DisneyKingpin
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2014
- Messages
- 172
The podcast team seemed to be confused by the usefulness of the new Disney Digital Gift Card system, wondering how it can considered progressive if you still have to show your ID.
So allow me to explain how it really does make life easier:
1) Most everyone always carries their ID. It's necessary for everything from proving you can purchase alcohol to getting through airport security. Essentially, almost nobody leaves home without it.
2) Likewise, almost everyone carries a smartphone these days.
Therefore, the Disney Digital gift card - by allowing your money to be available in digital wallet apps like Passbook, GoWallet, Gyft, or YuDo - allows you to carry (and protect) one less thing. The actual hard card that you formerly had to carry in your wallet and protect from getting lost no longer needs to be in your pocket.
Have you ever noticed how sometimes your wallet can get bloated because you have to carry around so many cards? Grocery store and gas station rewards cards, gift cards, insurance cards, membership cards, etc. Well, every card you get to leave out of your wallet is a win for you.
You already have to carry your smart phone and ID everywhere, anyway. But now you don't have to carry your Disney gift cards anymore.
There's a further benefit. Less chance of losing the value of the gift card (or having it stolen). If your old-school hard card gets lost or stolen, it can be used by anyone for the full amount. The finder (or thief) simply presents it to a cashier or inputs the number online and the value is used up. But if your smartphone gets stolen or lost, the thief would need to know all your passwords to be able to access your digital gift card and digital wallet apps. So your level of security is increased by leaps and bounds. Don't get me wrong - having your smartphone lost or stolen sucks and will set you back the cost of the phone plus the aggravation of setting up a new one. But at least you won't lose your Disney vacation money!
I think it's a really valuable tool.
So allow me to explain how it really does make life easier:
1) Most everyone always carries their ID. It's necessary for everything from proving you can purchase alcohol to getting through airport security. Essentially, almost nobody leaves home without it.
2) Likewise, almost everyone carries a smartphone these days.
Therefore, the Disney Digital gift card - by allowing your money to be available in digital wallet apps like Passbook, GoWallet, Gyft, or YuDo - allows you to carry (and protect) one less thing. The actual hard card that you formerly had to carry in your wallet and protect from getting lost no longer needs to be in your pocket.
Have you ever noticed how sometimes your wallet can get bloated because you have to carry around so many cards? Grocery store and gas station rewards cards, gift cards, insurance cards, membership cards, etc. Well, every card you get to leave out of your wallet is a win for you.
You already have to carry your smart phone and ID everywhere, anyway. But now you don't have to carry your Disney gift cards anymore.
There's a further benefit. Less chance of losing the value of the gift card (or having it stolen). If your old-school hard card gets lost or stolen, it can be used by anyone for the full amount. The finder (or thief) simply presents it to a cashier or inputs the number online and the value is used up. But if your smartphone gets stolen or lost, the thief would need to know all your passwords to be able to access your digital gift card and digital wallet apps. So your level of security is increased by leaps and bounds. Don't get me wrong - having your smartphone lost or stolen sucks and will set you back the cost of the phone plus the aggravation of setting up a new one. But at least you won't lose your Disney vacation money!
I think it's a really valuable tool.
