$30,000 trip....what’s the best deal to maximize payment??

[DisneyHardin]

I would say go with a credit card with good rewards. The Target thing is a good deal, but they put restrictions on the total amount you can buy at a time, so it will be quite time consuming to be able to purchase enough for that large of a bill. Also, as someone mentioned above, just on the off chance that you have to cancel, that is a lot of money to be tied up in Disney gift cards.

 

[Chris75]

To answer your actual question and not suggest ways to save on what you already have planned and are obviously comfortable with. It all depends on what you want to get out of it and what credit cards you already have or are willing to sign up for. I see that as a few MSR's for you and a spouse/partner/etc if you have one. Earn some sign up bonuses to use for future travel or a cash back card to earn more. Use it to get a free night from a card or status at a hotel or airline if you travel enough.

If you are just looking to save money, then the target debit or credit will save you 5%, not much. If you have credit cards, you mention chase, check the offers but it'll often take longer this way because they limit how much the total purchase is. Sure you can save 10% but it's only off 40 bucks.

If you want help with potential credit cards or maximizing the cards you have visit us on the I love credit cards thread, we're a welcoming, not judgey group that will have a few options I'm sure.

I would do this but I would use the cards to purchase Disney gift cards from a place with a discount (but only if you are ok having this much tied up in Disney gift cards). Target you have to use their card but most other retailers you can use any card. That way you can get the credit card bonuses along with saving on the gift cards. I know Sam's Club is around a 4% discount on Disney cards and I have seen many threads on here with even bigger discount through BJ's but I don't have any experience with them personally.

 

[MrsPete]

Yep, we worked with a travel agent. Got a small discount. We are blowing it out at the Grand Floridian, club level, with the top meal plan. If there’s a way to save a few bucks while I’m paying cash for the trip, it would be a little bonus.

For the money, I wouldn't go with Grand Floridian -- I think Disney has nicer hotels. For that kind of money, have you looked at the bungalows outside the Polynesian? Or the treehouses? Or one of the hotels just outside Disney's International Gate, which would allow you to "pop into" Epcot for cool meals?

Alternately, you could rent a great off-site house with a game room and private pool -- and hire Ubers to bring you to/from the parks ... for less than the budget you're considering now.

And I'd ditch the meal plan; unless you choose carefully to "maximize savings", you're likely to lose money on the meal plan -- especially if you're having heavy snacks on the club level. Instead, I'd give each family member a gift card to cover meals. It accomplishes the same thing, but they don't feel pushed to choose the most expensive item on the menu when they really would've been happy with a bagel and cup of coffee.

Absolutely do not buy gift cards unless every single member of your party is happy to be refunded in Disney gift cards in case anything goes wrong.

Good point. If you give every family member a VISA gift card, you could accomplish the same thing -- but they could use leftovers at the local grocery store, etc.

 

[Ryoukoe]

How exciting! Sounds like you are going to have a wonderful trip. I would agree with a lot of the comments posted, concerning at a minimum you could be saving 5% off using Target.

I could see that for a trip like this you would go with the deluxe dining plan if you are planning on doing a lot of sit down and character dining. If not, I would maybe reevaluate the Deluxe and maybe look at the new Plus option? I only say that because three sit down meals and snacks is a lot for any person to go through, especially the longer you are there.

Credit card wise, even looking for something so basic as a credit card that gives cash back or great rewards for travel, $30K on a credit card would net some good deals I think. Also, depending on the airline carrier you are going through there are options for GC's as well. I see some for SW and Delta all the time (Target carries SW GC's).

Remember, tipping is not included when using the dining plan, and so you may want to stock some GC's away to pay for those expenses at the end of the trip .

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

Look at credit cards that might offer a good return on miles/cashback/etc.

I agree with Pluto about the gift cards. Don't tie up all the money in the GCs. Though if there is a good deal you can take advantage of, it's not a terrible idea to put some money in gift cards for food and merch. Also call Disney and verify the pricing is the best you can get. From the basic info you've given $30k feels right but I would still call to confirm.

 

[TwinkleKS]

If you already have an airline or hotel miles card I would put it on that. That is what we normally do with our larger purchases. That way we can fly for free or stay at the Hilton for free. Might not be the best of the best deal out there, but it's the easiest thing to do to get a little bit back.

As for those saying Disney will do something special . If you have a good TA that is making sure you are getting the best offers that way, that is the best you will get. There are a lot of people that easily spend in that price point on a Disney trip every year ... some of them more than once a year.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Sams club has good deals on GCs

 

[jjvos]

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate it!! Great information!!

 

[tzeitel]

Bj's has a department for large gift card purchases, I think the discount is 6 - 7+% depending on the amount you buy. I don't have to save as much and had a year to do save so I do smaller cashback deals that would be way too much work for your budget. I would go for a good miles/cashback credit card (or 2 ).

We did the DxDP a few years ago, party of 11 and I was the designated planner. Literally after the first lunch (Chefs de France) I was informed that I could cancel most of the meals since half the group did not want to waste time with so many TS meals. I was not paying for the trip but I felt a responsibility to get the best bang for their buck. The person who was the most outspoken about not wasting time with meals was also the first one to make a list of places she wanted me to book. I had booked a TS breakfast or lunch and a 2 credit meal (signature/shows) for dinner a day.

The DxDP was booked so no one in the party had to worry about meals or snacks which is a great sentiment but most people ended up with leftover credits and most of their credits were used on CS meals (not us! we took advantage of the plan and went by ourselves to many meals) . We are past where the DDP would be a good value for us - Disney age kids (under 9) and character meals are the best value - but I would not be against trying the new plan in the future.

I was just thinking about that trip and boy did we do (eat) everything! CRT, Luau, HDDR, California Grill, BoG, Brown Derby, Jiko, plus all the 1 credit meals and the snacks (we took tons of them home)

 

[Sara W]

I am a huge fan of the Deluxe Dining Plan, and generally I think people book what's important to them and don't want to question their bookings. But... I will say that I'm not sure you're going to be able to take much advantage of both the club level and DDP at the same time. Between meals, leftovers (b/c the DDP comes with an app, main course, drink, and dessert per person- we often had amazing leftovers that we kept in the room fridge), and snack credits we barely touched the snacks we brought with us. You could buy a nice bottle of wine or some beer and some snacks on instacart for much less than you'd pay for club level for everyone.

 

[happymommy]

Not sure how long your trip is, but that prices out to about 2K per person. Not bad at all, and loved our stays at the GF (only done outer buildings).

I do think with the club level, any dining plan is overkill. Having the lounge to meet up for breakfast, drinks, evening appetizers, etc, is a VERY good call for your large group! You can provide flexibility for the group, and food and drinks (quite the value there) are already factored in. I would love to do GF Club level sometime, but it’s never worked out for us. AKL was fun years ago, and their evening appetizers were so hearty we only did two dinners for the week we were there.

Getting dining reservations for a large group can be challenging. Not sure if you are able to do so, but I’d reconsider the dining plan. Instead, if there is one paying person (sounds like you), you could provide each family group gift cards for their meals or some snacks. It would be easier to use the lounge for gatherings, then let each smaller group do their own meals otherwise. I’ve done a large group a couple times (I was the planner), and it is challenging! Almost to the point of needing a vacation after the vacation!

I’ve become a fan of the Chase Sapphire cards (hubby and I each recently got different ones). The sign up bonus was decent, and the perks are nice. We often travel on credit card points (almost always transferred to airlines), and hotel points (we each have a ton of Bonvoy points and he’s lifetime titanium). I’d recommend starting with The Points Guy, delve deeper (or more annoying if you want to read about rants from folks in first class not getting their desired pre departure beverage of choice) Flyertalk. I used to love my SPG Amex, but with Bonvoy, it’s not as beneficial to me. That kind of spend definitely would get you the sign up bonus; matter of fact, if you can break it into two payments, have your significant other get one too. Two bonuses. That would yield you at least 120,000 points. Transfer 1:1 to airlines of your choice.

 

[neatokimmo]

My discover card offers 5% cash back at sams usually one quarter a year. Then new people used to get that matched at the end of their first year. Then the gift cards are 3% off. So that could save you $3900.

 

[DisLiss]

Honestly, given what you're getting and for how many people are in your trip, I feel like your price is pretty good! I'm basing that on what we're paying for 4 of us to stay at Pop, with obviously no club level and without the top tier meal plan, either, and our per person cost is only about $200 less than your per person cost.

Now, for sure I'm not saying that you can't still squeeze a bit more savings out of things, because heck yeah, go ahead and try! I'm just saying that I wouldn't scoff at the idea that there truly is some sort of discount worked into that total somewhere.

 

[starry_solo]

@jjvos : hopefully you didn't buy Disney gift cards, in case this crisis should last til June.

 

[Cynt]

I hope you and your family have a great time!! Are you adopting? I'm available.

I would never tie up that much cash in GC. That sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen. Just check the benefits with the cards you have and pick the one with the greatest benefits. I'm all about convenience. If I'm spending $35K on vacation I'm not going to do much work to save $2-$3K. Whichever CC I have with the best benefits will get swiped.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Not sure how long your trip is, but that prices out to about 2K per person. Not bad at all, and loved our stays at the GF (only done outer buildings).

I do think with the club level, any dining plan is overkill. Having the lounge to meet up for breakfast, drinks, evening appetizers, etc, is a VERY good call for your large group! You can provide flexibility for the group, and food and drinks (quite the value there) are already factored in. I would love to do GF Club level sometime, but it’s never worked out for us. AKL was fun years ago, and their evening appetizers were so hearty we only did two dinners for the week we were there.

Getting dining reservations for a large group can be challenging. Not sure if you are able to do so, but I’d reconsider the dining plan. Instead, if there is one paying person (sounds like you), you could provide each family group gift cards for their meals or some snacks. It would be easier to use the lounge for gatherings, then let each smaller group do their own meals otherwise. I’ve done a large group a couple times (I was the planner), and it is challenging! Almost to the point of needing a vacation after the vacation!

I’ve become a fan of the Chase Sapphire cards (hubby and I each recently got different ones). The sign up bonus was decent, and the perks are nice. We often travel on credit card points (almost always transferred to airlines), and hotel points (we each have a ton of Bonvoy points and he’s lifetime titanium). I’d recommend starting with The Points Guy, delve deeper (or more annoying if you want to read about rants from folks in first class not getting their desired pre departure beverage of choice) Flyertalk. I used to love my SPG Amex, but with Bonvoy, it’s not as beneficial to me. That kind of spend definitely would get you the sign up bonus; matter of fact, if you can break it into two payments, have your significant other get one too. Two bonuses. That would yield you at least 120,000 points. Transfer 1:1 to airlines of your choice.

This
I had a SW visa for years and swore I'd carry that thing to my grave. Then one day, I saw that Chase was offering a $300 checking acct bonus and it had to be opened in branch. So dh and I took a ride and opened an acct for each of us. The banker offered us a 50,000 pt bonus on a Chase Sapphire Preferred card. Once he explained it, and what the bonus was worth, we each agreed to try it only for the bonus value, because surely nothing would sway me from my beloved SW card.
Well, the CSP offers double points on all travel and dining. Not just big travel and fine dining, literally anything from cab fare, airport parking, pizza delivery, etc. It finally dawned on me that with my SW card, I hadn't earned double points on ANYTHING for years because we had so much points, that we rarely paid SW for anything except tax. (Only SW purchases earn double pts with a SW card.) With the CSP card you can transfer to SW points, but also other airline miles, hotel points, or book travel (flights, hotel, rental cars) directly with them in which case each point is worth 1.25 pts.

I don't think I'll ever leave CSP now.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Why do the top meal plan if you are staying club level? You will get breakfast provided for free with club level. You will also get alcohol free of charge if you are drinkers. I would not do highest level of the dinning plans.

 

[Iowajes]

I'd recommend not only using a rewards credit card, but also using this to meet the sign up bonus minimum spends on cards.
So find a card that offers a large cash bonus, or airline miles, or points or whatever, but maybe has a $3,000+ minimum spend. Then spread it out over several cards to get all the bonuses.

Make sure to cancel any cards before a year is up if they charge a fee. A big purchase like this is a credit card hacking goldmine. (Keep in mind Chase bank only lets you get 5 cards per 24 month period.)

 

[monica9]

You CAN say no when they ask you if you want something. lol

I think you can save a ton of money not getting the meal plan. Do the math on what you pay for that and see if you think you'll actually eat that much food. That's a lot of time tied up for sit down meals and a lot of food every day.

If you just want to pay ahead and not worry about it, or just want to say you got the best over everything, so be it. But at that point you are past the point where you try to save a few bucks.

Don’t pay for the meal plan but buy a ton of gift cards at a discount. You will pay ahead and not have to worry about paying upfront when you go but will save a ton of money not getting the meal plan.

 

[monica9]

@jjvos : hopefully you didn't buy Disney gift cards, in case this crisis should last til June.

They don’t expire. Can just be used another time.