How far in advance before my trip should I load my Disney rewards card?

[Cando86]

I have a Disney Visa and am hoping to use some of the reward dollars for my trip. We leave January 4th. How soon should I load the rewards dollars onto the card? I don't know exactly how this works - I'm assuming they send you a card in the mail so I'd imagine I would need to do this soon.

Thanks for any help!

 

[gofordrew]

Yes, they send you a card in the mail. We got our about 4 days after we loaded it. After you have the card you can load it at any time in the future as well (minimum $10 to transfer)

 

[disney world dreamer]

yes the send you a gift card in the mail with the disney dollars loaded onto it.

i suggest getting it now to be on the safe side.

if between now and then you earn more reward dollars you can transfer them immediately online as long as you have at least 10 to transfer at a time.

 

[Hofmanns4]

I would get the card now with only $10 on it and then transfer more the day before your trip.

 

[puffkin]

They send you a card, but it is only good for 2 years I think (or something like that). So I would order the card now with the minimum $10. Then you can transfer rewards over to it at anytime instantly, so I would do that right before the trip. Just watch the expiration dates and make sure you use any rewards you transfer before then.

 

[msmama]

I think it is $20 to get the card for the first time. Then a minimum of $10 to be added. You can add dollars while you are on your trip even as long as you have the minimum.

They say it can take as long as 6 weeks to get the card so I would order it now.

If you don't get a card before your trip you can pick one up at guest services at the parks for DTD.

 

[Loralei]

Another option if you are worried about getting it in time...we picked up our rewards card from Guest Services at the park when we arrived. We just showed our Visa & they handed us a rewards card. Then, you call & have your rewards transferred onto the card. The call took about 5 minutes.

 

[Cando86]

This was very helpful - thank you all!

 

[Cando86]

Just to make sure then - it would make the most sense to transfer $10 right now since that is the minimum and get the card mailed to me with that on it and then I can add less than that $10 amount before I leave just online? I wouldn't have to order another card? Asking because I have $20 right now and I want to make sure I can transfer the rewards I get btwn getting the card and leaving. So if I transferred the full $20 and didn't charge enough to make $10 extra, I couldn't transfer that, right? That's very confusing so I hope it makes sense!

 

[disneychrista]

I echo with other that say order it now with the minimum and then the day before you leave, load the rest on the card. I do this every time we have a trip planned. No need to stress about it not coming on time later.

 

[jensen]

Thanks for asking this question, OP! It reminded me that I should load mine for our upcoming trip.

Can anyone explain the process of using these rewards cards? Can I put it on my room account as a credit? We usually charge everything to our room.

 

[msmama]

Thanks for asking this question, OP! It reminded me that I should load mine for our upcoming trip.

Can anyone explain the process of using these rewards cards? Can I put it on my room account as a credit? We usually charge everything to our room.

In my experience it's 50/50 whether or not you can actually have it on your account as a credit, BUT you can definitely pay down your balance with the rewards card (after you've made a purchase or two). CC's are charged either when the max is reached (different for different resort classes) or the night before check out. As long as you do it before then, you're fine.