Linking a prepaid mastercard to your MDE account

[sturner1234]

Hi there,
I have been doing some reading and get mixed responses so thought I would ask.
Coming from the UK, my best option for getting USD is on a prepaid mastercard to avoid extra charges.
When I came to Universal last year, I had no problems linking it to my universal account and using it on tapu tapu for purchases in volcano bay.
However, I am unsure about Disney.
I am staying onsite and from what I can pick up if you link a credit card to MDE it get charged to your room? Since I will have a credit card on file when checking in, I assume this would be the card they would want to charge.
Is it then possible to speak to staff at hotel and clear the expenses on my prepaid card? For reference, I am staying at POP resort
Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Is it then possible to speak to staff at hotel and clear the expenses on my prepaid card?

Yes. Moving you to the Resort board where others can advise on how often you should go to the Front Desk.

 

[Marionnette]

Hi there,
I have been doing some reading and get mixed responses so thought I would ask.
Coming from the UK, my best option for getting USD is on a prepaid mastercard to avoid extra charges.
When I came to Universal last year, I had no problems linking it to my universal account and using it on tapu tapu for purchases in volcano bay.
However, I am unsure about Disney.
I am staying onsite and from what I can pick up if you link a credit card to MDE it get charged to your room? Since I will have a credit card on file when checking in, I assume this would be the card they would want to charge.
Is it then possible to speak to staff at hotel and clear the expenses on my prepaid card? For reference, I am staying at POP resort
Thanks in advance for any help.

It would be possible to leave your CC on file and pay down your room expenses with the prepaid card as charges are incurred. We typically charge to the room using our MBs and then pay it off with gift cards every couple of days. By doing this, we avoid having anything actually being charged to the CC.

Or, as an alternative, you could just pay for things using the prepaid card at the point of sale.

 

[gatorlisa]

I'll be curious to see what others say. But, here are my thoughts. I would not have the prepaid card put on your account. Go ahead with your normal credit card on file. Charge to your room as usual. Then every few days, based on the amount you've charged to the room, visit the front desk and tell them you would like to pay off your current balance and give them the prepaid card. When you pay using your magic band, it adds to your hotel folio account. They will not charge your credit card for these purchases until a pre-determined limit is hit (limit depends on type of hotel...value/moderate/deluxe). So as long as you go before they charge your card, it's easy to pay off the balance with whatever form of payment you like. I've done this for my last 2 years of trips, paying things off with Disney gift cards, and it has worked very well for me. You can keep track of your current folio balance using the MDE app.

 

[youngdeb12]

I used a prepaid Visa when we visited last year. The only problem I had was the amount on the card had to be higher than what my charges actually were because they must've added a refundable incidental amount and the amount that they tried to put through and the amount that I was actually charged were different.

 

[AngiTN]

I used a prepaid Visa when we visited last year. The only problem I had was the amount on the card had to be higher than what my charges actually were because they must've added a refundable incidental amount and the amount that they tried to put through and the amount that I was actually charged were different.

Yes, Disney's resort charges are coded like a restaurant when processed with the credit card company. They (the credit card company, not Disney) add 20% to the bill during the preauthorization, just in case you are going to tip. For this reason, it is not recommended. You can however, walk over to the gift shop at the resort and purchase a Disney gift card with your Disney visa card and they will not add the 20% and you can then use that gift card to pay for things while you are there.