Disney Gift Card Deals

[MommaBerd]

I just want this round of buying gift cards to be over. I have $2,400 worth of Target cards,(of which about $400 is from resellers ) now $800 worth of eBay and after I convert these eBay cards around $200 in Ebay Bucks.

If I had that large of an amount of GCs from resellers, I think I would buy my GCs in store instead of on-line, if possible. You can always add "something small" to the purchase to make it such that you have to put something on your REDcard and thus, get the 5% discount (right???). If the GCs are "flagged" at least you wouldn't get banned from on-line shopping. I can never get to the Raise deals fast enough to snag a good one, but if I did, this is what I would do and convert it to Disney. I don't know that I'd try to churn it into eBay, though I'm sure that would work as well.

 

[MrInfinity]

If I had that large of an amount of GCs from resellers, I think I would buy my GCs in store instead of on-line, if possible. You can always add "something small" to the purchase to make it such that you have to put something on your REDcard and thus, get the 5% discount (right???). If the GCs are "flagged" at least you wouldn't get banned from on-line shopping. I can never get to the Raise deals fast enough to snag a good one, but if I did, this is what I would do and convert it to Disney. I don't know that I'd try to churn it into eBay, though I'm sure that would work as well.

You won't get any additional % off doing that. You only get the 5% off on the parts that you actually put on your Red Card. This is only good if you can get the GCs at a really steep discount, like when we could get them on Raise for 8% or so. If I was to buy in store, I would pay with my Red Card fully and just get the 5% (7% after DVA).

Thinking it thru tho, it isn't bad... buy Ebay gift cards in store at Target anonymously. There is no way for them to flag you if you pay entirely by GC. Then spend them on Ebay. Repeat. You are sacrificing the 5%, so you're only making the money you'd make on the Ebay portion of it. Not a bad plan if you can get 5X. At least it's a way to not have that spend history tracked against you at Target. You run the risk of hitting your $5K quicker since that will be what holds you back. Also the $500 cap per quarter on Ebay Bucks.

I would like to find a good alternative to Target that is cycle-able... Any ideas?

 

[davper]

I hope Target Redcard is managed by a third party finance company.

TD Bank

It seems very arbitrary. I think the eBay churning will be the straw that breaks the camel's back on buying a gift card with a gift card. If I were a target exec and understood what is going on, I would figure out how to stop this.

If I were a Target exec and selling cards at 95% was profitable, I would encourage it.

Now, do I hold them for a bit or convert back to eBay right away so I'll be ready if there's another extra eBucks promo?

I am always be ready for next promo. But if I suddenly had to convert all to Disney, then I wouldn't.

Target seems to have a whole new site, new order process. Initial reaction was the glitch is gone. Tested, it still works. So don't panic when you see the new site.

I love how everyone assumes this is a glitch.

As someone who works both as an Accountant and an IT professional, Target is very aware and could have fixed the issue in a couple of hours if it was a glitch.

 

[Marionnette]

If I had that large of an amount of GCs from resellers, I think I would buy my GCs in store instead of on-line, if possible. You can always add "something small" to the purchase to make it such that you have to put something on your REDcard and thus, get the 5% discount (right???). If the GCs are "flagged" at least you wouldn't get banned from on-line shopping. I can never get to the Raise deals fast enough to snag a good one, but if I did, this is what I would do and convert it to Disney. I don't know that I'd try to churn it into eBay, though I'm sure that would work as well.

You only get the 5% REDCard discount in the store on the amount which is paid for with the REDCard. So, "adding something small" doesn't change that. If the PP wants to buy their Disney GCs in the store in order to avoid flagging their account due to a bad Target GC from a reseller, the last thing that they would want to do is to associate any identifying information with that purchase, especially their REDCard.

 

[mfly]

If I had that large of an amount of GCs from resellers, I think I would buy my GCs in store instead of on-line, if possible. You can always add "something small" to the purchase to make it such that you have to put something on your REDcard and thus, get the 5% discount (right???). If the GCs are "flagged" at least you wouldn't get banned from on-line shopping. I can never get to the Raise deals fast enough to snag a good one, but if I did, this is what I would do and convert it to Disney. I don't know that I'd try to churn it into eBay, though I'm sure that would work as well.

I completely understand your point here: use the gift cards obtained from resellers in a way that will benefit you without potentially tainting your Redcard/Target.com account. I think you're thinking the right way.
However, you will not get the 5% discount in-store if you make your purchase with gift cards, even if you put a small amount on your Redcard. On an in-store purchase, you only receive the 5% discount on the portion that is paid with the Redcard.

 

[havaneselover]

If I were a Target exec and selling cards at 95% was profitable, I would encourage it.


I love how everyone assumes this is a glitch.

As someone who works both as an Accountant and an IT professional, Target is very aware and could have fixed the issue in a couple of hours if it was a glitch.

TD Bank


If I were a Target exec and selling cards at 95% was profitable, I would encourage it.


I am always be ready for next promo. But if I suddenly had to convert all to Disney, then I wouldn't.


I love how everyone assumes this is a glitch.

As someone who works both as an Accountant and an IT professional, Target is very aware and could have fixed the issue in a couple of hours if it was a glitch.

Retilers can sell gift cards at a discount due to breakage. People churning $10k/ year in eBay gift cards aren't leaving unused amounts on their gift cards. So it may be profitable in general but not in certain cases. I have no clue what's really at the root of the bannings but it very well could be that buying $30,000 of gift cards from them in a year is not profitable to them.

 

[Marionnette]

Retilers can sell gift cards at a discount due to breakage. People churning $10k/ year in eBay gift cards aren't leaving unused amounts on their gift cards. So it may be profitable in general but not in certain cases. I have no clue what's really at the root of the bannings but it very well could be that buying $30,000 of gift cards from them in a year is not profitable to them.

But churners are a very small percentage of the retail gift card market. It's probably not worth the cost of policing the few who do it on a small scale.

 

[pillow]

Kroger has 4x fuel points (at least in the mid atlantic) fri-sun with digital coupon! Time to buy enough target gift cards to pay off my August cruise!

Woo hoo!!! Just in time - totally out of fuel points and not wanting to pay full price for gas. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[davper]

Retilers can sell gift cards at a discount due to breakage. People churning $10k/ year in eBay gift cards aren't leaving unused amounts on their gift cards. So it may be profitable in general but not in certain cases. I have no clue what's really at the root of the bannings but it very well could be that buying $30,000 of gift cards from them in a year is not profitable to them.

Breakage does not end up on the Operations Income Statement. This would be Change in Cash Flows due to Financing Activities.

In fact, Store GCs never see the Income Statement. It would be on the balance sheet as a liability. Not until the consumer uses the card to purchase goods will this liability be reduced and some revenue is recorded on the sale of an item.

Any unused GCs would have to stay as a Liability for 7 years. At least in my state. Only then would the overall Income Statement show an improvement. But again, it would not be part of operations which is where the stockholders measure performance.

So using breakage to make a sale more profitable is incorrect.

 

[havaneselover]

But churners are a very small percentage of the retail gift card market. It's probably not worth the cost of policing the few who do it on a small scale.

Small percentage but they're making huge purchases. Not saying this is the case. Just saying it's possible.

 

[havaneselover]

Breakage does not end up on the Operations Income Statement. This would be Change in Cash Flows due to Financing Activities.

In fact, Store GCs never see the Income Statement. It would be on the balance sheet as a liability. Not until the consumer uses the card to purchase goods will this liability be reduced and some revenue is recorded on the sale of an item.

Any unused GCs would have to stay as a Liability for 7 years. At least in my state. Only then would the overall Income Statement show an improvement. But again, it would not be part of operations which is where the stockholders measure performance.

So using breakage to make a sale more profitable is incorrect.

We will agree to disagree.

 

[havaneselover]

Woo hoo!!! Just in time - totally out of fuel points and not wanting to pay full price for gas. Thanks for the heads up.

Anytime I was at the short pump Kroger last night and the fuel station is almost open. Can't wait!

 

[Marionnette]

Small percentage but they're making huge purchases. Not saying this is the case. Just saying it's possible.

It may not be worth it to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Those who are doing huge churns (like the poster who bought tens of thousands of dollars worth of gift cards on target .com) can be dealt with on a case by case basis without upsetting the vast majority of customers who buy the occasional gift cards here and there.

 

[AlohaNow]

I love how everyone assumes this is a glitch.

This always cracks me up too. Have you ever clicked on the reviews of the Disney GCs on Target.com? People go on and on about how they love getting 5% off the cards and paying for their DVC dues, cruises, and vacations with them. Plus, anyone who thinks Target doesn’t know how many dollars are coming in the door vs. how many are going out is grossly mistaken!

 

[havaneselover]

It may not be worth it to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Those who are doing huge churns (like the poster who bought tens of thousands of dollars worth of gift cards on target .com) can be dealt with on a case by case basis without upsetting the vast majority of customers who buy the occasional gift cards here and there.

Totally agree. Not saying it will happen. Just saying I wouldn't be surprised if in the near future target gets stricter. I hope they don't. I've saved a lot of money buying Disney gift cards at Target. But other retailers that used to allow gift card purchases with gift cards no longer do so it's certainly a possibility.

 

[havaneselover]

This always cracks me up too. Have you ever clicked on the reviews of the Disney GCs on Target.com? People go on and on about how they love getting 5% off the cards and paying for their DVC dues, cruises, and vacations with them. Plus, anyone who thinks Target doesn’t know how many dollars are coming in the door vs. how many are going out is grossly mistaken!

The "glitch" is not getting 5% off. It's getting 5% off but paying with a gift card. I don't think it's a glitch.

 

[MrInfinity]

We will agree to disagree.

I kind of agree with both of you. If Target sells a $100 GC for $100, that does not hit the Income statement. It would be cash in, but also a liability, for a net 0 which does not hit the income. However if you sell a $100 GC for $95, now you have cash in of $95 and a liability of $100. This will hit the income statement as -$5. Breakage will factor in on a trailing 7 years or whatever the local rule is, as in $X of outstanding GCs expired this year which were sold 7 years ago, so they'll write those off, now, on the + side of the balance sheet. So given Target is over 7 years old, breakage will show, but it will be the cards sold 7 years ago that are reflected in it today.

And I agree totally with havaneselover, in that gift cards given as a gift are likely to get lost or partially spent and discarded, but gift cards churned are not. There is a 0% chance that I'll lose a GC in my deals... but there is some chance that my son, if given one as a gift, would lose it, or partial spend it and end up losing some leftover values on it.

This always cracks me up too. Have you ever clicked on the reviews of the Disney GCs on Target.com? People go on and on about how they love getting 5% off the cards and paying for their DVC dues, cruises, and vacations with them. Plus, anyone who thinks Target doesn’t know how many dollars are coming in the door vs. how many are going out is grossly mistaken!

Of course it's a glitch. If it wasn't, then you could call Target, right now, and ask them... Can I buy a gift card online, pay with a gift card, and get 5% off? They will tell you no. If you called 10 times and talked to 10 different reps, each one would tell you no. If you escalated each call to 10 managers, each one would tell you no. It is not allowed, per Target policy. The 5% only applies to the portion on the Red Card. I'm not saying they don't know about the glitch. It is most likely as Marionette says not throwing out the baby with the bath... or simply not enough of a loss-generator to warrant a change... but it is definitely a glitch. With just how public it's become, they could close it down, or just close down the people they suspect are reselling. It's not always worth it to fix a glitch. For years you could exploit glitches like adult meals on kid DDPs. If it sells the DDP and is profitable to give away a little food, then it's not worth fixing. Same thing with multiple Magic Bands. When it's no longer profitable, they'll adjust the tools and lock it down.

 

[momto4obkids]

Yes, I did get it and wondered the same thing! Is it only Amazon? I can't tell from the wording.

It's any gift card. I've gotten this same email a few times from them and don't buy the Amazon cards, I get the Lowe's cards and have received the points.

 

[MommaBerd]

You won't get any additional % off doing that. You only get the 5% off on the parts that you actually put on your Red Card. This is only good if you can get the GCs at a really steep discount, like when we could get them on Raise for 8% or so. If I was to buy in store, I would pay with my Red Card fully and just get the 5% (7% after DVA).

Thinking it thru tho, it isn't bad... buy Ebay gift cards in store at Target anonymously. There is no way for them to flag you if you pay entirely by GC. Then spend them on Ebay. Repeat. You are sacrificing the 5%, so you're only making the money you'd make on the Ebay portion of it. Not a bad plan if you can get 5X. At least it's a way to not have that spend history tracked against you at Target. You run the risk of hitting your $5K quicker since that will be what holds you back. Also the $500 cap per quarter on Ebay Bucks.

I would like to find a good alternative to Target that is cycle-able... Any ideas?

So, I stand corrected, or rather have learned something new. It's annoying that you don't get the discount on the entire purchase if you're using your REDcard as part of the payment. Kohl's honors my CC discount when I use GCs to make purchases.

At some point you have to start the churn. If you buy from Raise first, I would buy the next step (eBay) in the store. You might miss out on the "double stack" of Raise/Target in the beginning, but I think it's a small price to pay to *hopefully* avoid getting banned, if it's the resale cards that are at issue.

You only get the 5% REDCard discount in the store on the amount which is paid for with the REDCard. So, "adding something small" doesn't change that. If the PP wants to buy their Disney GCs in the store in order to avoid flagging their account due to a bad Target GC from a reseller, the last thing that they would want to do is to associate any identifying information with that purchase, especially their REDCard.

I see your point and have been corrected on the discount issue. My suggestion was one to avoid getting banned from Target .com. I'm sure there are lots of people who buy discounted GCs who aren't churning and who unknowingly use them in the store - with or without their REDcard. My guess is that Target doesn't ban those people from the stores and that the security/loss prevention protocols are different in-store vs. on-line.

 

[ski_mom]

It's any gift card. I've gotten this same email a few times from them and don't buy the Amazon cards, I get the Lowe's cards and have received the points.

Thanks so much for clarifying!