Disney Gift Cards

[BadWitch]

I have like $600 in disney gift cards. Do I "have" to call them in to get them credited to my on board account or can I just take them to customer service (or whatever it's called on the ship LOL) and have the scanned which seems the easiest thing to do? Does it take a long time? Will people in line behind me want to kill me?

 

[yaddakal]

You don't have to;-)
I did bc I didn't want to wait in any lines on board.. But I was on a three night..

 

[fitmom0f2]

It does take a little longer on the ship. I put GC's on our acct and the system didn't have the best connection so I was worried they wouldn't go through. The crew was very polite and let me know it happens often, I was worried my cards had gotten damaged somehow. I called down later to be sure the balance was ok. I plan on calling in any OBC early this time around.

 

[BadWitch]

I wish we could do it electronically somehow via the computer! Thanks for the replies!

 

[Dug720]

I have like $600 in disney gift cards. Do I "have" to call them in to get them credited to my on board account or can I just take them to customer service (or whatever it's called on the ship LOL) and have the scanned which seems the easiest thing to do? Does it take a long time? Will people in line behind me want to kill me?

Personally if it's the little $25 or $50 cards, I would put them on in advance.

I put mine on when I board, but I also have one I can reload so all the money is on ONE card and it's a simple swipe to take care of it.

 

[Vidia2]

We put ours on our OBA while on the ship. Our plan was to just use them in the shops, which we did with the exception of Castaway Cay where we had to use our KTTW. It was a very quick process at GS.

 

[Sparky47]

I have to be honest, I've taken $400-$600 worth of cards in $50 increments to guest services to apply to our onboard account (I try to do it when no one else is in line) and I've never had a problem. The Cast Member has always been very pleasant about it...even when I apologize for the inconvenience! If a line has formed behind me, I turn and apologize but I've never had a issue. I guess I look at it as what is the difference if I stand there for 5 minutes having cards scanned or someone else is there 5 minutes asking questions. Granted I've done this on the longer cruises (Panama Canal or Hawaii) but it's never been an issue. And I'll be doing it again in September for the WBTA cruise. For me, this is more convenient than calling ahead and having to sit on the phone giving the numbers to someone. It's a simple swipe of the card.

 

[Maddie Lover]

We always do it onboard and if you pick a quiet time at Guest Services, it's very easy.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

I just called in $500 worth of $50 Disney Gift Cards and the CM was very nice. This way I can spend my time doing other things instead of waiting in line.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

I typically call my in as well (and go through Costco who then calls DCL) because I'm just a little more worried about losing that much or having it stolen somehow. I'm okay with any excess being refunded back to the cards and I just keep them all. Of course - I don't think I've received a "refund" back yet for not spending it! I usually bring an extra $100ish with me and then don't mind standing in line to apply those, if needed.

Heather

 

[su_A_ve]

Make sure you keep those cards. If there are any refunds to be given, they will go back to the cards and who knows which one will be the one.

There is an official Disney Gift Card app that allows you to keep track of them. You do need to enter the numbers manually (wish it had an option to scan them in) and you should label them so you can identify them.

 

[jlemieu1]

If you can, enter them on DCL site. See my thread below.

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=46473621&postcount=29

 

[BadWitch]

If you can, enter them on DCL site. See my thread below.

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=46473621&postcount=29

ahh! I'm searching but don't see that option for me! Maybe because the cruise is paid for now? Ugh.

 

[chrystalc77]

My cruise will be paid in full this week. We booked through a TA......my question is will the TA have to call in our gift cards for our OBC or is that something I will be able to do myself? I have $550 in gift cards....some are $50 and some are $25. I just hate to ask my TA to do something that I would be able to do myself!

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

My cruise will be paid in full this week. We booked through a TA......my question is will the TA have to call in our gift cards for our OBC or is that something I will be able to do myself? I have $550 in gift cards....some are $50 and some are $25. I just hate to ask my TA to do something that I would be able to do myself!

We used a TA to book but I was able to call DCL directly to do it.

 

[LamieMom]

Just a word of caution. I used Gift Cards on a recent cruise and our small surplus was NOT refunded to the Gift Card. On the account we had: OBC from Disney resulting from an OBB; OBC from our travel agent; we used some Disney Rewards dollars and lastly placed several Disney Gift Cards on the account. When I checked the gift cards to see which one had the surplus, all of the gift cards had a zero balance. I inquired with DCL to see what happened. DCL informed me that the surplus was refunded to my travel agent (who had placed a "refundable" OBC on my account). I inquired with the travel agent who advised me that DCL policy is to refund any surplus to the first form of payment, not the last, and that the policy is that OBC is not refundable. That seems odd to me, but that's what I was told.

This has since been resolved to my satisfaction, but I have also been advised to use any Gift Cards late in the cruise and for the exact amount currently on the account (i.e., do not place large sums on in advance unless you are confident that you will use it ALL).

My experience may be an isolated one, but I wanted to post it since I frequently see others post that remaining balances are put back on the last form of payment used. YMMV.

 

[Dug720]

Just a word of caution. I used Gift Cards on a recent cruise and our small surplus was NOT refunded to the Gift Card. On the account we had: OBC from Disney resulting from an OBB; OBC from our travel agent; we used some Disney Rewards dollars and lastly placed several Disney Gift Cards on the account. When I checked the gift cards to see which one had the surplus, all of the gift cards had a zero balance. I inquired with DCL to see what happened. DCL informed me that the surplus was refunded to my travel agent (who had placed a "refundable" OBC on my account). I inquired with the travel agent who advised me that DCL policy is to refund any surplus to the first form of payment, not the last, and that the policy is that OBC is not refundable. That seems odd to me, but that's what I was told.

This has since been resolved to my satisfaction, but I have also been advised to use any Gift Cards late in the cruise and for the exact amount currently on the account (i.e., do not place large sums on in advance unless you are confident that you will use it ALL).

My experience may be an isolated one, but I wanted to post it since I frequently see others post that remaining balances are put back on the last form of payment used. YMMV.

Wow. Thanks for providing another reason to NOT use a travel agent!

 

[jlemieu1]

ahh! I'm searching but don't see that option for me! Maybe because the cruise is paid for now? Ugh.

That is a good point. I'm not sure in that case. You should see a "Make a Payment" link under your booking in the "Reservation Summary" area. You may need to call DCL directly.

 

[Lisamarie4400]

Yeah I'm still missing almost a $400 credit that was on gift cards from my cruise 2 weeks ago.

 

[chrystalc77]

So maybe it would be better to call in maybe $200 for a good start, and then just pay off with gift cards on board if we go over that?