Gift Card Question

[adSimba]

I know GC's cannot be combined (which is stupid!) but I read on the Disney GC webpage that

"Except as required by applicable law, your Disney Gift Card is not redeemable for cash. For instance, in California, pre-paid gift cards are redeemable for cash if they have a value of $10 or less remaining on a gift card."

So... if towards the end of my trip I took a handful of mostly spent cards, could I cash them out and "reload" it all to a different one?

Please only reply if you have some experience with this (or are willing to try it there soon) Or if you have a magical way of combining cards more easily.

For reference I already paid for my trip and am not staying in a Disney property

 

[ParkHopper1]

You can pay a single transaction with more than one gift card so you should not end up with a bunch of low balance cards. If you buy something for $50 you can give them a gift card that only has $30 on it...then you will have a balance of $20...give them the next gift card that has $12 left on it...then the last card and so on. You do not need a full $50 on one card to pay for that one single transaction.

You do mot even have to know how much you have on each card...the register will deduct the available balance and let ya know what you are short or have remaining to finish out the transaction.

 

[SMD]

Once you've cashed out low balance gift cards you can do whatever you want with the cash. It's cash. You could take it to Target and buy a gift card there.

If you're asking if you have $37.20 can you buy a single gift card for that amount? No. They don't sell name your value gift cards at DLR. You'd have to either go up or down to the next increment that Disney sells. You can reload a card in $5 increments, but I think there are additional rules, like where you can do it and what's required and those I don't know. I will just use one card until it's used up and as PP said, if it doesn't complete a transaction I start on the next card.

 

[adSimba]

oh, I had been told that if you don't know exactly what you have, they cant take a partial payment

 

[SMD]

No, if your total is $75 and they swipe your GC for $50 they'll just tell you that you still owe $25. It may be different at TS restaurants, but at ticket booths, merchandise and CS they just swipe the card. They don't care if you use 2 GCs, GC + CC or GC + cash as long as you pay.

 

[pmaurer74]

there is an app that keep track of the amount left on your Disney gift cards. I find it useful on our trips.

 

[ParkHopper1]

oh, I had been told that if you don't know exactly what you have, they cant take a partial payment

That used to be the case years ago. With the recent change in places like CA where by law they have to cash you out for a git card balance that is under $10 most merchants changes their system to allow partial payments to maximize every dollar of profit on the card. If they give you $5 back in cash, they make zero money...and actually loose some in the processing...but if they allow you to spend that $5 on merch as a partial payment...they make the profit off that $5 of sale.

Before people would just toss the card with a few bucks...now that they started "cashing" them out the merchant systems changed.

Other little know gift card fact in CA...if you pay full retail for a gift card, they can never expire. If you receive a discount...or get something with the purchase of the gift card as a promo...they can put an expiration date on the card!

For example if you walk into Jamba Juice and buy a $25 gift card...that $25 will be good for as long as Jamba is in business. Over the holidays they run a promo like buy a $25 gift card and receive a FREE smoothie...guess what, they can now put an expiration date on that card and you are SOL if it is not used by that date. I have seem similar promos for Disney Cards.

 

[whistlinmickey]

You can use a Disney Vacation Account. They require a small, non-gift-card initial deposit. But all the subsequent deposits can be done using Disney Gift Cards. The DVA can be used to purchase park tickets and vacation packages online or on the phone. It can be used to pay for tours and other things as well. Finally, you can use the account to purchase one large gift card, up to $500. If you plan out your deposits and withdrawals just right, you can end up with exactly that $500 limit left to use for a gift card purchase. There is no cost and basically no risk. They will refund deposits to the original forms of payment of you change you mind and back out. But they did just recently change the rules to require a certain minimum number of days before you can use the account to make purchases.
The DVA doesn't earn interest, so it's not really a good way to directly "save" for a vacation. But if your savings are already locked up in otherwise unusable gift cards (hopefully purchased at a discount or received as a gift from someone else) then this is the most convenient way I have found so far to combine gift cards.