Disney Visa - 10% discount on select merchandise

[UPbeekeeper]

I'm a fairly new Disney Visa cardholder, and haven't yet visited the parks since I've acquired it. I understand the whole "rewards" part of the program, but I have a question about the "10% off select merchandise" perk. The info says

"Receive 10% off on select merchandise purchases of $50 or more at select locations at Walt Disney World® Resort owned and operated locations. You can enjoy this discount any time during normal Theme Park hours. Just use your valid Disney Visa®Card or Disney Rewards® Redemption Card and mention this offer."

For anyone who has used their card at the parks, do you really have to ASK for the discount, or is it automatically deducted?

I'd prefer to just charge everything to my room and then just pay the entire bill at the end of my trip using my card to earn the reward points for the trip and pay the bill when I get home. But...if I can get a 10% discount up front, it may be worth doing the math. (?)

 

[Disneydreamer23]

I have done this a few times I have ALWAYS asked for it I bought a 300.00 Dooney and Burke Purse @ Mouse Gear Epcot and Noticed I did not get the 10 % off, I had to go back and mention it. I'm sure some places will automatically take it off but the few times I have used my card I had to mention the offer . You still get points even if you receive the percentage off I would just carry it with me and use it when I purchased every thing.

 

[NearTheEars]

I've found that you have to ask. I've paid with my Disney Visa and put my annual pass RFID on the counter and still not gotten the discount.

 

[UPbeekeeper]

Yuck...that's kind of inconvenient.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I always ask just to make sure I get the discount, just like at home I always watch to make sure the stuff I'm buying at the grocery store rings up right and the coupons are used correctly. I want to be sure I'm getting a good deal. A couple of times at Disney though the clerk asked if I had a Disney Visa before I was able to ask for the discount.

 

[BigTxEars]

I was told by the cashier the first time I used mine, if you buy $16 more dollars to get to $50 you get the 10% off. I of course did I think it's just rather they even notice you are using the Disney card or not. Mine is the red one, it does say Disney pretty clear but you could miss it if not looking for it I guess.

 

[jaklgreen]

I have always had to ask. I have a Disney visa and an annual pass and everywhere I go either to eat or shop I always ask if they give a discount of either of the two.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

I've always asked just to be safe. Sometimes if I'm spending over $50 the CM will ask if I have a Disney Visa because I can get a discount. This is if I'm paying with cash, or if I haven't yet gotten my Visa out yet. I think they're pretty good about it, but I'd always mention it just to be certain.

 

[pluto77]

Yeah you don't automatically get it when they swipe your card. They have to manually put in the discount so some CM's will notice it and some either don't notice, forget, or maybe just wait for you to ask about it. I had a CM give me the discount once without spending $50, but I think she was new and must not have known the rule (she was the one who automatically gave it to me I wasn't expecting a discount). I know different places have work differently with discounts, even within Disney, so I assumed that's how it worked there, but then I bought something else at the same location and didn't get the discount without spending $50 (although total between the 2 ended being $50 so I got it anyway).

If you forget to ask about the discount in the parks, they should be able to fix it at the hotel (if at a Disney hotel). I had to return something once from the park and they told me it would be no problem to return it at the hotel gift shop and it wasn't. Just FYI.

I was worried about the "select locations" part the first time I went, but they give the discount at pretty much any gift shop now (that's disney owned of course).

 

[Obi]

I, to be honest, completely forgot about the discount when I was in world of Disney. I was going to use my card to pay for purchases and the cm stopped me quickly and double checked to see if it was a Disney visa card. She then asked me if I wanted the discount. Told her yes and thanks for reminding me about it. Guess it depends upon the cm.

 

[lilclerk]

Huh, they've always automatically given it to me. In fact, if I haven't gotten enough stuff, they've offered little things to get me up to the $50. I guess it depends on the CM you're working with.

 

[UPbeekeeper]

Thanks everyone for your input. It sounds like the way to go is to actually bring my card to the parks and assume I will have to ask for the discount every time I spend over $50.00, rather than just bill to my room and pay at the end. Less convenience then I was hoping for, but worth it for the money I'll be saving. Actually not a bad deal as you get the discount up front, then still earn rewards on the purchase.

They are sooo sneaky!! They know I'm not going to save that discount...I'm just going to use it to buy additional Disney stuff I just can't live without..lol.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I've always noted the discount, but I usually just make it part of the conversation with the CM ringing me up so that it's not so awkward. I also learned the hard way when budgeting for a Disney Dooney last trip that they won't let you use Disney gift cards in the mix if you want the Disney Visa discount.