Using Gift Cards to Pay for Meals

To get back to the original question and not a debate on whether gift cards or MagicBands are better or worse so we can help the OP - once the bill is presented, you can pay by however you want. MagicBand, gift card, credit card, debit card, and *gasp* even cash :) Your server will not assume you are putting it on your MagicBand at all.
Thank you.

I feel like I caused a kerfuffle. Didn't mean to!
 
Here is an idea that worked like a charm for our last trip. First of all, I bought the gift cards at BJ'S and got a discount. Yay mom! Second, I would look at each day's meal plans and then load plenty to cover for the whole day of eating and snacking. So, our last trip for 7 days, we had 7 "meal cards". Each morning, my husband would pop that days card in his wallet and we would use it. Lastly and most certainly most importantly ;) our kids knew whatever was left over on the cards at the end of the day could be used for whatever junk they wanted to buy, MB accessories, the 9th bag of goofy candy, etc. This amazingly simple idea saved so much wasted food. They were willing to share food with us or even each other, when I knew their portions would be too much for them alone.

I've been buying discounted gift cards and debating about combining them cause I'm too afraid of losing one with a ton on it. I really like this idea of having one card per day. Thanks for posting!
 

I use my CC for everything and don't charge anything to the room. Why? I've had much better luck disputing a charge or issue with my CC company than with a gift card vendor or even with Disney. If I lose my CC, I am not out anything as I'd be contacting my bank ASAP. There has been more and more fraud related to gift cards (theft) lately, which is another reason why I'd rather not have my money tied up in them as I am not going to be checking each card to make sure they have not been compromised. http://www.giftcards.com/gcgf/giftcard-scams

I have never had to make a trip to the desk upon check-out as I have never had a balance to deal with.
 
I use my CC for everything and don't charge anything to the room. Why? I've had much better luck disputing a charge or issue with my CC company than with a gift card vendor or even with Disney. If I lose my CC, I am not out anything as I'd be contacting my bank ASAP. There has been more and more fraud related to gift cards (theft) lately, which is another reason why I'd rather not have my money tied up in them as I am not going to be checking each card to make sure they have not been compromised. http://www.giftcards.com/gcgf/giftcard-scams

I have never had to make a trip to the desk upon check-out as I have never had a balance to deal with.
I also use my credit cards for just about everything ... except Disney. Like many people I use Disney Gift Cards because I can get them at a discount (at least 5%). I saved over 10% on my last gift card purchase in December.
 
I don't put all my money on one gift card, but I only carry one card at a time. I have all my cards registered on the disney gift card site. They all have unique names that I write in sharpie on the card. I load what I think I will need for the day on the card I am carrying. The others are back at the safe. If it looks like I am going to go over my daily allotment, the disney gift card site makes it easy to transfer funds from one of the cards in the safe to the card in my pocket.
 
Just to add another potential issue with gift cards - sometimes they dont work. There may be $$ on it, but Ive had 2 GC that just didn't seem to want to work with either the restaurant or @ checkout, but they worked at the gift shop. i think they were TD Bank GCs.

There is a "limit" from what we can tell. So, if you bought the $100 card for $25, they won't work under $25. We received the gift cards from a friend so never asked what he bought them for but $25 was "our" limit :)
 
There is a "limit" from what we can tell. So, if you bought the $100 card for $25, they won't work under $25. We received the gift cards from a friend so never asked what he bought them for but $25 was "our" limit :)
What? I don't understand what you mean? I use all my gift cards down to the last penny.
 
I would advise paying with the Magic Band at TS restaurants and paying it off at the desk. Or, take a picture of the gift card number.

A few years ago, I used a GC to pay at 'Ohana. I didn't realize until later that I'd been given back a different GC than the one with which I paid. This was back when Disney had a GC app. I was tracking my balance and the numbers weren't matching. Of course, the card I had in my possession had a zero balance. My "real" card only had like $4 on it, so I didn't worry about it. But I'm not sure I would have really had any recourse had it been a larger amount.

Because of this, I never let GCs leave my sight.
 
I would advise paying with the Magic Band at TS restaurants and paying it off at the desk. Or, take a picture of the gift card number.

A few years ago, I used a GC to pay at 'Ohana. I didn't realize until later that I'd been given back a different GC than the one with which I paid. This was back when Disney had a GC app. I was tracking my balance and the numbers weren't matching. Of course, the card I had in my possession had a zero balance. My "real" card only had like $4 on it, so I didn't worry about it. But I'm not sure I would have really had any recourse had it been a larger amount.

Because of this, I never let GCs leave my sight.

I agree with this. If I somehow lose my Magic Band (or credit card), that's still a pain, but can be handled easily enough. If you lose a gift card I'm pretty sure you're SOL.
 
I agree with this. If I somehow lose my Magic Band (or credit card), that's still a pain, but can be handled easily enough. If you lose a gift card I'm pretty sure you're SOL.

If someone uses it before you notice it is gone, then yes.

But if not, like if you misplaced it or accidentally threw it away, it is not a big deal, providing you have registered it on the Disney gift card site. Then you can simply transfer the balance of the missing card onto another card.
 
Just curious to know if you choose to tip using a GC, how is the server's tip deducted? Do you have to do it manually or do they get their tip same as cash somehow? I'd be upset to know that using one throughout the day to pay & tip with that is used until there's nothing left without deducting the tips would mean no tips for the servers.
 
I prefer to use my Magic Band to charge everything to our room account. It is so convenient. Then every few days I go to concierge and apply the gift card to the room balance. Nothing to worry about,
You can do this with meals, tips, souvenirs and it is very easy and convenient.
 
I've never used a gift card to pay for a meal before but am going to try it on my trip this June. Do you have to know the balance on the card each time? Will it say the balance left on your receipt? Thanks!
 
I've never used a gift card to pay for a meal before but am going to try it on my trip this June. Do you have to know the balance on the card each time? Will it say the balance left on your receipt? Thanks!

The balance is on your receipt whenever you use the card. If there is not enough on the card, you can still use it in combination with another form of payment
 
There is a "limit" from what we can tell. So, if you bought the $100 card for $25, they won't work under $25. We received the gift cards from a friend so never asked what he bought them for but $25 was "our" limit :)

We actually were trying to use TD Bank GCs in lower denoms than my Amex GC and the TD ones gave us the hard time. The front desk said some bank GCs are more difficult than others
 

New Posts


Disney Vacation Planning. Free. Done for You.
Our Authorized Disney Vacation Planners are here to provide personalized, expert advice, answer every question, and uncover the best discounts. Let Dreams Unlimited Travel take care of all the details, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy a stress-free vacation.
Start Your Disney Vacation
Disney EarMarked Producer






DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter

Add as a preferred source on Google

Back
Top Bottom