Resort Credit...

[Jeremy Ardoin]

Question: Please answer only if you have done this or know for sure...

Would I be able to go to the front desk during check in and request that they put $500 worth of gift cards as a credit for things we charge in the park - ex. tips for meals, gifts, etc.? Or would I have to carry them around and use them when they are needed?

 

[SamFaniam]

You may apply gift cards to your resort account. To make it easier, I would combine them all into one card. https://disneygiftcard.com/

 

[Jadyreen1282]

I asked this five years ago and they said nope and referred me to their charge to the room policy. We just keep the GCs in the safe and pay off balances daily.

 

[Jeremy Ardoin]

I asked this five years ago and they said nope and referred me to their charge to the room policy. We just keep the GCs in the safe and pay off balances daily.

So that is also an option - for instance, tips is our deal and we can simply pay it off when we leave. We have our debit card information on file but I would prefer to use gift cards. I guess going later in the day after check-ins and arrivals would be best - maybe after we get back from the parks?

 

[dansdad]

Question: Please answer only if you have done this or know for sure...

Would I be able to go to the front desk during check in and request that they put $500 worth of gift cards as a credit for things we charge in the park - ex. tips for meals, gifts, etc.?

Nope. They used to allow it years ago. But I've asked every trip for the past 7 years and the answer is always no.

 

[ErinsMommy]

if your using a Disney gift card stop by the front desk every few days or daily to pay off your tab as your going - if your using Visa or Amex, just be forewarned they dont always work at the front desk -- they worked in the gift shop just fine though.

 

[buzznina]

They will not take cash or GCs towards "future" room charges. We always use Disney GCs and I just stop at the desk every 2-3 days and pay off the room charge balance, since I do not want it to go against my CC on file. I also will use disneygiftcard site to combine my GCs, you can combine up to $1000 onto one card (if you are talking about Disney GCs).

 

[Dean Marino]

It's worth mentioning WHY WDW will no longer let you "dump" a Gift, or Disney Visa Reward Card, at checkin....

Years ago, WDW DID allow this. But they discovered that if you OVERPAID? They had no way to put your money BACK . Even with a Disney Visa Reward Card....

So, the way to do this now is INDEED to wait until you have a balance, then pay it off AFTER it has been incurred. Disney is not trying to be mean spirited... they just don't have the technical ability to refund gift card over-payments .

PS - this is why we got rid of our "Disney VISA", in favor of a higher Cash Back Chase Card. The "Disney VISA" had far too many hoops attached, by nature of the "Reward Card" mechanism... that even Disney could not effectively deal with .

 

[kiford]

Don't forget that you can track your spending on the MDE app so you'll know exactly how much you need to pay off each day before you go down. We used Amex and DH gets a notification on his iPhone every time there's a charge and he kept asking me what *I* had charged because I have a supplemental card and he assumed it was me as it seemed to happen at random times, i.e., not necessarily right after a purchase. I had to explain to him a half dozen times that the card would be charged every time the accumulated charges hit over $100. I had to explain the same half dozen times that it might not be a single purchase charge that he was seeing but might be 2-3 items we'd charged and finally showed him the individual charges on DME for him to accept it. Worst thing is I'll have to explain it to him again on our next visit because he won't remember.

How high a balance they'll allow you to incur before wanting payment is something you'll have to ask them if you're paying in cash. If you are going to put a card on file just in case, you'll want to keep checking DME to make sure your charges don't go over the amount at which they charge a credit card before you're able to go and pay in cash/GC.

 

[HopperFan]

So that is also an option - for instance, tips is our deal and we can simply pay it off when we leave. We have our debit card information on file but I would prefer to use gift cards. I guess going later in the day after check-ins and arrivals would be best - maybe after we get back from the parks?

I suggest you read through this thread to make the best decisions for your account/stay, especially using a debit card.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/new-credit-card-authorization-holds.3729383/page-63#post-60638149

 

[DigitalOlli]

Don't forget that you can track your spending on the MDE app so you'll know exactly how much you need to pay off each day before you go down. We used Amex and DH gets a notification on his iPhone every time there's a charge and he kept asking me what *I* had charged because I have a supplemental card and he assumed it was me as it seemed to happen at random times, i.e., not necessarily right after a purchase. I had to explain to him a half dozen times that the card would be charged every time the accumulated charges hit over $100. I had to explain the same half dozen times that it might not be a single purchase charge that he was seeing but might be 2-3 items we'd charged and finally showed him the individual charges on DME for him to accept it. Worst thing is I'll have to explain it to him again on our next visit because he won't remember.

How high a balance they'll allow you to incur before wanting payment is something you'll have to ask them if you're paying in cash. If you are going to put a card on file just in case, you'll want to keep checking DME to make sure your charges don't go over the amount at which they charge a credit card before you're able to go and pay in cash/GC.

Do you know how much till they charge the card? We plan to pay off the bill every 2-3 days with a gift card

 

[cmarsh31]

Here's the thing. It's great and convenient to use your magic band to pay, but presumably someone in the group is carrying a wallet, bag etc. If you want to pay with a gift card, why deal with the hassle of stopping every 2-3 days and risking that you might miss the charge - just pay with the gift card. That's what we do. I rarely charge anything back to our room. My DH always has his wallet in his pocket, so he just carries the gift card if we don't have a backpack or bag with us. I wouldn't risk a debit card in particular, especially with the $100 holds and issues that those have had.

 

[Littlelily]

Here's the thing. It's great and convenient to use your magic band to pay, but presumably someone in the group is carrying a wallet, bag etc. If you want to pay with a gift card, why deal with the hassle of stopping every 2-3 days and risking that you might miss the charge - just pay with the gift card. That's what we do. I rarely charge anything back to our room.

Do you know if this is an option for paying tips? We have the dining plan so just need to pay tips in TS restaurants and would like to use a gc for this.

 

[cmarsh31]

Do you know if this is an option for paying tips? We have the dining plan so just need to pay tips in TS restaurants and would like to use a gc for this.

We haven't had the dining plan in a couple years but I'm almost positive that that's how we handled it then.

 

[Littlelily]

We haven't had the dining plan in a couple years but I'm almost positive that that's how we handled it then.

Sounds good, thanks so much

 

[kiford]

Do you know how much till they charge the card? We plan to pay off the bill every 2-3 days with a gift card

Every time our charges ran up past $100, our card was charged. I don't know if this is the same if you're paying with cash/GCs or not. Occasionally, we'd see a charge for something like $121.34 which is why DH got confused. We hadn't purchased anything for that amount but we had made 3-4 purchases of ~$20-35 and when the total hit over $100 we were charged. Best to ask at the front desk how they will do this so that you don't get a credit or debit card charged if you've got that on file or if they will want you to pay when you hit a certain amount if you don't have anything on file. Then you can just monitor it on the app to make sure that you pay it when you hit that and don't end up having charges denied.

 

[lanejudy]

Every time our charges ran up past $100, our card was charged.

We’re you actually charged or was it another “hold” that shows as a “pending charge?” An additional hold is the new policy, with any unpaid balanced actually charged to the card on file after 5 days.

Do you know how much till they charge the card?

It's no longer a dollar limit, rather the card on file will be charged every 5 days or at check-out, whichever occurs first. If you go to the front desk every day or so to pay with gift cards, you should be fine avoiding an actual charge to your card, but you will be subject to the holds (pending charges).

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[kiford]

We’re you actually charged or was it another “hold” that shows as a “pending charge?” An additional hold is the new policy, with any unpaid balanced actually charged to the card on file after 5 days.

Pretty sure they were actual charges - DH's Amex notifies him of charges and they didn't seem to be tagged as pending. We were there in Feb after the new policy and I don't recall them doing it then and he used the same card. We're back in September so we'll see what happens then. I'm not sure they're being entirely consistent right now.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I will be a freak and say that the most excellent concierge at VWL let me put gift cards on account in advance of charges in 2018. But your results may vary, because he is awesome, and he reviewed the issues abut being unable to refund them with me.

But we talked about my dining plans for the stay, which was short, and he laughed with me because the GCs weren't going to cover them, clearly.

 

[buzznina]

Here's the thing. It's great and convenient to use your magic band to pay, but presumably someone in the group is carrying a wallet, bag etc. If you want to pay with a gift card, why deal with the hassle of stopping every 2-3 days and risking that you might miss the charge - just pay with the gift card. That's what we do. I rarely charge anything back to our room. My DH always has his wallet in his pocket, so he just carries the gift card if we don't have a backpack or bag with us. I wouldn't risk a debit card in particular, especially with the $100 holds and issues that those have had.

A couple of reasons why we do not like to carry around GCs. If it gets lost and you do not realize it, since it is not protected with a PIN code like the MBs, anyone can use it. Another is that if one person is holding the GCs they have to be with you in every store etc. or remember to give the GC to whom ever is going to need it. We much rather have the freedom and security of the MBs. Plus it really only takes a couple of minutes to stop at the desk to make a payment and they give you a detailed printout of all the transactions that I like to go over to verify purchases. I normally do this first thing in the morning since I am the first one ready, while DW and DDs are getting ready or I will do it when going to pickup breakfast to eat in the room. Over 30+ trips and only once did they charge my CC early and I had them reverse it so I could pay with GC, took an extra few minutes, so not a big deal.