Disney Vacation Account vs Rewards Strategy Help

[perchy]

So while I was tossing some money into a savings account intended for our next Disney trip in 2017, I remembered some advice from this board about opening a Disney Vacation Account with, say $10, letting it sit there until before we purchase, then transfer the balance to pay for the trip and earn the bonus gift cards you get.

BUT, I also have a BofA Travel Rewards card too. My intentions had been to save my points for our Disney trip, so that, when I purchase the trip, I can use points to cover it.

So I guess I have to figure out how many points I'll actually have saved. I won't be able to use the Disney Vacation Account if I buy a package on my card and use the points to pay for it. But if I end up buying our hotel stay separately, I can probably use my card for that and use the DVA for tickets and dining. Right?

Anyone have experience doing anything similar?

 

[Marionnette]

So while I was tossing some money into a savings account intended for our next Disney trip in 2017, I remembered some advice from this board about opening a Disney Vacation Account with, say $10, letting it sit there until before we purchase, then transfer the balance to pay for the trip and earn the bonus gift cards you get.

BUT, I also have a BofA Travel Rewards card too. My intentions had been to save my points for our Disney trip, so that, when I purchase the trip, I can use points to cover it.

So I guess I have to figure out how many points I'll actually have saved. I won't be able to use the Disney Vacation Account if I buy a package on my card and use the points to pay for it. But if I end up buying our hotel stay separately, I can probably use my card for that and use the DVA for tickets and dining. Right?

Anyone have experience doing anything similar?

I'm a little confused as to what you're trying to do. Do I have this correct?

• You have a travel rewards CC that you're racking up points on.
• You want to use the points from this card to pay for your trip - do you have to book through their travel portal to do this? or is it more like a statement credit for travel purchases?
  
• You would like to pay for your tickets and dining using the DVA. - by "dining" do you mean a dining plan? or do you mean that you want to use your DVA funds to pay for your meals as you purchase them?

You can use any form of payment (DVA, GCs, CC, Debit Card) to pay for a Disney reservation that you have booked through Disney. If you book through an outside source (room consolidator, discount travel website, etc) then you will be subject to the methods of payment that they accept.

The DVA can be used to pay for rooms, packages and tickets purchased online or via the phone. It cannot be used to purchase tickets at the parks or to pay for food at the point of purchase. The only food that the DVA can pay for would be a dining plan purchased as a part of a package.

 

[perchy]

I'm a little confused as to what you're trying to do. Do I have this correct?

• You have a travel rewards CC that you're racking up points on.
• You want to use the points from this card to pay for your trip - do you have to book through their travel portal to do this? or is it more like a statement credit for travel purchases?
  
• You would like to pay for your tickets and dining using the DVA. - by "dining" do you mean a dining plan? or do you mean that you want to use your DVA funds to pay for your meals as you purchase them?

You can use any form of payment (DVA, GCs, CC, Debit Card) to pay for a Disney reservation that you have booked through Disney. If you book through an outside source (room consolidator, discount travel website, etc) then you will be subject to the methods of payment that they accept.

The DVA can be used to pay for rooms, packages and tickets purchased online or via the phone. It cannot be used to purchase tickets at the parks or to pay for food at the point of purchase. The only food that the DVA can pay for would be a dining plan purchased as a part of a package.

OK.... your points again with my comments in bold....

• You have a travel rewards CC that you're racking up points on. Yes. I set up the DVA and then rethought doing this because hopefully I'll earn enough points and won't need the DVA.
• You want to use the points from this card to pay for your trip - do you have to book through their travel portal to do this? or is it more like a statement credit for travel purchases? The latter. I can make the reservation anywhere, but I have to use the card to purchase the vacation, so I can apply the points for the credit. That's where DVA is a little redundant for me. My understanding is I have to use the DVA funds to pay for a trip. They won't reimburse me so I can pay my credit card.
• You would like to pay for your tickets and dining using the DVA. - by "dining" do you mean a dining plan? or do you mean that you want to use your DVA funds to pay for your meals as you purchase them? I was thinking that, on the potentially likely scenario I do not have enough points to pay for the entire trip, I could pay for some chunk of it with my card so that I can apply points, and then, provided I didn't buy a package, I'd be able to pay for park tickets and/or the dining plan through DVA. Or even the other way around, hotel through DVA and tickets and dining plan through my credit card. Thinking out loud (which is clearly what I needed to do), this could work. If I end up booking a package and paying for most of it with the card points, is there anything left the DVA could be good for?

Again, I won't add to my initial $10 deposit until closer to actual travel, if I even need it at all.

 

[Marionnette]

OK.... your points again with my comments in bold....

• You have a travel rewards CC that you're racking up points on. Yes. I set up the DVA and then rethought doing this because hopefully I'll earn enough points and won't need the DVA.
• You want to use the points from this card to pay for your trip - do you have to book through their travel portal to do this? or is it more like a statement credit for travel purchases? The latter. I can make the reservation anywhere, but I have to use the card to purchase the vacation, so I can apply the points for the credit. That's where DVA is a little redundant for me. My understanding is I have to use the DVA funds to pay for a trip. They won't reimburse me so I can pay my credit card.
• You would like to pay for your tickets and dining using the DVA. - by "dining" do you mean a dining plan? or do you mean that you want to use your DVA funds to pay for your meals as you purchase them? I was thinking that, on the potentially likely scenario I do not have enough points to pay for the entire trip, I could pay for some chunk of it with my card so that I can apply points, and then, provided I didn't buy a package, I'd be able to pay for park tickets and/or the dining plan through DVA. Or even the other way around, hotel through DVA and tickets and dining plan through my credit card. Thinking out loud (which is clearly what I needed to do), this could work. If I end up booking a package and paying for most of it with the card points, is there anything left the DVA could be good for?

Again, I won't add to my initial $10 deposit until closer to actual travel, if I even need it at all.

The DVA could be used to pay for the remainder of the trip. This gets a little tricky because you would need to determine how much you can pay using your rewards points from your CC. Then you would need to deposit enough to cover the balance into your DVA. Or you can choose to pay for the room through one method and the tickets using the other method, however you can't get the dining plan without booking a package.

Keep in mind that the DVA will only reward for every $1K spent on qualifying purchases. So, putting $500 (hypothetical amount) into the DVA in order to pay off a balance is not going to net you anything. For the most part, the DVA can be used to pay for tours, tickets, rooms, packages and sometimes specialty dining packages (I used mine to pay for 2 Food and Wine Premium Packages). You cannot use the DVA to pay for room charges or any purchases made while visiting at the Walt Disney Resorts, including restaurant charges.

 

[perchy]

Thank you. Makes sense.

You really can't just buy a dining plan? Or, is it considered a package once you add it to your options at checkout?

 

[Marionnette]

Thank you. Makes sense.

You really can't just buy a dining plan? Or, is it considered a package once you add it to your options at checkout?

Once you add the dining plan to any stay, it becomes a package. The only exception would be if you are staying on DVC points at a DVC resort. However, then you would not be able to pay for that with your DVA.

Disney has what they call a "ticketless package". It's room + a dining plan, but does not include tickets. You have to call in order to book one. The option is not available online. There is no way to book just the dining plan.

 

[calypso726]

The DVA might code as travel for your credit card. It did for one of mine. It was either the Barclay Arrival Plus or Capital One Venture, I forget which. I was able to use my travel reward points to pay for the "DVA purchase" and get the statement credit since the DVA deposit coded as travel. We paid for our vacation with the DVA and got the $20 gift card for every $1000 we paid with it. I'd do a test deposit and see how it codes on your statement. You might be able to double dip like we did.

 

[hsmamato2]

OP I would assume you could pay for your trip using your cc points, whether you choose a package straight from disney or you decide to do a room only booking,then buy your tickets etc separately? Is it a program where you spend the money in their travel category,and they take that amount off your statement?
I wouldn't bother with DVA for a measly 10 or 20 dollars -it's not much money for a lot of hassle,considering you are trying to spend on your card to accrue the points to potentially reduce your travel bill by hundreds or more.
In trying to travel for cheap or free like you are thinking, it pays to focus on your goal,and which method will save you the most. It sounds to me like not bothering with a dva and focusing on your boa card for points is worth your time. Esp. if you book a room only, then later you want to buy tickets,and you go thru a discounted ticket site, the DVA prevents all of that.