Using gift cards versus cash at Disneyworld

[avalovesminnie]

For our upcoming Jan trip we have cash saved to pay for food/ snacks and I’m trying to decide how much I should put on gift cards versus leaving it as cash. For reference I estimate spending $1400 on food. I was thinking of getting 2 $500 gift cards at Safeway if they have the extra gas rewards on gift card purchases. Then leave the remaining cash so it’s a bit more flexible with how to spend it (ie there are a few nights I’m pretty sure we will not be eating at Disney).

Thoughts, opinions, suggestions? I do not have a Target red card and we keep our credit locked so it’s not worth the hassle of opening a new card to save the 5%.

 

[Carol_]

I like Sam’s Club’s 4% off $75 packs. I’m using them now in WDW. I’m almost out . This place is so very pricey.
You can also save 90% off rain ponchos by buying $1 ones at Walmart or Dollar Tree. Do not leave them home. Bring them into the parks. If you don’t have them, then by some Disney Magic you are making it rain, and I blame us all.

 

[Bjkandma]

I personally would do a 50-50 split. Buy $700 in gift cards, carry about $200 in cash at a time. Chase is the "official" bank of Disney. You will find ATMs in the resort lobbies and in the parks. When the $200 is almost gone, hit the banking machine for more cash, or head to the gift shops and pick up gift cards accordingly.

The more cash and gift cards I have on hand, the more I tend to spend! You won't save as much for gas rewards, but if you don't spend the gift cards, they are non refundable. The good news is that don't expire.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

We usually take about 2/3 of what we expect to spend at Disney in the GC's. At first I thought it was a hassle to carry the GC vs just using magic band. But now I always take a small cross body into the parks to put our sunglasses in and if we just buy one pin here or there (vs shipping just that back to resort). That ratio has worked well for us. We usually end up spending some money not on GC's (on our magic band). But then I knew if we really ended up spending a lot less then we planned we wouldn't have a lot of money tied in GC's as it'd be probably another year before we were back and we don't shop at Disney store often.

 

[_19disnA]

ATM machines are readily available at Disney. If you use them to obtain cash periodically, you will have less need to bring large amounts of cash from home. Gift cards to me are just like cash and if lost/stolen they are gone. You can also use your credit/debit cards at Disney which reduces the need for cash.

Even if you gain some benefit by purchasing $500 gift cards, that savings goes out the window if lost/stolen. Not sure if there is any way to freeze a lost/stolen gift card and assuming it is possible, the time it takes to do that DURING your vacation will be a huge nuisance. If you don't use up your Disney gift card, that money will be tied up until your next Disney vacation. Only you can decide if the gift card benefits are worth those risks.

 

[DKNHM]

I bought gift cards at Sam's Club for 4% off, and at Target with the Target Redcard for 5% off. I then went immediately to their customer service desk and paid my Redcard bill with cash. Easy peasy. I also used Disney's gift card website to combine my individual cards onto one card. At Disney, I charged everything to my magic band (I had a low balance with my credit card on file) and then went to the front desk to pay my balance with my gift card when I felt it was necessary. I left my gift card in a safe place in my room. I liked not having to worry about losing the card, tracking the exact amount remaining on the card, juggling multiple cards, or a waiter making a mistake and causing a headache with the gift card. I also was not comfortable with over buying on gift cards and ended up spending $250 without the discount of 4% or 5% the gift cards saved. However, I know we will not return to Disney anytime soon and I did not want to risk having a large (remaining) gift card laying around (and potentially getting misplaced) for several years.

 

[ColinBlair]

1) If you get the debit Red Card from Target there shouldn’t be a credit pull as it just links to your checking account.
2) If you are staying on property just charge everything to the room. You can then buy as many e-gift cards as you need to pay the bill at the end of the trip. Both Sam’s and Target have e-gift cards.
3) Registering gift cards on the DisneyGiftCard website helps eliminate the lost cards problem. I keep the money on cards I leave at home and move the funds to cards I have with me when I need it.

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

I think gift cards are a great option because you can find deals on them and save some money. However I would not recommend gift cards for cruises. Because we had a sour experience with Disney refunding gift cards after our cruise had been cancelled. If I had paid with a CC it would’ve been easier.

 

[Flutter-butter]

1) If you get the debit Red Card from Target there shouldn’t be a credit pull as it just links to your checking account.
2) If you are staying on property just charge everything to the room. You can then buy as many e-gift cards as you need to pay the bill at the end of the trip. Both Sam’s and Target have e-gift cards.
3) Registering gift cards on the DisneyGiftCard website helps eliminate the lost cards problem. I keep the money on cards I leave at home and move the funds to cards I have with me when I need it.

You can also buy Disney e-gift cards online if you run out while you’re at Walt Disney World.

 

[Searc]

For our upcoming Jan trip we have cash saved to pay for food/ snacks and I’m trying to decide how much I should put on gift cards versus leaving it as cash. For reference I estimate spending $1400 on food. I was thinking of getting 2 $500 gift cards at Safeway if they have the extra gas rewards on gift card purchases. Then leave the remaining cash so it’s a bit more flexible with how to spend it (ie there are a few nights I’m pretty sure we will not be eating at Disney).

Thoughts, opinions, suggestions? I do not have a Target red card and we keep our credit locked so it’s not worth the hassle of opening a new card to save the 5%.

How many people (ages) and how many days? If you are there a week, $1400 is a really low estimate for all food.

 

[georgina]

Even if you gain some benefit by purchasing $500 gift cards, that savings goes out the window if lost/stolen. Not sure if there is any way to freeze a lost/stolen gift card and assuming it is possible, the time it takes to do that DURING your vacation will be a huge nuisance. If you don't use up your Disney gift card, that money will be tied up until your next Disney vacation. Only you can decide if the gift card benefits are worth those risks.

Disney gift cards can be registered online and if lost the value that was on the card can immediately be transferred to another card. Not a huge nuisance at all. We stay offsite often so I use GC exclusively to pay for meals and extras. I know I will return so I'm OK with having leftover GC, that's an individual thing though.

I buy mine at my local grocery store with my 6% cash back AmEx, plus I get fuel perks for purchases also.

 

[siren0119]

How many people (ages) and how many days? If you are there a week, $1400 is a really low estimate for all food.

Depends on how you eat lol - we went for 8 days with four of us (two adults, two preteen boys) and spent $100 in groceries to the room, and about $900 on dining over the whole 8 days. We ate breakfast in the room and packed lunches to save our dollars

OP - as someone mentioned you can get the debit Red Card (which links to your checking account), there is no credit pull and you get the 5% off purchases. We ditched all credit cards years ago and I carry the red Card specifically for the discount. It doesn't impact or touch your credit in any way.

You *CAN* stick to charging things on your MB, but you may want to read the threads on the Credit holds at the resorts to understand how that process works and how much money could potentially be tied up on the credit card you attach to your room. You also cannot charge anything on a MB if you don't keep a credit card on file with the resort. If you do use that option, always carry something in cash/GC with you - the MB readers at the restaurants do sometimes break, and you want to make sure you have an alternate form of payment on hand.

 

[loves to dive]

I used to do the Target/Sam's GF route for Disney but my Target account got cancelled because I only used it once a year and I just didn't want to renew it. I'm not a fan of attaching anything directly to a debit card or my checking account, just too easy to hack now days and if you attach it to a credit card you can dispute it.

Now days, I charge everything to my credit card since I get cash back on that, and pay it off every month. Keeps my credit score alive, I only carry one card and it's easy. When I'm at WDW, I buy gift cards during the festivals, the kind that attach to the wrist, in $200 increments. Makes it easier to handle. I also take about $200 cash, which I keep most of in the room safe. I carry about $20 to $40 in cash to the parks, just in case their machines go down or I just want to buy something less than $5.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

There is a great thread for gift cards on here
We use giftcardwiki.com we buy giftcards for everything we do
We bought disney giftcards at a discount at sams club for our park tickets
Hotels.com gc for our disney hotel rooms
Landrys gc for trex cafe/rainforest cafe
Tony romas (40% off) gift cards
We also but some money on green dot visa from the dollar tree just so we dont have cash.

 

[avalovesminnie]

How many people (ages) and how many days? If you are there a week, $1400 is a really low estimate for all food.

There are 2 adults, 3 kids but one doesn’t eat . 7 park days. We will eat breakfast at the trailer (staying at fort wilderness) and bring lunch with us, so have 1 sit down meal per day and snacks. I’ve looked up menus and think I’m close. If we go over it’s OK.

 

[avalovesminnie]

1) If you get the debit Red Card from Target there shouldn’t be a credit pull as it just links to your checking account.
2) If you are staying on property just charge everything to the room. You can then buy as many e-gift cards as you need to pay the bill at the end of the trip. Both Sam’s and Target have e-gift cards.
3) Registering gift cards on the DisneyGiftCard website helps eliminate the lost cards problem. I keep the money on cards I leave at home and move the funds to cards I have with me when I need it.

Cool, thanks for the info! I registered and combined a few cards

 

[Judique]

For our upcoming Jan trip we have cash saved to pay for food/ snacks and I’m trying to decide how much I should put on gift cards versus leaving it as cash. For reference I estimate spending $1400 on food. I was thinking of getting 2 $500 gift cards at Safeway if they have the extra gas rewards on gift card purchases. Then leave the remaining cash so it’s a bit more flexible with how to spend it (ie there are a few nights I’m pretty sure we will not be eating at Disney).

Thoughts, opinions, suggestions? I do not have a Target red card and we keep our credit locked so it’s not worth the hassle of opening a new card to save the 5%.

Safeway has a Happy card 10x promo right now but not for Disney gift cards. They do give 2x on gift cards but the 10X is the best deal when you can find it. With the 10X I was able to save $25 on gas, so made my day. That was at the Safeway gas station near me.

I think your $1000 is just about right for your plan. You can always buy more egift cards as stated using a rewards credit card online at Sams if you have a membership. Then combine with your physical card at Disneygiftcard.com. Or from Target for 5% off if you don't have a Sam's card.

Whatever works for you, enjoy your trip! I love visiting Fort Wilderness and will be at Disney mid January, but in a hotel. I intend to try to see Hoop De Doo while there so will get a small Ft Wilderness fix.

 

[seashoreCM]

I would say, use cash or credit cards (preferably credit cards) and do not buy/use any gift cards at all.

Do not have large amounts of cash lying around or in your pocket or purse. Carry just a modest amount and get more from an ATM when needed.

Gift cards have the problem of being hacked and the money stolen even if you did not lose the card.

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