Billy, yes I beleive the new requirements requires to take one class. You do not necessarily have to take it from Oracle directly, but one of the Oracle sponsered training places.
For instance, I took a class at University of California, Irvine Extension, and that should qualify as one class.
Not sure about your other questions. For the class and exams I use my credit card. I had gotten a discount voucher from my professor at UCI. I am sure there are other places to get discounts, just not sure exactly where.
Mark