Prepaid Gift Cards At Front Desk - surcharge WARNING

[stayathomehero]

Hey there. I recently got back from a nice vacation at POP Century and came prepared with an army of Pre-Paid Gift Cards that I stockpiled from previous birthdays and whatnot to pay off our account. Well, the AMEX cards went through fine, but then the VISAs were being declined at the full card value. The front desk person said "oh maybe they think we're a restaurant and there'd need to be more left over for tip. Maybe try a lesser amount." So I did about three cards for $10 less than the full value, until a manager came over.

"Oh are those pre-paid gift cards?" Yes, I replied. He then said that because it's a hotel charge, a lot of the pre-paid gift card companies charge a 15% surcharge for gas and hotel stays. He then directed me to the gift shop to purchase Disney Gift Cards at the full amount.

Sure enough those cards I used were deducted that surcharge as he described. After kindly asking, they credited my account for the value lost on those three cards and luckily he had intervened at the time.

I'm not sure this surcharge is common knowledge, so if you're planning to use pre-paid cards at the front desk of your hotel, swing by the gift shop and put all the value on a Disney Gift Card first before settling your account at the front desk.

 

[mommyrosa2]

Hey there. I recently got back from a nice vacation at POP Century and came prepared with an army of Pre-Paid Gift Cards that I stockpiled from previous birthdays and whatnot to pay off our account. Well, the AMEX cards went through fine, but then the VISAs were being declined at the full card value. The front desk person said "oh maybe they think we're a restaurant and there'd need to be more left over for tip. Maybe try a lesser amount." So I did about three cards for $10 less than the full value, until a manager came over.

"Oh are those pre-paid gift cards?" Yes, I replied. He then said that because it's a hotel charge, a lot of the pre-paid gift card companies charge a 15% surcharge for gas and hotel stays. He then directed me to the gift shop to purchase Disney Gift Cards at the full amount.

Sure enough those cards I used were deducted that surcharge as he described. After kindly asking, they credited my account for the value lost on those three cards and luckily he had intervened at the time.

I'm not sure this surcharge is common knowledge, so if you're planning to use pre-paid cards at the front desk of your hotel, swing by the gift shop and put all the value on a Disney Gift Card first before settling your account at the front desk.

Good to know, although, I've only ever used Disney Gift Cards to settle our account!

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Yep, it's a well-known trickery of the VISA/MC cards. It's buried in the fine print booklet that is glued into the gift card holder... in like size 4 font so get a magnifying glass!

 

[mum of two pirates]

we got one as a gift once and they charged us every month a usage fee or something like that. it took like $17.50 off our card.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

Major credit card company gift cards are THE WORST!

There are hidden fees and deductions galore on those things.

My suggestion to anyone planning to gift one of these bad boys - stick with cash or store/location specific gift cards. I work in the wonderful world of retail and see disappointment and anger revolving around these gift cards all the time.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

we got one as a gift once and they charged us every month a usage fee or something like that. it took like $17.50 off our card.

Yep that is another sneaky trick of these cards. Activation fees, usage fees and surcharges for gas and hotels... I haven't really figured out a scenario where they don't lose me money to use one...

 

[Anthony1971]

Major credit card company gift cards are THE WORST!

There are hidden fees and deductions galore on those things.

My suggestion to anyone planning to gift one of these bad boys - stick with cash or store/location specific gift cards. I work in the wonderful world of retail and see disappointment and anger revolving around these gift cards all the time.

While I agree with most of what you said they are not Major Credit Card gift card companies with the exception of AMEX they are small companies using the Visa and Master Card logo... most are bad some are decent... if you buy them most banks will offer gift cards which are Visa or MasterCard as well and those have much better terms than what you buy at retail stores....that is if you must buy them..

 

[AngiTN]

Hey there. I recently got back from a nice vacation at POP Century and came prepared with an army of Pre-Paid Gift Cards that I stockpiled from previous birthdays and whatnot to pay off our account. Well, the AMEX cards went through fine, but then the VISAs were being declined at the full card value. The front desk person said "oh maybe they think we're a restaurant and there'd need to be more left over for tip. Maybe try a lesser amount." So I did about three cards for $10 less than the full value, until a manager came over.

"Oh are those pre-paid gift cards?" Yes, I replied. He then said that because it's a hotel charge, a lot of the pre-paid gift card companies charge a 15% surcharge for gas and hotel stays. He then directed me to the gift shop to purchase Disney Gift Cards at the full amount.

Sure enough those cards I used were deducted that surcharge as he described. After kindly asking, they credited my account for the value lost on those three cards and luckily he had intervened at the time.

I'm not sure this surcharge is common knowledge, so if you're planning to use pre-paid cards at the front desk of your hotel, swing by the gift shop and put all the value on a Disney Gift Card first before settling your account at the front desk.

They are but what I've found, unless something has changed very recently, these are like restaurants where they want to try to hold back some for a tip, this can be added back to the card later. I've never had the fee taken and not returned but I haven't used one in about a year. I started taking my Visa GC to Target and buying Disney GiftCards because the last time I used them at AKL they had to do the same thing, run them through for less than face value. But, I didn't loose that value, I just had a bunch of cards with small amounts on them. Which is a PITA but it's not technically a fee since I wasn't out the funds

 

[FelisLachesis]

Yep that is another sneaky trick of these cards. Activation fees, usage fees and surcharges for gas and hotels... I haven't really figured out a scenario where they don't lose me money to use one...

Don't forget the $4 fee just to buy one!

 

[Mousemommy1]

That's super annoying! I only use Disney Gift Cards down there.

 

[smallworldnh]

So is there a difference if they say "debit card" on them instead of gift card?

 

[AngiTN]

So is there a difference if they say "debit card" on them instead of gift card?

No, they are all interchangeable terms when it comes to Mastercard/Visa logo. Credit Card processing systems handle them the same.

 

[stayathomehero]

On a side note, why is giving cash or a check a "bad gift" and giving a gift card that potentially drains itself a "good gift?"

 

[AngiTN]

we got one as a gift once and they charged us every month a usage fee or something like that. it took like $17.50 off our card.

If I'm not mistaken, they have banned them from this particular trick. Or at least changed their requirements and they don't drain near like they used to.

On a side note, why is giving cash or a check a "bad gift" and giving a gift card that potentially drains itself a "good gift?"

Couldn't begin to guess why some think that.

 

[jmkrat]

A few years ago we came with a bunch of these gift cards and it took forever to get them to go through. At that time we were told that they didn't like to use them for some reason or another. We were finally able to apply them to our bill, but it didn't go through until the very last night of our stay. If I use gift cards again it will be a Disney one. I do not know if we were charged a surcharge or not, but I do know if was very difficult to get them applied towards our room charges.

 

[nkereina]

I'll receive Visa or Mastercard gift cards as gifts from time to time. IMO, they are better gifts than store gift cards because I can use them most anywhere. But I do know they charge a surcharge at gas stations and I also know they begin deducting from the balance if it's not used in full after a certain period of time. So, these gift cards are fine if you stick to standard retail purchases that you likely won't be returning. In the OP's instance, buying Disney gift cards is one way to do it. Or you could also just purchase your souvenirs directly with the cards rather than charging it back to you room.

 

[bumbershoot]

On a side note, why is giving cash or a check a "bad gift" and giving a gift card that potentially drains itself a "good gift?"

I don't know. Who thinks that? If you have people who think that I'm your life, ask them.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Whenever I get these as gifts, I always "cash" them out immediately by using them towards groceries and then paying the difference with my debit so I can get cash back for the amount of the gift card to pocket.