Possible to add a pre-paid visa to Disney Profile for Maxpass purchases

[Baby Ninja]

Planning for a late Sept trip and have looked over countless posts and Moms Panel questions. Does anyone know if you can load a pre-paid Visa to your Disney profile? I’ll be getting our parks tickets via AM and I really don’t want to add my current/personal MC because I’m trying to avoid ForEx fees when purchasing Maxpass over and over. I’d also like to try mobile food ordering. I’ve read that you can’t load/use GC’s for Maxpass purchases via the App, nor mobile food ordering. Want to explore all options and see if any of you know for certain.

Also, some of you here redeem AM for Starbucks GC’s though I just want to know if the Starbucks in both parks accept Disney GC’s? I’m leaning towards yes, though thought I’d put it out there. Since it’s the only time we drink Starbucks it doesn’t seem plausible for me to worry about carrying more than one kind of GC if I just need to carry a few Disney ones. TIA to the most knowledgeable and pleasant group of people

 

[star72232]

I don’t know if you can, but I’d consider that given the fees associated with the prepaid cards, you probably won’t have much or any benefit vs forex fees.

 

[Baby Ninja]

Right! Thanks for reminding me. I guess I’ll spend a bit more time researching the costs associated with a pre-paid to determine if it is a benefit at all.

Though I should have mentioned that I was planning on using points to acquire the GC so not really an out of pocket expense.

 

[efrant]

I would consider getting a no-f/x fee credit card. I made this post in U.S. Bank Accounts and Credit Cards thread:

Hopefully if I find the time, I'll put together a bunch of info in a new thread, as most of the content here is old.

To answer your question, the best way to avoid the 2.5% f/x fee that's charged in the U.S. when you use Canadian debit cards and most Canadian credit cards is to use either a no-f/x fee Canadian credit card or get a U.S. credit card. The easiest and most cost-effective method is to use a no-f/x fee Canadian credit card.

These are the only credit cards in Canada currently that do not charge you the f/x fee:

• Home Trust Preferred Visa. No annual fee. https://www.hometrust.ca/credit-cards/preferred-visa-card/
• Brim MasterCard. No annual fee. https://brimfinancial.com/
• Brim World MasterCard. $99 annual fee. https://brimfinancial.com/
• Brim World Elite MasterCard. $199 annual fee. https://brimfinancial.com/
• Scotia Passport Visa Infinite. $139 annual fee. https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/personal/credit-cards/visa/passport-infinite-card.html
• HSBC World Elite MasterCard. $149 annual fee. https://www.hsbc.ca/1/2/personal/banking/credit-cards/hsbc-world-elite-mastercard?pid=QTT0000566

There is also the Rogers World Elite MasterCard (no annual fee), though this card charges you the 2.5% f/x fee but gives you 4% cashback to offset it. https://rogersbank.com/en/rogers_worldelite_mastercard_details

I've included links for all the cards, so you can compare, as each card has a different sign-up bonus, annual fee, reward structure, and benefits/insurance. For example, the Home Trust Visa is a straight 1% cashback on all your USD purchases, but it has a 10 transaction/day limit. The Rogers MC has a net 1.5% cashback on all your USD purchases, but you don't get refunded the 2.5% fee if you return a purchase. The Scotia Visa and HSBC MC have great insurance packages and other benefits (lounge access on the Scotia card, travel credit on the HSBC card, etc), but they have hefty annual fees. Everyone of us has different needs/wants, so you need to choose the best card for you.

Do not get fooled into getting a USD credit card from a Canadian bank. Those credit cards are touted as "no f/x fee" cards, but in reality they are not: you are getting charged in USD, and you need to pay it off in USD. So, unless you have USD income, you will get dinged the 2.5% fee when you convert your CAD to USD to pay off the card. Moreover, most of those cards have annual fees and no rewards, which makes them doubly bad. If you want a credit card that bills in U.S., I would get a credit card from one of the Canadian bank's U.S. subsidiaries. One of the best ones, and one of easiest for Canadians to get, is the TD Bank (as opposed to TD Canada Trust in Canada) Cash Visa: https://www.td.com/us/en/personal-banking/credit-cards/cash-card/ Please note that you will need to have a U.S. bank account to pay off U.S. credit cards, as they cannot easily be paid from a Canadian bank.

 

[Pumpkin1172]

What about using a Canadian Disney gift card to use on your account towards the purchases of maxpasses. I know many people who do this to help save the forfex fee that banks charge on the the cc. You can buy disney giftcards at many retailers now.
As for the Starbucks question, I don't know much about using the gc for Starbucks. I do know many people who use their cash miles to buy Starbucks giftcards from Airmiles , that they turn around and use in the parks.

 

[Baby Ninja]

What about using a Canadian Disney gift card to use on your account towards the purchases of maxpasses. I know many people who do this to help save the forfex fee that banks charge on the the cc. You can buy disney giftcards at many retailers now.
As for the Starbucks question, I don't know much about using the gc for Starbucks. I do know many people who use their cash miles to buy Starbucks giftcards from Airmiles , that they turn around and use in the parks.

I read on the moms panel that you cannot use a GC for purchases of MaxPass or for mobile ordering. It would have been the first choice for me, and the easiest. So this is why I was exploring other options.

As for the no for/ex fee credit card, we only travel to the US once per year and I don’t believe it’s realistic for me to get another credit card for as little we travel. I think I’ll have to sit down and dissect what usually goes on our card and make a decision from there. Perhaps we simply continue as is......

Thanks everyone for giving me things to think about

 

[youngdeb12]

I have a prepaid Visa from CIBC that I use. I load USD on to it and I've used it for everything from securing reservations to paying for hotel room charges. It's the credit card that is attached to my Disney account. Maybe try something like that? There's a set up fee though, but it's not large.

 

[Baby Ninja]

Thanks! I will definitely explore that option as well.

 

[MCFADDEN5]

I have a prepaid Visa from CIBC that I use. I load USD on to it and I've used it for everything from securing reservations to paying for hotel room charges. It's the credit card that is attached to my Disney account. Maybe try something like that? There's a set up fee though, but it's not large.

We are heading to Disney in a few weeks and I have been looking at the CIBC Prepaid Travel Visa in USD. I like the idea of have everything prepaid, but I have never used one before. So, you have had no trouble with using it in the parks as well as for the hotel? Can you link it to your magic bands as well??
Any help would be great!

 

[youngdeb12]

We are heading to Disney in a few weeks and I have been looking at the CIBC Prepaid Travel Visa in USD. I like the idea of have everything prepaid, but I have never used one before. So, you have had no trouble with using it in the parks as well as for the hotel? Can you link it to your magic bands as well??
Any help would be great!

We had no problems using it at Disneyland merchants and have used it for many online purchases with no issues either. We used it as our card on file at Animal Kingdom Lodge and were able to charge with our magic bands with no issues. The only minor issue was when they were putting the final charges through they must’ve had a contingency charge on top of what we owed because they put through a charge that was higher than what our folio showed. Double check before you leave that everything has gone through ok if you’re charging everything to it.