Paying off the trip

[TwinkleKS]

I put the money is a separate account as I have it, then pay off when it is due.

 

[taurus8012]

I pay everything as early as possible, one less thing for me to worry about

 

[WantToGoNow]

I will be paying my remaining balance Friday. We leave September 1. I'm excited to have it done.

 

[china mom]

For those who like to pay a little bit at a time, consider the Disney Vacation Account. The "interest" isn't all that great but the money is yours and there is no penalty if you don't end up traveling. You earn a $20 gift card for every thousand that you save and spend on your vacation (2%).

 

[buddyjo143]

DH and I are in our late 50s so we've started buying trip insurance. After final payment or during travel, we would have a safety net.

 

[JohnneeO]

For those who like to pay a little bit at a time, consider the Disney Vacation Account. The "interest" isn't all that great but the money is yours and there is no penalty if you don't end up traveling. You earn a $20 gift card for every thousand that you save and spend on your vacation (2%).

I used the DVC as a conduit simply to generate the gift cards. We had purchased gift cards from Target. Rather than using them to pay WDW directly, I input them into my DVC account and then paid off my package from there.

$950 cash to Target gives me $1,000 of gift cards that goes through my DVC to generate another $20 gift card. So $950 to Target = $1,020 worth of Disney. OTOH, $950 directly to Disney only buys me $950 worth of Disney.

Caveat: The DVC must be open at least 120 days at the time it is used to pay WDW in order to earn the gift cards.

 

[daisycraze]

I have been putting money weekly in a vacation savings account. As it gets closer to our trip, I have been slowly paying it off with Target gift cards. If the money is sitting in my account it is just too tempting to me to spend it.

 

[jpeterson]

I put the money is a separate account as I have it, then pay off when it is due.

That's what we do, that way it's "paid" for in the budget. We then begin buying Disney gift cards from target for the 5% discount.

 

[Aermaia]

I used the DVC as a conduit simply to generate the gift cards. We had purchased gift cards from Target. Rather than using them to pay WDW directly, I input them into my DVC account and then paid off my package from there.

$950 cash to Target gives me $1,000 of gift cards that goes through my DVC to generate another $20 gift card. So $950 to Target = $1,020 worth of Disney. OTOH, $950 directly to Disney only buys me $950 worth of Disney.

Caveat: The DVC must be open at least 120 days at the time it is used to pay WDW in order to earn the gift cards.

I use my DVA the same way. I buy giftcards for a discount and then add them to my DVA. I tend to then wait until close to payoff time and then use my DVA to payoff the trip balance. I SHOULD use my DVA year round to take advantage of really good giftcard deals, but every year after I go on a trip I tell myself that I can skip going back until Star Wars Land is complete, and then 6 months later I find myself booking another trip!

 

[mcline86]

If you live near a Sam's Club, you can get $150 of gift cards for $145. Not a huge savings, but it is something! I like to set money aside. I've never heard of the DVA. I'll have to check it out!

 

[alissa425]

I purchase the Disney gift cards at Target using my Target Red card on my frequent Target trips. I consolidate the cards on www.disneygiftcard.com and pay the balance due at payoff time.

 

[taurus8012]

The Chase Disney Premier Card has been my choice of payment for all things Disney AP's , DVC maint. fees , food plan.

 

[Corbie]

I charged everything on a Disney VISA to take advantage of the $200 special. But, I also figured out how much to pay off the entire trip (including estimated meals) between booking and trip and divided that by number of paychecks. I transfer that amount to a savings account so I can pay off when we return to the trip.

We're lucky. DH travels a lot and we were able to get frequent flyer air travel plus our offsite hotel paid for in full.