How long for gift card balance to reflect gratuity?

[CaptainAmerica]

Question is in the title. When you pay at a TS dining location (or a normal, non-Disney restaurant) with your credit card, the initial hold is for the amount of your bill excluding gratuity. Then at some point, usually a day or two later, the charge is updated to reflect whatever amount you added for gratuity. How fast is this process when paying with Disney Gift Cards? How long after a TS meal can I be confident that my gift card balance is accurate?

 

[MICKIMINI]

We usually have dinner and it reflects by the next day. I buy a bunch of $500 GC's in anticipation and use a fresh card for an expensive ADR and then set it aside. I then have a pile of $100-200 cards and I work through them one by one. Left over goes to MF's LOL!

It works!

 

[Tinkerbell58]

When paying with a Disney gift card, the remaining balance is shown on your receipt.

 

[focusondisney]

When paying with a Disney gift card, the remaining balance is shown on your receipt.

That amount is normally before the tip, unless the restaurant has withheld it. Most restaurants don’t automatically include the tip, unless you’re a large party. So you have to remember to deduct the tip amount from the balance yourself.

 

[nw6675]

I may be remembering wrong, but I am almost sure we wrote the tip in before the card was processed so our balance on the receipt was always correct.

 

[Disneyhanna]

I did a lot of TS during my last trip this past week and paid with GCs, and the tips were all reflected very quickly, basically right away, I imagine the CMs enter them right away to avoid issues with people overspending on cards. I save my GC #s in the notes app on my phone so you can always check the charges on the card online when you are getting close to $0. The tips are a separate charge and always easy for me to spot since I round to the nearest $.

 

[focusondisney]

I may be remembering wrong, but I am almost sure we wrote the tip in before the card was processed so our balance on the receipt was always correct.

Maybe you got 2 receipts. They bring me the bill, I give them the gift card like I would a credit card. (The initial bill doesn’t even have a line for tips on it. It’s a bill, not a receipt.) They bring back the slip for me to sign & add the tip. My copy of that slip has the gift card balance without the tip deducted. I add the tip, sign the slip, take my copy & leave. That slip couldn’t possibly have the tip deducted because I haven’t even told them how much it will be yet. Maybe you wait & have them bring you another receipt?

*This doesn’t apply if you have a large party or are at CRT where gratuity is already added. We’re a party of 2 or 4, so no auto gratuity.

 

[focusondisney]

I did a lot of TS during my last trip this past week and paid with GCs, and the tips were all reflected very quickly, basically right away, I imagine the CMs enter them right away to avoid issues with people overspending on cards.

I agree. We often have table service meals for both lunch & dinner. The gift card balance is always right by the next meal.