Paying for your trip with Gift Cards

[MickeyMomV]

I just wanted to throw this out there and see if anybody has done it?

Yesterday I received a current promotions email from Sam's Club and they have listed a 3 pack of $50 Disney GC's for $142.98. A $7.02 savings may not sound like a lot but I did the math and it comes out to a savings of 4.68% (again does not sound like a lot). Here is the big one, if you multiply it out on a 10 day MYW trip to POFQ, it comes out to a savings of about $250. Now, I dont like to think of myself as cheap but if I have the chance to save a couple hundred dollars, Why Not?? In Disney's eyes you are paying full price so you should still be eligible for any discounts that should happen to come up at a later date. I know it would take a while to enter 100 GC's but $250 would be worth it if the system lets you do it.

182 days out!! ADR's start on Sunday and I can't wait!!

 

[Minthorne]

You can call and apply them to your room or package balance over the phone before you go. I do this all the time since the club store me sells them at a 4% discount.

 

[NYwdwfan]

I either buy giftcards from BJs at a discount (and use my Disney Visa to get the additional points back) or buy them at Target with my redcard which gives 5% off everything. An additional 5% off a 10 day trip is a big deal!!

 

[lilclerk]

I either buy giftcards from BJs at a discount (and use my Disney Visa to get the additional points back) or buy them at Target with my redcard which gives 5% off everything. An additional 5% off a 10 day trip is a big deal!!

Same here, I get them at Target with my Red Card savings

 

[wannabeBelle]

I cant speak for every agency but I know we at Kingdom Konsultant have no problem using gift cards to pay your vacation package or room reservation!! Marie

 

[cbettua]

You can also open up a free disney vacation account and add them to your account. Then you can take your account number and pay for your vacation online.

That's if you prefer not to do it on the phone.

 

[Rob562]

Same here, I get them at Target with my Red Card savings

I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I think you can also pile on the 5% Target Pharmacy Rewards coupons on top of the Red Card savings, which calculates to a total savings of 9.75%

-Rob

 

[SMS55]

Saving money doesn't make you cheap, it makes you smart. Go for it. You can apply gift cards to your room. I've done it many times before. You should be able to do it to your package too. Just save the card. In the event you have to cancel or have some kind credit they'll put it back on the card.

 

[dreamfinder]

Along with this thought - if I have gift cards to use, can I add them to my magic band at the front desk so I don't have to carry them? I have several hundred in total (dollars, not cards).

At the worst you can use them to pay off the balance of your room charge. I don't know if they will let you pre pay it, or if you still need to put down a credit/debit card, but you can stop by the desk at any point and use the gift cards to pay down the room charge balance.

 

[Bocko57]

I past by this post a couple times. I am glad I stopped in. I like it!

 

[Minthorne]

Along with this thought - if I have gift cards to use, can I add them to my magic band at the front desk so I don't have to carry them? I have several hundred in total (dollars, not cards).

At the worst you can use them to pay off the balance of your room charge. I don't know if they will let you pre pay it, or if you still need to put down a credit/debit card, but you can stop by the desk at any point and use the gift cards to pay down the room charge balance.

You cannot put a negative balance on your room via a gift card (but you can with a credit card). If you are charging to your room and planning to pay it off with gift cards be sure you don't hit the room max and have it automatically charged to the credit card on file. Those max room charges are:

Value - $500
Moderate - $1000
Deluxe - $1500
Grand Villa - $2500

 

[dreamfinder]

You cannot put a negative balance on your room via a gift card (but you can with a credit card). If you are charging to your room and planning to pay it off with gift cards be sure you don't hit the room max and have it automatically charged to the credit card on file. Those max room charges are:

Value - $500
Moderate - $1000
Deluxe - $1500
Grand Villa - $2500

They will charge it before you hit the limit, to help avoid you running out of credit the following day. So if you hit say $425 or so and you are staying at POP, they may run it that evening even though there is still space below the $500 cap.

 

[draybook]

Just be aware that you can only enter 2 cards at a time. The best way is to call and have them do it two cards at a time.

 

[EdC]

You can also open up a free disney vacation account and add them to your account. Then you can take your account number and pay for your vacation online.

That's if you prefer not to do it on the phone.

Agreed, plus if you're trip is more than 120 days out, you get that $20 bonus per $1000 in the disney vacation account.

 

[NYwdwfan]

I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I think you can also pile on the 5% Target Pharmacy Rewards coupons on top of the Red Card savings, which calculates to a total savings of 9.75%

-Rob

New York does not participate in the pharmacy rewards program

 

[lilclerk]

I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I think you can also pile on the 5% Target Pharmacy Rewards coupons on top of the Red Card savings, which calculates to a total savings of 9.75%

-Rob

I'm pretty sure this changed earlier this year and the pharmacy rewards don't work on gift cards anymore.

If you happen to have a Target gift card, you can use that to buy a Disney gift card, though.

 

[Emm]

I buy all my gift cards for out trip at Giant Eagle and get fuel perks. We normally don't pay for gas for 2 months when we pay for our trips

 

[minniemickeyfan]

I just wanted to throw this out there and see if anybody has done it?

Yesterday I received a current promotions email from Sam's Club and they have listed a 3 pack of $50 Disney GC's for $142.98. A $7.02 savings may not sound like a lot but I did the math and it comes out to a savings of 4.68% (again does not sound like a lot). Here is the big one, if you multiply it out on a 10 day MYW trip to POFQ, it comes out to a savings of about $250. Now, I dont like to think of myself as cheap but if I have the chance to save a couple hundred dollars, Why Not?? In Disney's eyes you are paying full price so you should still be eligible for any discounts that should happen to come up at a later date. I know it would take a while to enter 100 GC's but $250 would be worth it if the system lets you do it.

182 days out!! ADR's start on Sunday and I can't wait!!

Go for it! I do the 5% savings with Target Redcard every trip and then usually call Disney to pay off my trip. If I don't have the DDP, I bring gift cards to pay for our food.
$250 savings would buy you a nice meal and some souvenirs! Happy planning!

 

[disney4life2008]

Absolutely - I did the same thing for my August trip. I purchased the gift cards from Sams and called and applied the gift cards to my balance (easy). Once I arrived - I used the MB for purchases and the night before I checked out (they said before 11pm) I went to the front desk and they applied to the gift cards to my room charge and I left with a zero dollar balance

 

[Chernaboggles]

Just to make sure I'm understanding this correctly:

If I have a room only reservation (not a package), I CANNOT pre-pay with gift cards, I can only ask that they be applied at checkout, correct?

What about the vacation account, does that only apply to packages or can you do it with a room-only reservation? We're annual pass holders, so I don't need to buy tickets.