Charging using magic band and Disney gift cards

[mom2rtk]

No, you're right. MagicBands are far easier and more convenient than carrying gift cards everywhere. The process is far less stressful--as in, not at all--than PPs are describing, and it's been this way for at least the past three years. The process didn't suddenly change. Until our most recent WDW trip last month, this is how we paid down our folio on all our DLR and WDW trips. You're required to have a credit card on file with the front desk--no big deal. If you're doing online check-in, you already have one on file anyway because it's required. Then all you need to do is walk to the front desk every couple of days and hand them a gift card or two, depending on how much you want to pay down. Again--no big deal at all. Even from the back of Ranchos at CSR, making it to the front desk once every two days is not exactly a treck across the continent requiring a wagon train and a month of supplies.

The only issues to beware of:

• If you plan on paying your entire folio including your accomodation balance via gift cards, don't do online check-in or your card on file will be charged for your accomodation balance overnight before you arrive at your resort; and
• You don't want to forget and then charge so much back to your room that you meet the monetary threshold at which your card on file gets automatically charged before you've visited the front desk to pay your folio down with the gift cards (although the threshold is kind of high.)

But just pay heed to the above two issues and you'll be fine. Visiting the front desk for five minutes once every 48 hours will be far easier than juggling gift cards back and forth across Epcot every day you're there.

I guess it's only "not a big deal" if your room is close to the front desk. Even if your room is fairly close to the front desk, waiting in line to take care of this every day or two still seems like more effort than not needing to go to the front desk at all.

I really don't get why it's so much easier to tap a magic band than it is to swipe a gift card.

 

[karensi]

Thank you PerfessorZ and yes, you did make the explanation clear. I intend to use these cards for meals and store purchases. Just thought it would be a little less painful to buy $25 GCs throughout the months prior to our trip.
So it seems as if I will be able to use them in the stores and restaurants from what you say which is good for me.
I was not aware of the Disney gift card website and I will do that prior to the trip.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question at 3a.m. and with a head full of allergy pills no less!!

 

[wendow]

Hold on, are you saying that you can't pay the balance of your room in full with gift cards ahead of time? That makes no sense. Or am I misunderstanding?

We had a room only reservation that we paid in full, with gift cards, prior to our arrival.

 

[wendow]

I really don't get why it's so much easier to tap a magic band than it is to swipe a gift card.

Exactly. It is actually quicker to swipe the GC since no need to enter a pin.

 

[Hikergirl]

Then you were choosing to visit the front desk at peak times. There are plenty of times, especially in the evening, when resort front desks are empty. Moreover, you could have easily piggybacked your front desk visits onto visits to whatever other food or merchandise amenties were available adjacent to the lobby at your resort. If it took you half an hour every time you tried to visit the front desk, you were doing it wrong.

Well maybe for you scheduling the correct time to visit the front desk to pay off your balance with a gift card is the easiest most convenient method of using GCs during your stay at WDW.
For some of us simply taking a GC out of our purse and handing it to the cashier at the time of purchase is much easier and way more convenient. Nobody is wrong here, just different.

 

[mom2rtk]

If it took you half an hour every time you tried to visit the front desk, you were doing it wrong.

 

[IrishNYC]

If you have a package, you can pay in full prior to arrival. If you have a room-only reservation, you cannot pay in full with gift cards prior to arrival and run the risk of your credit/debit card on file being charged overnight prior to arrival if you choose online check-in and intend to pay your room balance with gift cards. This has happened to us and others on the boards and it's a mess that takes a while for the front desk CMs to fix.

This isn't true. I just paid for a room only reservation, in-full, with GC's. We don't arrive until Sept. 2017, but my room only res. is paid in full with GCs.

As for how long it takes to pay off a balance via CG, on our last trip we did that. Every other day I went to the concierge desk, not the front desk, and paid off whatever the balance was. Sometimes I'd do it while DH and DD were on line for breakfast, sometimes I'd do it when we got back late afternoon/early evening, sometimes I'd do it at 9pm after DD was asleep. I never waited more than 5 minutes.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

 

[SaintsManiac]

Just combine all of your GCs into one and use it. That's what we did for all shopping and it was fine.

 

[cosmicmommy]

What is the threshold before they charge your credit card? Just curious to keep it in my head...

 

[mrzrich]

If you have a package, you can pay in full prior to arrival. If you have a room-only reservation, you cannot pay in full with gift cards prior to arrival and run the risk of your credit/debit card on file being charged overnight prior to arrival if you choose online check-in and intend to pay your room balance with gift cards. This has happened to us and others on the boards and it's a mess that takes a while for the front desk CMs to fix.

This is simply not true. I have called and paid off my room only reservation well in advance of my arrival date. I have paid with, gift cards and on another occasion when traveling with my mom, they let me pay half the balance on my card and half the balance on hers.

 

[Accident]

Ok, we had room only reservations the past two years, definitely did online check in last year, and paid the balance with gift cards at check in. Is this a new policy?

Can't say it's new but I got surprised a year ago when my card was charged for the balance. They can't give you a room number until your paid up so it makes sense that if your using online check in that it would charge the balance.

 

[Accident]

What is the threshold before they charge your credit card? Just curious to keep it in my head...

I would verify it but I think it's 1000 for value resorts, 1500 for the rest, villas might be more.

 

[verleniahall]

As for how long it takes to pay off a balance via CG, on our last trip we did that. Every other day I went to the concierge desk, not the front desk, and paid off whatever the balance was. Sometimes I'd do it while DH and DD were on line for breakfast, sometimes I'd do it when we got back late afternoon/early evening, sometimes I'd do it at 9pm after DD was asleep. I never waited more than 5 minutes.

We did this as well - we paid it off the following morning - we didn't have anything charged to our card - everything was paid in cash and gift cards

 

[COscrapper]

I have been wondering how to handle money in the parks as well, so I'm glad this came up on the boards again.

This is probably a really stupid question (apologies in advance!), but can you add a tip on a GC when paying in a restaurant? Or will we need to have cash on hand for that?

 

[cosmicmommy]

I would verify it but I think it's 1000 for value resorts, 1500 for the rest, villas might be more.

Thanks! We won't be getting anywhere near that. Maybe $50 a day or so for tips, and miscellaneous.

 

[mrzrich]

I have been wondering how to handle money in the parks as well, so I'm glad this came up on the boards again.

This is probably a really stupid question (apologies in advance!), but can you add a tip on a GC when paying in a restaurant? Or will we need to have cash on hand for that?

yes you can tip with a gift card

 

[HopperFan]

First time I noticed being charged for my Room Only prior to arriving at the resort was August 2014. I remember because we were dropping DD off at DCP. DH was working all week so I was going to pay weekends and he weeknights ..... but I got charged the full amount first thing in morning of our arrival ...... we arrived around 3. They reversed and fixed it. Now this could have been happening prior to that but I never noticed because I was putting it on the CC anyway.

On trips where I did not do online check-in and or did not add a CC ......... I had to check in at front desk and then they took my method of payment: cc, cash etc.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

This is simply not true. I have called and paid off my room only reservation well in advance of my arrival date. I have paid with, gift cards and on another occasion when traveling with my mom, they let me pay half the balance on my card and half the balance on hers.

Then you and I have both experienced two different policies at Walt Disney World. Because on our previous trip I called and asked specifically if I could pay off my room only balance, and was told categorically that no, I could not, and needed to wait until day of arrival.

And if that's true, then I probably got some really bad advice from guest services three years ago, that has colored the way I've understood room-only reservations for the past three years. If that's the case I stand down from previous comments above, and also, grrrr. Because that advice from guest services is the reason we never attempted to pay off our room only reservation balance prior to arrival with gift cards in 2013, and that's the reason our debit card got charged for our room balance in the first place.

 

[Hikergirl]

Then you and I have both experienced two different policies at Walt Disney World. Because on our previous trip I called and asked specifically if I could pay off my room only balance, and was told categorically that no, I could not, and needed to wait until day of arrival.

Its a known fact around here that talking to 5 different CMs can get you 5 different answers. Last night I tried to cancel a pre-paid F&W event was told I couldn't get refunded. Called back this morning, the CM refunded me with no problems.