Paying with gift card question

[frannn]

Can we still pay for meals and merch using the magic band, then settle with gift card at the resort front desk before they charge the credit card? We are staying at Pop...how much can we charge back to the room before they charge the credit card?
Thanks!

 

[easyas123]

As for the first part of your question - yes, I've done it several times. As to the second part- I'm not sure but they'll be able to tell you at the front desk.
I never had enough gift cards to cover all of our expenditures, so usually just used the gift cards after the first day, or second to pay off the tab and let them charge the remainder to the credit card I had on file.

 

[hes122]

They will put a hold on your card for $100 on the day you check in. Once you hit that threshold, they'll put a new hold on for the new balance.

This is what happened to me earlier this month. We were using GCs to pay for everything until we exhausted them. That worked fine until we had dinner at Le Cellier. Our total bill (including tip) was about $35ish more than we had left on the last GC so I just charged the whole thing to the room rather than having to pay the difference in cash and get change. As soon as we got back to the resort that night I immediately went and used the balance of the GC to pay on the room charges.

The holds disappeared about a week after we got back.

 

[subtchr]

A few years ago, our CC was charged when our bill reached $600 at a value resort. But that was about 3 years ago, before the holds policy was implemented.

I used to do what you are suggesting, but after a few long waits for service at the front desk, I decided to skip that step, and just use the gift cards at the point of sale. Works better, for me, especially now that I can use the Wallet app on my iPhone and scan that. To do that, you can buy a digital gift card, any amount, and load that to your wallet. Then you can use the Disney gift card website to add the value of either digital or physical gift cards to that one in the Wallet.

I also like that you can now use Disney gift cards for mobile ordering. It's a bummer that the system will not save the number, meaning you have to enter it for each purchase. I overcome that inconvenience by saving the card number as a note on my phone, and using copy/paste for each mobile order.

 

[easyas123]

After one to many long waits we ditched the gift cards, too. I used to get a $50 gift card 2X a month and just squirrel them away until whenever the next trip was. Now I've got a automatic bank to bank transfer set up 2X per month into a new savings account linked to my credit card. I can just pay off the charges with the accrued savings vs. using multiple gift cards.

At least that is the plan, I literally just started this method a month ago after our late Jan/early Feb. trip!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Can we still pay for meals and merch using the magic band, then settle with gift card at the resort front desk before they charge the credit card? We are staying at Pop...how much can we charge back to the room before they charge the credit card?
Thanks!

Yes you can pay for meals, Merch etc with your MB and use your GC to pay at the front desk. This article below is helpful on how the process works.

https://unexpectedlygeeky.com/new-credit-card-policy-disney-world-hotels/
I would be mindful of the policy and when the resort will charge your card. Perhaps asking a CM at check in will help so they can inform you of their policy and will be able to let you know based on your check in/check out dates of when you need to pay.

 

[subtchr]

After one to many long waits we ditched the gift cards, too. I used to get a $50 gift card 2X a month and just squirrel them away until whenever the next trip was. Now I've got a automatic bank to bank transfer set up 2X per month into a new savings account linked to my credit card. I can just pay off the charges with the accrued savings vs. using multiple gift cards.

At least that is the plan, I literally just started this method a month ago after our late Jan/early Feb. trip!

I do something similar, but I am sticking with the gift cards. I buy them in increments when our grocery store is offering 4X fuel points on gift card purchases. This happens at least once a month, and it equates to about a 10% savings for us.

Then I consolidate the values of the gift cards using the gift card website. And then transfer them using the same website to the digital card I have in my Apple iPhone Wallet when I need to.

I wouldn't recommend this for someone who travels to Disney once or only every several years. But for someone who visits often (I know for sure I will use the value!), it works for us!

 

[Shughart]

A few years ago, our CC was charged when our bill reached $600 at a value resort. But that was about 3 years ago, before the holds policy was implemented.

I used to do what you are suggesting, but after a few long waits for service at the front desk, I decided to skip that step, and just use the gift cards at the point of sale. Works better, for me, especially now that I can use the Wallet app on my iPhone and scan that. To do that, you can buy a digital gift card, any amount, and load that to your wallet. Then you can use the Disney gift card website to add the value of either digital or physical gift cards to that one in the Wallet.

I also like that you can now use Disney gift cards for mobile ordering. It's a bummer that the system will not save the number, meaning you have to enter it for each purchase. I overcome that inconvenience by saving the card number as a note on my phone, and using copy/paste for each mobile order.

It sounds annoying to have to copy and paste each time but I'm so dang excited to know that we can use GCs for mobile ordering on our next trip! It's what we do the most of and it'll save us SO much more money when I buy our GCs!

 

[subtchr]

It sounds annoying to have to copy and paste each time but I'm so dang excited to know that we can use GCs for mobile ordering on our next trip! It's what we do the most of and it'll save us SO much more money when I buy our GCs!

It takes literally seconds.

And I completely agree, it’s a game-changer!