Those using Disney Vacation Account

[DisneysForgottenPrincess]

Hello all,

I'm looking into using the Disney Vacation Account site to save money for my 2017 Walt Disney World Vacation. My question is, of those of you who use it, do you find that It works for you? What are the cons you have found (if any)? Does it have to be automatically taken from your checking account or can you set it up to where you put some into the account when you want to? Is it easy to transfer the funds that in the account to pay for the vacation? Also, in case of emergency can I/( or how easy is it) to get the funds transferred back into my banking account? This is one of my first times posting on the boards so forgive me if I'm doing something incorrectly. Thank you all so much for helping me out

 

[havaneselover]

Oh, gosh. No way would I let DVA debit my checking account.

I deposit gift cards in mine. It saved me $100 (enough for one night at Pop pre-cruise). It is a good concept but poorly executed. Proceed with caution.

 

[Jaime4004]

Lots of good and bad opinions on the DVA. I been using it for a little over a year and it's worked fine for me. I have money automatically deducted from my credit card each month (I would not use my bank account for anything on the internet...) My last trip I also added gift cards to it. No problem using the money to pay for the trip, received the bonus on time. I have been using it again for a few trips coming up. Just yesterday paid off resort with it, it showed up immediately in my account. Used it a few months ago to purchase tickets and put down a deposit for another trip next year. I have not had to try to get a refund though, no experience with that. I also take a screen shot of every deposit and withdrawal, and save all gift cards that I put into it, just in case.

 

[mistysue]

The big catch with the DVA is every so often people go to login and it can't find their account. It can take a week or two to get your account back.

So don't do ANYTHING with it if you are in a hurry. At one point the system glitched, they lost my account and their phone line was disconnected for the first few days... which was stressful. (did my vacation money just vanish?!?) Once they came back they acted like this was completely normal.

If dealing with that is ok, then go for it. As far as I know people have always gotten their account back, I don't know that they do refunds though. I think the specific point of this from their end is that you are basically trapped into using the money for Disney. Also, if you take the money back as a gift card it doesn't go toward getting a bonus. So it's only useful if you call Disney and use the account as if it's a credit card to pay for the hotel/tickets/photopass ahead of time. If you just want to merge all your discounted gift cards I've read you can now do that through the gift card site.

 

[LoriLovesDisneyland]

You can close your vacation account and receive a refund in whatever form you deposited from. so if you used your bank account in the form of a debit card, it gets put back into your bank account. It says this in all the fine print when you sign up. You can get a full or partial refund. You can do up to 10 partial refunds. I do not know how long refunds take. I would assume 7-10 days.

 

[kphamousbr]

We have opened DVC two years ago . Deposited disney gift cards and used it to purchase annual passes , dining plan and paid our dues . We received $20 bonus gift card for every $1000 spending . We found it very handy. Good luck. Have a magical trip.

 

[My2Qtz0205]

Let's say I set it up to charge my Disney VISA every month. Will I get the bonus GCs and the Disney Rewards Dollars?

 

[PACVII]

I buy gift cards with my disney visa to get points there and the cards I buy at my local grocery store gives me cash off buying fuel. I then load the cards to the vacation account and when I book make sure I am getting the bonus back from Disney. Every little bit helps

 

[mistysue]

Let's say I set it up to charge my Disney VISA every month. Will I get the bonus GCs and the Disney Rewards Dollars?

Rewards for your credit card, yes.
DVA rewards, maybe.

If you call Disney to book your hotel and use the account as a credit card, yes. If you call and pay for a package, memory maker, tickets, hotel, dinner shows, etc - yes.
If you take the money back out as a gift card, no.
If you are on site and make room charges, as far as I know they need you to use an actual credit card in person. So the only way to use your DVA money to pay that is to cash it out as a gift card- which does not count toward the reward.
(If somebody knows 100% that you can use a DVA to pay room charges- it's worth like $60 for me to know that by next week- so that knowledge would be appreciated!)

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Just through reading these boards, I don't have an account, it seems that many of the problems with the account are when people deposit Disney gift cards into the account and then ask for a refund. By the time they ask for the refund, they have tossed the "empty" cards.

Of course the refund is returned to the gift card number.

Panic ensues.

It seemed that many people were using the account as a holding account, rather than using it to save for a Disney vacation.

It seems there are fewer problems with accounts that are truly used as a Vacation Account.

 

[Marionnette]

Just through reading these boards, I don't have an account, it seems that many of the problems with the account are when people deposit Disney gift cards into the account and then ask for a refund. By the time they ask for the refund, they have tossed the "empty" cards.

Of course the refund is returned to the gift card number.

Panic ensues.

It seemed that many people were using the account as a holding account, rather than using it to save for a Disney vacation.

It seems there are fewer problems with accounts that are truly used as a Vacation Account.

I guess I've been reading different posts than you.

While there have been some people who have had issues with how their money is refunded, I have seen a lot more issues than that and they stem from the lousy IT that Disney has. Honestly, if your bank operated as badly as the DVA, there would be an investigation by the Federal Reserve.

• People have had their bank accounts and credit cards double-dipped, causing their bank accounts to be overdrawn or their CCs to be above their limit.
• The website is wonky. It was down for more than a week last year and no one at DVA could provide answers.
• People have made one-time deposits with CCs, GCs or their debits cards which clearly reflect that the funds were debited but the DVA shows no record of the deposit.
• People have reported that their entire account disappeared with DVA personnel telling them that there is no record of the account.
• Their customer service is non-existent. No one in can answer questions beyond what you can read for yourself in the FAQ. Anything else requires a higher-level employee to return your call - eventually and at their own convenience. Heaven help you if you miss that call because there is never a direct number to call to reach that person. You end up restarting the whole process with another lower-level representative for whom your problem is above their pay grade.

In fairness, every problem that I listed was eventually resolved. But it took multiple phone calls and tenacity on the parts of the affected parties. The question arises: is that a party you would want to join?

 

[Night Huntress]

I'll chip in here. I have a DVA and while I have had a few issues, nothing that would scare me off of using it. In reference to the refunds, it is easier to call an DVA agent to do the refund. It does go back on the method with which you used to pay. However - for giftcards- the agent as well as the website the couple times I have done it....have asked if you have the original card(s). If not....no problem. They put it on a new one and ship it out. The only issue I've run on to is where the account "disappears". usually technical glitch. So I agree their IT can use some work. But it usually comes back up and if not...I have my DVA account number so I can call and get it worked out.

I think the biggest questions you need to ask yourself are

1. Can you handle it if there are technical issues? and calling customer service?
2. Why do you want to use this method to save?
For me it was because I bought Target Giftcards with my Redcard to save 5% off and wanted the bonus DVA offered for saving too.

 

[jlundeen]

Does anyone know if you can somehow deposit a MasterCard gift card into the DVA? I tried doing it like a credit card, but since there was no billing address associated with it, I got an error....

BTW...I have used the DVA for the past couple of years, and have no problems with it, as long as I remember that I can only deposit so much at a time, and not wait until my final reservation payment is due. I also like getting the bonuses, and use my Target Red Card to but the gift cards at 5% off and deposit them. It's an easy way to build up the account a little at a time.

 

[disney1474]

I have an account already and just use it for buying park passes. I was thinking, can you use it towards a disney cruise??

 

[Night Huntress]

I have an account already and just use it for buying park passes. I was thinking, can you use it towards a disney cruise??

Yes you can

 

[Art08]

I've been using DVA since June, and haven't had problems but reading about the issues I could possibly have worries me.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I've been using DVA since June, and haven't had problems but reading about the issues I could possibly have worries me.

I'm a strong believer in only worrying when necessary. If the reported issues are really worrying you, then move on from DVA & just be done with it. If it's just a little worry when you read a thread like this, the worry doesn't nag at you and you feel the above risks are worth the reward, then you really have nothing to worry about!

 

[disney1474]

I've had no issues and have an account open for more then a year.

 

[jlundeen]

I have no problems with the Disney Vac Account - have used it successfully for several trips, and all but one worked flawlessly.

But I do have a question about qualifying purchases that go towards the bonus program, and specifically Tours. Can I pay for a tour at WDW and have that amount be applied to my $20/$1000 bonus?

Thanks! Couldn't find a list of what qualifies and what doesn't anywhere!

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

I have no problems with the Disney Vac Account - have used it successfully for several trips, and all but one worked flawlessly.

But I do have a question about qualifying purchases that go towards the bonus program, and specifically Tours. Can I pay for a tour at WDW and have that amount be applied to my $20/$1000 bonus?

Thanks! Couldn't find a list of what qualifies and what doesn't anywhere!

Do you mean AT the park? Because you can not use your DVA in person whatsoever. It should qualify if you pay by phone though.