Updated Disney Gift Card Deals and More

[bbsearchlight]

My family has been to WDW multiple times, however, next month is our first trip where I’m going to be paying with gift cards. I apologize in advance, as I know this question gets asked frequently, but is it easier to just charge everything on our magic bands and then go to the hotel desk to apply gift cards towards the balance? Or should I carry a gift card with me, or both? For example, when dining at table service should I pay with magic band, or gift card? What have you guys found to be easiest and most convenient? Thank you

I just got back from spending last week at DisneyWorld - the night before we left I called in and paid off the hotel using the gift card. I just carried the gift card with me at the park (I kept it in my wallet right with my credit cards) and used it to pay at the Quick Service Dining. We didn't go to any sit down restaurants but I could see how that could be an issue. At the quick service Restaurants, you just swipe the gift card right at the terminal so there is no issue there.

 

[bbsearchlight]

I've seen a number of posts about Happy Cards and this 15% discount is intriguing. Are people getting these from a certain site for the discount, using credit card points, etc?

If you buy directly from happy cards they're usually full price. They take promo codes but I haven't been able to find one.

I get them from my credit card promos. Recent ones I've encountered:
Amex Offers - Get $15 back when you spend $100 at Happy Cards
Chase - Redeem your rewards for discounted happy cards. 0-10% discount
Wells Fargo - Redeem your rewards for discounted happy cards. 0-15%
Discover - Redeem your rewards for discounted happy cards. 10-20%

I've found the discounts change wildly. When they bump up to the high end 15-20% they usually only last a couple of days maybe a week. But they seem to happen frequently approximately once every month

Then there's the store ones.
Staples, Lowes, Amazon, others will have discounts from time to time.
Giftcardmall just had a 15% bonus expire yesterday. Spend $50, get an extra 15% of value.

Right now..



There's also Target spend $50 on a happy card get a $5 target gift card. But this isn't attractive as the others.

Also, Office Depot has them a couple of times a year with $25 back in Rewards on a $100 Happy Gift Card.

 

[bbsearchlight]

Hi all. We just got back from spending last week at DisneyWorld and it was great being able to use all the tips that we picked up from this boards to save us money.

I am taking a wait and see attitude on buying too many gift cards for next year right now since we may look into staying off Disney property next year. I am not sure what value the Disney Resort will be offering anymore without Magical Express or early access to fast pass. Even the free buses to the parks are getting worse. (I watched 2 Sheraton buses come before even 1 Disney bus came to take us back to the All Star Music after the Epcot Fireworks.)

Animal Kingdom was absolutely EMPTY. There was a 10 minute wait time for Flight of The Avatar at 1:00 PM. Epcot was also not that crowded with a 10 minute wait for Soarin' at 1:30 PM (I couldn't believe it).

The only downside to the trip was having to wear the masks indoors. While they enforced it strictly getting in line and getting on the rides, some people just took them off once inside while no one was looking. At the fireworks show, masks were not required and I would say 97% of the people were not wearing one even though there were a couple of thousand people packed in front of the castle.

 

[Yinn]

Are you able to use your eGiftcard at table service restaurants?

Haven't had an issue so far, I'm showing them my phone right now, haven't tried the watch yet.

PSA:
Discover rewards currently has a 25% redemption bonus on Happy Cards as of today. Redemptions started as low as $16 Rewards for $20 Happy Card

 

[dez1978]

I know different people have different opinions on this one, but I like to pay with a GC as I go for two reasons - first, I’ve heard that when your room charges get to a certain dollar amount, Disney goes ahead and uses your credit card to “pay down” those charges. I’ve heard varying opinions on what dollar amount triggers this. Second, the night before you check out, Disney will automatically charge your credit on file for all outstanding charges. I’ve also heard different opinions on when this happens, and I’ve messed it up myself at least twice. I’m sure many people charge to the room and pay off with a GC at the end, but personally I find it less stressful to just pay as I go!

They don't charge your card to pay down the room charges. They do put a $100 hold on your credit card, which then drops off after check out/ So if you charge to your room daily, and pay it off every night with a gift card, they should never charge your card other than the incidental hold, which pretty much all hotels do anyway. That being said, I have heard about multiple holds on cards which is why you should never attach a debit card to your room, but they are just holds, not actual charges. We've always just charged to our room and I go down and pay it every couple of days and have never had an issue.

 

[BGparadise]

PSA: Discover rewards currently has a 25% redemption bonus on Happy Cards as of today. Redemptions started as low as $16 Rewards for $20 Happy Card

Not sure I understand how to get get or what the bonus is. $16 for a $20 gift card is 20% off. Do you get a value on top of that? I do not see anything off hand when I go to redeem that shows I would get anything else.

 

[aea71]

My family has been to WDW multiple times, however, next month is our first trip where I’m going to be paying with gift cards. I apologize in advance, as I know this question gets asked frequently, but is it easier to just charge everything on our magic bands and then go to the hotel desk to apply gift cards towards the balance? Or should I carry a gift card with me, or both? For example, when dining at table service should I pay with magic band, or gift card? What have you guys found to be easiest and most convenient? Thank you

We've always found it easier to charge to the Magic Band and then visit the front desk to apply the gift cards to our account balance. I don't like the hassle of having to remember what amounts remain on individual gift cards.

 

[iujen94]

Dosh has 4% cash back at Office Depot. Doctor of Credit says it’s today only (8/23), but my Dosh is showing it’s good all week.

 

[FoxC63]

Added Offer ~ 8/23/21

Disney Gift Card Deals
Price Chopper (NY/PA) Earn 5x Points On Disney Gift Cards (All 3rd Party Gift Cards)

Excludes general purpose reloadable cards.​

Expires 9/4/21. GC Galore​

Discount District
Hy-Vee: Buy $50 Select Gift Cards & Get 30c Off Per Gallon

Includes: Apple, Starbucks, Spafinder, Gap Options, Macy’s, Hulu, Bass Pro Shops, Lowe’s, GameStop, Domino’s, Chipotle, DoorDash and Adidas​

Expires 8/31/21. GC Galore​

Meijer: Buy $50 Happy Gift Card & Get $10 Meijer Gift Card Free

Limit 1. Direct link to digital coupons.​

Expires 8/28/21. GC Galore​

Price Chopper (NY/PA) Earn 5x Points On All 3rd Party Gift Cards

Excludes Price Chopper, Market Bistro, Market 32, variable rate Mastercard and Visa cards, and general purpose reloadable cards.​

Expires 9/4/21. GC Galore​

Rite Aid:

• Buy $50 Select Gift Cards for the following brands & Earn $8 Wellness+ Rewards BonusCash:
  • Burlington
  • Lane Bryant
• Buy $50 Select Gift Cards for the following brands & Earn $8 Wellness+ Rewards BonusCash:
  • Spa & Wellness
  • Go Play Golf
  • Limit 2 per gift card pairing.
  • Expires 8/28/21. GC Galore

Staples: Buy $200 Mastercard Gift Cards With No Purchase Fee

In-store only. Limit 5 per customer per day.​

Expires 8/28/21. GC Galore​

The following offers have not been added to Disney Gift Card Deals nor Discount District as they will be expiring soon.

H-E-B:

• Buy $50 Select Gift Cards for the following brands & Get $10 off your basket:
  • Chipotle
  • Golden Corral
  • Bloomin’ Brands
  • The Cheesecake Factory
  • Brinker
• Buy $50 Select Gift Cardsfor the following brand & get $10 H-E-B gift card free
  • Bath & Body Works
    • Bath & Body Works – unlimited use.
    • Other deals – limit 1 per brand.
  • All offers expire 8/24/21. GC Galore

Shop ‘N Save: Earn 20c Off Per Gallon Of Gas For every $50 spent on 3rd Party Gift Cards

Excludes Lowe’s & Home Depot.​

Expires 8/25/21. GC Galore​

Stater Bros: Buy $50 Select Gift Cards + $10 Groceries & Get $10 Off

Includes: Happy (possibly only Happy Dining & Happy Her), Gap, Olive Garden, DoorDash, Nike, Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, Ulta Beauty, Spafinder, Chipotle, Xbox and Bed Bath & Beyond.​

Limit one coupon per transaction per day.​

Expires 8/24/21. GC Galore​

Amazon & Credit Card Offers
HP Amex Offer: Spend $250 & Get $50 Back

Expires 9/30/21. GC Galore​

Burger King Chase Offer: Get 15% Back On Up To $20 Spend

Expires 9/16/21. GC Galore​

MISC.
Dosh: Earn 4% Cashback At Office Depot/OfficeMax

Limit $10 Cashback Per Day. ​

Expires 8/28/21. To learn how to save more go to GCG​

@iujen94 ​

PayPal Digital Gifts:

• Buy $100 BED BATH & BEYOND Gift Card for $90 - Limit 1
• Buy $50 Boston Market Gift Card for $40 - Limit 2
• Buy $50 Chipotle Gift Card for just $45 - Limit 2
• Buy $100 GameStop Gift Card, Get $10 Bonus Load - Limit 1
• Buy $50 Jiffy Lube Gift Card for $40 - Limit 2
• Buy $50 Domino’s Pizza Gift Card for just $42.50 - Limit 2
• Buy $50 Banana Republic Gift Card for $40 - Limit 2
• Buy $50 Gap Options Gift Card for $40 - Limit 2
  • Direct link
  • Earn 5% cashback on the Discover It card this quarter. GCG

 

[FoxC63]

Not sure I understand how to get get or what the bonus is. $16 for a $20 gift card is 20% off. Do you get a value on top of that? I do not see anything off hand when I go to redeem that shows I would get anything else.

Discover: Improves Redemption Rate On Some Gift Cards when redeeming cash back for certain gift cards. Doctor of Credit

• Athleta – 25%
• Banana Republic – 25%
• Bed Bath & Beyond – 20%
• Buy Buy Baby – 20%
• Chipotle – 20%
• Foot Locker – 20%
• Gap – 25%
• Happy Dining – 20%
• Happy Moments – 20%
• Happy Rewards – 20%
• Macy’s – 15%
• Old Navy – 25%
• Under Armour – 20%

No, Discover is offering up to 25% discount on their gift cards, I'm not seeing any that give you additional funds. I've purchased a few with my cash back points when I had enough fuel points in my Kroger account.
The list above is just brands that seem to have a higher discount than normal.
Hope this helps.

 

[4Hawks]

Question regarding Rakuten: The app shows shopping trip tracked but currently no order value or cash back amount. Does this mean the order is still processing that information or that it is not eligible for cash back?

Did you get cash back? I made a purchase on Thursday and still nothing (it did track).

 

[BGparadise]

Did you get cash back? I made a purchase on Thursday and still nothing (it did track).

Unfortunately I think they may have disqualified it from cash back. Still the same order tracked without any value.

 

[FoxC63]

Many thanks to those who contributed to our thread while I was offline, adding deals and answering questions - very very much appreciated!

My dear friend Sue stayed with us for about a week. I hadn't seen my Maid of Honor in over 30+ years so it was a great visit. Yes, she was fully vaccinated, I made sure to ask prior to asking her to stay with us.

We also had a friend that passed away, it took a toll on all of us connected to him and his family. I think we'll be struggling to catch our breath on the loss for a while.

Pups are doing well... sort of.
Watson got hurt in the wee am today chasing and injuring a rabbit. He's on meds until the vet can examine him on Wednesday. Current status of Watson, two diplomas from Doggie School!

June 24, 21 / Aug 22, 21


Sherlock is doing just fine and remains a big baby!
I'm not one to have dogs on furniture but every morning when I wake up there he is lying beside me like he's human. Nothing like getting your teeth brushed and face washed with a dog's tongue!

Again, thank you all for being so wonderful!

 

[Ryoukoe]

I just got back from spending last week at DisneyWorld - the night before we left I called in and paid off the hotel using the gift card. I just carried the gift card with me at the park (I kept it in my wallet right with my credit cards) and used it to pay at the Quick Service Dining. We didn't go to any sit down restaurants but I could see how that could be an issue. At the quick service Restaurants, you just swipe the gift card right at the terminal so there is no issue there.

When my family and I go on a Disney trip, I normally have everything charged to the room, but I do still carry the gift card around in case of an issue. It seems last time we went, the Magic Band machines were not working in some of the Downtown Disney shops and so it was helpful to just use the GC. Every couple of days I head down to the front desk and pay off the charges as the higher the amount you end up putting on your room, the more money Disney holds on your credit card.

 

[Ryoukoe]

Just wanted to check-in an say that I was able to use the Disney Store 10% off from my Chase Freedom card to purchase a $50 GC from the Disney website and got my $5 back. Thank you so much for sharing!

 

[kayteekt]

Just wanted to check-in an say that I was able to use the Disney Store 10% off from my Chase Freedom card to purchase a $50 GC from the Disney website and got my $5 back. Thank you so much for sharing!

I was able to do this too. On two different cards. I just wish I had the offer on all my chase cards or the limit was higher!

 

[FoxC63]

T-Mobile Tuesday: T-Mobile Lunch Container, 3 Month ******* Nitro & More

Doctor of Credit​

I did hear about the T-Mobile breach and wow, what a hot mess!
DOC posted this article Hackers Reportedly Selling Data On 100M T-Mobile Users which I'm sure many of you have read or at least have some knowledge this took place.

Wired made a few great points in their article:
The bigger question, though, is whether T-Mobile really needed to hold on to such sensitive information from 40 million people with whom it doesn’t currently do businesses. Or if the company was going to stockpile that data, why it didn’t take better precautions to protect it.

Privacy advocates have long promoted the concept of data minimization, a fairly self-explanatory practice that encourages companies to hold on to as little information as necessary.

I couldn't agree more.
I think the best way for anyone to handle securing personal information is asking why they need it in the first place and if you can conduct business without surrendering it.
Some of you may know, Macy's requested my Driver's License # so they could integrate it to their main system - for an online merchandise pick-up. Did I mention, our son's pediatrician requested his SS# when he was 4 years old. And just two years ago , Medical records were found buried in a dumpster. It's not just Michigan, this has happened in other states and for years.


Protect Yourself at a medical facility.

 

[FoxC63]

Quick question, does anyone have experience using a Saks Fifth Avenue Promotional gift card, then returning the purchase?

Macy's is relaxed, if you return the item they give you a store credit/gift card with no expiration date.

Thanks!

 

[britt54311]

Did you get cash back? I made a purchase on Thursday and still nothing (it did track).

I did not get any cashback either.

 

[Yinn]

Are you able to use your eGiftcard at table service restaurants?

Used it at a table service with no issues. They scanned the barcode. Later on I had to make a mobile order, tapping info on my watch would show the card number, but it wouldn’t help if someone didn’t have a scanner on them.