Disney Gift cards via Disney rewards, Expire?

[taylor3297]

Once you put your rewards onto the gift card, how long do you have to use all the money. We are going in December and I wanted to request our card before we go. I know you can go to guest services and do it there, but I want the card in hand.

Also, say if you have $800 in rewards you want to use, can you request $400 to be put on two cards?

 

[taylor3297]

anyone?

 

[NotUrsula]

So far, a little over a year. I've only had one card. I got it in Sept of 09 and it expires in Dec 2010. I just used it for the final time -- I'll order a new one for my next trip. Chase says that once points are transferred onto a rewards card they become use it or lose it; if there is still value on the card when it expires, that money is gone.

Also, just FYI, the cards are tricky to use. I ran into all kinds of problems trying to use mine earlier this month. I transferred all the points in my account to it about a month before we left, and saw them list online as transferred, only to have it rejected as valueless when I reached WDW. When I went online to check the account, all of the points had gone back into my cc account and I had to transfer them again. Then on the final day of my trip, I wanted to put my remaining balance against my hotel bill. It took forever b/c it is very difficult for CM's to tell how much value is still on the card. Keep your receipts so that you always know what your current balance is to the penny, in case you want to spend it down.

 

[gshumaker]

Once you put your rewards onto the gift card, how long do you have to use all the money. We are going in December and I wanted to request our card before we go. I know you can go to guest services and do it there, but I want the card in hand.

Also, say if you have $800 in rewards you want to use, can you request $400 to be put on two cards?

Ours have always expired in December of the following year - so if you get it now it will expire Dec 2011.

 

[eyor44]

and yes, I am pretty sure you can get two cards. You might want to call for that instead of requesting the cards online.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Just be careful if you order it in Jan or Feb, many times the year hasn't changed yet on the cards and you get less than a year!

 

[taylor3297]

Thanks for the information. I am planning to order the cards in September, that way if for some reason they don't show up, I have time to get things taken care of.

 

[Trixiezzz]

Thanks for the information. I am planning to order the cards in September, that way if for some reason they don't show up, I have time to get things taken care of.

You don't have to transfer all your points to the rewards cards when you order them. I do mine in stages.

You only have to put $20 on one to order a new reward card & have it mailed to you. So that's what I do. Then the card usually comes in about a week or two.

Once I have my card and it's a month till we go, I go online and transfer all the remaining points EXCEPT $10 worth to the card. (the transfer has always been instant for me)

Then I let any last-minute points grow up till the day before I go. Once you already have a rewards card, the minimum dollars to add is only $10. So by leaving at least $10 in the account, you know you'll be able to cash out for the exact amount you have -- for example you leave $10 and have $6 more new points added that month, you can go online the day before you leave and transfer the remaining $16 to your card.

I like doing it in stages because once you put the money on there it HAS to be used by the expiration deadline. By only putting $20 on there to start with, IF your plans change or get cancelled, you haven't put your whole balance at risk. But you still have the peace of mind of knowing you've ordered your physical rewards card early enough to be sure you'll receive it.

 

[taylor3297]

You don't have to transfer all your points to the rewards cards when you order them. I do mine in stages.

You only have to put $20 on one to order a new reward card & have it mailed to you. So that's what I do. Then the card usually comes in about a week or two.

Once I have my card and it's a month till we go, I go online and transfer all the remaining points EXCEPT $10 worth to the card. (the transfer has always been instant for me)

Then I let any last-minute points grow up till the day before I go. Once you already have a rewards card, the minimum dollars to add is only $10. So by leaving at least $10 in the account, you know you'll be able to cash out for the exact amount you have -- for example you leave $10 and have $6 more new points added that month, you can go online the day before you leave and transfer the remaining $16 to your card.

I like doing it in stages because once you put the money on there it HAS to be used by the expiration deadline. By only putting $20 on there to start with, IF your plans change or get cancelled, you haven't put your whole balance at risk. But you still have the peace of mind of knowing you've ordered your physical rewards card early enough to be sure you'll receive it.

That is a good idea. The main reason I wanted to know how quickly the money once on the card expires, is just in case we had to cancel our trip. I wanted to make sure that we had time to use the money if we had to move our trip by a month or two.

 

[Metsfan520]

You don't have to transfer all your points to the rewards cards when you order them. I do mine in stages.

You only have to put $20 on one to order a new reward card & have it mailed to you. So that's what I do. Then the card usually comes in about a week or two.

Once I have my card and it's a month till we go, I go online and transfer all the remaining points EXCEPT $10 worth to the card. (the transfer has always been instant for me)

Then I let any last-minute points grow up till the day before I go. Once you already have a rewards card, the minimum dollars to add is only $10. So by leaving at least $10 in the account, you know you'll be able to cash out for the exact amount you have -- for example you leave $10 and have $6 more new points added that month, you can go online the day before you leave and transfer the remaining $16 to your card.

I like doing it in stages because once you put the money on there it HAS to be used by the expiration deadline. By only putting $20 on there to start with, IF your plans change or get cancelled, you haven't put your whole balance at risk. But you still have the peace of mind of knowing you've ordered your physical rewards card early enough to be sure you'll receive it.

That's exactly what I do too! It's worked for me every time.

 

[RookieDisneyMom]

I got my first rewards card at the beginning of the year and that's when I saw that the points have an expiration date. So I went to the Disney website and bought a giftcard. I received the giftcard within a week and now I have $75 that will not expire and I can use it on anything I want in the Disney parks, DTD, for tips, or on eating. You may want to look into the option as well.

 

[Poohbear5]

I got my first rewards card at the beginning of the year and that's when I saw that the points have an expiration date. So I went to the Disney website and bought a giftcard. I received the giftcard within a week and now I have $75 that will not expire and I can use it on anything I want in the Disney parks, DTD, for tips, or on eating. You may want to look into the option as well.

When I tried to use remaining points for a gift card last fall, our local Disney Store CM said I could not purchase a gift card with the Rewards points.
Maybe I'll try it on the website next time instead. Do they charge shipping for the gift card?

 

[Metsfan520]

I don't think they charge for shipping.