Buying tickets with Disney gift cards

[wendow]

So, I bought all my Disney gift cards at 10% off. The price for our tickets through UT is $1295.50 and through Disney is $1337.64 (including tax). Considering the 10% discount, it makes more sense to buy them through Disney.

My question is about buying them in the store. In the past, these could not be linked but is that still the case? Is there a way to buy them online using all gift cards as the form of payment? My 60 days for FP booking is coming up so I need to do something!

Thanks

 

[kristinlynn]

You can combine the gift cards in a Disney Vacation Account and then use your vacation account number to purchase tickets over the phone (and possibly online). If you buy in the store, you'll only be able to use 3 gift cards. Note that if you buy them online or over the phone you can link the tickets to your MDE account with your order confirmation so you can start booking fast passes.

 

[wendow]

You can combine the gift cards in a Disney Vacation Account and then use your vacation account number to purchase tickets.

Can we do this even if we are only 77 days out?

 

[kristinlynn]

Can we do this even if we are only 77 days out?

Yes -- everything is pretty instant. When I did it I literally entered the gift cards numbers into the Disney Vacation Account and immediately called to purchase my tickets. There didn't seem to be any lag time with entering the gift cards numbers and having the funds available in my account.

 

[wendow]

Yes -- everything is pretty instant. When I did it I literally entered the gift cards numbers into the Disney Vacation Account and immediately called to purchase my tickets. There didn't seem to be any lag time with entering the gift cards numbers and having the funds available in my account.

Thank you! Maybe that is the way to go

Just an FYI, we bought our tickets last fall from the Disney store and I paid for $1400 worth of tickets with a stack of gift cards that were $15, $25 and $50 denominations. The CM didn't seem bothered at all and congratulated me on the savings.

 

[PuppyPrincess]

Where do you go to create a Disney Vacation Account with your Disney Gift Cards and can this be used in the parks? I have already gotten my tickets but use Target to buy GC to use for all food and gifts in the parks (I use TIW for all my dining discounts) so I usually have a large amount of GC. I do charge to room, then take GC down to front desk and clear my bill before it hits my cc, but if I didn't have to take as many GC to the front desk, that would be great.

 

[wendow]

Hmm, can you use Disney vacation account funds to pay your bill at the resort? Cause we do the same...charge everything to the room and then hand the front desk a stack of gift cards. Has always worked perfectly but would be nice to have it already in their system.

I am *trying* to create an account. Here is the link:
https://disneyvacationaccount.disney.go.com

It is not giving me an option to use a gift card to "make a contribution". Only credit or debit. I have read the FAQ's that say you can contribute with a gift card but that option isn't showing for me. WHat am I missing??

 

[kristinlynn]

To open the account you need to charge at least $10 to a credit or debit, and then it will give you the gift card option.

From what I've read on the boards, you can't use this to pay off your resort balance. Like others, I'm hoping this changes. It can be used for several things ahead of time though. I've used it for MNSSHP and memory maker. If you have a resort package, I've read that you can pay it off with the DVA online, before the trip.

Here's the deal, your DVA number is really a Disney gift card number -- but you don't have access to a PIN number or an actual card. So far it seems that anything you can pay for with a gift card by phone or web, you should be able to use the DVA for.

Oh -- and after you have your account open for 3 or 4 months (can't remember) they add $20 for every $1000 you run through the account. I opened it too late and missed this benefit for my latest purchase, but hoping to take advantage of this in the future.

 

[kristinlynn]

OP -- looking through the FAQ and it does state the following:
You may contribute a maximum of 5 times per day. You may contribute up to $2,500 daily per Disney Vacation Account.

However, I know I did more than this at once. With 17 days until your FP reservations, you should still be OK, but just wanted to point this out.

 

[Marionnette]

To open the account you need to charge at least $10 to a credit or debit, and then it will give you the gift card option.

From what I've read on the boards, you can't use this to pay off your resort balance. Like others, I'm hoping this changes. It can be used for several things ahead of time though. I've used it for MNSSHP and memory maker. If you have a resort package, I've read that you can pay it off with the DVA online, before the trip.

Here's the deal, your DVA number is really a Disney gift card number -- but you don't have access to a PIN number or an actual card. So far it seems that anything you can pay for with a gift card by phone or web, you should be able to use the DVA for.

Oh -- and after you have your account open for 3 or 4 months (can't remember) they add $20 for every $1000 you run through the account. I opened it too late and missed this benefit for my latest purchase, but hoping to take advantage of this in the future.

By "run through the account" do you mean per $1,000 spent using the account or per $1,000 deposited into the account. I thought that it was the former and not the latter, but your statement has me confused.

 

[wendow]

Thank you for suggesting the DVA. I did charge $10 to my credit card and then after that, proceeded to input $1300 worth in gift cards so now I just need to buy my tickets. I, too, missed out on the $20 bonus but it's ok. I'm happy to just be able to buy my tickets this way! And I will remember that i can buy MM also with this. Other than that, I'm not sure I have any other "pieces" I can buy b/c we have a RO ressie.

 

[kristinlynn]

By "run through the account" do you mean per $1,000 spent using the account or per $1,000 deposited into the account. I thought that it was the former and not the latter, but your statement has me confused.

It's for every $1,000 spent -- but you have to deposit the $1,000 before you can spend it. And your account has to be open 120 days before the first spend. I did call there and they confirmed the account only has to be opened for 120 days, the money doesn't need to sit there for 120 days. So you can open the account with $10 today and on day 31 put $1,000 in and turn around and buy park tickets and you'd still get the $20 bonus. Here is what the site says:
You'll be eligible for a $20 Disney Gift Card for every $1000 you spend on qualified vacation purchases with your Disney Vacation Account prior to December 31, 2017 (date subject to extension), up to a total $500 in Disney Gift Card(s) per household. Your Disney Vacation Account must be active for a minimum of 120 days at the time of spending in order to receive this bonus. Request your Disney Gift Card(s) 4-6 weeks in advance of your vacation date to allow time for delivery to your mailing address. See FAQs for complete details.

 

[MickeynMinnie]

What is the best way to.do.this? I.dint have a Disney store near me and I have 4 gift cards I.want.to.use to pay my tickets. But when I called to.buy them thy Said they can only use 2.forms.of.payment! Was.done it, and.what's the easiest way??

 

[wendow]

I ended up opening a Disney Vacation Account. I loaded enough gift cards in to pay for our tickets (19 gift cards!!). Then I bought the tickets through the Disney site online and paid using the DVA number. It was super easy. The system automatically linked them to MDE.

 

[Marionnette]

What is the best way to.do.this? I.dint have a Disney store near me and I have 4 gift cards I.want.to.use to pay my tickets. But when I called to.buy them thy Said they can only use 2.forms.of.payment! Was.done it, and.what's the easiest way??

If you want to use more than 2 GCs (or if the 2 GCs are not enough to cover the entire cost of the ticket), then you would have to make your purchase in person.

OR

You can add all of your GCs into a Disney Vacation Account and then use the account to pay for your tickets.

 

[MickeynMinnie]

Thanks!! Set up my account and got my ticket already! Worked great!! Thanks for the help!

 

[melissapi]

My question is this:

Going as DVC members in 34 days, and adding meal plan soon can we

a) buy gift cards and pay with them?
b) open a DVA and add our GC's and pay for the meal plan this way?

Thanks in advance

 

[kristinlynn]

My question is this: Going as DVC members in 34 days, and adding meal plan soon can we a) buy gift cards and pay with them? b) open a DVA and add our GC's and pay for the meal plan this way? Thanks in advance

I'm not 100% on this, but here is my slightly educated guess. Based on my experience with buying 3 DVC APs, member services can only take 2 forms of payment. So, I don't believe you could pay directly for the meal plan with multiple gift cards. For my APs and MNSSHP tickets, I was successful using the DVA with member services. So, if you combine the cards, I think you could pay for meal plan with DVA.