Keeping the value of Disney gift cards safe in your home

[ShellyLynn3630]

Does anyone else save for there Disney vacations by purchasing Disney gift cards? This is what I am starting to do. I have went ahead and gotten two of them at 250.00 each in my Disney folder here at home. I was wondering if anyone has ever lost any of thier gift cards or did something else happen to them. I know that if you have the number on the card and such you can get them replaced with the amount that is on them at the time you call. I really am wanting to treat them like cash and need some tips on just how to keep them protected somewhat if I were to get burglarized or had a house fire. I do plan on having a couple of thousand dollars worth of them in my home so this is important info. I like going ahead and having this money going directly to Disney so I will know that I have vacation money that cannot be used on anything else.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I just don't understand this "saving" using gift cards. Why don't you just keep the money in a bank account? That said, xerox the front and back of the cards and keep the copies in a safe place, not in your home. You could upload the images to an online photo storage site.

 

[msmayor]

I just don't understand this "saving" using gift cards. Why don't you just keep the money in a bank account? That said, xerox the front and back of the cards and keep the copies in a safe place, not in your home. You could upload the images to an online photo storage site.

I agree. Its just like having cash laying around.

I would think a better option is to set up a completely separate bank account with no checks and no ATM privileges which forces you to physically go to the bank to get the money. It makes you think before spending it, but leaves it available in the event of a real emergency and you truly need extra cash.

That being said, I personally wouldn't leave gift cards with that kind of value in my home. They would be in a safe deposit box at the bank, much like all of our US Savings Bonds.

 

[ceecee]

I wouldn't do it either. Leave it in your savings and try and find one that pays a little interest, that way you won't risk losing them. Even at 1% interest, you will know your $ is safe and remember where you put it.

 

[KaylaMarie]

I would suggest as pp did that you set up a savings account! That way it is separate from everyday money but safe!

 

[ancestry]

Sorry to say but I agree with the others. I don't understand this method of saving. Why not just leave the money in a bank account?

If you insist on doing this then I would put them in a safe. If you don't have a safe in the house then buy a fire proof box and hide it somewhere in a secret place.

 

[RFrank9504]

I've done it before. As long as you have a trustworthy house...it should be fine. We dont "save" we just put some spending $$ on a gift card (we get ours at Publix). I buy $100 for each of us. We usually buy them a week or so before we go and leave them in our suitcases inside a shorts pocket (we wont forget it). My kids are younger 9, 6 so we tend to hold their spending $$ but keeping theirs on GC takes out the keeping track of their change. I sharpie their names on their cards. I let them hand it to the cashiers. They feel important (and they totally are).
I wouldnt put all my vacation money on them months in advance. I wouldnt set up a separate bank account either-a tax issue at the end of the year claiming a savings account yadda yadda.
Everyone does it their own way. One year I bought almost $500 in Disney Dollars. That was scary. I didnt realize I had that much until the week of and I took out all the envelopes , needless to say-we make sure that doesnt happen again it was all 1s, 5s and 10s. But I ksaved all my low bills and everytime we went to the mall I get some more...now we just Publix GC the week of and life is fine.

 

[Jerseyguy's Wife]

OP, I actually do understand why you do this. I don't but I have considered it. Here's what I would do: I would take photos of the cards and print them. I would give the prints to my mom for safekeeping. You could also take a picture on your phone for backup. I would also write down the numbers and put them in my wallet behind my license. You don't have to label them as GC numbers, but you'll know what they are. I would then buy one of those firesafe boxes and put them in there. As long as you aren't a dummy like me and forget where you put the stupid box, you'll be fine.
Or I might put them in a safe deposit box. After taking the pics and writing down the numbers (I'm just anal like that).
Have a wonderful vacation!

 

[pat fan]

I completely understand doing this! If it was in a bank account, as much as you said you weren't going to "touch" it, you might!

We bought a fireproof safe box last year for our important papers etc...A friend of ours lost his house to a fire, I mean burnt flat to the ground, and his box was melted on the outside but the papers inside were fine. We got ours shortly after. I have much more peace of mind now.

We keep birth cert's, life ins. policies and enough cash to make bail (at least that's what I tell my kids). That would be a good place to store gift cards like that. Good luck!

 

[Jana49]

I understand your reasoning, too, ShellyLynn. We do it, too, because no matter what, these cards can't be used for anything else. Follow the others' advice for how to keep them safe. I especially like the idea of taking photos of them with your cell phone or camera as a back-up.

 

[Raksha]

I save gift cards too...but for us it's because our kids' school uses gift card sales as a fundraiser so I've turned into a gift card junkie. There must be a 12 step program out there somewhere for me...

For keeping them safe, I have a disney wristlet that I put all our disney gift cards and our KTTW cards with our left over park days in then I put that in a locking drawer.

 

[NYEmomma]

We save for vacation primarily by putting money away in a savings account but I also pick-up $25 Disney GC's every time I get groceries... I've been doing well with shrinking my grocery budget so we don't even see the difference when I add a $25 GC to the bill so it's an easy, painless way to save.

Plus, we get $.10 off gas for every $50 in GC's we buy at my grocery store. So we're saving on gas by buying them. When it comes time to pay our balance (about $1200) I'm going to buy enough GC's to pay off the whole thing... $1200 in GC's will add up to a LOT off of our gas!

It's naive, but I don't really worry about our house being burglarized... I worry MORE about forgetting that I have the GC's when we leave for vacation and accidentally leaving a couple hundred dollars at home. So I keep them in a small basket that we put our car keys & garage door opener in. It's right by the door so I see them every day. I also tape the little authorization receipt to the back of each GC just in case it doesn't work when we try to use it.

That's a good idea about xeroxing them though... I'm going to go do that.

 

[LadyBeBop]

My thinking is...you won't get too much interest in a savings account...maybe 3% tops? In other words, if you're going away to Disney one year from today, and you deposit $1,000 in a special Disney account at 3%, you're have $1,030 in your account.

If you catch a store during a gift card sale...let's say Winn Dixie's sale. You buy $1,000 in gift cards in four separate transactions. Total cost $835. You may have lost $30 in interest, but you actually saved $165. We don't know when the next big gift card sale is.

Plus, it's the idea of, you can only use them for Disney. And you won't be tempted to take funds out of a bank account for other things.

 

[cpdrn7]

I get a gift card here and there when I have a little extra money and put them in my safe. I get different ones throughout the year and when the holidays come, I have a stash that I can give out and not break my budget.

 

[SDSorority]

We do this. We get them at Kroger, so we save $$$ off our gas by buying something we're going to spend on anyway. This also helps us "spread the cost of the trip out"- we buy the gift cards as we can afford them. We also use these as gifts for ourselves throughout the year (like at Christmas, birthdays, etc.) It's a 'gift' you get, that you're going to spend on anyway, but it still is a present, you know?

 

[turtlegirl25]

I bought 20 $100 gift cards at Sam's Club for a total of $1,977.40. Each gift card had a bonus $10 gift card for the Disney Store attached to it. Now, I did this shortly before final payment was due and did not "save" them. By purchasing the gift cards I received $200 to spend on t-shirts, etc. before our trip. My kids loved the fact that we bought a few things before our trip.

In June, our local grocery store ran a promotion for Father's Day on gift cards. Buy a $100 gift card, get a $20 gift card to use at the grocery store.

Different reasons for buying gift cards, but I would definitely keep them in a safety deposit box and have photocopies of each number on the card.

 

[nicole0992]

I also save for my Disney trips this way and keep mine in a fireproof locking safe box. It's the best way for me to save for a Disney trip.

I have lost a gift card and had it replaced. You need to have the actual receipt of the gift card and the numbers. I had purchased this one at Sam's and they needed the actual cardboard package it came in as well. I emailed Disney from the disneygiftcard.com website. Someone called me immediately and had me fax over copies of all. I was sent a new gift card in the mail in a few days. Just be sure you keep track of all your receipts and numbers. I had multiple cards yet knew which one I was using the day I had lost the card.

 

[ShellyLynn3630]

Ok I am going to go ahead and get that money off my gift cards and onto my dummy date I have booked with Small World Vavations. Just now thought of that.

 

[JodiR]

I didn't read the entire thread but I can see buying gift cards to save for the trip. The cards can only be used for Disney. If I saved the money in a bank, I would be tempted to spend it.

 

[QVCshopper]

I would not do this. I had heard of people having gift cards where the balance "magically" disappeared (ie, some crook stole the number and spent the money). Every time I get a gift card, I try to spend it ASAP. I don't like sitting on the extra money. Plus, you might lose the card or have an emergency where Disney money is not going to help.

Anyway, if I really wanted to save this way, I would wait until a grocery store ran a deal. In June, I did buy $700 of Disney gift cards at Acme. They were running a deal where you got a $20 Catalina to Amce when you bought $100 in gift cards. So, I bought $700 in gift cards and got back $140 in free groceries. Then, we immediately paid off the balance of our trip using the gift cards. That's really the only way I'd do what you're proposing.