It looks like we got a little ahead of ourselves last week, assuming that Disney Vacation Club would listen to its members and offer a monthly credit card option to pay annual dues. In an email late last week and an announcement issued on the Member Dashboard today, DVC has stated that this new credit card option only allows for the ability to set up a yearly automatic payment to the credit card of your choice.
Dues Credit Card Auto-Pay is now available for U.S. Members who want to pay Disney Vacation Club Annual Dues in full each year on January 15 using a credit card! If you would like to set up recurring annual payments using a credit card, visit the Dues section of this website to register your credit card. On January 15, we will process your payment automatically. Monthly Auto-Pay is still available to Members with a U.S. bank account on file. No action is required if you prefer monthly Auto-Pay and are already registered. Please note that if you are currently on monthly Auto-Pay, the 2020 Annual Dues balance must be paid in full before registering for 2021 Annual Dues Auto-Pay with credit card.
Source: Disney Vacation Club
I’ll admit that we may have read between the lines a bit much, and for that, I apologize to anyone who got overly excited by the thought of a monthly credit card annual dues option. However, what I can’t get past is how DVC actually thought ANYONE would be excited by this announcement.
One glance at comments over the years from members on DISboards or in the DVC Fan Facebook Group will show a common theme. Members wish they had a monthly credit card autopay option. I honestly can’t tell you the number of times I’ve personally answered a question on this subject or read someone suggesting it.
The second common theme is a request for more payment flexibility options for international Disney Vacation Club owners to pay both dues and loan payments. I’m no rocket scientist, but a credit card seems like a pretty easy solution to that problem.
Instead, we get this… a new option that basically allows DVC to reach into your wallet and take your money once a year, which only serves to benefit them. And let’s not overlook the fact that it was included in Disney Vacation Club Member Insider, meaning that they actually thought we would be excited by this new option.
Maybe I’m over-reacting, but as much as I try to give Disney Vacation Club the benefit of the doubt time and time again, it’s really beginning to feel like they’ve lost touch with their members.
While part of this is me sounding off, I’m really interested in hearing what you all think regarding this announcement (or lack thereof). Share your thoughts below or join in the conversation over on the Facebook Group!
I like the option. My wife and I pay our dues in full at the beginning of the year, so this saves us having to log into our DVC site and pay.
Thank you for posting this! I too read that email (apparently to quickly) and thought we could set up a monthly credit card payment. We are on vacation right now (thus the quick scan of that email), so I hadn’t gotten around to actually doing anything about it. This is disappointing. You could always go online and pay your entire year’s dues in January with a credit card. This just automates that.
Honestly, gift cards are the way to go anyway. I buy them each month at my grocery store which earns me fuel discounts as well as the credit card rewards. As long as you buy at least what your monthly dues debit would be, nothing actually is taken out of your bank account.
I’m sure it’s the credit card transaction fees that keep Disney from offering this. They would see a decrease in revenue of 3% or more with a monthly option.
It’s not just the 1 or 2 percent bank commission but something like 30¢ per transaction as well. So that’s another $3 per member per year.
Unless they raised dues to cover an expected credit card processing fee. Although most companies that do that don’t only cover their charges but try to profit from it as well.
Great points! If like paying my taxes online they could perhaps offer the option with the member covering the associated CC Fees.
I pay with giftcards I get at a discount anyway……. that’s the only way to go in my book…….
Thanks for sharing, I made the same mistake assuming it was a monthly option! This DVC member- new 2019, still hoping for a “welcome home” trip (3 cancelled so far), with 3 points set to expire December 1 (better than most I know!)- is having a hard time still feeling that DVC really values it’s members during this time. Throw us a bone here! Anything would be nice 😔
I save more money by buying discounted gift cards through CC offers and Target anyway. You can get a Target Red Debit card with no credit check and buy as many Disney gift cards as you want for 5% off. That is better than most credit cards any way. Sure 5% doesn’t sound like a lot but it adds up.
We bought out DVC in 2004, financed thru Disney, paid monthly on financing and dues, we still pay our dues monthly, probably because how our contract was done.
Monthly payments have been available via bank account withdrawal have been available for some time.
If Disney really cared about their members they might realize most of us/some of us, don’t have those annual dues readily available and feel ,the strain every year as tax season rolls around. The early years 97-05 were nice, these later years 10-20 not so. We feel trapped having to use or lose especially now that covid-19 is causing us to roll into another web exchange that will be overwhelmed with dvc members looking to use ALL those points somewhere next year or later.
And tomorrow or next month we’ll get another offer to buy MORE points at a deal?? I’ll bet there’s a LOT of members that could really use some of this money right about now due to job loss or health reasons. I’m starting to think of Disney like the concert promoters or sports clubs looking to keep and use our money while giving you credit next year or in 5 years?? Guess what some of their members might not BE there in a year or 5!
We pay our dues monthly from the very first payment in 04. I won’t be selling or giving up my DVC anytime soon.. we fought tooth and nail in 08-09 recession, plus being out of work for 6 months in 09. Our DVC has paid for itself in the first 3 years of having it. And I don’t even want to think of how much money we would have paid to stay on property, if we didn’t have DVC. As to what is going on at Disney, covid is uncharted water’s for all businesses, it’s everywhere. Where do you think Disney would be right now, if they didn’t cut back on things.and YES Disney still expects to be paid. As does every other business. We own other timeshares and their prices are not all that much different from Disney, and with no monthly payment option for maintenance fees/dues, plus add RCI Membership on top, i do have complaints about DVC, but not about the dues or how they are handling company business globally during this worldwide pandemic
I like the option! I pay my dues annually and use my credit card for everything (and pay it off in full every month). I’ll be signing up for it so its one less thing for me to remember to do.
We like the option, we don’t have many points and we bought them outright (no loan). We’ve always paid our dues in full. Now we can get some rewards/cash back from the card at least. However, I don’t see why they wouldn’t allow monthly CC payments. 3% is 3% no matter how you slice it, one lump sum or monthly payments.
Except …
Reward cards charge higher processing fees and a per transaction fee. So one single transaction may be tolerable, 12 monthly transactions will have 12 transaction fees. Like bank of America charges 20¢ for each credit card transaction. So an extra $2.20 per member out of Disney’s pocket.
It’s the same reason you can’t pay your mortgage or car payment with credit cards.
I have paid my dues monthly for the last year, comes out the 1st of the month. Not sure why others can’t ?
Dues monthly are from a checking or savings account. Not credit card.
Ok, I get that now. Thank you for clarification.
I have no problem with it, have always paid my dues annually. Just use your Disney Rewards card and you get some nice rebates back. Does your County let you pay your real estate taxes monthly? No difference.