Disney Gift Card Deals

[miztressuz]

Newbie to the GC game, but think I want to try, even if just for the 5% at Target. I'm sure in all of these pages this has been asked, but here goes...sorry it's a lot of questions!

I pulled your questions and made some answers inline.

1- How many GCs at a time can or do you buy at Target?
Some stores may limit you, so that may be a individual thing. You'll probably get more varied and better responses, but the most I ever bought at once was $1,000 but that was years ago (you could still use a coupon on gift cards at Target, hehe). Lately I was doing about $600 and no one blinked.

2- My trip is in May, need to pay off in April-do I have time to do anything aside from the 5%? I signed up for survey junkie yesterday and am already close to $3. Any others that would be worth my time?
There's usually deals that pop up, so if it were me, I'd use the Target as a last resort and buy the rest of what you need over a several days a couple weeks before PIF date. There are several strategies that people use depending on what's available to them. You can try reward apps/sites like the survey junkie, I think many of us use Swagbucks, shopkick, ibotta, Fetch Rewards, and I'm sure a few other's I'm forgetting. Just have to check the terms to see when you get the payout. Shopkick and Fetch are pretty instant once you reach the required points, Swagbucks takes a day or so after redemption. I don't do iBotta so I'm not sure there. Won't be getting rich in a short period but $15 - $25 is still better than nothing. Also have to factor in the time needed to earn all the points, if it's something you can work into your daily schedule.
Another option is credit card offers. Like the Discover card 5% category this quarter is gas and warehouse clubs. So BJ's sells discounted Disney gift cards with the best discount at 4% now. If you buy online you don't even need to be a member. But with the 5% cashback it would be a net discount of 8.8% when you apply the cashback earned to the statement. Stuff like that.
As opportunities pop up everyone here is quick to share, so following along here has been very helpful to me.

Does anyone use GCs to pay off entire trips?
Totally. Aside from the deposit, we paid off our last 2 cruises all in GC's. Haven't done a WDW package in a while but we've paid for our room the last few trips all in GC's too.
Also what site is everyone referring to to combine the GCs?
https://www.disneygiftcard.com/
You create an account and then you can add up to 5 gift cards to that account and transfer the full balance of a gift card to another gift card. A gift card can have up to $1,000 on it. Once the GC is drained, you can remove it from the site to make room for more to transfer. It's probably the best thing that came out of Disney IT After entering dozens of $50 gift cards on the DCL website, that site and stores carrying $100 gc's has been a boon.
And lastly-most important-I booked with that agency that shall not be named-can I use GCs with them? I noticed when I used my card with them the charge came straight from Disney on my statement.
You'll have to talk to your travel agent about that. You are supposed to be able to, but some agencies put restrictions on how many can be used. I think the agents had to call in to apply GC's so it was more hassle for them, but I don't use an agency for Disney trips so not sure what may have changed.

 

[MommyinHonduras]

? And lastly-most important-I booked with that agency that shall not be named-can I use GCs with them? I noticed when I used my card with them the charge came straight from Disney on my statement.

Yes you can, I would recommend after combining them to larger amounts in case of refund.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

I pulled your questions and made some answers inline.

1- How many GCs at a time can or do you buy at Target?
Some stores may limit you, so that may be a individual thing. You'll probably get more varied and better responses, but the most I ever bought at once was $1,000 but that was years ago (you could still use a coupon on gift cards at Target, hehe). Lately I was doing about $600 and no one blinked.

2- My trip is in May, need to pay off in April-do I have time to do anything aside from the 5%? I signed up for survey junkie yesterday and am already close to $3. Any others that would be worth my time?
There's usually deals that pop up, so if it were me, I'd use the Target as a last resort and buy the rest of what you need over a several days a couple weeks before PIF date. There are several strategies that people use depending on what's available to them. You can try reward apps/sites like the survey junkie, I think many of us use Swagbucks, shopkick, ibotta, Fetch Rewards, and I'm sure a few other's I'm forgetting. Just have to check the terms to see when you get the payout. Shopkick and Fetch are pretty instant once you reach the required points, Swagbucks takes a day or so after redemption. I don't do iBotta so I'm not sure there. Won't be getting rich in a short period but $15 - $25 is still better than nothing. Also have to factor in the time needed to earn all the points, if it's something you can work into your daily schedule.
Another option is credit card offers. Like the Discover card 5% category this quarter is gas and warehouse clubs. So BJ's sells discounted Disney gift cards with the best discount at 4% now. If you buy online you don't even need to be a member. But with the 5% cashback it would be a net discount of 8.8% when you apply the cashback earned to the statement. Stuff like that.
As opportunities pop up everyone here is quick to share, so following along here has been very helpful to me.

Does anyone use GCs to pay off entire trips?
Totally. Aside from the deposit, we paid off our last 2 cruises all in GC's. Haven't done a WDW package in a while but we've paid for our room the last few trips all in GC's too.
Also what site is everyone referring to to combine the GCs?
https://www.disneygiftcard.com/
You create an account and then you can add up to 5 gift cards to that account and transfer the full balance of a gift card to another gift card. A gift card can have up to $1,000 on it. Once the GC is drained, you can remove it from the site to make room for more to transfer. It's probably the best thing that came out of Disney IT After entering dozens of $50 gift cards on the DCL website, that site and stores carrying $100 gc's has been a boon.
And lastly-most important-I booked with that agency that shall not be named-can I use GCs with them? I noticed when I used my card with them the charge came straight from Disney on my statement.
You'll have to talk to your travel agent about that. You are supposed to be able to, but some agencies put restrictions on how many can be used. I think the agents had to call in to apply GC's so it was more hassle for them, but I don't use an agency for Disney trips so not sure what may have changed.

Thank you so, so much for all of these wonderful and detailed answers! That is a tremendous help! I don't even know what BJs is but I'm going to have to take a look and find out!

Yes you can, I would recommend after combining them to larger amounts in case of refund.

I contacted my agent and he said exactly what you did-combine to larger amounts to make it easier. And I hadn't even thought about what would happen in case of cancellation-it goes back to the GCs. That is something that I will need to consider carefully. For us to cancel it would have to be something pretty major and if it's that major, that's money we may need in real dollars. We've been to WDW annually since 2001, I'm sure we would reschedule, but it is still a gamble.

 

[miztressuz]

Thank you so, so much for all of these wonderful and detailed answers! That is a tremendous help! I don't even know what BJs is but I'm going to have to take a look and find out!

http://www.bjs.com/
BJ's Wholesale Club, it's like Sam's Club or Costco. But the advantage to BJ's is they sell discounted gift cards online and you don't have to be a member to buy them.

I contacted my agent and he said exactly what you did-combine to larger amounts to make it easier. And I hadn't even thought about what would happen in case of cancellation-it goes back to the GCs. That is something that I will need to consider carefully. For us to cancel it would have to be something pretty major and if it's that major, that's money we may need in real dollars. We've been to WDW annually since 2001, I'm sure we would reschedule, but it is still a gamble.

Yes, that is something to consider. Also if you were banking on any credit card protections for the trip then it wouldn't apply if you didn't use the CC to pay. There are definitely trade offs and you'll have to decide what you're comfortable with.

 

[MrInfinity]

Hi!

How many GCs at a time can or do you buy at Target?

I've bought 114. Back in the day when pharmacy rewards would stack with red card discount.

My trip is in May, need to pay off in April-do I have time to do anything aside from the 5%?

Little things, but you won't get it sorted out in a month or two. I work lots of angles -- Some are a year or more in the build-up... like we'll got our flights to WDW for free but it's something we started long ago. 5% Target is good for quick savings.

I'm not a fan of surveys. If things require your time for a few dollars then it could be earning less than minimum wage. Just watch your return on the real time invested. I look for things that pay for stuff I already do. Like go out to eat... Pay with a credit card that gets you double points on dining. A $100 bill earns you 200 points toward a 5000-point flight. Repeat 25 times and you've got your free flight without changing your lifestyle or filling out surveys. Buying something online? Tag ebates or mrrebates. Pays cash for things you were already going to do.

It's not fast tho. Ebates pays out for one quarter almost 2 months after the quarter ends. But if you plan ahead it's great. Our big fat check for Feb (Oct-Dec spend) was $230, and is 100% profit. Cash paid for doing things you'd do anyways is the way to go!

Does anyone use GCs to pay off entire trips?

Of course! And Dining... and annual passes... and DVC dues... and flights... and incidental hotels...

I booked with that agency that shall not be named-can I use GCs with them?

Yeah they're not doing anything special, just calling Disney and applying your payment. Mine said we could call direct and do it ourselves. Some might be controlling and insist on doing it. Just depends on your relationship w them.

You should check out the credit card threads. Look into the various Chase cards, and if you drive around the US, a Starwood account. These days I make way more on flight and hotel hacking than I do on the gift card side. If you want referrals to any just PM me!

 

[miztressuz]

Hi!

I've bought 114. Back in the day when pharmacy rewards would stack with red card discount.

114 that's a nice store. When I bought my 20 the cashier had to check with the CSM if it was cool to do so many in one transaction. If it weren't for the 5% coupon limit of $50 that I had, I would have tried for more though

 

[robinb]

@Mom2Stitch, yes you can use gift cards with the TA that cannot be named. I did it a couple years ago.

 

[miztressuz]

If you have an BoA card with BankAmeriDeals I'm seeing a 10% back at Lowe's up to $12 back maximum on one transaction good through 3/20/2018.

 

[Eighty8Keys]

If you have an BoA card with BankAmeriDeals I'm seeing a 10% back at Lowe's up to $12 back maximum on one transaction good through 3/20/2018.

Sadly, I don’t have this offer. Had my hopes up for a bit. I haven’t had any good deals from them for a long time now.

 

[Lvsdisney]

I just want to report about the Grow Up Young offer:

I purchased $24 worth of Kimberly-Clark products from CVS. I uploaded a picture of the receipt and within 24 hours I received confirmation that my receipt was accepted. Then, I went into my account and was able to get a $5 Disney e-gift card (I still have the $4 leftover to put towards my next $20 worth of spend). The e-gift card came within another 24 hours. I was able to add the e-gift card to my disneygiftcard dot com account and move the funds onto a real GC (I didn't want it on an e-gift card). I will note that a few of my emails from the Grow Up Young ended up in spam, but I check that folder every day.

I need pull ups for my DD so I may purchase enough to get me to another $20 spending level so I can get another $5 Disney GC. It was very easy!

 

[su_A_ve]

@Mom2Stitch, yes you can use gift cards with the TA that cannot be named. I did it a couple years ago.

And this applies to most other TAs as well. At least those that don't require them to collect payment and then they pay Disney (like Orbitz or PriceLine). All other TAs (including the "unchosen" ones) simply pass down your payment information to Disney. That's why they can accept Disney GCs or Disney Rewards. And if you use a Disney Visa Rewards they also apply towards deferred interest (if it's a package).

 

[miztressuz]

Sadly, I don’t have this offer. Had my hopes up for a bit. I haven’t had any good deals from them for a long time now.

This is the first exciting one for me I have used one of the auto parts places and some of the restaurants but mostly it's stuff we're never going to use or go. And even the ones I have used maxed out around $5 or so. Was beginning to think it never changes so I haven't even looked in a while.

 

[FoxC63]

Heads up - I had a digital coupon on my Kroger account this morning for 4x on Visa/Mastercard this weekend.

Something else I noticed on the weekly ad - it says "save up to $1 on fuel." Hmmm - they have been allowing unlimited points to be used. I wonder if they are reverting back to the old $1 at a time limit???

Thanks I added it to my account, wish they would give out the $5.00 off wyb one.
Also we get $1 off here in Macomb MI.

 

[FoxC63]

And I hadn't even thought about what would happen in case of cancellation-it goes back to the GCs. That is something that I will need to consider carefully. For us to cancel it would have to be something pretty major and if it's that major, that's money we may need in real dollars. We've been to WDW annually since 2001, I'm sure we would reschedule, but it is still a gamble.

Even if you have to cancel for any reason its not a waste, it goes back onto the GC - so don't throw any of those away.

Yes, that is something to consider. Also if you were banking on any credit card protections for the trip then it wouldn't apply if you didn't use the CC to pay. There are definitely trade offs and you'll have to decide what you're comfortable with.

You can purchase trip insurance even if you paid with gift cards.

 

[smokeyblue]

I have a gift card use question. I have a room only reservation. Do I pay when I check-in or when I check-out? I've always had packages so I've paid up front in the past.

 

[grumpy28]

Anyone know if the growupyoung deal will be done again in the future? It ends Feb 28 and at $200, but I'm wondering if they will start the program again for March. Anyone know? I am loving this promo! I spent $200, submitted for my "free" $50 GC and am stocked on diapers, wipes and TP! But I can do it again and again for free Disney GCs!

 

[mfly]

I have a gift card use question. I have a room only reservation. Do I pay when I check-in or when I check-out? I've always had packages so I've paid up front in the past.

Per Disney’s website, “If you have a room-only reservation, you will pay off your balance when you arrive at your Disney Resort hotel.” So unlike a package, where your payment is due 30 days in advance, with room-only you’ll pay at arrival.

The fact that you’re paying with GCs will have no bearing on when your payment is due.

 

[momto4obkids]

I have a gift card use question. I have a room only reservation. Do I pay when I check-in or when I check-out? I've always had packages so I've paid up front in the past.

You don't have to wait to pay a room only. You can call in ahead of time and pay, you just can't do it online. I have done this several times.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Raise 5% off up to $10: 5PREZ

Lots of Wal-Mart cards at 1.7% off. Use that with already discounted cards at Sam's. Or a different merchant of your choice. .

 

[Scott Dunn]

Snagged a few Best Buy gift cards.

Card Value: 500
My cost: 450

Best buy does let you buy Disney gift cards with their gift card. Which I didn't know until I called the store and confirmed!