Onboard Account - Onboard Credit and Credit Cards

jplee3

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 3, 2011
Hey all,

I was wondering if it's possible to have guest services apply onboard credit only to certain things (like activities and dining options) and then charge your credit card for spa, photo packages, merchandise. The reason being that I have the Disney debit card, which gets you discounts on the aforementioned items. I think if you use onboard credit for those things, even if I have my card pre-authorized, I may not get the discount unless the card is charged. Rather than trying to "buy less" gift cards and trying to calculate how much I'll need to get to the right threshold, it would be easier just to request if certain things can be charged to the card and not onboard credits... has anyone done this before or know? I asked DCL via chat but it wasn't 100% clear - basically all they told me "guest services can help you" but the last thing I'd want is to go there expecting that, then finding out that they were wrong and guest services actually can't do anything like that. Just wanted to try to find out ahead of time so we can plan accordingly.

TIA!
 
I really like interesting questions, and this is one of them.
I didn't specifically see what experiences are included on the Cruiseline with the Disney Credit Card. Not sure if you can prearrange the payment before you get on ship, but if you know how much the discount is then you can check it before you get off the ship and make adjustments.

As an aside if you are a DVC member, gold/platnium cruiser, the gift shops will automatically apply the % off at the time of sale. I don't know if it would be similar for and you would need to show your card at time of service.
 
IIRC, the fact that we had the Disney Visa as our charge method was noted and we got a discount at the places that we were entitled (for us, mostly on larger souvenir purchases). I didn't think it mattered if you actually paid for each thing with the Disney Visa but that you had the Disney Visa as your main charge method to your stateroom. (To clarify, I paid a good deal of our balance with Disney gift cards once aboard after charging to the room and they didn't reverse any of the discounts I had been given previously)
But, I could be recalling incorrectly, so you can ask someone else.
 
The Chase site says this:
When you check in online or at the embarkation terminal, enter your Disney® Visa® Card as your form of payment for all onboard purchases.

2. On the ship, your “Key to the World” card will indicate that you’re a Disney Visa Cardmember and eligible for the perks listed below. Perks cannot be combined with any other offers or discounts, including Cast Member, Annual Passholder, Disney Vacation Club® or Florida resident.

3. Please mention these offers to ensure you receive the savings.
 


For instance, I made sure our Disney Visa was the form of payment on our stateroom. If I purchased $50 worth of merchandise in the gift shop for $40, then I was charged $40 at that time.
When I went to guest services to pay some of the stateroom balance with a gift card, guest services didn't reverse that discount.
 
For instance, I made sure our Disney Visa was the form of payment on our stateroom. If I purchased $50 worth of merchandise in the gift shop for $40, then I was charged $40 at that time.
When I went to guest services to pay some of the stateroom balance with a gift card, guest services didn't reverse that discount.

I'm assuming the $40 you were "charged" was in the context of your onboard account bill right? At the end of the cruise or after (after you've applied gift cards, etc) - that's when the credit card actually got charged, right?

EDIT: wait a sec, did you also pay for the $40 charge (on merchandise) using the gift cards?!
 
I'm assuming the $40 you were "charged" was in the context of your onboard account bill right? At the end of the cruise or after (after you've applied gift cards, etc) - that's when the credit card actually got charged, right?

EDIT: wait a sec, did you also pay for the $40 charge (on merchandise) using the gift cards?!
I set up our onboard accounts (two rooms) to be charged to my Disney Visa. It was noted on the room key they give you. Whenever we purchased merchandise, they gave us the discount at the point of sale because of the notation on our room key card.
At some point, I paid a lot of the onboard account with a gift card. That didn't reverse any of the discounts that I had received thus far. At the end, some amount was still charged to my Disney Visa, but there was no need to separate out what was paid for with what method.

In other words, what mattered was that the Disney Visa was tied to the room key.
 


Is it then possible to at embarkation have a Disney Visa as form of payment and so your KTTW card says you get the discount and then on the last day have guest services Chang my form of payment to my preferred cash back Visa?

My wife just got a Disney Visa and I will be soon as they offered us each a $200 statement credit. We plan on keeping at least one of them through our WDW and DCL trip in October, but we will not be going to a US Disney park for several years and I'd rather have cash back then Disney gift cards.
 
^^ Yes, this! What matters is that your Disney Visa card is linked to your onboard account. Whether you have any OBC, apply gift cards, or plunk down additional cash - it doesn't really matter.

Enjoy your cruise!

This is what I was thinking but I chatted with DCL and they said that if the Disney Visa Credit or Debit card is never charged (even though it's linked and pre-authorized), they supposedly won't apply any discounts. I guess that doesn't make sense if in the case that you're merely racking up charges on the onboard account and not actually charged on the spot each time you buy something, and where your card is charged in-full at the very end of the trip. So theoretically, you could pay in-full for everything using gift cards/onboard credit and still qualify for the discounts assuming your Disney Visa card was linked...
 
Is it then possible to at embarkation have a Disney Visa as form of payment and so your KTTW card says you get the discount and then on the last day have guest services Chang my form of payment to my preferred cash back Visa?

My wife just got a Disney Visa and I will be soon as they offered us each a $200 statement credit. We plan on keeping at least one of them through our WDW and DCL trip in October, but we will not be going to a US Disney park for several years and I'd rather have cash back then Disney gift cards.

This is a good question - I'm sure you probably could pay with another credit card if you request it but I wonder if they would reverse your discounts at that point though. You could always just opt to pay for the items that qualify for the discounts using your Disney Visa and everything else goes onto your preferred cash back. It might be worth calling or chatting DCL to verify this. I was considering getting the Disney Premier Visa as well and requesting that they waive the annual fee, or I suppose I could have downgraded the card to the standard non-annual fee one before year end hahaha. I just opted to apply for the basic non-annual fee card though and should get a $50 statement credit. Depending on how much you spend on the cruise activities/dining/etc too, you're only going to be getting 2% back on each purchase. So if you spend $500 on a bunch of stuff that's just $10 worth of Disney Rewards and I don't think they expire. I'm not sure what that could really buy you *in-full* from Disney LOL!
 
Onboard, they apply the discount at the point of sale, though. They charge your card at the conclusion of the cruise.
I suppose if you totally switched your payment method, they could try to go back and reverse the discounts, but that sounds like a nightmare logistically. I am betting that if you paid down the balance with another card and then let a few bucks charge to the Disney Visa (which was initially registered as your main form of payment), it would not matter.
Honestly, not that much stuff is discounted for the Disney Visa , anyway to really worry about it unless you are spending thousands on merchandise.

The other benefit to the Disney Visa is the 6 months free financing
 
What I am trying to say is that once onboard, you can pay down your stateroom account by other means without changing your main form of payment/charge to your room.
 
The other benefit to the Disney Visa is the 6 months free financing

Charges to the Disney Visa at the end of the cruise (or any point onboard) will not qualify for the 6 months no interest offer. If you pre-pay to your onboard account ahead of time, that does qualify.

Enjoy your cruise!
 
Does anyone know if you can just specify the "CASH" option for your onboard account and then when you go to settle your bill at the end, apply the Disney Visa Rewards card towards purchases of the discount perks (e.g. Castaway Cay gear rentals, Photo Package, merchandise, etc) and get the discounts? Then just pay for everything else using gift cards that are applied to onboard credit?

The concern my brother has is that we link the Visa cards now and exceed the thresholds on the folio balance:
"I acknowledge that I am aware that my card will be charged during the cruise when folio balance exceeds the following limits based on cruise length: 2-5 days ($300), 6-9 days ($500), 10+ days ($700)."

So does this mean that even if we put $600 of onboard credit on the account and have the Disney Visa Rewards (or any credit) card on file and we spend $501 on day 2 of a 7-day cruise, the amount will be charged to the card? Or will the onboard account balance be charged? It's not clear because they say the card will be charged, so kind of confusing.
 
Nothing will be charged to your card until after the on board credit is used up. Than the charging schedule you posted comes into play.
 
Does anyone know if you can just specify the "CASH" option for your onboard account and then when you go to settle your bill at the end, apply the Disney Visa Rewards card towards purchases of the discount perks (e.g. Castaway Cay gear rentals, Photo Package, merchandise, etc) and get the discounts? Then just pay for everything else using gift cards that are applied to onboard credit?

The onboard account for each person is a single account. You can't put a payment toward a particular purchase, only a specific person's account.

When the amount charged to the account reaches the threshhold described in the text you quoted (or the last day of the cruise), the onboard account is paid in this order: non-refundable credits, refundable credits, gift cards, payment method at check-in (credit card or cash). If you have $600 of credit on your account and spend $501 on day 2 of 7, that credit will be used to pay the account, and you will have $99 of credit left on the account. Nothing will be charged to the credit card until/unless you spend more than $99 later in the cruise.

Discounts for using a Disney Visa are available only if you used the Disney Visa as your method of payment at check-in. If you use cash as your method of payment, you won't get the Disney Visa discount. As mentioned above, you can use a Disney Visa as the "official" payment method and then go to Guest Services to have cash, gift cards, or rewards cards applied to your account, in which case those payments will be applied before the credit card is charged.

If you really want to access the discount while minimizing the chance of charges to the credit card, you could use cash for all but one person in the room and the Disney Visa for the remaining person. Then have the person with the Visa make all of the discount-eligible purchases for everyone in the room. You would need to then provide cash/gift cards/reward cards to cover all purchases along with all excursions, adult dinners, purchased beverages, and tips for that person as soon as they are incurred (or at least before the threshhold is reached).
 
The Chase site says this:
When you check in online or at the embarkation terminal, enter your Disney® Visa® Card as your form of payment for all onboard purchases.

2. On the ship, your “Key to the World” card will indicate that you’re a Disney Visa Cardmember and eligible for the perks listed below. Perks cannot be combined with any other offers or discounts, including Cast Member, Annual Passholder, Disney Vacation Club® or Florida resident.

3. Please mention these offers to ensure you receive the savings.
Interesting, I can't say for positive I did this at the terminal, but I felt that I had to carry around the cc with me everywhere and show I could get the discounts. Kind of annoying. Why doesn't it just automatically recognize it? Makes me feel rude for telling them that my payment is something else.
 
My wife always insists on using the Disney Visa card. Once it is registered, your KTW card will show this. I believe you have to spend over a certain amount in order to get the discount. Anyway, before the end of the cruise she will pay a majority of the on board balance with discounted gift cards she purchased before the cruise. This way she gets more of a savings. That is why I let her handle all the money.
 
The onboard account for each person is a single account. You can't put a payment toward a particular purchase, only a specific person's account.

When the amount charged to the account reaches the threshhold described in the text you quoted (or the last day of the cruise), the onboard account is paid in this order: non-refundable credits, refundable credits, gift cards, payment method at check-in (credit card or cash). If you have $600 of credit on your account and spend $501 on day 2 of 7, that credit will be used to pay the account, and you will have $99 of credit left on the account. Nothing will be charged to the credit card until/unless you spend more than $99 later in the cruise.

Discounts for using a Disney Visa are available only if you used the Disney Visa as your method of payment at check-in. If you use cash as your method of payment, you won't get the Disney Visa discount. As mentioned above, you can use a Disney Visa as the "official" payment method and then go to Guest Services to have cash, gift cards, or rewards cards applied to your account, in which case those payments will be applied before the credit card is charged.

If you really want to access the discount while minimizing the chance of charges to the credit card, you could use cash for all but one person in the room and the Disney Visa for the remaining person. Then have the person with the Visa make all of the discount-eligible purchases for everyone in the room. You would need to then provide cash/gift cards/reward cards to cover all purchases along with all excursions, adult dinners, purchased beverages, and tips for that person as soon as they are incurred (or at least before the threshhold is reached).


Thanks! So per your last paragraph. If my brother and his family are planning to buy the Castaway Cay getaway pkg (which qualify for the discount) and my mom also wants to buy some jewelry/merchandise (also qualifying for a discount), should he just have the Disney Rewards Visa card assigned to himself with his wife and kids left unchecked for "will pay for" and "grants charging privileges to" but have the "will pay for" checked my mom?
Or should/can I assign the same Visa card (or if not, have someone else with their own Rewards Visa card) assign it to my mom and nobody else in the room she's in?

Also, it sounds like, even if I were to register my Disney Visa Rewards card now via online check-in, if I applied a bunch of Disney GCs to the onboard balance and then we use that example above (where I have $600 of onboard credit and only use $501 of it) even if I purchase one of the qualifying perks and the rewards card is registered I won't get the discount simply because the onboard credit was used. So the act of the rewards card not only being linked but also *charged* is where the discount is triggered, presumably?
 
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