Please suggest best way to pay for in-park things with gift cards

[jujubiee4]

Leaving for DW in a few days. Normally I use gift cards for cruise costs however this time I would like to help with park costs. Do folks just combine all into one
big one and use that to pay? My kids and nieces have their own from gifts. Should we add to their magic bands? Just charge everything to room and sort it later?
Looking to pay for everything with gift cards....food souvenirs lightning lanes etc. Just trying to avoid getting one out each time. Thank you for any advice!

 

[gottalovepluto]

You cannot add gift card balances to your room/MBs. If you don't want to get the gift cards out for charging you will have to enable charging to your room. Then every couple days or at least the night before checkout go to the front desk and pay down the accounts with your gc. You will need a cc or debit on file and it will get authorizations holds as you charge, but they will eventually drop off. If you forget your card will be charged, but you can still go to the front desk that morning and pay with a gc, they will just have to issue a refund to the card on file which will take longer to drop than an authorization hold.

I combine my gift cards up to $500 when I'm not charging to my room. You can do up to $1000. I'm just worried what if I lose a card or it gets stolen or something since sometimes they are out of my sight (restaurants) so I want to limit my max potential loss. When charging to my room I'll do $1k and leave my gc's in my safe except for 1 small balanced backup I keep with me.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Step 1 - get a Target Red card if you don't already have one.
Step 2 - Charge everything to your room.
Step 3 - The night before you check out, go to the concierge and ask for a copy of your bill.
Step 4 - Go on the Target website and buy Disney Gift cards electronically.
Step 5 - Take the email(s) with the gift card numbers and pin #s back down to the concierge and settle up. You'll save 5% and you'll never once have a card or money in your hand that can be lost or stolen.

Edit to add;
If they do happen to charge the card you have on file before you can settle up using gift cards (happened to us when we switched resorts mid-week on a split-stay), the concierge will happily back the charge back out so you can pay with the gift cards - just ask.

 

[jujubiee4]

I'm a

You cannot add gift card balances to your room/MBs. If you don't want to get the gift cards out for charging you will have to enable charging to your room. Then every couple days or at least the night before checkout go to the front desk and pay down the accounts with your gc. You will need a cc or debit on file and it will get authorizations holds as you charge, but they will eventually drop off. If you forget your card will be charged, but you can still go to the front desk that morning and pay with a gc, they will just have to issue a refund to the card on file which will take longer to drop than an authorization hold.

I combine my gift cards up to $500 when I'm not charging to my room. You can do up to $1000. I'm just worried what if I lose a card or it gets stolen or something since sometimes they are out of my sight (restaurants) so I want to limit my max potential loss. When charging to my room I'll do $1k and leave my gc's in my safe except for 1 small balanced backup I keep with me.

I'm also worried about losing a $1k card. 500 sounds good. Do i give this to front desk at check in? Or just my normal credit card and pay up with gift cards the final night? I forgot about hotel having a safe. Regarding enable charging to our room. We will have 3 with us with magic bands . Do we go into the disney app to enable them to be able to charge back to room? thank you

 

[CarolynFH]

I'm a

I'm also worried about losing a $1k card. 500 sounds good. Do i give this to front desk at check in? Or just my normal credit card and pay up with gift cards the final night?

You can’t (usually) keep a GC on file, just your CC. So yes, expect to settle up with GCs the final night, or every few nights depending on how long you’re staying and/or how many individuals you’re trying to keep track of. (Child A has spent $x, child B spent $y, etc.)

I forgot about hotel having a safe. Regarding enable charging to our room. We will have 3 with us with magic bands . Do we go into the disney app to enable them to be able to charge back to room? thank you

When you do online checkin or when you check in at the front desk, you assign each person their own PIN, which they’ll enter each time they charge to the room. The resort bill will show the person’s name next to each charge, as well as the location where it was made.

FYI if I had several kids with their own GCs, if they’re old enough I’d just let them pay directly with their own GC whenever they bought something. This assumes they’re responsible enough to keep track of the GC, or a responsible adult will be with them when they make a purchase and can give them the card and take it back when purchase is completed. That can save you some accounting headaches each night or at the end of the trip, calculating how much, if anything, each child has left. When they buy something, the receipt will show how much is left on that GC.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I'm also worried about losing a $1k card. 500 sounds good. Do i give this to front desk at check in? Or just my normal credit card and pay up with gift cards the final night? I forgot about hotel having a safe.

I just use the safe in my room.

At check in the only thing you can pay for is the room charge itself. If you intend to use a gift card for this do it before or on check in day if you prefer. If you call Disney ahead of time and pre-pay the room with your gift cards, then your credit card won't get hit with the pending charge. If you pay day of with a gc, Disney will reverse or refund or whatever the charge for the room that processes first thing in the morning. Disney doesn't allow you to pre-pay your other expenses so those have to wait until towards the end.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Step 1 - get a Target Red card if you don't already have one.
Step 2 - Charge everything to your room.
Step 3 - The night before you check out, go to the concierge and ask for a copy of your bill.
Step 4 - Go on the Target website and buy Disney Gift cards electronically.
Step 5 - Take the email(s) with the gift card numbers and pin #s back down to the concierge and settle up. You'll save 5% and you'll never once have a card or money in your hand that can be lost or stolen.

That's all fine and dandy until it goes wonky and you're stuck with XXXX in DGC that didn't arrive in time so you can't use until your next trip. Among "things that happen" with Target is e-gifts can be delayed up to 24 hours or have a processing issue in which case it'll be a week before you see the card. Rare? Yes. Does it happen? Yup.

 

[leebee]

Honestly? Just use the gift card as you make the purchases. I can't be bothered spending the time when I come home from a park at night, exhausted with sore feet, with kids to get into showers/bed, park bags to unpack and repack, to have to stand at the hotel check-in desk while a CM enters the 16 digit card number and then the 8 digit PIN number for every gift card I'm using- even if it's just one gift card. I find it far easier to just use the gift card like a credit card.

 

[Willow Ufgood]

I keep one or two empty physical GC with me. I also have a digital spreadsheet with all my GCs listed, including their values and their PINs. I use the Disney Gift Card website to transfer funds to those empty physical GCs as needed.

I use my MagicBand for payments and check my room account on the app. When I get close to the limit where they will charge my credit card on file, I visit the front desk to pay it off using a GC. I try to go when it's not too busy, typically early morning before checkouts and check-ins start. Or late at night after we return from dinner.

The only issue I have is with mobile orders because you cannot charge back to your room with mobile orders and it won't store a GC. So I keep the Access # and PIN for one GC in my notes and c/p it into my order as needed.

 

[Jsharp13]

I keep one or two empty physical GC with me. I also have a digital spreadsheet with all my GCs listed, including their values and their PINs. I use the Disney Gift Card website to transfer funds to those empty physical GCs as needed.

I use my MagicBand for payments and check my room account on the app. When I get close to the limit where they will charge my credit card on file, I visit the front desk to pay it off using a GC. I try to go when it's not too busy, typically early morning before checkouts and check-ins start. Or late at night after we return from dinner.

The only issue I have is with mobile orders because you cannot charge back to your room with mobile orders and it won't store a GC. So I keep the Access # and PIN for one GC in my notes and c/p it into my order as needed.

That's right, I forgot about those mobile orders... You can only check out with the credit card on file!

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

I know it's too late for the first part, but when we book a trip, we start buying $25 gift cards every paycheck ($100/month). Then we go on the website and combine them into 1-2 cards up to $1k. Then we use that to pay for everything once we leave OIA and get onto property. Since you're this close out, I'd just combine them all into 1-2 and use them everywhere you can. Just when you're buying something, use it. The other option is to charge to your room then go down to the front desk every night before 11 and pay off the balance with the gift cards. Otherwise, your credit card will be charged an additional $100/night.

 

[Willow Ufgood]

The other option is to charge to your room then go down to the front desk every night before 11 and pay off the balance with the gift cards. Otherwise, your credit card will be charged an additional $100/night.

The bolded part is misleading. Your credit card isn't charged an extra $100/night.

You don't need to visit the front desk every night. When you check in, a $100 hold is placed on your credit card. If/when you spend over that $100, an additional $100 hold is placed. The total amount of the holds on your card will always be the amount owed plus $100. This continues either until your 5th day or when you check out, whichever comes first. At that point, your credit card is charged the exact amount that you incurred and another $100 hold is placed on your card, in case you continue to make charges after you have checked out.

For people with debit cards, or low-balance credit cards, this can be a problem since holds can take a few days to drop once you have paid the amount owed.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

If/when you spend over that $100, an additional $100 hold is placed.

I literally said the same thing. I said $100 would be charged nightly. We only use debit cards (I won't put a vacation on credit, if I can't pay for it then, I don't take it). And we always worry about this. That's why we stopped charging to our room. We just use GCs.

 

[Lumpy1106]

That's all fine and dandy until it goes wonky and you're stuck with XXXX in DGC that didn't arrive in time so you can't use until your next trip. Among "things that happen" with Target is e-gifts can be delayed up to 24 hours or have a processing issue in which case it'll be a week before you see the card. Rare? Yes. Does it happen? Yup.

That has never happened to us - been doing it for years. We pay for everything Disney doing this. It saves us hundreds of dollars every trip, more when you consider we are also paying for our DVC dues this way.

Spend your money how you like, accept risk as you like (carrying around cash or loaded gift cards (same thing) >> riskier IMHO). Just my $.02 for someone who did ask.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Honestly? Just use the gift card as you make the purchases. I can't be bothered spending the time when I come home from a park at night, exhausted with sore feet, with kids to get into showers/bed, park bags to unpack and repack, to have to stand at the hotel check-in desk while a CM enters the 16 digit card number and then the 8 digit PIN number for every gift card I'm using- even if it's just one gift card. I find it far easier to just use the gift card like a credit card.

I do this too - I carry around 2 "empty" cards and transfer to them online for an easier trip to the concierge. BUT...I have had the mag strip on the GC go bad which puts you right back where you were, entering GC #s at the concierge.

 

[Willow Ufgood]

I literally said the same thing. I said $100 would be charged nightly. We only use debit cards (I won't put a vacation on credit, if I can't pay for it then, I don't take it). And we always worry about this. That's why we stopped charging to our room. We just use GCs.

Charging your credit/debit card is not the same thing as placing a hold. Disney places a hold for that amount. They do not actually charge your card until you check out or if you have been there 5 days.

 

[robinb]

I also want to point out that it's difficult to use a gift card for mobile ordering of food or merch. The app will automatically charge your card on file instead of making it a room charge to be paid later.

To get around that, you have to deliberately add your gift card number each time. Once you get to the "Order Summary" screen you can select "Add a Card" and then enter your gift card number in the field. I usually keep my gift card number in a note on my phone so I can easily cut and paste the number.

 

[robinb]

Charging your credit/debit card is not the same thing as placing a hold. Disney places a hold for that amount. They do not actually charge your card until you check out or if you have been there 5 days.

It can be confusing. On my last trip, I started getting texts from my Disney Visa card telling me that the card was being charged when I made a purchase. For instance, I bought $130 earrings and the whole charge showed up in the text. I had never had that happen to me before, so I asked at the front desk. It turned out that it really just a hold and Disney was making sure that there was enough room on the card to charge at the end of stay. I was confused because the texts looked like charges and not just holds.

 

[Willow Ufgood]

It can be confusing. On my last trip, I started getting texts from my Disney Visa card telling me that the card was being charged when I made a purchase. For instance, I bought $130 earrings and the whole charge showed up in the text. I had never had that happen to me before, so I asked at the front desk. It turned out that it really just a hold and Disney was making sure that there was enough room on the card to charge at the end of stay. I was confused because the texts looked like charges and not just holds.

It is confusing! And it is especially concerning for people who use debit cards attached to their everyday checking accounts. There are reports of recurring bills (mortgage, insurance, etc) not being paid due to "insufficient funds" because Disney placed multiple $100 holds on their account. Those holds eventually get dropped once you pay off your room folio balance with GC or cash. But it can take a few days. It's why I always place a rarely-used credit card on my room account, never a debit card.

 

[bluezy]

I know it's too late for the first part, but when we book a trip, we start buying $25 gift cards every paycheck ($100/month). Then we go on the website and combine them into 1-2 cards up to $1k. Then we use that to pay for everything once we leave OIA and get onto property. Since you're this close out, I'd just combine them all into 1-2 and use them everywhere you can. Just when you're buying something, use it. The other option is to charge to your room then go down to the front desk every night before 11 and pay off the balance with the gift cards. Otherwise, your credit card will be charged an additional $100/night.

I literally said the same thing. I said $100 would be charged nightly. We only use debit cards (I won't put a vacation on credit, if I can't pay for it then, I don't take it). And we always worry about this. That's why we stopped charging to our room. We just use GCs.

In our experience our credit card is only *charged* when we check out, not nightly. A $100 *hold* is added to our credit card every time the room charge hits $100. We often have over $1500 in room charges by the time we checkout and there are no actual charges put through to our credit card until check-out day. I know it's more complicated if putting a debit card on the room charge. The holds fall off of the credit card a few days (or less) after checkout but are never actually charged to the card (meaning there's no credit issued when they drop off as the there were no charges). I buy about $2,500 worth of discounted gift cards throughout the year when we're planning a trip. I use all of those along with our Disney rewards to pay off our package before we arrive. Everything we spend while we're at Disney is charged to our room (or directly to the Disney Visa if we need to use it for a discount) and the bill is paid off when we get home. Just because someone uses a credit card on vacation (or anything for that matter) doesn't mean they don't have the money to pay for that vacation. We also never take a vacation unless we've saved up the money first. But by using our Disney Visa to pay for things at Disney, we accumulate rewards dollars to put towards our next Disney trip.