second guessing gift card buying...

[loislane]

I haven't had any issues with the GC's either but will say that instead of lugging cards around the parks with me, I charge everything I can to our room and each day I go down to the front desk and pay my charges off using the cards. I plan to do the same thing for our upcoming trip in August .

This! Last trip, we carried the cards into the parks to use for stuff and it did get to be a pain for us. Not really for CMs, but for me trying to remember how much was left on each card, did I need to bring along another one, etc. Next trip, we'll just charge everything and stop by the desk to pay the balance off with the cards. So much easier!

 

[sb682]

Just FYI, the 5% pharmacy rewards don't work on the Disney gift cards anymore.

Aww, it doesn't? I actually quit using Target for my pharmacy because they were always out of stock on my husband's meds. 5% is still good; I will probably spend $500 on GCs this trip and get a "free" CS meal out of it.

And thinking of using multiple cards: we paid for three APs with $50 gift cards, I think 38 in total. The receipt was about as long as my 4-year-old is tall! The CS at DtD Guest Services thought it was funny and didn't complain at all. We apologized to him and thanked him profusely, but we DID save about $200 on our passes, so I wasn't too sorry.

 

[Dancing Queen]

Anyone know the discount at Bjs for the disney gift cards & what denominations they sell them in?

At Bjs, we have been purchasing $100 GCs for $94.99. There are also $50 and $150 denominations.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

Coming in a little late, and this might have already been covered, but...

Last trip I stayed on property I used gift cards to pay for my room, and charged everything back to my room. Every few days I went to the front desk at my resort and used the gift cards to pay down my account.

I did encounter a few problems. Someone told me there were a bunch of new CMs who had recently been hired at the All Star resorts prior to my stay, and maybe that had something to do with it.

• When I checked in, the CM had no idea how to apply the gift cards to my balance. She called over someone to help. She still said the first card I gave her was "a bad card". When I went back a couple days later, and presented that same card, it worked fine with that CM.
• I had a couple of Visa gift cards that I tried to use one evening. I told the CM to process them the same as Visa credit card transactions, Again, the CM said they were "bad cards". I went back the next morning, with a different CM, told him the exact same thing, and all of a sudden the cards worked fine.

So, if you encounter any problems, like I did, just go back later and try with a different CM. I think sometimes they don't listen to us even when we know what we're talking about.

 

[thinkerbell]

Just looked at my phone and I believe the app is just called "Disney Gift Card".

Awesome. Thanks!! I am downloading it now.

 

[MomofKatie]

I don't know if they still do this, but if you have a disney store near your house, they'll combine all your gift cards onto one.

Yes, they will combine them. Or, what I did was go to the Disney Store each payday and add $$ to the one card I bought. I saved each receipt and made copies to keep in my binder and on my wallet just in case. In this way, I was able to buy a little at a time, but didn't end up with 50 cards of $50 each.

 

[Kat913]

:

at bjs, we have been purchasing $100 gcs for $94.99. There are also $50 and $150 denominations.

 

[lustergirl]

I opened a Disney savings account and have money put into each week. Before my trip I am going to request a Disney gift card to use with the balance.

 

[staceyeileen]

My Amex gives me 6% cash back at grocery stores, so I always buy my gift cards there - for lots of places, not just Disney. The cash back adds up quickly.

 

[khaleesi]

While I've never bought gift cards this way, only sold them... you can get a discount if you buy them through a gift card exchange like Plastic Jungle.

 

[Mainemama]

Do save the receipts. I did have an issue when paying off my package with g.c. From Target. One of my cards was never activated. This was eventually resolved by Target, but I had to go in person and be pretty demanding when they claimed they could not figure out what to do. They could not determine how to match the card with the specific receipt number. (Finally they listened to my suggestion, voided the non-active card and rang up a new activated card!) this was an employee error that hopefully you won't have, if you buy the cards 1 at a time. I bought mine in a large group. Still, 50 dollars is 50 dollars, which may be the amount you save by going this route, so save the receipts!

 

[Jewel3k]

I punched a hole in my gift cards and kept them on a metal ring during food and wine last year. I started at the top and worked my way down, throwing out the used up ones as I went. Seemed easier than waiting in line to pay off balances at the front desk. I also have paid for all of our 8 day trip (except the initial deposit) with gift cards. I have a ridiculous stack of $50 Target bought cards before the change over. Entering each of them into mydisneyexperience was a pain, but I saved enough to make it worth it.

 

[scottmel]

Gifts equate to a 17% discount for me when I get double fuel perks and charge them on my Chase card. It is like a 17% pin on anything!!!!! I love that Giant Eagle has them in 500.00 demoninations. However prior to this it t was only 100 and I would carry a STACK of them to Disney. Worked great and the best part was any balance left on the cards at the end of the trip I would use to prebook the next year's trip. I pay for room, food, anything with these cards. 17 off really adds up!!!

For anyone reading this that understands it, you must use Giant Eagle if you do, lol - if you use your chase points that accumulate all year you can go to the register, scan your giant eagle card, buy gift cards then go home and transfer your points over to cover your purchase so you get a ton of free fuel Again this way off the free reward points. So it is like double dipping on the free gas. Free gas as you buy the gift cards all year and free gas when you redeem your chase points.

Knock on wood never in problem in the 6 years I have done this...however I do save the receipts. You just never know. For proof of activation etc. And SAVE the original gift card that u used as form of payment on a down deposit or prepay on dessert party etc. If you cancel it gets refunded to original card

 

[Pumbas]

Do save the receipts. I did have an issue when paying off my package with g.c. From Target. One of my cards was never activated. This was eventually resolved by Target, but I had to go in person and be pretty demanding when they claimed they could not figure out what to do. They could not determine how to match the card with the specific receipt number. (Finally they listened to my suggestion, voided the non-active card and rang up a new activated card!) this was an employee error that hopefully you won't have, if you buy the cards 1 at a time. I bought mine in a large group. Still, 50 dollars is 50 dollars, which may be the amount you save by going this route, so save the receipts!

I ran into the same problem at Target. I only purchased two cards and checked my balance a couple of days later. I went back to the store. Customer Service thought it was strange that my receipt had a message stating "activation in 3 hours". They returned the card and issued me a new one, no questions asked. They apologized to me and mentioned their systems had issues the night before & maybe when I purchased the gift card. Needless to say, I check my balances soon after I purchase them. Also have been ordering more online since it's free shipping the the Red Card.

 

[dlove28]

I don't know if they still do this, but if you have a disney store near your house, they'll combine all your gift cards onto one.

They don't. They stopped several years ago. You also cannot use your cards to buy other disney gift cards. I tried every way I could think of last year to combine my 20 cards with no luck.

 

[Music City Mama]

This is my system for gift cards (which I use for meals/snacks and souvenirs):

- Buy at Kroger during 4x fuel points to save on gas. I also like getting them at Kroger because I can put the amount I want on it. For example, I can have four $250 cards instead of twenty $50 cards. They also sell this kind at Walgreen's.

- Only keep one or two on me and keep the others in the room safe.

- After each purchase, save the receipt as the balance is listed at the bottom. Toss the previous receipt with balance and wrap the new receipt around the gift card. Next purchase, do the same thing. I prefer this method vs. charging everything to the room and paying with the gift card later because 1) I'm not sure when I'm going to get around to the front desk (and there may be a line when I get there) and 2) I don't want to sit there and review charges to make sure they're correct.

If I happen to buy something that's more than what is left on the card, they just apply whatever is left on gift card #1 one first, then charge the balance on gift card #2.

I also keep around $20 cash on me just in case I happen to come across a kiosk that may not accept gift cards.

 

[FeralCatRogue]

Just remebered another thing with the giftcards, they had an issue with a return in pop century because I paid by multiple giftcards in one purchase. Took 2 managers to get my refund, but that was only issue I had with them beyond the few places that couldn't run them thru.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

This is my system for gift cards (which I use for meals/snacks and souvenirs):

- Buy at Kroger during 4x fuel points to save on gas. I also like getting them at Kroger because I can put the amount I want on it. For example, I can have four $250 cards instead of twenty $50 cards. They also sell this kind at Walgreen's.

- Only keep one or two on me and keep the others in the room safe.

- After each purchase, save the receipt as the balance is listed at the bottom. Toss the previous receipt with balance and wrap the new receipt around the gift card. Next purchase, do the same thing. I prefer this method vs. charging everything to the room and paying with the gift card later because 1) I'm not sure when I'm going to get around to the front desk (and there may be a line when I get there) and 2) I don't want to sit there and review charges to make sure they're correct.

If I happen to buy something that's more than what is left on the card, they just apply whatever is left on gift card #1 one first, then charge the balance on gift card #2.

I also keep around $20 cash on me just in case I happen to come across a kiosk that may not accept gift cards.

I do the exact same thing - purchase at Kroger, wrap newest receipt around card as I use it. Works great for me!

 

[LSUfan4444]

you can get a discount if you buy them through a gift card exchange like Plastic Jungle.

In response to the OPs question, Anything negative you can thing of, this is always my answer/response.

I understand the money saving opportunities that you can get by pre-purchasing Disney GCs but there are two major reasons why I won't do it and the above comment is one of them. You can usually find Disney GCs for sale second hand through places like Plastic Jungle because people don't use them all. In the meantime, Disney already has your money. For me, it is not worth the savings I get to just let Disney have my money while I figure out exactly what I want in return.

Alot can happen before, during and after a WDW vacation and I don't want hundreds of dollars in Disneys account instead of mine if something does.

Another reason is security. Should I get pick-pocketed or lose my credit card and it is charged immediately, I can refute the charges and I have lost nothing while my dispute is being handled. I can still continue my vacation as scheduled and no money has been taken from my funds.

Now, if I lose a Disney GC, I can always call and cancel the card and have a new one reissued, but if the card was already used it can be a PIA.

My daughter got a $50 Disney GC last year for her birthday and we lost it. I tookma pic of the card so I had the number in my phone and by the time we called to cancel it and request a new card the money was already spent. With a credit card, there is more "protection" in that sense.

Lastly, overspending. I read not too long ago that more than half of the people who purchase gift cards spend more than the balance. This can mean that some are buying the proper amount of gift cards (which is less than they will actually spend anyway) but it also suggests that people are more willing to overspend when the decision to purchase was made so long ago and you are already "invested" into the gift card.

 

[It's A Happy Day]

We are going in November with the free dining promo.... Can you put tips on a gift card/room charge? Thinking I might pre-pay my estimated tips for table service by getting a gift card if I can do it this way vs. carrying cash for tips. By doing it this way I would have more of the all-inclusive feeling I got when they 1st rolled out the dining plan and tips were included Then the only cash we would "need" would be for souveniers and extras as hotel, dining (tips included with gift card), & passes would be completely paid off by then.