Take cash or gift cards for spending money??

[disneyjr77]

Which do you find is better...taking cash or gift cards for spending money? I over estimated our budget so we would have that buffer but don't want to spend money because we're heading home and I still have whatever left on the cards. Basically spend money for the sake of spending money lol

What are some good strategies for sticking with your budget while you're in the World?

 

[Marionnette]

Which do you find is better...taking cash or gift cards for spending money? I over estimated our budget so we would have that buffer but don't want to spend money because we're heading home and I still have whatever left on the cards. Basically spend money for the sake of spending money lol

What are some good strategies for sticking with your budget while you're in the World?

I take a mixture of both. Cash for tipping bell services, DME drivers, skycaps and food in the airport. GCs for paying down my room charges. Plus, I add a CC for emergencies and in case I exceed my anticipated spending.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I use credit cards. Safer and I earn points. I don't get buying gift cards.

 

[Marionnette]

I use credit cards. Safer and I earn points. I don't get buying gift cards.

I do it because I can save more than 10% off of their face value. And I use a rewards CC to make the initial purchase, so I'm getting points for those purchases. Since I can use them to pay for my DVC dues, I know that Disney is going to get that money one way or another. I might as well get some kind of discount in the process. I understand that it's not something everyone would want to do.

 

[My3Princez]

I do a mixture too. I buy discounted gift cards for the amount of money I KNOW will be spent no matter what, bring cash for tipping and to pay for silhouettes, and have a credit card for anything over that. I want the discount I get from using gift cards, but I just don't want to be finishing up our trip and have $ left on Disney-specific gift cards, so I'm relatively conservative with how many of them I purchase. We are very good at not over-spending "just because" we have a credit card available, so that's not an issue for us.

 

[Chief Powhatan]

Cash helps me stick to a budget at Disney because when I am out of cash, I have to stop spending. I have been tempted to use gift cards - since we can get them 5% off with the Target redcard. However I do use gift cards to purchase park tickets before I go.

 

[dprincessmom]

I am in the three way boat as well. I have gift cards that I have received as gifts, GC for DD spending. We charge back to the room and I pay the charges there with GCs until I run out, then cash or CC. I typically have some cash on me while in the parks because you never know when you might need a drink or snack and not all of those cards take electronic payments.

 

[Ava]

I used a combination of GCs and Disney Visa rewards to pay for most of our "extras" last trip. I used my MB to charge everything to the room, then went to the concierge the day before we checked out and paid off the balance with the GCs/rewards card. Anything over those amounts plus what we spent on the last night/morning was charged to my CC. Like others said, I was conservative with the amount of Disney GCs I purchased so I wouldn't end up with leftovers. Basically I just bought enough to cover our tips at TS restaurants, since that was pretty much a fixed cost that I knew we'd incur.

I also had a little bit of cash just for tipping bell services, etc. I don't like carrying a lot of cash with me when on vacation.

 

[LJSquishy]

Neither - I prefer a credit card or debit card.

Cash is easily lost, and gift cards are only good at Disney so like you said, you'd just be spending money to spend it.

 

[nalajms]

I've transitioned to using GC for snacks and small purchases at the parks. MB takes longer! I use the hole punch at work and make a hole in the GC, then put them through a key ring that's attached to a wristlet. It's my take on the GC they sell at F&W.

GC also help me budget with the kids. After they blow through their cards, that's it!

 

[disneyjr77]

Great advice, thanks everyone! We can get GC's at a discount from BJ's, so I'll probably get those in the amount we know we'll spend, use cash for the rest and then have our bank card for emergencies/anything unexpected.

 

[MichelleB]

I like to take gift cards. I buy them at Kroger to get fuel points when they offer 4x and use my disney visa to get 2% on that as well. If I don't use it all then I save it to apply to our DVC dues. If I do use it all, then I pay the remainder with my disney visa.

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

I use credit cards. Safer and I earn points. I don't get buying gift cards.

I bought a $250.00 gift card at Kroger during 4x fuel points in April. My 26 gallon fill up for our drive to to Disney cost 42.80 with the $1 off a gallon those fuel points saved me.

 

[MichelleB]

Love the Kroger 4x fuel rewards and it's a lot less hassle than jockeying Target cards to buy Disney cards. I can use the fuel as I need it and still get 2% on the amount I do spend. For us, it's a win-win.

 

[CJLove79]

Which do you find is better...taking cash or gift cards for spending money? I over estimated our budget so we would have that buffer but don't want to spend money because we're heading home and I still have whatever left on the cards. Basically spend money for the sake of spending money lol

What are some good strategies for sticking with your budget while you're in the World?

To piggyback off the OP's topic, here's some background on my situation. I saved up a little over $6000 for spending money for me and my girl's Disney World trip in October. I recently got 4 Disney Gift Cards which have a $1000 max on them. I plan on putting $3Gs, $1000 a piece, on the Gift Cards & leave the rest on my Visa Credit Union card. The reason I decided to do it like this because when I use my Visa, obviously they'll place a hold for a few days and that can mess things up budget wise if I do multiple purchases. But with the Disney Gift Cards, no holds and I basically keep spending until the money runs out & use my Visa as an insurance policy. I'm always open for better ideas in spending and or saving money so what do you guys think of my strategy? Any tweaking I should consider?

 

[shrinkydinky]

i like to buy gift cards throughout the year. i purchase either from our grocery store and get gas points or from Target and get the 5% off. For me, it's a good way to sock money away for vacation, and they can be used almost everywhere in the parks. i do take some cash, mainly in small denominations, for tips or places that don't take the gift cards. And i try to always have a credit card on hand as a back-up. i don't worry if i don't use all the gift cards. i just bank them for the next vacation.

 

[SUSIEQ]

i don't worry if i don't use all the gift cards. i just bank them for the next vacation.

Same here. And if I don't make it back to WDW before I die, my heirs can find my Disney gift cards when they open my safe!

 

[tvguy]

Old foggie here. Cash and Travelers Checks, with credit card for hotel and rental car. I was in Phoenix for Spring Training and had someone in line behind when I used a travelers check comment that he didn't know they still existed. Shop owner said they are better than cash. Counterfeit cash, he's out money, American Express, if you follow some basic rules, backs TCs no matter what. And of course merchants have to pay a fee on debit,credit and gift cards

 

[Iam.Goofy]

I buy as much as I can with my Disney Visa, then I carry a small amount of cash for everything else. Someone wise told me once: we save for the vacation, we don't save while on vacation. You do want to have a budget and try to stick to it, but if that Turkey Leg is calling your name? Answer the call.

 

[7KLucky]

We don't do the Dining Plan because it just isn't cost efficient for my party and the amount of food we eat. I do GC for our dining experiences because it helps me save up for them and each child gets a specific amount in GC.
I love the punching a hole trick. Thx for the tip!