Using Disney gift cards then transferring to Costco

[MalorieA]

My plan for our upcoming cruise is to book a placeholder for our next cruise, pay that cruise down to almost $0 using discounted Disney gift cards, then transfer the reservation to Costco (within 30 days like they require) in order to get the ~8.5% Costco shop card. Is there something I’m missing or have others been able to do this? Is anyone able to confirm that Costco will give the shop card percentage based on the full price of the cruise or is it only on the remaining balance? Hope this makes sense. Thank you for any advice!

 

[Cheburashka]

The Costco Shop Card amount is always 8.5% of the base cost of the cruise. It doesn't matter how much you pay with gift cards before transferring (as long as you don't pay in full before transferring). I think you can even pay for the cruise with Disney gift cards when the cruise is already booked through Costco- i.e. you give Costco the Disney gift card info, and they pass that on to DCL. The money you pay for the cruise doesn't go to Costco. It goes directly to DCL. That's also why you can't pay for the cruise with a Costco Shop Card.

The reason Costco gives you the 8.5% back is because DCL gives Costco a percentage of the base cruise cost for the cruises Costco books on DCL's behalf. That doesn't change regardless of if the customer pays with gift cards or credit cards.

 

[MalorieA]

Ok great…thank you for the response. That would be great if we could pay with gift cards even after transferring it to Costco too.

 

[supergirl04]

You can definitely use gift cards with Costco

 

[LAX]

You can definitely use gift cards with Costco

Glad to hear it hasn't changed since our last DCL cruise a few years ago.

LAX

 

[meremac]

Keep in mind that to transfer to an agency, you cannot be "paid to net". This means that your balance must be more than the commission that the agency would receive (DCL considers a reservation booked through an agency to be paid in full if it's "paid to net", and PIF reservations can't be transferred). I only share this because you mentioned paying your reservation down to almost zero first, but if you did that you would not be able to transfer it!

 

[lanejudy]

My plan for our upcoming cruise is to book a placeholder for our next cruise, pay that cruise down…, then transfer the reservation to Costco (within 30 days like they require)

Keep in mind that the 30-day timeline to transfer begins with the date you make the placeholder onboard. Not the date you use that placeholder to book an actual cruise.

 

[Husker Mike]

The placeholder process has changed. You now only book the placeholder online in the DCL app, and there they ask if you want to transfer your placeholder to your agent, if you used the agent to book the cruise you were on. The agent then has your placeholder and can then book your cruise upon your return. You do not book the cruise on board, if only because trying to coordinate the various cruise options and your schedules is a PITA out at sea. (Unless you did all of that work before you left home.)

I don't know how it would work to transfer the placeholder to Costco if you used a different agent or didn't use an agent at all on your cruise, though.

 

[lanejudy]

I don't know how it would work to transfer the placeholder to Costco if you used a different agent or didn't use an agent at all on your cruise, though.

If wanting to change TAs, ideally one should book the placeholder without designating the "current" TA. Then it can easily be transferred to another TA (Costco) post-cruise.

If you happen to book a placeholder onboard and then later decide you wish to change TAs, it's more complicated. First you'd need to request that the current TA assigned agree to release the reservation back to DCL. Assuming that process happens within the 30-day window, you could then transfer it to a new TA (Costco).

 

[MalorieA]

Keep in mind that to transfer to an agency, you cannot be "paid to net". This means that your balance must be more than the commission that the agency would receive (DCL considers a reservation booked through an agency to be paid in full if it's "paid to net", and PIF reservations can't be transferred). I only share this because you mentioned paying your reservation down to almost zero first, but if you did that you would not be able to transfer it!

Ok thanks for that clarification. Didn’t realize that…much appreciated!

 

[TheChanClan]

I'm not familiar with this process. Can you walk me through it? How do I transfer my upcoming cruise to Costco?
I go to Costco all the time so the cash back card would be awesome.

 

[lanejudy]

I'm not familiar with this process. Can you walk me through it? How do I transfer my upcoming cruise to Costco?
I go to Costco all the time so the cash back card would be awesome.

First, a reservation can only be transferred to a travel agent within 30 days. If you booked your cruise longer ago than that it is not an option.

Within the 30 day window, contact your TA and let them know you have a reservation you’d like to transfer to them. They’ll share a form to complete with the details.

Once transferred, all payments are made through the TA. Also any changes can only be done through the TA. You can still book excursions and onboard activities and do your own online checkin.

 

[supergirl04]

I'm not familiar with this process. Can you walk me through it? How do I transfer my upcoming cruise to Costco?
I go to Costco all the time so the cash back card would be awesome.

I googled the process. Not sure if I can link here, but there is a detailed page out there with the instructions and paperwork. Just be within 30 days.

 

[cvjw]

I have transferred a cruise booked thru DCL to Costco. I called Costco travel and they emailed me a form to fill out and send back to them. Super easy.

 

[TheChanClan]

I have transferred a cruise booked thru DCL to Costco. I called Costco travel and they emailed me a form to fill out and send back to them. Super easy.

Okay, I can try this. I booked the cruise myself on the DCL website, so calling Costco travel seems like the best bet. Thanks all!

 

[Rob1872]

Just remember that once you transfer the reservation to Costco Travel it is no longer YOUR reservation. It is Costco Travel's reservation. If you have any major changes needed, you cannot change it yourself, you have to go through Costco. Just like plane tickets: if your flight is cancelled the airline is sending the money back to Expedia, etc. and not you. Obviously many people happily book through travel agents with no problems. Just wanted to point out the reason that I never book through a travel agent (even though I would love the kick-back); I don't want to lose control of the reservation even though 99% of the time it won't matter.

 

[ljhayes]

Just like plane tickets: if your flight is cancelled the airline is sending the money back to Expedia, etc. and not you.

This is not correct. Payments are made directly from the traveler's payment method to Disney and refunds are made directly from Disney back to the traveler. The TA processes payments but no money passes through the TA.

 

[cvjw]

Just remember that once you transfer the reservation to Costco Travel it is no longer YOUR reservation. It is Costco Travel's reservation. If you have any major changes needed, you cannot change it yourself, you have to go through Costco. Just like plane tickets: if your flight is cancelled the airline is sending the money back to Expedia, etc. and not you. Obviously many people happily book through travel agents with no problems. Just wanted to point out the reason that I never book through a travel agent (even though I would love the kick-back); I don't want to lose control of the reservation even though 99% of the time it won't matter.

When I cancel a Disney cruise booked thru Costco, the money is refunded directly to me from DCL. In about a week. And we had to cancel about 5 cruises during covid when we had been exposed to people with covid. Not an issue at all getting a refund when using Costco travel.

 

[sagosto]

What would be the benefit for booking via DCL and transferring to Costco? Why not just book through Costco if the benefits are the same? I assume you are buying Disney Gift Cards via Target 5%. Does that mean you would get 8.5% (appox) Gift Card, 5% off Target Gift cards, and 2% via Executive Membership?

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

What would be the benefit for booking via DCL and transferring to Costco? Why not just book through Costco if the benefits are the same? I assume you are buying Disney Gift Cards via Target 5%. Does that mean you would get 8.5% (appox) Gift Card, 5% off Target Gift cards, and 2% via Executive Membership?

They could have a placeholder that they used when they booked their current cruise. I know that if you don't use a TA and get a placeholder, you have 30 days to move it to a TA, if not, you have to book your cruise through DCL to use the placeholder.

Psy