift cards no matter how long before the vacation?

Keep using the same account. Only reason to open another one would be if you've maxed out the bonus.

 

[minorthr]

Ive funded 2 cruises, a trip to disney world and working on a third cruise with a DVA. No issues although Ive read some horror stories here. It almost seems like a no brainer to do it. gotten around $200 back so far.

 

[Sytrace]

yes you do but takes time, at least is not on hand for impulse buying

I took a couple hundred out of my DVA on Saturday and it showed up In my checking account this morning. I thought that was pretty fast considering I requested it on a weekend evening.
Granted it was not a large amount.

 

[OffToDWD]

Do they give you the $20 bonus every time you hit $1000 in saving or a lump sum right before the trip that you're saving for?

 

[minorthr]

Do they give you the $20 bonus every time you hit $1000 in saving or a lump sum right before the trip that you're saving for?

They give you $20 for every $1000 you spend out of the account on a disney vacation. So you can't just save $1000 and get a $20 gift card you actually have to spend it on a vacation. After you spend it you also have to request the "reward" They will ask when youre traveling when you make the request and send it to you based off the date you enter.

 

[gummdrop87645]

I used a travel agent to book our cruise, how would I finish paying off the cruise with the dva, or is this not allowed?