abctriplets
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 19, 2014
- Messages
- 64
Our planned big souvenirs are going to be the Pearl Factory in Downtown Disney in Orlando. Any chance they take disney gift cards?
We had a deeply unhappy and cranky CM when we checked into AllStarSports. I had a room only reservation and he was so peeved that I was paying it off with gift cards.
Never had any problems using them elsewhere though!
Done this for 4 trips now and need to go buy some for our trip in 2 weeks. Never had a problem and no CMs ever acted bothered by them. The only caveat is they rarely work when I swipe them and the CM usually ends up having to swipe at the register. It is worth the savings for us, especially if I have an extra 5% off from prescription rewards. There is a very handy iPhone app that will track your GC balances for you, too.
I always use my Target debit cards to save 5%...$5 for every $100 isn't going to change my life, but it all adds up! I have paid for a lot of trips with gift cards and just pay piece by piece either online or by calling Disney. I would highly recommend this strategy. However, last year, we took a few gift cards with us for food items, and I had one that did NOT work. I called Target, and they told me to call Disney. Disney told me I had to talk to Target. I was on the phone dealing with it for over an hour at the park. I would absolutely recommend keeping your receipts for the cards you are going to take with you!
Why does everyone do this?
Is there any financial benefit...or is it just a psychology of saving for the trip that works for you all?
I just charge everything to my room and pay the credit card off when I get home and the bill comes.
I think if you UNDER-estimate it could work out well. I'm thinking of pre-purchasing to cover just tips at table services meals. We have 10 table services meals (there 10 nights during free dining) and estimating $30pp x4 = $120 per meal x 18% tip = $21.60 per meal x 10 meals. If I pre-buy $250.00 in gift cards then I know our tips are now paid for the duration of the trip. If I want to go any further, I can estimate I will not spend more than $200 on souveniers/extras - do I don't over-buy gift cards I would probably buy 1/2 of that on a gift card and pay on a credit card or cash after I run out of my pre-purchased gift cards.
I hear what you're saying but I think if I was using gift cards as a make-shift dining plan, I'd be hesitant to order that $50 steak and would be sick over spending $200+ on a meal. I don't worry about that when I'm on the true dining plan, which is another perk in addition to the "pre-paid" perk of the dining plan. If I knew I underestimated my gift cards to avoid leftover balances, I'd feel the need to keep track of balances and watch my spending which I wouldn't want to do.
As for buying gift cards for the tips, I like the pre-paid mentality here but I'd think it would be awkward to have DDP credits come off your band (or charging to the room), and then furnish a gift card, make the server run it for their tip, and bring it back. Similarly if you're paying OOP for food and not on a DDP, I'd think it would be awkward to hand over cash or card and then separate the tip on a gift card. We like having our band scanned, throwing down cash for the tip (or writing in the amount to charge to our card) and being on our way.
I completely agree - Visa gift cards are the way to go for me. What would happen if you suddenly had to cancel your trip (say, due to a family emergency) and were stuck with hundreds (or potentially thousands!) of dollars worth of Disney gift cards?
I went on a WDW trip in February, and my Dad was quite ill at the time. It gave me peace of mind not to have my money tied up in Visa gift cards, since I might have had to cancel my trip at the last minute.
I completely agree - Visa gift cards are the way to go for me. What would happen if you suddenly had to cancel your trip (say, due to a family emergency) and were stuck with hundreds (or potentially thousands!) of dollars worth of Disney gift cards?
I went on a WDW trip in February, and my Dad was quite ill at the time. It gave me peace of mind not to have my money tied up in Visa gift cards, since I might have had to cancel my trip at the last minute.
Target no longer allows the extra 5% pharmacy rewards discount on gift cards(such as Disney or Starbucks).
I plan on using gift cards because i think it will keep me on a budget. If i just charged everything to my cc and wait to pay it off at the end of my trip, i know i would go over my planned limit.
Is it better to get the GCs from like retail stores like the Disney Store and Target (i have a Red card) or buy the ones on the Disney gift card website?
As for buying gift cards for the tips, I like the pre-paid mentality here but I'd think it would be awkward to have DDP credits come off your band (or charging to the room), and then furnish a gift card, make the server run it for their tip, and bring it back. Similarly if you're paying OOP for food and not on a DDP, I'd think it would be awkward to hand over cash or card and then separate the tip on a gift card. We like having our band scanned, throwing down cash for the tip (or writing in the amount to charge to our card) and being on our way.