Canadian Disney Gift Cards

[Happy2BGoofy]

Shoppers Drug Mart @. Upper Canada Mall in Newmaket has them.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

As people buy them, can you post what the US dollar value is on them? I'm just curious if they are consistently a better exchange rate then the banks' rates.

With the Canadian dollar steadily falling again, I'm buying some US money this week and will start to accumulate Disney Gift Cards as I can find them.

 

[Hemlock]

As people buy them, can you post what the US dollar value is on them? I'm just curious if they are consistently a better exchange rate then the banks' rates.

With the Canadian dollar steadily falling again, I'm buying some US money this week and will start to accumulate Disney Gift Cards as I can find them.

I have 2 gifts that I bought on different dates. The $50 card has a value of $38.97 and the $25 has a value of $19.49.

 

[Silvermist999]

Anyone see them in Mississauga, On?

Was just at Square One mall on Saturday and the Disney store has lots of gift cards (kept behind the registers).

 

[mab2012]

I was going to just charge everything while in FL to our credit card, but with the Canadian dollar tanking again and the foreign exchange fees on the mastercard, maybe I will buy good amount of Disney gift cards to balance that out?

If you're trying to hedge against a dropping Canadian dollar, you'd be better off buying USD denominated gift cards at https://www.disneygiftcard.com/. Of course you'll pay a bank (or credit card) rate on the conversion now, but if the Canadian dollar does drop further, you'll still be better off.

That said, IMO currency forecasting is a fool's game. If you just want the best possible exchange rate at the time of your purchase, these Disney gift cards look to be a pretty good option, especially if you don't already have a credit card that offers zero forex markup. In that case though, what the Canadian dollar is doing today or next week or even during your trip is irrelevant. You might win or lose on the exchange rate compared to today's rate, but you'll always save the bank's 2.5% forex markup.

 

[mab2012]

I have 2 gifts that I bought on different dates. The $50 card has a value of $38.97 and the $25 has a value of $19.49.

So you're getting a conversion rate of .7794, which is better than the current mid-market rate (.7757 as I write this), and roughly an average of yesterday's mid-market rate. And that's consistent with what others have reported: the cards are converting at the previous day's mid-market rate.

It's rare to get any currency conversion at a mid-market rate. Even the no-forex credit cards (eg. Amazon) convert at Visa's buy rate, not the mid-market rate. Plus the credit card transactions convert as of the posting date, not the transaction date, so you don't actually know what rate you'll be getting at the time of the transaction. That's what makes these gift cards a good option. I'd be a little wary that Disney might change their rate without notice, but as long as they keep offering that mid-market exchange rate, it's pretty hard to beat.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

If you're trying to hedge against a dropping Canadian dollar, you'd be better off buying USD denominated gift cards at https://www.disneygiftcard.com/. Of course you'll pay a bank (or credit card) rate on the conversion now, but if the Canadian dollar does drop further, you'll still be better off.

I believe when people are checking online the exchange for the cards, they are coming out better than the bank buy rate.

 

[deedubb]

the foreign exchange fees on the mastercard

I have a credit card that does not charge foreign exchange fees (I think most charge about 2.5%), so I would assume there is no advantage to getting GC's. I don't like the thought of carrying a stash of GC's around.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

I have a credit card that does not charge foreign exchange fees (I think most charge about 2.5%), so I would assume there is no advantage to getting GC's. I don't like the thought of carrying a stash of GC's around.

As you accumulate the gift cards, you can transfer the balances on to one card up to $1,000 US per card. Just leave it in your room safe until time to check out.

 

[gskywalker]

FYI, just saw the flyer starting November 4th, it is the once a year bonus point offer on gift cards at Shoppers. 8000 points for $200 of gift cards bought(at least two gift cards). I'll be buying $1200(total) of disney cards for mine and my wife's optimum accounts.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

8,000 points for $200 in gift cards?

 

[mkmommy]

FYI, just saw the flyer starting November 4th, it is the once a year bonus point offer on gift cards at Shoppers. 8000 points for $200 of gift cards bought(at least two gift cards). I'll be buying $1200(total) of disney cards for mine and my wife's optimum accounts.

I am not Optimum savy, what is 8000 points worth.

 

[Silvermist999]

I am not Optimum savy, what is 8000 points worth.

$10

 

[gskywalker]

I am not Optimum savy, what is 8000 points worth.

If you redeem the 8000 points at the following times they are worth as follows:

Mega Redemption: 95000 gets you $170 plus 30,000 pts back: $17.68
Bonus Redemption: 95000 gets you $200 : $16.84
Regular Full Redemtion: 95000 gets you $170 : $14.31
Redeem 8000 pts: : $10.00

So when I buy the $600 allowed per optimum account I will receive $53.04 in points because I will redeem them during the mega redemption. Plus get the better exchange rate, points on my credit card, etc. Just wish I could do more

 

[mab2012]

I believe when people are checking online the exchange for the cards, they are coming out better than the bank buy rate.

They are coming out better than the bank rate at the time of use. In fact, they seem to be getting a mid-market rate, which is excellent. But if you believe the CAD is going to continue to fall, and you're looking to hedge against that, you'll be better off taking the markup hit now and buying a USD denominated card.

I don't really recommend that; personally I almost always use my Amazon Visa, save the exchange markup, and try to avoid playing the forex speculation game. Sometimes the exchange rate improves and I win, and other times it falls and I lose. I'm just pointing out that if what you're worried about is a falling Canadian dollar, these gift cards aren't going to help much with that. CAD is down more than 5% off its September highs, and that high was up nearly 15% off its spring lows. Compared to that, the couple percent you save with these CAD gift cards on the forex markup is small. If your timeline is short, and/or you are comfortable with the possibility that the CAD could fall significantly before you're ready to use the cards, they appear to offer an excellent alternative to paying typical credit card exchange rates. But for those who like the rate now and don't want to risk a lower dollar when they travel, buying USD (either in the form of cash or USD denominated gift cards) is the "safer" choice.

 

[mab2012]

I have a credit card that does not charge foreign exchange fees (I think most charge about 2.5%), so I would assume there is no advantage to getting GC's. I don't like the thought of carrying a stash of GC's around.

I would say "not much advantage". The Disney gift cards appear to be converting at the previous day's mid-market rate, and that's going to be slightly better than the credit card's wholesale "buy" rate. According to this reference, Visa's buy rate is nearly 1% over mid-market, while Mastercard's is closer to 0.5%. The other slight advantage (maybe) of the Disney card is that you know the rate at the time you use the card, since it's based on the previous day. If you use a credit card, you'll get the rate at the time the transaction is posted, which might be better or worse than the rate at the time of the transaction itself.

If I were making a big purchase, I might be tempted to use a credit card with a higher return than my Amazon Visa to buy the Disney gift cards, and then use the gift cards to make the payment whenever the exchange rate appears favourable. That way I save a bit on exchange compared to Visa's inflated buy rate, I can control the timing of the transaction, and I also get the higher rewards on my preferred credit card. I don't think I'd bother with this when I'm actually travelling, because I'm also not a fan of carrying large amounts of losable liquid currency (in the form of a gift card or otherwise), but it could save a bit when paying for a cruise or a pre-booked package.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Right, but if the cards are always going to be better than the bank's buy rate, it doesn't matter when you buy the gift cards or use them. It's all relative.

I don't have a CC that doesn't charge the 2.5%, and I don't want to carry around $2,000 US in my pockets or in my safe.

 

[Donald - my hero]

Right, but if the cards are always going to be better than the bank's buy rate, it doesn't matter when you buy the gift cards or use them. It's all relative.

I don't have a CC that doesn't charge the 2.5%, and I don't want to carry around $2,000 US in my pockets or in my safe.

I get that!

Here's my thoughts on how to use the gift cards: would get the gift cards and use them to pay off trip before the final payment is due. Even on a RO reservation you can pay before you head down. I would then only take a couple with 100-ish on them and stash those in the safe since it's no less *safe* than cash.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Here's my thoughts on how to use the gift cards: would get the gift cards and use them to pay off trip before the final payment is due. Even on a RO reservation you can pay before you head down. I would then only take a couple with 100-ish on them and stash those in the safe since it's no less *safe* than cash.

A great idea! I'm a huge proponent of paying as much of a trip off before I actually go. Somehow it makes it feel "free" when you get there LOL

 

[mkmommy]

I get that!

Here's my thoughts on how to use the gift cards: would get the gift cards and use them to pay off trip before the final payment is due. Even on a RO reservation you can pay before you head down. I would then only take a couple with 100-ish on them and stash those in the safe since it's no less *safe* than cash.

How can I pay a RO reservation in advance?