how i saved $740 on my up coming disney trip in 1 week

[lexysdad04]

Hi guys Im new to the boards here but not to Disney. I just wanted to share how I saved $740 on my up coming cruise but this strategy can be used to save on every day things

as we all know it takes money to make money so heres what I did, I have been searching day and night for gift cards on ebay and craigslist, so far I have gotten the following

Disney Gift cards
$526 for $400 saved $126 (craigslist)
$150 for $130 saved $ 20 (craigslist)
$700 for $665 saved $ 35 (target red card)
$ 25 for $ 20 saved $ 5 (craigslist)
$180 for $150 saved $ 30 (craigslist)

Target gift cards
$2002 for $1760 saved $242 (craigslist)
$ 336 for $ 300 saved $ 36 (craigslist)
$ 70 for $ 55 saved $ 15 (Craigslist)

Best Buy
$756 for $655 saved $101 (craigslist)
now here I have 2 options I can trade $755 of best buy for $755 of Disney cards with another person OR I can buy a VISA gift card with the best buy gift card at the store but best buy charges $6 for every $200 VISA best buy gift card, now here is where it gets good, if I buy the visa gift card I can then go to Target and buy the Disney gift cards and use the 5% off coupon only problem with that is im still waiting to get the coupon (was mailed on 6/29) but that would give me an additional $12 in savings after you include the $24 fee I would have to pay to get visa cards

Starbucks
$200 for $150 saved $50 (ebay)
$300 for $220 save $80 (ebay)

with the Starbucks saving im buying Disney cards at target, im hoping I get my 5% off coupon by Monday since thats my final pay for our cruise. But if I do get the coupon that would give me an additional $138.90 on top of $740

now if any one has a target all day in store coupon that they want to share and they are in SoCal Ill take care of lunch

Also when buying on Craigslist make sure you meet at a public location preferably inside the store also I only buy the gift cards when im already planning on being in that area for something else, no point in driving out 20 miles to save $5 and spend $10 on gas when it comes to small savings like that I made them drive to me or give me a bigger discount

 

[gilby]

How do you know that they have the actual amount on the card, when buying from craiglist. I see others on ebay, but am scared I will pay for a card with less money then stated.
I have been saving on disney cards at target, but just remember to keep all giftcards incase you ever have to cancel trip, the money goes back on the gift card.

 

[lexysdad04]

for the Disney cards I call them in and then call the cruise line and make the payment all while the seller waits, then when its all said and done I pay them their money that's already been pre negotiated

for target we go up to guest services and request a bal chenk and then I hand them a new card and ask them to put the bal onto the new card then I hand them their money

for the Starbucks cards I got them of ebay but I still added the card to my acct then transferd the bal of the card onto my acct and erased the card of my acct

for best buy its a little tricky if its a gift card u can transfer the money onto a new card or buy VISA best buy card and just pay the $6 activation fee but if its store credit then you have to go online and purchase gift card first (store wont let you) then go to the store and purchase your Visa card with the new gift card. for some reason the store will only let you buy merchandise with store credit but the website will let you buy gift cards and give u free shipping so HA

 

[HM]

That is a nice savings. It seems you have to do a lot work and spend a lot of time to find these deals and make sure they were legit. Too much for my taste. Glad it works for you.

 

[lexysdad04]

I think the best buy card is the biggest hassle everything else is a walk in the park.
The way I see it is if im already going to be in the area and already planning on shopping at target or already planning on drinking my starbucks 2x a day well might as well get some saving out of it. Also what I did was plase an add on craigslist stating that I buy Disney & Target cards so now I have people calling me to offer me their cards, I have another $500 Disney card that im buying for $380 this afternoon Yay

Now if my 5% off coupon would just get here before Monday that would be great

 

[Malibustyle23]

Hi guys Im new to the boards here but not to Disney. I just wanted to share how I saved $740 on my up coming cruise but this strategy can be used to save on every day things

as we all know it takes money to make money so heres what I did, I have been searching day and night for gift cards on ebay and craigslist, so far I have gotten the following

Disney Gift cards
$526 for $400 saved $126 (craigslist)
$150 for $130 saved $ 20 (craigslist)
$700 for $665 saved $ 35 (target red card)
$ 25 for $ 20 saved $ 5 (craigslist)
$180 for $150 saved $ 30 (craigslist)

Target gift cards
$2002 for $1760 saved $242 (craigslist)
$ 336 for $ 300 saved $ 36 (craigslist)
$ 70 for $ 55 saved $ 15 (Craigslist)

Best Buy
$756 for $655 saved $101 (craigslist)
now here I have 2 options I can trade $755 of best buy for $755 of Disney cards with another person OR I can buy a VISA gift card with the best buy gift card at the store but best buy charges $6 for every $200 VISA best buy gift card, now here is where it gets good, if I buy the visa gift card I can then go to Target and buy the Disney gift cards and use the 5% off coupon only problem with that is im still waiting to get the coupon (was mailed on 6/29) but that would give me an additional $12 in savings after you include the $24 fee I would have to pay to get visa cards

Starbucks
$200 for $150 saved $50 (ebay)
$300 for $220 save $80 (ebay)

with the Starbucks saving im buying Disney cards at target, im hoping I get my 5% off coupon by Monday since thats my final pay for our cruise. But if I do get the coupon that would give me an additional $138.90 on top of $740

now if any one has a target all day in store coupon that they want to share and they are in SoCal Ill take care of lunch

Also when buying on Craigslist make sure you meet at a public location preferably inside the store also I only buy the gift cards when im already planning on being in that area for something else, no point in driving out 20 miles to save $5 and spend $10 on gas when it comes to small savings like that I made them drive to me or give me a bigger discount

Congrats on your savings!

Do you really visit Starbucks that often?! It'd take me decades to spend $500 at Strabucks.

 

[Alexander]

I really don't want to burst your bubble, but I would be very very careful buying gift cards from eBay or Craigs list. People have very elaborate scams going with gift cards, especially travel related ones. They sell you the gift card, you apply it to your cruise, resort, etc, then they report the cards lost or stolen and they cancel the cards. If you have applied the balance to say your cruise, they will deduct that credit and you will have to pay. There is a woman on Cruise Critic right now that had this exact thing happen with a Carnival Cruise Line gift card.

Just be very careful....

 

[DawnM]

True, and I could save $500 immediately but not going at all!

But that is how I like to save when I need to, I just cut back for a month or two.

Dawn

Congrats on your savings!

Do you really visit Starbucks that often?! It'd take me decades to spend $500 at Strabucks.

 

[letsgoreds]

Just be careful with the Disney GC...a lot of them out there are store Disney cards (merchandise), which cannot be used on tickets or in the parks/WDW.

I also would caution some to be careful about buying GC from a third party (especially Craigslist). There are rings of thieves who steal merchandise, and then return them for store credit (if no receipt required), to then be sold on the open market. I witnessed this first hand a year ago at Pottery Barn Kids...apparently they had hit Macys, Ulta, and PBK before packing up in their car and driving up the highway to the next mall.

 

[DawnM]

Or copy the gift card numbers and sell the actual cards and then report the card stolen so the store makes the original gift card null and void and issues a new one to the person.

Dawn

Just be careful with the Disney GC...a lot of them out there are store Disney cards (merchandise), which cannot be used on tickets or in the parks/WDW.

I also would caution some to be careful about buying GC from a third party (especially Craigslist). There are rings of thieves who steal merchandise, and then return them for store credit (if no receipt required), to then be sold on the open market. I witnessed this first hand a year ago at Pottery Barn Kids...apparently they had hit Macys, Ulta, and PBK before packing up in their car and driving up the highway to the next mall.

 

[mm1971]

Hi guys Im new to the boards here but not to Disney. I just wanted to share how I saved $740 on my up coming cruise but this strategy can be used to save on every day things

as we all know it takes money to make money so heres what I did, I have been searching day and night for gift cards on ebay and craigslist, so far I have gotten the following

Disney Gift cards
$526 for $400 saved $126 (craigslist)
$150 for $130 saved $ 20 (craigslist)
$700 for $665 saved $ 35 (target red card)
$ 25 for $ 20 saved $ 5 (craigslist)
$180 for $150 saved $ 30 (craigslist)

Target gift cards
$2002 for $1760 saved $242 (craigslist)
$ 336 for $ 300 saved $ 36 (craigslist)
$ 70 for $ 55 saved $ 15 (Craigslist)

Best Buy
$756 for $655 saved $101 (craigslist)
now here I have 2 options I can trade $755 of best buy for $755 of Disney cards with another person OR I can buy a VISA gift card with the best buy gift card at the store but best buy charges $6 for every $200 VISA best buy gift card, now here is where it gets good, if I buy the visa gift card I can then go to Target and buy the Disney gift cards and use the 5% off coupon only problem with that is im still waiting to get the coupon (was mailed on 6/29) but that would give me an additional $12 in savings after you include the $24 fee I would have to pay to get visa cards

Starbucks
$200 for $150 saved $50 (ebay)
$300 for $220 save $80 (ebay)

with the Starbucks saving im buying Disney cards at target, im hoping I get my 5% off coupon by Monday since thats my final pay for our cruise. But if I do get the coupon that would give me an additional $138.90 on top of $740

now if any one has a target all day in store coupon that they want to share and they are in SoCal Ill take care of lunch

Also when buying on Craigslist make sure you meet at a public location preferably inside the store also I only buy the gift cards when im already planning on being in that area for something else, no point in driving out 20 miles to save $5 and spend $10 on gas when it comes to small savings like that I made them drive to me or give me a bigger discount

Wow! That seems like a lot of work, but congrats on a good amount of savings. I don't think I could put that much effort into the planning and execution.

 

[lexysdad04]

thanks guys about the warning and heads up, I did run into a guy trying to sell a merchandise credit for Disney as a gift card $202 for $165, I tried to explain to him that merchandise credit is not worth as much as a full gift card because most pass holders get a 20% discount at the park stores but if we use a store credit we get zip so its pointless to buy it at that price. long story short he was not too happy when I didn't purchase the store credit

 

[MomToOne]

Another scam that involved gift cards:
- Crook steals standard credit card number (Visa, Mastercard, etc.)
- Crook buys a whole lot of gift cards with the stolen credit card
- Crook sells gift cards to unsuspecting victims. Victims check balance and think everything is fine.
- Credit card company realizes the credit card was stolen
- Credit card company tells Disney "you aren't being paid for those gift card transactions"
- Disney cancels the gift cards and attempts to recover whatever was paid for with them. If they were used to pay a vacation balance of any kind, that payment is cancelled.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Just be careful with the Disney GC...a lot of them out there are store Disney cards (merchandise), which cannot be used on tickets or in the parks/WDW.

I also would caution some to be careful about buying GC from a third party (especially Craigslist). There are rings of thieves who steal merchandise, and then return them for store credit (if no receipt required), to then be sold on the open market. I witnessed this first hand a year ago at Pottery Barn Kids...apparently they had hit Macys, Ulta, and PBK before packing up in their car and driving up the highway to the next mall.

My husband works in security at a store - they had someone let a friend use his debit card to buy a bunch of gift cards, then reported it as a fraud to the bank and said someone used his card. He gets the money back from the bank and sells the cards - probably on ebay Who thinks of these things? I wouldn't buy cards on ebay because they are probably stolen.

 

[mkymouse40]

I work for the Police and there are so many ways this could turn bad. Too, too many Craigslist purchases turn dangerous in seconds. People are robbed at gunpoint on a daily basis when they meet someone to complete a purchase. And yes, even in public places!

Additionally, credit cards are stolen and used to buy gift cards constantly. You open yourself up to receiving stolen property and believe me, your legal costs would far surpass your savings.

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. It is just a matter of time before you find the bad apple. I would stop while you are ahead and enjoy your vacation.

Working for the Police hasn't made me see the bad in everything, it has just opened my eyes to how the world has changed. Be Careful!!!

 

[Swimalie]

Working for the Police hasn't made me see the bad in everything, it has just opened my eyes to how the world has changed. Be Careful!!!

My husband is a former officer and I am a former probation officer and this is so true. We see the world differently.

A friend of mine had his wallet stollen while at a swim meet (the guys used cutters to cut the lock off the locker!) and the thieves went straight to Target and bought gift cards with the stolen credit card.

 

[lexysdad04]

I work for the Police and there are so many ways this could turn bad. Too, too many Craigslist purchases turn dangerous in seconds. People are robbed at gunpoint on a daily basis when they meet someone to complete a purchase. And yes, even in public places!

Additionally, credit cards are stolen and used to buy gift cards constantly. You open yourself up to receiving stolen property and believe me, your legal costs would far surpass your savings.

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. It is just a matter of time before you find the bad apple. I would stop while you are ahead and enjoy your vacation.

Working for the Police hasn't made me see the bad in everything, it has just opened my eyes to how the world has changed. Be Careful!!!

Thanks everyone I think I'm going to stop while I'm ahead.

I did call disney and paid of my cruise and while I was on the phone I asked them what would happen if the person that sold me the gift cards decided to pull a fraud and report them lost stollen or worse purchased them with stolen gift credit cards, well the rep put me on hold and came back and said that gift cards are just like cash and if the person tries to report them lost or stolen all they do is give them a new card with what ever is left in the old card at the time of the report but since I used up the cards already they would get nothing back, as for them using stolen credit cards to purchase the gift cards she said that disney and or the credit card company would end up taking the loss after the investigation as long as I could show proof that I was not the one buying the cards with stolen credit cards but that its rear for it to get that far.

Well looks like ill stop while I'm ahead of the game. Now ill only buy them at target with the 10% off since I still want to add money for pics drinks excursions and tips

 

[kristenrice]

I like the train of thought... But, aside from what everyone else has mentioned, I am still trying to figure out who buys a $300 Starbucks gift card????

(I know why the OP would use it... But who else would need $300 in Frappucino!?)

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[MrsPete]

Another possibility: the person sells you a good gift card, and in the process of the transaction asks when you're going to Disney. You say September or so . . . So he gaves you the card, but he's kept the number. You call and verify the card's good and you dont even keep his contact info. in the meantime, he uses it to buy merchandise over the Internet.

As for Starbucks, you could save by making coffee at home.

 

[lexysdad04]

I am still trying to figure out who buys a $300 Starbucks gift card????

(I know why the OP would use it... But who else would need $300 in Frappucino!?)

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Lol yeah I love my coffee and it has be to Starbucks...
My daughters 2nd grade teacher got over $800 worth of Starbucks cards from all the parents at the end of the yr, we knew she likes her Starbucks since we would see her show up with a cup every morning so we all sent our kids with a gift card to Starbucks the last day, the funny part is it was not planned