Disney Gift Card Deals

[MrInfinity]

I think many of you are looking at this the wrong way. First of all, the $20 bonus on the DVA was only until the end of this year anyways. (the bonus was only on redemptions using the DVA through December 31, 2017.) In fact, in many cases, people are making more from the 5% extra than they would have with the bonus through the DVA.

Well, yeah. The Bonus has been expiring at the end of the year every year. But in practice, it came back every time. So I'm as bummed as any about losing this great option. We were one of the first to embrace it when everyone else was slamming it as non-functional, and now that it's more or less gotten acceptance, they cancel it. I think it stopped becoming a way for Disney to encourage people to save for trips and became a money-generating engine for optimizers, so they had to cancel.

Sigh. It worked great for us from the beginning. Never seemed to have the problems that others raved about. We opened our accounts trip by trip, put our money in, and got our 2%'s like clockwork. I'm happy to get the 5% since we had a good chunk sitting there, but I'd give that back in an instant to have the functionality of storing vacation money and gift cards securely via these accounts. I always loved it because I could charge random things like the down payments, prepaid dining or other misc, and if I had to cancel, the refund would come back to my DVA. No worries about managing gift cards. Now things will be more complicated.

 

[amalone1013]

The Target Cartwheel Perks program is ending!!!! I know this doesn't affect everyone, and it doesn't affect everyone who uses a Target RED card, but for those of us in Denver, Houston, San Diego, St. Louis and Raleigh-Durham, this was a huge bonus. The perks didn't extend to gift cards, but I was able to get free toys for my son, and you could get discounts of $10-$15 off things you regularly use. I think I used one to buy sheets for my son's big boy bed.

If you are a Perks person, we have until the 27th to earn points. I don't how long afterward we will have to cash them in.

I'm bummed. A lot of my Perks points came from my Target gift cards earned from Swagbucks being used to buy Disney GCs. I need to decide what to use my points on now...

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

@wendow and anyone else that was interested: just redeemed $200 Walgreen gift cards for Disney! This made my trip to Colorado We needed some shampoo and body wash so got that and $200 worth, gave them the 2 cards and the computer locked up after trying 2nd one so a manager had to be called over - just our luck But he ASKS to see the card and said let me try - like no big deal whatsoever! We still have another $100 and will try on another day. So excited! (Went to the Golden location btw).

 

[mfly]

@wendow and anyone else that was interested: just redeemed $200 Walgreen gift cards for Disney! This made my trip to Colorado We needed some shampoo and body wash so got that and $200 worth, gave them the 2 cards and the computer locked up after trying 2nd one so a manager had to be called over - just our luck But he ASKS to see the card and said let me try - like no big deal whatsoever! We still have another $100 and will try on another day. So excited! (Went to the Golden location btw).

It's been a long road for you with those Walgreen's GCs - glad you finally got them converted to Disney!

 

[Lain]

It's been a long road for you with those Walgreen's GCs - glad you finally got them converted to Disney!

@CalDisneyMomof2, you must've had $300 tied up in those cards for almost a year! Congratulations on finally liquidating (most of) them! And really, respect for not cutting your losses and selling them to a reseller earlier.

 

[wendow]

@wendow and anyone else that was interested: just redeemed $200 Walgreen gift cards for Disney! This made my trip to Colorado We needed some shampoo and body wash so got that and $200 worth, gave them the 2 cards and the computer locked up after trying 2nd one so a manager had to be called over - just our luck But he ASKS to see the card and said let me try - like no big deal whatsoever! We still have another $100 and will try on another day. So excited! (Went to the Golden location btw).

Yay!!! So happy you were able to get them converted Hope you are having fun on your visit here!

 

[ColoradoDisneyFamily]

I don't think they were "making stuff up" just implying that you never know what could happen. A bird in the hand and all that.

Thank you. Exactly what I meant. Not meant for anyone to take it literally. Anything can end at any time, DVA is a perfect example.

 

[PerfessorZ]

Anyone know of any shopping portals that pay for ebay purchases of (3rd party) gift cards?

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

It's been a long road for you with those Walgreen's GCs - glad you finally got them converted to Disney!

Literally a long road - had to travel a thousand miles to convert them Thank you!

@CalDisneyMomof2, you must've had $300 tied up in those cards for almost a year! Congratulations on finally liquidating (most of) them! And really, respect for not cutting your losses and selling them to a reseller earlier.

I think it's been at least that long! My So Cal stores haven't been very nice. We'll try the last one before our trip ends on Sunday.

Yay!!! So happy you were able to get them converted Hope you are having fun on your visit here!

Love it here! Winter Park is great. The house we've rented is fantastic for our 22 person family. I'll try the last gift card before the trip is over

 

[gottalovepluto]

...The house we've rented is fantastic for our 22 person family...

Oh my, that sounds like a blast of trip and totally terrifying at the same time. A dozen of my family is my absolute max!

 

[Narnia_girl]

HyVee shoppers, they are doing the "buy a select $50 gift card, get a $10 HyVee gift card again." I bought a Lowes card, but they also have Toys R Us, Red Robin and several other places. I got it yesterday. I think today I'll try to see if they let me use the HyVee card to buy a Disney card.

Literally a long road - had to travel a thousand miles to convert them Thank you!



I think it's been at least that long! My So Cal stores haven't been very nice. We'll try the last one before our trip ends on Sunday.



Love it here! Winter Park is great. The house we've rented is fantastic for our 22 person family. I'll try the last gift card before the trip is over

Yeah! We rented a home in Winter Park a few years ago and it was such a great vacation spot!

 

[Narnia_girl]

Anyone know if I can combine WalMart gift cards (buy one big card with 4-5 smaller ones) at the SELF Checkout? I've done the service desk before and it seemed to confuse the poor girl. Thought I'd try it on my own at self checkout if that will work.

 

[bbsearchlight]

Maybe my perspective of the DVA shutting down is different than others, but I was always thankful that I could earn the 2% bonus. I also knew that it could get shut down at any time, like any other money saving opportunity. The fact that Disney is giving a 5% bonus is extremely generous in my opinion as they didn't have to give anyone anything except for their money back.

I am thankful to Disney for all the years they had the DVA, they are closing it because it was used by very few people per the LA Times http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-disney-savings-20170726-story.html

Most stores limit the number of gift cards you can use on an order (Staples, Best Buy, Ebay, etc.) Disney is very generous in that you can use as many gift cards that you want and that you can combine them. We should be thankful for all the ways that Disney allows those who work at it to find ways to save for a Disney trip; not criticize them when they close something that was being unused and generously give you a 5% bonus.

Just my opinion.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I received my latest BJs order today. Arrived in a big manila envelope, the only thing sealing it was the flimsy metal fold down thingy and even that was hardly folded out. I barely had to lift and the flap fell right open and inside I (thankfully!) saw my 4 disney gift cards. They could have fallen right out if anything had tugged at that flap!

 

[kool_kat]

Anyone know if I can combine WalMart gift cards (buy one big card with 4-5 smaller ones) at the SELF Checkout? I've done the service desk before and it seemed to confuse the poor girl. Thought I'd try it on my own at self checkout if that will work.

Nope...I tried this recently (I was trying to convert paper/electronic gift cards to a plastic one. It locked up and wanted a CSM. She said you can't do that here and made me go to customer service. I don't know if it was the electronic gift card or just none would work. Also, the max GC purchase was 200 at self-check out.

 

[Sundowner2]

A quick question...we used the DVA for our first time this year, opened it a few months before our trip. Since now tha'ts not an option, and we would have to combine gift cards, do those of you that have a 3-4k balance on gift cards have a special way to protect them so they don't get lost, or have something weird happen to them? I'm just a little worried the money would vanish off the card or something.

 

[MrInfinity]

A quick question...we used the DVA for our first time this year, opened it a few months before our trip. Since now tha'ts not an option, and we would have to combine gift cards, do those of you that have a 3-4k balance on gift cards have a special way to protect them so they don't get lost, or have something weird happen to them? I'm just a little worried the money would vanish off the card or something.

That's a concern now. Don't really have a solution, since hackers are trying to obtain Gift Card numbers all the time. I think I'm going to have to pay down my trips sooner. That way I'm not holding a balance. I'll have to retain the cards and note what amount I paid on each one, but that's better than leaving large amounts of money on GCs for an extended period of time.

 

[Jimsig]

Maybe my perspective of the DVA shutting down is different than others, but I was always thankful that I could earn the 2% bonus. I also knew that it could get shut down at any time, like any other money saving opportunity. The fact that Disney is giving a 5% bonus is extremely generous in my opinion as they didn't have to give anyone anything except for their money back.

I am thankful to Disney for all the years they had the DVA, they are closing it because it was used by very few people per the LA Times http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-disney-savings-20170726-story.html

Most stores limit the number of gift cards you can use on an order (Staples, Best Buy, Ebay, etc.) Disney is very generous in that you can use as many gift cards that you want and that you can combine them. We should be thankful for all the ways that Disney allows those who work at it to find ways to save for a Disney trip; not criticize them when they close something that was being unused and generously give you a 5% bonus.

Just my opinion.

Totally agree. I think Disney could have done a greater job of promoting it though. The only way I found out about it was through the DISBoards. I can't ever remember seeing anything on their website or even getting an e-mail after I made a reservation to let me know about it.

 

[havaneselover]

Maybe my perspective of the DVA shutting down is different than others, but I was always thankful that I could earn the 2% bonus. I also knew that it could get shut down at any time, like any other money saving opportunity. The fact that Disney is giving a 5% bonus is extremely generous in my opinion as they didn't have to give anyone anything except for their money back.

I am thankful to Disney for all the years they had the DVA, they are closing it because it was used by very few people per the LA Times http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-disney-savings-20170726-story.html

Most stores limit the number of gift cards you can use on an order (Staples, Best Buy, Ebay, etc.) Disney is very generous in that you can use as many gift cards that you want and that you can combine them. We should be thankful for all the ways that Disney allows those who work at it to find ways to save for a Disney trip; not criticize them when they close something that was being unused and generously give you a 5% bonus.

Just my opinion.

I generally agree (felt the same way about the Target changes) but I need to use a lot of gift cards because my vacations are so darn expensive!

My biggest complaint is the way it was ended. If it didn't make business sense, fine, but give a little more notice before shutting it down.

 

[MinMou]

.......

Most stores limit the number of gift cards you can use on an order (Staples, Best Buy, Ebay, etc.) Disney is very generous in that you can use as many gift cards that you want and that you can combine them. We should be thankful for all the ways that Disney allows those who work at it to find ways to save for a Disney trip;.........
Just my opinion.

Very good reminders in your post, and this one in particular. By being able to pay for our entire vacation by gift card when possible, it means that I have the opportunity to purchase discounted gift cards. And that means that although a Disney vacation can be very expensive, you can get that same vacation for less and not have to cut corners.